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Hello, all. My sincerest apologies in taking so long to get this posted. Things got busy and I hit a few road blocks in the story; but everything's smoothed out now.

The good news is that the rest of the story is mapped out and an ending is in sight! As are (hopefully) faster chapter completions. The bad news it - well, there is no bad news. You've already waited almost a year for the next post, and I promise I won't make you wait that long again.

None of this would have possible without the ever wise and patient help of Guri, who not only is a fantastic editor and reviser extraordinaire, but is probably the only reason this story is even remotely coming together.

Please, please, please comment or PM me about what you think. It's hard to ever improve if I don't have suggestions/constructive criticism to help me know what to change. Comments, criticisms, compliments, and the likes are all always appreciated.

As usual, please don't read if you're not the proper age or shouldn't be reading this.

The Shapeshifter: Part V

After Tannal plodded up yet another hill he began to thoroughly sympathize with the horse he had ridden to the Wildlands. The terrain here was not only uninteresting and bland, but its hilly expanse was covered with rocks and dips and holes in the road. As Tannal continued to climb the steep road in his horse form - the largest form he'd taken so far (as well as the bulkiest), he was beginning to regret his decision to offer to give Elliot a ride to the outpost. Elliot could have, of course, taken an Academy steed, but that would have involved him explaining where he was going and why to the Academy (which neither of them wanted to do, for different reasons); so Tannal, in his desperation to have Elliot go to the last place that he was seen as a human and therefore hopefully be able to glean some information on the subject, made the mistake of offering to literally be his ride. So after yet another tedious hour of climbing up hills with the weight of Elliot on his back plus the loaded saddlebags, the tack (although Elliot insisted shapeshifters could in fact create inanimate extensions of themselves (e.g. clothing, jewelry, saddles) Tannal still was unable to do it, so he was forced to wear a humiliatingly real saddle for Elliot's sake), with the wind kicking up clouds of dust for him to choke on, Tannal was officially ready for the trip to be over.

Elliot sighed, as bored - but not not nearly as tired - as Tannal. "Do you want to take a break?" he asked wearily.

Tannal felt his ears flick back on their own accord. "It's up to you," he said mildly, even though he really, really wanted to take a break, and maybe shift into a form that was less bulky and more lithe. But all of his training as a king's guard, although he couldn't use the sword skills he had learned, did teach him perseverance and how to endure situations similar to this, so he didn't complain outwardly. Plus, it still gave him the slightest bit of satisfaction to know that he could outlast Elliot on a journey.

Elliot tugged on the reins. "We can stop," he said. When Tannal shrugged as if to say I suppose if we must, we can stop Elliot grinned and said teasingly, "I know you want to take a break, too."

_Take a break from what? _ Tannal thought in annoyance, ignoring Elliot's jab. Instead he said, "You know you don't need to use the reins on me. I'm not really a horse."

Tannal could feel Elliot blushing slightly. "Oh," he said. "Sorry."

Tannal trotted off the path, heading away from the dusty road and toward a small tree that would hopefully provide some sort of shade for them. "What can I say? I must be a spectacular actor in order to convince you; either that, or you've just never seen a horse before."

"Oh ha ha," Elliot rolled his eyes. "You should just like Tannal. You used to always tease me that sorcerers never did any real work."

Tannal felt his friend slide off him. "Maybe he was right. He sounds like a smart guy."

Elliot surveyed Tannal critically. "Maybe I shouldn't let the two of you meet. I'm sure it would be disastrous for me - "

Tannal snorted in amusement while Elliot deftly removed his tack. He had to admit, although he did think that most sorcerers never did a real day's work in their lives, Elliot was the exception to that.

"Besides," Elliot added. "I was raised on a farm. I know how to do real work."

Once the saddle and halter (Tannal had point-blank refused to wear a bridle) were removed, Tannal immediately shifted into a cheetah and settled into the tall grass in relief. He was done with the large animals; he hated feeling so heavy. He watched Elliot spread out his saddle blanket on the ground and relax on it, stretching his legs thankfully.

"How much longer until we get there?" Tannal asked, casually licking his paw.

"Not much longer. We still need to pass through a small town that's on the outskirts of the outpost; and I'd like to stop there and get some supplies first. Then we'll go right to the outpost."

"You're stopping for supplies? As in grocery shopping?" Tannal looked up in indignation. "Elliot, I thought you were worried about your friend! And you want to take a quick stop to go shopping? What's wrong with you?"

"Maybe I just want some time to think, first," Elliot said softly. "I don't know what I'll find there. I might not find anything. It might just be the end of the line." Elliot swallowed. "Or I might find something. And it could be terrible. I just don't know."

Tannal could feel a sense of dread welling up in Elliot. "Well," he said carefully. "You said that the spell you used pointed to the outpost, right? And that if Tannal were dead, it wouldn't have worked - "

"Yes," Elliot said, playing the edges of the blanket. "But the spell only searches for Tannal's human presence. And only if he wants to be found. Tannal knew some magic; if he cast a strong enough cloaking spell, my spell might not pick him up."

"I doubt Tannal would just leave without saying anything to you or sending word that he was alright."

"Unless he was in trouble. He knew I'd come after him if something happened, so he might have not sent word that he needed help so that he could protect me. He's that sort of person."

Tannal felt the stirrings of pride within him. He liked Elliot thinking of him as "that sort of person." "I think," he ventured softly, "that Tannal would have sent word to you by now. Even just to tell you that he's alright. I'm assuming that since you've received nothing, that something else is the matter. What are the other possibilities?"

"They're not good," Elliot said shortly. He turned to Tannal. "There have been rumors going around that rogue sorcerers in the Wildlands like to capture people unawares and transform them into animals."

"Really?" Tannal feigned surprise. "What sort of animals?"

Elliot shrugged. "Anything. Mostly animals that they can make a profit selling: horses, cattle, sheep; things like that. Either that or exotic pets. People will pay a lot of money for a strange animal that has human intelligence and a tame demeanor." He looked away. "A lot of money. It's apparently a very profitable business. And that's why it's so dangerous."

Tannal's tail twitched. "So what if Tannal was turned into an animal?"

Elliot's face darkened. "I wouldn't be able to track him. Not, unless, I knew what kind of animal he was turned into. The locator spells are all tuned to search for a certain body, whether it's human or a labrador; if I don't know what he was transformed into, then I can't find him. It's why the families of the people who go missing out here tend to never find them again. There's just nothing you can do."

"Do you think that Tannal might have been captured, then?"

"It's a possibility."

"What then? Is there a way to reverse it, if you do find him?"

"I don't know. He might not even have his human memories, if that's the case. Or he might just be trapped as an animal for the rest of his life." Elliot closed his eyes. "I just don't know."

"Don't worry, El," Tannal said brightly. "We'll find some answers soon enough." Tannal didn't want to think about the alternative; if they didn't find answers here, then what else could they do?

* * * *

Elliot, Tannal was pleased to hear, announced that he was going to walk the rest of the way. He could tell that Elliot was a combination of apprehensive and determined and fearful and hopeful at their impending arrival at the outpost.

The outpost wasn't far from where they had stopped for a break, and Tannal was happy to be in any shape but a horse. He liked horses just as much as the next person, but he was surprised to discover that he wasn't terribly fond of being one. And it wasn't just the riding that he disliked (and the minor shame of being saddled) but it was the power. Horses were mighty creatures, built of pure muscle and made up of raw power. It was a thrilling feeling to have so much strength at his control; Tannal could practically feel his muscles winding up, ready to release in a spurt of speed, strength, and energy. Despite this, he found it to be oddly disquieting. Typically, king's guards were easily described as wiry or lean; the men with bulked up physiques were all part of the king's body guards. Of the two, the bodyguards relied on strength and force while the king's guard relied on speed, agility, and quick-thinking. Tannal was no exception to this, and so was naturally more at home in a lean body of a cat rather than the comparably bulky body of a horse.

As soon as Elliot started walking, Tannal happily darted into the air as a sparrowhawk, letting out a screech of pleasure as his body sluiced through the air.

They had already passed through the small town that supplied most of the outpost (Elliot, Tannal was pleased to hear, said that they had wasted too much time getting there, and would have to stop on the way home instead) and were now very close to the outpost itself. Tannal could practically smell the magical aura that surrounded the place as they neared it. When they came up over the next ridge, the outpost was in sight: it wasn't much, but it was still in the same condition it was in the last time he had seen it. Comprised of a main building surrounded by a handful of smaller houses, the compound was surrounded by a small wall with only one entryway. Tannal felt anger burn in him as he spotted the building where the scribe's quarters were and the storeroom where he had been "housed."

Elliot glanced at Tannal, who had now taken the shape of a large wolf covered with the quills of a porcupine (he had been experimenting with combining traits of different animals lately and felt that this particular shape suited his feelings about the situation). "Are you clear on what we're going to do?" he asked.

Tannal nodded. Elliot had given him a brief run-down of a plan of how he hoped his encounter would go, along with some other possible alternate plans.

"Good." Elliot nodded. "We stick to the plan, we don't hurt anyone or break any laws, and we find Tannal. No matter what."

Tannal barked in agreement.

Elliot took a deep breath and headed towards the compound.

* * * *

Elliot wasn't entirely sure where "Tannal" might actually be within the compound, but since the entire place was more of a store house and not full of civilians like the nearby town, its only occupants were the soldiers guarding the outpost, its "stock," and the clerk in charge, which Tannal was hoping would be the same scribe as before.

To his delight, it was.

The scribe squeaked in fear as soon as the door opened to reveal Elliot and a very fierce-looking massive grizzly bear, and tried to dart away, but Tannal was too fast for him.

He shifted fluidly to a cheetah, bolted after the man, and pounced on him, holding the man's neck in his jaws. Elliot was emotionless when he strode toward the man, his eyes blazing in anger and resolve; and for a moment, Tannal felt a flicker of fear when he realized that Elliot - his shy, quiet friend Elliot - also had the capacity to become a wizard just like Kensing. But then Elliot's face softened; he was unable to be dispassionate and uncaring, even for a full minute, and Tannal felt relief and pride that his friend, however powerful, was still a decent human being. He knelt down beside the scribe as Tannal released the man's neck from his jaws.

"Hello," Elliot said softly, kneeling down to one knee beside the trembling man. "What's your name?"

The scribe was shaking badly. "I'm - I'm - please don't hurt me! Please!"

"We're not going to hurt you." Elliot glanced at Tannal, who was still bristling beside the man. Tannal seized this opportunity and shifted into the large, long-haired cat that he had originally settled in when he was first captured and hissed softly at the scribe.

"Ohhh no," the scribe said softly, staring at Tannal as he lowered his hands from his face. "You're that shapeshifter, aren't you?"

Tannal growled in response, his eyes glittering darkly. Yes, he was that shapeshifter.

Elliot glanced at Tannal, then back to the scribe. "What do you mean that shapeshifter?" he asked. Elliot had felt a strange twinge of emotion from Telsa: it wasn't hatred, but was similar to that of anger and desperation rolled together in a powerful feeling.

"I - I sold this particular shapeshifter," the scribe whispered. "I remember her - don't get too many of them - shapeshifters are - are rare familiars - "

Elliot frowned. "You're the one who sold Telsa to Master Kensing?"

The scribe swallowed, his eyes traveling from Elliot to Tannal, then back to Elliot again. He sighed heavily. "What do you want?" he said fearfully. "I was told I would only be in contact with one sorcerer; I didn't sign up for two!"

"What?" Elliot said, frowning. The scribe immediately picked up on Elliot's confusion.

"My - most gracious - most kind - and talented Master Sorcerer," he said his voice dripping with honey as he bowed his head the best he could from his cowering position. "To what do I owe the pleasure of such an - unexpected - visit?"

Elliot exchanged a look with Tannal. While he was somewhat curious as to what the man was blubbering about, he steadied himself and told himself to not get distracted. He was here on a very specific mission and could not afford to be distracted. Nor, from the looks of it, could the scribe handle any distractions whatsoever. "I'm here for information," Elliot said pleasantly. "And you're going to help me. Understand?"

"Information?" the scribe asked sweetly. "Perhaps you'd be better suited going to a library. I hear they have books for that sort of thing - "

"Do not," Elliot said in a dangerously soft voice, smoothly cutting through the scribe's poor attempt at deflecting, "even for a moment, make the mistake of thinking that you can talk your way out of this. I am searching for something, and I am going to find it. I know that you have information, and either you answer my questions and I'll go away and never bother you again, or I can stay here and make your life very - difficult. Understand?"

The scribe opened his mouth, then sighed and nodded wearily as he gave up entirely. "I don't seem to have much of a choice, do I?"

"Not particularly." Elliot straightened and assumed an authoritative but non-threatening stance. "I'd prefer if you didn't make this difficult. I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to ask you a few questions, alright?"

The scribe closed his eyes in defeat. "What is it that you want?"

"Come on," Elliot said, grasping the scribe's hand. "On your feet." He helped the shaking scribe into a nearby chair, into which the scribe thankfully collapsed into. Tannal shifted into a full grown bear behind Elliot to remind the scribe not to try anything funny.

The scribe's watery eyes darted to Tannal then back to Elliot. "What are you going to do to me?" he whispered fearfully.

"I said I just wanted to talk," Elliot said, pulling a chair up beside the man. "Are you going to cooperate?"

"Yes," the man said, nodding furiously. "Yes! Just don't hurt me!"

"I won't" Elliot said. "So long as you answer my questions fully and truthfully. Understand?"

The scribe swallowed and, looking a little more at ease, nodded.

Elliot took a steadying breath. "I'm looking for my friend Tannal. He was a member of the king's guard who went missing. This was the last place he was at."

"Tannal?" the scribe repeated, perking up immediately, as if he thought that Elliot was going to ask him about something else. "No, sorry. Don't know any Tannal's here. You must have the wrong place."

Tannal growled softly, but Elliot had already intervened. "No, this is the right place. I performed a locator spell. It doesn't lie. And it says that the last place he was at, was here."

"Here?" squeaked the scribe. "Here? No, noooooo. As I said, you have the wrong place. There's no one here but me." He placed his hand on his heart. "Promise."

"Sorry," Elliot said, his nostrils flaring with anger. "But I'm not buying that. He's here."

"Ahh," the scribe attempted to smooth his disheveled hair in an attempt to look nonchalant. "As I said, there's no one else here. And I've never heard of anyone named Tannal, before. Perhaps you have the wrong outpost?"

"This is the right outpost," Elliot said calmly. "It is the only outpost for miles. And it is the last place he was seen. Now what can you tell me of him?"

The scribe swallowed. "Then perhaps - not that I would ever insinuate such a thing - but perhaps, is it not possible - that you made a mistake with your spell?"

"No," Elliot said firmly. "He was here less than two months ago. I know that that's a fact."

"Two months?" the scribed repeated faintly. He glanced very quickly at Tannal, then away again; he knew Elliot's familiar was the friend Elliot was searching for. "But, oh most powerful sorcerer, if he were here two months ago and hasn't moved, then he's probably dead."

"He's alive," Elliot said without a trace of hesitation in his voice. "Two months ago was the last time he was untouched by any spell." The scribe glanced up at his as Elliot continued. "There are a number of cloaking spells that he could have used or that could have been used on him that would make it difficult for my spell to find him, so I need to know what you know of him. If you saw him and if you know where he might be going, or if he were in danger - "

"As I said," the scribe said, suddenly looking rather smug as he realized that Elliot was unaware that his shapeshifter was indeed his friend, "you are mistaken - "

"Enough!" Elliot shouted, suddenly on his feet, moving faster than Tannal ever thought he could. The scribe, overcome with surprise and fear, tumbled from his chair and backed hastily against the wall, trembling as Elliot advanced. "Enough with your lies! Now I have come here giving you every possible courtesy, never threatening you or your livelihood, and all I asked for was honesty and you haven't given it to me once. I am not leaving until I find out what happened to my friend and either you're going to assist me willingly or so help me, you will do so unwillingly."

Tannal glanced in surprise at Elliot. He didn't think Elliot would resort to threats, however tame, and he certainly knew that this wasn't in Elliot's "plan." But desperation and frustration had driven Elliot too far.

Elliot towered over the scribe. "So are you going to help me, or not?"

The scribe's eyes widened. "You say your friend was here?" he squeaked. "Ah, yes, that is very possible. I do not remember names or faces, good master apprentice. I'm afraid I'm quite forgetful, so I'm not the one to ask - "

Elliot didn't back down. "You best start remembering," he breathed.

The scribe immediately paled. "I'm terribly sorry, master apprentice, but if your friend was captured out here, I can guarantee that he's no longer human."

"No longer human?" Elliot repeated, his voice dangerously quiet as Tannal felt fury rising up in him. "What happened to him?"

"Oh - " the scribe's eyes swept the room, as if he were trying to think of an alternate story, "oh, he would have probably been - oh, I don't know - maybe - "

"Speak the truth, scribe," Elliot said softly, "or your next words will be your last."

The scribe squeaked again in fear, pressing himself against the wall. "You - you wouldn't kill me!" he sputtered. "I - I'm innocent of this! I did nothing!"

"Exactly," Elliot said coldly, a hatred Tannal had never seen etched on his face. "You did nothing." Elliot opened his hand up and raised it before the scribe, a fistful of searing blue fire blazing in his palm. Tannal made a warning noise in his throat, but Elliot ignored him, his gaze unfaltering as it bored into the scribe. "Last chance to redeem yourself. What happened to my friend?"

The scribe whimpered fearfully, eyeing the deadly-looking flames in Elliot's hand. "He - he would have probably been transformed like all the others," he said miserably. "He's probably some sort of animal."

"Some sort of animal?" Elliot repeated, his eyes blazing with fury. "What do you mean by that? Why would someone transform him?"

The scribe closed his eyes, his face drained of all color. "So he could be used as a familiar."

Elliot drew back in surprise. "A familiar?" The blue fire faded from his palm and his hand fell to his side. "That's not possible."

"You - you didn't know?" The scribe looked both surprised at Elliot's ignorance of such a practice and relieved that the threat was now removed.

"Know about what?"

"The plan." When Elliot said nothing, but continued to stare down the scribe, the man swallowed and hesitantly attempted to explain. "The sorcerers at the academy - they've been trying to expand their operations for months - get more funding, that sort of thing, but the king opposed it because there's been a shortage of familiars - there's not enough familiars to meet the needs of the sorcerer's proposed expansion, so some of the sorcerers looked to other methods to get more familiars." He swallowed again. "Since familiars are of human intelligence with magical properties, one can't simply bind an animal to a sorcerer and expect that to do the trick - the beast will only be able to do less than a thirtieth of what a real familiar can. So they decided if they could transform humans from the Wildlands, humans that no one would miss, that they could make them into familiars and solve the problem."

Elliot did not look amused. "Stop your lies and tell the truth."

"It is the truth! I swear!"

"What you're saying is impossible! A human cannot be transformed into a familiar! It's not possible."

The scribe look frightened. "I don't see why not, sir."

Elliot sighed in frustration. "A sorcerer can transform any object or person into an object or person, but never into magical beings. Because magical beings are exactly that: magical." Elliot took an intimidating step forward and said in a low voice, "I could, for instance, turn you into a dragon, but you wouldn't actually be a dragon, would you? You'd be a massive lizard that looks like a dragon. So while you'd resemble a dragon physically, you wouldn't be able to breathe fire, your blood wouldn't have magical properties, you wouldn't have any magical abilities at all. If sorcerers could transform people into magical beings, then everyone would do it. But they can't, because it simply cannot be done. Understand?"

The scribe recoiled as if he had been whipped. "I'm sorry, sir," he said meekly, "but I swear to you, it's been done. There are familiars who used to be human, I swear it!"

Elliot shook his head. "Turning humans into familiars - there's not enough magic in the world for someone to do something like that," he said quietly, almost to himself. Tannal knew Elliot well enough to know that he was thinking things over, running through every possibility through his head before he made a decision.

The scribe cleared his throat. "Well, apparently, sir, meaning no disrespect, but apparently someone has."

Elliot looked up sharply, his eyes sweeping over the scribe. He relaxed his pose and began to speak in a light, casual voice. "Alright, let's say I believe this. What about the humans who become familiars? How are they kept in line? How has this secret not gotten out?"

The scribe hugged his arms around his body; he knew that Elliot didn't believe him but whatever conscience was left in him made him babble the truth. "The familiars have a control spell placed on them that prevents them from telling their masters the truth. They couldn't, even if they wanted to - unless, of course, their master took the spell off."

"And how many of these transformed humans do you claim there are?"

The scribe shook his head. "I - I don't know. I'm not the only outpost that deals with familiars. There could be hundreds, there could only be five, I don't know." He hesitated. "But it sounds to me like there are only one or two of these sorcerers doing it. It's certainly not the majority."

"I see. And do you have any transformed humans in your stock?"

"No! No! I only did once - well, maybe a few times - "

Tannal, who had been listening quietly, suddenly stepped forward, growling loudly.

"No! No!" The scribe covered his head as he curled into a ball. "Alright, alright! Most of them were! But I didn't want to do it! What choice did I have? He made me - he made me do it!"

"Who did?" Elliot's eyes flashed as he stepped forward and Tannal felt the annoyance that had settled in Elliot break and give way to fear as he suddenly began to consider the possibility that the scribe was telling the truth -

"I can't say! No, no he's kill me. And it'd be more terrible than if you set your monster on me, so don't even try to threaten me with that brute. No, I won't say another word."

Elliot looked at Tannal, his eyes smoldering with anger. "How many do you have now?"

"No, no, no - " the scribe whispered, clutching his head. "No - "

"How many do you have!?"

"None! None, they're all gone!"

"Gone? Gone where?"

"Kensing! It was Kensing! He picked them up last week."

Elliot looked up sharply. "Master Kensing?" he repeated. "As in Master Kensing, the sorcerer?"

The scribe gasped and collapsed back against the wall. "Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, no. He's going to kill me. I'm dead, I'm already dead. Forget I ever said that. Forget you ever spoke to me. Oh, no!"

Tannal looked up at Elliot, desperately willing him to believe the terrified man's story about Kensing and the familiars was true.

Elliot stood still for a moment, looking hard at the man, then, to Tannal's horror, he laughed. "You say Master Kensing did this?"

"Please, please don't tell him I said so - "

"You're lying," Elliot said in a deathly calm voice. "You named Kensing only because I mentioned his name first. You're lying through your teeth, using the first name of a sorcerer you heard me speak. That, scribe, was a mistake."

"Nooo," insisted the scribe. "I'm not mistaken! It's Kensing!"

"How dare you?" Elliot said softly. "How dare you attempt to soil a good man's name to keep your own hands clean of this?" Nooo! _ Tannal thought desperately. _Elliot you have to see the truth! But Elliot was shaking his head as his eyes blazed dangerously again. "You deserve nothing short of the harshest punishment the kingdom can provide for you for your lies. It is a crime to slander the good name of a powerful public figure like Master Kensing and someone like yourself ought to know your place." Tannal looked at Elliot in horror. What was he saying? "First you refuse to help me find my friend, then you vilify the name of my master?"

"I swear to you! I speak the truth!"

"You lie. You lie and you profit off the suffering of innocent people." Fire blazed in Elliot's hand again. "You don't even deserve to die; that would be too kind for you."

"Please, my lord - "

"Enough! Enough of your lies and your selfishness. Last chance: tell me what happened to my friend. Tell me what you did to him!"

"Nothing! I swear to you; I was not responsible for this! Kensing did it! Kensing turned all of the humans into familiars! I swear, it's the truth!"

Every line of Elliot's face was drawn in a cold fury and his eyes blazed with a savage hatred that Tannal had never seen before. "That's too bad I don't believe you." He raised his hand. "I warned you what would happen if you lied to me again."

The scribe tried to speak again, to beg for mercy or to tell more about what he knew about Kensing's plot; but Elliot had already opened his fist. Flames burst forth from his palm, blazing outwards and seizing the scribe in their searing grasp. The scribe cried out in pain, reeling back from Elliot's spell as its corrosive effects burned his skin, as he desperately tried to get away. But Elliot only stood still, with his hand still open and more fire reigning down upon the man.

"Elliot!" Tannal cried out desperately. "Elliot, STOP!" and as he shouted Elliot's name, suddenly, Elliot's spell collapsed onto itself. In the pale light left from the flickering torch in the room, Tannal could see that Elliot looked shocked at what he had almost done; his shoulders slumped and he breathed heavily, his face pale with horror. The scribe took one look at Elliot and bolted for the door to the backroom, running as fast as his bandy legs could take him. Tannal didn't bother to pursue and Elliot said nothing about the scribe's departure.

Slowly, Elliot straightened, still looking surprised at himself. For a moment, he simply stared at the space where the scribe had been cowering only moments ago, then he tore his gaze away, looking shaken.

"Come on, Telsa," he said in a soft voice. "We should go now."

Obediently, Tannal followed Elliot out of the building, occasionally stealing sideway glances at Elliot. He had always known that Elliot was an intelligent and gifted sorcerer, but he had never seen it in action. Yes, Elliot's creation of the locator spell was one of skill and ingenuity, but he didn't know enough about magic to know the kind of work and thought that went into creating it. But this - this - Tannal understood. He had never seen Elliot with that much control, exerting that much power. He was completely in charge of the situation, the way he changed his tone or his stance, the way he shaped the conversation, and just the general way he exerted raw power, especially given that Elliot wasn't a particularly tall or imposing figure. He looked almost like a boy to most people; but in the room with the scribe Elliot suddenly changed from an innocent boy to a very intimidating and powerful sorcerer. No, he had never seen Elliot with that much control. He had also never seen Elliot come that close to losing it.

* * * *

"I'm sorry," Elliot said quietly. It was the first words he had spoken since they had left the scribe's storehouse hours ago. Tannal could feel Elliot's rage boiling beneath his surprisingly calm facade and so had wisely opted to remain silent. After the anger began to dissipate and he had stopped shaking, it was replaced by the misery of his perceived failure, then finally despair. Tannal had told himself not to say anything until Elliot had calmed down quite a bit and as soon as Elliot spoke, Tannal knew that it would be alright to talk about what had happened.

Still, he pretended to be ignorant. "Sorry for what?" he asked lightly, trotting at Elliot's heels as a collie as they made their way back to the town.

"For what happened. In the storehouse." Elliot drew a calming breath. "I'm usually better at keeping my emotions in check, but given the circumstances - "

"I don't blame you," Tannal said quickly. "You have a reason to be angry."

"I shouldn't have come here," he said quietly. "There was a reason the Academy wouldn't let me near this place and they were right to forbid it. This was a mistake." Elliot looked knowingly at Tannal. "I know I frightened you. I didn't mean to - "

"Elliot, you're fine." Tannal looked up at him. "I've just never known you to act like that."

Elliot gave him a watery smile. "You haven't known me that long."

"Oh," Tannal said, forgetting for a moment that he was a female familiar and not Elliot's male human friend. "Right."

Elliot ran a hand through his hair wearily. "And trust me," he said quietly. "The way I've been acting the last month is not me at all."

Tannal pushed his wet nose into Elliot's hand. "I know, Elliot," he said, nuzzling him. "Trust me, I know."

They walked the rest of the way back to the town they had passed on the way to the outpost, Elliot lost in his thoughts and Tannal mulling over his. His plan, more or less, had failed. Elliot still didn't know who he was and wasn't a single step closer to discovering what happened to him; but, at the very least, Elliot was aware that there were familiars out there like himself who were once human. Perhaps if Elliot started investigating that, he would come closer to the truth...

"You said you wanted to rest tonight?" Elliot said quietly.

Tannal glanced up. "What? Oh, yes. That would be nice - "

Elliot nodded, a faint smile of amusement on his face. "Go on. I'm going to get some supplies as the store."

"Supplies?" Tannal said, his ears dropping. "Heavy supplies?"

Elliot grinned. "No, nothing like that. Just a few light things that are hard to come by in the city." He reached down and patted Tannal's head comfortingly. "Go have some fun, alright? When you're done getting it out of your system, come back here and I'll get us a room at the inn so we can get some rest, alright?"

"Sounds good," Tannal said happily and as soon as Elliot turned toward the store, he launched off, beating his wings as he rose high into the sky, trying to purge his feelings from the encounter with the scribe through the joys of flight. He didn't want to admit to himself how close Elliot came to hurting someone; and how similar he looked to Kensing when he was ablaze with power.

* * * *

After a good hour of soaring through the sky, galloping at breakneck speeds over the open terrain, and general frolicking, Tannal decided to call it a day. He was emotionally exhausted from the events of the day, and while he had a chance to clear his head, he was tired and just wanted to find Elliot and go home. He flew straight to the inn, assuming that Elliot was probably already there since there wasn't much more to do in the small town. But when he couldn't find his friend, he started poking around the grounds, both exploring and looking for Elliot. Concluding that Elliot was still in the store, Tannal turned to turn and fly back when a glimmer caught his eye of a very familiar looking symbol...

He watched in horror as a groom washed down a sweat-covered horse tethered outside the stables near the inn, speaking to it in a comforting voice as he lifted the saddle and reins from the tired beast. A horse whose tack bore the symbol of the Sorcerery Academy. And the only sorcerer that Tannal knew to come to this outpost was Kensing.

Tannal swore inwardly, a feeling of horror already beginning to course through him, and took off again, this time heading back to the outpost. He hadn't seen Kensing or any other sorcerer while he explored the area around the inn and the only possible place Kensing might be was back at the outpost with the scribe. Tannal flew as fast as he could back to the outpost to confirm his suspicions.

And sure enough, when Tannal arrived at the outpost, there was a horse from the inn tethered at the gate.

Kensing was here! Tannal hissed fearfully and quickly ducked behind the wall, shifting into a moth. He waited there for a moment, waiting for his heart to stop racing before he crept forward to a cracked window and peered inside.

Kensing was standing over the scribe, who was cowering worse than when he cowered in front of Elliot, and Tannal couldn't blame him. His chances didn't look good. Kensing wasn't wearing his Master Sorcerer garb, but his very stance radiated power. And the white dragon that stood beside him do nothing but augment the element of danger in the situation.

"Please, please, my lord," the scribe pleaded desperately as Tannal looked on fearfully. "I told him nothing, nothing!"

"You lie," Kensing said in the same quiet voice, his eyes burning dangerously. "Master Malken informed me that my student, an apprentice master named Elliot, and his familiar had made headway on finding the prince and went here to investigate. What did they find?"

"The - the prince?" spluttered the scribe. "No! He was only searching for his friend, the missing king's guard! He never said a word about the prince!"

Kensing raised a brow. "Elliot came here looking for Tannal?"

"That's what he said, oh most merciful and powerful Master Sorcerer," the scribe gasped. "He said he knew his friend had been captured at this outpost."

"He knew?" Kensing repeated. "How?"

"I - I do not know, oh glorious one. He said a spell - a loco-something - "

"A locator spell," Kensing said softly to himself. He was still for a moment, a slight smile on his face, then he turned back to the fearful scribe. "Well, then perhaps all is not lost as I had thought." He tapped his fingers together thoughtfully. "Very well, it seems that you did not ruin all of my plans today, scribe."

"Then, then you'll show me mercy?" The scribe looked up hopefully.

"Mercy?" Kensing said, with a truly evil look on his face as he stepped forward with smile. "My dear man, what on earth gave you the idea that I would show you mercy?"

"But - but I - "

Tannal peered curiously around the corner. Kensing was standing over the small scribe, his face cold and dispassionate while the scribe's was fearful, dripping with sweat. Bruine stood nearby, a white ghost in the shadows of the room.

Kensing sighed in annoyance. "Bruine, go search for Elliot. If he's still here that means he found something useful and will have to be killed - just make sure it looks like an accident. I can't afford to have a mere boy ruin my plans." He stepped forward, his boot making a dull and ominous thud as he approached the shivering scribe. "I just need to take care of some loose ends before we depart."

"No," the scribe whispered, "No!"

Tannal's eyes widened in horror, but he could do nothing. Kensing was too strong for him to fight and while the scribe had looked sorry for what had happened to him, he didn't try to stop it either, so Tannal's pity only went so far. And the white dragon was on the move, his eyes glittering as he began to make his rounds about the compound, searching for Elliot.

Tannal swore to himself as he felt a surge of power radiate from Kensing that was was followed by a cry from the scribe that was suddenly cut short. Tannal closed his eyes. He had to get Elliot out of here, but how?

* * * *

Tannal flew faster than he had ever flown in his life back to the town, praying that he would reach Elliot before Bruine did. After a quick check at the inn, he found Elliot inside a potion store in town.

"Elliot!" Tannal cried out, darting quickly to his master.

"Hello, Telsa," Elliot said, completely unaware of Tannal's sense of urgency. "I forgot to pick up a certain potion, so I just headed - " He stopped. "What's wrong?"

Tannal sighed. "Come here," he said, darting as a housecat into one of the backrooms of the store. "Come on! Quickly!"

Elliot raised a brow and, after a quick glance around the shop, followed Tannal into the backroom. "Telsa, what's going on?"

"El, I think we should go home now."

"What?"

"Elliot, please! Let's just go home tonight!"

Elliot sighed. "Telsa, you spent all day complaining about how you had to be a beast of burden and how much you wanted to rest, and now you want to leave? Make up your mind - "

"I want to leave, now! I - I think the scribe might have reported what happened to some of the guards," Tannal said, saying the first lie he could think of that might get Elliot out of the town and far away from Kensing and Bruine.

Elliot's frown deepened. Tannal could tell that he was thinking over the proper course of action to take, but now was not the time for the proper course of action. Now was the time for quick decisions. Tannal gritted his teeth. If he could just _tell _ Elliot why they had to leave, he knew Elliot would do it in a heartbeat. But telling him that Kensing was there would only make Elliot want to see his teacher, which would be a catastrophe. And if he told Elliot that someone had just killed the scribe, then Elliot would be even more foolish than usual and attempt to do something heroic and wind up getting them both killed. His only choice would be to get Elliot out of the town now with little to no explanation. Especially if Bruine was on his way here.

"El, come on," he urged. "Let's go!"

"Telsa, I don't think that - "

Tannal glanced out the window and saw a shimmer of white high up in the sky, descending quickly. Bruine was already here! And that meant the time for arguing was over. Looking around, Tannal attempted to find a way out of the store that he could use while dragging Elliot...then he saw a shelf of storage labeled "temp transformation spells" and suddenly got an idea... If he couldn't make Elliot leave, then perhaps he could make him disappear...

Sorry, El, he thought and he knocked the bottle off the shelf.

"Telsa!" Elliot cried out as the jumped back, his arm soaked in the clear liquid as the bottle fell onto him before shattering onto the floor. "Watch it!"

"Sorry, Elliot," Tannal said innocently. "Sometimes I can be so clumsy."

Elliot sighed and bustled about, mopping up the spilt contents with a dish cloth that was hung on the rail near the sink. "You need to be more careful sometimes. There could have been anything in that bottle - " he stopped, a frown flickering on his face. "What was in that bottle, anyways?"

"No idea," Tannal said, still remaining stationary on the chair. Who knew what a transformation spell might do to an already-transformed human? He was definitely staying away.

Elliot blinked slowly, a strange look on his face. "I think it was a spell." he said hoarsely.

"A spell? What kind of spell?" Even Tannal could feel something strange; feeling the stirrings of the soon-to-occur transformation in Elliot's body ripple through his own.

Elliot shuddered. "The spell - he whispered. "It's a transformation spell."

"Elliot?" Tannal whined softly, unsure of what to do. He didn't know enough magic to help Elliot and even if he did he wasn't sure if he could even use it as a familiar. Tannal took a step back, a shiver of fear running through him. What did I just do? That spell could transform Elliot into anything! But it was already done; all he could do now was watch and wait.

Elliot hissed softly and clutched at his chest. "Ohhhhhh," he moaned softly, before falling to his knees, his eyes clouded with pain and confusion.

Tannal watched in fascination as Elliot was transformed. He noticed, although Elliot probably didn't yet, that Elliot's ears were beginning to grow larger and his hair was beginning to creep back into his scalp. Backing up against the window, Tannal stared wide-eyed as his friend gasped in surprise as the spell hit him. Elliot's eyes widened as his bones began to shift, moving and stretching the skin as they morphed under his flesh, causing him to cry out at the sudden pain that the change caused.

Fur sprouted in tuffs on his face, hands and arms, and he drew his breath in sharply as his face began to push out into a muzzle. Then he was shrinking, his body collapsing onto itself as the transformation sped up: his arms and legs shortened, his hands twisted into delicate claws, his muzzle became more pronounced while his eyes became more beady. Still, his ears continued to grow and Elliot let out a final grunt as a human and then even his vocal chords were gone. His clothes fell from his body and his naked flesh, now covered in a coat of downy grey fur, clothed his skin instead and he made a strangled sound of pain as his back snapped, forcing him onto all fours on top of his pile of discarded clothing. He shrank more and more, becoming smaller and smaller while his ears became larger and, with a squeak of surprise, a short, fluffy tail squeezed itself from his behind, until the transformation was complete. Elliot had turned into a rabbit.

Great, Tannal thought. Of all the potions to grab, I selected a rabbit spell. Who on earth actually needed a rabbit spell?

Elliot, at the very least, was pretty calm for suddenly being twisted into the form of a rabbit, though his eyes were wide in terror. Tannal knew from his brief training in the Lower Academy that when a human is transformed into an animal, they often take on the animal characteristics and act more like that animal than they usually would. Case in point, because Tannal was bound to a human, his human mind always overrode his animal one, but he was still susceptible to animal instincts and despite being a human, still rubbed against Elliot in his cat form, still jumped up and licked at his master's face in his dog one. It was a survival mechanism. Otherwise, how would he know how else to walk or fly or even move at all in his new forms?

Form transformations shifted your body into the form while a full transformation shifted your mind as well. And Elliot had a full transformation. Great. Tannal sighed. At least is was only temporary.

Tannal sighed, watching Elliot tumble out of his pile of clothes, making soft squeaks of alarm from where he was on the floor. Tannal wished he could comfort his friend, but Bruine and Kensing were out there looking for him and he had to get them to move. Quickly, he shifted into a dog form, jumping down on the floor and grabbing Elliot's discarded clothing on the floor and seizing them in his mouth. While Elliot darted away, probably frightened by he sudden appearance of a dog in the storeroom, Tannal threw his clothes under one of the cupboards, then turned back to Elliot.

He had to get Elliot out of here; but how? Tannal eyed Elliot as his friend quivered fearfully in the corner and got an idea: they'd fly out. Quickly, Tannal shifted into a large hawk and dove at the rabbit, snatching him before Elliot had a chance to realize that the dog in the room could actually change shapes. Once he had grabbed the terrified, furry mass, Tannal beat his silent wings and flew out the thankfully open window, soaring out of the shop and leaving the town, and Kensing's dragon far below.

As soon as he flew out of the town's borders, he dropped to the nearest field gently tossed Elliot on the ground. Elliot immediately curled into a little ball, shivering, his eyes wide and confused as he attempted to make sense of what had just happened. Tannal quickly shifted into a rabbit as well, so as not to frighten him more.

Slowly, he approached Elliot and nuzzled against him, trying to comfort him, but he could tell that Elliot was pretty freaked out. Elliot, despite his initial terror, did not run away. In fact, he seemed rather intrigued by the rabbit nearby him. His long ears flickered toward Tannal, his nose twitching as he slowly took to the rabbit that suddenly just appeared at his side. Tannal gritted his teeth. As a human, Elliot was rather smart, but as a rabbit - well, rabbits weren't known for being particularly intelligent.

They stayed there together, unmoving; just basking in the warmth of each other's soft bodies. Then, a tell-tale scent drifted to Tannal. And he knew exactly what that meant.

Elliot squeaked softly, and Tannal shifted uncomfortable, smelling his friend's arousal. Tannal made a soft sound of protest, but Elliot was utterly overwhelmed by the arousal that was taking over his body, responding eagerly to Tannal's female scent. It didn't take him long to leave Tannal's side and go behind Tannal and inspect his rump, smelling if the female was prepared. And Tannal, to his horror, was.

With a triumphant squeak, Elliot reared up and mounted Tannal, quickly securing his position on Tannal and then thrust home.

Tannal gasped as the buck rabbit slammed into him. He hadn't expected that he would be in heat - and he certainly didn't think that he and Elliot would ever have sex as a pair of rabbits - but as soon as Elliot's large rabbit penis penetrated his needy folds, Tannal found that he couldn't hold back his own cries of pleasure. Elliot quickly picked up the pace, thrusting furiously as his forelegs gripped around Tannal's body even more tightly. He was already close.

Tannal gave up trying to wriggle out from under the rabbit. It simply felt too good. So, gingerly, he readjusted his position under Elliot and moved himself so that Elliot's penis could slide in and out of his wet sex with more ease. Elliot called out loudly as he felt his penis enter with more ease and even deeper than before and gripped Tannal harder as he enjoyed the adjusted position. Tannal did as well. He closed his eyes and let out high pitched squeaks of pleasure as Elliot penetrated him even deeper than he had before. Oh! It felt so amazing! Elliot felt so large and hard within him, plunging deeper and deeper into his folds, pushing them apart with every thrust, giving him greater and greater pleasure. Elliot yipped loudly, thrusting even harder, feeling his familiar milking his cock, her hot folds squeezing him more and more, harder and harder, spearing into her tight, wet cunt. He was close, so close, his pleasure mounting more and more to greater levels.

Then, Elliot exploded within Tannal. Tannal squeaked out in pleasure, feeling his mate's hot, virile seed spurt into his quivering body, coating his insides.

Elliot withdrew and backed away, squeaking in terror. Tannal quickly went to him, comforting his friend, nuzzling against him so that he knew everything was alright. Elliot, after several panicked minutes, finally calmed down. But then there was another problem: Elliot was aroused again.

Tannal sighed and stepped away from Elliot and lifted his tail, showing Elliot his cum soaked netherlips. He could hear Elliot make a strange sound and then felt him approach. The rabbit quickly mounted Tannal again and expertly found his mark on the first thrust, and began to mate the female once again. Tannal squeaked in pleasure at Elliot's mating; his friend was not only rather well endowed but truly knew how to pleasure a female. Tannal had never once at Elliot's hands been left unsatisfied. The male rabbit squealed happily as it began to climax within his female, jetting load after load of hot rabbit cum into his mate's vagina. Again, he withdrew.

Tannal turned back to Elliot and licked his face gently. Elliot was far more receptive this time. He seemed to realize that this was mating season and that Tannal needed to be fucked. Tannal realized that if he wanted to, he could easily shift into another form and escape Elliot's advances. But Tannal didn't shift. Instead, he felt himself bracing himself against the ground, eagerly awaiting for Elliot to join him.

Elliot suddenly mounted him again and began servicing Tannal hard and fast yet again. Tannal closed his eyes and moaned, listening to the squeaks and squeals of pleasure coming from Elliot as he fucked him. It felt so, so good to be underneath such a strong male and pleasurable lover. Tannal added his own voice to the mix, unashamed as he moaned and squealed in pleasure as his mate continued to breed him.

Tannal was so lost in mating bliss that he failed to hear the sounds of something approaching until it was almost on top of them. But he heard a twig snap over the sound of Elliot's furry hips slapping against his and he immediately looked up, on full alert. Tannal's eyes widened as he watched Kensing's dragon peer around the corner, its white coat of scales shimmering in the semi-darkness. The dragon's amethyst eyes found the copulating rabbits immediately, but Tannal didn't move. He only froze, his body completely immobilized by the fear driven instincts of a rabbit.

For a moment, their eyes met, the dragon's glittering amethyst ones and Tannal's wide, terrified gaze, while Elliot still relentlessly and energetically serviced him with closed eyes; the dragon looked over the coupling rabbits, he blinked, then he made a soft sound and withdrew. Tannal remained frozen for a few more moments until he realized that if the dragon was going to turn them over to Kensing, that he would have already captured them. Tannal almost sighed in relief when the dragon left: they were safe for now and now only pleasure remained. He closed his eyes again and decided to enjoy the rest of the night with his energetic lover.

* * * *

Elliot had been less than thrilled the next morning when he woke up naked in the middle of a field, but Tannal at least had already gone back and retrieved his clothes. After Elliot had finished getting dressed, still seething over being turned into a rabbit, he spoke to Tannal shortly and said that they should get moving.

Tannal could feel Elliot continually glancing at him as they made their way back to the main road. Finally, after an uncomfortable quarter of an hour, Tannal stopped in his tracks and looked up at Elliot.

"What?"

Elliot stopped, looking somewhat startled. "What do you mean 'what?'"

"Look, Elliot. I know you're mad at me for spilling that potion on you and for what happened afterwards, but - "

"I'm not mad at you," Elliot said quietly.

Tannal stopped abruptly. "You're not?"

Elliot shook his head. "No."

"Not even after what happened?"

"No - "

"Then why have you been so quiet today?"

Elliot wearily rubbed his hand over his face. "I've just been thinking. About what the scribe said yesterday."

"Ahh. What about it?"

"What if he's telling the truth? What if there really is a spell that transforms humans into familiars? And what if that's what's happened to Tannal?" Elliot shook his head. "I'll never find him!"

"Yes you will. Elliot, out of every person in the world, you're the one person I'd want searching for me if I ever went missing. You never give up. You never have."

Elliot sighed. "Do you think what the scribe said might be true?"

Tannal met Elliot's gaze squarely. "About the spell that turns people into familiars?"

Elliot nodded.

"Yes," Tannal answered, putting all of the conviction he had possible into his answer.

"Then you think that's what happened to Tannal? That he was turned into some sort of animal and made into a familiar?"

Tannal looked away. "It's very possible."

Tannal could see Elliot's face harden with resolve. "Tannal would be miserable," he said softly. "He always valued his freedom more than anything else. And being bound to another person - essentially their slave - it would kill him."

"I'm sure your friend is fine," Tannal said quickly. "I'm sure he knows that you're out looking for him. And I'm sure that's a comforting thought." When Elliot didn't answer, Tannal rubbed against him as they walked. "And besides, didn't you say that Tannal was pretty tough? I'm sure he can handle it. Really."

Elliot nodded. "I hope so." Elliot lapsed into another long silence, again, clearly thinking things through as they continued walking. After some time, he frowned. "I was just thinking about what the scribe said about you."

"What about?"

"You are from the Wildlands, are you not?"

"No," Tannal said, desperately trying to figure out a way to clue Elliot into the truth. Already, he could feel Kensing's spell in his mind, firmly guiding him to say words he didn't necessarily want to speak, "I was captured in the Wildlands." It was the truth, but a completely innocent one. Tannal's heart fell. Elliot would never question his origins now.

Elliot's eyes surveyed Tannal closely. "So you came from here - " he murmured softly, pursing his lips as he thought.

"No," Tannal said quietly, feeling the spell constricting around his throat, as if to warn him that he was nearing dangerous territory. "I was captured and brought here."

"Ah," Elliot said, continuing to stare off into the distance as he walked. When he didn't comment further, Tannal probed for a response.

"What's on your mind, Elliot?" he asked, annoyed that Elliot was so close to figuring out a piece of the puzzle, but apparently wasn't seeing it.

"I was just thinking about if the scribe was right," he said lightly. "If people actually were being turned into familiars, then there wouldn't be an easy way to tell whether or not they were an actual familiar or a human - "

"No," Tannal said, stopping in the middle of the field and fixing a steady stare on Elliot. "There wouldn't be."

Elliot turned as Tannal stopped, slightly perplexed. "I suppose if someone really looked hard, they might be able to pull apart enough of the binding spell to try to find the transfor - " He froze, his eyes boring into Tannal's as suddenly, the realization dawned upon him. Tannal could feel horror and panic flicker inside of Elliot as his friend surveyed his familiar closely, his eyes flickering over Tannal's form.

Elliot's eyes widened. "Hold still," he said, frowning as he ran his hands down Tannal's sides.

Tannal shivered at Elliot's touch, feeling strange tendrils of magic caressing his essence. "What are you doing?" he said, automatically shying away from the strange touch.

"Will you cut it out?" Elliot snapped, still frowning in concentration. "I'm trying to see if there's a spell on you other than your binding spell."

"Is there?" Tannal asked, desperately hoping that Elliot would find evidence of Kensing's spells.

"There shouldn't be," Elliot explained, moving his hands down Tannal's body as he frowned in concentration. "I removed all of them from you. The only one left should be your binding - wait a minute. What is that?" Elliot frowned and muttered something in a strange language as he moved his hands in a pattern over Tannal's fur. "That's strange," he murmured. "There is another spell on you.:

"Can you remove it?" Tannal asked hopefully.

"I - I don't know. It's pretty strong." Elliot looked worried. "But it's also hidden, deep within the binding spell. It's practically buried in there; like someone didn't want me to find it - " Elliot's eyes suddenly widened. "But if you're from that outpost - " He turned to Tannal, suddenly very pale. "And if you have additional spells on you, like the scribe said - " Elliot's face twisted in horror as realization dawned on him. "No," he whispered, staring at Tannal in horror. "It's not possible!"

Tannal didn't dare remove his gaze from Elliot. "What's not possible?" he whispered, praying that Elliot had figured it out.

"You - you're - you're human, aren't you?"

Tannal did not lower his gaze, praying that Elliot would understand, that he would somehow know from the look in his eyes that he was a human, trapped in this terrible nightmare.

"Oh no," Elliot whispered, clutching his head with his hands. "You're human." He shook his head, looking absolutely horrified. "I am so, so sorry," he whispered. "I - I didn't know. I didn't realize - "

"It's alright," Tannal murmured, rubbing up against Elliot, shaking with relief. "You didn't know. It's not your fault."

Elliot looked up sharply. "I have to get those spells off you. There's no guarantee, but if I free you from enough of the binding spells I might be able to throw off the spells so you can tell me who you really are and then we can work on turning you back and finding out who did this to you." He swallowed. "It might take some time for me to figure out how to do it, but I swear, I won't stop until I find a way to get you back - you and all the others. No matter what it takes."

"Elliot, you have to be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Don't worry," Elliot said, his fists clenching. "I know what I'm doing."