《Sidequest》


 Prologue

    The first of the dungeons appeared about a hundred years ago. Strange, large pieces of architecture that no one returned from after entering. At first the people left the strange structures alone. But the dungeons had an adverse effect on the plants and animals around them making them larger, more aggressive, and more deadly. Even the Darkness of night itself became an unbeatable beast.


    And so the adventurer''s guilds were formed in order to protect people from monsters and find a way through the dungeons. Finally, a dungeon was cleared and disappeared, leaving behind the surviving adventurer''s and various riches.


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    The adventurer''s guilds boomed in popularity after that and soon more dungeons were cleared, leaving behind peaceful safe zones. Unfortunately new dungeons appeared almost as quickly as old one''s were cleared.


    To this day the first of the dungeons has still not been cleared and there are those who hold out hope that if it can be cleared the world will finally be free of the dungeons...

 Chapter 1

    "Thank you so much! I don''t know what I would have done if you kids didn''t show up!" The old woman hugged one of her chickens closer, relieved tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.


    Suzie smiled gently back at the old woman, "Don''t worry about it! And if you have any more problems you can''t solve, ask the Three-Winged Guild and I''m sure they''ll send someone to help!"


    As Suzie spoke with the old woman, Hiro and Kelsi plucked white chicken feathers out of their hair and clothes.


    "You missed one." Alphonse whispered, pulling a feather out of the back of Hiro''s collar, his fingers brushing the nape of Hiro''s neck lightly.


    Hiro covered the back of his neck with his hand and looked up at Alphonse with a wide, goofy smile, "Thanks, Al!"


    Alphonse looked away quickly, his glasses sliding down his nose and his pale ears turning a bright pink.


    The old woman set down her chicken in order to take one of Suzie''s steady, calloused hands in both of her frail, bony ones, "Please let me pay you back for all your help!"


    The tails of the pink ribbons that held up Suzie''s hair in twin afro puffs danced in the air as she shook her head, "No, no we couldn''t, it wasn''t an official commission!"


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    "Just some food and supplies for the road, I insist."


    Suzie''s deep dimples were replaced by a slight crease between her brows as she tried again to refuse the old woman''s offer, "We really-"


    "- Could use some supplies, thank you." Alphonse interrupted, placing one of his hands on top of Suzie''s and the old woman''s, smiling so wide his pale blue eyes narrowed into slits.


    *


    After the four had left the small farming village, walking along the dirt road towards the last safe zone stop before they hit the dungeon they were commissioned to clear, Suzie''s slight frown got deeper, "Why did you accept those supplies, Alphonse? That village is poor, the people can''t afford to give away food to strangers."


    Alphonse shrugged, pushing his golden hair back from his face, "They wouldn''t have given us food if they couldn''t afford it."


    "But-!"


    Hiro skipped ahead of the other three and turned around to face them, walking backwards, "I agree with Al... we really needed the food."


    Suzie crossed her arms over her chest, her dingy armor clattering together, "Still..."


    "We wouldn''t need extra supplies if we didn''t take your ''detours'' all the time." Alphonse pointed out.


    Suzie pursed her lips, "Kelsi!" Kelsi jumped at her sharp tone, "What do you think?"


    "I, uh..." Kelsi''s deep brown eyes flitted around before finally settling on her feet, her wavy brown hiding her face as her chin tilted down, "I agree with the boys..."


    Suzie let out a dejected sigh and threw her arms up, "Fine! You''re right, I concede. It was my fault to begin with."


    "I''m sorry..."


    "No, Kelsi, don''t apologize. Let''s just... pick up the pace and get to the safe zone."

 Chapter 2

    While the sun had set, the safe zone was still bright as day. Dozens of little lights in the night made it a beacon to those trapped out in the Darkness. And in an inn room in this safe zone, Hiro and the others played a card game by the light streaming in through the windows.


    "Got any Queens?" Hiro asked, his black eyes glimmering expectantly at Alphonse.


    Alphonse sat with his cheek resting on his fist, his glasses slightly crooked. He looked languidly between his cards and Hiro''s face before sighing. He took a card between two fingers and flicked it at Hiro.


    "Yay! I win again!" Hiro threw the last of his cards down on the pile in front of him.


    Kelsi''s hands drooped and she let her cards spill from her fingers, "I was so close that time," she muttered.


    Suzie gave her a little pat on the shoulder before gathering the cards up. "Another round?" Hiro asked.


    With a grunt, Alphonse got to his feet and stretched, "Not for me. I''m going to bed."


    "Aww." Hiro started to whine but Suzie gently cut him off, "We should all be getting some sleep."


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    *


    Just as the sun began to rise, Hiro sat up in bed. Next to him Alphonse laid with his back to Hiro. In the other bed Suzie slept on her stomach with Kelsi curled up next to her, clinging to her sleeve. As slowly and quietly as he could, Hiro slid out from under the covers, keeping an eye on the back of Alphonse''s head. Tiptoeing through the room, Hiro threw on his cape, shoes, and bag and grabbed his wooden staff, heading out the door.


    Just as the door near silently shut behind Hiro, Alphonse''s eyes snapped open.


    *


    Hiro stared up at the dungeon, his fingers turning white with how tightly he gripped his staff. Standing all alone in front of the huge, black obelisk, Hiro felt a bit of fear and doubt creep into his heart. He swallowed then took a deep breath, his spine and shoulders straightening as the air filled his lungs before slumping again as he exhaled. He closed his eyes, remembering warm hands on his head, ruffling his dark hair, and words of encouragement from a voice rough and loud and another elegant and confident. With tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, he opened them, "Dad, Father, I''m gonna be like you. Just watch."


    Hiro extricated a hand from his staff and reached for the dungeon door. Before his pale fingers could scrape the smooth, black "door", a hand grabbed his shoulder. Hiro let out a shout and spun around.


    Alphonse lifted his hand from Hiro''s shoulders, holding it aloft. "What do you think you''re doing?" Alphonse asked, an eyebrow raised.


    "Uh... nothing?" Hiro squeaked, eyes darting around.


    Alphonse let his hand drop to his side and tilted his head to the side, his expression not changing.


    Hiro''s eyes settled on the space between his and Alphonse''s feet, "I wanted to clear it by myself."


    "You''re a healer... It''s your first dungeon..."


    "I know!" Hiro snapped, hot, frustrated tears pricking his eyes.


    For a moment the two boys stood face to face in silence. Then Alphonse sighed, "Fine. But I''m going in as well to watch your back."

 Chapter 3

    "But I have to do it alone!"


    "Huh?" Alphonse''s nose scrunched up and his lips pulled into a slight snarl before he caught himself. "Why?"


    "My dads..." Hiro''s eyes stayed trained on the ground  as he chewed on his bottom lip.


    "Rexus and Gaian? I get wanting to be like them but not even they soloed their first dungeon."


    Hiro tilted his head, his eyes shifting to the side, "Yeah but..."


    Alphonse sighed, "Just let me come with you and watch your back. I won''t do anything unless you''re stuck or in danger. Deal?" Alphonse offered his pinky to Hiro.


    Hiro relented, wrapping his pinky around Alphonse''s, "Fine."


    After a solid shake, Hiro turned back to the dungeon and Alphonse stepped up beside him. Alphonse glanced at Hiro out of the corner of his eye, "You know... Rexus and Gaian may have been most famous for each soloing a dungeon but they were also pretty famous as a duo."


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    Hiro''s eyes widened and his head snapped  to Alphonse, his mouth agape, "You''re right!" His eyes lit up with excitement and he grabbed Alphonse''s arm.


    Alphonse''s cheeks went bright red and he looked away with a gulp. "Let''s go, okay?"


    Hiro''s face split into a breathtaking smile, "Okay!"


    *


    Back in the safe zone, Suzie woke up at a reasonable hour. She opened her eyes to Kelsi''s face, looking more relaxed and content than she ever did awake. With a quiet groan, Suzie turned her head towards the other bed... The empty bed.


    Suzie pushed herself up with a start and slid off the edge of the bed, dragging the blanket off with her, "Where are they boys!?" She tried to stand, struggling with her legs wrapped in the sheet.


    Kelsi sat up, rubbing her eyes, "they probably just went down for breakfast."


    "Alphonse got up before me?" Suzie shook her head, "no way." Finally she managed to untangle herself from the blanket and spotted a piece of paper on Alphonse''s pillow. "I have a bad feeling about this."

 Chapter 4

    "You know... You do need to kill the monster to move on to the next room."


    Hiro gritted his teeth, heels digging into the packed dirt ground. His fingers aches as he held his staff out in front of him. Each time the monster hit the force field he was holding up, his arms trembled. "I know that!" Hiro shouted, "My spark did nothing!"


    Alphonse steadied Hiro from behind, hands bracing his upper arms, "Don''t you have any other spells?"


    Despite not having a visible mouth, the mutated overgrown plant monster roared. "I don''t think Splash will work on it either!"


    "How the hell did you think you''d be able to do this dungeon on your own!" Alphonse shouted, loosening his supporting hands a little as he did.


    "I don''t know!"


    With a deafening sound a vine whipped around and hit the Shield, shattering it and sending the two boys flying. Alphonse hit the wall behind them first, biting his tongue as his head audibly cracked against the wall. A second later Hiro crashed into him, slumping into his lap, unconscious.


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    The monstrous flower roared again, its petals and leaves shaking.  It reared back, preparing to strike again. Alphonse wrapped his upper body around Hiro and rolled out of the way before the vine hit the wall behind them, gouging a hole out of the bricks.


    Alphonse stood, stepping over Hiro''s prone body and spitting the blood in his mouth onto the dirt. He cracked his neck and unsheathed his sword, "Can''t refuse my help now."


    *


    The mid-morning peace was shattered by the sound of Suzie''s armor-ladened footsteps on the road to the dungeon. Kelsi jogged alongside her. Suzie could almost feel the sun inching higher in the sky, "Kelsi, run ahead. We won''t be able to catch them at my rate."


    "There''s no way I''ll catch up to them either! They could already be in the dungeon! They could already be de-!"


    "Kelsi!" Suzie barked. Kelsi''s steps stuttered and she let out a mousey ''eep'' sound. "What have I told you about worst case scenarios?"


    "Don''t- don''t think about them?"


    "They''re fine. But they won''t be when I get to them. So run ahead and warn them, ok?"


    The two locked eyes and Suzie smiled. Kelsi''s steps slowed, then with a determined nod, she took off sprinting.


    Suzie kept her smile until Kelsi was far enough away that she wouldn''t be able to see when she dropped it. She sighed, "If those two have already teleported back to the safe zone I really will hit them."

 Chapter 5

    With its roots cut by Alphonse''s blade, the monstrous plant finally fell. Breathing heavily, Alphonse collapsed next to the still unconscious Hiro, his sword clattering to the ground. He pressed a hand to his left side, blood oozing through his fingers. Gritting his teeth, Alphonse nudged Hiro''s leg with his toe, "I need healing."


    Hiro shifted, a quiet moan slipping through his lips and his brow scrunching up briefly but he didn''t wake up. Alphonse groaned and scooted closer, wincing in pain, "Come on, Hiro.."


    Distantly, Alphonse heard footsteps approaching the chamber. Heavy, armored footsteps. For a moment, Alphonse wondered if Suzie and Kelsi caught up. But there were three sets of footsteps, two normal sets alongside the armored footsteps.


    "Hiro, wake up." Alphonse hissed through his teeth, grabbing his dropped sword.


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    As shadows appeared in the doorway, Alphonse forced himself to stand and face whoever it was head on. The tip of his sword dragged across the dirt as he straightened his knees.


    A tan girl with short orange hair stepped into the chamber, "Wow! Its already dead!" After her a girl with long red hair tied in a high ponytail and a tall person in a suit of armor and a black hood with a black and white mask came in.


    The first girl caught sight of Alphonse and called out, "Hey! Are you okay?"


    Alphonse stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned on it. "Not really..." he muttered.


    *


    When the dungeon came into view, Suzie''s steps slowed. Her eyes panned down until she saw Kelsi standing at the base, a hand on its smooth, black surface.


    Kelsi heard her approach and her head whipped around. She ran back towards Suzie, her soft brown eyes wide open and worried. Before she reached Suzie she cried out, "It won''t let me enter!"

 Chapter 6

    Alphonse''s hands started to lose their grip on the hilt of his sword. His knees gave out and he began to slump. "Hey!" The orange-haired girl called out, breaking into a run towards him and Hiro.  She reached them just as Alphonse''s butt hit the dirt. One of his hands still loosely held the hilt of his sword, even as she crouched in front of him, hand hovering over his shoulder. "You''re in rough shape. Why don''t you teleport out?"


    Alphonse tilted his head towards Hiro, "He''s out cold. Can''t exactly use his medallion like that."


    She turned her eyes, which were strangely the same shade as her hair, on Hiro. Chewing on her bottom lip. she muttered, "Right... Oh!" Her eyes widened and her head snapped down to her bag,  "I''ve got a potion!"


    "Blaze!" The red-headed girl stomped over, "Don''t just give our shit to them!" She grabbed the orange-haired girl, Blaze''s, arm, "It could be a trap, " she hissed.


    Alphonse rolled his eyes, "What reason would I have to trap you."


    The red-haired girl opened her mouth, her nose scrunched up but she was interrupted by Blaze gently pulling her hand off her arm, "It''s my potion. I''ll decide what I do with it, okay Alyss?"


    Alyss backed up a few steps and crossed her arms over her chest, jutting her bottom lip out in a pout. Blaze reached into her bag once more and pulled out a typical potion vial. She shuffled on her knees closer to Hiro, sliding a hand under his head to lift it up and pour the potion into his slight agape mouth. Alphonse''s hand twitched on the hilt of his sword. As they waited to see if the potion would take effect, Blaze and Alyss''s companion in the mask and armor slowly approached the monster''s corpse...


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    After a shudder that ran down his entire body, Hiro opened his eyes.


    He sat up quickly, rubbing the back of his head. He frowned at Blaze, brow furrowed before his eyes found Alphonse and he smiled. Alphonse gave a brief smile back as his heart fluttered. Then he dropped the smile, pulling himself closer to Hiro and flicking his forehead.


    Hiro''s hands jumped to his forehead, covering the red mark that was already forming, "Hey!" he protested, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes involuntarily.


    "This was al your fucking idea and you get yourself knocked out? Hurry up and heal me, idiot."


    Hiro pouted, quickly rubbing the tears out of his eyes, "You don''t need to be so rude."


    Alphonse threw a hand up, pointing at the fallen monster. "I killed that thing all by myself. I get to be a little rude."


    Alyss and Blaze''s eyes widened and almost in sync they turned to look back at the monster and then back to Alphonse. "You killed that thing by yourself?" Alyss asked, her strangely magenta eyes narrowing.


    "Do you see anyone else in here besides me and sleeping beauty?" Alphonse jerked a thumb towards Hiro, who was holding up his staff to cast a healing spell.


    A silver shower of sparks rained from the end of Hiro''s staff onto Alphonse. Alphonse grit his teeth as he felt the prickly itch of his wounds mending. As Hiro healed Alphonse, Alyss grabbed Blaze''s arm and dragged her away. The two girls whispered out of earshot, glancing over to Hiro and Alphonse occasionally.


    Hiro let the head of his staff hit the dirt with a sigh as he finished healing Alphonse. Alphonse stood and offered a hand to help Hiro up, "Are you ready to crawl back to Suzie?"


    Eyes pointed firmly at the ground, Hiro took Alphonse''s hand to pull himself to his feet, "...yes..." he sighed.


    "Wait." Blaze jogged back to Hiro and Alphonse. "What would you guys say to teaming up with us for the rest of the dungeon?"

 Chapter 7

    Suzie pounded on the obsidian wall of the dungeon with both fists and shouted, "Let us in you fucking... fucker!"


    The dungeon merely loomed dark and silent in response.


    Kelsi hovered nervously by Suzie''s side, her hands held loose and shaking in front of her chest, "Should we head back to town in case they use their medallions?"


    Suzie stopped pounding on the walls and sighed, "Hiro''s an idiot. I''m worried he''ll-"


    "Well there''s nothing the two of you can do here now, is there?" A strange voice cut Suzie off. Suzie and Kelsi both turned around to face the source.


    A person about their age with warm brown skin, an androgynous face, and long white hair braided down their back stood in the road. There were wide open plains on either side of this road, with nowhere to hide, and yet this person managed to get within a few feet of them without them noticing. Suzie''s hand twitched by the handle of her ax and she inched in between Kelsi and the stranger.


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    They held up their hands, palms out and smiled, letting their eyes slide close and their head tilt to the side," I don''t bite, I promise."


    "What do you want?" Suzie asked, eyes narrowing.


    "Well I had wanted to enter the dungeon but that seems to be impossible now..." They laced their fingers behind their head. "If you can''t get in then it''s useless for you to wait here. You should wait in the safe zone. Who knows your ''idiot'' companion may already be there."


    *


    "What would you guys say to teaming up with us for the rest of the dungeon?"


    Alphonse and Hiro shared a look. Alphonse shook his head while Hiro nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling. Alphonse sighed, "fine," and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead.


    Hiro turned to Blaze and Alyss, "we''ll join you!"

 Chapter 8

    Hiro and Alphonse¡¯s party of two became a party of five as they moved deeper into the dungeon. While they had agreed to work together, they walked with quite a bit of distance between, the pair of girls walked in front with their strangely silent friend in armor trailing behind, Alphonse and Hiro brought up the rear.


    Alphonse grabbed Hiro¡¯s earlobe and dragged his head closer, hissing under his breath, ¡°Why the fuck did you sneak off if you were just going to group up with people later? Now we have to split the dungeon reward with randoms.¡±


    ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch,¡± Hiro pouted, ¡°If we left now we wouldn¡¯t get any dungeon rewards.¡± Chronically unable to be quiet, Hiro¡¯s response echoed off the walls of the dark narrow passageway they were walking through.


    Alphonse rolled his eyes, letting his arm slacken so Hiro could straighten up. He still kept his hand on Hiro¡¯s ear, rubbing it absentmindedly. ¡°What? You think three could clear this dungeon without us?¡±


    Hiro put his hand over Alphonse¡¯s on his ear and leaned in closer to whisper conspiratorially in his slightly too loud voice, ¡°you think they need us to get through the dungeon?¡±


    Alphonse let go of Hiro¡¯s ear to flick him in the forehead, right between his thin, black brows, ¡°What happened to all the ¡®I¡¯m going to do it solo¡¯ confidence that you had before?¡±


    Alyss spun around, her long red ponytail smacking the armored one in the helmet. They didn¡¯t react, ¡°you have a lot of nerve underestimating us when you were the ones half-dead on the ground.¡±


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    ¡°After defeating the monster solo.¡± Alphonse tilted his head up. His glasses caught the torchlight, glinting strangely as his brows knit together haughtily, ¡°would you like to take the next monster on all by yourself?¡±


    Hiro grabbed Alphonse¡¯s arm. When Alphonse looked down, he shook his head.


    Alyss scoffed, ¡°whatever,¡± before turning around and catching back up with Blaze.


    With his hands still on Alphonse¡¯s arm, Hiro asked the armored companion of Blaze and Alyss, ¡°what¡¯s your name?¡±


    Almost at the same time Blaze said, ¡°his name is Mo,¡± and Alyss said, ¡°it¡¯s just an automaton my dad made.¡±


    Alphonse¡¯s eyebrows jumped up, ¡°an automaton?¡± Before he could ask anymore, the automaton, Mo, pressed Blaze and Alyss¡¯s heads down as something came flying at them from the shadows.


    *


    Kelsi grabbed Suzie¡¯s wrist, ¡°I think they¡¯re right. There¡¯s nothing we can do here. Let¡¯s just wait for them at the safe zone.¡± With her lips set in a harsh, straight line, Suzie looked from the androgynous stranger, to Kelsi, to the dungeon, and then back to Kelsi, focusing on her trembling bottom lip and the tears threatening to fall from her warm, brown eyes. Suzie sighed, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll head back.¡± Suzie started walking back along the road, Kelsi following close behind, still holding on to her wrist.


    She stopped when she was right in front of the white-haired stranger, ¡°want to walk back to the safe zone with us?¡±


    With an ever-present simple, they shook their head. ¡°I¡¯m waiting here for my party to let them know what happened. We¡¯ll probably go on our way to the next dungeon.¡±


    Suzie nodded then continued on her way, keeping them in her peripheral vision until they were well out of sight.

 Chapter 9

    Mo pushed Blaze and Alyss¡¯s heads down, consequently making Alphonse and Hiro the targets of the strange mutant bat creature that came at them from the dungeon ceiling. Alphonse stepped in front of Hiro and pulled out his sword. The wind from the creature¡¯s wings kicked up strands of his shaggy blond hair and with a mighty swing of his blade, Alphonse cut off one of those black, leathery wings.


    The creature fell, screeching, to the ground. Hiro placed a hand on Alphonse¡¯s cold armored shoulder and cast a strengthening spell before giving him a light push, leveling his sword to turn it straight through the beast. The beast screamed and thrashed when impaled, swatting at Alphonse, its claws bouncing uselessly off his armor, until Alphonse twisted his sword and it died.


    Alphonse stepped back, pulling his sword from the monster¡¯s chest and giving his sword a few harsh, jerky swings to fling the creature¡¯s blood off. He looked at Alyss, who was straightening back up. With a smirk, he said, ¡°And now I¡¯ve killed the second monster all by myself. Do you think we really need you?¡±


    Alyss bristled instantly, ¡°You-!¡±


    Hiro started to move in between them, already lifting his arms up to insert himself placatingly between them.


    Suddenly, Mo pointed up at the ceiling. Hiro stopped moving and looked up, as did the others.


    Dozens, maybe hundreds, more of the bat creatures lined the ceiling as far as the eye could see. One of them screeched and a whole colony of bats descended on them.


    ¡°Get down!¡± Blaze shouted. She threw her hands up and a blast of white-hot fire erupted from her hands. Alphonse pushed Hiro¡¯s head down but the two could still feel the heat of the flames licking at their backs. When the eruption of flames ended, Alphonse gave Hiro a light shove, ¡°Why can¡¯t you do that?¡±


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    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±


    Alyss took out a whip, ¡°Look alive! There are still more coming!¡±


    Hiro straightened up and spread out his hands, giving the staff in his right hand a little wave as he did so, casting a shield on the two half-parties.


    A creature flew at them and Alyss¡¯s whip wrapped around its neck and she flung it into another. With one mighty swing of their giant ax, Mo bisected two of them at once. But even though they took out the first wave with one or two attacks each, the bat creatures kept coming, getting a little stronger with each wave. Blaze didn¡¯t seem to be able to do that column of flame again and could only throw small balls of flame and eventually just pulled out the sword at her waist. HIro tried to throw out a few Shock spells but soon the surrounding swarm was too much and he was forced to focus solely on maintaining his defensive spells and healing people when the creatures got through the shields.


    Suddenly, a shining arrow of light pierced through the dark swarm. And another. And another. Everywhere the light of the arrows touched, creatures dissolved. A voice called out, echoing against the walls, ¡°Most of them are illusions made from Darkness! Cast Light!¡±


    Panting heavily, Hiro raised his staff above his head with both hands and cast Light with all the strength he could muster. The wide hallway filled with light and many of the creatures dissolved, leaving only three left. One of the arrows of light dispatched one of them and Alphonse and Blaze beheaded the other two in turn.


    With the creatures gone and Hiro¡¯s Light filling the hall, the makeshift party finally saw their mysterious savior archer. A smirking, androgynous person with tan skin and long, braided white hair.


    Alyss and Blaze exclaimed as one, ¡°Luce?!¡±


    ¡®Luce¡¯ put a hand on their hip and their smirk seemed to grow larger. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t get far without me!¡±

 Chapter 10

    Hiro¡¯s Light spell weakly fizzled out and, with a sigh, he crumpled. Alphonse caught him when he was halfway to the ground and lowered him the rest of the way down gently. Hiro sat on the floor, clinging to his staff and panting, sweat gluing his shoulder length black hair to his forehead.


    Alphonse didn¡¯t sheath his sword as he looked between Blaze and Alyss and the stranger, Luce. Shoulders heaving with large breaths, he glared at Blaze and Alyss and indicated Luce with a jerk of his head, ¡°you know them?¡±


    Blaze nodded, ¡°yes, they-¡±


    With a stamp of her foot, a red faced Alyss with puffed up cheeks interjected, ¡°they¡¯re a stalker who won¡¯t take no for an answer.¡± As she spoke she slowly shuffled in front of Blaze to block her from their view.


    Luce lazily tossed their bow in the air and it dissolved into sparks, ¡°that¡¯s such a horrible way to put it. I just saved you, you know.¡±


    Alyss crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her hip out, and glared, ¡°And how did you know we were in danger? You were following us like a creepy weirdo!¡± Alyss leaned forward as she spat out her words, finally snapping her whip at them in the end, though still too far away to reach them.


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    At the crack of her whip, Luce raised their hands in the air and backed up half a step, ¡°No need to make it sound so sinister! I told you, I admire the legacy of the Golden Coin guild and wanted to help its remnants.¡± They leaned to the side, craning their neck as if to look around Alyss at Blaze, ¡°you know I don¡¯t have any bad intentions, right?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± Blaze started, with a frown and a furrowed brow.


    ¡°As if!¡± Alyss snapped, striding forward to crack her whip at Luce again; this time she would¡¯ve reached them, if it weren¡¯t for Hiro rising to his feet and blocking in front. Hiro took a strike across the chest. Droplets of blood scattered and he cried out in pain, stumbling back against Luce. Luce caught him with hands on his upper arms, finally looking a little concerned.


    Alyss froze with her hand outstretched the tip of her whip still resting on the ground where it landed. Eyes red, Alphonse stomped on the whip, pulling it out of Alyss¡¯s slackened hand. He raised his sword, pointing it at her, ¡°I dare you to do that again,¡± he growled.


    ¡°Al!¡± Hiro scolded, clutching his wound, hand glowing with healing magic, ¡°it was my fault, let it go.¡± Then he turned to the guilty-looking Alyss. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with you and them but they did save us so maybe whatever it is can at least wait until we¡¯re out of the dungeon?¡±


    Staring at the slowly healing wound she inflicted, Alyss sheepishly nodded, then bent down to pick her whip back up. But when she started to coil it back up she found that Alphonse was still stepping on it. She looked up at him and he snorted coldly before lifting his foot and, finally, sheathing his sword.


    Hiro sighed in relief, his shoulders slowly relaxing with the exhale, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s keep going.¡±

 Chapter 11

    Much to Alyss¡¯s obvious chagrin, Luce was a huge help in the dungeon moving forward. Every once in a while, as they were walking through the long, empty-looking corridors of the dungeon, Luce would shoot one of their arrows of light into the shadows at the edges of the flickering torchlight and creatures would shriek. In between these displays of deadly awareness and precision, Luce hovered around Blaze, trying to convince her to let them into her party.


    Alyss hung back a few paces, her arms crossed and her thin lips pressed into a scowl. Just a step behind her was Hiro and Alphonse. Hiro desperately kept his eyes on the ceiling, trying to, just once, see the monsters before Luce attacked them. With each passing second, Hiro felt more and more useless and more and more like he would never be able to make his fathers proud as he watched someone who might actually be able to solo a dungeon work.


    Alyss was pretending to be unimpressed as she scoffed, ¡°I don¡¯t know why Blaze is entertaining this creep, who knows what they really want or where they came from.¡±


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    Alphonse raised an eyebrow and snorted, ¡°Maybe you should let it go. You¡¯re starting to sound jealous.¡±


    Alyss¡¯s face instantly turned as bright red as her hair. She threw her hands down and stomped her foot, her mouth opening and closing until finally she shouted, ¡°shut up!¡±


    The echoes of their footsteps changed as they wandered out of the narrow hallway into a large open chamber. On the other end of the chamber was a door. Luce kept walking on to the door without stopping. Hiro peered into the dark corners of the large chamber but saw nothing but cobwebs.


    ¡°Head¡¯s up, guys!¡± Luce called back over their shoulder, as they and Blaze stopped in front of the door, ¡°Boss fight room, get ready.¡±


    *


    Suzie and Kelsi made it back to the safe zone without incident. It was only after they had stepped through the gate of the town that Kelsi grabbed ahold of Suzie¡¯s armored forearm. Suzie glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow.


    Kelsi frowned with her eyebrows furrowed. She chewed her bottom lip, ¡°we never passed that person¡¯s party...¡±

 Chapter 12

    Even Alyss put aside her annoyance to join the others in crowding around Luce expectantly and with weapons raised. Luce slowly pushed the door open and... nothing happened.


    Blaze poked her head into the room and glanced around, ¡°I don¡¯t see anything...¡± she said, pushing past Luce to step into the room, nearly identical to the one they were in.


    ¡°Wait up!¡± Alyss called out, reaching out a hand to grab the back of Blaze¡¯s shirt. She followed on Blaze¡¯s heels into the room as Mom lumbered in after them Luce raised their foot to follow then suddenly stopped and put it down. With a look in their white eyes that was somehow dark, Luce turned quickly, their long white braid brushing Hiro¡¯s nose. They fired an arrow into the dark back corner of the chamber. Instead of striking a creature of Darkness, the arrow revealed a large hole up by the ceiling. A figure in white disappeared into the tunnel. In its place a huge spider crawled out of the tunnel.


    The door slammed shut separating Hiro, Alphonse, and Luce from Blaze, Alyss, and Mo. Luce fired another arrow at the spider but the shot missed as the spider dropped from the tunnel to the ground in front of them. The ground shook with the force of its landing. Hiro stumbled, falling back against the door. On the other side he could hear fists pounding and Alyss¡¯s voice calling out, ¡°hey! What the fuck! Why won¡¯t it open!?¡±


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    Luce glared up at the tunnel, clicking their tongue in annoyance.


    ¡°Look out!¡± Alphonse shouted, grabbing Hiro¡¯s arm and harshly dragging him to the side out of the way as the spider reared back and spat something at the three of them. As he was being dragged away, Hiro could only shout Luce¡¯s name to try and spur them to move. Finally, at the last second, Luce snapped out of their glare and rolled out of the way of the attack.


    Where the three of them had been standing there was a puddle of bubbling dark purple goop. Luce raised their bow and pointed it at the spider, ¡°perhaps I was wrong about the boss room.¡±


    *


    The door slammed shut shortly after Mo stepped into the room. ¡°What did Luce do...¡± Alyss muttered before she started to bang on the door and shout to the other side.


    With her back to Alyss, Blaze looked around the room. It was a perfect mirror of the other chamber only there was a door on the other side rather than a hallway.


    Even the hole in the wall by the ceiling was mirrored. And out of that hole crawled a giant spider.

 Chapter 13

    ¡°I¡¯m not a tank!¡± Alphonse barked, his swing losing power partway through and his sword bouncing harmlessly off of the spider¡¯s thick skin. The spider struck back with one of its front legs, hitting Alphonse square in his chest plate, hard enough to dent it. Alphonse grunted, ¡°I can¡¯t do this forever!¡±


    Hiro swallowed the mana-infused bread in his mouth and used the energy it gave him to cast a healing spell, ¡°It¡¯s all I can do just to keep you standing,¡± he shouted, panic creeping into his voice and tears creeping into his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re not who I was complaining about!¡± Alphonse shot a glare at Luce. He managed to block the spider¡¯s next blow with his sword despite looking away.


    Luce grit their teeth and fired another arrow that failed to hit anything vital. All of Luce¡¯s deadly accuracy from before seemed to be gone and none of their arrows were doing any damage. And what¡¯s worse was they kept glancing at the tunnel, getting distracted, getting hit.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Hiro screamed, throwing a shield up around Luce just in time to protect them from the spider¡¯s venom spit.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t have that mage girl to impress and you suddenly can¡¯t fight?¡± Alphonse mocked, running his blistered, bloody hand through his hair and leaving red streaks on the blonde strands. ¡°Don¡¯t waste mana on the useless fuck!¡±


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    ¡°I-!¡± A flustered Luce seemed to be about to defend themself but stopped and shook their head. The ribbon holding their braid snapped, their long white braid unraveling slightly.


    Then suddenly they shot an arrow straight down into their own foot.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Hiro yelled, but before he could finish, Luce fired an arrow into one of the spider¡¯s eyes. Blood seeped through Luce¡¯s white and gold boots as they fired more arrows into the monster¡¯s many eyes. It reared back, opening itself up for Alphonse to slice down its soft underbelly. Luce shot another arrow into the underside of its head. It fell onto its back, shrieking, and Alphonse finished it off with a downward strike to the place where its body met its head.


    Alphonse swung his sword to get the extra blood off and sheathed it. He turned to Luce, ¡°took you long enough.¡±


    Luce raised their bow at him and fired.


    *


    Blocked by a wall of fire, the spider monster refused to get any closer to Blaze¡¯s party. ¡°Hurry!¡± Blaze ordered, sweat dripping down the sides of her face, ¡°I can¡¯t hold this for long!¡±


    Alyss struck out with her whip, wrapping it around the spider''s front two legs and pulling them out from under it. With its head brought lower, Mo rushed forward, unconcerned about stepping through the fire, and cut off its head.


    Alyss yanked her whip back. She tossed her slightly loosened ponytail over her shoulder, ¡°well that wasn¡¯t hard at all...¡±


    As if to mock her, the hard shell of the spider¡¯s armor began to crack and something started crawling out.

 Chapter 14

    Alphonse sheathed his sword and glared at Luce, ¡°took you long enough.¡±


    Luce raised their bow at him and fired.


    Hiro let out a short scream... that cut off when he saw the Light arrow sail past Alphonse¡¯s head, thudding into the spider¡¯s body, ¡°this isn¡¯t over yet!¡±


    The hard shell of the spider¡¯s body cracked and out spilled Darkness. Luce fired more arrows as a spider made of pure Darkness slowly formed above the carapace.


    Alphonse turned around to face it and stumbled back, his hand on his hilt, ¡°great, another fucking Darkness monster, what the hell am I supposed to do?¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way,¡± Luce answered, firing another arrow that sliced through Alphonse¡¯s hair and struck the Darkness spider.


    ¡°Motherfucker! You were missing every shot earlier and now you think you can shoot that close to my head?!¡±


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    ¡°Alphonse! Duck!¡± Hiro shouted. Alphonse dived to the ground as Hiro threw a strong Light spell at the spider but it was not a spell that was meant to be thrown and it fizzled out before it could reach the monster. ¡°Fuck!¡± Hiro shouted with the same urgency and panic he had called out Alphonse¡¯s name with. His knees shook and almost buckled.


    Luce pulled the string back farther than it was ever gone and held it there, The spider ignored the boys and turned directly towards Luce. It reared back to spit its strange venom again and Luce¡¯s Light arrow became two, then three. At the same time that the spider spit its venom, Luce released their arrows. Unlike the original spider¡¯s purple goop, this spider spat a black cloud of pure Darkness. Luce¡¯s arrows went straight through it and pierced the Dark beast. It screeched out and started to disintegrate. However, its spit didn¡¯t disappear.


    ¡°Luce!¡± At the last second, Hiro threw a force field up around Luce, using the last of his energy. Vision going black he collapsed to the ground.


    *


    Out of the spider crawled... another spider, this one made of pure Darkness. Before the Gold Coin guild trio could react, the spider slashed one of its legs across Mo¡¯s back sending them sprawling to the ground. Their face-plate fell off, revealing their empty helmet.


    Alyss swung her whip and it went right through the spider¡¯s body, ¡°Are you friggin¡¯ kidding me?!¡±

 Chapter 15

    Alphonse knelt down by Hiro¡¯s unconscious body. He flipped him over onto his back and lifted his head, placing him on his lap. Hiro¡¯s cheeks were flushed and there was a sheen of sweat across his brow. Alphonse laid the back of his hand on Hiro¡¯s forehead, a bit of anger in his pout, ¡°he¡¯s feverish,¡± he muttered, ¡°probably used more mana than he has...¡± Without looking away from Hiro¡¯s pale face, Alphonse raised his voice to ask Luce, ¡°you have any mana recovery items? Or health potions in general?¡±


    Luce wasn¡¯t listening to Alphonse at all. They had their ear pressed to the door, their brow furrowed. ¡°Not good... I can hear fighting... If they have to fight Darkness creatures too...¡± Luce trailed off. Then they started pressing on and hitting anything visually unique on the door in the hopes of forcing it open. It did them no good.


    Alphonse sighed and started digging around in Hiro¡¯s bag for his Adventurer¡¯s Medallion, ¡°he¡¯ll probably be pissed at me for this but whatever.¡± Alphonse closed Hiro¡¯s fist around it, forcing his thumb across the relief of a sword run through a dragon¡¯s body. In the blink of an eye, Hiro disappeared, teleported back to the last safe zone, where, hopefully, Suzie and Kelsi were waiting for him.


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    Alphonse rose to his feet, a cold and somewhat apathetic look on his face. He took a few steps towards the door, ¡°move aside.¡±


    *


    It wasn¡¯t long after Suzie and Kelsi arrived at the teleportation platform that Hiro appeared, unconscious and clearly ill. He was rushed away by medics and healers before the girls could fully register that it was him. When Alphonse didn¡¯t immediately appear, Suzie put a hand on Kelsi¡¯s shoulder and ordered, ¡°wait her for Alphonse,¡± before jogging after Hiro¡¯s stretcher.


    Left alone, Kelsi swallowed hard. Her shaking hands gripped her own shirt and she stared at the teleportation platform with eyes wide open like a spooked deer.

 Chapter 16

    Can automatons die? Blaze kept wondering as she dodged the attacks of the Darkness spider while continually throwing glances at the down and seemingly disanimated Mo. Alyss may act like them but they were the last thing created by her father she has to-


    Caught up in her thoughts and worries Blaze was too slow and one of the spider¡¯s sharp front legs sliced through her thigh. She tried to take another step, but fell to the ground, blood pouring from a leg she could barely move, ¡°shit!¡±


    The spider spewed a cloud of inky Darkness and she was quickly engulfed. She plugged her nose and held her breath but it wasn¡¯t much help as the Darkness could worm its way into any orifice and was pouring in through her ears and eyes.


    *


    With strength and strength alone, Alphonse broke through the door. Immediately in his line of sight was Alyss, who was about to step into a cloud of Darkness to save her friend. Rolling his eyes, he took a lunging step forward and hooked an arm around her torso, holding her back. Standing in the doorway behind him, Luce fired an arrow at the ground by Blaze, the Light dispersing the cloud of Darkness. They quickly pulled the string back again. After letting it charge up strength for a second or two, while staring at the back of Alphonse¡¯s head with their silvery-white eyes narrowed. They released teh arrow and pulled back the string once more. All without looking away from Alphonse, Luce fired arrow after arrow until the Darkness spider¡¯s unnatural shrieking ended.


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    *


    Suzie caught up to the stretcher. When she got close enough to see he had not grievous injuries she let out a sigh of relief. She walked in stride with one of the people carrying his stretcher, ¡°I¡¯m his squad leader, how is he?¡± Even as she asked, she was studying him. His clothes were torn and singed in places, bleeding cuts, nasty bruises were visible through the holes in his clothes. His face was flushed bright red and sweat dripped off his furrowed brow onto the cloth stretcher underneath him.


    Before they answered her she already knew what they were going to say, ¡°his injuries are slight but he over-extended his mana reserves. He needs some energy soon and a good deal of rest but he will be fine.¡± Suzie nodded and quickened her steps just enough so that she could take hold of Hiro¡¯s thin, clammy hand with her strong, gloved and armored one, ¡°it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re okay, you fucking idiot.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Luce¡¯s arrow pierced through the cloud of Darkness around Blaze and suddenly she could breathe again. She rolled over onto her side, coughing and sputtering. Black droplets, saliva mixed with Darkness, spilled from the corners of her mouth.


    Before she could fully recover, the full force of Alyss¡¯s bony chest slammed into Blaze¡¯s head. She wrapped her arms fully around Blaze¡¯s head. ¡°I thought I was going to lose you...¡± Alyss whispered, her voice catching a little bit. Unable to move to hug her back, Blaze just let herself be held with her ear against Alyss¡¯s chest, hearing her heartbeat race.


    ¡°Is this thing broken?¡± Alphonse asked, right before there was a clatter of metal. ¡°Nevermind, it¡¯s getting back up...¡±


    Hearing that Blaze finally fully relaxed.


    ¡°Found the treasure!¡± Luce¡¯S voice announced, echoing off the cavern walls. Alyss slowly let go, helping Blaze to her feet as well. Alyss brushed the tears off her cheeks and pushed back the flyaway strands of red hair by her face, ¡°what happened to your healer friend?¡±


    Alphonse¡¯s lip curled up in a slight sneer, ¡°Hiro,¡± he said with emphasis then continued with a softer expression, ¡°Hiro over-extended himself and passed out. I used his Adventurer¡¯s Medallion to send him back.¡±


    ¡°Helloooo? Is no one else interested in the treasure?¡±


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    *


    Kelsi stood stock still, staring at the spot Alphonse would appear. She wrung out the same tress of slightly curly brown hair over and over as she waited. Is he unconscious? What if he isn¡¯t able to use his medallion? What if he is in worse shape than Hiro? Will he be mad it¡¯s me waiting for him and not Suzie?


    Kelsi¡¯s runaway cart full of thoughts suddenly crashed when a group of figures appeared in the teleportation circle. There was a tall, fully armored person holding up a small, tan girl with short cropped orange hair and clear signs of Darkness poisoning. Another girl, a little taller with broader shoulders, stronger looking arms, paler skin, and long red hair, was hovering around her, wiping away the inky blackness spilling from her eyes and other orifices.


    Alphonse was standing off to the side away from the group, looking sweaty, tired, and a little roughed up but, for the most part, okay. But bells of alarm rang in Kelsi¡¯s head when she saw the fifth figure shaking Alphonse¡¯s hand.


    It was the person Suzie and her had met outside the dungeon. How come they were with Alphonse? Was that trio their teammates? They don¡¯t look close to them at all. Kelsi started making her way towards Alphonse.


    The person with brown skin and long white hair looked out over the crowd and cleared their throat. The people gathered around, those checking commissions on notice boards, those reading correspondence to see if their teammates who got separated would show up, and those hoping beyond hope that the next people in the teleportation circle would be their injured but living comrades.


    With a cocky smile, they announced, ¡°Dungeon 724 has been cleared by members of The Golden Coin Guild¡¯s Beta team and The Three-Winged Guild¡¯s Phi team!¡±

 Chapter 18

    ¡°The Golden Coin Guild? Weren¡¯t they all killed by those beasts the Red Wolf Pack?¡±


    ¡°I heard the descendants of the original team Alpha members were still alive. Maybe they remade the guild?¡±


    ¡°Do you think those girls are the descendants?¡±


    Kelsi shoved her way through the gossiping crowd and called out, ¡°Alphonse!¡±


    His eyes immediately found hers in the crowd. He hopped down off the platform and the last few people in the way parted for him.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Hiro?¡±


    ¡°Suzie went with him and the medics, this way.¡± Even as Kelsi turned to lead Alphonse away she couldn¡¯t help but let her eyes linger on the white haired person. They returned her stare, giving her a cocky smile and bow. She tore her eyes away and scurried off, Alphonse in tow.


    *


    The magic in the palms of Hiro¡¯s hands popped and fizzled out. He flopped to the ground and immediately began to wail. His father Gaius, a tall, rail-thin man with long black hair and rimless glasses perched on his nose, sniffed out his outburst in annoyance and crossed his arms. Thin, delicate chains hooked around his ears, holding his glasses on his face. Glittering gems hung from the chains, acting as counterweights for his glasses and looking like diamond earrings dangling from his ears and glinting in the soft, warm sunlight.


    He sighed, ¡°you can¡¯t cry everytime you fail a spell, Hiro.¡±


    Having heard the wails, Rex came out of the house to see Hiro crying on the ground and Gaius standing over him with arms crossed and lips pursed.


    ¡°Hey! Are you making my son cry?!¡± He called out, his big, braided, fiery red beard and bushy mustache hiding his smile.


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    Gaius rolled his eyes and corrected, ¡°our son. And I didn¡¯t make him cry, he just started crying...¡±


    Rex picked Hiro up and let the boy sniffle into his shoulder. Rex was a slightly shorter but much burlier man, with broad shoulders, big, soft pectorals, and strong arms that Hiro loved to throw himself into and be enveloped by; safe, protected.


    Even with his face buried in Rex¡¯s shoulder, Hiro still heard Gaius¡¯ voice, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t coddle him so much or he¡¯ll never get over this crying phase.¡±


    Hearing those words, Hiro pulled his face out of his papa¡¯s shoulder and pouted at his dad, his eyes big and watery and his bottom lip quivering. Rex quickly deployed his baby blue puppy-dog eyes as well.


    Up against both his husband and his son, Gaius almost folded. Almost. He rolled his eyes again, ¡°yes, yes I¡¯m a heartless, villainous father, denying my son the affections of his other father.¡± Gaius turned his back to them and took a few steps away and cried out in a voice full of mock hurt. ¡°I should do the right thing and free my child from these cruel magic lessons!¡±


    ¡°Wait! Dad, no!¡± Hiro blinked his tears away and wiggled out of Rex¡¯s arms. Gaius slowed his steps to allow Hiro to easily wrap his arms around Gaius¡¯s legs, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad! I won¡¯t cry anymore so please keep teaching me magic!¡±


    Gaius smiled down at HIro and brushed the boy¡¯s wavy black hair away from his face. ¡°You¡¯ll never learn magic if you let failure defeat you like that. Save your tears for when you are truly hurt or suffering, whether outside or inside and we¡¯ll both come running when you cry.¡±


    *


    Hiro opened his eyes, a few tears sliding down the sides of his face.


    ¡°Oh, thank fuck.¡± He heard Suzie¡¯s familiar voice say. He turned to look at her but before he could get a read on her facial expressions she pounced on him, half lifting him out of the bed he was laying on as she hugged him. ¡°You big, dumb idiot. What were you thinking?!¡±


    Hiro found himself tearing up a bit and he hugged her back, even though the sharp edges of her armor bit into his skin, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.... Where¡¯s Alphonse and Kelsi?¡±


    Suzie gave him one last squeeze and then let him go. ¡°I had Kelsi wait for Alphonse at the teleportation platform.¡±


    Suddenly, Kelsi burst through the door, breathing hard, her hand around Alphonse¡¯s wrist. Upon seeing Hiro awake and sitting up, Alphonse visibly relaxed. On the other hand, Kelsi was as panicked as ever. ¡°Suzie!¡± she tripped over her own feet and collapsed into Suzie.


    Suzie caught her, ¡°Kelsi, what-?¡±


    ¡°That white-haired person lied to us! They entered the dungeon!¡±

 Chapter 19

    Two days later...


    Hiro woke up in the middle of the night.


    Though he felt almost entirely better at that point, he was still in the infirmary. The girl laid on the bed with him, Suzie beside him and Kelsi at his feet, while Alphonse slept in the guest chair next to the bed, his glasses askew on his face.


    Hiro was sweating profusely under the sheets and his bladder was crying out for release. So he kicked the sheets off and rolled over to get off the bed. A strong hand grabbed his arm and he couldn¡¯t move an inch. He looked down and locked eyes with Suzie. Her pink eyes were wide open, alert, and almost seemed to be glowing in the dark. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°To piss.¡± Hiro responded, his voice thick and hoarse from grogginess.


    Her eyes flicked to his gear by the bedside and said, ¡°leave your staff here.¡±


    Hiro put his hand over Suzie¡¯s on his arm, ¡°I solemnly swear I¡¯m just going to take a piss.¡±


    ...


    Without his cloak, Hiro shivered in the brisk autumn night air. He walked with quick steps, wishing to be back under warm blankets with his friends.


    ¡°Hiro!¡± someone called out to him. Their voice wasn¡¯t too loud but even a normal speaking volume shattered the dead silence of night and made Hiro nearly jump out of his shoes.


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    He turned to the voice and saw Luce melting out of the shadows. How they, in their gold and pure white outfit, managed to blend in with the darkness, Hiro couldn¡¯t begin to figure out.


    ¡°Luce? What¡¯s up?¡± Alphonse had apparently talked with Luce and Blaze before leaving the dungeon and divided the treasure into 5 parts but since then Hiro hadn¡¯t seen them once.


    ¡°Just taking a midnight piss and saw you... wanted to say hi.¡± Luce slung an arm around his shoulders, ¡°haven¡¯t seen you since Alphonse teleported you out of the dungeon, how are you?¡±


    Hiro started walking alongside Luce back to the infirmary, a little bit grateful for their warm arm around his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m pretty much recovered. I have a check-up tomorrow and if I get the all-clear then we will head out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Sorry I didn¡¯t come visit you, Blaze got a bit fucked up too and I¡¯m still trying to win her and Alyss over.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to join their team so bad?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the great-great grandchildren of the original adventurers, who wouldn¡¯t want to fight alongside the children of legends?¡± Luce stopped suddenly and so did Hiro, turning to face them. Luce smiled, ¡°speaking of... you¡¯re the son of the Rex and Gaius, aren¡¯t you?¡± Hiro nodded, feeling his ears burn a little, ¡°you should be careful when trying to carry on their legacy. Legends don¡¯t die peacefully, even after retiring, for a reason and not everything in this world is as it appears.¡± Luce took their arm away and Hiro felt a sudden chill when their body heat no longer enveloped him.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Hiro asked, too quiet and too late, as Luce had already walked away, even the sound of their retreating footsteps quickly fading away.

 Chapter 20

    Once Hiro¡¯s mana was replenished enough, the squad of four left the safe zone, heading for their guild. The guilds had many functions and perks and one perk the Phi team had not made use of yet was its bank.


    They finally had enough money, two fifths the spoils of a dungeon, to put away. While bags of holding kept them from being weighed down it was still easier and more convenient for them to keep it at the guild. Their dues would be automatically collected, their money would collect interest, and, most importantly, they would have more prestige within the guild.


    Hiro bumped shoulders with Suzie as they walked along the road. ¡°You think team Sigma will finally show us a little respect now that we¡¯ve cleared a dungeon?¡±


    Suzie raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°you passed out partway through and had to be sent back to the safe zone. Kelsi and I were never there to begin with. We didn¡¯t clear a dungeon... Alphonse did with another team.¡±


    Hiro pouted, ¡°we don¡¯t need to tell Kulya that.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll know.¡± Alphonse said.


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    Hiro looked back at Alphonse, who trailed behind the group with his fingers laced behind his head. Hiro gave Alphonse a pouty, narrow-eyed glare and Alphonse shrugged. Then Hiro sighed before his energy returned with a wide grin. He planted his feet, put his hands on his hips, and rather loudly exclaimed, ¡°guess we should just clear another dungeon on our way back!¡±


    Kelsi let out a startled ¡®eep¡¯ at Hiro¡¯s bold declaration, having to stumble out of the way of his elbows that suddenly jutted out from his sides and blocked the path next to him.


    Suzie pursed her lips, ¡°we can try.¡±


    Hiro threw his arms up in the air and cheered.


    ...


    ¡°This is very much not a dungeon.¡± Alphonse said, holding Suzie¡¯s weapon as she hung off the side of a cliff, reaching for an injured fox on a small ledge below.


    ¡°Oh hush, ¡° she responded, wiggling a little further forwards to be able to reach farther down. Kelsi sweated profusely as she and Hiro held onto Suzie¡¯s ankles. Finally, Suzie managed to scoop the small fox up in her hands, ¡°alright, got ¡®im! Pull me up!¡±


    Once her feet were back on solid ground, Suzie set the fox down, but it didn¡¯t run away immediately. It scratched at Suzie¡¯s leg armor before turning and pointing its nose in a direction and holding very still.


    ¡°I think he wants us to follow him,¡± Suzie said excitedly, looking around to her party members with wide, sparkling eyes.


    Alphonse groaned, ¡°great...¡±

 Chapter 21

    The members of Team Phi of the Three-Winged Guild trailed behind their leader as she followed the fox off the beaten path, deep into the woods.


    ¡°Are you sure this isn¡¯t a- eep!¡± Kelsi¡¯s nervous voice was cut off when she got her foot stuck in a bramble. She hopped on one foot, shaking her other foot until the thorns dislodged from her pants. Once free, she pressed a hand to her chest, took a deep breath, and tried again. ¡°Are you sure this isn¡¯t a trap?¡±


    ¡°90%¡± Suzie answered without hesitation and without looking back, her eyes staying focused on the little fox as it moved forward at a steady pace.


    ¡°That¡¯s not 100%.¡± Kelsi pouted.


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    ¡°Come on, Kelsi! We¡¯re adventurers who¡¯ve cleared a dungeon! We can handle a little trap or two!¡± Hiro laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Kelsi muttered.


    Alphonse flicked the back of Hiro¡¯s head, ¡°you¡¯re letting yourself get overconfident, dumdum.¡± His tone was harsh but his expression was soft.


    Hiro rubbed the back of his head and glanced back at Alphonse, who quickly looked away and pushed past him. Hiro stuck his tongue out at Alphonse, ¡°having a bit of confidence isn¡¯t a bad thing, you meanie!¡±


    ¡°But you have way too much, Mr. couldn¡¯t-do-anything-against-the-first-boss-and-got-knocked-out.¡±


    Hiro¡¯s face turned red and even a few tears formed in his eyes but before he could come up with a retort Suzie interrupted them. ¡°Guys, shh.¡± She had gotten low to the ground, her back pressed against a tree as she furtively glanced around it, ¡°we got poachers.¡±

 Chapter 22

    Elijah held up a small, skinny rabbit by the scruff of its neck, ¡°the pickings just get slimmer by the day.¡±


    His companion, Whitler, sighed, ¡°the Darkness is spreading, we''ll have to widen our ring.¡±


    Elijah sighed as well, tossing the rabbit into the cage, ¡°ain¡¯t we getting home late enough already?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Then the sound of whispered voices and the clanking of armor sent them into high alert, ¡°who¡¯s there?¡±


    A fox leapt from the bushes surrounding their clearing and shortly after- ¡°Waaah-!¡± a teenage girl in full armor, with leaves and twigs stuck to her twin afro puffs, fell out of the bushes as well.


    Just behind her was a boy in mage robes with shoulder-length black hair. He gave an awkward smile and wave.


    *


    ¡°We got poachers.¡± Suzie pressed her back against a tree. Unfortunately, the fox did not take her cue to be stealthy. It yipped and started running for the clearing. ¡°Wait!¡± Suzie hissed, trying and failing to catch the fox. She followed it closer to the clearing while crouching low to the ground.


    ¡°Suzie, wait up.¡± Hiro whispered, following as well.


    Suzie misstepped, her armor clanging. Spooked by the loud sound, the fox jumped and bolted, just as the poachers called out, ¡°who¡¯s there?¡±


    Suzie made the split second, foolish decision to try to catch the fox once more, instead tripping, falling, and crushing a bush underneath her.


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    With Suzie flat on the ground and the bushes destroyed, Hiro was suddenly facing the poachers. His lips twitched into a nervous smile and he awkwardly raised a hand, ¡°...hi...¡±


    A few feet back, still smartly hiding behind a tree, Alphonse facepalmed. Glancing over at where Kelsi had been and finding she had disappeared, Alphonse just rolled his eyes and started walking back towards the path.


    The pair of poachers stared at Hiro and Suzie for a moment, then exchanged a confused look.


    ¡°Kids...?¡± one of them asked.


    ¡°Looks like adventurers?¡±


    ¡°Why would adventurers be after us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they aren¡¯t... Hey! Did someone hire you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Hiro answered automatically with honesty.


    At the same time Suzie, who had pushed herself up on her knees and put her hands on her hips answered, ¡°yes,¡± then glared at Hiro.


    Hiro mouthed, ¡°what?¡± in confusion.


    Suzie pointed at the fox, who was now pawing at a cage filled with 4 smaller foxes, ¡°that¡¯s who hired us.¡±


    One of the poachers snorted, ¡°a fox? And how is it paying you?¡±


    Finally Suzie stood back up and once more put her hands on her hips, ¡°don¡¯t need to be paid to do the right thing!¡±


    The other poacher sneered and reached for the crossbow strapped to his back, ¡°I¡¯m so fucking tired of hypocritical adventurer¡¯s. You wanna fucking lecture me, little bitch?¡±


    Suzie reached for her ax as well, lowering into a defensive posture. Hiro got out his staff and prepared to cast Shield.


    Then the first poacher grabbed his companion¡¯s arm to stop him from aiming his crossbow at Suzie. ¡°Come on, Whitler, they''re just kids. And they may not even be from Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild!¡±


    Suzie¡¯s shoulder untensed and she straightened up a bit, frowning. ¡°Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild? You guys are having issues with Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild?¡±

 Chapter 23

    ¡°Heros Rock Guild? You guys are having issues with Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild?¡± Suzie frowned, brow furrowing.


    The poacher with the crossbow tried to shake off his friend, ¡°they refuse to do anything about the monsters killing all our livestock and game, and they have arrested a bunch of our people for ¡®poaching¡¯ all while still expecting taxes from us.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t from the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild!¡± Hiro piped up, ¡°we are a part of the Three Winged Guild!¡±


    The poacher, Whitler as his friend had called him, snorted derisively, ¡°if you aren¡¯t with them what are you doing in their territory.¡±


    With a proud smile and his fists on his hips, Hiro answered, ¡°we cleared a dungeon!¡±


    The friendlier poacher¡¯s eyebrows raised, ¡°really? That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    At the same time the one with the crossbow rolled his eyes and shook his head, ¡°ain¡¯t no way a bunch of kids are dungeon crawlers.¡±


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    ¡°We are too!¡± Hiro shot back, ¡°we still have the spoils, see?¡± Hiro opened his money pouch and pointed it at the two men.


    Whitler saw the pile of gold and his eyes shined with greed. He moved his crossbow aim from Suzie to Hiro, his companion too surprised at the sight of so much gold to stop him.


    Appearing suddenly, as if from thin air, Alphonse stepped in front of Hiro, his blade already out and pointed at the poacher. With a cold glare, he said, ¡°he already told you, we aren¡¯t with the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild, so you better put that away so we can continue having a civil conversation.¡±


    *


    Kelsi crouched in a high branch of a tree, her hand shaking as she held up a knife ready to throw it if it looked like the man would shoot. She couldn¡¯t hear a single word spoken over the pounding of her heart in her ears.


    When the man turned his crossbow towards Hiro, finger on the trigger, Kelsi almost threw her knife. But she blinked and suddenly Alphonse was there. She nearly fell out of the tree in shock. Last she had noticed he was walking away from the clearing. How the hell did he get there without her noticing?

 Chapter 24

    Whitler swallowed. His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed, the movement making it briefly press against the very tip of Alphonse¡¯s sword. For a long moment, nobody moved.


    And then, finally, Whitler lowered the crossbow.


    ¡°Put. It. Away.¡± Alphonse ordered coldly.


    Closing up the bag of gold, Hiro stepped forward and put his hand on top of Alphonse¡¯s, trying to gently force it down, ¡°let¡¯s all calm down?¡±


    Alphonse was stronger than Hiro and easily kept his hand aloft until the poacher lowered his crossbow. Only then did he let Hiro push his hand down.


    Whitler clicked his tongue and took a few steps back, ¡°come on, Eli. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He started walking away, prompting his partner to say a hurried, ¡°sorry¡± with a short bow before following.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Suzie called after them. They both stopped, but only Eli turned back to look, ¡°why don¡¯t you hire us to deal with your problem.¡±


    Whitler looked back at her with a sneer, ¡°we don¡¯t have any money left to hire a bunch of snot-nosed brats.¡±


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    Suzie¡¯s armor clanged together as she crossed her arms, ¡°we are fully qualified Dungeoneers. And you wouldn¡¯t have to pay us.¡±


    Alphonse made sure to sheath his sword with a rather loud noise, ¡°I¡¯m not doing shit without pay.¡±


    Suzie gave Hiro and Alphonse a shit-eating grin, ¡°we¡¯ll get the Heroes Rock Guild to pay us.¡±


    *


    Even over the sound of her father¡¯s hammer, Suzie heard the approach of a few armored individuals. She gently laid her doll down on the floor and popped her head up over the counter, already beaming a gap-tooth grin at the approaching customers, ¡°welcome to the Samson Smithy! What do you need?¡±


    A group of four adventurer¡¯s stood around outside the smithy. Two, one a bald, dark skinned man, the other a woman with long blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, were in gleaming heavy armor. The other two, hanging farther back, were clearly a mage and a priest. The priests body and face were obscured by huge loose robes and a hood but they stood tall and imposing, while the scrawny young mage with long, curly red hair clung tightly to their staff, their shoulders hunched.


    The blonde woman gave Suzie a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes and leaned on the counter, ¡°we aren¡¯t here for any weapons... we¡¯re here to collect taxes for the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild.¡±


    The hammer stopped.


    Suzie¡¯S father stepped up behind her, taking his protective work gloves off, ¡°there seems to be some kind of mistake. Our smithy is under the protection of the Crimson Hawks Guild.¡±


    The woman¡¯s smile widened, growing hungry, ¡°my apologies, I thought someone from the Crimson Hawks would¡¯ve warned you already.... It seems there was a mistake years ago when the territory lines were drawn. Your smithy should¡¯ve been part of our territory so now we are here to collect back taxes.¡±

 Chapter 25

    Glancing vaguely in Kelsi¡¯s direction, Suzie called out, ¡°hey, come out!¡±


    Kelsi jumped down from her perch, a black shape dropping from the branches and instantly disappeared into a bush. Whitler immediately turned to her, half raising his crossbow.


    Kelsi popped out of the bush with her hands up and twigs and leaves stuck in her wavy brown hair, ¡°I¡¯m with them!¡± she squeaked.


    Whitler hugged and lowered the crossbow.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you lead us to your village?¡± Suzie asked, looking to Eli as the friendlier of the two.


    ¡°You really planning on helping us?¡± he asked, looking between the members of the Phi team of the Three-Winged Guild.


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    Alphonse glared at the back of Suzie¡¯s head as she smiled at him, ¡°of course!¡±


    ...


    Whitler marched on ahead not waiting for the others, partially disappearing into the trees. Eli trailed behind, helping Suzie, Hiro, and Kelsi while Alphonse trudged even further behind. Hiro glanced back and saw him falling behind and stopped to let him catch up. Alphonse¡¯s cold glare at the forest floor softened when Hiro¡¯s feet came into view. He looked up at Hiro with a smile as he fell into step beside him. ¡°Do you really want to help these people? They pointed a crossbow at you?¡±


    Hiro shrugged, ¡°they just seem a little desperate and Suzie said we¡¯d get paid.¡±


    Alphonse sucked his teeth, ¡°do you really think we will? I think she just has some sort of problem with the Heroes Rock Guild.¡±


    Hiro¡¯s face scrunched up in confusion, ¡°you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious as shit.¡±


    Hiro chewed on his bottom lip, ¡°well if that¡¯s the case, doesn¡¯t it just make it more important to help her.¡±

 Chapter 26

    Suzie ran her fingers along the breastplate made by her father. The material for one fourth of it was worth more than he was getting paid for it... And enough to feed her family for three days. With a sigh, she placed it in the box to be sent to the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild and sealed it shut.


    Suzie looked up at the portrait of her older sister smiling down over the workshop, dressed in her crimson colors, a hawk emblazoned across her chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lizzie... I can¡¯t stay here...¡±


    *


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    Suzie¡¯s eyes widened as they stepped out of the dense forest into a much smaller village than she expected. A few dozen small wooden houses, a couple of small, sparse backyard farms, furs tanning next to buildings, and crafters making traps. There were people milling about, including children.


    Despite the children hanging about, the village was quiet, the children just watching the four adventurer¡¯s wandering into the village with hungry, tired looks.


    The village was surrounded on three sides by the woods. On the opposite side to the way they came in there was a clearing and a dirt road that wound out to the main road.


    Suzie froze in her tracks as she saw a familiar face talking to a nervous looking man in front of a butchery. A woman with long, blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail and wearing beautiful, elaborate heavy metal armor.


    Suzie gripped the handle of her hammer.

 Chapter 27

    ¡°Kyna....¡± Suzie had meant to call the name out confidently, defiantly, but it came out as no more than a whisper. And the woman didn¡¯t look up or over her way at all. She felt rooted to the spot, hand shaking around the handle of her hammer.


    ¡°Suzie?¡± Kelsi¡¯s whisper cut through her sluggish, unmoving thoughts. Her hand alighted on top of Suzie¡¯s without an ounce of pressure, ¡°are you ok? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Suzie shook her head, slowly taking her hand off the handle of her hammer, turning it over and taking hold of Kelsi¡¯s hand, ¡°I¡¯m fine, just saw someone I knew.¡±


    Out of the corner of her eye, Suzie saw motion. She turned to face Hiro, watching as his gloved hands danced in the air with a spell.


    ¡°Hiro, no,¡± she hissed, but it was too late, spells did not take long to cast. Hiro¡¯s hands dropped to his sides, the magic spent. Suzie¡¯s head whipped around towards where Kyna was now walking away. At first she couldn¡¯t see what Hiro had done. Then she saw the shimmering shape in the grass just in time to watch Kyna trip over it and fall flat on her face with a loud clanging of metal armor. Hiro burst out laughing immediately and Suzie couldn¡¯t help her own lips twitching up in a smile.


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    Until Kyna looked back at them, red-faced and furious, ¡°who the fuck are you?¡± she spat.


    *


    Suzie¡¯s hands were shaking and her vision was growing blurry and dark at the edges as she stared down at the half of a sword that was in her hand.


    ¡°My apologies. That¡¯s all that could be retrieved.¡± The voice that spoke is far from apologetic. It¡¯s cold. Bored.


    When Suzie looked up, even through her tears, she saw a familiar face. It was the same woman that stole from her family under the pretense of taxes. And now this woman looked on heartlessly as she handed over her sister¡¯s sword and word of her death.


    It almost felt like she killed her herself.


    *


    Mouth dry, Suzie asked, ¡°you don¡¯t remember me?¡±


    Kyna shorted and shot back, ¡°should I?¡±

 Chapter 28

    Suzie was scared. Their calm, collected leader, shaking in her armor so hard it rattled slightly. Hiro was glad he wasted some mana, tripping her with a small force field.


    At least it had made Suzie smile for half a second.


    The blonde woman hit Hiro with a red-faced glare and Hiro couldn¡¯t help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± she spat.


    Suzie¡¯s smile ran away and she started shaking again. Hiro¡¯s laughter died.


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember me?¡± Suzie asked, in a broken whisper.


    ¡°Should I?¡±


    Hiro watched Suzie carefully as her eyes widened and her breath quickened. The blonde woman started to get up and Hiro¡¯s fingers wiggled as he mentally ran through his spells to try and figure out how best to keep her down until Suzie could find her words.


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    In the corner of his eye, Hiro could see Kelsi reaching for one of her daggers. Even she was ready to fight. For Suzie. No questions asked.


    The woman got to her feet unimpeded by an indecisive Hiro. But she didn¡¯t try to leave, nor did she make an aggressive step towards them, so Hiro held back on tripping her again. She was waiting, impatiently, for an answer to her question. After a long, silent moment, Suzie¡¯s breath calmed enough for her to reply, ¡°no... It¡¯s been a few years and I¡¯ve grown a lot. It''s not odd that you don¡¯t recognize me.¡± Suzie took in a deep, steadying breath and straightened up a bit, putting on a brave face. ¡°But who I was doesn¡¯t matter. Who I am now does. I am the leader of Team Phi of the Three-Winged Guild and I wanna know why Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild is neglecting its duty to this village!¡± Suzie¡¯s voice climbed in confidence and volume as she spoke. And at the end she widened her stance and gripped the hilt of her hammer. A signal to the team to prepare for a fight.


    The woman started laughing. ¡°What did those criminals tell you?¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    She stopped laughing and just smirked, putting her hand on her hip, ¡°is this official guild business? Does your guild even know you¡¯re here?¡±


    Suzie flinched and deflated.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t kill the monsters, then we will!¡± Hiro announced, stepping in front of Suzie and tilting his chin up in a mirror of the woman¡¯s cocky look.


    Her smirk grew, ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no,¡± she said, before walking away.

 Chapter 29

    ¡°But we said we¡¯d help!¡± Hiro insisted, loudly, his voice disturbing a few birds in the tree above them.


    Suzie winced as one of the birds flying away left poop on the shoulder of her armor. ¡°And I still plan to, I just... the law isn¡¯t really on our side... we¡¯ll probably get fined more than they can pay us or even kicked out of the guild.¡±


    The four members of the Phi team of the Three-Winged Guild, crouched in a circle facing each other in the woods a few feet away from the little village. They hunkered down in the shade of the trees, only watched by Whitler, who leaned against a tree, a beam of sunlight in his eyes, making him squint at them while they argued.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the money. You said you¡¯d help and that lady was kinda a bitch to you. You¡¯d better believe I¡¯m backing up my friend.¡± Hiro said, tone heated, eyes wide and passionate, and fists clenched tight in front of him.


    Alphonse crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels, rolling his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not going to pay to save these chucklefucks from their personal problems.¡±


    Hugging her knees and staring at the caterpillar that crawled through the grass in the middle of their little circle, Kelsi haltingly started speaking, ¡°uhm... I¡¯m... with Alphonse on this... If we get... get fired... I-I-I can¡¯t go back to the way it was before!¡±


    Suzie scooted closer to Kelsi and put a gauntleted hand on her shaking knee, ¡°no, no we won¡¯t let that happen... you can sit this one out.¡±


    ¡°But!¡± Kelsi exclaimed, then cut herself off, chewing on her bottom lip. She took Suzie¡¯s hand in both of hers and muttered, ¡°but I don¡¯t want to have to join a different team...¡±


    Suzie raised her other hand to Kelsi¡¯s cheek, ¡°I¡¯m sorry... but I have to... I promised... Even if it¡¯s only me and Hiro... I gotta do something.¡±


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    Hiro wiggled and scooted closer to Alphonse, leaning towards him and blinking up at him with puppy dog eyes, ¡°please help us, Alphonse, I¡¯ll pay your fine, I promise.¡±


    Alphonse blushed and looked up and away, ¡°...fine...¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± Hiro threw his arms around Alphonse in a hug, nearly knocking him over,


    Whitler sneered, ¡°great... We now only have three kids to ¡®save¡¯ us. What do you even plan to do?¡±


    Suzie straightened up, no longer leaning towards Kelsi but still keeping those points of comforting contact to her, ¡°we¡¯ll kill the monsters!¡±


    Whitler rolled his eyes then kicked off from the tree he was leaning against, ¡°yeah? And then what? You¡¯ll leave and more monsters will come or even worse, the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild might even retaliate against us for what you do?¡±


    Suzie opened her mouth to respond then closed it, biting her bottom lip. After almost a minute of silence and looking around aimlessly, her eyes settled on Kelsi and lit up. She tightened her grip on Kelsi¡¯s hand and leaned in closer, ¡°what if you ran to the next town and sent a letter to the guild? Even if they punish us, they wouldn¡¯t punish you for telling them and if they saw what was happening they¡¯d surely help this village!¡±


    Kelsi leaned back, pulling her hand out of Suzie¡¯s, and shaking her head vigorously, ¡°no, no, no, no, no I-I can¡¯t do that! Walk for days all by myself, what if there are monsters? What about the Darkness? And even if I get there I¡¯ll have to talk to the guild representative and... and...¡± Kelsi trailed off, watching Suzie¡¯s face fall and shoulders droop.


    Hiro, still hugging Alphonse who had ¡®nonchalantly¡¯ put one of his arms around him, piped up again, ¡°you can do what we do together? Carry the Lantern, sleep in waystations... and you can handle a few monsters no problem!¡±


    Kelsi closed her eyes and curled further into a ball, burying her fingers in her short, wavy brown hair.


    Suzie took in a deep breath and smiled gently even though Kelsi wasn¡¯t looking at her, ¡°it¡¯s ok... don¡¯t let Hiro pressure you-¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t pressuring her!¡±


    Hiro clamped his mouth shut after Suzie shot a glare his way before continuing, ¡°it¡¯s ok. We¡¯ll figure something else out.¡±


    Whitler sighed, ¡°alright,¡± Kelsi flinched, ¡°I¡¯ll deliver your fucking letter.¡±

 Chapter 30

    Whitler took the letter Suzie wrote and tucked it into the inside pocket of his shirt, ¡°you should head to Eli¡¯s place, he¡¯ll put you up until nightfall.¡±


    He gave a nod to Suzie, didn¡¯t acknowledge the others, and stomped off into the woods so he could reach the waystation before Darkness fell.


    Suzie watched him go until he was out of sight then stood up and stretched, her armor clanging together, ¡°let¡¯s head back to the village and gather our strength.¡±


    Kelsi stared down at the ants crawling across the grass. She looked up as Suzie stepped past her, back towards the village, and started, ¡°Suzie, I...¡±


    Suzie shook her head, ¡°it¡¯s ok, Kelsi, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Kelsi shut her mouth and turned her head back to the grass. Only after Hiro and Alphonse followed Suzie away did she slowly stand and make her way after them.


    *


    ¡°Thanks for the meal, Mrs. Rothlin.¡± Suzie said with a smile.


    Eli¡¯s wife, a pregnant young woman with messy brown curls smiled back and shook her head, ¡°it was my pleasure. I just hope it helps you fight back the Darkness. This town has been hell at night for too long.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯ll beat back the Darkness so bad it¡¯ll hide in the woods forever,¡± Hiro declared confidently.


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    Suzie shook her head at Hiro¡¯s lackluster declaration, before looking Mrs. Rothlin in the eye, ¡°we will do our best.¡±


    At another part of the table, Alphonse set his spoon down in his empty bowl very gently and tilted his head back and towards Hiro, ¡°there¡¯s still a couple of hours til sunset, you should sleep and replenish the mana you wasted earlier.¡±


    ¡°We have a spare bedroom if you¡¯d like to rest.¡± Eli said as he took Alphonse¡¯s plate, helping his wife clean up the table.


    Hiro pouted a bit, ¡°I¡¯m not really tired.... But I guess I should.¡±


    Suzie pushed away from the table and stood, ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on the offer as well if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Sure, if you two don¡¯t mind sharing, it¡¯s right through here.¡± Mrs. Rothlin stepped over behind Suzie and opened a door. ¡°The bed is already made.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much for your hospitality!¡± Suzie gave her one last warm smile before heading into the room. Hiro followed her, then Alphonse.


    Suzie stripped her armor off as quick as she could but Hiro was still much quicker in taking off his outer layers and stealing the inner side of the bed.


    Soon Suzie laid down as well, not even bothering to undo her buns.


    Alphonse unequipped his sword and sat down in the large armchair in the room, folding his legs under him, and pulling out his sketchbook. After a few minutes of silence he began to sketch Hiro¡¯s sleeping form.


    When his sketch was nearly complete, Kelsi finally slinked into the room and quietly sat down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. ¡°I¡¯m a coward, aren¡¯t I?¡± she muttered into the silent room.


    ¡°Mmhmm.¡± Alphonse affirmed with a hum, sketching in a tress of shoulder length hair that had fallen across Hiro¡¯s face.


    ¡°And a bad friend...¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Kelsi hugged her legs tighter to her chest and rested her eyes on her knees. Her quiet tears disappeared into the fabric of her pants.

 Chapter 31

    Darkness descended on the village, as it did on every town not built in a safe zone. All but three of the four members of the Phi team of the Three Winged Guild were indoors. Hiro, Alphonse, and Suzie had spread out, Suzie on one end of the village and Alphonse on another to guard the outskirts while Hiro stood in the center and poured everything he had into a Light Spell.


    Hiro stabbed his staff into the hard-packed dirt of the main road through town. He wiggled it a few times to force it into the dirt far enough that it would stand up on its own. He took a step back, breathed in the dusk air, and closed his eyes. He felt for the depths of his pool of mana and then pulled every drop into his hands. Unseen hands grabbed his arms, the encroaching Darkness trying to claw through his leather bracers. He held his breath to keep it out of his body. Then he clapped his hands together, his eyes snapping open with a prayer in his heart, ¡°Dad, Papa, strengthen my Light!¡±


    The top of Hiro¡¯s staff flared with Light with a radius that enveloped Hiro then slowly spread further and further, pushing the Darkness away...


    Suzie swung her ax, severing the arm of a creature of Darkness as it tried to reach through the cracks in the door of a house and slink inside. There were fresh graves in the backyard for a reason. With a sigh that sounded more like a grunt, Suzie posted up in front of the door. Using her heel, Suzie ¡®knocked¡¯ on the door, ¡°anyone actually in there?¡±


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    She got a somewhat incoherent response but it was a human one, so she lowered her stance and kept an eye out for any shadows that passed her by as she fought the Darkness that tried to move past her...


    Alphonse sauntered through the streets on the other end of the village, killing any creatures of Darkness that he came across. He glanced over to the center of town where Hiro¡¯s Light was shining and smiled, ¡°getting stronger?¡± A beast reared up behind him and without tearing his eyes from Hiro¡¯s Light, Alphonse ran it through with his sword...


    The Light poured in through the wooden slats on the guest room window. It looked almost like daylight to Kelsi. She hugged her knees to her chest and hid her face, waiting for the natural sunrise to come...


    By a quarter past midnight, Hiro¡¯s spell encompassed the whole village and Suzie and Alphonse didn¡¯t have much else to do but wander back to Hiro to watch over him. And that is what they did for the rest of the night until the sun began to break through the trees. Hiro¡¯s spell sputtered out and he collapsed, caught by Alphonse and Suzie on either side of him as he fell.

 Chapter 32

    Alphonse tucked the unconscious Hiro into the guest room bed and sat down on the edge. Kelsi was still huddled up by the window, pretending not to steal glances at the boys. Suzie stood in the doorway, yawning into her gauntleted hand as she waited for Eli to return from doing his rounds.


    He walked into his small, humble home with a big smile on his face, ¡°Suzie!¡±


    Suzie brought her finger up to her lips and jerked her head back toward Hiro in the guest room. Eli lowered his voice, continuing on in an excited whisper, ¡°no casualties! Not even livestock or pets! Foodstores undisturbed and property damage minimal! This is the best night we¡¯ve had in weeks! No... months!¡± He grabbed both of Suzie¡¯s arms, eyes shining, then pulled her into a hug, ¡°thank you, truly.¡±


    Suzie smiled and returned his hug, ¡°you¡¯re welcome.¡± She pulled back, ¡°I think we are going to rest but don¡¯t hesitate to wake us up if something happens.¡±


    *


    Gaius¡¯ lips curled up in a snarl as he stood in the center of the charred rubble of what was once a lovely little town. He put his hand on the wolf¡¯s head painted in blood on the crumbled stone wall. He swiped his hand over it and his expression fell from rage to despair as it smeared, the blood still wet.


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    Gaius stumbled back a few steps, pressing a hand to his aching chest as his breaths quickened until...


    ¡°Gaius! I found a survivor!¡± Rex¡¯s voice snapped Gaius out of it.


    Gaius steeled himself and ran to his husband¡¯s voice. Rex carefully stepped through rubble, covered in dirt and soot, carrying a small child that couldn¡¯t be more than seven years old. Gaius rushed to meet Rex but tripped over something, almost falling. He glanced down and saw a woman¡¯s arm, the rest of her nowhere to be seen. His eyes were fixed on it, his stomach churning until once again Rex called his name, ¡°Gaius! You have to heal him now!¡±


    Gaius slowly turned his head to look into his husband¡¯s worried eyes then down at the young boy Rex was pressing into his arms.


    Gaius took the bony, too light frame into his arms and began muttering prayers to the first adventurer¡¯s as he poured a healing spell into him. The boy began to whimper, then thrash.


    ¡°Shh...¡± Gaius tried to say soothingly, ¡°we won¡¯t ever let them touch you again.¡± He stroked the boy¡¯s long, black hair until the boy drifted back into unconsciousness...


    ¡°Wake up, Hiro....¡±


    *


    ¡°Wake up, Hiro. We need you.¡±


    Hiro was being roused by Alphonse, a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. Hiro scrunched up his face and groaned deep in his throat, rolling over to try and go back to sleep, back to his dream of being held by his Dad.


    The bed he was in dipped and Kelsi¡¯s voice pierced through his haze of sleep, ¡°Hiro! Please wake up, Suzie¡¯s hurt!¡±

 Chapter 33

    ¡°Sit still,¡± Suzie¡¯s older sister scolded, smacking her on the arm, ¡°or I¡¯ll leave your hair half braided.¡±


    Suzie¡¯s spine stiffened, then she tilted her head back and whined, ¡°nooooo...¡±


    ¡°Then sit still or be lop-sided.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s sooooo boring,¡± Suzie¡¯s back slowly curled into a slouch again as she pouted.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re bored? Well I¡¯m bored too and my hands are cramping so I¡¯m getting the prize at the pity party.¡± Lizzie stuck her tongue out at Suzie, holding the position until Suzie looked up and saw her in the mirror. Suzie stuck her tongue out in response to her older sister, her eyes squinting and her face scrunching up as she tried to force her tongue out farther.


    Lizzie yanked a little extra hard on Suzie¡¯s hair. Suzie accidentally but her tongue, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re so meeeaaaan!¡±


    ¡°Oh hush, you¡¯ll miss me when I¡¯m gone.¡±


    A strange feeling filled Suzie¡¯s chest, spreading all the way up to her throat. She met her older sister¡¯s eyes in the mirror. Lizzie¡¯s smile was frozen, her warm reddish-brown eyes unblinking, and when Suzie turned around.... She wasn¡¯t there.


    *


    Suzie opened her eyes only a few hours after closing them, her head pounding and mouth dry. With a sigh, she sat up and looked about the guest room. Kelsi was nowhere to be seen, only a Kelsi sized dent in the chair by the window. The boys were still sleeping in the other bed. Hiro laid on his back with his limbs splayed and his mouth agape. Alphonse was curled up next to him, knees jammed into Hiro¡¯s side and an arm draped over his chest.


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    The bed frame creaked when Suzie stood and Alphonse¡¯s eyes opened immediately. His all too wakeful gaze flicked over to Suzie and he kindly removed his knees from Hiro¡¯s ribs before closing his eyes once more.


    Suzie shook her head, yawning as she stepped out of the guestroom. Eli and his wife had both clearly left to deal with matters in town and once more Kelsi was nowhere to be seen. So Suzie was left alone to hunt for a pitcher of water.


    *


    Kelsi hugged her bundle to her chest, her soft brown eyes were wide and fixed firmly on the ground and her bottom lip was trembling. Her back was pressed flush against a wood wall and her collar was stuck to her neck with sweat. She was cornered by the blonde armored woman that terrified and angered Suzie when they first arrived at the village.


    ¡°What makes you all think you can encroach on our territory? A bunch of no-name little upstarts! Huh?!¡± The woman punched the wall by Kelsi¡¯s head and she flinched away from it. ¡°Look at me when I¡¯m talking to you!¡±


    On instinct, Kelsi¡¯s chin jerked up. Her eyes flittered around, searching for someone to save her but the villagers all ignored her as if they were unable to hear the woman shouting at her.


    ¡°I said, look at me!¡± Kelsi¡¯s chin was suddenly and brutally grabbed. In her shock, she dropped the bag in her hands, the dried fruits and meats scattering across the patchy grass. Her inventory was full of knives and knickknacks and she thought it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to carry them back to the Rothlin home but now... they were all dirty.


    Kelsi was forced to look away from the lamentable state of her groceries and into the blonde woman¡¯s eyes. Her chin was held so tightly by the woman that her lip wasn¡¯t wobbling anymore but tears were spilling down her cheeks.


    ¡°Playing the victim? You pathetic, little-¡±


    ¡°Kyna!¡±


    Kelsi peeked over the woman¡¯s shoulder to see Suzie stalking towards them, armorless and eyes burning with rage.

 Chapter 34

    Kyna rolled her eyes, head following the motion until her gaze landed on the girl angrily approaching her. ¡°You-¡± she started to say, already bracing to be pushed away from the meek little rogue girl by her party member.


    What she was not braced for was a punch to her fucking face. The world flipped on its side and Kyna landed badly on her left wrist. She blinked open her eyes, finding herself staring directly at the rogue¡¯s dirty black boots. Then the axe-wielding girl grabbed Kyna¡¯s breastplate and half-lifted her off the ground. Kyna slowly turned her head to meet the light pink eyes of the stupidly strong girl.


    ¡°Kelsi ain¡¯t even involved so if you wanna threaten someone, threaten me.¡±


    Kyna grabbed the girl¡¯s forearm, feeling her muscles through a thin layer of clothing. ¡°Fine then.¡±


    *


    Kelsi¡¯s eyes flicked between Kyna and Suzie as they paused for a moment. Suzie had both her hands hooked in Kyna¡¯s breastplate, leaning over her until their faces were mere centimeters apart. Kyna had a hand wrapped tight around her forearm and was slowly getting her other limbs under her. The stillness stretched until the two suddenly snapped into motion.


    Kyna headbutted Suzie in the face. At once, Suzie dropped her, stumbling back a few steps, blood gushing from her nose and split lip. She spat a glob of blood out onto the grass and swung on Kyna again. Kyna managed to move her head enough that the blow was just glancing. Kyna threw a punch back, her gauntleted hand solidly connecting with Suzie¡¯s jaw. Suzie stumbled a few steps but managed to keep upright.


    The two traded more blows. Without her armor, Suzie was a bit faster. But Kyna was wearing her armor so the only place she consciously had to protect was her head. Meanwhile, she could take all the bodyshots against Suzie she wanted to. After a particularly strong punch to Suzie¡¯s stomach that knocked all the air out of her lungs and forced her to double over.


    Kyna looked down her nose at the hunched over Suzie. ¡°Had enough yet? You and your little friends,¡± her eyes flicked over to where Kelsi was still standing with her back to a wall. Kelsi winced when she knocked her head against the wall trying to back up further, ¡°should leave before I get the rest of the guild to make you-¡±


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    Suzie cut her off with a half-frustrated scream, half-growl and reached into her inventory for her ax. She swung it, aiming to hit Kyna with the flat of the ax head but her swing was far too obvious and Kyna easily dodged.


    There was the shrill sound of a sword being unsheathed. Then Kyna charged, sword pointed at Suzie. Kelsi screwed her eyes shut. There was a clash of metal against metal, then another and then a sound Kelsi knew far too well. The sound of a blade puncturing soft flesh.


    Kelsi forced her eyes to open in time to see Suzie fall to her knees, clutching her stomach. Kyna took a step back, looked down at the blood dripping off the tip of her sword then at Kelsi, with a slightly confused look in her eyes.


    Kelsi bolted.


    *


    ¡°Hiro! Please wake up, Suzie¡¯s hurt!¡± Any comfort he felt from his dream was completely washed away by those words as he was yanked from sleep. He sat up so fast that his field of view went black and he almost fell right back down onto the pillow.


    Kelsi and Alphonse were by the bed. Alphonse had his hand lightly on Hiro¡¯s shoulder. Kelsi leaned over him, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She grabbed Hiro¡¯s hand over the blankets and tried to pull him out of the bed, ¡°please hurry.¡±


    Hiro let himself be pulled, the blankets coming off the bed with him. Kelsi didn¡¯t even pause to let him put on his boots, forcing him out of Eli¡¯s house barefoot.


    The sparse grass on the well worn ¡®road¡¯ through the center of the village was dry and sharp underfoot, but just as Hiro opened his mouth to complain, he saw Suzie.


    Some of the villagers were around her in a loose circle, seeming afraid to get any closer. She laid on the ground, a pool of blood forming around the abdomen.


    Hiro pulled his arm out of Kelsi¡¯s grip and ran for Suzie. He skidded the last foot to her on his knees and laid a glowing hand of healing on her stomach, moving it around until he found the actual wound.


    Once he was sure the internal damage was fixed and he didn¡¯t need to pay as much attention he looked up at Kelsi and asked, ¡°what happened?¡±


    Kelsi looked back with reddened eyes, making no moves to wipe away her tears, ¡°it was-¡± the rest of her words were drowned out by a ringing in his ears.


    Adrenaline was no replacement for mana.


    The glow on Hiro¡¯s hand fizzled out and his vision went black.

 Chapter 35

    Suzie opened her eyes just in time to blearily watch Hiro¡¯s eyelids flutter closed. She tried to move to catch him as he toppled over but a lance of pain from her abdomen kept her firmly rooted in place. At least he was kneeling and didn¡¯t have far to fall and his head landed on a pillow of soft grass.


    She shifted a bit, dry grass and dirt irritating her skin... Ok so maybe it wasn¡¯t such a soft pillow to land on. To take care of Hiro she had to move. She pressed a hand to the source of her pain, feeling warm, wet blood between her fingers. Why was she bleeding...? Oh right, Kyna stabbed her. Kyna!


    Suzie sat up suddenly, grunting from the pain in her stomach, the pain that was definitely not as bad as it should be, and looked around wildly but the only blonde head she saw was Alphonse¡¯s as he crouched over Hiro, checking his pulse.


    Suzie opened her mouth to ask what exactly happened but before she could get a word out, Kelsi threw her arms around her neck, ¡°Suzie!! I was so worried.¡± Kelsi fully buried her face in Suzie¡¯s shoulder, clinging tightly, ¡°please don¡¯t die!¡±


    Suzie forced the tension out of her shoulders and put her not bloody hand on Kelsi¡¯s back, ¡°I¡¯m not going to die.... But where¡¯s Kyna? What happened to Hiro?¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.Alphonse hooked his arms under Hiro¡¯s shoulders and knees, standing and lifting Hiro up in one smooth and easy motion, ¡°he just used up what little mana he had replenished, healing you.¡± For a brief moment, Alphonse glared at her like he wanted her dead but then she blinked and his expression was back to being one of exasperation and apathy. With Hiro in his arms, Alphonse turned and walked back towards Eli¡¯s home. Kelsi shuffled back so she was no longer in Suzie¡¯s lap and snaked her arm under Suzie¡¯s arms, helping her up. Leaning on her heavily, Suzie asked once more, ¡°and Kyna?¡±


    Suzie could feel Kelsi¡¯s shrug against her side, ¡°must have run off when I went to get help.¡±


    Not feeling particularly reassured, Suzie looked around, chewing her bottom lip, but all she saw were villagers returning to their daily activities, acting as if they hadn¡¯t been watching.


    *


    Hiro did not wake up before nightfall, leaving Alphonse and a partially healed Suzie to fend for themselves. Kelsi nervously watched them step out to fight from her seat at the foot of Hiro¡¯s bed. For a few moments it was utterly silent. Through the window Kelsi watched as many lanterns, some magical, most not, flickered against the Darkness.


    Then, rather suddenly, they all went out. There were a few seconds where all Kelsi could hear was her own heartbeat growing steadily faster and louder. Then there was screaming.

 Chapter 36

    Not Suzie... Just a villager. Kelsi thought to herself, tucking her knees up under her chin and leaning a bit towards Hiro¡¯s sleeping form as if he, in his unconsciousness, could protect her.


    The glass of the window creaked and shuddered as the Darkness pressed against it. Another scream, even farther away. Not Suzie, not Suzie.


    Then there was a grunt of pain so close, right outside the window... Suzie. Kelsi threw herself onto the bed, scrambling up until she was straddling Hiro, her hands on his shoulders. She shook him, ¡°Hiro! Hiro, you gotta wake up! They need you!¡±


    She let him go and his head merely flopped to the side.


    Outside the window, Suzie screamed.


    *


    Fighting the Darkness without a mage or priest or without a ridiculously expensive and overpowered weapon like the bow wielded by Luce was frankly suicidal.


    Alphonse was not in the habit of doing things that were suicidal.


    With all blessings that had been placed on his sword long faded and no big, Night-ending burst of divine magic coming from Hiro, Alphonse had taken refuge under one of the brightest Lanterns, idly swinging his sword at any shadow that came within range.


    Distantly, a few Lanterns snuffed out, followed shortly by the screams of villagers. Alphonse tilted his head back and rested it against the Lantern pole, feeling the cold metal through the part in his hair. Why the hell did I agree to this? Hiro¡¯s bright smile and sparkling eyes flashed in his mind. ¡°Uuugh...¡± He pressed his head harder against the pole and lazily swung his sword when he felt something come close enough to brush his feet.


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    Then Suzie screamed. Alphonse was tempted to just let her lie bleeding in the bed she made. But he remembered Hiro¡¯s pale, gaunt face as he overexerted himself healing her and he groaned, reluctantly leaving the safety of the Lantern¡¯s glow and chasing after that sound.


    *


    Suzie¡¯s back hit a wall. Just at the edge of a Lantern¡¯s Light. Civilians were screaming, the sound squeezing her rapidly beating heart. She tried to take a step towards the sound but the injury in her abdomen pulled her back against the wall. She could vaguely feel blood dripping down her stomach, under her armor.


    A claw scraped across her breastplate and half a second later the shadow was torn in two. And just as quickly two more were lunging for her face.


    Was the Darkness stronger than the night before? Or was it her wound, or the lack of Hiro¡¯s magic? She stumbled to the side, retreating deeper into the Lantern¡¯s Light...


    Only for it to snuff out.


    She tried not to scream. She was too close to where Hiro was sleeping with Kelsi looking over him. To where Eli and his wife hid. She really tried. But when she only half dodge the tendril whipping towards her face, she couldn¡¯t help but let it out.


    *


    The small hands around his throat weren¡¯t very effective at choking him.


    ¡°You¡¯re nothing but a dumb, useless, little kid.¡± The haughty girl sitting on his chest was hardly any bigger or more useful than him but Hiro didn¡¯t bother telling her that. Hiro hadn¡¯t spoken a word in a long time and he wasn¡¯t about to start now... not when his head was leaking blood onto the broken cobblestones.


    Hiro¡¯s eyes slipped closed. The girl laughed, her voice sounding far away even though he could still feel her weight on his chest. ¡°Ha! Serves you right! All you are is a distraction to Crimson! He doesn¡¯t need you!¡±


    ¡°They need you!¡±


    ...Kelsi...?


    Hiro tried to open his eyes but his eyelids felt sewn shut and instead he sunk deeper into the rocks.

 Chapter 37

    Hiro¡¯s eyelids fluttered, his face scrunched up, he groaned quietly in the back of his throat... but he didn¡¯t wake up. Kelsi¡¯s hands tightened on his shoulders. His half-conscious groan turned into a pained whine and she let him go, sharply throwing herself away from him. She barely managed to get her legs under her as she flung herself off the bed. She walked up to the window and pressed her ear against it, tears welling up in her eyes uncontrollably. She couldn¡¯t hear Suzie screaming anymore. Worse, she couldn¡¯t hear her fighting.


    All she could hear was Suzie screaming anymore. Worse, she couldn¡¯t hear her fighting.


    All she could hear was her own breaths getting louder and faster. She pushed away from the window only to immediately fall against the wall again, her feet unsteady.


    Her sight was becoming blurry, whether from tears or her shallow breaths she wasn¡¯t sure. Her nails dragged down the wall, unable to stop her slow collapse to the floor.


    The guest room door slammed open and Kelsi let out a choked scream, whirling around to see Alphonse stumble in, half- supporting, half-dragging a bleeding Suzie. Apathy and disdain were the expressions Kelsi had come to expect on Alphonse¡¯s face whenever he looked at her but now he looked at her with pure rage, ¡°you useless, cowardly piece of shit! Get off your ass and do something.¡±


    Kelsi flinched against the wall, her mouth falling open but no words coming out. Alphonse was usually as good at moving silently as she was but he stomped into the room, loud and heavy. Kelsi winced with each of his steps.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a pathetic, little-¡±


    ¡°Lay off her, Al.¡± Suzie¡¯s hoarse voice said, cutting him off. She struggled to raise her head. One of her hair ties had snapped leaving her with one afro puff and one next of hair only half holding its shape. Blood dripped from under her armor and from the side of her head.


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    Alphonse gently lowered her into the chair, though it was clear from his expression that he wanted to just throw her on the ground and be done with it. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you coddle her so much.¡± Alphonse¡¯s glare flicked to Kelsi before settling back on Suzie.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have to risk her life and livelihood just because I-¡± Suzie cut herself off with a cough and a wince. She continued on with her next sentence as if her first one hadn¡¯t been interrupted, ¡°and you don¡¯t either. You don¡¯t have to go back out there... Please don¡¯t go back out there alone.¡±


    ¡°Nothing I do is for you.¡± Alphonse stood up straighter, ran his hand through his hair and fixed his gaze on the sleeping healer. ¡°Hiro, wanna wake up and join me?¡± When Hiro didn¡¯t stir even the slightest bit, Alphonse shrugged. ¡°Since my team consists of two invalids and a spineless worm at the moment, it seems I have to go out alone.¡± With one last sneer at Kelsi, he walked out of the room.


    Kelsi finally managed to get her feet under her and scrambled over to Suzie. Once she was in front of her though, she hesitated, hand hovering by the wound on her head.


    Suzie¡¯s eyes were hazy and unfocused, like she was having a tough time keeping conscious, but still she smiled at her, ¡°don¡¯t cry, Kelsi, I¡¯m alright.¡±


    Despite the request in Suzie¡¯s words, the tears gathering in Kelsi¡¯s eyes finally spilled down her cheeks.


    *


    With his eyes firmly closed, Hiro could only rely on his other senses to try and figure out if Crimson was awake. Crimson¡¯s breaths were even and slow and his arm slung across Hiro¡¯s chest was heavy and still. All signs pointed to him being asleep, so Hiro opened his eyes, immediately finding himself looking into the ruby eyes of the Red Wolf Gang¡¯s leader. He instinctually flinched away only to be held tighter in place, ¡°nice of you to wake up and join me.¡±


    Another voice layered on top of Crimson¡¯s, speaking the same words, ¡°...wake up and join me?¡± It was a familiar voice, a friendly voice.


    ¡°Alphonse!¡± HIro tried to struggle away, only to get pulled closer to Crimson¡¯s chest.

 Chapter 38

    Hours later the sun finally crawled its way into the sky, chasing away the Darkness. Kelsi woke suddenly when the sunlight began streaming in through the window. Her neck ached from being at a near 90 degree angle for most of the night. Her heart jumped in her chest and she sat up quickly, raising her head from Suzie¡¯s lap to look at her face.


    The bandage Kelsi had wrapped around her head was soaked through with blood and she was very still. Kelsi watched her for a few seconds, her hands gripping Suzie¡¯s thighs. She held her breath until she could make out the rise and fall of Suzie¡¯s chest under her armor.


    Oh, her armor... Another lance of panic ran through Kelsi and she began to shake the thighs under her hands, ¡°Suzie? Suzie, wake up!¡±


    It took a concerningly long time but eventually Suzie¡¯s eyes did flutter open. ¡°Kelsi...?¡±


    New tears pricked at Kelsi¡¯S eyes but, at the same time, tension drained out of her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have let you fall asleep in your armor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Suzie patted the hands on her thighs then sat up a bit straighter, groaning in pain. She looked past Kelsi¡¯s face to the bright window. ¡°Has Alphonse come back yet?¡±


    Kelsi looked around, searching the room for any of his gear laying around as a sign that he¡¯d come back but saw none. ¡°I.... don¡¯t think so.¡±


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    Suzie squeezed Kelsis hands, ¡°can you go find him. Make sure he¡¯s ok? Please?¡±


    Kelsi¡¯s mouth went dry but she still swallowed and nodded, ¡°yeah, of course.¡±


    *


    Alphonse would really prefer to pick Hiro up and walk away from this godforsaken village. His hand twitched around the hilt of his sword. Who cares about these people; too stupid to live in an actual safe zone and too weak to defend themselves... or force the guild that¡¯s supposed to protect them to do its job.


    ¡°Alphonse!? Alphonse, where are you?¡± The coward called for him. The last person he wanted to deal with. How did she get away with not involving herself? Did Hiro not pout at her? Was she immune?


    ¡°Alphonse...? Fuck, no, no, no, no.¡± Kelsi¡¯s hands pressed into the back of his shoulders. Why was she touching him there? Alphonse tried to raise his arm, finally realizing that he was laying face down in the dirt. The hands on his shoulders began to shake, why didn¡¯t you use your medallion?¡± she croaked out, voice thick.


    Yaso and Yana did she think he was fucking dead?


    ¡°Stop sniveling and help me. Or are you too scared to even do that?¡±


    Kelsi¡¯s hands flinched away for a second before grabbing his shoulders with a bit more strength and flipping him onto his back. He groaned as the wound across his chest was pulled. As he struggled to open his eyes, Kelsi tugged at his shirt to look at his wound. ¡°Maybe... you should use your medallion. You¡¯ve got Darkness poisoning.¡±


    When Alphonse just glared at her, Kelsi sighed and hooked her arms under her shoulders and began to drag him back to Eli¡¯s home.

 Chapter 39

    Team Phi of the Three-Winged Guild was a collection of fresh-faced adventurer¡¯s wet behind the ears. Defending a whole town night after night with no support was beyond their skill level. Suzie knew this and yet it didn¡¯t stop her from feeling guilty when Eli told her the death toll.


    ¡°Eighteen dead, half a dozen or so injured. Worst night we¡¯ve had since... since the first night when we weren¡¯t expecting anything.¡± Suzie hugged her arms to herself, shaking with the effort to not hang her head.


    The boys were out cold and Kelsi was not looking at Eli as she bandaged Alphonse¡¯s injuries.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I-I thought we would be able to-¡± Suzie¡¯s breath hitched in her throat, wiping away tears before they could fall from her eyes.


    Eli put a hand on her shoulder, grimacing slightly, ¡°it¡¯s... ok...¡±


    Suzie buried her face in her hands, pulling away from his hand. A dark look flashed across his face as he let his hand fall to his side. He glanced at the other three and Kelsi avoided his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to rest.¡± He stepped out the door, leaving Team Phi of the Three-Winged Guild alone.


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    Kelsi moved away from the bed, opening her arms up to pull Suzie into a hug, but Suzie held a hand up to stop her approach. Still hiding her face behind one hand, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep. Will you keep an eye out for any members of the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild?¡± Suzie brushed past her, the side of her arm grazing Kelsi¡¯s outstretched fingers, not waiting for an answer as she stepped up to the side of the bed, staring down at the sleeping boys before laying on the floor.


    Kelsi slowly back up until her back hit the door, her chest rising and falling faster as she scrambled for the doorknob, eyes not leaving her best friend who was curled up on the floor. Finally, her hand wrapped around the doorknob and she fell out of the room. As her vision blurred, she ran directly into Eli.


    It hurt to look up at him so she looked away, scrubbing the tears from her eyes.


    ¡°You...¡±


    ¡°I have to go sorry bye.¡± Kelsi pushed past him, running out the door. Into a cold and empty town. Unlike the day before, no one was out and about. Except for one of Eli¡¯s neighbors, scrubbing blood off their front step. Kelsi¡¯s breath caught in her throat but when the neighbor looked up to her, she was already gone.

 Chapter 40

    Kelsi didn¡¯t really know where she was going. She just needed to disappear. She moved through the woods, quick and near silent. But her heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she was sure it was giving away her position. As quickly as she started running, she stopped. Perched on a tree branch, curled up against the trunk, breathing slowly in and out with a hand pressed to her chest. She willed her heart to quiet down, but it refused.


    The sound of a twig snapping below made her jump, fingers ripping off bark as she scrambled to hold on.


    Blood. Blood on her hands, seeping into the wood, roaring in her ears. Kelsi¡¯s breath caught in her throat and then sped up until her vision started going dark.


    ¡°We should just get rid of them and be done with it.¡± Kelsi stopped breathing.


    ¡°They¡¯re just kids, Kyna. The Darkness will get them soon enough.¡±


    ¡°They sent a message for help, if they last long enough to realize it¡¯s not coming-¡±


    Blood- no, sweat, on Kelsi¡¯s palm made her slip. A squeak slipped out of her mouth and she clapped a hand over it. Kyna and her guildmate suddenly stopped talking. With her own fingertips digging into her cheek, Kelsi looked frantically around for them.


    Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone land on the same branch as her and before she could process it her throat was grabbed and she was pinned to the trunk, her spine twisted uncomfortably so she could face her assailant with her feet still pointed another way.


    Her eyes went wide, taking in his appearance. Shaggy black hair, dark eyes, and a crooked nose that had clearly been broken a dozen times and never once healed correctly. Features that would be handsome in a rough and rugged way if it weren¡¯t for the cruel sneer painted across them. Recognition dawned in his eyes and sent a chill down Kelsi¡¯s spine.


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    ¡°Well, well, well. If it ain¡¯t Mousetrap¡¯s ¡®Cheddar¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± Kelsi whimpered, her hands feeling warm and wet.


    He tilted his head to the side, ¡°why not? You think you can just hide from what you¡¯ve done by abandoning your name?¡±


    Kelsi shook her head, unable to respond verbally as he pressed his hand tighter against her throat.


    ¡°We won¡¯t even have to hide killing you.¡±


    *


    Hiro woke up to an arm slung across his torso and a head tucked into the crook of his neck. The person¡¯s breath raised goosebumps on his neck.


    In one second, Hiro went from deep, still sleep to thrashing erratically, struggling out of the arms of someone. Hiro¡¯s name was called but he still didn¡¯t stop struggling until he had flopped off the bed and hit the ground. His eyes snapped open, his breaths came sharp and fast. A blurry, unfocused figure stepped into his field of view and he fearfully shuffled backwards.


    ¡°Hiro, it¡¯s me. It¡¯s Suzie, you¡¯re fine, you¡¯re safe, it¡¯s ok.¡±


    Hiro blinked rapidly until his vision cleared. Suzie stood over him, concern furrowing her brow and Alphonse looked down at him from on top of the bed, his golden blonde hair a mess.


    ¡°You ok?¡± he asked, voice thick with sleep.


    ¡°Yeah, just...¡± Hiro trailed off, ¡°yeah.¡±


    Suzie held out her hands to help Hiro to his feet. He took it and let her haul him to his feet while asking, ¡°how long was I out? Is it almost night?¡±


    Suzie winced and looked away while answering, ¡°it¡¯s morning.¡±

 Chapter 41

    Suzie didn¡¯t even finish her explanation of the casualties before Hiro was trying to walk past her. She threw her arm out and he ran into it full force, knocking the air out of his lungs with an audible ¡®oof¡¯.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Suzie snapped, trying to project strength even as worry and panic seeped into her tone.


    Hiro clung to her arm that stopped him as he answered, ¡°there are injured people! I need to heal them!¡±


    Alphonse groaned as he sat up completely. He pushed his blonde rat¡¯s nest back away from his face and glared sleepily at Hiro, ¡°you won¡¯t be of much use to these people, or anyone, if you keep doing this to yourself.¡±


    ¡°Please, Hiro.¡± Suzie shook him off her arm to grab him by both shoulders, ¡°we need you to fight the Darkness tonight, so please, just go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I can-¡± Hiro started to protest.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t!¡± Suzie shouted, her head falling forward, and her fingers digging into the meat of his shoulders. ¡°There are some things you cannot do. I am this team¡¯s leader so listen to me and go back to sleep!¡±


    Hiro tried to shake Suzie off and keep heading for the door, but she was far stronger than him and held him firmly in place.


    Hiro grabbed Suzie¡¯s wrists and with frustration and desperation, said, ¡°there has to be something I can do.¡±


    ¡°Hiro, please...¡± Suzie¡¯s grip tightened.


    Alphonse had moved all the way to the edge of the bed by where they stood and reached out to grab Hiro¡¯s forearm. Hiro looked down at him. ¡°You¡¯re a priest, you can say a prayer.¡± Alphonse tugged on his arm, pulling him back towards the bed. Suzie relinquished her hold, letting him crawl back onto the bed with a defeated expression. He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, presumably starting a silent prayer.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After a soft knock, Eli poked his head in the door. With a grim look, he said, ¡°Suzie, you should hear this.¡±


    Suzie nodded, bottom lip between her teeth and arms hugging herself, stepping out of the room.


    Lounging lazily on the bed next to Hiro, Alphonse tried to strain to hear what was being said in the other room but couldn¡¯t make out the words. After a few minutes he gave up and cracked an eye open. Rolling his eyes he grabbed Hiro¡¯s shoulder and forced him to lay down flat. ¡°I¡¯m sure your dads will listen to your prayer lying down.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± Hiro¡¯s protest died in his throat as the bedroom door slammed open.


    ¡°Guys, I think Kelsi¡¯s in danger!¡±


    *


    Suzie stepped into Eli¡¯s living room. At his dining room table sat an adventurer in gleaming armor, with dark skin and tightly coiled dark hair that sat close to his head. A familiar face with the Heroes¡¯ Rock Guild insignia on his breastplate. Suzie¡¯s face pinched in anger and she marched over to him, grabbing the neck of his breastplate and yanking him off balance, ¡°you¡¯re part of Kyna¡¯s team. Why the fuck are you here?¡±


    The man held his hands up in surrender. ¡°I¡¯m here to warn you!¡±


    Suzie let him go with a small shove. His armor clattered loudly as he landed back in the chair, grabbing the table to keep from falling over. Suzie crossed her arms over her chest, ¡°what¡¯s the warning?¡±


    He fixed his armor as he answered, ¡°Kyna wants to kill you and your team.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I figured that after she stabbed me and fled the scene.¡± She gestured at the half-healed wound on her abdomen even though it was hidden by her clothes.


    His eyes flicked down then back up to her face. ¡°Also to warn you that your guild isn¡¯t coming.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Whitler¡¯s dead.¡± Eli answered instead, standing behind one of his chairs with a white-knuckled grip on the back of it, glaring down at his rough wood table.


    ¡°Kyna has most of our team on her side. I suggest the four of you stick together. Or better yet clear out as soon as possible.¡±


    A sinking feeling settled in Suzie¡¯s gut and she immediately walked to the front door and threw it open. ¡°Kelsi!¡± she shouted. But her team¡¯s rogue did not appear. She scanned her surroundings, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted again, ¡°Kelsi!¡± When Kelsi still didn¡¯t appear, Suzie¡¯s sinking feeling turned into pure nauseous fear. She rushed back in to where the boys were resting, threw open the door, and cried out, ¡°guys, I think Kelsi¡¯s in danger!¡±

 Chapter 42

    "We won''t even have to hide killing you." Kelsi reached for her medallion but he was faster, pinning her arm to the tree before drawing his knife. Kelsi''s eyes followed it as he slid it from its sheath. The blade caught the small bit of sunlight filtering in through the trees and threw it in her face. She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, not opening them again as she anticipated the pain.


    Instead she heard the man grunt and the branch creak as he shifted and started to fall¡­. dragging Kelsi down with him. Kelsi''s eyes flew open and she scrambled to hold onto the branch. An arrow of golden light thunked into his side and his feet lost purchase. Kelsi held on tightly with both her legs and hands. His nails left deep gouges in her neck as he fell.


    Before he could hit the forest floor, he disappeared, likely using his adventurer''s medallion to teleport away to safety. Kelsi looked down and found Kyna gone already as well. And standing a few feet away, amidst the trees, lowering their golden bow was a familiar face.


    They fixed their silvery-white eyes on her, face impassive, and Kelsi instantly tensed to run¡­


    Then someone burst out of the bushes next to them. A young boy with short white hair in a middle part, pale skin, dark eyes, and white robes with twigs and leaves clinging to him. "Truth elude them!" he shouted, stomping up to the spot Kyna had been standing in just minutes earlier, "I can''t believe those liars and murderers got away!"


    The pale, red-headed girl Kelsi remembered being a part of the Golden Coin Guild''s Beta team, stepped out of the bushes after the boy, "chill kid, at least we stopped them from killing someone else." She looked up at Kelsi, fixing her red-eyed gaze upon her that didn''t make her want to run as much as the archer''s, "you alright?" She jerked her thumb at the young boy, "he can heal you if you''re hurt."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Kelsi shook her head, shrinking back into the shade of the foliage. The red-haired girl frowned, lowering her hand, her concern tainted by suspicion. Kelsi almost fled right then, barely keeping herself in place by her grip on the tree branch.


    "Your neck''s bleeding, are-" Kelsi screamed, her feet slipping out from under her, and plummeted to the ground. She tried to catch herself with one hand. Her arm slipped out of the shoulder socket at the impact. For a blissful second she didn''t feel much of anything until the pain hit. She flopped onto her back, whimpering.


    The orange-haired girl that had appeared on the branch next to Kelsi, stared down at her wincing when she hit the ground. Kelsi fumbled for her adventurer''s medallion, having to fully reach around her body to grab for it. She couldn''t quite get ahold of it before the archer was stepping up to the bush she landed in and looking down on her, eyes piercing through her. "You''re Hiro and Alphonse''s teammate, aren''t you?"


    The girl looking down on them from the tree blinked a few times rapidly, her eyes widening, "shit, is she? Does that mean those two are around?"


    The young boy in white also approached Kelsi, waving a staff that was similar to Hiro''s but much smoother and pure white. Her arm popped back into its socket and the cuts on her neck closed up. When he lowered his staff, there was nothing but a dull ache left. Kelsi rolled her shoulder a few times experimentally then shoved her hand into her pocket to loosely had her medallion.


    The archer offered a hand to help Kelsi up. She hesitated but eventually put her free hand in their and let them pull her to her feet. "Are they in danger?"


    Kelsi started to shake her head then stopped, "¡­maybe¡­?"


    She stifled a second scream as the orange haired girl disappeared from her perch and reappeared next to Kelsi again. "Where are they?"


    Kelsi shuffled a bit away, looking down, "they are in the village¡­ Kyna said she wanted to kill them."


    "The young boy''s hands tightened around his staff, "we got to stop these falsifiers'' lies and- ow!" the boy was cut off when the red-haired girl dropped her fist on top of his head, "shut up, you''re freaking her out."


    The boy rubbed his head and stuck his tongue out, running to hide behind the archer when she raised her fist again.


    The tan, orange-haired girl cleared her throat, "we owe Hiro and Alphonse." the red-haired girl made a face like she was sucking on a lemon, "we want to help."

 Chapter 43

    "You''re all being idiots." the defector from Kyna''s team, Iwan, said from the doorway of the guest bedroom, his arms crossed as he watched the three members of Team Phi of the Three Winged Guild suit up and prepare to retrieve their fourth member.


    "Trust me, I know." Alphonse muttered as he polished his glasses and set them back on his nose, taking his sweet time.


    "What do you suggest we do?" Hiro snapped, voice sharper than it ever was before.


    Alphonse slowly pushed up his glasses, taking in the dark circles around Hiro''s eyes, wishing he could force him to lie back down and forget about being a hero for five fucking minutes.


    Discomforted by Alphonse''s stare, Hiro looked down at the staff in his hands, "sorry."


    "We," Suzie started strongly, looking between Alphonse and Iwan, "will not abandon Kelsi, nor this town."


    "Are you sure your friend is in danger?" Eli asked, peeking around the stranger into the room, his arms crossed and his foot tapping anxiously. "She could just be hiding?"


    Suzie shook her head without even looking his way as she adjusted the strap on her breastplate. "I called for her. She has good hearing. If she was anywhere in the village she would''ve heard me."


    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lifting her chin slowly as her chest expanded as much as it could in her armor. When she opened her eyes, she checked on Alphonse, then Hiro, then turned to face the half-blocked doorway.


    Iwan sighed and rolled his eyes, "if you wanna fight a battle you can''t win, I can''t stop you. I already did my due diligence by warning you."


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    Suzie pu a hand on his shoulder as she passed by him, "thank you."


    He pressed himself back into the doorframe, jaw tightening, he might have looked away if Suzie didn''t leave too quick for it to matter."


    Alphonse and Hiro followed her out of Eli''s house, towards the edge of the woods. Suddenly, she stopped and gasped, "Kelsi!" she broke out into a loud, clanging run. Hiro and Alphonse didn''t notice Kelsi until Suzie had already thrown her arms around her.


    "Hiro, Alphonse! Hey!" Out of the trees after Kelsi came a familiar tan face. Blaze waved, a big bright smile on her face. On her heels was a lot less happy looking Alyss. Someone whistled, pulling the boys'' attention upwards, to where Luce was sitting perched in a branch, waving down at them.


    Hiro''s shoulders slumped as the tension left him, replaced once more with his exhaustion. He barely managed to hold his hand up long enough to wave back at Luce before it fell to his side again. Alphonse moved his hand from the hilt of his sword to his hip and asked, "what are you guys doing here?"


    "We were passing by on the other side of the woods when we met Ferynn and¡­" Blaze jerked her thumb behind her and looked back over her shoulder, "huh?" She spun around in a circle, "Ferynn? Where''d you go?"


    After a beat of silence, a young, dejected voice said, "¡­ here."


    A boy with short white hair, wearing white robes was clinging upside down to a low branch of the same tree Luce was in. Alyss rolled her eyes, her whole head rolling with them as she trudged over to him, "I got ya, kid." She reached up to him, her arms just long enough to support his head and shoulders, guiding him to land on his feet. He tried to land gracefully with her help, but his feet slipped out from under him and he landed hard on his butt. Pale face flushed bright red, he took Alyss'' offered hand to stand up then partially hid behind her. Alyss rolled her eyes again an put her hands on her hips, "anyways we ran into Ferynn who was fleeing from Heroes Rock Guild members after witnessing a murder."


    Holding onto Alyss'' forearm for dear life, Ferynn leaned around her and declared, "the liars and murderers must be punished!"


    Suzie stopped embracing Kelsi and pulled back slightly, one hand still on Kelsi''s arm, "we certainly agree on that."


    Blaze shouldered in next to Kelsi, "team up?" she asked, face open and bright.


    Suzie smiled back and offered a hand to shake, "team up."

 Chapter 44

    Greeson landed hard on his shoulder on the dark wood floor. With his teeth gritted in rage, he swung his arm wildly to grab at the arrow in his side only for the shaft of said arrow to dissolve into motes of light. Now with nothing to grab he slammed his palm down on the floor and growled, "I need a healer!" When no one immediately responded to his demand, he braced himself and yelled, "hey!"


    Finally, the low murmur of voices in the adjacent room stopped and the door opened. A blonde girl in white came towards him. He looked away from her, angrily gesturing at the wound in his side, "hop to it!"


    He could hear the eyeroll in her voice as she spoke, "how did you even get hurt? It''s your fucking day off."


    Greeson glared at the Heroes'' Rock Guild recruitment poster on the wall and said nothing. "And what about Kyna? Wasn''t she with you?"


    He didn''t need to respond, not that he would have, as Kyna teleported into the room.


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    Greeson''s wound itched as it was healed. The priestess'' fingers twitched against his side when Kyna appeared, "if you''re injured too, I swear to Queen Brayna-"


    "I''m fine." Kyna cut her off. "But we need to prepare. Tell Laura to get out here."


    The priestess, whose name Greeson couldn''t be bothered to remember, finished healing him and stood, folding her arms over her chest. "I''m not your errand girl. Fetch her yourself."


    Greeson held his hand up to be helped but neither woman heeded his prompting so with a grunt and a put-upon groan he got to his feet under his own power, grumbling all the way.


    "This is important, Lena. Get Laura now!" Kyna snapped. For a moment Lena just glared, then she barked out a "fine!" before turning on her heel. "And Jana too!" Lena flipped Kyna off over her shoulder as she stalked back to the adjacent room.


    Greeson slid over to Kyna''s side and leaned in to mutter at her. "What do we need Laura and Jana for so quickly?"


    "We were ambushed. We need to retaliate swiftly before they have time to prepare another one." When Greeson raised an eyebrow at her, not quite convinced, she continued, "don''t you want to kill Mouse Trap''s Cheddar?" Greeson''s expression hardened and so did Kyna''s, "and I need to finish what I started."