Martini wept as Jasper left the dome, wanting nothing more than to stop the girl and keep her within the protective barrier. Leon's and Haki's death hadn't fully sunk in yet and the mermaid felt numb, yet the barrage of shadowy wisps slamming against the barrier prevented her from reaching out and bringing the girl back.

Brandy's barrier had long cracks running through it, supported by only the iridescent bubble shivering underneath. It was taking all of the mermaid's effort to keep up the bit of magic- her tip of her tail and hair were already starting to turn pale. If she kept exhausting her magic like this she would end up fading away as Nobodies who used up all their magic were did, perhaps even before the battle could be won.

Brandy wasn't in much better shape, having been slammed down and trapped by heavy roots that had sprung out if the ground after he had sent a few blasts the witch's way. He was quite sure that he had at least broken some ribs, if not more. The roots pressed harder against his back and he drew back a sharp breath as his remaining ribs creaked in protest. He hoped that nothing had been punctured inside.

The rabbit growled at the humans' efforts at attacking the witch, and was feeling very angry at the death of Haku and Leon. While he wasn't much fond of the former and rather unfamiliar with the latter, their deaths had been horrible. The rest of the humans were in trouble as well, with a few looking dangerously close to death while those who weren't trapped could barely land a hit on the monstrous hag.

His sight was growing blurry, dizzy with pain as he was that he barely made out the figures of the group making their way out of the forest.

---

Witches. Somewhere in his muddled memory he remembered witches. Sacha's eyes narrowed unhappily as the witch kicked away the poor Rainbowzilla and toppled over the picnic basket that he had poured hours of effort into.

The poor colorful lizard let out a pitiful "Weeeh!" as it scampered into Sacha's arms, the man giving it a few reassuring pats on the head. The witch had not only hurt the humans, but had also scared poor Zilla and ruined their picnic- it was all making Sacha rather upset.

He took a few steps forward, then back again as he spotted Jasper. He hadn't quite forgotten how the girl had so heartlessly shoved goop in his face back in the caves, and was rather nervous that she would try something similar this time round as well. Eyeing Jasper warily, he raised the baby Rainbowzilla so that it was facing the witch that was temporarily distracted by Gary's pole-swinging.

"Do your worst," he encouraged, and the little guy response with an excited cry, wriggling as the spines on its back lit up before unleashing a powerful beam of rainbow at the witch. The force of the blow sent the hag tumbling before wisping back into shadow, and Sacha had to leap to the side to avoid a column of earth shooting up from underneath him.

And he had been looking forward to a relaxing day too.

Inadi saw Lesley's necklace and heard just what he didn't want to hear. With all the fighting they did before they did not have a whole lot of ammunition to handle this witch. Plus with his shoulder and leg now bleeding pretty bad and from a lot of points since he wasn't just stabbed in one place made him really nervous. He didn't have the kind of energy needed to do that whole spire trick again and he probably would start feeling the effects of blood loss before he knew it. Even now he was getting a little light headed.

Sadly that didn't seem to stop a splitting headache from making his eyes go wide as he heard a scream that he almost didn't recognize. Turning with Lesley he saw Leila screaming out loud. It was no doubt that it was at the witch but Inadi wasn't sure what all that would accomplish in the end. If screaming at something made it run away, he would have done it to that mushroom monster from all those days ago. Strange how it seemed like that fight was ages ago but it wasn't at the same time. They always said time flied when you had fun. Guess it went by even faster when you were fighting for your life in. Definitely didn't tell you that when you grew up in the house.

After the scream the witch seemed to disappear and that made Inadi all the more worried. This kind of monster wasn't just gonna run off until all of them were dead or worse off. His eyes constantly shifting Inadi couldn't help but notice that his grip on the spear in his hand was getting a little slick. The blood was now all the way down his arm into his hand. Looking at it he noticed a strange shifting in the earth beneath him and suddenly was taken in by roots that shot from the ground. Inadi growled in agitation as he tried to swipe at them with his spear, but they turned out to be a lot tougher than spider webs. Every time he swung the weapon at the wood it would get stuck coming out. Agitation grew and he saw the group trying to save Leila all while being caught up in their own rooted trap. This witch was getting on his last damn nerve.

All the while Leila was sinking, Leon was suddenly pulled up into the air as well. Clearly the witch was trying to divide and conquer now. Ace was chasing after him and Inadi couldn't do anything but feel the strain of his ankles as the wood tightened with every swing he made at the damn roots. Suddenly Leon was thrown into the trees and Inadi felt what he knew would end up happening once the witch showed up. Leon was gone. One of the humans was dead now. Without knowing if it was fury or panic, Inadi began grabbing the roots by hand and tried prying himself loose with his bare hands. With strength and adrenaline renewed, the grip let loose as he began trying to figure out what to do next. Leon was gone and there was nothing they could do about it.

While he was trying to see the situation and how they could approach it, Haku suddenly became more unlike himself than ever before. He charged the witch only to find a fate similar to that of Leon, only worse in his eyes. Inadi watched as he turned to stone against the witch and it made his heart sink. Now they were down two members of their current group and he was forced to take in the fact that three people he had met here in Nowhere were now gone for good. Inadi dropped to his knee and began looking down at his wound. The blood still poured and it seemed like there were twice as many holes there now then there were before. His blood loss was getting worse and he was watching as now Harper began charging at the witch. Inadi tried to chase after him to stop him but could only watch as the boy he had grown to view as a younger sibling and captain get hit by the witch as well. Lesley looked over him from afar and Inadi could feel his own courage slipping. Things were going south so fast.

Right as he felt his focus slip into nothing. A different voice then any he had heard appeared and he spun to it. A hooded person and another guy showed up seemingly out of nowhere. Inadi held up his spear to them, though it was a meek attempt at defense. The spear shook in his had as he was constantly fixing his grip on the weapon. Though it seemed they were friendly enough as they began announcing the way to kill a witch. Something about eyes, limbs and then the heart. The source of the problem. The guy looked to him as well as Ace and Riley and told them to distract the witch. Normally Inadi would have argued and asked how to go about such a task, but he quickly nodded and limped as best he could to an open space. He looked around and noticed the shifting black mist he remembered from before when he was stabbed. Summoning a slight amount of his magic he took a small ball of lightening in his palm and slammed it to the ground. A shock wave of bolts shot out in a circle and passed through most things. However when the wall of lightening hit the mist it was announced with a yelp. The mist was jerking back and forth now and Inadi smiled. Now was time for a little payback.

With as much adrenaline as he could summon he began chasing after the mist and swung his spear at it. While the blade was phasing through the mist like it wasn't even affecting it, Inadi was sure that it was at least keeping the witch focused on him for the moment. Without turning his head he shouted back at Riley and Ace. “Just watch out in case she tried to split up again or something. We need to find out some way to get that black heart of this thing. Ask the person in the hood,” He shouted as he gave a quick slash that slammed his spear into the ground underneath him. The mist was still moving around and the small lightening bolts had wavered. Yet Inadi knew he was at least doing something, as opposed to what he was doing before. “They clearly know something more than we do.” He told the two girls as he continued chasing after the mist.

One more slash apparently was all the witch was able to put up with as a sudden push sent Inadi sailing across the area towards the barrier dome that Jasper and Martini were in. Sliding towards Jasper he looked up at her and saw the tears in her eyes. Looking back he knew that Avian was likely dead. Feeling guilt build in his chest he used his spear to pick himself back up. Without looking back at Jasper Inadi began running back to where he last saw the black mist, blood pooling down his leg and arm now. After all he had said to Avian, now he was dead. For no reason other than the fact he was told to look after the humans. He was ordered to look after him. His death was his fault. Four people Inadi knew were dead now. And some sick feeling in his gut made him believe each were somewhat his fault. The mere belief filled him with rage. Rage that went into each limp as he kept the witch focused on his spear tip.

When Riley agreed and told Inadi to tag along, Ace limped out towards the sea of trees. Her sword lit dimly, but it was enough to burn a tree. Before she could raise the sword to attack, an unfamiliar voice made her whirl around. Only for her to give a shocked expression to seeing none other than those hooded figures that attacked them when they were learning about the Siren... Her eyes narrowed a little. They had no energy to fight the hooded people too.

But the male, Luke, seemed to be rather...friendly to them but maybe that was because he didn't remember her. Then he spoke of some picnic. Ace was about to protest them being there, and the stupid idea of a picnic in a forever dark place....but they said they'd help. "Any funny business, and we won't hesitate to hurt you like we did the last time." Ace gave a mild threat and turned to go distract the witch. It appeared that she was marveling in her advantage. Her eyes wandered towards the hooded figures, getting a little defensive as a few got rather close to her friends. The last thing she needed was to be attacked. But the hooded figure that spoke to Leila didn't do anything stupid. The pink haired girl was here too, the one with the pole. They had unfinished business to settle...but they could settle their differences later. There were more important matters to settle.

Harper still was unconscious, and she noticed Jasper left the protective bubble...which meant Avian- Ace sighed and continued on. They couldn't grieve here. Not while danger was still lurking, and not while others were still fighting for their lives. Before Ace went to help Brandy. "Riley, if you run out of energy use the debris around here. I'm sure you'll find something around here sharp. Remember, aim for the eyes." She turned back to Brandy who was losing consciousness.

"Hey, Bunny! You've got to get up..." She frowned and pulled him up. Pulling one of his arms over her shoulder, she dragged him over to where Songbird was. He was losing consciousness too, but they were both alive. "You guys have to wake up... Passing out right now will guarantee your deaths." She tugged Brandy's ear and then patted Songbird's face gently. But, she couldn't stay there to help them. "Martini, you'll have to watch them. I have to help the others." She nodded and then turned seeing Inadi's attempts to distract the witch.

"Alright old hag..." Ace picked up a sharp piece of wood and aimed it at the misty figure that floated around. When she got a clear shot she tossed it at the witch, hoping to pierce something at least to get her to stagger. In that brief money if she did, someone had the opportunity to strike out. Hopefully they'd take that chance.

Riley: "We're not dying here, Les."

Riley tried to comfort him with a shaky voice and he looked up at her and nodded his head, tears streaming down his face. Right about now was a good time for Jasper to enter the scene, but he knew that she was tending to the guides of the group. It was then that the HF showed up and his whole outlook on the situation changed. Thanking whichever higher being answered his prayer, he froze when the most beautiful man he's ever laid eyes on approached him surrounded by an unsuspecting halo of light radiating from his tanned complexity.

Numair: “Hey, I’m here to help, okay?”

Lesley's mouth was hanging open and he nodded, speechless as he stared at the white-haired male give Harper a substance to drink.

Numair: “And that thing I made him drink? You’re not gonna like it, but it was poison. Don’t worry, it’s not deadly. It got tested on me when I broke my leg. It should slow his heart down and mitigate the bleeding for a few hours, and it would take a day for him to get his mobility back, but it was the only way, yeah?”

It didn't matter what the sexy stranger even said because whatever it was, Lesley just continued to nod and agree to everything he said. 'Oh, you fed my friend poison? Sounds good :D'

"Do you mind helping me move him under the dome?" Lesley asked whilst taking one of Harper's arms into his grasp. Once Numair had taken the other, the two of them dragged half carried the fainted boy towards the dome in which Martini sat with Song and Avian. The entire time they hauled the body, Lesley had his eyes glued to Numair's bulging biceps which were hardened from the physical labor. It was rather a troublesome task to keep his drool from spilling out of his mouth, but he managed to pull it off. Once Harper was put into the safe zone, he walked back with his new found man towards the fight.

The hooded figures and the humans were all working hard to weaken the old hag, throwing hits here and there. As Ace aimed and shot a spiked piece of wood at the witch who was already getting worn out from the other's attacks, the thing jabbed her at the side and Lesley grabbed a nearby rock, holding it into place for the witch. When the evil granny fell, the sharp point of the stone rammed straight into the sensitive flesh of her eyeball. Gagging a little, the witch screamed and clawed at his wrists violently, causing him to bleed a little from her sharpened nails, but he didn't stop, forcing the rock deeper into her sockets.

"Gouge out their eyes for they might capture you with a glance right?"

Kicking her back towards the group, the stone unwedged from her socket with a nasty squelch.

oops double.

Seeing a group of hooded beings enter the scene, she recognized them almost immediately and it was surprising to see one of there own alongside those sniveling thieves. She scrunched up her face in distaste and spat. But as they announced their will to help them in defeating the witch, she eyed them wearily, but knew they'd be needing ll the assistance they could get. Under other circumstances, she'd be completely against associating with these hooded figures.

Glancing over the the guy she had smeared goop on in the past, he had given her a nervous look before releasing a rainbow dragon who ran off towards the witch. Inadi was closing in fast as well, his spear jamming into the witch's right arm. One of the hag's eyes had been caved in by Lesley and now they were working de-limbing her. It was all too weird. how come these cloaked beings knew how to defeat a witch? and why were they wanting to help them in the first place? Why were they even here?

As the witch took the hits they had forced onto her, the demonic crone waved her hand swiftly and cast pillars of dirt to jut out of the ground. Feeling the floor beneath her start to shake dangerously, she didn't get the chance to move from her spot before a column of solid soil and sediment rammed right into her bare stomach and she was sent flying upwards. It felt like a hundred jabs to the stomach and she coughed up blood while she hung from the top of the dirt tower. Sliding off, she landed weakly on her legs and hacked a bit more blood out before getting up on wobbly feet.

Snatching Harper's sword which had been left on the battle field, she charged at the witch, decked out in her underwear and a pair of boots, and finished off cutting the witch's other arm. By now the old hag was armless and only had control over on of her eyes. The witch yowled in an ear shattering shriek and cast out black wisps in all directions. trying to dodge as many pf them as she could and using the sword to cut through the ones coming dangerously close to her skin, there was no way she would be turning into stone. Just as she thought that she was free from the stone spell, a black wisp ate at her left boot and she kicked off the shoe as fast as she could, screaming as she shook the stone footwear before it could consume her feet as well. Panting on the ground missing one boot without any outerwear besides a bra and bottom cover ups, she looked pretty harassed and battered, her pale skin smeared in blood and dirt, her snow-white hair sooty and mangled.

Tanned skin, white poofy hair, and a pair of green eyes obscured Leila’s view of the sky.

“You’re that girl from the SSF.”

SSF. The...Star Fisher?

Halfway between awake and having passed out, it took Leila a blink for a better look, and a while of thinking to finally piece it all together.

Numair Wasan. She recalled the man’s name, but that was all she remembered at the moment. By the moment she was going to say something, however, the man had already turned away; and her decision to extend her hand towards Numair was not realized until a couple of tries at overcoming the aching in her shoulders, by the time of which the man had already left.

Leila forced the whole left side of her torso off the ground, and then realized that simply sitting up was impossible without something to grab onto when she carried those injuries, so she grit and ushered all her strength into turning herself around so that she faces the ground with all four limbs supporting her body. Picking back up a piece of wooded debris from the ground, she used it this time not as a weapon but a walking stick, burying it into the ground and holding firmly onto it with both hands, loosening her grip only long after she made sure that her wobbling legs had at least regained the capability to support her own weight.

She tried standing straight, with the aid of the piece of wood now in her left hand, only to have both hands smack back onto the staff so that she didn’t topple over. A fine spray of red droplets was expelled from her throat as she started coughing again, whole body virtually curling onto the piece of wood for support as her already battered body carried out its all so annoying reflexive responses that contributed just about nothing to the situation except an additional risk of any injuries in the chest worsening. An irritated growl escaped, following the ceasing of the coughing.

She squinted and raised her head, looking into the direction of the sounds of yelling, collisions, and rumbling earth. A fair amount of dust had been propelled into the air, leaving only silhouettes of figures to be identified for whatever was going on. Numair was back. Along with the lot of hooded humans they met earlier. What did all that mean? She, once again, found herself without a clue. Leila sighed.

As of now there wasn’t much she could do except for standing aside and watching. Her sight drifted away and she felt a tinge of hope - too early to speak of relief - when she saw, at the edge of her sight, Harper’s chest still rising and falling slowly in the distance. However, a series of screams and cries snapped her attention back to the scene of the battle. She determined the screams of agony to be from the witch, and she could only hope this was a sign that the creature would soon be defeated - at the hand of the Lost Souls, by Numair and the hooded figures, or through some incomprehensible form of divine intervention that Nowhere nonsense allows for - she didn’t care, as long as all this would end...

A few shockwaves expanded from the centre of combat, blowing away the dust. Leila was surprised that her body managed to withstand them, even it was just the weakened impact from the distance away. Now she could see clearly Ace, Lesley, Inadi, and a half-naked Jasper emerging at various places across the scene, while the witch seemed to not be moving much anymore. Hopefully, soon the witch, the culprit of all this madness, all this suffering they were going through, would be gone -

- wait, not right.

“W-wait, there are - hic - things - hic - ” Leila voiced out, and the pressing pain on her lungs and the uncontrollable throbbing of the muscles in her abdomen reminded her that wasn’t the best of ideas. There are things that I need to ask was what she was trying to say, but the last part came out as nothing but a chain of coughing and sputtering.

She breathed in and out deeply, despite the pain, possibly out of anger; yet she made an effort to suppress that, trying not to think in the directions that led down the wrong paths and reminding herself of other things - raising her head and forcing a bitter smile onto her face.

The idea of a picnic sure sounded nice...

Ise said "Okay, okay, we can do this. Say, if we live through this...I'll take you both to a buffet in the city, kay? It'll be my treat."

“Buffet? Gosh Ise! You sure know how to cheer people up.” Ran joked as his stomach growled again.

He feigned coughing to hide the rumbling, but even the little dragons weren’t fooled. The two babies kept staring at him. He flashed a smile in their direction. He was pleased the young rider seemed to have perked up once again. No one was more excited than Toby! Even though Niran can’t see his partner in crime, he knew the boy was flailing and kicking about happily. He shifted in response to try to prevent the rope from tightening round his arms. A numb butt was good enough. He didn’t need his arms to go numb as well.

Ise said "Hey, hold still you two."

“Dang Ise! Don’t need to be so fierce,” Ran teased. “We should be happy Toby has so much energy even though we are starving. I mean literally! The witch wasn’t even nice enough to give us stale bread.”

Ise said "I have the knife, don't worry."

Ran kept silent once more to conserve as much energy as possible. He continued humming the melody of the Japanese children’s song he sang earlier. His fingers remained wrapped around the hilt to help Ise steady the dagger. The smaller dragon turned its head to look at the ceiling. It didn’t even blink. Ran looked at the same spot, but he couldn’t figure out what the cloud dragon was looking at. He felt the worn handle become more slippery by the minute as blood continued to flow from the gash along his palm. He squeezed his fingers even more tightly hoping to stop the knife from slipping.

“Careful! My palm feels a little slippery.”

The black dragon gave him a look, and the man instinctively winked. He suspected Ise’s partner knew he wasn’t being totally honest. The Aven dragons were way smarter than they appeared. Claudia would definitely laugh if he told her this. His former boss was such a huge fan of McCafferey Anne’s Pern series that she even asked him countless times to draw various scenes from the novel. Those mini projects helped him pass the many sleepless nights he spent huddled in a deserted office. Nothing was more stimulating than charcoal, acrylic paint, an empty canvas and a several thermos flasks filled with coffee.

Ise said "… the count of three, tug on the rope."

“Wha…?” Ran responded dumbly.

Ise said "One, two, three!"

The sound of the knife clattering on the ground made him sit up. Heave ho! The three prisoners tugged once… twice…. thrice. One the fourth tug the rope snapped. Ran got up unsteadily and pulled Ise into a bear hug. He let go and promptly hugged Toby. The joking and encouraging came to a booming halt. Dust and bits of wood showered the party. A sense of urgency griped them once more. Both humans scrambled to follow the rider’s commands. No questions asked. A first for both of them. Pushing against the door was futile. No matter how many times he tried, Ran couldn’t get the door to budge. The illustrator took a deep breath. More force was needed. He scrambled down the steps and didn’t stop till he reached the wall facing the stairwell.

With a loud yell Niran dashed up the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something glittery fall moments before the room was plunged into darkness. He took a misstep and fell. Ran curled up in pain as he tried to feel for the steps ahead. He miscalculated. Instead of touching the top stair which was on his right, he reached downwards towards his left. Soon he felt himself tumbling headlong down the entire the entire flight of steps. Quickly he pulled himself into a tight ball. The small maneuver prevented him from breaking his neck. He lay groaning at the bottom of the steps till an eerie blue light filtered through the entire room. He could just make out the steps leading up into pitch darkness once again. He pressed against the wall and began pulling himself up. Step by step he climbed till finally he reached the top of the stairs. He hammered futilely against the unyielding door.

“Duck!”

Ran craned his neck back and gaped. A huge ball of fire was shooting towards him. He stared mesmerized for a couple of seconds till his brain yelled at him to drop to the ground at the very last second. The blinding light caused his eyes to tear a little. Then it stopped. The room was plunged into darkness once again. Then the door swung open with a loud creak. Immediately Niran dashed out.

“Freedom!” He yelled. “Ise! Tob…”

The man blinked as he found himself staring right into Cobalt’s eyes. The black dragon took uneven breaths. Ran inched away slowly. He dreaded what was about to happen next. He prayed the little one would miss him this time, or it would be the second time this week. The dragonet’s mouth was now pursed tightly as wisps of smoke issued from its nostrils. Small stream of flames spewed from its mouth the moment it sneezed. The fire hit Ran’s straight in the chest and his eyes widened. His vest… was on fire!

“Fire! Keep away!” He yelled as he ran out of the ruins of the hut.

His fingers tugged crazily at the burning garment. Failing to pull it free Ran quickly dove onto the ground right in front of him and began rolling around back and forth in the mud. He remained oblivious to his surroundings. He didn’t even realize that Cobalt was following him. The black baby dragon stood by Ran and stared curiously at the others there. However the moment it spotted the witch, it began lowering itself on the ground and covered its eyes with its front claws. It draped its tail over its snout.

Collab between Orpheus and Fox



Out a few ways from the dome, Numair was keeping an eye on the mermaid's tail which was getting paler and paler by the second. "H-hey, aren't you going to die if you continue-" His inquiry was cut short by a choking sound and he turned around to see the witch clawing at Lesley. As he ran up to the pink-haired individual, Lesley kicked the witch away...

"Gouge out their eyes for they might capture you with a glance right?"

"Heh. Great kick," Numair smirked and nodded at the other Lost Soul before running after the hag, his head lowered like a bull charging after the prey.

New humans had joined in? She was surrounded. Ha, and the humans had actually managed to make a comeback as well. The witch hadn't been expecting this in the slightest, and now she stood hunched over, a tar-like substance seeping out of the wounds that had been inflicted on her. The pink haired one had even managed to blind her in one eye. No matter, it would be ending soon. "Foolish mortals, we heal faster than your kind." The old hag attempted to close the gash on her now limp arm, but it didn't heal as expected and instead she was rewarded by a sharp and burning pain.

How was this possible? The witch stared at them with her remaining good eye. "What?"





Luke grinned from ear to ear, he had a hand on Rainbowzilla's head. "Weapons from the darkside, hag. You ruined our picnic, we're gonna make you pay!" Rainbowzilla seemed to like that idea so he flailed his arms around before letting out a loud burp.

The ground beneath them shook and Luke and Sacha scrambled away just in the nick of time.

Gary got up from the ground, one hand wiping away the mustard splattered all over her face. After her perfect wonderful fantastic decoy attack the witch pulled a column of earth from under her feet and... She landed facedown on a sandwich! On other circumstances that might have been okay, but she didn't like mustard! Not one bit! That weird yellow color and that tart taste... She shuddered at the horror.

"C'mon Porkchop, let's Deep Fry this oldie!" She cried out and the little pig squeaked in unison, only for their tandem pose to be ruined by roots and thorny vines wrapping themselves around Gary's legs.

The pole wasn't very useful against these types of stuff... The more she tried to jam the end down to crush a branch its thorns dug deeper into her skin, leaving thin trails of scarlet running down the fair skin as she struggled. Gary turned her head and saw a tree near her, its pointy red eyes glowing as it let out a nasty cackle.

"ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE I'M GOING TO BURN YOU TO ASHES!" She let out an otherwordly screech and rammed the pole down at the branches gripping her feet.





"Ace! Get to Inadi and Jasper." One eye left, this was their chance to catch the witch offguard. Riley picked up a fallen arrow and ran as fast as she could towards the witch. The old hag was staring at the hooded figures. Wait, wait, wait, hood figures? Was it really them? She couldn't be sure and there was no time to wonder about it now. The witch continued glaring at the new people with an absolutely murderous expression, this could be her only chance to strike. "This time you should stay dead!" The witch spun around to look at her and Riley drove the stick right into their foe's remaining good eye.

The witch screeched before stomping down hard on the ground. A column of earth shot out from beneath her feet and collided into the fire mage. She lurched back, coughing and sputtering pained curses. However, soon after, another earth column tore out of the ground. Riley was sent flying back and this time she didn't get back up.

"Oi grandma!"

At the last second, the witch turned around and didn't quite expect to be lifted up. The boulders she had summoned dropped down to the earth in a shower of soil and pebbles. Numair tackled her and she lurched over his shoulder, one of her legs immediately being gripped tight by his left hand when the hag screamed loudly enough to break anybody's eardrums. Even with this haphazard position, the Lost Soul seemed to think that it was fine enough and kicked up from the ground, the two of them landing on the rocks with a loud thud with the accursed creature bearing the brunt of the fall.

Numair rolled away and got to his feet, swaying side to side as blood trickled down his ear. "That was a crappy idea," He laughed weakly and held his head, the other hooded figures rapidly approaching. It looked way easier on TV where professional wrestlers did it... Hahaha... Ow.

The witch's eyes began glowing a dark red. She had had enough of these mortals, they had outlived their usefulness and it was time for them to die.

Slowly she staggered to her feet the witch let out an inhuman screech and a strong force attempted to knock everyone back. She stomped down on the ground and hands made entirely of earth came forth. They shot out towards the hooded figures at maddening speed and each time one missed another would leave tear through the earth.

"Her chest, right? Oi!" He sidestepped to the ride, barely avoiding contract with a stone fist. "Girl with the sword! Toss it to me!" Jasper looked a little startled at first but tossed the sword into the air. Luke quickened his pace, leaping over another one of the witch's attacks. His finger's wrapped around the sword's hilt. "FOR OUR PICNIC BASKET!"

The witch snarled and two arms tore from the earth, heading straight towards Luke's feet. He leaped onto it and made a beeline for the witch. "FOR SACHA'S TUNA SANDWICHES!" The boy slashed at her face, but he only managed to cut her in the cheek because as soon as the sword had made contact with her flesh another stone hand wrapped its fingers around him. Luke let out a yelp as it prepared to crush him. "Gargar! A little help, please!" Thankfully he had at least one arm free. He tried to slash at the stone hand but it didn't even leave a sracth. "Oi! C, catch!" She looked his way and nodded and he tossed the sword in her direction.

The witch didn't like that and Luke felt the air being squeezed out of his lungs. "Anytime now Gargar!"

"Don't rush me, diaper! I'm trying as hard as I can!" Gary screamed in reply from like, the other end of the battlefield as she finally got rid of the last few branches around her ankles. She shot the evil oak a murderous glance as she rushed forward, deterred by a burning pain which constantly seared up her bleeding calves. "Porkchop, don't dawdle!"

That. Tree. Was. Going. To. Be. Firewood. The pink-haired girl chanted this to herself as she pushed herself faster. Her legs ached from the injuries and her feet were ready to give up, but no way was she going to let Diaper get crushed by a freaking rock palm!

"Why are you such a baby!?" Numair fell facedown with a squeak of surprise when Gary used him as a footstool to land an aerial attack on the hand. The end of the pole glowed and the rocky limb crumbled to pieces, but Gary's landing was not as lax; she miscalculated the weight her legs could take after that struggle with that fiasco with the tree and ended up crumpling to the ground, twisting her ankle in an attempt to break the fall. "Sacchin!" She cried out for her best friend, tears immediately gathering at the corners of her eyes while she held her bleeding ankle.

"C'mon, stop crying! You're going to be just fine, okay!?" Numair yelled as he scrambled towards the girl amidst the erupting earth and pulled her on his back, bidding a hasty retreat to the side of the battlefield... Except the witch wasn't having it and pulled the pebbles out from underneath them. The two bowled over and Gary fell from the surfer's back, while yet another hand sprouted from the soil and made for them.

"Screw you, hag!" Numair roared out from under another hand while Gary crawled backwards, using her hands to push herself away from the approaching hand. "I've ... lifted weights worse than this!" He cursed as he pushed himself up.

"Gargar! Numair!" Luke fell onto his behind and scrambled back just in time to avoid being impaled. The young man got onto his feet only to have a smaller version of the rock hand grab him by the neck. He was lifted into the air and slammed into a nearby tree. The boy found himself choking and he scratched at the earth in vain. "Get your damned hands off me," he snarled as dark spots began to cloud his vision.





The earth around them was tearing open. ???'s eyes flitted to Sacha and Rainbowzilla. The two were quietly approaching from behind. "Humans, you'd best be leaving." As soon as she finished her sentence the ground beneath her feet began floating into the air. With Harper's sword now in her hand ??? began making a beeline for the witch.

She ducked as a hand attemped to bash her skull in. "Sacha now!"

The boy nodded and grabbed onto both the witch's arms. They only had a moment! She sidestepped another one of the many arms that were lashing around and pulled back her hand. The girl buried the blade into the witch's chest and placed both hands on the sword's hilt. Her expression turned steely and with all her might she pulled down, tearing through flesh and bone.

They could see the heart now. It was a gemstone that was perfectly round in appearance and it was as dark as the sky above them.

Sacha, Gary, Luke, and her. She couldn't quite remember, but they had done this all before. Perhaps, even more than once. Her eyebrows furrowed in irritation and she pressed down on the blade even harder.

The witch dropped her hold on Luke and instead focused on them. The ground beneath Sacha's feet shifted and he scurried back in time to avoid a pointy and deadly column that had taken the shape of a spear. He shook his head, had that hit him, he would have been cut open like a birthday cake.

??? wasn't as lucky and while she had attempted to scramble back one of stone swords had caught her in the side. She stared curiously at the red stain that was spreading on her cloak. "Blood?" And then the pain hit and she lurched forward only to have a blunt column send her careening back. The witch was getting tired as well and her own moves were growing less lethal and choatic in nature.

"Hold on, C! Oi, oi, Gotcha!" ??? crashed into Luke and the boy held her steady. He gave her a concerned look when he noticed blood on her, but it didn't seem too deep and they could always patch it up later. "We can see the heart now, good job--OH CELERY!" The boy pushed his friend away as a rock-hard fist slammed into his stomach and sent him flying. Luke groaned, to be honest, he didn't want to move at all but staying down would pretty much be suicide.

The witch made her way towards him but before she could exact her revenge Rainbowzilla dove for her ankles and bit down as hard as he could.

The witch spun around and suddenly a hand reached into her chest. Sacha's eyebrows were drawn together, and he looked very upset. He wrapped his fingers around the heart and with a grunt pulled as hard as he could. The ground beneath him tore open and he feared it would swallow him up, but he didn't give up. He steadied himself, took a deep breath and pulled harder than he ever had in his life. Sacha fell onto his backside and watched as the witch sank into the ground. Her heart was safe between his hands.

It was almost unbelievable, but it was finally over.



"Out, now!" Cobalt and Citrus barreled up the stairs and out the door, following after a flaming and flailing Ran.

Not long after, the trio were joined by an out of breath Ise and Toby. They coughed and gasped for air but unlike Ran both were unharmed. "We actually made it," Ise couldn't believe it herself. "Good job, you two." The girl stooped down to grab Ran by the collar of his shirt, "give me a hand Toby, Ran is really heavy." The two of them managed to get the man to his feet and it was only after that when she noticed how frightened Cobalt looked. "Cobalt, what's wro--oh, Celery." She paused mid-sentence.

The entire house was in ruins and several bodies littered the ground around them. They weren't her fellow riders or soldiers of Aven...but nobodies and humans? Where was the witch? Ise's voice was barely a whisper, "Ran, Toby, you found your batch." And with that her eyes flitted to figures in hoods.

Eh? Weren't they the wanted criminals. Today was just her lucky day! And then her eyes fell on the dead dragoon. She could recognize that uniform anywhere, there was no mistaking it. "You!" Ise began marching towards the injured humans and the hooded figures. "I recognize you, you're criminals!"

"Uh-oh. The law's arrived. Hey Gargar, giddy up!" The surfer had crawled out from under the debris and was appraching the pink-haired girl, who was trying to use the pole as a crutch to get up from the ground. He turned his back to her and she latched on with a huff.

Sacha's clasped the witch's heart even tighter between his hands and he shook his head.

"EH? We just saved these people!" Luke noticed the uniform the girl had on then scowled. "Looks like everyone is out to ruin our picnic. THEY SENT SOLDIERS." He looked more upset than hurt or angry but each time he tried to take a step, he'd end up limping.

"I'm from Aven!" Ise held out her knife, the only weapon she had on her at the moment. "We'll be getting backup to help you soon! We have two humans with us as well, so just sit tight and we'll get you medical attention as soon as possible." She kept her eyes glued on the hooded figures. "You'd best leave before they get here, you're all wanted criminals."

??? nodded her head. "We have what we need."

Numair, carrying Gary on his back, was approaching the other hooded figures with a strange look on his face. "What...? I don't get it,. We got beaten up just for that?" He mumbled as he stared at the black gemstone in Sacha's hand. What the hell was that thing anyway? "We're not going to eat that thing for dinner, are we?" He added.

The sound of crinkling paper filled the air and the living list made its way out of Harper's messenger bag. The fourth item on the list, the witch's heart had been crossed out and the fifth item made its appearance.

A USB owned by the late Mr. Clock.

"It's time we leave," ??? nearly tripped on her own feet but Luke was quick to help her out. The young man pulled a smoke bomb out of his pocket then rolled it towards the humans. "I guess we'll see you guys around, you should join us for tea sometime." The circular bomb let out a hiss before exploding and consuming the entire field in a dark and smelly fog.

By the time the smoke had cleared, the hooded figures were nowhere in sight and they had taken the fourth item with them.

"both of you aren't exactly fighters."

Toby abruptly spit out dust as Ise finished speaking. "I'm a fighter! I just don't have my weapon is all," He declared and turned his head as far as possible, trying to lock eyes with Ise, his hair dangled helplessly over his eyes. "I bet that witch has probably got some neat-o trinkets we could snag, maybe a crossbow that shoots like, snakes or something huh?" Turning his head back towards the wall, newfound confidence enveloped Toby. If he could just find a weapon to call his own he'd show Ise how capable and strong he is.

"I don't want any of you two to get hurt."

"Oh" So maybe Ise didn't think they were weak, maybe she just wanted to make sure he and Ran were safe. The thought was comforting but no matter, he'd show his might sooner or later. "Well, we don't want you to get hurt either." Toby's stomach began to rumble once more, he tightened his awkward grip on the knife and wasn't sure how the others were doing food wise. He was positive Ran was probably hungry. They usually ate together and Ran didn't seem the type to be selfish with his food. Or maybe he was, maybe it was a dirty secret of his. Toby's eyes squinted at the thought of him having a full belly right now, but now wasn't the time for such accusations. His head shot up as more noises could be heard from above. "Maybe the old witch ladies ugly grandchildren are coming to visit. It's so loud because she's making them fat so she can eat them and stuff." Toby lowered his head in thought, "I wonder if she feeds them humans," he murmured.

"Okay, okay, we can do this. Say, if we live through this...I'll take you both to a buffet in the city, kay? It'll be my treat."

“Buffet? Gosh Ise! You sure know how to cheer people up.”

Toby's eyes went wide as a smile overcame his face. He could feel his taste buds jumping for joy at the thought of food. He tried his best to shoot Niran a glance, "Ran! Remember that snack we ate at that hotel place?! I can still remember the recipe, its, its, uh, I think we need apples!" He turned his awkward glance to Ise, "Ise! Is there like an apple dragon or something that ca-EEK" Toby shrieked as the entire room was suddenly engulfed in darkness. He forced his mouth shut to prevent anymore screaming, his grip on the blade was lost and simultaneously his heart dropped to it's stomach. This is exactly what he didn't want to happen. He couldn't see anything, anything at all, for some reason he thought the walls were shrinking, sooner or later they'd crush them all. He knew they weren't but he believed they were, it was an awful feeling. It felt like they were locked in a box.

“… Ise… I think the knife is somewhere between the two of us. Erm… Let’s focus? We are almost free.”

"Hey, hold still you two."

Toby shook incessantly, his cheeks grew red beneath the darkness as he refused to open his mouth. “Dang Ise! Don’t need to be so fierce. We should be happy Toby has so much energy even though we are starving. I mean literally! The witch wasn’t even nice enough to give us stale bread.” Hearing Ran say his name was comforting and he let out a huge sigh of relief, but the moment of comfort was very brief. "Bread is good!" he shouted, it was difficult to make out the odd sound of his relentless panicking. "Also uh, I just realized the sun is my friend," Toby shut his eyes, if he couldn't see it was going to be on his own terms. He began to mumble Ran's Japanese song profusely in a rasped tempo and without much effort, it sounded like a prayer more than a melody at this point. His brain was occupied by anything and everything that produced light. A fridge, television, cellphone, alarm clocks, kids sneakers, Headlights, kitchen lights, night lights, light light light!

"I have the knife, don't worry." Thank god. Thank buddha. Thank whatever monks worshipped. Thank the sun. Toby was very grateful Ise had the knife, he suddenly felt like less of a fighter at this point. "Okay, I think we'll be able to snap it. You two, at the count of three, tug on the rope." The thought of freedom calmed Toby down. He prepared to tug harder than he had ever tugged before. Even though he hadn't eaten he could feel himself becoming more and more sick as time passed, the basement was filthy and looked like a maids worse nightmare. He cursed the witch for not investing in a cage, or even a dungeon. Nobody is going to judge an old hag for having standards. It was weird he had reached a point in his life where a dungeon sounded like bliss. Brushing off the thought Toby placed all of his focus and attention on tugging the rope. Reluctantly his eyes opened, darkness still held the trio hostage. "I'm ready,"

"One, two, three!"

With all of his might Toby tugged on the rope and refused to stop until he was out of it's grasp, even so he grew hopeless with each attempt. On the fourth try however, the rope snapped and the three were free. Well, almost free. For a moment Toby sat in disbelief that the rope had actually snapped, he immediately brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his skin, laughing happily as he did so, as if he never felt the touch of his own hands before. Jumping to his feet he practically threw himself into Ran's chest. "We're going to live!" he shouted happily, he didn't doubt their survival but it felt like the appropriate thing to say at the moment. "Good job you two! Maybe you have what it takes to be a rider after all." Toby chuckled in delight at Ise's remark, he felt like a fighter once more. Until the room totally began shaking and caving in. "We're going to die!" He jumped into Ran's chest once more, this time out of fear rather than joy.

The sound of Ise's commanding tone snapped Toby out of his fear. Quickly he sprinted towards the sound her voice, following her towards the dragons. He tripped twice and practically plowed into the wall, frantically feeling for the chains. "Cellery, we don't have the keys." Great. No keys. All the witch used on the humans was rope, why not the dragons? Toby leaned down in dismay and placed his head on Citrus's, petting the dragon. It probably calmed him down more than the dragon itself. "We're not leaving without you buddy," The sound of debris falling to the ground was enough to make anybody panic, but as badly as the boy wanted to get out of the filthy and suddenly deadly basement, he wasn't about to leave the baby dragons here to die. Thankfully Ise no doubt felt the same way and there was no need to argue over the matter. This newfound determination distracted Toby from his claustrophobia, he hugged the cloud dragon tightly at the sound of a lightbulb smashing. "This is kinda scary huh?" even though he spoke in a lighthearted tone the boy's heart was ready to burst out of his chest. Toby was shaking as he continued to pet the cloud dragon, he wasn't sure if the dragon knew his calm behavior was an act. Either way it kept him from freaking out.

"Toby pull off their muzzles," Quickly the boy carried out Ise's command and removed the dragons muzzles as gently as possible and stood in darkness for a brief moment, listening to the sound of barrels colliding and the hut shaking. He made sure to keep his hand placed on the wall so the darkness wouldn't throw off his sense of direction. Toby moved away from the dragons chains as Ise approached them, he could just make out her figure and watched as she lifted an axe above her head, breaking the dragons binds. Dust suddenly blinded Toby and the sound of debris and destruction could be heard above him, almost instinctively he threw himself onto the Citrus and shut his eyes, bracing for some type of impact, but there was nothing. Toby opened his eyes at the sight of Citrus, who seemed to be straining himself. He turned around and looked above, watching as what remained of the roof practically floated above them all. With a delighted laugh he looked back towards the cloud dragon, "Good job buddy!"

Suddenly the room was illuminated by natural sunlight as the door had swung open, dust and debris could be seen floating in the air as the basement shook violently, it was moments from collapsing. Without hesitation Toby obeyed Ise's order and rushed up the stairs, without thinking he sprinted out of the hut and outside, falling to his knees on the precious ground. Once his coughing ceased Toby began breathing in the nice, cool air that surrounded them all, before letting out a triumphant sigh. The sunlight was as beautiful as ever. Happily he turned to meet Ise's eyes, this time face to face instead of the awkward angles they were accustomed to earlier. "We actually made it, Good job, you two." A big, dumb smile was all he could muster. Toby looked to see a charcoaled Niran laying in the mud and couldn't help laughing at the sight, he stood up and rushed towards him along with Ise, happily helping him to his feet. "So about about them apples huh? I'm sure there's somebody in Aven that can make us that snack, if we just describe it the right way err someth-"

"Ran, Toby, you found your batch."

"Huh?"

Toby turned around, his eyes lay where the hut once stood. He didn't think the place could look any uglier until now. Laying around the place were a number of bodies, none of which looked familiar. Curiously the boy stared at the sight before him, unsure what to make of it. It clicked that this was the first time he had seen any humans since the train, if you didn't count Ise and the people of Aven. Who are those people? "Um..." he mumbled "Are, they okay?" They could be sleeping, they could be knocked out, maybe a spell? Sleeping gas? There were so many possibilities, this world was magical. Maybe they're fake, and were put there to scare people away....but he didn't see those bodies before, when the which had captured them. So many possibilities. They couldn't just be dead.

They couldn't be.

Citrus approached Toby, circling him for a moment before facing the hut as well, whining at the sight of the deceased nobodies and humans. Toby placed his hand gently on the cloud dragons head. He felt...uncomfortable. Suddenly he could hear Ise shouting in the same tone she had used on Ran and Toby earlier. Both he and Citrus turned to see a number of people a few dozen yards away.

"I recognize you, you're criminals!"

"Criminals?" Were these the people that had been causing all the noise before? An eerie feeling engulfed Toby. Not only was there suddenly a buttload of people, or not even people, criminals for that matter, there was also no sign of the witch. The boy somewhat sidestepped towards Niran, Citrus leaned back onto his hind legs, his ears perked as Toby spoke, "Should we help? Those people over there don't really uh, look so good, but that's alot of criminals. I think we can take them though. We have dragons." Citrus cocked his head to the side at the boy's remark, unsure how two baby dragons are capable of apprehending criminals.

"I'm from Aven!" Toby was alarmed to see Ise point her blade towards the lawbreakers. What if they tried to fight back? They were kind of outnumbered, but again, they had dragons. For some reason that felt like it helped. "We'll be getting backup to help you soon! We have two humans with us as well, so just sit tight and we'll get you medical attention as soon as possible."

"She said two humans! Does that mean we're gonna fight?" Quickly Toby began to search the area with his eyes for a weapon, a fighter needs a weapon after all. Chunks of earth surrounded the area for reasons unbeknownst to him. Maybe his earthquake theory was correct. Citrus began to crawl around the area as well, sniffing the floor for a clue even though he wasn't entirely sure what the human was looking for.

Toby was relieved that the lawbreakers had yet to attack Ise, maybe they weren't fighters? They looked like thieves, if anything. He watched as one of the criminals pulled a toy from his bag and rolled it towards everybody. The boy watched curiously as suddenly the entire area was engulfed in a smelly fog. "Grenade!" Toby shouted, or tried to shout as he began coughing immediately. He had barely escaped a filthy basement and entered the fresh air only to have these thieves poison their precious oxygen. They were criminals indeed. "Combat stance!" Toby yelled amongst the fog with a determined face as he took a defensive posture, looking around the area frantically for danger. Citrus also held a defensive stance beside him, the two were ready to fight. However, the smoke eventually cleared, the criminals were nowhere to be found. Toby remained postured, his hair covering his eyes. There didn't seem to be anymore danger, so he stood up straight, and was finally able to brush the hair out of his face.

With the blood loss and the -unbeknownst to her- possible start to mental scarring, Ace was running on fumes. She followed, helped where she could, and moved to where she needed to be. At this point, Ace should've passed out from even over using the fumes and adrenaline. The redhead scanned the area for the two she was told to go to. First, she spotted Inadi. It seemed the hooded figures could handle it, so she pulled him back to get out of the way. She was coherent enough to realize Jasper had been missing clothing and they were still being attacked. "You're...whatever." She would've offered clothing, but hers was bloodstained, leather, and she didn't have extra.

Some unseen and predictable force knocked Ace over. She fell in a pile of wood and laid there for what she thought was only a minute. But when her eyes closed for a second, they reopened to see nothing but a blur at first. When her vision cleared and her head wasn't swimming, she saw right when the witch died. Ace held her head in her hands for a moment, wondering why she felt so dizzy. When she looked up again, the hooded figures were escaping and there was... "One...Two....Three?" Three new bodies that weren't there before. She noticed them, but couldn't make out where they came from. Sheesh, how long did she pass out for? Ace couldn't make out a lot of things at the moment. "Focus....Focus....Focus-"

Ace caught sight of two more figures and jumped up way too fast only to wince and fall forward. "Ow..." She sighed, but then went back to her excitement. "Hey! Guys! There's Fluffy!" She pushed off the ground and adjusted her hat before limping to the dragon. Citrus so happened to be near one of the new bodies she counted. She eyed the male in front of her and tilted her head. Well he wasn't a Nobody... In fact he looked human... That wasn't important though. In fact the human male wasn't all too important at the moment either. "Pardon me dude." She said to Toby before moving and sitting in front of Citrus.

"Hey Fluffy, do you remember me? We've been looking everywhere for you! You're parents and grandma are worried sick! We are here to take you home, so you need to come with us." Citrus had shuffled backwards away from Ace, only staring quietly. But after staring, and seeming to understand what Ace was saying, Citrus floated towards Ace. "That's a good dragon. Now come on." She stood, and Citrus looked back at Toby before moving after Ace. That is, until Ace stopped and looked at Toby. "Where'd you come from? I guess in the commotion I missed it. And thanks for keeping Fluffy safe, we have to take him home to his parents."

Ace turned back around to see the situation at hand. Many of her team were pretty much lifeless and drained. So, she took a deep breath and cupped her hands over her mouth. "GUYS! THE WITCH IS DEAD AND FLUFFY IS HERE! WE CAN'T QUIT NOW!" Ace's yelling made her dizzy once more but she fought through it. "I have to go help the others. They're hurt." It was a matter of factly tone. As much as she wanted to say hi to the random people, she had a job to do. While Ace hobbled over to help Jasper up, the baby dragon stole her hat- that was probably how he remembered her in the first place.

"Come on Jasper, we can't stay here." She looked around to see who else needed to be helped. Harper was still unconscious, but she was still not giving up on him. There was no way he was going to die. Not like this. "We need to..." But seeing everyone in their conditions, and then herself... yeah they weren't going to get very far. And Ace didn't know how she was standing on her own two feet at the moment. So... she looked at Jasper and then everyone else with a bright smile. She plopped back down on the ground, practically falling over and on to her back.

Ace put her fist into the air, once again forgetting that she got stabbed in the shoulder. She winced, but still smiled. "We did it guys. The witch is dead and we found the dragon! Avian would be proud! And... Haku and Leon would want us to pull through.... We have to survive. For all our fallen comrades. Let's get home so we can tell tales of all their bravery and all the adventures we had. We can't give up now!" Ace dropped her arm and laid there. Ace laughed gently. Sometimes, even she wondered where she got the energy...

"Hold your heads up high. We still have things to collect. You all still have people to see." Ace's voice faded off and she sighed. Ace was definitely on Empty now. As she got quiet, she wondered if it would be okay to just...pass out for awhile....

Numair seemed to applaud his performance in casting a measurable amount of damage on the witch. Tossing the eyeball-flesh covered stone he had used to destroy one of the hag's eyes, Lesley huffed in pleasure at his accomplishment.

Witch: "Foolish mortals, we heal faster than your kind."

The pink-haired man oogled her freshly dismembered arm as the open wound and torn skin around it attempted to tighten and close, but it didn't look to be doing so well. This probed a snort to escape Lesley's nostrils which came simultaneously with the witch's surprised exclamation.

One of the hooded males and another pink-haired female looked as if they were attempting at attacking, blabbing about some picnic. In all honesty, they didn't look threatening to say the least. If anything, they appeared to act like over-sized toddlers and whiny preschoolers. As a result of the hooded figures failure to attack, Riley took the chance they posed as distraction to jam an arrow into the last functioning eye of the evil prune. Numair also dove right into the action, making straight up body contact with the old spell-caster. when they finally separated, the beat up granny got up once more and let out a screech so shrill, Lesley could almost eel his eardrums beginning to shatter.

---

The hooded figures went through much trouble and injuries, but eventually, they were able to rip out the hag's heart, which surprisingly, was just some dark gem. Well, they were in Nowhere after all, anything was possible. The entire time the newcomers had worked to defeat the over-powered witch, Lesley was too weak to do much else, but was glad to have contributed to the cause. He was able to breathe a heavy exhale of pure relief from all the chaos they had experienced. Though they had lost two of their own, it was a good thing that they were able to finish the fight without losing anymore.

Shortly after the victory, a trio emerged along with two smaller dragons. The female he knew was the rider because of the armor and how she addressed Avian, but the other two, which she later announced were more humans, he hadn't met before. In fact, he wasn't too pleased on welcoming anymore humans into their group. It'd be more people to mourn over now that he had become exposed to the painful reality of these quests. The Living List crossed off the Witch's Heart and the next item, a USB, appeared on the page.

A bomb was thrown onto the battle filed following the hooded figures short farewell. It caused quite a ruckus, even had him thinking it was a grenade along with a few other individuals and sadly, he didn't care much anymore. If he died then he died, there was no running away from that anymore. The reality of death was all too real at this point. Nowhere wasn't as whimsical and fun as he'd thought. The memories of tonight's loss flashed in his mind and he struggled to shake them away.

ace: "Hold your heads up high. We still have things to collect. You all still have people to see."

Everyone looked all used up and exhausted beyond any average human's capacity to work. It was by some miracle that they were all still able to function. The very thing he needed now was rest and since he felt rather safe, the fatigue was coming on in a giant, overwhelming wave of sleepiness and loosening of self-control. Dropping to his knees, he scanned the group along with the new additions and waited for the next step. At this point, he didn't give a crap, even passing out and sleeping right there and then was a welcomed possibility. Having the witch's heart stolen wasn't very ideal, but chasing after the hooded figures in their current state just wasn't a possibility. He wondered how they'd get back to shelter or if they'd even make it to bed that night.

"It's time we leave, I guess we'll see you guys around, you should join us for tea sometime."

Tea?

Leila’s eyes widened in joy - or rather, something that came as close to joy as possible when there are broken ribs and a gash in the back of the shoulder - upon the mentioning of tea. The people at home prepared excellent beverages of that kind. Dear, did she miss tea…

...smoke bomb.

As if her respiratory system wasn’t going through enough trouble already.

Inhaling the irritating gas, Leila didn’t even cough anymore - the sounds she made were now just suppressed, sharp whimpers coming through a compressed airway - and it was the same sound with her breathing in or out.

”Combat stance!”

One of the humans that joined them, a young boy with fluffy blond hair, shouted gleefully. And, as if on the cue of the over-excited battle cry, the wood that she relied on for support slipped and Leila crumpled onto the ground.

* * * *

The pain in the shoulder when it hit the ground didn’t fade even after a while. In fact, nothing faded - pain and fatigue tend to just stay where they were, it seemed; Leila thought as she lay face-up on the ground. She pondered upon other things, too.

So the heart was a...rock, of sorts. One dark in colour and obviously carved - patterns encompassing the gem’s surface that could only have been a creation of a practitioner of art and not of nature alone. She wondered how that was possible.

She wondered how that was supposed to be reasonable, only to remind herself that it most certainly wasn’t. This was Nowhere, after all.

A few people were around the place. The battered batch of Lost Souls - what’s left of the Lost Souls. It unsettles Leila thinking that and it was even more uncomfortable suppressing the urge to look around for trees and stone statues. She checked - Harper was still breathing, although shallowly. Lesley is resting. Ace was still speaking, although Leila heard her voice slowly fade away - either it really did, or Leila was too tired to stay focused herself and had tuned out. She couldn’t tell.

Two new humans. The jolly boy earlier, and an older lad with a goatee and the kind of cap and hairstyle only artists would have. Ah, artists - Leila smiled weakly as she wondered if he actually was one. Those people tend to be interesting. Where did they come from? She didn’t see any form of transport nearby anytime recently, and it didn’t look like they trekked through the forest like them. Maybe she just wasn’t paying attention, she figured - everything of her memory of the last thirty minutes seemed to have intertwined into a giant ball of thread except impossible to unravel.

Of course, because the notion “thirty minutes” didn’t work as it was expected to. Not here.

There was a third member in the group of strangers. Leila took her as a human at first but she soon revealed herself to be a soldier from Aven, like…the thought of Avian being dead broke her chain of thought once again.

She laid back and just looked at the sky.

It surely wouldn’t hurt to look at the sky a little.

"Hold your heads up high. We still have things to collect. You all still have people to see." Ace.

Leila knew - quite surprisingly that, although this thought didn’t come forth until much later - that those words were intended to sound encouraging; but she couldn’t help but interpret that into something that much more bitter.

There was still work to do.

Leila tried starting to speak - her breathing was less of a struggle now and much more regular, but it didn’t stop her from starting the sentence by hacking up some more of nothing, out of her dry, sore throat.

“...We should - hch - ...have... - hch - ...the tea first.”

...if possible.

In all honesty, she was way too far into exhaustion to accomplish much else. If the witch wanted to go ahead and attack her, Jasper could probably only muster enough energy to sluggishly roll out of the way, but even after a simple act such as that, she'd most likely be too drained to perform a second roll if need be. She was shivering, feeling extremely under-dressed and exposed, and barely able to stay awake in such a dire situation. Still unwilling to drag herself up from the ground, she felt absolutely filthy and disgusted with herself, craving for nothing else than a warm bath, but she could still hear the others struggling to defeat the damn witch. Why wouldn't she just die already? Finally pulling her head upright, she looked up just in time to watch Sacha yank the hag's nasty heart out, but what emerged from her chest was a little unexpected. It was a dark trinket of sorts.

Eyes widening in surprised triumph, she was about to get up, but voices behind her caused her to pause just before she was about to start. There was a man with facial hair, a younger blond male, a girl, and two dragons, one of which was the cloud dragon they had been searching for. Seeing that the girl was decked out in armor, she noticed the apparel wasn't complete; missing an arm band. 'The witch is down and the rider and Fluffy are here. We're done!' Tiredly hauling her lifeless limbs into a walking position, she observed as the Living List flew up and crossed out the Witch's Heart and the following item appeared. 'Hmm. A USB? They have those here too huh?'

"Grenade!"

Since the rider confronted the hooded figures, they decided to part ways, but along with them they took the black heart of the evil crone. Tossing a smoke bomb as distraction before departure, she pinched her nostrils shut and closed her eyes, opening them only after she was sure the smog had diffused. As her lids parted, what was once a hazy dark figure beginning to appear through the clearing fog, turned out to be one of the new humans standing back to back with the cloud dragon. It looked like some supposedly bad ass Charlie's Angels stance, but instead, it just looked cute and goofy.

"Come on Jasper, we can't stay here."

She gave Ace a thankful smile, but weakness was visible in her fake content.

"We did it guys. The witch is dead and we found the dragon! Avian would be proud! And... Haku and Leon would want us to pull through.... We have to survive. For all our fallen comrades. Let's get home so we can tell tales of all their bravery and all the adventures we had. We can't give up now! Hold your heads up high. We still have things to collect. You all still have people to see."

“...We should - hch - ...have... - hch - ...the tea first.”

Jasper perked up at Leila's still alien voice and nodded in agreement. "That sounds good right about now" She laughed lightly, a smile spreading across her face at the thought of getting something warm into her system.

Ise said "We actually made it! Good job, you two.”

The heat was slowly fading. Niran continued lying on the ground as a stream substance coated his face. It was wet, chunky and very fishy. He lolled his head from side to side as he tried to figure the squishy substance. He snorted a little and choked as a watery liquid shot up his noise and down his throat. He coughed and then shuddered. The creamy, eggy smell left a sour taste in his mouth. Why on earth was there mayonnaise on the ground?

Ise said “Give me a hand Toby, Ran is really heavy."

Ran gasped when a pair of hands pulled his collar. He could feel his entire shirt tightening against his stomach. He pressed his hands against the ground not before Toby grabbed his arm. Ran flopped backwards and landed on his bum. He gave the two a goofy smile as streaks of muddied tuna flowed down his face. Pounded into the ground, with a faint imprint of his face, was a soiled, soggy remains of a tuna sandwich. The man blinked as a black head bumped into him.

“Ow… Colbalt!” He yelped before he burst out laughing.

The fire dragonet was lapping up the tuna from his face. A deep rumble coming from its throat indicated how happy it was to be able to taste some fish. The pinkish tongue moved swiftly up and down. Leaving no patch of skin unlicked. When it was done, Cobolt proceeded to lick and muss up Ran’s hair to get out the remaining tuna. Ran kept his eyes closed. The sensation reminded him of when his mom’s cat. He wondered if dragons were actually part cat. Most of the young ones were just as affectionate as kittens, and they loved playing with round, bouncy objects. He stroked the young dragon’s head.

“I bet you are as hungry as we are, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “Your small friend must be even hungrier.”

Cobalt purred quietly as it finally lay its head on Ran’s lap. He continued stroking the scaly head while watching Ise and the strange children. The whole thing was very unsettling. They were talking about the law and criminals and… Ise … had her knife out. He continued patting the baby dragon to keep it calm. It was now studying Ise closely, almost protectively.

He took a deep breath the moment the bomb was released. He coughed till his chest ached! Cobalt reared up and sneezed. The fireball smashed into the tree fifteen feet away and the whole thing combusted. Ran’s yellow eyes widened. He quickly put his hands under the dragon’s tiny nostrils to prevent the youngling from sneezing again. The last thing all of them needed was a forest fire. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice the Living List emerging from Harper’s messenger bag.

“Bless you, Colby,” Ran lowered his hands and petted the baby on the snout. His voice sounded hoarse and dry.

A loud voice punctuated the heavy silence. "Hold your heads up high. We still have things to collect. You all still have people to see."

Ran watched as the girl sank to the floor where she remained sitting. She was now oddly quiet after such a rousing speech. He bit his lip slightly. For the first time he actually took a good look around. The whole scene reminded him of a nasty gang fight. There was a young boy lying on the ground with blood everywhere, and the young lady with curly pink hair who just fell to her knees. Wait… was that pink-haired woman missing a hand? His mind blanked for a couple of seconds till he noticed the lady looking in his direction briefly. He got to his feet and headed over to her. Probably he should take a look at the boy next if Ise wasn’t already doing so. Or maybe Toby was checking on the boy.

“Young miss, would you prefer to lie down for awhile?” He asked calmly. “There is a tree behind you that you can lean against if you feel too dizzy to lie down flat.”

Cobalt bounded over to Ran excitedly. Nothing was more fun than hide-and-seek! The black dragon crept forward till it was in front of Lesley. Slowly it pressed down on its forelegs and lowered its head. The playful baby then tilted its head to the side as though trying to peer at Lesley’s face through the hair. Colby gave a shrill thrill hoping that the human would look up and smile like Ise would. Ran ignored Cobalt, choosing to focus on Lesley, but he didn’t remain focused for long.

Lelia said “...We should - hch - ...have... - hch - ...the tea first if possible.”

That was when Ran noticed Lelia and Jasper. All he could do was blink, and then blink again once more. He wasn’t even sure how to respond to the exchange between the tall, dark haired lady and her paler friend. Maybe it was their way of dealing … with… keeping positive?

“Ise, how soon will help be arriving?” Ran asked quickly as he turned back to the lady he approached.

Though the Lost Souls weathered a fierce battle with heavy casualties on their side, the trek back to Sol was far more trying. With most of the group exhausted and half-dead on their feet, it took everyone, including the two dragons, the last vestiges of their strength to continue on.

After what seemed like eternity, the lot of them finally left the Dark Side and was greeted by the sight of Sol’s gates, the once-proud city mirroring the beaten state of the humans with its battered gates and crumbled walls. They were given immediate medical attention by the finest clerics Sol could offer, and through their respective rooms in the hospital they could hear the jubilant cries of a certain dragon couple as they were reunited with their baby.

Despite the hellish way their adventure took several turns for the worst, it has now reached its conclusion, and the Lost Souls were on their way to starting another chapter of their quest in Nowhere.





The Kingdom of Sol, a day after the Lost Souls' return...

“Ah, Victoria. What are you doing here?” Ulysses Thinblood, leader of the Royal Dragoons, looked up when the door to his office was pulled open and a draft blew in. Victoria Sieghart-Rider walked in, her stunning profile and the terse expression on her face illuminated by the blocks of sunlight filtering in from the paneled window. She had never been a chatty one, so Ulysses did not mind when she deigned to respond to his greeting. Her next action though… was eyecatching enough.

The red-haired woman pulled out an envelope and slid it forward to the very center of his desk, atop the files he was perusing through before she interrupted. “I would like to tender my resignation and return to my previous vocation as a bounty hunter,” She said.

Following Avian’s return to Sol, he had expected her to resort to irrational behavior, but Ulysses was still at a loss for words. “I understand what you’re going through, Victoria. Believe me, I do. How many of our comrades have gotten injured or worse under my command? But running away,” He inhaled and then shook his head, “It won’t change anything. If only it did.” Sadness flickered over the man’s expression as he contemplated the comrades they all lost during the War.

Her reply was delivered in a soft, almost unintelligible voice that was a shadow of her usual spirit. “I’m not running away. After what happened to Avian, I realized that I spent more time in here than with him. So… I want to correct that mistake,” Victoria’s tone may be faint but the steel in her eyes suggested that no matter what Ulysses said, she already had her path laid out in front of her. He knew that and saw it plainly.

The royal dragoon sighed then leaned back against his seat. The two soldiers shared a moment of silence, with the grizzled old man staring at the woman’s face searching for the tiniest flicker of doubt whilst she glared back, resolute in her decision.

“Fine,” he finally acquiesced and waved his hand at her, “Do as you wish, but always remember that the Royal Dragoons are here for you. We’re your family too after all… And we have to support each other in trying times.”

Victoria’s lips quirked up into a faint smile at these words and she nodded, then left the office as quietly as she came.

---

Avian waited patiently as he had always done while Victoria arrived late like she always did. He wanted the date to happen on the idyllic fields outside of Sol, overlooking the two cities they both loved and strived to protect. It was stupid and sentimental, so Avian that she couldn’t help but smile when he made the request. The flowers in the meadow swayed as the wind blew and everyone turned to look as she approached the gathering. Birds chirped and flew overhead while the sun shone brightly from the skies, and as Victoria stepped within the circle of mourners she could see that the pyre was awash in golden streaks of light.

It was their ancient tradition… Cremation by dragonfire.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Victoria whispered and Gardis, her husband’s lookalike cousin, shook his head as if to say he understood, but it wasn’t really him she was talking to.

“Hmm? What are you apologizing about, sweetheart?” Avian beamed and he tilted his head to the side. “It’s fine!” They were supposed to have a dinner date but she got sidetracked by reports of thieves terrorizing the upper district. It wasn’t supposed to be her case, but Victoria volunteered just in case. The restaurant was already closing by the time she remembered and she apologized as they walked home. “I’m just glad you arrived.”

She took a deep breath and braced herself. She had to go through this alone. Neither Ellianne nor Illumine budged from their beds in days, and she just didn’t have the heart and the patience to force them to come along with her.

“Why do they call you ‘Lamia’?” He asked as she dragged him along, the handcuffs clinking in time with their footsteps. Victoria raised an eyebrow. “You don’t talk to me unless I give you permission, rebel,” She snapped then turned her back on him. The streets were clear. The huntress tugged on the chain attached to Avian’s bounds and interestingly enough, he followed obediently. “I just,” He spoke up despite her warning and she gritted her teeth in annoyance, “Think it’s a strange alias. Do you eat children or something?”

“… What?”

“The Lamia. She’s a woman with a lower body of a serpent, and was cursed to eat children. Well, some variations of the story said she did it out of her own volition, but I prefer the one where she was cursed by the gods,” He paused and smiled when she looked at him, “It’s much more interesting when you have to struggle against Heaven itself.”

The dragon standing near the pyre inhaled deeply, small licks of flame escaping from the corners of its maw.

This was it. The realization was a gut-wrenching blow. She never really believed that he was dead. Panic began to creep out from her stomach at an alarming rate. It was all a joke, right? Avian didn’t do dead. He was too good for that. It was all a stupid joke he played on her because she always took him for granted. She just played along because… because any second now, he was going to sit up and tell her how funny it was to see her face…

“Heh heh heh,” He laughed like a child while she glared daggers at him. In fact, if she had her weapons with her right now, she would have thrown real knives at that smug face. “That wasn’t funny and it was sooooo immature, A!” Victoria yelled, the color in her face rising as her voice broke pitch. Avian suddenly looked guilty; he popped out from behind the kitchen counter yelling something that sounded like “aboogabooga!” while she was getting a glass of water, and needless to say the wife wasn’t happy with the prank.

"You manchild!"

"... Ah! Don't get so mad!"

… and then apologize and offer to make dinner because she got upset… Like always.

But try as she might, she couldn’t deny that she knew from the start. With her level of intellect and perception, the fact that it wasn’t the first time she saw a corpse and then the uneasy atmosphere as she was ushered into the hospital room was enough to clue her in.

“WAIT!” Victoria called out and ran to the center of the circle, throwing herself over her husband’s body before the dragon could exhale its flames, “I’m not ready!” The great wyrm backed away respectfully and she turned her head to stare down at Avian, her hands trembling and crushing the flowers that had been placed around his body.

He was wearing the pristine burial garb of a dragon rider and there was nothing she could see from afar that told her he died in combat. Up close though, she could see the pale bruises peeking out from under his robes, and the gashes that no amount of cloth could conceal. Her lower lip quivered as she lifted him up and cradled him in her arms. He felt lighter. Misshapen.

Like a mangled ragdoll.

“You can’t go!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Her arms remained locked around Avian and she dreaded the moment that she would have to let him go. “You can't leave me behind, A! You promised! I can't... I can't do this by myself," Victoria hid her face in his hair, “This wasn't how our life was supposed to go…!”

How could it just end like this?

“I’m so sorry,” Victoria whispered as she rocked him back and forth, the cold from his body slowly seeping in through her clothes. Tears spilled out from her eyes when there was nothing to answer her. She had always been the one in this position, the one ignoring Avian’s voice as he shouted from the kitchen that dinner was ready, as he peered in over her shoulder and asked what she was doing, as he told her to take care with her rounds each and every day. She blocked out his voice, confident that she would have the chance to listen to it next time, and didn’t even think about how he must’ve felt not having someone he cared about reply to his words.

And now… It was too late for her to do anything but apologize.

… Right?

---

It took forever but Victoria finally locked down from fatigue, bound to the ground by invisible chains as the bright vermillion wyrmfire consumed everything. She did not flinch nor cough when the thick smoke rose, and was so close to the blaze that some of the mourners were alarmed that she might try and jump into it to follow after her husband.

She did not. The soldier had her eyes trained into the very core of the inferno as if she was memorizing everything down to the last cinder.

She stayed until the sun set over the horizon and the last wisps of smoke fluttered away in the wind, leaving nothing behind but a charred plot of land where there was once someone full of life, hope and happiness. As the burning light washed over her profile, Victoria raised her head, her eyes shining with determination.



The Lamia was back, and she was out for blood.

Orchestra Music

"Thank you very much for attending this grand celebration," queen Delirium stood at the end of a long table, looking absolutely ecstatic. "Never before in Nowhere's history have the humans come so close to completing the living list." The Nobodies who were seated around the table stopped whatever they were doing to cheer the humans on. "As of now, they only lack two more items, then those dearies can finally go home, and when they do," a smile crept up her face. "All of Nowhere will celebrate!"

A golden chest was opened by a pair of bunny guards and balloons of all colors and sizes began to fill the room.

It was colorful and noteworthy occasion, a party most Nobodies would talk about for a long, long, time. But it was different for the humans, and while most of their injuries had healed, in a way, they were still broken. Even if they did complete the list, it wouldn't bring back Emily or Vince or Leon and Haku, time alone would never be able to heal their wounds.

"Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!" There was no denying that the party was grand. Streamers, banners, and balloons lit up the entire room while mile long buffet tables surrounded the dance floor. To top it all off, a live orchestra led by Serenade and Dissonance played in the background while flying jellyfish smothered the room in a soft pastel glow, everything was so beautiful...



"The queen sure went all out, huh?" Riley laughed a little before scrunching her nose at the dress she had been stuffed into. Riley thought it looked nice, but it wasn't the most comfy thing to wear, considering they were all still recovering. A hospital gown, now that would have bliss, though all of Delirium's guests would probably end up staring. The girl was still a little sore from the witch fight, but all the health potions they had been given lately had really helped and all of them were doing much better. Lesley had even been given a prosthetic arm, and Riley thought it was pretty badass. "Lesles should let us sign his arm for good luck."

The girl laughed before reaching down to pet one of the bunny guards. It was sort of silly, but the adorable soldiers had been following Ace around for sometime now. and they followed her everywhere, it was absurd, but this was probably happening because she had caused trouble for one of the nurses last time they had to check on her. As soon as Riley tried to pet the thing, it whacked her hand away with its rifle. She narrowed her eyes at the grumpy looking balls of fluff. "Karma is totally biting you in the bum, Ace."

She looked right then left, yep, there had to be at least a dozen of these little grumps.

The girl's eyes flitted across the room. The party was in full-swing, but the queen was too busy entertaining her guests to bother any of them. Some of her friends were by the buffet tables, others were lounging around, and some were just doing their own thing. She wondered where the guides were and why they weren't mingling with the rest of the nobodies. "Hey Ace," she leaned in to whisper so the bunny guards wouldn't hear. "Maybe we should ditch these grumps and find the others, how does that sound?" It would be nice to join the others.

And speaking of mingling, she watched as Mr. Cuddles spoke to Inadi with childish gestures a huge grin.

"My, my, Inadi! It's been awhile," the eight-foot-tall bear removed his top hat and placed an arm around his former assistant. "The shop has been lonely without you! The gingerbread men really miss you and so do I. How have you been doing and..." the grizzly bear narrowed his eyes, "where are those lovely friends who of yours who promised to look out for you? I'd love to thank them for doing such a good job!" By friends, he meant Lesley, Riley, and Vincent. The bear pulled Inadi into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh how I've missed you! You know, I asked Ms. Panda out to dinner once and she said yes! My boy, we're going out on a second date during the star fishing festival."

The bear's grip on his human friend tightened and Riley couldn't help but laugh, Mr. Cuddles had always been an overly emotional softy. Hopefully Inadi would live through the giant bear's fussing and worried remarks, she didn't want her possible writing companion to die just yet.

---

Meanwhile, on the dance floor, a young Nobody eyed Ran rather playfully.



"Oh you must try the queen's deviled eggs, they are to die for." The woman popped up behind the man and eyed all the food. It was truly a lovely party and who knew this year's humans could be so dashing. "Two more items to go, yes? You must all be very proud." She talked to Ran about the weather and all sorts of things and came to a conclusion. He was not just handsome, but funny, and kind as well.

Oh, she liked this human very, very much. "So, how do you like Nowhere so far? It's a beautiful place, don't you think?"

The woman leaned in closer and began running two fingers over his chest. "Say human," she picked up a strawberry, giggled then pushed it into his mouth. "Would you like to dance with me? I'm dying to have you sweep me off my feet." She gave Ran a flirtatious wink then began dragging the poor man off to the dance floor. It seemed the human was quite popular with the Nobodies.

A few of her friends who were on the sidelines giggled and even tossed their own flying kisses in Ran's direction.

And Ran wasn't the only one, Lesley had managed to gather his own following as well. A young man in particular, was absolutely smitten by the maiden's charms. He mustered up his courage then threw out his hand and grinned.



"I'm pleased to make such a lovely woman's acquaintance," despite the cool confidence he often handled himself with, he was feeling a little nervous. It was probably the pink hair, he rarely ever saw anything like it. "Oh, where are my manners." The nobody paused to straighten up his tie. "My name is Amiel Brightenburg, perchance could I ask for your name, fair maiden? It would be an honor."

He hoped he wasn't being too straightforward. "My father is good friends with the queen, so I've been here more times than I can count. If you like, I could show you around. There are many rooms in this castle, some so beautiful," he sighed dreamily, "they just take your breath away."

---

"Hey Song, you sure you're alright?" Cello narrowed his eyes at the grumpy looking guide. He had heard rumors about their last mission ending pretty badly, but they weren't given the details, so he didn't really know. "Ever since you guys got back, you've been looking kind of out of it." Kind of was an understatement though, and the last time he saw Marti it looked like someone had painted her 49 shades of gray. The mermaid's rainbow-like tail had lost its color, it was sad, but he was glad that she was okay and would recover eventually.

"Hey, I haven't seen Marti around lately, has she been doing better? Oh and Brandy, want some tea?" Sure, Cello wasn't the most reliable guide around and sometimes he dumped his work onto Brandy and Songbird, but they were his friends and he was starting to worry about their well-being. His ears twitched and he rested both his elbows on the table. "You know what, I think you guys need a good vacation. Just forget about work, and y'know, chill." He signaled for a waiter to come over and told him to get two cups of tea for his fellow guides and a glass of milk for the humans on the table. Kids liked milk, yeah? It was a shame the mermaid couldn't join them.

Hmmm, maybe he'd ask Skitz or that pink-haired human to bring Marti something to eat and drink later.

"I checked the list and saw the next items was some USB, told queenie about it and she talked it out with General Isaac Romanov." He nodded his head, "pretty cool, huh? So the USB has been paid for, all the humans have to do is travel to the city of cogs and gears to pick it up. It'll be a piece of cake, you guys won't even need to go. Lt. Falkner will be in charge of security, so there's no need to worry! Pretty awesome, yeah?" He leaned over to pat Songbird and Brandy on the head. "So sit back and relax, Cello has got it all sorted out for you!"

Harper, like the rest of the lost souls had been dressed all prim and proper for the event, but it didn't seem like he was there at all.

"Oi, kid, your food's going to get cold." Cello slung an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a friendly headlock, but he didn't get so much as a response. Instead, his hand was peeled off and the boy walked away without so much as touching his food.

A puzzled look crossed the cat man's features, "not the touchy type, huh? I guess I messed up..." he let out an embarrassed chuckle but was quick to recover and soon enough he was stealing prawns off of Harper's plate.

"Songbird, if it isn't my favorite item hunter!" The voice was shrill and excited. "It's good to see you again," a Nobody with beautiful hair in all sorts of colors appeared by their table and she beamed at both the guides and humans. "Darling, it's been far too long. Brandy, would you mind I borrowed the adorable pumpkin for a short dance." Her eyes sparkled at the thought. "What do you say, Songbird?"

Brandy sighed as Cello flitted around the couch he and Song were sitting in. The party was in full swing and the castle was filled with important guests of the Queen who were having the time of their lives. The two battered guides, however, would have much preferred to have been allowed to stay in their rooms and rest. The healing potions did wonders and now the wounds the group had accumulated from their journey were gone (though Brandy's ribs still squeaked now and then in protest), and yet the rabbit would hesitate to say that they were all fine. The humans had been hit hard by the deaths of their two companions, and there had been an awkward rift forming between them and the guides as well.

"You know what, I think you guys need a good vacation. Just forget about work, and y'know, chill."

That was actually quite a nice decision. "Perhaps we should take a break," He agreed, sitting up and taking the cup of tea in his hands. He gave the cat a small glower when he ruffled his hair but ignored the overly-touchy action otherwise. "I'll talk to the queen after the party... They shouldn't need us for the next item if it's as easy as you say.' Not to mention that the humans probably needed some time away as well after what had happened in the cabin. Martini had been much quieter than usual after reaching the castle, and had even skipped out on the grandest party the queen has thrown. He couldn't help but worry slightly, but there wasn't much he could do. He spared a glance towards the pink haired human who was surrounded by fawning Nobodies.

The cat finally left and Brandy reclined back, looking beside him to the grumpy Song. Perhaps they could leave and go somewhere quieter? He opened his mouth to ask-

"Songbird, if it isn't my favorite item hunter!"

Fudge dipped celery on a stick.

Brandy twitched, ears twitching at the shrill voice as he turned to greet the newcomer. "Miss Biv," He greeted the colorful woman dryly, only to be interrupted again.

"I've told you, darling, call me Mona! Really, who names someone Roy G. Biv? Horrid name, it is."

"Fine, Mona." He sighed again, then frowned. Song, as bad as a mood as he was in, would feel bad for turning down a dance from anyone. "And I'm we were just about to go to the library." He stood up, wincing as his ribs gave a muffled creak before turning and offering his hand to Song. "so we'll have to turn down your offer to dance. Sorry."

---

Martini broke the surface of the mini lagoon that encompassed half of her room in the castle, dragging herself onto a comfortable rock and lay there quietly. She smiled at the fishes that poked their heads out of the water and prodded at them, causing them to blow tiny bubbles as they squealed.

She giggled in turn, before her face fall again when she spotted her tail. It was a drab grey now just like the rest of her- the only color left was a pale blue sheen in her eyes as a result of stubbornly using her magic well past her limits. Her fingers and the tips of her tail were even translucent for a time, but she had been recovering quite well. It would be a while before she could use any magic again, however.

The sound of music, muffled by the carved oaken doors of her room drifted into the room and the mermaid tapped her fingers against the rock in beat with the tune and gave a glance at the door. Earlier some of her friends had came by to see whether she had changed her mind and wanted to go to the party after all, which she had merely replied that she was tired before retreating into the bottom of the lagoon. She wasn't really- honestly she had just been too embarrassed to show herself in this condition. It was a silly and shallow reason, but the mermaid just couldn't bring herself to go in case people started laughing at her. And then there was the fact that the humans were there too...

She slid off the rock, sighing and watching as the air bubbles rose to the surface. As much as she had forgiven them, she had been avoiding them since returning to Sol. She had to face them eventually, she knew, but mermaid had no plans on seeking them out just yet.

Earlier:

"Miss Ace! I'd really appreciate if you'd stay seated and relax. You're going to stress your wounds!" A few nurses had been pleading and prodding Ace to go back to her bed. But the girl wasn't having it. She hated hospitals. She didn't like being babied either. And she was perfectly fine! Well...to her standards. That standard being her able to breathe and move around functionally. She had a slight limp in her step but she was sure she could....walk it off. Ace was sure she could walk most of her wounds off. Of course she was wrong, but it was never a bad idea to hope.

"Can I have my amulet back? I liked having a fire sword. I was getting really good at handling it too!" Ace finally got in bed reluctantly after a few pleas more.

"N-No. The Queen said you didn't need them and we were to remove them." Ace only groaned and fell back on the bed.

***

There was also the time when Ace snuck out of the infirmary in order to check out a fancy jar...and accidentally dropped the top when a nurse startled her. That's when she started noticing the fuzzy creatures after her.

---

Now, she was sitting at the table next to Riley. She had been a little annoyed by the dress they forced her into . The feeling passed almost instantly because the sparkly silver caught her eye and she got to wear flats. She even took off her hat and fixed her hair for the event. Though she did bother them repeatedly to see if she'd get it back, which they assured she would. Seeing Cello, she happily waved to her personal guide in the beginning. It was nice to see him again.

"Hey that's a good idea. Hey Lesley, can we sign-" She leaned back in the chair only to see Lesley talking to someone. In fact, so was the new guy Ran. "Heh, we'll ask later." The mention of the guards made her grin. "Karma? Noo. Ha, they're just being paranoid. Tch, don't worry guys I won't steal anything!" The rabbits only tensed towards her words and pointed their rifles at her every now and then. "Man, those guys can hold a grudge." Well, she really hoped they weren't still mad about the whole Mayor's place thing. Though she did learn that those rifles didn't do much damage.

After stuffing her face and having her fill of food she was bored. She had never had so much good food, and they had not eaten in forever so she had a big appetite... Though she tried to be as mannerly as possible. There were dances going on and everyone was mingling about everything. But she didn't want to be there. Ace felt...out of place. She wasn't fit for the formal style- even if she thought the sparkly part of her dress was pretty. So, when Riley leaned over while Ace was tapping her utensils against the plate, a huge grin formed on her lips. "Ditch you say? Into the large castle and explore? I like your style Riley." She grinned and pointed at the dance floor. Out loud, she spoke. "Wanna go dance? It looks like fun!" Ace laughed then whispered. "We can cut right through the dance floor and the little furballs wouldn't notice. Easy escape."

She got up pulling Riley with her. She noticed the bunnies all look in her direction and she stifled a laugh. "I can never seem to catch a break." Once they got to the dance floor, she easily maneuvered through the crowd, making sure to pass a few red dresses and Nobodies with red hair. Perfect way to blend in and confuse the rabbits, which it did.

Ace slipped through a door and walked into a hall. "And that's how you disappear in a crowd." She fixed her dress and then looked down the halls. "Let's see. We'll go forward. My exploring sense says something is that way!" She couldn't go a whole day without getting into something. Not even when she was injured. She looked at where her injuries had been. There were scars there, along with others she had gotten from various places, but other than that those healing potions did the trick- besides the little soreness in her shoulder, but that was Ace's own fault.

Inadi struggled for air as he was forced to endure another of Mr. Cuddles' deadly bear hugs again. It seemed that with every single time the hold was applied to him, an extra layer of strength went into it. Maybe it was just that Inadi, still somewhat sore from the wounds he had suffered from the run in with the witch, or just that the big old bear really did miss him. Either way Inadi tried his best not to push the big bear away and kept his grunts of pain to a minimum for the baker's sake.

Once the bear let the poor boy go, Inadi fixed his suit and jacket that the people of the castle had fitted him into. He was very much against it. It made him feel like some kind of walking banana peel. Everyone else in the group had moderately good looking clothing and none of them that he had seen so far had anything that made the eyes bleed quite like his own. Still it was his suit so he would work out the best of it. A silver lining is in all things if you can look deep enough for it. With this suit however it would take a lot of digging to find it, or in this case a lot of climbing to reach the top of this banana tree.

Looking back up at Mr. Cuddles made Inadi smile as he remembered all the little gingerbread men that he helped bake at the shop with the bear and how easy life was for the early going in his trip to Nowhere. However, the newspaper clipping immediately came to mind soon after and it made the boy feel rather uncomfortable. The hooded figures had shown up to fight the witch and then just as quickly disappeared before he could ask any questions about what Mr. Cuddles had to do with it all. Inadi wanted his answers as to what those people wanted and what the bear in front of him had to do with it all as well. Yet he was already on some pretty thin ice he imagined, even in the group somewhat since he had painted himself a proper ass after his near threat he issued Avian back in the cabin before things turned south. Still blaming himself a lot for what happened he shook the idea and guilt from his head slowly as he returned his attention to the situation in front of him.

“Sadly Mr. Cuddles, Vincent is no longer with us. I'm afraid a witch killed him some time ago,” He explained with a down look on his face. “Lesley lost his arm and Riley took a few bumps and bruises as well. Nothing has been easy since we came to the castle. Honestly I think we were better off staying in your shop for the long haul in the end.” He told the bear with a frown as he remembered the others who had also died fighting the witch. Hard to imagine that so many people were gone now, permanently because of one single thing. It wasn't an army, it wasn't even something bigger than all of them. It was a single entity. And it killed three of the group. An unbelievable chill traveled up his spine as he thought about it.

Taking his mind off the subject, Inadi went to give Mr. Cuddles a small hug. It was a quick one, one that didn't really mean much other than that he appreciated the concern of the bear. Stepping away from it he gave him a small smile. “But I'm glad for you Mr. Cuddles, I hope that you and Ms. Panda have a great second date. In the meantime I'm going to get something to snack on here and probably turn in early. To be honest I've never been a big party guy.” He said with a chuckle and a quick pat to the bear's side. Truth be told Inadi just wanted to rest his body and let the thoughts in his mind disappear. So much had happened that he just wanted to get away from it all.

Getting up towards a small table with snacks on it, Inadi began preparing a small plate for himself. The table was covered in treats and deserts for the most part and it made Inadi visible frustrated. All he wanted was something to fill his stomach, not a cavity. Finding a small collection of apple slices and grapes, or at least things that looked like apple slices and grapes, he began piling them on. Who knew what they called them here or what they tasted like. Hell they may have even more sugar in them then the cakes did. Looking to his left he noticed that Ace and Riley were walking out of a door and going who knows where. He shook his head with a laugh. Finally stopping his ransacking of the treat table he took a single grape and plopped it in his mouth. Luckily it tasted just like he remembered grapes tasting. He then proceeded to pop another grape into his mouth, followed by another, and then another. Some bunnies looked over at the man in the horrid suit gorging himself on grapes at the snacks table with curious looks, all of which Inadi didn't even notice as he continued to enjoy his treat with maybe the first genuine smile he had since leaving Mr. Cuddles' bakery.