Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I'm surrounded by incompetence, truly..." Valor mumbled, looking over the three other Guardians in his squad. His hand hovered above his face, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. They had managed to fail a mission- something that would have never happened, should Faze have given him so actual guardians. Instead they gave him the lecherous drunk caretaker, the giddy obsessed brigade, and the antisocial brawler. How Faze thought this was a good idea was beyond him. Honestly at this point he assumed that the Watcher was simply trying to do things to spite him. First, he was given probably one of the worst possible match-ups for a group. Second, he was given a mission that involved complete coordination and level-headed approach. Third, they were sent to a planet with some of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in the galaxies. It was only towards the end of his internal review of their botched orders that he began to hear that annoying chirping noise.

"Valor! Hey Valor! I know we didn't complete the mission, but it happens sometimes! After all, it wasn't your fault- no one is better than you!" Leon shouted, eyes widened in admiration at his idol's cool composure.

His shouting gathered the attention of a passerby, who looked over to spot her fellow teammates. So they returned from the mission... she mused, moving towards them. As she got closer, she could see what shape they were in- and it was bad. The old perv looked like he was pretty banged up, Leon was bruised beyond belief, and Valor had cuts etched all over his skin. The newer addition to their team was looking the worst out of them all. He was still bleeding, bruised, and beaten. She wondered what they had gotten themselves into.

Zeph laughed at the young brigade, ruffling the kid's hair. "What a kiss-a**." He sighed and pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it with a metallic instrument retrieved from his other pocket. He took in a slow drag and then exhaled, looking over at Prince Prickles the Cactus Caretaker. "I don't see why we couldn't have stayed on that planet a bit longer. Lost mission or not, there was plenty to do there." A wistful smile played across his face as he thought on all the lost opportunities. All those jubblies gone to waste...

"Tch." The irritated noise escaped his lips, judgmental eyes falling on each of them. "We've failed our mission. Go back to doing whatever it is you do. I will be making the report."

"Ooh! Ooh! Let me come with you, Valor!" Leon sounded off eagerly, following the caretaker as he turned away.

Hytocron stared blankly in front of him. He had lost his mission. The only thing more important than his mission was his strength. All of the noise made by the other three was lost on him. He played over his fight with the Faewind in his head, remembering how soundly he had been beaten. They had been lucky to get out alive. No... not lucky. That man had let him live out of pity and spite. A fist clenched tight, allowing more of his injuries to drip blood. He would not take that insult lightly. As Valor and Leon parted, he turned and walked away towards the forest. He needed to train. He needed to get stronger. Nothing would stop him from becoming the strongest. He needed to have a rematch with the man who had damaged his pride. His face didn't show his frustration, his shame. All it showed was the same apathetic stare.

As Hytocron walked away, Zeph and Celia followed. She was interested in knowing how they failed. After all, it would be fun to have something she could rub in that smug p***k's face later when he tried to tell her how much worse she was than him. Zeph was much closer and immediately tossed an arm casually over Hytocron's shoulders. "Hey new guy, why don't you come join me for a drink, hm? It'll be my treat! Oh, and I know some lovely little ladies who are just dying to meet some new Guardians. What do you say?" The white-haired caretaker said nothing in response, simply brushing off the man's arm and walking off down the nearly empty street. Zeph shrugged, turning towards a bar. "Your loss." Celia turned in to follow Zeph, figuring it would be easier to get some information out of him. As soon as she got inside, she found him poring over a drink. Figures.

"Mind if I join you?" Celia asked, sitting down next to Zeph.
"Of course, anything for a pretty lad-ow." he responded, flinching at the sudden punch. "I guess this is business, not pleasure." he said, "Who am I kidding, it's still my pleasure." He chuckled a bit before ordering another round of drinks."So, what can I do for you today, Celia?" He took a sip of liquor, letting it trail down his throat and quench his thirst.
"What happened on your mission?"
Zeph sighed, taking another sip. "You really get straight to business, hm?" A tired look took over his expression as he thought back. "Well Prince Prickly, happy-go-lucky, mister silent and I all got rounded up to deal with a report of disturbances at one of the Relias. When we got there, it seemed like things were real bad. People were dead everywhere. On top of that, there were some strong warriors blocking us off from the crystal." He paused to take another drink. "As we fought, Valor and that quiet guy were able to take off towards the man taking the crystal... but it was a Faewind." He looked into the bottom of his glass. "They didn't stand a chance."

"You're all alive."
"Yeah, it was the strangest thing. When Valor got tossed through a couple pillars and stopped moving, I was pinned by one of the guards and Leon was getting the crap beaten out of him. Then the Faewind tossed the new guy down at the bottom of the stairs. I thought we were going to die, but then that kid... gods." He shook his head as if he was still in disbelief at what happened. "He stood up and let out this crazy yell, and it felt like a shockwave hit me. All the guards flew back and I got a glimpse of his face. That was probably one of the scariest things I've seen. He charged the Faewind head-on, killing two of the guards who stepped in the way. Even with that... whatever it was, he still got his a** handed to him. He kept trying to fight until he got his head planted in the ground and probably was unconscious. We lost the relias, the fight, and the Faewind just left and let us live. Lucky day, really."
"That'll be fun to explain."
"Yeah, but Valor's already on it."
"Figures you'd skip out on the work to get drunk and flirt."
"Going to go rub it in his face?"
"Something like that... Thanks for the drink." Celia walked out without looking back, even as Zeph tried to call after her.

The Guardian sighed, looking at the untouched glass. Then he smiled and gulped it down. "Barkeep! Another round!" he shouted enthusiastically, grabbing the next glass with fervor and taking a large dose. Once he put it down, he expression soured. He definitely needed more to drink. At least enough until he could forget. His hand absentmindedly clutched the small stuffed rabbit in his pocket...

Hytocron made his way through the streets, ignoring the random clusters of citizens. All he could think about were the fresh wounds to his pride. The cuts and bruises meant nothing to him compared to his loss. Soon enough, he found his way into the woods. The first thing he did was remove his sword from its sheath and cut down one of the towering trees nearby. Returning his blade to its home, he moved over to the log and began to use it to deadlift. He plunged his hands into the bark, creating handholds for him to lift it. Birds flew from nearby branches as the improvised barbell smashed into the ground, shaking the earth and sending a loud crash into the sky. The consistent commotion got the attention of some villagers in the nearby town, causing people to look off in that direction and others to run and hide.

Celia heard the first crash and tensed, looking out to the distance in the direction that the noise had come from. What was that? she wondered, hoping that it wasn't something ominous. It sounded almost like an explosion, but then the noise resounded again. And again. It kept repeating at a rather steady pace. Maybe it's some sort of beast... There was no time to go looking for the other Guardians, she had to act quickly. Besides, the only one she actually knew the location of wouldn't be of much help. She sighed, just thinking of how Zeph would probably be busy trying to hug or touch her instead of fight. She kicked off and raced in the direction of the noise, eventually making her way to the edge of the forest. Even as she got closer, it didn't seem like the noise was approaching. It seemed to be sedentary. How odd.

Hytocron paused in his workout to get underneath the fallen tree and begin a bench press exercise. After a while, he dropped it down and moved above it again. Hefting it overhead, he began to do all sorts of leg exercises. Lunges, Squats, Overheads, and so on. Each time he finished a set, he let the tree fall back to the ground with a thunderous CRASH. At the finish of one of his sets, when he was unable to do two-hundred repetitions, he let out an angered roar and split the tree in half with a punch.

Celia made her way through the trees and dense brush, getting closer to the source of all the noise. At times, she had to stop and set her arm out to keep her balance as the ground shook under her. It seemed to be happening less and less, but it was not getting any further away. Finally, she made it to a break in the trees. Her eyes widened for a moment as she recognized the man in the clearing. The hell is he doing all the way out here? she thought to herself, shielding her face from the dust that bloomed forth as the tree slammed into the dirt. That man was a complete mystery. As far as she knew, he was a Guardian, the caretaker named Hytocron. However, he never usually talked, and he had been the cause for their trouble in Klaeric. She hadn't forgotten that he had nearly gotten her arm crushed by a guard that day. He had a tendency to get into fights, but since their mission had been called off for a few days to prepare for the tournament, she hadn't seen much of him at all. Now he was out here causing problems for the town. That selfish bast-

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" The long, agonized roar cut her off and echoed across the landscape, causing Celia to flinch a bit. She had not expected something like that, and that's when she realized that his face was not expressionless- it was filled with pain and anger. She had never seen any emotion on his face before. It was always that stupid apathetic expression. She stifled a scoff. As if she'd feel sorry for this guy. All he did was cause trouble for the team and everyone else around him. When he seemed to calm down, she heard a deep voice start speaking. It seemed to be aimed at no one, and she could just barely pick out what he was saying. "...Pathetic." He let out another angry growl before kicking down a tree.

Celia turned and started to walk away, figuring that this was just the angry hissy-fit of a dumb brute. Then she heard the rest of it, much clearer this time. "My strength was nothing. I couldn't protect them. I couldn't end him. Each of three words were stressed in a painful realization of limitation. She turned around, wondering what that meant, what kind of person he really was. Either way, it was best for her to leave. She walked back through the forest until she got to the village, going inside her home to retire for the night.

The next morning, she was woken up early with a message from Faze. He had called the group together to take care of another problem with a Relia. She quickly got up and retrieved her weapons, heading off towards the well they were designated to meet at. Of course, she wasn't the first one there. Leon always managed to beat her to any of the meetings, and then Valor. Valor was too proud to not be the first to show up and Leon was all-too-eager to see Valor again, leading him to usually be waiting for Valor by the edge of the well. As she approached, she could hear Leon chatting away and imagined him simply talking to Valor about how great Valor was and Valor trying not to hit him or tell him to shut up. It was amusing, but brought about no smile. She wondered what exactly this mission would bring about, and if they would see a Faewind. That would be bad... but they wouldn't let it ruin their mission. They couldn't keep letting the Faewinds take all of the crystals. They were starting to run out of places to protect at this point. As Celia approached, Leon greeted her with that same childish smile.

"Hey Celia! You're here! Oh, and Valor's here too! This is awesome! Where do you think we're going today? I wonder if there'll be Faewinds!"At this point she just began to block all of his questions out. It was likely that each of them knew just about as much as the other on their new mission. Next, Zeph approached. He looked like he had a hangover and a half, but he still smiled when he got near Celia.

"You should have stuck around and had that drink... we could've-ow." He cringed from the sudden, swift kick to his shin. "Okay, yeah. Totally deserved that. So wh-"
"Shut up." She interjected coldly, not ready for Zeph's crap this early in the morning.
"So Valor, what's the scoop?" he quickly asked, turning his attention to the loner.

Leon kept babbling away as more and more Guardians arrived. No one bothered to stop him from talking since it would mean that they would probably have to talk. It was amazing just how much that boy could say. Zeph, Valor, Leon, and Hytocron still looked like they hadn't recovered from their last mission. Each had bandages, and Hytocron practically looked like a mummy. As soon as all of them had arrived, they were teleported off to another world. They were put in the middle of a city, and immediately some of the townsfolk seemed hostile towards them.

"What are you doing, bringing them here?"
Valor stepped forward, taking the leader approach. "We are Guardians. We mean you no harm. We are only here to protect the Relia and speak to your leader."
"You brought two of them here!" Voices called out from the crowds surrounding them. "Are you insane? You'll get us all killed!"
"Easy, easy. What are you talking about? Who did we bring with us that's going to get you killed?"
"The Dead Souls!"
"What do you mean? Explain yourselves." Valor was not in the mood to deal with this setback, especially so early into the mission.
"Do you not know? Those born with white hair are the spawns of destruction!" More mumbling and nervous chatter surfaced from the people around them.

Hytocron stayed silent through it all, knowing what they had meant. After all, they landed in Kharta, his birth Planet. He had been exiled, left for dead, and hunted endlessly throughout his life until the Guardians came and took him away. He was certain that some of the people would have recognized or remembered him, but so far no one tried to kill him. Come to think of it, he was bandaged from head to toe. Perhaps that's what was saving him from being threatened and attacked. Either way, he knew that they were an obstacle here. If the Guardians wanted to have any hope of completing this mission, they would need to split up.

"What do they mean by that?" Celia asked, looking for an answer. The townsfolk were getting more restless by the second.
"Dead Souls are not allowed in the City! They must go to the Khartan Mountain Range!" A chorus of approvals and agreeing whoops met their ears and Valor and Zeph tried to calm the situation down a bit.
"We are Guardians. We would never do anything to harm the people we are sworn to protect. We need to-" a bandaged hand on his shoulder cut him off, and he looked back to see Hytocron's icy blue eyes glaring at him.

"We will go to the mountains so that you can continue the mission."
"That's ludicrous, we won't leave anyone behind. They will have to let-
"They would try to kill us. They would rather kill or die before letting a Dead Soul walk their streets, regardless of the circumstance. You wouldn't understand."
Valor opened his mouth to give a stout retort, but could not find the words to argue. Did that mean that Hytocron knew something about this world that he didn't? Something didn't sit right...

Hytocron walked off in the direction of the mountain range, waving for Celia to follow. Hesitantly, she turned from the group and caught up with Hytocron, eyeing the tense villagers as they made their exit. Some of them seemed as though they were going to attack, causing her to put her hands on her pistols- only to have Hytocron put an arm before her. Surprised, she looked up at him to see him shake his head. They couldn't risk initiating a fight. Then they would really be seen as Dead Souls. Instead, they silently marched out of the town and across a barren landscape until they reached an area filled with crags and crevices. He began to pick his way through the area until he reached a point where they could begin their ascent into the mountain range.

Celia did not really want to climb into the mountains for some ridiculous superstition. "We'll just wait here for Valor and the others to-"
"No. Look behind you."
She glared at him for a moment when he cut her off, reluctantly turning her head over her shoulder. Curiously, she noted that there were villagers following them. Her eyes widened and she turned back to face the snowy-haired Guardian she was following. "Why are they following us?" She started to get edgy, feeling like they were going to have to fight.
"To make sure we go into the mountains." The reply was blunt and impassive as the caretaker kept moving on.
She reluctantly followed him, wondering why the villagers were like that and how he seemed to know that much about them. Then it dawned on her- he was probably from this world. It would seem odd that he would know so much about a random planet. "How do you know?" Her question seemed to fall on deaf ears, as she got no response.

The duo continued to climb until they reached the peak of one of the mountains, turning around to see that they were still being watched from below. Then Hytocron turned away from the ledge and moved off towards a cave. Not certain exactly what to do in the given situation, she had no choice but to follow the silent Guardian. After making sure it was clear inside, he ushered her inside, sitting against one of the walls. He removed his katana and placed it against the wall beside him, looking up at the stalactites that hung over them. "This is my home planet." he said, finally breaking the silence.

Well, that explained a lot. Celia wasn't a fan for how much information he kept to himself that was pertinent to their objective. "What's with the people here? Why do they hate white hair?"
"They don't. They fear them." The man said, looking down to face his fellow caretaker. "Those born under Grossmond's glow have no soul or hair color."
"Then... they just kill anyone born with white hair?" She couldn't understand why they would do that.
"No. Parents leave them here to die." he replied.
"That's idiotic." she retorted, sharing his apathetic stare. "If you were born here, how'd you survive?" An infant simply couldn't survive alone, regardless of where it was left.
"I don't know." he lied, trying not to think about it. Abruptly, he got up and slid his weapon back into its place by his side. "I'll get us some food. Keep yourself hidden. This mountain range holds many deadly creatures."

Hytocron walked off in search of food, leaving Celia to the boring insides of the cave. Now she was just left with the dark walls and voices of the stars. Every once in a while, she would notice a beetle roaming about, but none of the insects went close to her. She began to wonder how the team was doing on their mission. Surely Valor would not have let it end abruptly, and Faze wouldn't let them leave without picking up the two of them in the mountains. Well, maybe he would- that b*****d happened to leave out the part that both she and Hytocron wouldn't be able to do anything in the city. Come to think of it, Hytocron never said anything about it either. Completely useless, the both of them. She was going to kick both of their asses if something went wrong on this mission because of that information they had left out. Movement caught her attention, causing her to pull out her pistols and aim them at the mouth of the cave. A small creature stood there watching her but soon bared its fangs and began to grow in size. She took a few shots at it and was surprised to see that the creature was unharmed. There was no way she had missed her mark- it must have dodged them. She rolled into a defensive crouch and fired again, noticing how quickly it was moving to avoid the shots. She kept up her fire as it got closer, but nothing hit it.

It didn't take him long to find a suitable meal for the both of them, so he had started to head back with the beast slung over his shoulder. When he started nearing the cave, he heard the sounds of large reports and immediately thought that some of the villagers had come up to hunt for Dead Souls. He took off at a sprint, reaching the entrance tot he cave quickly. He had to sidestep to avoid some of Celia's bullets, confused to see her shooting at nothing. His eyes focused in the cave and then to its ceiling, noting a large salamander-like creature approaching her from above. He quickly dropped the beast he had been carrying and drew his sword, sliding the blade into its skull.

In a flash, the creature she had been fighting disappeared, replaced with Hytocron and a dripping trail of fresh blood. Her eyes followed his up to the ceiling, where a different animal was hanging. She looked back at Hytocron, eyes demanding an explanation. "The people and creatures of this planet are capable of harnessing their willpower as a weapon and tool. This creature is known for its ability to project an illusion onto its prey, keeping them distracted until it can deliver the killing blow. They are very slow and hard to spot." He said, retrieving his sword and letting the body drop to the ground. Then he walked outside and moved some rocks together, pitting it and filling it with brush. Then he broke a nearby dead tree, grabbing some wood to prepare a fire. Once that was done, he split their two catches into portions and propped them by the fire with sticks. He hadn't said a word the entire time.

"Why didn't you tell me about something like that?" Celia asked finally, crossing her arms over her chest in aggravation.
"I warned you." he replied bluntly, not seeing how relevant her argument was.
"You should have told me what they were capable of!"
"I wouldn't have enough time to tell you about all of the dangers of these mountains." he simply stated, "We should stick together."
She didn't like that, not one bit. Did he just think of her as some burden? She'd fight the cocky b*****d for sure. "I could have died." she said, words seething through clenched teeth.
"You didn't."
"What if something like that happens next time you go off on your own to get food?"
"I'll protect you." His eyes were just as serious as his words.
"Like hell!"She turned away, a slight tinge of red lining the tips of her cheeks. She hadn't expected that, and it stirred a foreign feeling in her gut. She didn't like that, and it soon faded away. She was absolutely livid. Who did he think he was? She was a caretaker too, and one of the top shots at that. "I can take care of my self." She turned and walked further away into the cave, not looking at him again.
Silence became his response as she walked away, realizing that both he and the creature had hurt her pride. He would let her reclaim it as a warrior. That was the least he could do to amend his mistake.

Once the food was done, he grabbed some of it and made his way back through the cave, finding her towards the back. Without a word, he placed some of the meat there for her and returned to the fire to guard the entrance. Celia stared at the wall as she heard him approach, figuring he was going to try to get her to come get food. She didn't feel like being anywhere near him. Instead, she just heard him walk away. Before long, the scent of smokey meat reached her nostrils, causing her stomach to growl. She turned around to see if Hytocron was still there, but instead found some meat laid out for her behind her back. He wasn't looking her way so she took a piece of it, shocked at how tasty the animal was. She hadn't expected it, and was starving. She was able to eat another piece before she was full, and then turned back towards the wall, thinking about how the others were doing.

--->

Valor and the others had already made it to the High Council Hall, with the help of some local guides. That was when they met the man known as their leader. A tall, muscular man stood before them, grinning ear to ear. He was just over seven feet tall and had a large, bushy blonde beard. He was bald and had piercing dark eyes that would have looked menacing if everything else about his face didn't say 'Pleased to meet you.' On his back was an immense warhammer, inscribed with foreign text along its handle and metal. Even with his smile and warm demeanor, he had a very intimidating stature.

"Welcome, Guardians!" he bellowed, moving in towards them, "I am Garret Hearthstone, Leader of Kharta. What business do you have here today?"
"We have come to seal away the Relia to protect it." Valor replied immediately.
"Is that so?" He leaned down a bit and eyed Valor critically. "And am I to assume that you are the leader of this group?"
"Yes." It was an immediate response, but hearing Zeph's voice made him want to silence the blathering fool.
"Now hold up- you may be the Prodigy, but no one ever said we had a leader. We're a team. If anything I'd say Jubblies here should be our leader." Zeph piped up, hooking his thumb out to Zera and effectively agitating Valor.
"Woah now, I don't want to be the leader. I just want to see if we get any good fights." Zera chimed in, looking up to the leader. "You look like a good fighter. How about a match?" She readied herself and grinned, interested in the prospect of fighting their planet's leader.
"No, we're not hear to fight. Zeph, we don't have time for your fooling around." Valor said as calmly as he could. He had to remain composed, even with all of this nonsense getting in the way of the mission.
A laugh escaped Garret's chest, catching them by surprise. "Relax, Guardians. As interested as I am by this prospect of fighting one of you, I will have to decline. We have more important matters to discuss." His eyes swept over them for a moment before he frowned. "Tell me: Did you come here with more Guardians, or is it only you five?"
"Yeah, we came with two others but they got sent off to the mountains because the citizens were angry at them or scared of them or something. Uh, your majesty... but they said something about dead souls and-" Leon was the first to talk about it, not concerned with the potential ramifications. Valor shot him a glare that made him shrink away a bit and bite his tongue.
"No need to call me anything regal, my boy- we are no monarchy. Ah- how good, so my information was correct. Vulgos! Come here!" He was still smiling, not taken aback by their groups seemingly disjoint nature.
A flash of fire erupted in the room behind him, leaving a bizarre looking man standing there in red and black robes and a pair of goggles on his forehead. "Yeah? What?" He did not seem to have the same respect for their leader that most did.
"Vulgos! Show respect to your-"
"Cram it." The guard's clothing caught fire, and the red head with spiky hair moved almost immediately over to Zera. "Nice hair." He then wheeled around and looked at Garret. "Seriously, what? I was in the middle of a crazy experiment and If I don't get ba-" A far-off explosion cut him off, leaving him to laugh giddily. "Oops."
Garret sighed and shook his head as the guard ran and jumped into a nearby fountain. "How many Guardians did you say were to come here as per the Watcher's orders?"
"Seven. Also, two of them had white hair. One looked like a mummy." he chuckled, shrugging. "Guess you can't stop superstition, even if they aren't from this planet."
"Thank you Vulgos. I'm terribly sorry for the trouble this city has caused your group already. However, we must send out for your friends at once. Otherwise, they will not survive nightfall."
"Well, I'd say-" Zeph started but was cut off.
"Why would they not survive? These are Guardians." Valor interrupted, not in the mood.
"Son of a..." Zeph mumbled, not likeing how he wasn't able to get a word in edge-wise. This leader seemed like a relaxed guy. A relaxed guy that could easily break him in two, but relaxed all the same.
A stern look replaced the smile on Garret's face. "Those mountains hold dangers that have killed many Guardians."

--->

Celia fell asleep soon after eating, leaving Hytocron to stand watch. He wasn't worried about his own safety in these mountains. Most of the creatures left him alone. Celia was not a Dead Soul though... He pushed the thought out of his mind, watching her shiver for a moment in her sleep. Sleeping on the ground was usually a bad idea, especially in the mountains. He spent some time collecting leaves from the nearby trees and fern plants. He uprooted entire plants when he needed to just to get enough materials for bedding. After making the considerably large pile, he tested it out. It was soft, but firm enough to support weight. Satisfied, he approached the sleeping Guardian and leaned over to pick her up.

"...the stars are crying..." The soft mumble escaped her lips, stopping Hytocron from doing anything. What did she mean by that? He frowned, not understanding the statement. He realized that she was still asleep, so he cautiously lifted her and carried her over to the makeshift bedding he had assembled. Laying her gingerly on it, he made sure that she wouldn't fall and then removed his jacket, laying it over her. Hopefully that would help. IT was when he moved back towards the front of the cave that he saw the first beast he would have to slay tonight. The scythe mantis was staring at both Guardians in the cave, arms fidgeting in anticipation. It was looking for a way to get by and take the sleeping one.

Hytocron wasted no time popping the seal on his blade with his left thumb, rushing at the threat. He had to dodge to the side as it brought a bladed appendage down at his shoulder, and then parried its other arm. He stabbed through its throat, swiping his sword out sideways to nearly remove its head. He kicked the body down and watched as it thrashed for a bit before going limp. That was only the first visit of the night, and he knew there would be more. There were always more predators, and the night was young.

--->

Valor's face contorted in agitation. "What do you mean?" His tone had gotten more serious. If that oaf of a troublemaker for their team got himself hurt, then so be it. However, if Celia was hurt- they would lose a valuable asset to the team. He had heard about each of them, but knew first-hand that Celia was a great guardian. The same could not be said of the other one. All he really knew about Hytocron was that he had a mission that ended in all casualties other than himself. That was not such a good record. He also knew that the caretaker was always picking fights. He could only imagine the messes he'd drag Celia into.

"The Khartan Mountain Range holds more deadly creatures than any other place on the planet." Garret Shook his head and scratched his head. "If they don't get killed by the ones that create illusions, There are those that will rip them to shreds. Not only are they strong, but they hunt in packs." He sighed and called out to some of the guards. "Gather up a squadron and lead the Guardians to the mountains. You are to help get their friends back from the mountains, regardless of whether or not they have white hair. They are from other planets. They are not Dead Souls."

Soon, a group of twelve guards gathered before them. The Captain spoke up. "Guardians, we will escort you to the mountains and assist in any way we can. Do not let your guard down at any point."
"Lead the way." Valor replied, walking up to follow them.
"Of course. Men, let's move!" The guards turned and left with the Guardians following close behind. As they journeyed through the City, they got some curious looks as to why they were being escorted with the Council Hall Guards. Most went on about their business as if it was nothing of their concern.
--->

Celia woke up with the dawning sun, squinting her eyes at the harsh invasion of morning light on her dilated pupils. She sat up, yawned, and stretched. She felt rather comfortable, and looked down as she placed a hand on the ground... it was lush and soft. She was surprised to see a large pile of ferns and leaves underneath her, wondering how that could have happened. Then she saw the jacket on her lap. It had been over her as she slept, and it looked like the one Hytocron had on. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened and the scent of fresh blood reached her nostrils. She sat up and tossed the coat to the ground, retrieving her guns and heading to the front of the cave. If he was dead, she was going to flip out. He was such a stubborn... she stopped, unable to believe what she saw. She saw the silhouette of Hytocron holding his sword over his shoulder next to a pile of corpses. As she stepped out into the open, the scene was illuminated in the brilliant sunlight. Hytocron was surrounded by the bloody corpses of many different creatures, and even a few people. She was tempted to ask, but then he turned around to face her. His bandages were mostly gone, only left with a few tatters. Countless scars and cuts lined what parts of him that she could see. Even though he still looked so apathetic, she could see how tired he was. She put her pistols away and scrutinized the silent guardian. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"Get some sleep." she said, looking at the caretaker impassively.

He looked at her for a moment before turning around to face the pile of corpses, looking for one that would be suitable for food. Soon he found one of the more meaty predators and cut its flank open. It was eaten raw- cooking it only produced ashes. He held her out a piece of the white flesh, cutting himself a piece as well. He waited for her to take it as he bit into his piece. He had no intention of sleeping- not while she still needed to be protected. It was obvious to him that she was a huge target. The other creatures could sense the foreigner in their territory, and that meant easy prey in these harsh, unforgiving mountains. She hadn't taken the piece yet, so he looked back at her to see her standing in a pose with hands on her hips. He blinked in confusion.

"Don't just ignore me!" growled, agitated at his apathy. Why was he always like this? Was he trying to play it cool?
"You should eat. You'll need the strength." He stood back up and walked over to her, handing her the raw meat.
She looked at it with distaste before taking it from his hand and taking off a piece to taste it. It amazed her that it tasted both sweet and salty, and the texture of it made it feel like it was already cooked. Did he prepare it for them already? "You'll need sleep to keep up your strength."
He really couldn't argue with her on that note. "As you wish." He sat down against the wall, closing his eyes to rest with his sword tucked between his arms. He was silent for a moment until he asked, "What does it mean... when the stars are crying?"

Ceila stopped in the middle of eating to spin around and look at him. Could he hear them as well? Would he understand? She hesitated, but then decided that she may not get another chance to talk to someone else who could hear them. Do you... hear them, too?"
Hytocron left his eyes closed and replied with a solemn "No."
Her heart sunk, and now she felt stupid. How could she have thought someone else heard them? Now she just sounded crazy. Damn it. She looked over at him, but nothing on his face changed. He hadn't said anything else.
"I heard you say it. You were probably asleep."
Celia stayed put, not sure what he wanted. "Well..." Her voice trailed off, not sure if she should answer.
"I was curious. Sometimes I thought I heard Grossmond's will speaking in the night." One of his eyes opened, the silvery-blue orb latching onto her face. "Of course, most think it is just a hallucination."
"I'm not hallucinating, I hear the stars!" she retorted, taking it personally. She almost felt like crying, being judged like this- but she was far too stubborn to let herself look weak.
"I didn't say you were." he replied calmly, closing his eyes once again.
A moment of silence lingered between them, long enough that she felt he might have fallen asleep. "...What's Grossmond?" she asked, wondering if it was a star. After all, if he could hear one, maybe he could somewhat understand. There was more silence, so it seemed as though he was asleep. When he spoke, she was startled and nearly jumped.
"Look outside the cave. That large moon you see. It is always present, day or night. That is Grossmond. Some say only the dead souls, the ones born under it, can hear its will." Then he abruptly stopped, not wanting to say any more. He soon fell asleep, drifting off to his nightmares once more.

Celia looked at the moon, unsure of how she hadn't noticed it sooner. It was enormous- so big that she had thought it was the sun on this planet. And still, the planet was not very hot. She could see the sun above it and to its side, practically dwarfed in size by the massive moon. She couldn't hear anything different- not from the moon, anyway. She looked over at Hytocron, wondering what he meant by hearing Grossmond's will. It made her reflect on how she heard the stars... perhaps she was hearing their wills.

As she took another bite of the food, she realized that the temperature had been dropping, even with the sun rising in the peak of the day. That was certainly odd. She walked back inside the cave, picking up Hytocron's jacket and putting it on. After some time of her wandering around the cave with nothing to do, she began to hear far-off noises. Curious, she began to wander outside the cave.

--->

It had taken them until the late morning to reach the end of the Wastelands, so soon they would be able to make it up the mountain. A sudden wind picked up, causing the group to cover their eyes and sand and debris were whipped at them from the side. They heard a gurgling scream come from one of the guards and he was carried up on the blade of a scythe by his stomach. "b*****d!" The Captain yelled, removing his sword from its sheath and aiming it at the figure. As the dust and debris cleared, they were left facing several warriors and four abnormally large men. One of them was holding a large chain-scythe with one of their comrades impaled on it, another held an enormous battle-axe, the third held a scimitar in each hand, and the last one was an enormous mass of muscle holding spiked knuckles.

There were no more words- the group rushed the Guardians and guards. It was chaos- they could hardly defend themselves in time as this pack of unknown assailants relentlessly bore down on them. Zeph found himself having to do something to protect himself, whereas Vivian was being protected by some of the guards. Valor took it upon himself to fight the man with the dual scimitars, Zera brawled with the giant with the spiked knuckles, The Captain was fighting the man with the battle axe, and Ophelia joined Zeph to fight off the rest of the enemies with the guards. As they clashed, many started to be cut down. At first, it was only the High Council Guards, but now the numbers of the bandits were dwindling as well. Interestingly enough, none of them had white hair. This confused all of the guards, including the Captain.

As the Captain faced off with his opponent, he realized that their opponents were in a frenzy, not speaking a word. "Who sent you?" he bellowed, blocking the man's axe and kicking him back. Have you been sent to eliminate the Guardians?" He received no reply, but instead, his opponent became even more enraged, recklessly swinging about his weapon in a manner that was causing himself injury as well. This was madness! What on earth could be causing this? Then he looked at the man's eyes... something was definitely not right, but he couldn't quite place it...

Leon found himself in a fight with the scythe-man. "Woah-hey-wacth it!" he said, nimbly dodging the slashes from his attacker. What's his deal, seriously? All Leon tried to say was 'Let's be friends, not foes.' Maybe he messed up somewhere and gave them a homeland insult he didn't understand? Well this wasn't good. All jokes aside, he was in some serious trouble- but he couldn't back down, not with Valor watching! Er, well... not watching, but at least he was there! Leon readied himself and his weapon, dodging the next attack and trying to strike his opponent. He had to sidestep and block just to prevent losing an arm, making him second-guess his new tactic. "Hey, can't we talk about this?" he asked his attacker, trying to use his diplomatic tongue to get himself out of this situation. There had to be some sort of misunderstanding. After all, they had never been to this world before. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. These people were plain evil. He watched the man try to lop off his head and then chop him in half, dodging each attack successfully. Soon he realized that he could take advantage of the opening between attacks. This man was fighting like an amateur with the chain scythe, and he could tell. After all he did use one bef-let's not think about that. He used swords, just like Valor!

He waited for the next downward slash and then thrust forward, jamming the blade far into his opponent's chest. He twisted it and pulled out to the side, ending the man's life in an instant. Once that was done, he looked over to see that Vivian and the Guards were doing well against their group. He figured he could probably help, but then his eyes moved to Valor's fight. Of course, Valor was winning the fight. He was enraptured in the fight until the ground shook and a roar echoed into the sky a monstrous beast dug its way out from underground, headbutting the Captain and sending him through the air to crash behind Vivian. What in the world was that? There was no way... none of the other fighters were phased by it. In fact, the one that had been fighting the Captain was now charging Valor. The caretaker was quick to end his first opponent, but only had time to try and dodge his second opponent, getting an axe swiped across his chest. It was deep, but hit no vital organs. He rallied and charged the individual, but was smacked in the back of the head by the handle of the gigantic weapon.

Before Valor could be executed, another guard stepped in and saved him... but now there was a bigger problem- all of the guards had been bitten in half by the beast that was now closer to Vivian and the incapacitated Captain.

Leon saw his idol face-down in the dirt, blood starting to stain the ground beneath him. His chest hurt, and his mind was crushed. If Valor wasn't enough, then how were they going to win? How would they survive? He looked down at his sword, gripping it tightly in both hands. Zeph and Ophelia were currently busy with guards, and Zera was fighting the behemoth man with the mace. What could he do? He had to try to prove himself to Valor! He looked over as a huge roar erupted to his side, seeing Vivian trying to make ice fly from her staff at this enormous creature. What was it? It was larger than nearly anything he had seen before, with two protruding tusks on its lower jaw, surrounded by razor-sharp teeth. It had trunk-like feet that it stomped in anger, looking at the girl with six beady black eyes. It had a crest of bone on its head adorned with three curved horns. Its six legs stomped in variable times, creating the sound of constant thunder. He needed to do something, or she would be killed. What could he do? There was no way a flimsy sword could handle the creature, but he had to try... but that was when he saw the weapon of one of the fallen guards nearby. It was a chain scythe, one with an abnormally large blade. Surely, he couldn't... not again. He looked to it and then back to the beast. With it, he could definitely do some damage, but... no. He couldn't lay a hand on that weapon anymore. Then it moved- the beast was so fast! There was no time to react- the gigantic beast charged Vivian at full speed. She was so frightened that she couldn't even cry. Her eyes widened and the color drained from her face, too petrified to even bring her hands up to protect herself.

Leon did not hesitate, grabbing the scythe without thinking. Whipping it over his head by the chain, he let out a yell and heaved it at the beast, catching one of its legs with his blade. It cut clean through, causing the beast to trip and fall, sliding just out of reach of its prey. Vivian stared at the beast, gazing into its rage-filled eyes. Leon pulled the scythe back to him, grabbing it out of the air as if the motion was second-nature to him. He ran at the behemoth and shouted, "Leave her alone!" jumping up onto its head. Enraged, the beast started to thrash about, and he almost lost balance. As it struggled to stand, he climbed up onto its back and whipped the scythe down past its neck and pulled the chain to curl the blade up and around. It let out a roar before its vocal chords were cut, leaving its death in silence. Its head crashed to the ground, leaving its body to fall limp. Leon stood victorious over the beast before dropping the weapon and running towards Vivian, who dropped to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. He slid down its side and ran over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey are you okay, Vivian?" he asked, trying to console her. "It's not going to hurt you, it's dead."
"S-sorry... I-I thought... I'm sorry... I thought... I was going to- Sorry..." she choked out before crying more.
Leon moved his hands, wrapping his arms around her back. "I would never let that happen."
Her eyes opened wide, tears halted by the sudden tender embrace. This was... Leon... Her cheeks felt warm and her face flushed scarlet. He was holding her. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a tiny squeak. How embarrassing! Just as suddenly as it came, his hands left her back and returned to her shoulders.
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to figure out what that noise was. He thought he hurt her. "Sorry!" He let go quickly with a laugh and a smile.

"S-sorry! I'm sorry! Th-thank you... Leon. Sorry!" she stammered, just barely able to manage those words. She hid her face, blushing and embarrassed at what had just happened.
Leon grinned and stood up. "Yeah, no problem!" he replied cheerily, spinning around to watch the others. "Okay! Time to help the others!" He ran off to go help Zeph and Ophelia, leaving Vivian to her thoughts.

--->

Celia cautiously made her way out of the cave and tried not to disturb Hytocron while he slept, moving off towards the ledge and looking down. She could see what looked like a battle down there, and was that... ice? Orange hair, red hair... it was them! Their teammates were down there- but why? Did they already manage to find and seal away the Relia? She turned around and went to get Hytocron, but the edges of her vision began to fade. No. Not now... She tried to speak, but her words did not work as she had wanted them to. Hyto... others...down." That was no good. As darkness pulled her in, she saw two blue eyes open to stare at her. She started to fall, suffocated by the overbearing pressure brought on by the screams of the ever-growing din in her ears.

Hytocron could hear something increasing in volume at some distant place. He could not see a thing in this murky depth. What was it? Was it a war? Yes, it sounded like war. Chaotic, yelling, fighting clashing of metal and the thunderous din of feet and voices. Yet, something else- closer. He heard a voice. His eyes slowly opened, seeing Celia walking towards him- then falling. He jumped forward and reached out his arms to catch her, breaking her fall. He had no idea what was going on, but now he was wide awake and alert. There was an unknown threat and an incapacitated teammate. His first instinct brought him to take her back into the cave quickly, leaving no time for a second strike. After placing her on the makeshift bedding again, he retrieved his blade and scanned the area for threats. Not seeing any, he backed off into the cave, turning to Celia's paralyzed body. This didn't make any sense. Any of the creatures he knew in these mountains could only use their willpower abilities in close proximity. She was paralyzed, and her eyes looked like they were in... fear? ...Pain? He couldn't tell. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, throwing him off-guard. How the hell was he supposed to handle this situation? Was this normal for women? Or people from Elvetta? He had no idea. He stood guard over her, making sure that he could see her at all times.

After a long while of silence and guarding on-edge, Celia stirred in his arms. She looked up and saw Hytocron's face looking back at her, his intense gaze seeming... different. Oh no. Her eyes widened, realizing what had just happened. s**t! She tried to push him away, but couldn't move him. She watched his face contort into confusion and concern.
That couldn't be right.
She couldn't look away from him, and started to furiously wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked like a mess and a crazy fool, she knew it.
"What happened?" His words came out slow and deliberate. "What did this?"

He didn't know. "Nothing." she replied, sitting up and getting the last of the tears off her face. "No one did anything."

She began to get up, but he hooked an arm around her and pulled her around to face him. His eyes bore into hers, making her look away. Her voice got more stern. "Let go."
If no one did anything, what happened? Why did you collapse?"
"I said let go!" Celia shouted, trying to push him off.
"I won't. Not until I know."
The tears came back as she tried to get away from him. "Damn it." she swore under her breath. He wasn't budging. Why did he have to be so strong? "It happens sometimes... the voices get too loud and I--" She choked at the last word, already hating him for making her spell it out... and herself for giving in.

His hand reached up on its own, free of thought. A thumb pushed softly against the skin on her cheek, sliding to the side and casting off a tear. Celia was stunned. She didn't know how to react, and her face just kept pushing out tears against her will. His arm held her steady as her torso heaved with each sob. His palm rested on her cheek while his fingers reached around the side of her face. The look in his eyes resonated with sympathy as his expression softened. She let herself fall forward against him, laying a curled hand and her forehead on his chest. His hand moved to the back of her head, fingers shifting against the soft tresses that fell from it.

They sat there in silence, each not wanting to say a word. Finally, Celia looked up at Hytocron, remembering what she saw before her incident. "The others!" she exclaimed, pushing off of him. He gave her a confused look, but she explained. "They're in trouble! We need to go!" She stood up, gathering her weapons in her hand and moving towards the front of the cave. Hytocron followed, pausing as she abruptly stopped. There was a small moment of silence before he heard: "Thanks." She hid the formings of a small smile, heading outside and down the ledge towards the Wastelands.

As they made their way down, the group become more recognizable. Things were not looking good. Valor was down, the group of guards were in shambles, and Zera, Zeph and Ophelia had extensive injuries. There were still Guards to fight, and Celia took the chance to shoot at them as they approached the battle. Leon and Vivian seemed none worse for the wear. When they got down to where the others were, Leon greeted them.

"Celia! Hyto!" he cheerily exclaimed, "You're both okay! We were worried when the captain guy said no one survives the night." He ran over and hugged Celia, who pushed him off rather quickly. The kid really needed to learn personal boundaries. He was still a good kid though, and nothing really seemed to get him down. "Hey so the big Captain guy said that you wouldn't survive the night because there were a lot of crazy creatures and they kill people and only dead souls could survive or something. And-"

"Hey kiddo, just leave 'em be for a second. Seriously, they just got here." Zeph said, scratching the back of his head. Then he turned to Ophelia. "Hey, that was some interesting magic you were doing there. What do you call it?"
"Hey Celia, isn't that Hyto's jacket?" Leon chirped, causing her to look down. She had forgotten to give it back.
"Oh Valor! Vivian come heal Valor!" he shouted, remembering that his idol was bleeding out. Vivian came rushing over and knelt by Valor's side, blushing as Leon began to encourage her and started telling Valor how amazing he was.

There was a shift in the air as flames engulfed an area right behind Zeph. Ophelia's eyes widened, and as she screamed, the figured lit both Guardians with an inferno. Hytocron looked over, recognizing the figure. He rushed over, shouting out "Vulgos!" He knew the unstable pyromancer anywhere. He opened up a palm towards the unprotected trio and sent a fireball their way, but Zera jumped in front, blocking the brunt of the blast. Being injured from her previous fight and weak to magical attacks, it put her in a sore state. "Keep... your flames... off my man." She said, turning to look at the injured caretaker on the floor. "You'd better take care of him girlie..." she mumbled, slumping into unconsciousness.

Vulgos turned around to face his new opponent, covering his fists in flames and forcing Hytocron on the defensive. As they brawled, the caretaker noticed that his eyes were different- there was someone else present in them. Unable to read who it was, he was slammed with a nasty uppercut that jammed his teeth together and burned the underside of his chin and throat. While he sprawled out onto the ground, Vulgos took off. The mage grabbed Celia, searing her wrists and flying off with her towards the mountain range. Hytocron exhaled sharply, releasing his full potential and sprinting after them. Vulgos would never stoop so low, even in his tricks. Celia realized that she couldn't move her hands, and saw that Vulgos was grinning at her... but those eyes. Those eyes looked like that Faewind's- he was being controlled! She couldn't believe that they were here- they must have got a hold on the powerful citizens of Kharta and turned them against each other. It was just like them to cause chaos to revel in the suffering and steal the Relia amid the confusion.

When he finally let go of her, she reached for her guns, Bringing them to bear, she fired- but they passed through him, leaving trails of flames before the closed back in. "Guardian, you do not know the first thing about the Khartan mages, do you?" He taunted her, a mix of two different voices echoing in his words. With a snap of his fingers, she became encased by walls of flames with no way out. She hated not being able to do anything, and now she could hardly see what was going on.

Hytocron reached the top and saw Vulgos standing out on a small plateau, waiting for him by Celia's new prison. He extended out an arm towards the guardian with his fingers spread out. "Are you ready to join the rest of the dead souls?"
"You are not Vulgos."
"Oh, but I am Vulgos. This is his body. This is his magic. Are you ready to have your ashes scattered upon this grave site?"
Hytocron popped the seal on his wakizashi, taking the stance for batto-jutsu.
"Not wise."
The mage sent a fireball across the expanse, then closing the distance between them. A sword of fire erupted from his hand, clashing with the tempered steel. Their eyes both burned with an intense desire to fight. They parried the blow and continued to battle through a series of swordplay and grappling. The deciding blow came in the form of a wave of fire, washing over the Khartan Guardian. He flew back, wounds cauterizing as he tumbled through the air. "[]iYou are the one who survived the mountains? Pathetic. How you Guardians ever expect to compare to us is beyond me."
Hytocron stood up on

ＷＡＴＣＨ ＴＨＥ ＷＯＲＬＤ ＢＵＲＮ
tab tab The Fate of our Bonds tab tab Is a Power we Create tab tab Although the Fault in our Stars tab tab Is a Path we Endure
tab tab Become the Strongest tab tab Endure all Pain tab tab Bear all Burdens tab tab It is Grossmond's Will

tab tab tab IS IT GROSSMOND'S ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ WILL
tab tab tab tab tab tab lose who you are tab tab lose your humanity - lose who you are tab tab lose your humanity
tab tab tab tab tab tab Become weak tab tab kill or be killed - fight to survive tab tab rend flesh and maim

tab tab tab tab tab ██████████████████████████████ ✘ ✘▬THAT I HAVE NO SOUL

I want to know that feelings of discontent are stronger than indifference for those too weak to stand...

He woke up to a loud crash and a heavy thud, and peered his head out of the doorway to check on the noise. All of his siblings slept in the same room together; himself, his two younger brothers, and his youngest sister. He crept out quietly and saw a gruesome scene below. His intoxicated father stood over his brother Damien's body. Neither of them was moving until the father simply walked back into the room and kept watching television. He saw all of the broken glass and the blood seeping into the plywood floorboards of their shack of a house. He knew Damien was dead. There was no other explanation for what he saw. He quietly went back to his room and curled up in a ball, watching his other siblings sleep without taking notice. The constant abuse was bad enough- but now this? Things were getting bad. Damien was only seven. Bradley was only eight. Sarah was five. He was the eldest at twelve years old. He had to think of something- there had to be a way of stopping his parents from getting to the rest of them. He knew what would happen, just like the dog when it was misbehaving. It will have gone missing, run away. His brother would have 'run away' too.

Unfortunately, he knew what he had to do, since his father was too drunk to remember anything and his mother would have gone to sleep. He took his brother's body, dragging it outside as quietly as he could. He picked up his brother's corpse with a great degree of difficulty, placing it into the old red wheelbarrow they used to move dirt. He then grabbed a nearby shovel, solemnly placing it atop Damien to carry. Soon he moved the cart down the path into the nearby woods. He came to the spot where he had buried their dog, Biscuit. For the next two hours, he dug a grave for his brother. He spent every second reminiscing on how he was the most curious of all of them. He had always wanted to learn. He hoped that if there was really a God, that He would take Damien up there and give him proper schooling. Giving whatever kind of eulogy he could surface for his little brother, he began to shovel dirt back over his brother's lifeless body.

He got back and walked right by his unconscious father as if it was the most common thing to experience in his house. He slowly made his way back to his bed, exhausted. He closed his eyes but couldn't sleep.
---------------------------------2 Weeks Later------------------------------------------------------
Markus was being beaten by his father's belt again, but not just over the backside. Bruises and cuts were blotched all over his skin from head to toe. He was being beat because he was supposed to have found his brother Damien by now. As long as the others weren't being hit, he didn't care. His sister would always be kept out of sight during the beatings by his brother and himself so that she would stop getting hit. During that day, Markus believed he had figured out a good escape plan. He gathered up Bradley and Sarah and told them what they would do: They were to set off a distraction in the kitchen and run for the hills, jumping the fence and running for the woods as quickly as they could. Markus knew the woods well enough to be able to hide them or get them away from their belligerent parents. Unfortunately their mother caught wind of their scheme and beat all three of them for thinking about running away.

Later that night, Bradley tried to escape but was caught by his mother and father. His father beat him until he was nearly unconscious and then his mother wrapped a shirt in and around his mouth to stop him from yelling. They were tired of the boy's screaming apologies and promises, so they brought him down to the cellar and left him there in an old empty sack that held potatoes. They subsequently forgot about the boy. Several days later, after Markus had searched everywhere for Bradley, he chanced on his body in a most disturbing way. He was called into the kitchen by his mother and told to go get potatoes for her. They were a poor Irish family, so it was no surprise to Markus since they ate potatoes every day. He wandered down into the basement and walked over to the sacks of potatoes, noticing a raunchy odor in the air. He opened up a few of the sacks until he found the decomposing body of his brother. He choked back the vomit threatening to escape his stomach and nearly cried out in agony. He tightened the bag back up and sighed, noting that it weighed only a bit more than the other bag of potatoes. Grabbing another bag of potatoes, he carried them up to his mother and told her that he had found some rotten potatoes and was going to throw them out.

After receiving a beating for the rotten potatoes, he went back down and took the sack containing his brother outside to the wheelbarrow again. He grabbed the same shovel as before and pushed the cart back through the familiar path into the woods. Once again he found himself by what was becoming a family grave site. He began digging another hole for Bradley, right next to Damien's. It took another hour, and he was depressed to note that he was getting better at the task. There was some sick humor that found his face as he thought it may be a job he would end up doing as an adult. He was burdened again soon enough by the loss of his two brothers. Now it was only his sister and him. He vowed he would protect her at any costs.

A few months later, his father attempted to sexually assault the girl who was only six years old. Markus went ballistic, trying to hit him and keep him off of her, but ended up being hit to the floor. He was in a lot of pain, but the sight of his father trying to drunkenly force himself on a child... the man's daughter... his sister- it destroyed his mind. He grabbed a nearby beer bottle and smashed the bottom off, stabbing it into his father's groin with all of his might. His father screamed out curses and dropped to the ground in agony, screaming bloody murder. He could hear his mother jumping out of bed upstairs and freaked out. He grabbed his sister's hand and ran as fast as he could out of the house. As he left, he took the lantern outside and broke it on the door, setting the house ablaze. The frightened pair ran off into the night, never returning again.

Everywhere they tried to go to seek shelter from their parents, they heard that they were being searched for. Markus had to hide and sleep in slums and alleyways, dragging Sarah along simply because they didn't want to be found and killed by their parents. Markus would constantly steal food and water for himself and his sister, always trying to provide for them and find them a better life. Most of their meals consisted of raw potatoes, fruits, and vegetables. Eventually they found an orphanage that wasn't going to turn them over to their parents. Markus knew they were still alive but refused to let them get ahold of either his sister of himself. He knew that they would try to kill him this time because he had burned their house down. If they got to him, no one would be able to protect his sister. So he told his sister he would be gone for two days and trekked off, leaving her safe in the orphanage. He was able to track down his parents' whereabouts by the homeless scattered across the streets and slums. He found some rat poison and common poisonous chemicals and then returned to where they were staying. He had no desire to be killed by them, and he didn't want his sister to suffer because of his parents. That night he snuck in and poisoned their bedside water and food, making sure to put in more than enough poison to kill them. He also placed some in the beers and wine, knowing that both were drunkards and would not go without it.

He wanted to kill them; he wanted to hurt them so badly that they would suffer for eternity. Unfortunately, he was too weak. He knew he wouldn't be able to do so and settled for making sure that they would never live again. With his mission done, he returned to the orphanage, never to hear from them again. As time passed by, the two siblings grew up and moved from orphanage to orphanage. Eventually Markus was eighteen and could no longer stay in the orphanages, much to his sister's dismay. He promised her that he would get a job so he could take care of them both. They held a very strong bond, and he cared for her as if she was the only thing that mattered to him in the world. Before he left, she gave him her prized possession: a silver lighter that had ornate etchings and her name in it. She had gotten it as a gift from one of the caretakers after showing how much she liked fire. She used to light it and let it stand, pretending that the small dancing flame was her own personal star sent from the sky to keep her company. Markus hugged her goodbye, gratefully accepting the gift. Slowly but surely he made his way into the workforce doing factory labour. He was able to make sufficient income after two years, and was able to secure his own small place to live. Excited, he went to the orphanage to tell his sister. He had been visiting every day he could, which was just about every other day. The caretakers weren't surprised to see him, but they also told him that his sister had gone out with one of the staff to get food for the orphanage. He was glad to hear that her kind soul hadn't diminished after all of her suffering and time in these places. He waited for them but was disturbed when he did not see them. The caretakers were concerned and noted that the staff member wasn't picking up their phone. Markus ran out of the building before anything more could be said.

They had told him exactly where the two had gone, and he was now cursing himself for not having just gone in the first place. On the way there, he saw blood trickling out of an alleyway and into the nearby sewer grate. He felt his pulse skyrocket and turned in to see a familiar man shot in his chest and stomach. The man was dead, but Markus did not call for help yet. He ran further into the alleyway, trying to figure out where his sister was. He started yelling out her name as loud as he could, sprinting through the darkness to find her. He came across the worst sight possible. He saw three men standing over a limp and bloody body, stripped of clothing. There was no hesitation as Markus grabbed a discarded metal pipe from against the wall, rushing over and smashing the first man upside the back of his head. The other two dropped their cigarettes in surprise, reaching for their pockets. The second man was clubbed in the face with a vicious swing. The third man found a pipe crushing the soft vitals between his legs, letting out a groan of pain before falling with the rest. Markus grabbed the first man's gun and looked over at the naked body next to him. His eyes widened in horror and rage, recognizing both the body and the crimes instantly. One by one he shot each of their legs so that they could not run away. He placed the gun in his pocket and stomped on their wounds, causing the one conscious man to scream out in agony. He quickly found his sister's clothing- or what remained of it- and covered up her corpse. He even checked her pulse to make sure, even though it was obvious from the color of her skin and the amount of blood pooled around her. One by one he dragged each of the men into the abandoned building next to them, straight into the basement. He was very familiar with all of the back alleys and hiding places from his times drifting the streets and stealing.

He was glad that the building he was in was the one with old stacks of kerosene tanks. He tied up each of the men and began dressing their leg wounds so hat they wouldn't die. Slowly as they came to consciousness, they started yelling for help and saw Markus staring at them with cold, dead eyes. "What the hell is wrong with ye lad?" one of them yelled while a duet of "I'm gonna kick yer a**!" and "I'll kill ye!" shot through the air at him. He was unfazed by the verbal attacks, reaching into his pocket as he approached. The men tensed until he pulled out a lighter, looking at him in confusion. The boy looked at the lighter and asked, "Who wants to tell me what happened to that man and girl?" His voice sounded merciless and cruel, even though his face was devoid of emotion. No one answered, except one. "******** off and jog on, t'ain't none o' yer concern!" Without a word Markus turned and grabbed a can of kerosene from the shelves against the wall, opening the nozzle and dumping it all over the man, despite his protest. "You killed the caretaker with 'er from th' orphanage." he said simply, flicking the lighter to life and lighting the man on fire. He stepped back and watched the man writhe in agony, screaming bloody murder until he fell into unconsciousness from the pain. The boy's eyes turning to the man on the right, ignoring the stench in the air that made the men vomit.

Markus spoke up again. "What happened after ye killed the caretaker?" he asked coldly, looking back down at the lighter his sister had given to him. The man thought that the truth was the way to be spared form death and eagerly gave up the answers. "We grabbed the girl. She had tried to run n' all, but it was pretty easy. She wasn't too strong, now." Markus looked at the man and asked, "What then?" He man coughed and gagged from the stench of the burning flesh and hair near him. "Well, we done the loop around with her, ye know?" "No. Explain." The words came out blunt. "Jesus Mary an' Joseph, lad- we had sex wit' her." It hurt Markus to hear even though he already knew that they had raped her. "We... well, she was screamin' so bloody loud that we had to keep 'er quiet. So's Gregory o'er there hit 'er... but she started bleedin' too much an' well, ye know..." Markus grabbed another can of kerosene, moving over to the man who gave him information. "Wait- I thought-" His words were coon turned to various noises of surprise and then screams as he was coated in the flammable lquid and set ablaze by the same lighter.

"No. No, no, no. Jesus Chirst, somebody 'elp us!" The other man yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to reach over the screams of his partner that was burned alive. Markus moved over to him with a new can of kerosene, placing it down in front of the man. "The bloody ******** wrong with ye lad?" he screamed at Markus, looking into those cold, dead eyes with fright. "Tell me, did ye know her name? Do ye know who she was?" The man shook his head. 'Jesus, Mary an' Joseph, she was some lil' girl with a man that looked like 'er father or somethin'." He added in, "Th' guy owed us money an' didn't have th' funds to pay us-oh bloody 'ell that stench..." Markus turned the lighter around and placed it close to the man's eyes. The man saw the small etched name: 'Sarah'. "Oh God... God help me, how th' bloody hell was I t'know she was yer girl, mate?" Markus kicked the man in the groin in fury at the statement. "Sarah's me sister, ye bloody c**t!" He was seething with rage, "She was only bloody twelve years old ye ***** p***k!" He delivered another swift blow to his genitalia, causing the man to vomit again. "No, she couldn't 'ave been less than sixteen, mate... that's bloody impossible!" Markus shoved the tank into his mouth and forced the foul liquid down his throat, ripping off part of the man's shirt in the process and stuffing it into his mouth. The man gagged and tried to say something, but Markus doused the rag in kerosene before lighting it. The man let out muffled screams as flames licked down the inside of his body. Markus wasted no time covering the man with the rest of the container and watching him burn. He stayed there for a bit longer, pouring more accelerant onto their bodies as the fires were about to die down, hoping that they could still feel the pain from hell.

He walked out of the building and looked over at the body of his sister, making sure he put her clothes back on her as best as he could. Once that was done, he wrapped her in his coat and carried her out, wandering back to his place. There he found the wheelbarrow he had bought for moving firewood. He felt the memories of his siblings flood his mind as he placed her corpse in the cart and strapped a shovel to his back. He wandered the streets at night, pushing the cart to avoid the suspicion of law enforcement. It took many hours, but he finally made his way back to the old cobblestone walls that marked the property of his childhood home. He slowly traced his way back down the road that led to the burnt remains of the house, turning partway to take a dirt path that led into the woods. Once again he found himself at the ever-expanding family grave site. He had failed at protecting all of them. Not a single one of his siblings had been able to survive. He couldn't even save his dog... the one that Bradley had found on the streets and wanted to take in because Sarah seemed to like it so much. The memory brought with it a pained sadness and regret. With that in mind, he removed the shovel from his back and drove it into the earth, stomping it further into the soft soil with his foot before removing the first scoop. He slowly and solemnly went on about his business until he was finished. He turned back to her body and picked her up in his arms, wishing that her limbs wouldn't hang. He placed her back in the wheelbarrow and brought her arms up over her chest, crossing them. That's when he saw the small gold cross on her chest, hanging from her neck. He remembered how he had gotten it for her for her birthday just the year before. He hadn't believed in God- not after what had happened to his siblings, but he did not take that faith away from her. She was still so innocent and caring, even after years of abuse and running and hiding. He leaned down and kissed her cold cheek, feeling badly that he hadn't even got the chance to see her that day before her untimely demise. With that, he carefully hefted her up in his arms and lowered her into her makeshift grave. He shoveled the earth over her reluctantly, wishing that she would say something or miraculously spring back to life. He covered her body fully first, and then moved on to cover her face.

After he finished his gruesome work, he said a few words that she had said to him the day he left:
"May the road rise to meet ye;
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold ye in th' palm o' His hand."
Tear flowed forth from his eyes and he fell to his knees, unable to compose himself any longer. He wept for what seemed like an eternity to him; not only just for his sister, but for his brothers as well. Each one of their small grave markers was a burden to him; a memory of pain and suffering. His sister had meant everything to him, but they had also shared his sentiments. His brothers were some of the best kids he had known, and they had always tried to do right while he had stooped to thievery and criminal activity to survive. He only regretted that he couldn't have saved any of them from their brutal and unjust fates. He looked over the graves with swollen, painful eyes, seeing a small stone for his dog, a large stone for Damien, a makeshift whittled cross for Bradley, and cross from his home for his sister. He had wanted to get the cross so that she would feel more comfortable in his home, but now he saw it more hit as a marker to her. He stayed there, sleeping the entire night and weeping over their graves the entire next day until he had run out of tears. Exhausted, he returned to his small abode in the slums.

A sharp elbow brought him out of his day dream, and he looked to the side at a number of rowdy drunks. He ignored them and turned back to his scotch, downing the rest of the fiery liquid in one gulp. He didn't want to remember those days anymore, but he refused to forget the suffering of his siblings and their deaths. He didn't order any more alcohol, sitting there silently for another half hour before placing a c-note on the counter and leaving. The bartender walked over, surprised by the over-generous tip from Markus. She didn't try chasing him down though; he didn't seem like he was his usual self. The Irishman slowly walked home, feeling moderately better with the scotch to take the edge off.