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Chapter III: No Shadow too Deep

_ _

"Emotional ties were something I never really considered my strong point. Not that I was irresponsible or anything. I took pride in whatever job I was tasked. I made sure I did it right. Yes, I felt responsible for killing that guy and his children but that was the first time I didn't just want to do what was expected of me. I wanted to do more_._

"I wanted to find the bitch that did all this. I wanted to make her suffer. I wanted to gouge out her eyes, feed them to her, rip open her gut and then pull those eyes from her stomach only to do it all over again.

"But at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder...was this the kind of person the Mother Goddess valued? Am I really worthy of a Valour if I wanted to do such a thing to another living person?"

******

The factory was silent, an ominous shell with the ghosts of machines quietly rusting away and tools lying abandoned beside raw materials. Only the soft sound of Harm's hammer and soldering tool echoed in the hollow expanse of the facility. His headphones were securely around his ears, the hard rock music drowning out all other noises as he quietly worked away at his device. In his eyes, the world had been reduced to its basic mechanics once more; thousands of ticking cogs that could fit in perfectly with one another if he just placed them in the right positions.

He bound this wire to that circuit and an imaginary cog would latch onto a gear with a happy clink. He screwed a plate to the chassis and the envisioned gear would start to turn quietly. His creation was coming together but he made sure each of the gears and cogs were perfectly locked. Small sparks erupted from the gun-shaped device and the wheels ground to a halt. His imaginary world of mechanisms ground to a halt for a moment as he quietly thought. He adjusted one dial just a smidge to the right and the gears started working again.

"Perfect," he whispered softly, plucking the gun from where it lay. He tore off his headphones and the noises of the world came back crashing around him, washing away his world of simplicity.

The gun in his paws was terribly ugly. It looked like someone had attached a megaphone to the end of a haphazardly constructed pistol with a light bulb in place of a gun muzzle. Dozens of wires and dials littered the device, barely contained by its metallic frame.

"Did you finish?"

Elena rose from where she lay on the floor with a blanket draped over her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and straightened.

"I hope so," Harm responded, regarding the weapon tentatively. "It's just a prototype but I'm hoping it'll be enough." He aimed the weapon at the corner of the factory and pulled the trigger. A high pitched keening noise rose from the weapon, growing louder and louder until -

Fwash!

The world went temporarily white and a blinding flash erupted from the weapon. Little spots danced in front of Harm's eyes but it was quickly fleeting. He regarded the muzzle of the weapon. The bulb hadn't blown out. That was a good sign.

"You hope the blind the Vampiri?" Elena asked, rising from her makeshift cot. "What about the Echoes? Those Vampiri that have their eyes sealed shut? They will not be affected."

"I'm not hoping to actually blind them," he answered, tapping the bulb lightly. It was smouldering hot. To prevent overheating, he'd have to make sure there was at least a minute or so between each shot. "One of the Paladins said that the Vampiri were likely using Shadow Magic and the presence of this veil that's wrapped around the city is to mimic their homeland's environment. Shadow needs both light and darkness to exist. If we oversaturate them with light for a few seconds, then we might just be able to disable their magic for a short while."

Elena frowned at the weapon before nodding in agreement. "Yes... I saw the creatures become wrapped in some sort of... cloak of darkness before I was captured. My soldiers were powerless against them. No matter what we tried, no form of weaponry could harm them. Fire Magic seemed to work well but we have so few Pyromancers here."

Harm offered her a wry smile and pocketed the weapon. "I guess that's the thing about living in a town built solely on technology."

"Perhaps so." Elena leaned against the workbench, gazing up at the high roof of the factory. "Now that you have constructed that device, what is next?"

He yawned softly, rolling his shoulders until they popped. "Sleep, I think. It's hard to keep track of time when the sun is like this and I don't know how long I've been up. Chances are it's well over a day."

"You do seem tired."

Stifling another yawn, he shuffled over to a bench and seated himself in its metallic crook. Elena sat down beside him, taking the blanket off the ground with her and gently wrapping it around them both.

"Tell me something, Harm Chronos," she said softly, "is this what you imagined your shore leave to be like?"

"To be honest?" He reached into his pocket and retrieved his Telecube. "Some part of me expected something terrible to happen. Every time I go ashore, shit hits the fan. I'd call the Lasting Armageddon but Captain Rushwater is in enough hell over the last time I called for some help. I don't want to get anyone else in trouble."

Her eyes fixed on the cube, a frown on her features. "Does that allow you to communicate with others?"

"Yeah... I'd call the Inquisition's hotline but apparently, I share the same name as a notorious criminal so you can imagine me hesitation with involving the Church."

"What about your family?"

"Parents are dead. Older brother is a horny, partying animal who lives off his inheritance and bones anything with a pulse, guys and girls alike. My eldest brother is a corporate magnate who doesn't give a rat's ass about me ever since I joined the military. Calling either of them will make me wish to be killed and turned into a Ghoul." He tucked away his Telecube and flicked an ear at her. "What about you? Any siblings?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. My mother died shortly after I was born and my father was too busy with the city of Clockwork to bother with me. None I did ever impressed him enough to warrant more than a passing glance. I still love him, however. When he went missing months ago, I tried to use all my resources to find him. No luck. Now... I fear the appearance of these Vampiri may have something to do with it..." She brought her knees up to her chin, gently curling around him.

Harm closed his eyes and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What'll happen if your father ends up being a Ghoul?"

"I kill the Haemomancer responsible or coerce them to freeing him."

"Haemomancer...? A Blood Mage?"

She nodded slowly, her eyelids falling heavily. "Yes... Ghouls are created by Blood Mages. They insert some of their blood into the target and through that, control the body. They can control every muscle in the victim's body. However, as is often the case, the Haemomancer do not instruct the Ghouls to eat or maintain their bodily functions. Eventually, they die of starvation but the magic that keeps them bound continues to..." She yawned softly. "... keep them under control."

Blood Magic...?

Harm knew Blood Magic was one of the more common magical practices especially on starships. Being able to stem the blood flow in a person's body was a great aid to injured soldiers. Alongside Divine Magic, Blood Magic was an incredible resource for a field medic. However, he had never heard of anyone using Haemomancy to control someone before. It sent shivers down his spine just thinking about it.

His mind drifted off to the thoughts of people all over the city going about their daily business but controlled by the Haemomancer. He imagined a world ruled by Haemomancers and it made him chuckle. What difference was a world like that compared to the grip the Church had on the populace? He brushed the thoughts aside, feeling his mind quickly becoming muddled by the lull of slumber. Sleep took him eagerly and he began to softly snore.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a small troop of Vampiri Hushed had gathered outside, the six soldiers having heard the conversation between the two through the thick metal walls of the factory. Their stitched lips twisted upwards into a smile. Lady Serrisa had offered a bounty to whomever found Elena Clox and the monster that had painted most of Clockwork with the blood of her troops.

Now, it seemed all six would be getting that reward.

The six quietly snuck towards the door, halberds lifted to prevent them from making too much noise.

"Ahem."

All six spun around, their metal armour clanking loudly.

A white Wulfun stood there, smiling calmly with his paws behind his back. "I don't think it's very nice to interrupt those two while they're sleeping." Golden eyes glimmered with mirth. "Why don't you address all your concerns to me for the moment?" He tilted his head to the side slightly. The air behind him began to sizzle. Fiery swords appeared around him in a dizzying array.

"Or was it I you were looking for?" he added with a sinister grin.

Back inside, Harm was slumbering contently when -

SMASH!

The window right above his head shattered. Both he and Elena sprang to their feet just in time to see a Vampiri slam into the workbench where Harm had been working on his special gun. Red blades that looked like it had been made of solid flames pinned the Vampiri to the cold metal surface by his clawed hands. The man struggled for a few seconds before two more swords came shooting out from the shattered window, striking the man's feet and pinning them straight to the ground. The Vampiri's lips peeled open in a silent scream. A last two blades came hurtling towards him like flaming arrows, piercing the man's skull through his eye sockets.

He twitched once... twice... then went still.

"Holy shit!" Harm exclaimed.

Two more windows shattered, Vampiri bodies flying through them and slamming against different walls. Their bodies were pinned by their hands to the walls before, like the first, they were impaled by more swords until finally being killed by having their brains and eyes skewered.

Harm acted on instinct and summoned Zero Hour. Elena was right behind him as they barged through the nearby door and into the street. Fear instantly gripped his heart. Two, freshly impaled Vampiri were pinned to the nearby building. Their blood was used to paint the words, 'They are amongst us' across the floor. A strange symbol was drawn beside the words; a diamond that looked like it was wrapped by a helical chain.

"We're getting out of here," Harm rumbled, taking Elena's hand and turned towards the right. The instant he did, a window of the very same factory they emerged from shattered. Another Vampiri was sent hurtling through the air and slammed into the floor to their right. Fiery swords lanced out from somewhere above them in the grey overcast, pinning the soldier to the ground in the same fashion as the others.

"Shit!"

He spun in the opposite direction and began running, Elena right beside him. His breathing was bordering upon hyperventilation, his heart on the verge of bursting from his chest. The sound of windows shattering chased them down the street. Sharp shards of glass rained down on them. Harm found time seemed to slow for the little fragments. He could see the scant light from the terrible twilight reflecting off the glass like they were diamonds showering them from above.

Ahead, he saw a cross intersection present itself. Before he could ask Elena which way to proceed, Vampiri were hurled through the windows of two of the paths.

Wait... Are we being... led somewhere?

He followed the untainted path but at the last second, spun to his right towards an alleyway. Vampiri dropped out of the sky and slammed into the alley entrance, stacking on top of one another comically before a single set of swords killed them all.

"Fuck!" he cried, backing away. "Where do you want us to go!?" he shouted into the air.

"We're being led towards the city exit," Elena whispered softly. "I think... I think we're being told to get out..."

Being let out of the city by a poltergeist with a penchant for impalement... It made him sick and a terrible, foreboding feeling kept rippling through his body, telling him to run in the opposite direction. With great reluctance, he let out a frustrated cry and bolted down the street. The windows stopped shattering, seemingly satisfied that they were following due course.

Clockwork's outer wall and city limits were merely defended by a low, red brick wall and a large iron gate. Only now, the Vampiri guarding it had been staked to the wall in a horrific display. One had been pinned to the iron gates themselves but sliced down the middle where the gates parted. Harm had to fight a fainting spell as the gates opened by themselves and the Vampiri was shown to be very... open to them passing.

The duo slowed their progress, hesitating as they passed through the gate and into the thick, misty farmlands beyond. Not too far from them but veiled by the mist, appeared a silhouette; a single figure stood. There was a scarf billowing out behind him. It was not Aria. It was a Wulfun. Perhaps the same Wulfun that had rescued them before... and maybe again the same one that caused all the horrors in the city.

The wolf turned around and began to step through the mist, his form vanishing. Where he left, there was a tiny point of red light. Harm approached the light cautiously, finding it to be a glistening, fiery red feather.

"What the...?"

"There's another!" Elena shouted, pointing. The shadowy figure vanished deeper into the mist a few feet away from them, leaving behind another feather.

Harm was hesitant to follow the unknown, feeling much safer at what was known. In fact, he was feeling incredibly skittish and was considering going back into the city to face the horrors of impaled Vampiri and shattering glass.

Okay, that's just stupid.

He trudged through the thick grass that crunched beneath his feat, following the red feathers and the mysterious Wulfun. Voices began to whisper through the mist.

"There is no light. The Darkness blinds," a feminine voice whispered, adding a frightening giggle to the end.

"Who is to blame... When we are all guilty?" rumbled a man.

"They were here first!" came the panicked cry of a young man. "Goddess! They were here first!"

They cycled over and over again, shouting into his ears and whispering from the mists. The more feathers they passed, the more insistent they became. When not speaking, the female voice began to giggle incessantly. The man would growl and rumble while the young, panicked voice would scream.

Harm glanced at Elena. She didn't seem to be hearing the voices. Of course she didn't. He quietly reached for the headphones wrapped around his neck and placed them over his ears. The shouts and cries stopped, bringing him to blissful silence.

A soft sigh escaped his lips when several points of light broke through the mist, flickering like fire. The figure disappeared into the light. Harm quickened his pace, eager to leave the grey mist behind.

What met him was the horrific scene of death and destruction.

The sky was bright red and afire with hatred. A blackened, dead planet hovered in the air, eclipsing a sun. Fiery, red cracks flared up angrily from the planet's surface, raining down blackened chunks of its form onto the charred, black soil beneath his boots. The ground was all ashen and seemed like the dark shore of a dead beach with bubbling lava as its water. Burned, charred corpses screamed as they tried to pull themselves from the molten sea only for the ebb and flow of the current to pull them back in. A black path led straight to a small island not too far away from him. There, a red throne sat, constantly aflame and with the occupant seemingly not minding it. Heavy, spiked chains wrapped around the gargantuan figure, piercing his feathered flesh and with his blood dripping freely across the throne, fuelling the flames. The creature's four arms were bound to the throne, jammed into the structure by heavy stakes. Six, mighty, feathered wings were pinned to the ground behind him by dark swords. Slowly, the creature lifted his Avios-like features, the heavy mask on his face making it impossible to truly discern his features but it was shaped with the beak of an Avios.

Harm's voice got caught in his throat when he saw the two, bright red eyes and the third, vertical eye that stared deep into his soul.

"Who is to blame," rumbled the creature. "When we are all guilty?"

He couldn't answer. The beast was enormous, dwarfing Harm by over twenty feet.

"Tell me," the beast roared, rattling his chains. "Tell me, Harm Chronos! Who is to blame!?"

A hand on his shoulder made him jump. The horrific image vanished, dissolving in a gaseous mass that left the creature's burning, accusing eyes staring into his soul until all else was gone. Suddenly, he found himself standing on the border between the grey mist and a bright, roughly assembled encampment. Torches were erected around a glistening, crystal palisade. Men dressed roughly in ill-fitting armour and clutching their weapons fearfully approached him.

"Who goes there?" demanded one.

"Elena Clox," Elena shouted, pulling her hand from Harm's shoulder and placing herself in front of him. "Mayor of Clockwork. And Harm Chronos, my fellow survivor."

Relief washed over the man's face. "Lady Clox... It is a relief to see you safe. Come! Lady Valkyrie would very much like to see you."

Harm numbly followed Elena towards the small encampment. A faint prickling on the back of his neck made him turn around. Standing on the edge of the mist was that same Wulfun figure, silhouetted in the mist. This time, he could make out the man's glowing, golden eyes before the figure stepped back and disappeared into the mist.

What the...?

Deep inside the encampment, dozens of survivors from Clockwork gathered in groups, all of them given tents to protect them from the elements and sheets that they wrapped around themselves. Fires were everywhere, providing warmth. Both men and women were dressed in armour but all looked utterly afraid. At the first sign of danger, they were most likely to run screaming.

Not that I'm really that much better... First time the Vampiri attacked, I ran like hell despite having a goddamn Valour...

The men who had met them at the outer rim of the encampment took them to one of the largest tents. They pulled the tent flaps aside, revealing Aria Valkyrie, Andrew Konran, Tanar and Smallfang huddled over what appeared to be a map. All four turned in surprise, though for Aria, it was merely a slight lifting of her eyebrows.

"Harm!" Andy exclaimed brightly. "We didn't think you survived!"

"To be honest, I didn't think I would either," he muttered softly. "Or you guys... What happened?"

Aria straightened, resting the golden spear in her hands on the table. "The Vampiri attacked during the night through an open window on the third floor. Two children died screaming, alerting the rest of us. We dispatched them easily enough but our position was clearly compromised. A rough barricade was erected to stall any Vampiri. We made for the exit of the city and gathered a few more survivors along the way. We constructed this encampment with my Divine Magic and warding spells from Andy to keep the effect of the Twilight Mist away from us."

The Twilight Mist...? It has an effect?

Seeing his expression, Andy piped up. "The Twilight Mist is a spell the Vampiri used to create the mist that's around Clockwork and the surrounding landscape. It's actually a highly advanced detection spell. If you're within its confines, you'll be detected by the Vampiri. Only works for those in the mist." He nodded past Harm. "I made a counterspell that made sure it doesn't creep in here."

"Wow... Good job."

The Leomian shrugged, appearing nonchalant despite the pride brimming from his chest. "Eh, it was nothing. These noobs can't keep up with my leet skills."

"Right..." He turned his gaze back to Aria. "I... uh... I found Lady Clox."

"More like the Vampiri found us both," Elena said darkly, stepping up to the small congregation. "I was thrown into the jailhouse beneath the city guard's headquarters. One of the three Vampiri who commanded attempted to torture your friend here but a mysterious Wulfun or Canonian saved us. Ever since, Clockwork has been riddled with horrors."

"Horrors?" repeated Smallfang. "Our flight from the city was relatively peaceful. We were uninterrupted save for when some other survivors tried to shoot us. What happened?"

Elena went to describe the massacres that had haunted them; the impaled Vampiri, the death of Valhamedra and the words that kept being written in blood all over the city. When it came to the figure leading them through the mist to the camp, Harm took special note that she made no mention of the screaming voices. Aria replied by stating that none of them had seen such horrors and they began planning an expedition to explore the city.

They all began talking tactics and strategies, something far over Harm's head so he slinked back out of the tent. He checked Zero Hour. He had about seventy years in stock. Watching the hands tick backwards made him wonder exactly what he could use that Time for. The little girl had been right... He didn't know how to use it and even the slightest use of his magic could lead to disastrous results.

Unless...

He waited outside the tent and was grateful when Andy was the first to emerge, claiming he needed to make dinner for everyone. Harm seized the Leomian's wrist.

"Hey... can you teach me to use magic?"

For a second, the Leomian looked worried. "Is this about the guy you mutilated back at the inn?"

Harm froze, his eyes widened. Someone knew. Not just anyone. An Initiate. An Initiate who was travelling with the Templar who had a grudge against the criminal that shared his name. He wasn't sure what that actually meant but he knew it wasn't good. "How...?"

"Every person has a specific... 'trace' to their magic. Not every person can detect it. Aria can't but I can. When we saw the guy, I knew it was you." He shook his head. "Look, some people are geared to magic. Others aren't. What I saw back there... No offense, but that clearly states you don't have the focus to cast magic. You have the strength, have no doubt, but not the focus."

He squeezed on Andy's wrist even more tightly. "Please... I need to do something. That guy died because of me. I need to... I need to..."

What did he need to do?

Learn magic so that he wouldn't do it again?

Clear his conscience...?

"I need to learn so that if ever I'm in a situation like that again, if any of you are ever hurt, I don't end up turning you inside out."

Andy's brow furrowed at him. "I... really can't tell if you're lying or not."

To be honest... neither can I.

"It's one of my many talents."

The Leomian smiled faintly. "Alright. Come with me to make dinner, I'll show you the basics."

Relieved and somewhat apprehensive, Harm followed the Initiate to the centre of the camp where some women were starting a stew and cooking some pigs they had taken from the nearby farmlands. Andy greeted them and they all greeted him back cheerily. He exchanged pleasantries with them, somehow brightening the area just by stepping in amongst them. There was a soup bubbling and he tasted it, complimenting the chef of the great work before taking command of an extinguished campfire.

"Alright," Andy said, crouching in front of the little fire, arranging several logs for kindling. "What do you know about magic?"

"It's mostly bound by a language that the Mother Goddess used to describe all aspects of creation, the Illuminus Weizar. I had thought that all you had to do was say the word and the magic does the job."

"Magic will happen but it's entirely up to you to forge the spell," answered the Leomian. "A mage can say something as simple as the word for 'water' and create a waterfall or make it snow. Spells are yours for the forging. If you just say the words, no matter how precise your instructions, the magic will go wild. You have to regulate it."

"I get that, yeah."

"Good." Andy sat back, staring at the fire. "Now everyone has a certain aptitude towards a certain type of magic. That's why we have Pyromancers, Cryomancers and whatever else. That's because those people are able to understand their type of magic better than any other spell." He frowned for a second. "Now, don't take this as an insult, but when I look at you, when I try to read your 'trace', I can't see any aptitude towards magic."

Harm bristled a little. He had never been one to use magic that much but he was at least capable of casting simple spells. After all, he had managed to dry his clothes before. Then again, that was fairly simple and he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

"This isn't a bad thing," Andy said, holding up his paws with a grin. "That just means you aren't going to specialise in any sort of magic but it also means you can probably use all forms of magic with equal proficiency. It'll be harder, though."

"Is there a lot of people like that?"

The Leomian grinned. "Yup! Me!"

"You? But aren't you an expert at magic? Can't you 'trace' spells and all that shit?"

"That's because I know what to look for. That, and I'm just a little crazy." He tapped the side of his head. "When I was tested in the academy, they couldn't figure out what my aptitude or magical preferences were. Eventually, they gave up and decided to call me a 'Chaomancer'."

"A Chronomancer?"

"No, no, no. A _Chao_mancer. As in 'Chaos'. There's a line of thinking that 'Chaos' is the primordial element from which all else came from. Since I don't lean towards any type of magic, Chaos seemed a fitting title." He gave Harm a light punch on the shoulder. "Anyway, tell me about your magical history. Cast any spells before?"

Harm smiled faintly, finding himself warming over to Andy's easy-going nature quickly. "Small ones. I dried my own clothes the other day."

Andy nodded. "Hmmm... What words did you use?"

"Vestimenta arida."

The Leomian's eyes narrowed for a second then turned back towards the small bunch of kindling. "Okay... Try using the word 'ignis' to start a fire."

Harm turned his eyes towards the campfire. He wasn't exactly sure how to start but he had seen enough movies to know that he had to 'clear his mind' and 'focus'... whatever that meant. In his mind, he pictured blank emptiness, trying not to think about mutilated bodies and bloodied children.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly in the shape of the word, "Ignis."

There was a faint drain to his strength but as quickly as it came, it was gone. A faint sizzling filled his ears and a small amount of smoke rose from the middle of the bunch of wood.

"What were you thinking of just then?" Andy asked.

"Nothing," he admitted. "I thought magic was all about 'clearing your mind'."

He got a raised eyebrow and a faint chuckle from that. "Are you kidding? Remember how I told you to regulate the flow of magic with your thoughts? If you 'clear your mind', nothing will come out."

Harm's cheeks began to burn in embarrassment and he became aware of the all the men and women standing around that were watching his incompetence.

"Well, how do you do it, then?"

Andy tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well... I tend envision the words themselves." He chuckled softly. "This may sound really weird but when I want to try and use magic, everything and everyone around me just becomes... covered in words of the Illuminus Weizar, constantly moving, changing, their definitions altering with every passing second."

Harm tried to envision such a world and found himself growing dizzy just thinking about it. His eyes went to one of the passing women who quickly glanced away from him. Imagining her covered with floating, undulating words just made him feel nauseated. "Urgh... That's... a little crazy."

"I know. It's not for everyone." The Leomian brushed his goatee lightly. "All I'm saying is that you should try to imagine the world however is most comfortable to you. Then, you try to manipulate through that."

"What if the world is just the world?"

Andy shrugged helplessly. "Unfortunately, that's the sort of thinking that limits you as someone who doesn't really use magic. If you are very practical and see the world just it is, then you probably can't use magic to its fullest. You can learn the words and I'm not saying you lack imagination but..." The feline gave him a cheeky grin. "You lack imagination."

He was only partially listening. For a second, he opened his muzzle to say something but then reeled back, deciding to test his theory first. Slowly, he turned back towards the bunch of dry kindling and quietly began to pull his headphones over his ears. All sound in the world vanished and like clockwork, the world became a mess of cogs, gears and turning machinery. Even the wood looked utterly covered in these gears. His eyes darted right and left, watching the working parts of the campfire as they stood. Over at the currently roaring fire, he saw a similar arrangement only the gears were quickly altering as their state changed from the flames.

If I replace that gear... with one that's just like the one in the existing flames...

But... where do I get that...?

An idea struck him and he focused on where he wanted the gear placed.

"Ignis," he breathed.

The gear he wanted appeared and forced itself amidst the network of machinery already over the campfire. Time flowed through them all, spinning each working part with ease. Golden flames instantly erupted from the kindling, burning even brighter than the other flames. He blinked a couple of times and gently pulled away his headphones. The world of gears vanished and he found himself staring at the glistening, beautiful flame in awe.

Andy seemed more surprised than anyone else.

"Okay... Wow," the Leomian admitted. "That's impressive... Not only did you manage to call a flame but coloured it too."

"I did what now?"

"Most magic-users tend to adapt a bit of their personality into their spells. You could teach twins to cast the same fireball spell but they'll add their own interpretation into it, making it a different colour, different shape or something like that. But that's still very advanced!" Andy grinned, beaming with pride. "How'd you do it?"

Harm offered the Leomian a lopsided smile. "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Fair enough. How about we pick this up again in a bit? I've got to prepare dinner."

Grinning and pleased at his accomplishment, Harm said, "Sure. Looking forward to it."

*****

The Wulfun wandered elsewhere, leaving Andy to cook a meal for Aria and the other commanders of the camp. The Leomian had a pot ready with some stew after a few minutes, bubbling over the golden flames. He wasn't so much as cooking as he was testing the heat from the fire. It wasn't long before Aria came over, he features stoic as ever.

"Is that Chronomancer's Fire?" she asked.

"No," Andy responded with much relief. "Chronomancer's Fire excites the particles of matter to cause friction and eventually heat. It will burn through anything. This is just regular, gold-coloured fire."

She didn't respond for a long while, letting him stir the stew and test it. Salt and pepper were required.

"Harm summoned it, didn't he?"

"Without difficulty." Andy set a lid on the pot, letting it bubble for a little longer. "If he were a Chronomancer, he wouldn't be able to use the Illuminus Weizar. He is not the Harm Chronos we know. Although..." He turned to Aria, blue eyes filled with worry. "Do you remember Elena's account of that Wulfun with the scarf that saved them from the jail and seemed to lead them here?"

"That seemed to be like Harm," Aria agreed. "He is here. If we were to assume he is massacring the Vampiri..."

Andy slapped the pot slightly with the wooden spoon he had in his paws. "See... I'm not entirely sure they're true Vampiri. Their trace seems... odd. Wrong. Smelled wrong. Plus, I've never known any Vampiri to use self-mutilation as a form of ranking system."

She folded her arms, cocking an eyebrow. "Do tell."

Waving the spoon like a lecturer's pointer, Andy said, "Well, the lowest ranking of the Vampiri seem to be the 'Hushed'. At least from what I could read from their trace, that's what they called themselves. They're the Vampiri that have their lips sealed and their tongues cut out. The next are the..." He tapped the side of his head, trying to remember the words.

It was similar opposite to 'hush'...

... heavily focused on sound because their eyes were shut as well...

'Vocal'...? No... 'Noisy'... Absolutely not.

"Echoes," he said. "They were called the 'Echoes. They're the ones with their eyes shut as well and they wear those frightening, bat masks. Their traces seem the worst. Obscured by something else I can't quite identify."

"And what of the three women?" she asked. "What of them?"

Andy brought up his memory of the trace he had briefly caught of the Vampiri female that had struck their inn. She called herself 'Serrisa' but her trace spoke volumes about her.

"They're Vampiri on the surface," he said. "But beneath it all, there's something more." A soft bubbling turned his attention back to the stew which he quickly began stirring again. With a wave of his paw, the flames were extinguished. "It was well hidden but what I could see was..." He frowned deeply. "Imperfect. Whatever they are, they're incomplete."

Aria's eyes flicked towards the thick, grey mist that was kept at bay thanks to Andy's wards. "I am curious to learn what or why they are attacking Clockwork."

Andy lifted his spoon and waved it a little. "I think I know why."

"Why?"

Using the butt end of the spoon, he began drawing a diagram in the soil. "This circle here is Clockwork. This is the Snowfall River that runs adjacent to the city. It feeds into the Iceflow River which is where the Lupus capital of Ironfrost is stationed. Clockwork serves as a major supply route to the capital."

The Angel straightened, her stoic features breaking with a deep frown. "I think I see. A Vampiri faction is supporting Moonclaw's rebellion. Curious. I wonder if Phalgymr knows of this."

"Do we make that our next stop?"

There was a bit of hesitation in her eyes. "I am inclined to but my worry comes with the fact that we have a Wulfun who seems identical to our renegade Chronomancer and who seems to be attracting said renegade Chronomancer."

"Could be that our Harm was after Elena and this Harm was just in the right place at the right time."

Aria shook her head. "No. Where Chronos is involved, nothing is by accident. Everything is by design. We must keep an eye both on Elena and Harm Chronos."

"Am I the only one that is starting to get really confused as to which 'Harm' we're referring to?"

She smiled and let out a short laugh. "Unfortunately, no. Why not ask our most recent companion if he prefers a nickname? Otherwise, we will refer to our Harm as 'Lord Harm Chronos' as he was nobility at one point."

Andy turned back to his step, making a show of stirring and preparing it. "Why don't you talk to him?"

"Is that an order?" Aria countered, her lips twisting upwards in a faint smile and her eyebrow cocked.

"No. A suggestion. Unless you want to see if you can cook a red wine, lamb stew to orgasmic perfection?" He slapped the side of the cauldron again, giving her an equally challenging stare.

"Curse you and your culinary prowess," she laughed softly. "You still have to give me that peanut butter pie recipe."

He scoffed loudly and flicked his tufted tail at her. "Like you can bake."

"What is there to bake?" she retorted, brushing passed him haughtily. "One must simply grind up the biscuit crumbs to make a base and mix the ingredients before refrigerating. It is simple."

"So says the Angel who all kitchen appliances have rebelled against." Andy waved the spoon, exaggeratingly gripping it and pretending it was out of control. "Oooh! Aria, run away! The spoons have put a bounty on you!"

Aria graced him with a musical laugh before sweeping into the rest of the camp. Her laughter was rare these days and these few moments when she broke her stoic mask were indeed welcome. The mood in the camp just seemed to lift with the sounds of her laughter and the chatter grew from sombre encouragement to gleeful optimism.

When an Angel was happy, it was hard not to share the sentiment.

*****

The night was oddly chilling. Though Harm had spent a large portion of the past few years in temperature controlled environments so he wasn't quite sure what 'cold' was. Still, a shiver ran down his spine as he watched a few children being carried away from where they were playing and carried to the tents where their parents would keep watch over them. He couldn't help but remember the father and the two children he had inadvertently killed... or those people who had died because of his foolishness.

The guilt in his stomach was back but he pushed it away with a short sentence. "I'll fix this."

The drive behind it was a little alien. Whenever he broke something on the ship or made a mistake somewhere, he was always determined to rectify it but this feeling... It was so much stronger. This was not a mistake that could be patched up and replaced with a few spare parts. There was no way he could bring back those three from the dead.

It was a mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The soft crunch of boots on the grass made him turn. The air stilled and all the noise of the crickets and nocturnal birds fell silent out of respect. Aria Valkyrie stood beside him, staring out into the camp from where he quietly leaned against a tree trunk.

"Harm Chronos never slept," she said softly. "He could not. As a Chronomancer, he was Time Locked so that he never needed to. However, he would often complain that he missed dreaming and many other things we take for granted; the touch of rain on his flesh, the satisfaction of drinking something cooling after a hot day, the mud between his toes and even the simple satisfaction of eating."

"I'm Harm Chronos," he growled softly. "I wish you'd stop comparing me to the psychopathic Chronomancer."

A soft smile broke her otherwise stoic features. "I apologise. I fought alongside Harm for two and a half millennia. It is hard not to compare you two who share the same name." Her soft, amethyst eyes regarded him, searching him. He met her gaze, features hard and unyielding. "You have harder eyes than he does. You are a harder man. He was playful. It was like everything was a game to him and he was always ten steps ahead."

She chuckled softly. "Do you know about the Burning Rebellion?"

Breaking their stare, he gazed into the nearby firelight. "Happened fifty years ago, if my history is correct. Something about a nonhuman uprising here on Incendius that was tainted by demons."

"Indeed," the Angel commented. "Did you know Harm Chronos orchestrated the whole event?"

His fur stood on end as he whirled around and faced her, eyes wide. "Are you serious? I heard thousands died in that battle."

"Thousands did." Aria brushed back a single strand of platinum blonde hair. "Harm saw that Incendius was devolving into a state where it was tearing itself apart. Lupus were eyeing humans for more recruits and power, forsaking their duty to guard Chillfarn. Vampiri were hoarding their wealth and secretly hating the Lupus for their rapid growth. The Church was tearing itself inside out as humans fought against nonhumans. Harm saw all of this and acted upon it."

She sighed wistfully. "He found an enclave of demon worshipers and purposefully led them to Corona where he caught the attention of the Apex Clericus Solis. At the same time, he was masquerading as an extremist known as the 'Dawn's Champion' who purportedly advocated nonhuman equality through terrorism. He used the leader of a nonhuman equal rights group as a patsy, manoeuvring both him and the Apex Clericus to a moment where he could unleash demons upon them so that fear would drive all players to fall upon the demons instead of one another."

Incredulous, Harm asked, "What does that solve?"

"It united the people in hatred," she responded. "The two leaders of the two factions were threatened by demons. Though only one survived and the other was purposefully infected by demonic taint, the nonhuman movement was temporarily dissolved and reabsorbed into the Church to fight the true enemy. At the same time, the Church realised that nonhumans did indeed require equal rights and slowly worked towards granted them such."

Her smile spoke volumes of her respect of that Harm Chronos. "That was how he worked. He placed himself on the battlefield and made you focus on something while he pulled the strings elsewhere. At the same time, he was using his other paw to pull someone else's strings. In the end, you would believe yourself to be doing what he wished as if it were of your own choosing. The question was always whether or not you would be alive to make that realisation or not."

Harm watched her closely, his ears angled towards her. A small smile crossed his features. Her eyes were wistful, a gentle smile touching her ruby lips. With a single, supple index finger covered in a silky, white glove, Aria touched her lower lip. For once, her posture was relaxed. Just the way she leaned against the tree trunk spoke volumes about her true feelings beneath her words. "You love him, don't you?"

Aria went rigid and spun to face him, her features once again hard and stony. "I beg your pardon?"

"Come on," he accused. "You spent two and a half millennia fighting alongside him. You can't tell me you didn't develop some emotions for him."

"I am an Angel and a Templar. My only love is the Mother Goddess and the Church."

"Right."

Her eyes narrowed at him and he braced himself for what he knew would be a scathing remark. "What do you know of love? You consistently deny your sexuality but it is clear you have homosexual tendencies."

Harm oddly found himself laughing. "See? I knew you'd bring that up." He pushed away from the tree trunk and strode away from her. "Quite frankly, I don't really give a rat's ass what you think about me or my sexuality but you clearly care about what people think about you falling in love with the same Chronomancer that apparently saved the Church then betrayed it. So out of the two of us, who has more to lose here?"

They both knew he was right yet Aria remained indignant in the way she stood, staring him down with fierce, purple eyes. Her fingers wrapped around her spear tightly, almost ready to strike. Harm maintained his stance though his paw was secretly hidden behind his back, clutching Zero Hour. He doubted he would stand a chance against a fully-fledged Templar but he was banking on the fact that - for some reason - he was needed for some greater cause.

When she didn't attack, he said softly, "No matter what happens, even after this shit is over, you're going to insist I come with you, aren't you?"

The Templar relaxed slightly but her fingers were still very much wrapped tightly around her weapon. "It is for your own safety. You bear the same name as a notorious criminal that is incredibly dangerous. If you know what is good for you, you will come with us before an Inquisitor learns your name and strikes you down."

Harm wagged a finger at her. "See, that's something I don't get. I asked you this before and I think I deserve an answer. Why hasn't anyone else heard about 'Harm Chronos' but you guys?"

Aria bit her lower lip in a clear sign of anxiety. Slowly, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Her breathing became more even, slower. When she opened her eyes, they were clear. Her fingers loosened around her spear.

"Harm Chronos was incredibly influential. He was the former Propheticus Primoris' brother by adoption."

"Lumire had a brother?"

"By adoption. They both fought during the Purge of Time and for his valour on the field, Lumire was instantly given the crown of Propheticus Primoris. Seeing as Harm fought closely beside him, Lumire extended the welcome to the Chronomancer and adopted him to his family." Aria took a deep breath, clearly fighting something deep inside of her. "For two and a half millennia, Harm had made countless contacts, influenced countless lives and systematically trained every Paladin and Templar to have ever served under the Church since that time.

"When he betrayed us five years ago, it was a crushing blow to the Church... even more so when he started calling in favours. Stations began fragmenting as rebellions started occurring. Splinter groups from the Church began acting on Harm's orders. It quickly became apparent that he had been planning this for a long time."

Harm's brow furrowed. "Rebellions...? Wait... Are you saying that the Vampiri's call for independence?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. Originally, the Vampiri readily sided with the Chronomancer. They declared their independence and flooded Incendius with propaganda against the Church. War was on the verge of breaking out between the Lupus and the Vampiri while the Church was paralysed as Harm tore down Haven."

"Originally?" he repeated. "What happened?"

Aria straightened her back, lifting her head slightly. "We were forced to enact a desperate measure; a complete rewrite of all recorded history. It was the ultimate Divine Magic, the Redaction Spell."

Just the name of the spell sent shivers down Harm's spine. "What... did it do?"

"It altered everyone's memories and every record in the world of Harm's exploits. We worked hard for an entire year to gather every piece of knowledge we knew about Harm Chronos and then attempted to recreate everyone's memories of those events. His achievements were granted to key members of the Church who would eventually become the Generals. His failures and terrible actions were blamed on petty criminals. Instead of creating a central focus of all of these crimes and victories, we tore apart his identity and gave it to others. Effectively, we erased him from everyone's memory.

"The Vampiri had no cause to rally beneath his call because they did not remember him. Stations and pirates could not claim loyalty to someone that did not exist. Paladins and Templars did not have reason to be fighting with their fellows because whom they were fighting for never trained them or affected them personally. We could not rewrite what had happened but we could rewrite how people remembered it.

"War was averted and the Church was made whole again."

Harm's jaw was hanging open. The Church had rewritten history itself! They had altered everyone's memories, messed up written records and anything and everything that pertained to the original Harm Chronos.

"But then... What about me?" he asked.

"The Church could only rewrite what it knew," she responded. "Even now, four years after the Redaction Spell, we find pockets where people remember the Chronomancer." Again, there was that wistful smile. "He was always very wily like that. However, his armies, his allies and his cause was shattered, fragmented into a few small cells. No evidence of his existence remained so there was no one to rally under."

Aria pressed her hand over her chest. "Andy, Tanar and myself are the only three who were permitted to remember outside of the Generals and the leaders of the Stations. Other Paladins, Templars and Inquisitors are only informed that Harm Chronos is a criminal involved in the murder of Lumire. Other than that, they are kept in the dark. The reason for this was because we were tasked with hunting him down. While we erased him from memory, he did not die. He is still out there."

Harm backed away from her. "Is that... Is that what you're going to do to me? Are you going to use your Redaction Spell on me so that I forget all this shit? Forget who I am? Are you going to rewrite me as some crazy, zealous Paladin that uses Zero Hour for you guys!?"

Her eyes widened, her plot discovered. "What?" she exclaimed, unconvincingly. "No, we would never do that!"

"You did that for everyone else! And what do you do to those 'pockets of resistance' you encounter!?" Zero Hour sprang to life without him needing to command it. "Gods... I can't believe I trusted you!"

"We did what we needed to do in order to preserve the integrity of the Church and Tower Thirteen!" Aria shouted back. Their voices were carrying well into the camp. Curious onlookers were peering over tents and arching their necks at them.

"You robbed people of their memories, their free will! How can that be for the 'integrity' of Tower Thirteen!? Hell, what's stopping you from doing that all over again and making everyone your zealous yes-men!?"

"You understand nothing!"

Harm pointed accusingly at her. "What I understand is that you cowards couldn't deal with a full-scale rebellion so you just erased everyone's memories and made it so that the rebellion just didn't make sense! Instead of dealing with a single, unified body, you shattered them, broke them up and picked them off one by one like the cowards you are!"

Her face turned red with anger. "High praise from the coward that spends all his time locked up in a starship instead of helping the spirits of the dead find their peace!"

"That's different!"

"How is it different?"

"I'm not stopping the ghosts from talking! I'm just making sure they don't talk to me!"

Aria's beautiful features twisted into an ugly scowl. "We did what we needed to do to preserve the lives of many," she said in slow, even tones. "You, however, are doing your running for selfish reasons. Where you could save lives, you decide to run instead and cause more agony for the deceased."

Harm growled, flashing his fangs. "Last time I listened to those bastards, people died." The pain in his chest was growing stronger and a new type of guilt erupted from his stomach. Hot tears were threatening to pour out of his eyes and he turned away with a roar. "You know what? Fuck you!"

He stormed past her, purposefully bumping her shoulder and causing her to stagger. Whatever protests she or any of the other people in the encampment had fell on deaf ears as he brought up his headphones and blocked them all out. He squeezed between the wooden walls of the palisade, his rage covering his vision with a red haze. The chill of the night didn't affect him as his blood boiled and every part of his body was incredulous at the idea of having his very identity rewritten.

"Bastards," he muttered under his breath. "Can't believe they did that... What gives them the right!?"

Part of him wondered what could have been had he been left unaltered. Would it have made much of a difference? Would it stop him from seeing and being pestered by the dead? Maybe he'd be more inclined to help them if war ravaged all of Tower Thirteen. Maybe the Lasting Armageddon might have been destroyed in some long-ago battle and he wouldn't have to bear the guilt of lives lost in his heart.

Harm collapsed against a nearby tree. The weight in his chest grew unbearable and his legs buckled from underneath him. He felt against the soft grass, peering upwards through the grey veil of the Twilight Mist. Through it, he could make out the grey skyline that the Vampiri had erected.

A tear rolled down his cheek, being absorbed into his fur.

He became aware of a soft rumbling in his pocket. His Telecube was vibrating. A text message from Daniel. Suddenly, all the worry, guilt and pain vanished and a smile broke through his tears.

The message said simply, "I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you okay?"

The simple question made him laugh and he texted back.

"Yeah...Well, no. Going through hell again. You know me."

A reply came back. "Tell me about it. That's why I'm here, right?"

He paused, his thumbs hovering over the keys. "No... Best you don't know. Top secret military stuff, you know."

"Alright... Just take care, okay? I'll see you soon."

"Yeah... I'll see you too, Daniel."

Harm flicked off his Telecube and sighed softly, banging the back of his head against the tree trunk. It was amazing just how a few short text messages could alleviate his pain somewhat. Unfortunately, the pain may have vanished but he was left with anger... anger at the Church for what they had done...

"Parents must sometimes bend the truth and alter memory so that their children will grow to become strong, righteous individuals."

His eyes turned towards his left where the Avios girl in the bloodied, white clothes stood. "I was wondering when you'd show up again." He grunted and tried to prop himself up on Zero Hour. Unfortunately, anything the blade touched began to instantly lose its Time and the sword went almost through the entire ground before he pulled it back up. "Isn't it better to just tell the kids the truth from the onset than setting yourself up for a bigger fall later on? The longer the lie goes on, the more it'll hurt when the truth comes out."

The girl bobbed her head from side on side. "Then tell me, would it have been better for everyone to die knowing the truth or to live in a lie?"

"Why not just find a happy medium between both?" he answered sharply. "Why did Chronos have to rebel? You'd think after two and a half thousand years he'd develop at least some affection towards the world he's fought so hard to protect! Did he just maintain that ruse the entire time just to get back at the Church for killing his own kind!?"

She shook her head sadly. "Remember, Chronos rebelled against the Chronomancers because they attempted to conquer Tower Thirteen forcibly. Would his rebellion against the Church follow a similar thread? If he was after vengeance, who is he avenging?"

Harm slumped back against the tree, banging the back of his head lightly against the trunk. "I don't know... I'm not him. Why does my life revolve around him suddenly?" He peered at the girl accusingly. "You're connected to him somehow, aren't you?"

"Yes. We all are."

"Great... So he's a lost cause because he was practically erased and now you want me to do exactly what he did. Recruit the Wulfun with the strangely similar name and see if he can succeed where the other guy failed!" Harm growled loudly and rose to his feet. "I'll tell you what I told the other guy: go fuck yourself because I'm not going to give you fucktards squat until you tell me exactly what the fuck is going on here!"

Predictably, the girl just stared at him with her cold, red eyes.

"Thought so."

He angrily marched past her, hoping to lose himself further into the misty forest.

"My name is Shinniah."

He froze.

"Eons ago, long before the Great Sundering, I fell in love with a powerful entity. This entity created the Avios and from the Avios, created the Phoenixes. The Phoenixes were immortal. Even should they die, they would burst into a fire and turn to ash only to rise again, born anew. Avios grew jealous of Phoenix and Phoenix grew to resent the Avios. They fought. I loved and I died. In the grief of the entity, he bound my life to that of the Phoenixes. Whenever I died, a Phoenix would die instead, their life being used to fuel mine.

"That... was not a curse I could bear. I killed myself over and over again and every time, I would return from the brink of peaceful death as a Phoenix took my place in death's realm. The curse drove the stake of guilt hard into my heart. Guilt became anger and anger transformed into utter hatred.

"Two deities, the God of Time and the Mother Goddess approached me and offered me their sympathies but even the embrace of the Gods was little comfort. I took up a blade and turned it against my one-time love. I allied myself with the Avios and tore through the Phoenix ranks. No matter how many times they killed me, only one of their own died. I fought a long and bloody war eventually culminating into the throne room of the entity that had created the conflict and ultimately, me. There, I slew myself, taking sadistic glee in watching him weep over my body as I took away the one thing he loved and was willing to sacrifice a race he created for."

Harm slowly turned around to face the girl's features. Her eyes were cast down, a deep frown across her beak. Her hands were clasped tightly. She was not lying.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked softly. "And for the record, that is seriously fucked up."

Shinniah laughed softly. "Indeed it is. What I would ask of you is even more 'fucked up'." A dark, humourless smile crossed her features. "I want you to go to the Sun Spire and destroy the Scorium Axis."

For a moment, he had to process those words over and over in his mind before they finally finished doing a hundred laps in his brain and settling in. "You want me to go to the capital of Incendius, to the very top of the tower that gives this entire Station its name and its only source of life and steal the device that gives it that power?" He laughed darkly and shook his head. "Yeah, find yourself another dumbass, sister. No way am I doing that."

She sighed softly and shrugged. "I see. Then we will have to search for another then. Unfortunately, now you cannot continue to exist."

He had been expected that, offering her a humourless smile. "Yeah... I know too much, right?"

"Yes."

From the thick mist, dark, lumbering figures emerged. Flames burned through their eye sockets and the stench of burnt flesh mixed with the crispness of the night air. Their flesh crackled with every movement and their armour creaked as they lumbered forward towards him. Harm readied Zero Hour, striking the combat stance he had learned from Captain Rushwater; left arm raised with his Valour resting lightly on the wrist of his golden gauntlet.

"Just so you know," he growled at the girl, "it's been shit working for you."

The girl just smiled and let out a light giggle before stepping backwards and vanishing into the mist. On some unspoken command, the dark figures lunged forward at him, swinging spears at him. Jet-black flames wreathed each of their weapons, slicing through the mist only for the grey mass to close around the wound a second later.

Harm trusted his instincts entirely, spinning quickly to his left and swinging his sword expertly in that direction. The golden blade bit right into the spear without any resistance whatsoever. The spear head went flying, turning to dust before it even struck the ground. The monster holding the weapon dropped it before the degradation could reach his fingers. In the moment where its burning eyes were directed to the ground, Harm threw his shoulder at it, the two of them crashing to the ground in a heap. He just had to press the flat of the blade against the creature's chest for the effect of Zero Hour to eat away at the armour and flesh.

He rolled off the monster, keeping himself in a tight, low crouch when he stopped. Zero Hour arched through the air, slicing at the ankles of another of the creatures. There was no blood as the black clad burning corpse fell to the ground, failing as its body was eaten away from the folds of Time.

Keen hearing alerted him to another attack from behind. He rolled backwards, barely dodging two flaming spears from skewering his head. Harm was on his feet a second later, shoving Zero Hour through the back of the right-most monster while he seized the head of the other. The helmet came off easily, revealing a horribly burned, scarred face that silently roared at him, flames flickering from deep within its throat. Harm sent the helmet crashing back against its face, causing a satisfying clang to fill the small clearing. In the moment the beast was stunned, he jabbed it with Zero Hour and danced back.

Too late he realised he was just throw himself into the range of three other monsters. He was halfway to spinning around when the future became apparent. Zero Hour was cleaving through the air but his arm was at an awkward angle. One of the spears slammed against his blade, instantly starting to disintegrate. Another scraped his back, just barely missing him but the third pierced his flank, digging deep into his flesh. Burning pain erupted from the wound, making him cry out in agony.

Adrenaline was rushing through his veins, giving him a burst of strength that allowed him to seize the burning spear with his gauntleted paw and yanked it out. He staggered back, clutching his severely bleeding flank. The pain felt like someone had jammed a red hot poker through his gut and every time he breathed, he could feel the blood seeping between his fingers in gushes. A growl rolled out from between his fangs.

With a monumental effort, he seized his sword in both paws, breaking his growl for a brief wince as his flank was left unattended. The three monsters slowly advanced, one of them without a spear and instead drawing a dagger. He became aware of another two of the creatures approaching from behind. His momentum was lost and now he was completely surrounded.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly prised one paw away from Zero Hour. The blade suddenly felt very heavy, his remaining paw shaking. Somehow, he found the strength to pull his headphones over his ears, wreathing him in blissful silence. The world suddenly became a mess of rotating cogs, twisting gears and coiling springs. The monsters in front of him became bulky, metal skeletons with gears for each join, working pumps and pistons for vital organs and levers for bones. He reached into his jacket pocket, finding strength returning to him and he flicked out his Telecube, switching it to the face of the music player.

He started his favourite playlist.

The monsters attacked.

Harm ducked slightly and swung Zero Hour in an upwards arch, twisting his body at the same time. His right foot lashed out, catching the face of the unarmed creature while his left arm reached out behind him and seized the spear of one of the monsters striking him from behind. He yanked the spear to his right, forcing the wielder to crash into the other foe beside him. Their spears collided with one another, colliding in mid-air and completely missing Harm. The other two creatures in front of him missed him entirely, his body at its sideways angle providing a much smaller target.

For a second, they just stood there, the only strike being made by Harm.

Then, the Wulfun yanked at the spear he held, pulling it free while lowering his leg. He spun around, swinging the spear behind him to strike the two soldiers that had almost killed him. The spear's wooden haft shattered upon impact with the second helmet and both creatures staggered for a second. Harm snatched the spear of one of them and pulled it towards him. The wielder was forced forward and he quickly spun back around, driving Zero Hour right between its eyes. The grip on the spear slackened, giving Harm plenty of time to yank it away and drive it straight into the gut of the other one he had temporarily stunned.

As the creature gagged and hot, volcanic blood poured out between its lips, Harm dove behind it, holding its body in front of him. The remaining spearman's weapon just barely grazed his left thigh, still causing a wound that bloodied his pants. Ignoring all the pain, he shoved the dying monster into the attacker. The spearman let go of his weapon to catch its comrade. Harm followed up by impaling them both on Zero Hour, ending their existence.

The last creature, the one he had stolen a spear from, staggered back, eyes wide in horror. It looked like it said something but as it turned around, Harm was upon it, seizing its face and running Zero Hour across its neck with brutal efficiency. The creature fell to its knees, unable to scream as its face was quickly turned into black dust and blown away into the night wind.

A thunderous roar suddenly jumpstarted his heart and he spun around.

A monstrous creature of blackened flesh and fire collided with him, its fiery muzzle shaped like a Wulfun's face only seemingly made of black earth with cracks all over its features, burning from a fire deep within. It held his wrists with a powerful grip, keeping Zero Hour well away from its form. It snapped at him, spewing droplets of hot magma straight into his face.

"Stop this!" it shouted. "Chronos, stop!"

What?

Harm blinked.

Suddenly, the fiery visage of the creature vanished. It was replaced by soft hazelnut fur and similarly coloured eyes filled with concern. Then the beast was back, snapping at him and roaring.

"Harm!"

The beast vanished entirely, Smallfang shaking him lightly.

"Harm!" the Lupus repeated.

Panic suddenly shot through Harm's body and he glanced over his shoulder. The body of the creature he had just killed was not heavily encased in black armour... It was veiled in a pink dress with wicked, scaly claws for hands... A female Vampiri.

Harm pulled away from Smallfang, gasping and utterly confused. His eyes darted towards the fading visages of the other 'monsters' he had slain. They were all Vampiri and all bore the same armour as the Vampiri of Clockwork. Their fiery spears were their trademark halberds. He forcibly tore the headphones from his ears and the rest of the world became visually clearer. His world of cogs and gears vanished... replaced by the complexities of existence; a world where mechanics of a creature were hidden beneath flesh, bone and fur instead of just thinly veiling it.

"What...?" he whispered, eyes darting to each of the Vampiri he had apparently slain. "I don't..." His eyes went to a panting Smallfang. "What did I...?"

The Lupus offered him a lopsided smile. "You just slew a scouting parting consisting of one of the Vampiri leaders, Serrisa if I heard correctly. All by yourself."

He blinked again, watching the last traces of the woman that he had slain vanish.

"I... I did...?"

Smallfang nodded. "I watched it all. The moment you put on those things around your neck... it was like you were possessed by a demon! You moved so fast and with such precision... It was frightening."

He was only partially listening. Events were slowly beginning to fall together. Anger began boiling up again in his chest. It was stymied momentarily by the painful reminder of his wounds. His leg gave out and he stumbled, his paw instinctively going to his wounded flank. The blood flow had stopped and the hands of the clock on his gauntlet were rapidly spinning backwards as Time was used to heal his wounds. He marvelled that he had now accumulated over three hundred years worth of Time.

Smallfang's strong paws gently wrapped around his shoulder and chest. "You are injured. Here, let me take you to camp."

"No," he growled, shrugging off his aid. "Freezing my ass off out here is much better than going back there..." While his strength was returning, his mind was reeling at the idea of Shinniah's trickery.

"I do not know what caused that shouting match with Lady Valkyrie," Smallfang said. "But I will not let your stubborn attitude or hers risk any lives."

He unceremoniously scooped up Harm with his powerful arms. The Wulfun gave a cry of protest and failed momentarily but Smallfang's arms were very long and easily curled around his form, holding him tightly. Harm dropped Zero Hour and the golden blade vanished in a dizzying flurry of golden lights that coalesced back into a pocket watch bound by a golden chain on his hip.

"Let me go!" he barked, struggling to prise himself from Smallfang's arms. "For fuck's sake, I'm a grown wolf!"

"You are acting far to the contrary," Smallfang rumbled, striding easily through the thinning mist.

Harm paused in his struggles for a moment when he realised the Twilight Mist was actually starting to thin out. While the veil above their head still made it hard to discern day from night, the thick, grey mist that kept the Vampiri aware of their whereabouts and actions was receding back into Clockwork. Through the thick forests, he could see it crawling like a retreating, gaseous monster back within the city's limits.

His eyes widened however when he saw exactly what the mist had hidden.

Vampiri were impaled on enormous, red, crystal crucifixes that looked like they were made of solidified flames. Their claws and feet were impaled on the frames by fiery swords of the same design. Their eyes were skewered by the same swords. The horrific edifices littered the farmlands, making a grizzly trail towards the city.

Someone screamed up ahead and Smallfang quickened his pace. They emerged into the camp and the source of the cry came from a woman who was standing guard. Four Vampiri soldiers stood several metres away from the palisade, all of them mutilated in the same fashion but far enough to have remained veiled by the Twilight Mist. Now that the Mist was retreating, they were visible.

Carved onto their bare chests were the words 'They were here first'

"I am so happy I haven't eaten in a while," Harm muttered, feeling his stomach start to rebel again.

Smallfang was silent but his eyes were equally as wide as all the gathered civilians. Aria, Andy and Tanar had emerged from the palisade and approached Smallfang while Elena stood in front of her people, her expression steely but her features pale as snow.

"What happened?" demanded Aria.

"I found him," Smallfang responded, holding Harm tightly. "I smelled the Vampiri in the mist and then I heard the fighting. This little one fought off Serrisa and five other Vampiri soldiers by himself. The moment he killed the woman, the mist began receding."

Andy rubbed his goatee thoughtfully while nodding. He pulled out his notepad from beneath his cloak, clicked a pen and began scribbling some notes. "I was under the impression that each of the Vampiri Succubi was maintaining an aspect of the spell that kept Clockwork cloaked. Valhamedra and Serrisa were likely maintaining the Twilight Mist while the third is keeping the skies overcast. This is good..." His blue eyes lifted to the terrible mementos. "... or not..."

Aria flicked her gaze momentarily from the crucifixes then back to Harm. "You did not do this?"

"Are you crazy?" Harm exclaimed. Whatever words of protest he had died with a wince as the pain rocketed back up his wounds.

"He had enough trouble conjuring fire," Andy said. "I don't think he's at the level of somehow solidifying fire and killing all these Vampiri without us noticing." He nodded towards the path of the dead. "There's... a total of forty-five soldiers here."

Tanar scoffed as he padded towards one of the creatures. His armour began to unfold, one mechanical arm rising and gently prodding one of the dead Vampiri. That same mechanical arm ran over the solid flame. "My guess is that Serrisa was sending a group of her soldiers here to wipe us out. However, someone intercepted them and severely crippled their numbers. Whatever it was drove the Succubi into the forests where she met Harm and ultimately their end."

Harm swallowed loudly. "It's that Wulfun isn't it...?" he asked softly. "That one that led us out of Clockwork and the one that rescued us... It's him, isn't it?"

Andy and Tanar exchanged glances. Aria remained stoic, her eyes fixed on Harm. Her slow nod was all the answer he needed.

Gazing back at the trail of bodies and how they had been artistically arranged in such a way that from his angle, he could see all forty-five bodies and how they made a path straight towards Clockwork, he could only say, "Fuck me..."

What kind of power did the other Harm Chronos possess to be able to do so much damage?

And what did he want with him?

*****

Smallfang's tent was - fittingly - quite large. The Lupus was enormous in his own right and when he set down Harm on his cot, the Wulfun felt incredibly small.

"How are your injuries?" asked the Lupus.

"Better," Harm muttered, rising. He grimaced as a dull pain like stiff muscles rippled up from his flank. There was still a sharp jab in his thigh but it was no longer crippling. "Just give me an hour or so and I'll be fine."

"You were speared in two places. I would hardly call that 'fine'." Smallfang reached down and gripped the edge of his jacket. "Come, let us dress the wound."

"Whoa there!" Harm exclaimed, shuffling away from the Lupus. "Look, I told you I'll be fine. There's... Paladin stuff about me that will make sure I regenerate fast."

Smallfang gave him an exasperated look. "Paladins do not possess supernatural regeneration. You have the spells for it but from what I learned from Andrew, you are not so skilled with it."

His heart froze. "What? What did he tell you?"

The Lupus smiled and gently peeled off his bloody flight jacket. "That the limits of your understanding of magic is to dry your clothes and you were under some delusion that 'clearing your mind' will help you become a better magic user."

Harm felt his cheeks start to burn. "Hey, I'm an engineer. I don't rely on waving my hands and shouting weird words to make things work."

Smallfang offered him a smile and pulled up his shirt. "You would be surprised how far shouting weird words will get you here." That smile faded as he frowned. Harm followed his gaze. The wound had practically closed up, leaving only a mild scar against the otherwise soft, short, white fur that wreathed his strong abdominal muscles.

"See?" he said, pulling down his shirt. "Fast healing."

"And your leg?" asked the Lupus, his tone oddly flat.

"Probably the same. I told you. I'll be fine. I just need a bit of rest."

The Lupus was silent for a long moment before he abruptly got up and exited the tent. Harm's heart leapt to his throat as he wondered what the Lupus would start saying to the rest of the camp. In retrospect, it probably was not a good idea to piss off Aria. She was the only person keeping the mobs from tearing him down for being a freak.

He was starting to rise when Smallfang returned with a metal pail of steaming hot water.

"Take off your clothing."

Harm instinctively wrapped his arms around his torso in a vain attempt to keep his clothes on. "What!?"

Smallfang set down the pail. "You cannot fight with bloodied clothing. Come, I will wash them. Take off your clothing."

There was a moment of inspiration on Harm's part and the Wulfun crossed his arms across his chest. "I get it. This is the part where you find some roundabout way to get me naked and then, from there somehow seduce me into bed, right? Well, not going to work buddy."

Despite his words, he still peeled off his jet-black shirt and tossed it into pail followed shortly by his cargo pants and socks. He saw Smallfang's ears droop slightly at the sight of his white briefs. Tail wagging with smug pleasure, Harm threw the bloodied clothing into the pail and let them soak for a while.

"I don't need my underwear washed, do I?" he asked the Lupus smugly.

Smallfang looked like he was trying to find a reason but after a minute, he was forced to shake his head and say, "No, you do not."

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding." He brushed past Smallfang purposefully and made to leave the tent when he remembered he was only wearing his underwear.

Striding out into the middle of tight encampment practically nude and emerging from a Lupus' tent...?

He spun back around and lay down on the hay cot, crossing his arms behind his head and resting one leg over the other. He made a point to avoid eye contact with Smallfang and pulled his headphones over his ears, letting the silence and the music that followed shortly afterwards take him away from the troubles of the world. He shut his eyes, not in the mood to view the world in dizzying mechanical parts.

Unfortunately, his moment of serenity was interrupted when his headphones were gently torn from his ears. Smallfang hovered over him, staring at him intently.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you find me repulsive?" the Lupus asked.

Harm was taken aback by the question. "Uh..."

"You know full well my intentions and yet you reject my advances," Smallfang accused. "Do you not find me attractive?"

"Is there any way I can respond to that without inciting anger and getting tossed out naked and with my clothes still stewing in your bloody pot over there?"

Smallfang's brow knotted in puzzlement. "You are avoiding my question."

Harm sat up, causing the Lupus to pull back a little. A soft sigh left him and he regarded Smallfang with a gentle, apologetic smile. "Look, I'm flattered. But you're a Lupus. One stray bit of blood or shot of cum and I end up being one of you. Further, I'm straight! The only time I've ever lain in bed with another man is when my eldest brother, Klaus, spooned me when we were younger and got a little too excited overnight. Traumatised the hell out of me..."

"I cannot tell if you are lying or not..."

"It's one of my many talents," he answered dismissively. "That's not a comment on your attractiveness." He gave Smallfang a light salute. "You're ripped, buff and I'm fairly sure you'd make some other guy very happy to have your seed in them or, for that matter, any girl who catches you naked and fantasises about you. But as for me..." Harm shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, you're just not doing it for me."

Smallfang continued to appear puzzled. "Is it because you do not prefer the company of men?"

There was an instinctive reply coming from his throat but it was intercepted by another that came from his heart... and maybe his gut... or lower. There was evidence on his Telecube that said otherwise and he was pretty darn sure Tanar or someone else was listening in on their conversation to give him grief later on. He took a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks and letting it out very slowly.

"I'm... open to both suggestions," he said at length. Someone coughed outside and he growled. "Okay, so maybe lean more towards my own gender." That same someone sneezed shortly afterwards. "Fine, okay!?" he roared, spinning towards the face of the tent where the noises came from. "I like dick, okay!? You spend seven years on a bloody starship, you get a little stir crazy and there's no privacy on those damn things! Just one clicked link on the web for shits and giggle and everyone is riding your ass both figuratively and literally! And maybe I liked it, okay? Men are a lot less complicated than women. No sexual harassment charges, no problem of pups and definitely no 'times of the months'."

He turned away angrily, muttering under his breath. "Fuck me..."

Smallfang was a little startled at the outburst. "So if you prefer men... why am I not attractive to you?"

"Don't get me wrong. You are. Hell, you're smoking hot."

"Then why spurn my advances?"

He winced, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I'm a romantic at heart. I've still got this deluded, crazy fantasy in my head that one day, my best friend for years is going to want to 'experiment', we end up in bed, we struggle for a few months or years about his sexuality. I get him girls, he fucks them but he'll always remember that time that we spent together when it meant something. Then... in the end, he'd choose me." He shook his head furiously. "But that's never going to happen.

"Short of it is, I can't just jump into bed with someone. Other guys can do it. Hell, if you want to get your rocks off, hop on board the Lasting Armageddon. You'll get plenty of tail there. Plenty of cock too. Either way, all those times just felt sad and meaningless. Did it feel good? Yes. Did it satisfy me? No."

Harm sprang to his feet, waving his arms a little. "I'm sorry, Smallfang, but I need romance. I need to be..." He winced at the idea of making himself effeminate. "I need to be wooed. To be honest, I've seen enough romantic comedies where there's a playboy that uses various types of pick up schemes to get the dumb, blonde bimbo. I do not want to be that blonde bimbo."

He shot a fiery stare back at the tent face. "Happy now!?"

At first there was no reply.

Then the tent flap opened and Tanar poked his head in. "Very." He flashed a startled Harm a grin. "So now that you've poured your heart out to the sexy Lupus, why don't you strip off that rather flattering piece of underwear and get in bed with him, huh? The poor puppy needs it."

Harm's ears folded back against his head, his fang bared. "You are sick. Get out."

"Why? Am I intruding on your personal time?"

"No. I'm feeling particularly horny and yours is the closest ass."

Tanar lifted both his eyebrows and inclined his head to the side. "I... Have no idea if that's a threat or you're being serious."

"Talent of mine," Harm growled. "Out."

"Can I listen in?"

"No."

"Can I have seconds?"

"Hell no."

The Dire Wolf turned around, flicking his tail at Harm tauntingly. "You're no fun."

When the Paladin was gone, Harm slumped back into Smallfang's cot, regarding the Lupus with a soft heavy sigh. "So... Guess I'm gay..."

Smallfang smiled, understanding and compassion marking his softly curled lips. "Why did you fight so hard to deny it?"

An odd sense of insecurity crawled into Harm and he brought up his knees to settle under his chin. "I don't know... I guess because I felt so empty with all the relations on the ship, I logically figured that meant I was straight."

"Perhaps you just did not have had the right man romance you."

"Or I haven't found the right woman to romance." Smallfang gave him an accusing stare and he lifted his paws up in surrender. "I know, I know. Sorry. Force of habit." He ran a paw down the back of his head, rubbing his nape lightly. "I guess it's kind of fitting, really... Klaus is so straight that he finds any girl he can, bones her and produces a pup in nine months. Jerry is the one that bounces between both sexes. He doesn't care who he does as long as they're hot and they're clean. I guess that just leaves me being the gay guy..."

Smallfang's large paws settled on top of his. He found himself with a close up of the Lupus' soft, brown eyes. "You do not have to be forced into a role just because your siblings have taken the other roles. You must do this because you wish to."

A thousand corny lines and scenarios flooded his mind.

He would say, 'But I want to' which was quickly followed by a light kiss... then a passionate one and then crazy wild lovemaking.

Another scenario was that he would give Smallfang a playful smirk and say, 'My brothers don't have to know' and then came the playful foreplay and then the crazy, wild lovemaking that would shake the entire encampment and put a blush on Aria's cheeks.

Despite what his hormones said, Harm gripped Smallfang's paw and brushed it aside. "That's going to take time." He chuckled softly and tapped Zero Hour which sat next to him. "Ironic considering how I have three hundred years right here."

The Lupus nodded and gently squeezed his knee. "I understand. When you are ready, you can ask me why I find you so attractive."

Harm had never considered that. He opened his muzzle to ask that very same question but quickly realised he had been trapped for the second time that night. If he asked, that effectively said that he was ready to take the first step into a relationship.

Crafty bastard...

"Okay. Why don't you wait over there while I work up the courage to ask you that question?"

Smirking adorably, Smallfang wandered over to the corner of the tent where he idly began stirring the pail full of bloodied clothes. Harm leaned back into the cot, once again drowning himself in the world of his music and cogs, one leg over the other. This time, however, the positioning of his legs was far from just a comfortable pose.

It was to hide the slight tent in his briefs.