Reticence Saga

World of Grey

Chapter 1: The Falling

On a snowy mountainside, a group of men were trudging their way through. Given their grubby appearance and the amount of sharp blades they had, they were obviously not honest men.

"Urgh...bloody guards...forcin' us up 'ere. Least she isn't after us," said one of them in a grumble.

"Is it too much to ask for a night in a 'ot bed with a 'ot woman?" asked another.

Their leader, wearing iron armor, just grumbled before pausing, the air ahead flickering before there was a bright flash in the air and something fell from the sky and kicked up a cloud of powdered snow.

"What the oblivion was that?" asked one of the men.

"Why don't you go there and LOOK?" snapped the leader, wishing that some of his smarter men had survived .

One of them ran ahead, took one look, and called excitedly, "It's a woman, and not a bad-looking one either!"

The other two ran up to see a dark-haired young woman, wearing a weird jumpsuit of a strange shining cloth that was apparently melting the snow. "Well, well...looks like it's our lucky day after all. Take her junk and put some shackles on her," commanded the leader.

"I get the first night since I found 'er, right?" asked the first bandit.

"No, I get 'er first since I'm leader," snapped the leader, "You can 'ave 'er afterwards."

The first bandit glared before gulping as the leader drew his sword. "Sure boss," he said meekly before the woman opened her eyes with a groan and noticed them.

"Aw smeg," she muttered .

"Don't make any sudden moves," said the leader, "Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face, would we?"

"Seriously? Smegging seriously?" snapped the woman, before seemingly concentrating. The bandits, despite everything found themselves waiting patiently, before the leader's men jumped back as she suddenly began a tirade of swearing.

"Alright, let's get this rolling. I want a dry place to sleep in and we'll be warming it up afterwards, won't we, sweetie?" said the leader suggestively to the woman.

The woman raised an eyebrow and reached for a metal contraption on her belt. "Well, least that monster left me something...what?" she snapped, seeing a post-it note saying 'happy birthday' on it, before she glared at the trio. "Ok, that was the last of my good nature, fuck off or die," she snapped .

"What a coincidence, that's what I was about to say, except for the 'off' part," said the leader.

The woman shrugged before lifting her contraption and unleashing a beam that hit the leader in the center, the bandit vanishing into a pile of dust with a sizzling noise . "Now then, any other brute want to be disrespectful to a lady?" asked the woman.

The two bandits looked at each other before drawing their weapons and charging, quickly becoming more dust. "Idiots..." muttered the woman, holstering the laser pistol.

"Ok, now where the hell am I?" asked the woman looking around. It wasn't a snowy night and the clouds were pretty thin. In fact, after a few minutes, they parted to allow a clear view of the night sky. The sight caused the woman's face to pale before she said, "Oh shit. I've got to get out of here before I…"

The woman staggered before clutching her head. She felt a rush of dizziness, as if someone had pulled out the drain plug in her brain. The analogy soon became more apt as she realized that her memories were swirling out of her mind, down into some deep, dark, inaccessible place. She tried to stop the flow of vanishing memories, but it was like trying to catch rushing water with her bare hands. She struggled to hold onto anything: her home, her friends, her family, her name…


1 year later…

Novus Star

Edge of DARKRIFT 'Nirn' penal colony

"Ok, Nirn, DARKRIFT's dumping ground, probably where Betrayl was due to end up. Any non-local magic user loses their powers the second they hit atmo," said Matt, pointing to a hologram of the planet.

"Tech still works there, right?" asked Chip.

"Yes, but as far as we can tell, the highest tech there is only located in the ruins of an advanced race that vanished a couple of millennia ago," said Matt, "As for anyone else, the crossbow and catapult are as advanced as you can get. This is a magic world."

Matt walked back and forth before saying, "That's why you get your pick of the armory. There's plenty of bad guys down there so we are going in shock and awe, go get my sister and leave while everyone's wondering what the hell happened."

"If we're doing shock and awe, why not land the whole ship?" asked Draco.

"Because DARKRIFT left the defense system online when they went wherever they went after giving McNeil the finger," said Matt, having the holo's zoom in on what looked like an orbiting asteroid belt, "Defense cannons, each one's got the bore of a planet cracker main gun and there is about 5000 of them."

"We'd have to be as small as flies to avoid getting noticed by those things," said Draco.

"Condor shuttle can get us in and out again," said Matt .

"I don't suppose there's any point in calling DARKRIFT and asking if they could allow us to pick up Chloe," said Chip.

"No, because we're not even supposed to know where Mundus is and we have no way of contacting them anyways," said Matt.

"Everyone in this room's coming. Even you, Mina. We narrowed down her location to the mountains north of the main settlement, mountain zone called Skyrim by the locals," said Matt .

"Awesome," said Mina excitedly.

"Don't get too pumped up. We're just finding Chloe and bringing her back," said Matt.

"At least I get some action," said Mina darkly, before Matt said "You're teaming up with Chris, north regions. We all take a region and sweep it. Kala and the experiments will guard the shuttle," said Matt, handing out pads to everyone.

Techo looked at his and said, "Hmm, Imperial capitol? Is it the good kind of empire?"

"From what we heard, yeah," said Matt.

"Sweet," said Techo, "Less chance of getting shot at."

"Ok, head to the docking bay. Let's go get this done," said Matt.


Kala wasn't quite so pleased about their mission. Mainly because she was still only two feet tall and furry. "He's got the new control nanites locked up somewhere," she grumbled to her fellow experiments, "And he won't let me have mine."

"He's just waiting until Chloe's back so you can all get your upgrade together," said Contrinus encouragingly.

"No, I want to be human again," snapped Kala, shaking Contrinus a little .

"Uh, I should point out that this is the form you were created with," said Chip.

"Yeah, not a healthy thing to go rejecting your roots," said Draco.

"I want my bushi bu!" snapped Kala, not noticing she was still shaking Contrinus who now looked a bit ill

"Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder so I'm told," said NegaMorph, "Or maybe I'm thinking of something else." Kala glared, turned and sent a blast of energy out that blew NegaMorph up.

"You need to relax, have fun, get in touch with your inner monster," said Morph. Kala glared before throwing what was left of NegaMorph at Morph .

"Matt better find Chloe soon for his sake," commented Chip.


Matt tapped his foot before saying, "Aria, where the hell are the experiments? You did tell them they can't bring the entire armory, right?"

"It's probable that your future wife has a lot of aggression to take out," said Aria.

"Tell her to hurry up," snapped Matt .

"I can tell her, but I'd rather not lose another monitor," said Aria.

"Just do it. We have a limited window here. You can bet anything that McNeil has ships in the area," said Matt darkly .

"Very well, you know you're not improving her attitude by holding out on those control nanites," said Aria.

"Last time she had them she went insane and joined the dark side," said Matt as Kala came into view with the experiments, Kala pausing with a horrified look .

"You know that this is a completely different type of control nanite," said Aria.

"The power will probably go straight to her head. Or she'll go completely elemental. For all I know, it could take her experimental urges to cause chaos and turbo-charge them," said Matt.

"Taka putu!" yelled Kala behind Matt, Matt rolling to the side to avoid a thrown Warthog .

"Aria, you could have told me she was within hearing range," snapped Matt.

"As I said, monitors are offline," said Aria, as Kala stalked past Matt onto the ship .

Something that looked like Morph and NegaMorph melted together stumbled forward. "You better have a pretty big date planned for her when she gets her human form back," said the NegaMorph half, "Now can you help me get loose?"


"There she is...and what a dump," said Matt, looking at Mundus in front of them .

"I'll say. It looks so...primitive," said Chip, "Probably worse than Berk."

"Yeah, no Hiccup or Toothless. Expect icy welcomes," said Matt, Kala snorting and muttering something in tantalog that caused the other experiments to gasp .

"Let me guess, I don't want to know?" asked Matt.

"Yeah, it was an unfair comparison to that mission and the one we're on now," said Draco.

"Oh...shit," muttered Matt as they headed for the planet.

"Kala, I'm sure Matt doesn't it hold it against your character. He just thinks those control nanites are hazardous technology," said Contrinus.

Kala muttered, "Nala queesta."

"Destroying anything won't improve things," said Contrinus.

Kala glared before punching the wall, several sparks shooting out Matt's controls . "Uh, that wasn't anything vital, was it?" asked NegaMorph.

"Oh, nothing much, just the cloaking field generator," said Chip.

"Oh…OH SHIT!" snapped Matt, pulling forward on the controls and throwing everyone off their feet . The 'asteroid belt' soon started orbiting at a different rate as the cannons started to aim towards the cruiser. "Hold on!" called Matt as he sent the ship nose-diving into the atmosphere, just as a yellow beam narrowly missed .

"Uh, how high up can we survive a freefall?" asked Chip nervously.

"You're the brainy one, you tell us!" snapped NegaMorph.

"Grav chutes, everyone out the ship!" yelled Matt.

The group quickly strapped on and got ready to jump. However, Chip was having a little more trouble with the others. "No, not jumping, don't wanna fall, don't want get splattered," said Chip in full-on panic mode. Kala was struggling to get him moving forward.

Matt turned and glared before noticing where Chip was standing. "Next time you decide to get cold feet, don't stand on the cargo bay door," he snapped, hitting a control .

Chip screamed rather shrilly when he dropped out of the door. Kala watched him fall and suddenly got a nasty case of vertigo. Matt glared before looking at Kala. "And why are you waiting?" he asked

"Big drop," moaned Kala.

Matt growled at that, causing Kala to look at him and jump, seeing some familiar reptilian eyes. "Jump...now," growled Matt, Kala nodding weakly and stepping out .

Matt soon jumped out too, almost wishing he had wings back. He looked back to see three red beams slice the ship to ribbons, whimpering. "Oh...oh dear," he muttered, checking his grav chute and checking to see where the others were...only to get a jamming signal. "Smeg," said Matt before trying to hail them on their comms...and only getting static. "Double smeg," said Matt.


Tristan, a new recruit to the Silver Hand grumbled to himself, stuck on guard duty above ground. "When am I gonna get my chance to hunt some wolves? They know I'm as good as any one of them," grumbled Tristan as he looked up at the sky. He soon noticed several streaks crossing the sky. "Huh, shooting stars," said Tristan.

One star seemed to be getting bigger. Tristan had heard from a mage he had once met how some stars were really rocks...that tended to cause big bangs and got ready to take cover when said star seemed to be saying 'fuuuuuuuuuuuu' steadily getting louder before it hit the nearby lake.

"Wow, a fallen star within reach. Maybe I can have it made into a sword," said Tristan as he headed for the lake.

As he got closer he saw a line of bubbles walking forward before what looked like an armored knight walking out of the water, a distorted voice muttering darkly to itself about 'cheap chutes'.

"The fallen star is a man? Now, that can't be right. It sounds like something a drunken bard would make up," said Tristan before approaching the man and saying, "Hey, you, did you see where the star fell?"
The thing turned with a squeak to glare before snapping, "Kiss my ass, smeghead. It's bloody freezing down there."

Tristan was confused for a moment he said, "Wait, you already have the star. Hand it over, I deserve to have a sword made for me than you do."

"I didn't see a star down there. I just dropped in. Now tell me where the nearest inn is or I'll kick you in the nuts," snapped the figure .

"Hand over the star and I will tell you where-" started Tristan before he let a high-pitched squeak as the figure planted his boot right between Tristan's legs.

"Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have been wearing this when your armor is so thin. You're gonna want to see a healer quickly before they fall off," said the figure.

Tristan nodded, before looking back to see several of his fellows walking up. "Tristan, what are you doing?" snapped the captain.

"A man has fallen from the sky," said Tristan in a squeaky falsetto.

"I fell off a cliff," snapped the figure, Tristan saying "What cli-EEEE!" he said before the figure kneed him again.

The captain looking impressed, "You must be cold. Our camp is close by in some old ruins."

"Yes, I am cold," said the figure, "I need to get warmed up before I go start looking for my friends."

"Follow me," said the captain, calmly before muttering to his friend, "This thing will make a fine recruit. As long as he's not...one of those things."

"Yeah, he'd better use than Tristan is right now," said the other guy, glancing back at where Tristan was waddling and clutching at his crushed, ahem, sore point.

The figures helmet seemed to segment to reveal a human. "Ok, Captain Lynch, you are?"

"Captain Silbern. This is Hans and you've already met Tristan," said the captain.

"Fine, I'll only stay the night," said Lynch .


Later in the night, another group approached the camp. Well, what was left of it. Bits of smoking debris could be spotted pretty much everywhere, some of looking like it may have been a part of someone. "Did a dragon attack here?" asked one of the warriors.

Their newest member, wearing full plate armor, picked up a shield with a neat circle burnt through it. "No...no dragon did this. Whatever did that did it at ground level," she said calmly.

"They must have gotten on the wrong side of a mage then," said another warrior.

"Maybe...they invited him in..." said the newbie, looking around...


"This is your camp? Who are those guys in the cages?" asked Lynch, looking around.

"They are monsters, savage beasts that need to be destroyed," said Captain Silbern.

"Look like civilians to me," said Lynch, looking through the bars of one of the cells, its occupant cringing away.

"They are no longer human. It doesn't matter who they were before," said Silbern.

"They look scared. What's your name?" he said, asking the occupant, who looked like an anthro lioness.

"I am Do'Cair, please let me out of here before they skin me," said the feline.

Lynch's gaze hardened at that.


"He kneeled down in front of the cages..." said the Companion newbie, looking at the disturbed snow. "He stood up...and..." she said, turning to where a body was.


"So...what is a scared teenager supposed to be?" said Matt

"That's only a beast," said Silbern dismissively, "It was always a beast, even before it was bitten."

"And what beast is it now?" said Matt coldly

"One of Hircine's cursed spawn, a werewolf," said Silbern.

"Heh, a cat that turns into a dog," chuckled Hans, "Kinda wish it was a werelion so we could have more variety."

Lynch glared before tapping his gauntlet, a female voice saying, "Scanning...no lupus sapien virus detected...sentiency rating 432."
Lynch glared before saying, "Let her out, right now."

"You think we'll just let that beast out just because you've enchanted your gauntlet to talk? You must have hit your head hard falling off that cliff," said Silbern dismissively.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that came out as a suggestion. Let her out or I'll be forced to kill everyone in the camp," said Matt, annoyed .

The hunters exchanged a glance before laughing loudly. "And how do you intend to do that without any blade?" asked Silbern.

Lynch glared before pulling out a device. Silbern had enough time to lose his smile before there was a bang and he suddenly didn't have a head anymore. Lynch turned, drawing another device and firing a yellow orb at another trio of shocked hunters, an explosion throwing them off their feet.


"This one was the first to die. They were caught off guard and had no leader," said the Companion calmly, looking at one of the burning tents, slumped hunters half buried by the snowfall .

"What kind of destruction spells was this mage throwing?" asked a warrior.

"Not magic. There would be demons from Oblivion already snooping around by now," said the Companion, adding, "All I know is that this wasn't another hunter..."


The Khajiit cringed back as Lynch opened the cell, the rest of the hunters all dead by this point. "Well, you're free to go. Take your pick of their supplies. I doubt they'll mind."

"Why would you help Do'Cair?" asked the Khajiit.

"Couldn't let those jerks kill you just because they thought you were a werewolf," said Matt.

"Ah, but there is one small problem: Do'Cair is a werewolf," said Do'Cair before her form suddenly surged in size as her features changed from feline to lupine.

Matt blinked before smacking his gauntlet and snapping, "Cheap piece of tech, need to get it fine-tuned to sense magi better. So, I don't suppose you're the type of werebeast that shows gratitude to those that help it, are you?" The werewolf snapped at Matt, forcing him to jump backwards. "Didn't think so," said Matt.

The werewolf snarled before lunging, before pausing as Matt pulled a canister off his belt and ignited an energy blade. "Bad doggy! I just got rid of a fur coat, don't need another!"

The werewolf paused and growled in an even rougher version of Do'Cair's voice, "Bad doggy? Do I look like some hound that you beat with a stick?"

"Nah, you look distracted," said Matt, lunging with his ion blade.


"It seems he released one werewolf at least..." said one of the other Companions, sweeping some snow away to show a dead wolf creature

The other female of the group knelt down and took a good look at the werewolf. "Hmm...this one was a Khajiit. Its fur has the same texture and color as those cats," she said.

"Interesting blade to cause the damage. Looks like it cauterized the wound," said another Companion .

"Must have been a fire sword," said another.

"Whoever he or she is, they're long gone. We should keep an eye on the local taverns. Such a person will need to rest," said the leader of the team, a Nord named Aela

"Since when is hunting people we're not being paid hunt part of our jobs?" asked another member of the team named Vilkas.

"It becomes that if it's another werewolf hunter," said Aela

"A werewolf hunter with those weapons would be hard to beat," said the tracker, looking around at the battle damage.

"He is like any mage. He will not be able to keep up such power for long," said Farkas .

"True, but we should be cautious," said Aela, "We're not going to charge this one all at once."

"Agreed, we should head back. We won't be able to track him in this weather," said Farkas calmly, looking out into the nearby forest .

"The trail will be cold before the weather lifts," said Vilkas.

"A mage with powers as destructive as this one will leave a very noticeable trail," said the tracker.


Matt looked at his rifle before tossing it aside, its auto destruct reducing it to slag. "Empty...shoulda used my staff on those little assholes. Ok, let's see if my comm is working at all," said Matt as he tried to boot it up.

He tapped it, only to get nothing. "Dammit...thing's cooked," he muttered .

Well, Skyrim couldn't too large, right? He ought to be able to find them. The experiments ought to stand out like swollen, infected thumbs.


"Whiterun, maybe I am in Berk's neighborhood. If I see one Night Fury..." muttered Matt, walking up the hill towards a walled settlement

As he approached the place, Matt could see a pair of what looked like lizard men outside the gates. As he got closer, he corrected himself: a lizard man and woman.

"I'm telling you, we need to get in," said the male desperately as Matt walked up behind them .

"And I'm telling you that I'm not letting you in unless I have proof you don't mean trouble," said the guard.

"What proof could you possibly accept?" demanded the female.

"Well, you have what looks like a lockpicking kit...and your brother, I presume is wearing Imperial armor that has bloodstains on it," said the guard sagely.

"The Imperial was already dead. I needed his armor more than he did," said the male only for his sister to elbow him in the ribs.

The guard raised an eyebrow at that as Matt walked up. "There a problem, officer?" he asked politely .

"These salamanders are trying to get into the city and get into all kinds of trouble. Akatosh knows what they would...wait a minute, why am I telling you this? Who are you anyways?" asked the guard.

"Just looking to meet up with my friends. I think some headed this way," said Matt smoothly .

"So? Go on ahead, don't waste my time," said the guard.

"Speaking of wasting your time, I don't think these two are worth the effort you've using. Look at them, they're practically hatchlings in terms of strength," said Matt, earning him annoyed looks from the lizards.

The guard thought this over and said, "You're right. These two could be caught in a heartbeat if they did something wrong, not like they could manage that. Head on in." With that, the guard stepped aside.

"You two coming?" asked Matt, looking at the two lizards

The lizards exchanged a glance before following Matt.

"So...what're your names?" asked Matt, not turning to look at them

"I am Tiatara and this is my brother, Iguanus," said the female. Matt raised an eyebrow at that. "Our hometown was mostly Imperial," explained Iguanus.

"So, how did you get bloodstained armor?" asked Matt

"That blood is my own," said Iguanus defensively, "There were a couple of bandits on the road."

"Bandits usually wear military gear?" said Matt smugly

"I got stabbed, ok?" snapped Iguanus, "The Imperial I took this armor off of was already dead. His head was crushed by a piece of wall."

"A piece of...where the..." said Matt before pausing and peering closer. "Is that a manacle?" he said, pointing

"Of course it is." said Matt

"Why should we be telling you? We don't know anything about you," snapped Tiatara.

"I'm looking for someone. I'm a professional killer if need be. You?" said Matt

"We're trying to find our own line of work," said Iguanus, "You don't build up much experience as-"

"Iguanus, shut up," snapped Tiatara.

"Let me tell you what I think; you're wearing prison manacles, you both have what looks like army-issued weapons, you escaped from jail," said Matt casually .

"Pretty much," said Iguanus, only for Tiatara to elbow him again.

"No skin off my nose," said Matt casually .

"You're not gonna tell the guards on us?" asked Tiatara.

"Hey, you've done your time. If you do any crimes here, it's the guards' problem," said Matt.

"We were just trying to get into Tamriel. We didn't even do anything wrong," said Iguanus .

"Let me guess, you didn't have your passports," said Matt jokingly. The Argonians gave him a blank look. "Never mind, you wouldn't get it," said Matt.

"We have to see the Jarl anyway. We only avoided being beheaded because a dragon wrecked the hold we were in," said Tiatara .

"A dragon? What kind of dragon?" asked Matt, suddenly all business.

"A dragon that kills everyone," said Tiatara sarcastically .

"Any particular details about its appearance?" asked Matt more meaningfully.

"It tried to kill us," said Iguanus dully.

"Look, dragons were supposed to be extinct..." said Tiatara .

"What did the dragon look like?" demanded Matt, his hand going for his ion blade. He didn't draw it out, but he let the siblings see the hilt so they could guess what he was carrying.

"Big, it was able to make it rain fireballs...and it shrugged off Destruction magic like a shower of rain," said Iguanus .

"What color was it? How many legs did it have?" Matt asked impatiently.

"Two legs, two wings, pure black," gulped Tiatara .

Matt sighed. He wasn't sure if was Chloe, even if she still had her dragon form and the wyvern build eliminated Mina. It might have been Ghoulwyrm, but that didn't sound like his style, especially attacking in broad daylight.

"Look, we have to warn the Jarl. A village is in that thing's path," said Iguanus sternly .

"Ok, fine, go on, don't let me stop you," said Matt before leaning against a wall.

The two Argonians glared before walking off, Matt watching them go before saying, "It's not my problem. It's a local incident. They'll handle it...perfectly handle it...oh, who am I kidding, of course I gotta help." before he headed after them


Dragonsreach Hall was pretty impressive, though the skull of the dragon over the throne gave Matt the shivers. At least the Jarl was willing to lend an ear.

Matt had ended up waiting outside, the guards giving him and his gear funny looks, though when the two came out, they had dazed looks. "Well, did they reject everything you were talking about?" asked Matt.

"No, they believed us," said Tiatara, "But now they want us to go fetch an artifact from a barrow."

"I told you we should have gone after that golden claw. It might have saved us the trip," said Iguanus.

"Wait, they roped you into a treasure hunt?" said Matt .

"More like a fetch quest," said Iguanus.

"Well, let's get it over with," said Matt, saying, "I saw some kinda merc outfit in town, the Companions. Maybe we could hire a guide?"

"I'm not so sure they're that type of mercenary," said Tiatara.

"They know the layout. We need someone who knows the area," said Matt .

"Well, I suppose we could at least ask. The worst they could say is 'no'," said Iguanus.

"Ok, let's go then," said Matt cheerfully, starting down the steps, "I'm surprised to see a reptilian forced this far up north."

"What do you mean?" asked Tiatara.

"Well, half of these mountains are permanently snowy," said Matt .

"We're not as vulnerable to the cold as you humans think," said Tiatara.

"Just wrap up warm," said Matt, tossing some gold over, "Buy some fur armor. It's cold even for me so it'll be worse for you. I'll hire our guide and meet you at the gate."

Iguanus looked at the gold and said, "It looks funny. Is it foreign money?"

"It's solid gold," snapped Matt .

"It's not a septim though," said Iguanus.

"Fine, melt it down and make it into a ring or something. You can do that without a problem, right?" snapped Matt.

"Erm..." said Iguanus, only for Matt to snatch the bag back and shove another one forward. "They take gems?" he snapped .

"Sure," said Iguanus.

"Ok, I'll see you at the gate. Keep the change," said Matt, stomping off.

"Man, that human's highly strung," said Tiatara .

"Hope his friends aren't worse," said Iguanus.


Matt looked up at the large longhouse before sighing. "Urgh...Vikings," he muttered, walking forward before knocking on the door .

It took a while but eventually, the door opened and a woman with very light armor and war paint on her face opened the door and snapped, "What? What is it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought mercenaries liked employment," said Matt scathingly .

"We also prefer it if people knocked on the front door," snapped the woman.

"I thought this was the front door," said Matt.

The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Obviously you're new in town. Ok, what is it you want to hire us for?"

"Guide and escort, three people including me. There's a barrow that has something the local boss wants and he wants my Companions to get it. I'd prefer they not run into bandits or booby traps." The woman gave him a 'are you kidding' look. "What?" asked Matt, "I thought you guys could be hired for your muscle."

"Yes, to intimidate someone who needs persuasion, dealing with wild animals, bandits, catching criminals, and rescue missions. We don't do treasure quests in barrows," said the woman as she started to close the door.

"If you shut that door, I'll blow it off its hinges. I don't wanna do that as I'm down to my last grenade," snapped Matt .

"If you want to hire something for a treasure mission, look for the Thieves' Guild, if they even exist," said the woman.

"Look, I'm not hiring someone to be the dumb muscle and do all the digging. I'm trying to hire an escort. Isn't that something you give to the new guys so they can get some experience?" protested Matt.

The woman glared at that before saying, "You do realize that barrows are full of undead, right?" before raising an eyebrow as Matt splintered the handle.

"Undead?" he said in a level voice, the sort of level voice holding back an apocalypse of rage .

"You know, the ancients who've been buried there roaming around and seeking to end the life of any trespassers?" asked the woman pointedly.

The woman looked down to see Matt's grip was now starting to break the wood of the door. "More undead...undead everywhere…" he said aimlessly .

"You sure you actually need to hire someone. Looks like you could do the job on your own," observed the woman.

"I'm fine. I want the others to survive though," snapped Matt .

The woman sighed and said, "I suppose we could have the whelp take you there, but you better not treat her like a pack mule or something undignifying."

"Of course not, professional courtesy," said Matt .

"Good, I'll be sending her out in just a minute. You do have a sword, right?" asked the woman.

"You could say that. An...enchanted little toy I got down south," said Matt .

"Good enough. I hope the whelp won't be pulling all the weight in your little excursion," said the woman.

"Who knows, your rookie might learn something from me?" said Matt scathingly, before saying, "So let's see him."

"Here she comes now," said the woman, putting extra emphasis on the pronoun.

"Oh...ok," said Matt, turning to see.

Matt heard the clink of armor and he turned to see a woman, judging from the height and hinted figure, walking towards him in a suit of armor that had a bear motif carved on it. The only exception was the helmet that looked more like a traditional knight's helmet. "A bit overdressed, aren't we?" asked Matt.

"It takes true strength to wear heavy armor," said the woman, her voice slightly distorted by the echoing of her helmet.
"I can say that. That must be about 200 pounds extra weight. What's your name, kid?" said Matt .

"Call me Mist," said the warrior woman.

"Mist?" asked Matt, "Rather odd name for a-"

He didn't get very far when Mist grabbed him by the throat and lifted Matt up. "Got a problem with that?" she asked.
"That's fine. By the way, you're top heavy," rasped Matt before planting b9oth feet in her chestplate, sending her onto her back.

"You need to know how to stay on your feet, whelp," said the woman, "You're better off in light armor, faster and more steady on your feet."

"Heavy armor suits me fine, Aela," said Mist gruffly as she got back up.

"Makes you a target for everything in light armor," said Matt, dusting himself off. "Maybe you'll learn a few things from us on this trip," he added, Mist glaring .

"That she might," said Aela, "Just bring her back in one piece."

"You got it. How much will this little contract and free training session cost?" Matt asked .

"For you, I'd say...500 septims," said Aela.

"What? That's chicken feed!" snapped Mist.

"Do you accept gemstones?" said Matt in a bored tone .

"Yes," said Aela.


The two Argonians sat outside the gate. "You think he's still coming?" said Iguanus, the gate opening at that and the two turning to see Matt coming out, rubbing his eye and a figure in Nordic armor .

"Guys, meet Mist, she'll be our guide," said Matt, "Mist, this is Tiatara and Iguanus."

"Charmed, lizards, I'm sure," said Mist scathingly, before growling as Matt tapped her helmet.

"It's polite you remove your bucket when talking to someone."

"You paid me for my arms, not my charms," said Mist bluntly.

"You wanna be paid?" said Matt .

"Tell you what, you show me that you all aren't a bunch of milk drinkers and I'll let you see what's under my helmet," said Mist before glancing at the Argonians and saying, "Maybe 'milk drinkers' isn't the best term for you two."

"You go in front, lady buckethead." said Matt scathingly

Mist shrugged before saying, "Is there anything else you need to get before we go?"

Matt looked over the fur armor the twins were wearing and the bag of supplies. "No, I think we're good," he said .

"What about your friends?" asked Tiatara.

"Eh, we'll be back around the time they've stopped sulking," said Matt dismissively.


Tiatara and Iguanus were happy that Matt had insisted they wrap up, the cold in the mountain felt even through the fur armor. "How much further? I don't like those clouds," called Matt over the wind .

"Don't make me stop," snapped Mist.

"How much further, you moron? Ever heard of hypothermia? Two of us are cold-blooded, no offense, guys," snapped Matt .

"Not much farther, you big babies," said Mist.

Matt glared before pausing and grabbing Mist. "Hold it, that tower...anything seem off about it? You two?" he said to the trio, kneeling down and opening his backpack to take out several metal parts .

"What do you mean?" asked Iguanus a bit sluggishly.

"Misty, look at the top window. Why do you think that shadow's darker than usual?" Matt continued, clicking several parts together.

"Don't call me Misty," snapped Mist before glancing at the window, "Looks like someone might be up there."

"You do have some training. Lookout. Probably means there's more," muttered Matt .

"Yes, they may not be so tedious after all," said Mist.

"I'll deal with them. You get the kids inside before they pass out," snapped Matt, before saying, "You're being paid to escort, not fight."

"We're...not kids," said Tiatara, also sounding sluggish.

Matt glared at Mist. "That's an order, merc. Do it!" he snapped, before getting up and running at a crouch towards the tower .

It would be simple to just run the guy through with his ion blade, but Matt was pretty sure the others would get suspicious about how he's able to slice through the bandits so quickly and effortlessly. He'll just have to take one of the bandits' swords to throw off some of that suspicion.

On cue, one of the bandits charged out, sword and shield at the ready. "Oh, I'm so scared," said Matt dully . Matt barely had to swing his ion blade, the bandit's momentum did most of the work for him.

"Ok, new gear," said Matt, picking up the longsword, before an arrow hit the wall next to his head, the shot coming from above . "Probably ought to hang onto this, just in case," said Matt as he picked up the shield.

He turned only to be forced to raise said shield as an axe was aimed at him. The blow from the axe was blocked by the shield, his cyberarm absorbing much of the jarring from the attack. He recovered probably quicker than the bandit expected and took him out with the sword.

"Got some fight in you, eh?" sneered the bandit, aiming another blow with the largest battleaxe Matt had ever seen . This time, the jarring went all the way up to Matt's shoulder, which caused Matt to go slightly numb with the pain. "You killed my mates..." snapped the bandit.

"Sorry, are replacements so hard to find?" asked Matt sarcastically.

"No one around to recruit except those undead bones in the barrow," snapped the bandit.

"Undead? UNDEAD! UNDEAD!" gibbered Matt, the 'U' word going straight down to the part of Matt's brain marked 'unrelenting fury' and hitting it repeatedly .

The bandit soon found himself being forced back as he tried to block Matt's rapid blows. "Easy, easy...I only said undead," snapped the bandit before jumping as Matt screamed "WHERE?" and lunged at him.


Mist glared at the two Argonians, who were drinking down warmth potions. Her hirer had been gone far too long. Not that she'd been bored as several other bandits had tried to ambush them on the barrow steps. "That idiot better not have gotten himself killed up there," grumbled Mist.

On cue, a bandit came flying out of the wind and slid to a halt, before he got up and tried to run, only for Matt to run out the storm, wielding a rather large axe. "WHERE ARE THEY? YOU SAID THERE WAS BLOODY ZOMZOMS! TELL!" he screamed, a bug-eyed look .

"I didn't know he was a berserker," said Tiatara.

The bandit yelped and ran back down the steps, Matt laughing like a loon and throwing the axe after them, a yell of 'Ow, my arse' heard in the snow .

"So...shall we start looking for that Dragonstone?" asked Iguanus.

Matt giggled a little before looking at them before losing his insane look. "This isn't the tower," he said .

"Well, you did take care of pretty much all of the bandits," said Tiatara.

"Out of curiosity, did you find the golden claw?" asked Iguanus.

"A golden what now?" said Matt.

Mist said, "I didn't see one. But as much as I hate to agree with the fool, the snow's getting worse. Get the door open. It'll be warmer inside."

"Yeah, shouldn't be many of them inside," said Matt as they walked up the steps.

Tiatara pushed the door open and the group staggered in, Matt last in and shutting the door. He turned and opened his mouth, only for mist to cover his mouth, pointing down the hall to a firelight .

The Argonians instinctively started moving towards it but Matt grabbed their tails before they got too far.

Tiatara was the first to snap out of it, before seeing the bandits. "Hmm, that looks like a warm fire. Let's make it warmer," said Tiatara as she gestured towards it, her hands briefly glowing red. The campfire leapt up high with an explosion of heat.

The flash also blinded almost everyone, the tech in Matt's glasses stopping him getting blinded, and giving him an opening to fire a few shots at the bandits, meaning when the light was back to normal, both of them were down.

"That was rather excessive," said Iguanus.

"I guess I was colder than I thought," said Tiatara.

Matt put his blaster away. "Ok, the bandit mentioned this place might have unnnnn...Unnnnnnnn," said Matt, trying to warn them.

"Let me guess, undead?" asked Mist.

"WHERE?" yelled Matt, punching the rock wall next to him and leaving a fist imprint. The other three backed up from Matt at that. "Ahem, so, what was that about a golden claw?" asked Matt, trying to change the subject.

"The owner of a shop got robbed. All they took was a dragon claw made of gold," said Tiatara, the group pausing at the fire to warm up .

"Hmm...I'm guessing it's more than just a shiny bauble," said Matt.

"We don't know. But they had to have some reason to take that claw up here instead of melting it down or selling it," said Tiatara.

"That and it's solid gold. That's all the incentive I need," said Matt calmly, checking one of the dead bandits and finding an unlit torch, "Ok, let's do some grave desecrating."

"The ancient Nords made their barrows to be unwelcoming to thieves," warned Mist.

"You don't say? Zombies!" snapped Matt .

"Actually, they're draugr," said Mist.

"Are they alive? Do they need to breathe?" asked Matt, annoyed .

"Well, no," said Mist.

"Can they walk around with sharp things embedded in places no person should have sharp things embedded?" snapped Matt

"No, they go down as easily as any living mortal," said Mist.

"Ok, I can live with that, no I can't, SHUT UP, DRACONUS!" snapped Matt .

The others exchanged glances. "I can see why you didn't think it would be safe to travel with just him," said Mist.

"SILENCE!" yelled Matt, causing all three to jump. "First we find the claw, then we find the stone...and Lord help any unnnnn...zombie who gets in my way. Where the hell is that axe?"


Further into the barrow, not long after the poison dart trap, Matt was starting to get bored.

"Poison darts, bandits, the odd spider, security here sucks. Where're the bigger traps?" he snapped.

Just then, Matt's foot snapped a tripwire. Matt looked up in time to see a clay lantern drop and shatter upon the puddle of lamp oil he was standing in.

"Oh poo," he moaned, the others wincing as said oil exploded. The smoke cleared to show Matt spinning on one foot. "Yes, I'll take tables for two, Bob," he gibbered before falling backwards. This amused the spiders that had been watching for the roof. These four were even more amusing then the bandits.

"We should have found the golden claw by now," said Iguanus.

"Yeah, we're almost at the end of the barrow," said Tiatara as they moved onwards, Mist dragging Matt behind her.

A voice was heard up ahead at that. "Hey...hey, is somebody there? Help!"

"Who could that...be?" asked Mist, her last work coming out as a squeak when they walked into a room that was covered with webbing with a man tangled in webbing at the other end.

The man glared. "You going to stand there gawping or you going to cut me down?" he said rudely, Matt saying "Full ahead, Mr. Peabody and damn the torpedoes."

However, as the group was approaching the middle of the room, a giant spider, bigger than the other ones, dropped down from the ceiling. Mist let out a rather high-pitched scream of fright at that.

"It's back! Don't just stand there! Kill it!" snapped the man, struggling in his webbing.

Matt groaned at that. "What the hell? When did the spiderbots get here?" he groaned, the spider regarding him before grabbing his head and slamming him into the stone a few times before turning to face the Argonians and Mist.

"Keep that thing away from me!" yelped Mist.

"This is a fearless member of the Companions?" asked Tiatara doubtfully.

Iguanus draw his two swords at that. "It's up to us, sister," he said, Tiatara nodding and casting a fireball at the spider...which bounced off.

"I think you need to do something more concentrated," said Iguanus.

"Sorry," said Tiatara before sending a stream of flames at the spider.

The spider shrieked from the flame eating at it before swiping blindly, Iguanus ducking under the blows and slashing at its underbelly . Black blood squirted out as the spider shrieked again. It spat globs of venom at the Argonian siblings.

The siblings split up, the glob hitting the stirring Matt in the face. "Why does my face feel cold and numb?" asked Matt.

The spider hissed before lunging at Iguanus, only for a bolt of lightning to hit it in the side . The spider hissed and turned to face Tiatara only for Iguanus to stab the backside of its abdomen. The spider shrieked again before Mist snapped out of it and aimed her broadsword at it too, slicing deep into it and causing it to scream again. Another series of electrical sparks hit the spider from Tiatara. The spider twitched before the last of its health gave out and it fell over dead.

The man in the webbing looked at them at that with an air of contempt, "Nice work...and only one of you out for the count. You gonna cut me down or not?"

"You're the one with the golden claw, right?" asked Iguanus as he wiped off his swords.

"So what if I am? There's plenty of treasure to go round." sneered the guy before jumping as Matt shot upright.

"Treasure?" he said quickly.

"Yes, if the old tales are true, the golden claw is the key to this barrow's treasure chamber," said the thief.

"Is that where we need to go anyway?" said Matt, getting up before noticing their looks. "It's only neurotoxin. I've had far worse in the canteen back hoNEAAAG...see? Perfectly fine," he said, twitching madly halfway through.

"Fine, as long as your nose doesn't break off," said Mist.

"Break off?" asked Matt with worry.

"Why do you think they're called frostbite spiders?" asked Mist.

"I've been frozen before," said Matt, slicing the man down, who proceeded to kick him back and run down the tunnel behind the webbing.

"Hah...you think I'll share a septim?" his voice laughed as he fled.

"That son of a bitch...I'LL BLOODY KILL HIM!" snapped Matt, before pausing as a bloodcurdling scream was heard

"Looks like something beat you do him," said Mist.

The others gulped and walked forward, leading deeper into the barrow, to reveal the thief flat on the floor. The cause of death was quite clear, several arrows stuck in him...that and his head was missing.

"What did that?" asked Matt before a grunting sound was heard. He looked up to see several mummified figures climbing out of their small crypts in the wall and brandishing their weapons.
Matt seemed to pause at that, the others readying their weapons. "Hey, Lynch, this isn't a good time to freak out," snapped Mist as Matt seemed to be shaking. The draugr growled at one another, though they seemed to sense some threat, the trio spreading out to surround them.

"I won't be sent to Sovngarde today," said Mist as she raised up her claymore. Iguanus also brandished his swords while flames appeared in Tiatara's hands.

One of the draugr readied its claymore before swinging it at Matt's head, Matt's metal hand shooting up like a snake and grabbing the blade, a creak indicating the blade was bending. "I...hate...UNDEAD!" screamed Matt before punching the draugr with his free hand. The draugr's head was knocked off by the blow with ease, which soon followed with Matt grabbing the draugr's body and using it to smash the other draugr until it was too broken.

The last draugr actually backed up at that, something close to confusion on its mummified face, before instinct won over and it charged Matt. Matt just laughed insanely before throwing one of the blades at it . The blade went straight through the middle of its torso. The draugr staggered but didn't fall until Matt grabbed the sword's hilt and drove it up through the draugr's head.

Matt pulled the sword back out before jumping up and down on the draugr before turning to the others, panting. "Undead are pussies!" he snapped insanely .

Her helmet hid it, but Mist's jaw was probably hanging as low as the Argonians'.

"More undead? WHERE ARE THEY? FUCK YOU, GHOULWYYYYRM!" screamed Matt, running down the corridor.


"Boss, ears burning again," said Lucius, pointing to Ghoulwyrm's ears.

"Hmm...Lynch must be here. Fortunately, I've had plenty of time to prepare," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Is that why you're in a mage's containment circle?" said Felonius dryly.

"A minor setback I assure you," said Ghoulwyrm before belching out the necromage's skull.

"Sir, you must learn to chew your food," said Felonius.

"I hadn't had anything to eat all day," snapped Ghoulwyrm.


"So, this is the door that claw's supposed to open?" asked Matt as he glanced at the circular door with the claw-shaped keyhole, "How are we supposed to get it open?"

Tiatara turned the claw over and said, "I think the order the rings are supposed to be set in are on this side."

Mist took a close look before saying, "Seems simple enough. Angry moron, you turn the wheel. That way if it's wrong it's no big loss." pointing at Matt .

"Well, at least it's a simple puzzle," grumbled Matt. After some rotating, Matt said, "Ok, pass me the claw. Let's see if I end up in traction or in the money."

"You do know the right way to put it in, right?" asked Mist as she handed it over.

Matt slammed it in and turned it, the symbol wheels turning before the door opened slowly, revealing a vast cavern...of stone and a few more draugr who took one look at Matt and played dead.

"Sorry, not buying it," said Matt as he cracked his knuckles. The draugr got up and most of them lunged, one of them turning and running in the opposite direction. Matt started swiping them down with his axe like a lumberjack, making sure to stomp on the ones who didn't completely die when they fell.

While Matt was doing his 'Ash' from Evil Dead impression, complete with boomstick, the others headed forward, the Argonians pausing. "Can you hear that?" said Tiatara in a distant voice, the two hearing a faint whispering coming from a stone wall covered with runes at the far end.

"Are some of those runes glowing?" asked Iguanus as they approached the wall. The glowing runes glowed even brighter before some sort of energy flowed from them into the siblings.

Mist backed up as the energy increased before stopping, the two Argonians looking dazed. "Are you two ok?" she asked, concerned .

"Fus..." muttered Tiatara.

"What does that mean?" asked Mist.

"I have no idea," said Tiatara.

Just then, a nearby coffin popped open and a draugr in tougher armor rose out of it. "Ok, it's about time I got my share of-" started Mist before the draugr, moving faster than one would have expected, swung its war hammer and hit Mist's helmet so hard that it knocked her over senseless.

The Argonians drew their blades before all three looked confused as Matt screamed, "Klaatu barada nikto, asshole!"
The three turned to see Matt charging at the draugr, the new draugr giving a look that said 'really?' before it said 'Fus' a burst of sound sending Matt flying back.

"I didn't know it was a magic word," said Tiatara.

"And we can use it now too," said Iguanus before yelling, "Fus!" Nothing happened except the draugr giving him the same 'really?' look. "Ok, let's see if these work," said Iguanus before stabbing the draugr with his swords. The draugr growled, staggering back from the blow before hefting its war hammer and swinging at Iguanus, missing but fracturing the floor.

Twin blasts of flames hit the draugr, the ancient flesh catching fire as Tiatara directed her fire magic at it.

However, part of the blast's effectiveness was causing the target to wince or be in pain. The draugr however couldn't feel pain, walking towards Tiatara, hammer at the ready before there was a bang and a chunk of it was blown off. "I'm over here, zombie dude! Come at me!" yelled Matt, his voice sounding a bit slurred, probably from his free trip into a rock pillar.

The draugr snarled before unleashing another blast of sound at Matt. The blast sent Matt back into the wall with a crash. "Foul...illegal use of voice…" Matt rasped .

Small gusts of ice hit the draugr's back. It turned around to face Tiatara, but his movement was already slowing from the ice crystalizing on him. Tiatara kept the blast going as the draugr got closer, before it finally froze in place. "Brother...he's all yours." she said, Iguanus swinging his swords at the undead

The draugr's bones shattered from the blow and it crumbled into a pile of ice and armor.

Mist groaned at that, pulling at her helmet and making muffled noises. Matt was next up, staggering over with a goofy grin. "All the singing teapots all in a row," he gibbered .

"It looks like Lynch needs some healing," said Iguanus.

Tiatara sighed and said, "Fine," before sending golden waves of light at Matt from her hands.

Matt's eyes refocused before looking around. "Did we win?" he said before seeing Mist struggling with her helmet. "Need a hand?" he said teasingly . Mist shouted something that didn't sound happy. "Alright, alright," said Matt before grabbed the sides of the helmet and pulling.

There was a bit of struggling before the helmet popped off, revealing a young woman's head with surprisingly long black hair for wearing a helmet. "Great, I'm gonna have to have Eorlund get my helmet back into shape," grumbled Mist.

Matt stared in shock at that, Tiatara and Iguanus not seeing the reason for such shock. "It's just an imperial," Tiatara said .

"It can't be. You should have recognized me," said Matt.

"I don't," said Mist coldly, Matt twitching as he held the helmet.

"Sister dearest, I know you've been stuck here a bit, but that's no excuse to be a asshole and do the fake amnesia thing," he said in a desperate voice .

"Sister? I have no family, not that I know of. And there's no way I could be related to a berserker," said Mist.

"I'm not a berserker!" snapped Matt, the others looking down to see where Matt was squashing the helmet.

"Sorry, I'm with the Companion there." said Iguanus

"They do look kinda similar," said Tiatara.

"Eh, all Imperials look alike to me. In fact, the only humans that stand out in appearance are the Redguards," said Iguanus.

"I found the stone," snapped Matt, tossing said stone at Iguanus's head.

"I think he took that personally." said Tiatara conversationally as Iguanus went over like a tree

Matt turned back to Mist and demanded, "What do you know about your family?"

"The Companions are my family, ever since they found me wandering with no memories up in the mountain mists," said Mist.

"Betrayl...that little...Ok, first we get that stone back to the hold, then I find the best psychiatrist on this planet," snapped Matt .

"What's a psychiatrist?" asked Tiatara.

"Urgh...let's just get back to the hold," snapped Matt .

"I think there's a back way out," said Tiatara as she pulled her brother up.


The trip back was pretty uneventful...till they got closer to the hold. Matt was at the back, scowling at everyone and sundry. "When I get my returned claws on Betrayl, I'll tear her in half and see if she's filled with chocolate milk," he snapped.

"Who is this 'Betrayl'?" asked Tiatara.

"I don't know, but she does slightly familiar," said Mist.

"Whoever she is, I wouldn't want to be her," said Iguanus.

Matt glared before a voice echoed out over the mountains. "The hell was that?" snapped Matt.

"What was what?" asked Mist.

"I heard someone shouting," said Matt before pausing and saying, "There it is again."

"That's the roar of a dragon," said Iguanus before realizing what he said, "There's a dragon around here?"

Matt shook his head, "Never mind, let's just get this stone back."

As they approached Whiterun, they spotted something walking up the road. Most of the people there were wearing black robes that kinda reminded Matt of trench coats. As they got closer, Matt could see that the people wearing the robes had golden-tinted skins, very angular faces, and very haughty looks. He heard an angry growl behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Mist glaring at the approaching figures.

Matt turned back to the group. If his sister, brainwashed that she was, didn't like them, he trusted her judgement. He paused as he spotted an escort as well, several more of the gold-skinned guys in golden armor. "Don't, they're Dominion," said Tiatara quietly .

Matt almost asked what dominion, but he was pretty certain this was a subject of such common knowledge that not knowing of it would arouse a lot of suspicion.

"Halt," snapped the leader as they passed the group by. .

"What for?" asked Matt, unable to keep himself from challenging whoever these guys were.

"Who are you to order your betters?" said the leader of the group .

"I'm sorry, I must have missed the news. What makes you my 'betters'?" asked Matt.

The figure smirked before nodding to his men, who drew weapons. "Kill him," he ordered.

"Oh you picked the wrong time to pick a fight with me," said Matt as his hands went to his blasters. The others jumped back as Matt opened fire, leaving a shocked Nord the only one standing. Matt looked sadly as the blasters partially melted in his hands. That was the last of his ammo. He had nothing left but his ion blade and the few weapons he picked up.

"How...what magic was that?" said the Nord as Mist cut his bonds.

"The one-shot variety," said Matt as he tossed his blasters away, "Should have saved it for a bigger battle."

"Thank you, if you come to Windhelm, look up Jarric. You will always be welcome in my house," said the Nord .

Yeah, maybe," said Matt absentmindedly. The Nord ran off at that, leaving Matt grinning "That's my good deed for the day," only for Mist to punch him. "Ow, what did I do?" asked Matt.

"As much as I hate the Thalmor, attacking them like that is just plain stupid," snapped Mist.

"The who?" snapped Matt, before having to block another blow .

"What kind of brain-dead berserker are you?!" snapped Mist.

"Presumably the same kind you were when they found you in the mountains," said Matt.

Mist glared at that, "You dare insult my honor?"

"No, just your knowledge," said Matt before Mist punched him in the nose. "Ow, ok, I admit I deserved that one," said Matt, "For the moment, let's presume I'm as ignorant about current events as you were when they found you. Would you mind filling me in?"

"I don't need to. Anyone in Tamriel knows about the Thalmor dominion," snapped Mist .

"Well I'm not from Tamriel," snapped Matt, losing some of his patience.

"It shows," glared Mist .

Matt rolled his eyes and turned to the Argonians, "You two, assuming you're not as pigheaded as she is, tell me about the Thalmor."

"They're High Elf supremacists from the summerset isles. They almost conquered the Septim Empire," said Tiatara glumly .

"Elves?" asked Matt before picking up one of the Thalmor guard corpses and removing his helmet, revealing the pointed ears underneath, "Ah, elves, apparently of the extra-snooty aristocratic variety."

"Let's get out of here before another patrol finds the bodies," said Iguanus, Tiatara adding "They're the people who ordered the trap we were caught in. We hadn't even done anything, but they were going to execute us anyway."

"Oh, that kind of supremacist," said Matt with a glare.

"Yeah, the Imperials had to basically surrender. They outlawed the worship of Talos," said Mist, annoyed .

"Who?" asked Matt.

"One of the Nine Divines," snapped Mist, drawing her sword.

"Ok, ok, I don't question other peoples' religions unless they're clearly demon-worshipers," said Matt quickly.

"How do we know you aren't something from Oblivion?" said Mist angrily .

"Oblivion, I'm assuming that's the Bad Place," said Matt.

"First we get back home," snapped Mist, pointing to Whiterun .

"Fine, let's drop off the stone," said Matt.


Matt was again stuck outside as the twins took the stone inside and Chloe, or Mist as she was calling herself, had stomped off back to the hut her pals called home

Chloe having amnesia was not the biggest shock, all things considered. Betrayl probably buried her memories to make sure that Chloe would be no better than anyone else on this world and wouldn't have any desire to leave. Fine, Matt was just going to have to work on unburying her memories.

He pulled out his com again before seeing that there was finally a signal. "Mina...Draco...Chip...Chris...anyone...PICK UP!" he snapped.

There was some static crackle before Draco's voice came through, "Matt, is that you?"

"Finally, someone. Found Chloe. That little serpent gave her full-on mind whammy," snapped Matt .

"Really? Who does she think she is now?" asked Draco.

"A mercenary called Mist. What's your status?" said Matt .

"Well, we had a rather rough landing," said Draco.

"How rough?" said Matt .

"As in half of us woke up as different species when we landed," said Draco.

"Oh...oh crap...that sucks. What's the damage?" said Matt .

"Well, I'm a lizard man, Kala's some type of elf, and Contrinus is a cat woman for whatever reason. We don't even know where Morph is," said Draco.


In an unknown realm of Oblivion...

Morph wandered around in the mist, looking more confused than usual. "Hello? Hello? Is there anyone around here? I'm cold and there are wolves after me," he called. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard howls in the distance.

A demonic lizard creature immediately appeared and roared in his face. "Yay!" said Morph before hugging the creature, "I'm gonna call you Fluffy." The demon creature looked surprised at that. "You gonna show me where..." started Morph before looking around at the fog, "Anything is?"

"You realize where you are, right?" said the creature .

"I have absolutely no idea," said Morph.

"I am going to eat you, you realize that, right?" said the creature dully .

"Yeah, that happens, but I don't stay eaten for long," said Morph.


"He'll turn up. Where's Mina, Techo and Chris?" said Matt

"Don't know. Probably pretty far off if we can't pick them up. Chip's gone to some dwarven ruins to see if he can find anything to boost our signals," said Draco.

"Negative. Do not enter any ruins for any reason at all. This place is a prison, remember?" snapped Matt .

"Yeah...I don't think the others will be listening to your orders any time soon," said Draco.

"Let me put it another way. Remember how DAKRRIFT took down the Infected?" snapped Matt .

"Yes," said Draco.

"Well, this is where DARKRIFT put the things they can't kill," snapped Matt .

"Ok, but I don't think they're not gonna listen to you just because they're being reckless so much as it's about you burning a couple of bridges," said Draco.

"Fine, they'll probably be killed or possessed or far worse," snapped Matt darkly .

"Despite what you think, we're not bold and stupid enough to go running into trouble without thinking out, except Morph of course. Not that it matters to us anyways because we're not going to be speaking to you until you make it up with Kala," said Draco, "The only reason I'm talking with you right now is because we drew straws about who has to tell you."

Matt glared at that. "Draco, let me make this clear. In case you forgot, you're invincible as an experiment, not as a local. I do not want to send a letter to Lilo explaining that you got your head torn off," he snapped .

"And knowing you, you've probably spent up all your ammo by now so you're no better off than us," said Draco.

"Which is why we need to meet up and pool our resources. YOU HAD THE DAMN BACKUP COMM UNIT!" snapped Matt .

"Which Chip is trying to get operational with salvage dwarf tech," said Draco, "But I think we can at least point you to where Chris and Mina are. I think Techo may have actually landed where he was supposed to go."

"Don't do me any favors," snapped Matt, adding, "When we meet, there will be a reckoning. You and Kala's little hissy fit is endangering everyone in this team."

"Hissy fit? You think Kala's just throwing a little hissy fit? Do you even know how she's feeling right now?" snapped Draco.

"She's pissed that I'm holding off future tech till I'm sure it won't cause Kai to do a return visit? Or is she pissed that I'm making sure the nanites aren't booby trapped to east her from the inside?" snapped Matt .

"She's pissed off because you said those nanites are dangerous but you used it yourself like a smegging hypocrite!" snapped Draco.

"I used it because I'd prefer to be the dead one than the one burying her," hissed Matt .

"Well I hope you'll be able to convince her that when you see her because she's not gonna see you. As far as she's concerned right now, you don't exist, you never existed, and you won't exist until you find a big way to make up to her," said Draco, "The rest of us aren't going that extreme, but we're not forgiving you until Kala does."

"Then you can consider yourself fired. Enjoy the planet." snapped Matt, hanging up before Draco could finish his shocked reply. Matt glared before saying, "This is command one...sending automated update to link to all transmissions. Experiments 628, 629, 750, and N-630 are no longer part of the operation. Ignore all distress calls and if sighted...retrieve that backup com using all necessary force."

There was no reply on the comm. For all Matt knew, all comm transmissions couldn't get further out than the first moon of the world. And he suddenly had a lot less friends to call upon.

His wristcomp said, "One active com in range...message will cycle to all coms of team as they enter range."


"Draco, aren't we going a bit far with this?" asked Contrinus, now a golden-furred Khajiit.

"Don't tell me you're siding with Captain 'Do As I Say, Not As I Do'," snapped Draco, now an Argonian with purple-tinted horns and as heavily muscles as an Orc warrior.

"No, but kicking him out of the group when we need to be sticking together seems pretty low," said Contrinus, "He's as marooned here as we are."

The com kicked off at that. "This is command one," said Matt's voice, "...sending automated update to link to all transmissions. Experiments 628, 629, 750 and N-630 are no longer part of the operation. Ignore all distress calls and if sighted, retrieve that backup com using all necessary force." An automated voice said, "This message will repeat at 20 minute intervals unless interrupted by live transmission."

Contrinus glared at Matt and said, "You see? We got fired again."

"Nobody's gonna be hearing that but the guys down here, not like that will matter," said Draco, "And he didn't even mention Kala. Can you believe how badly he's treating her? This is why we're doing this in the first place."

"Yes, you realize what 'necessary force' is against us? Lethal force. He just ordered us killed and pointedly left kala out of the transmission. You understand that?" snapped Contrinus.

"Oh, that's just empty bluster," said Draco, "He can't reach the Novus Star and he knows it. He's just trying to throw what weight he has left around."

"How can you be so thickheaded?" snapped Contrinus, "Are you all trying to make the worst of this situation as possible?"

"You're on his side, why not go meet up with him?" snapped Draco before pausing as he instantly regretted it .

"You know what, I will! Someone on this planet has to be the voice of reason and it looks like I'm the only one that even comes close!" snapped Contrinus before storming off.

Draco looked horrified. "Contrinus, wait!" he called, running out their shelter only to see that Contrinus had already gone, Kala in a High Elf form glaring by the fire, NegaMorph apparently having given up trying to reason with her.

"Smooth move, idiot," grumbled NegaMorph, "Not only have you just severed our best chance of getting off this planet, but you sent Contrinus packing too."

"I...I didn't mean to..." said Draco as NegaMorph continued "Oh...and let us not forget that you pissed Matt off enough that he's just left an answer machine message telling everyone else to shoot us on sight."

"Like it matters to you. You heal back from everything," snapped Draco.

"Not everything and the crew knows it. And they probably have the means of carrying it out," said NegaMorph.

"Nobody is coming!" yelled Draco, "The only way to contact the ship is broken! We're stuck until Chip can fix it! I can only hope Matt will have managed to get it through his thick skull to realize what he's done to Kala by then."

"Well, it'll probably take as long as for you to get your foot out of your mouth and make up with Contrinus," snapped NegaMorph.

"Oh, you wanna leave too?" asked Draco.

"Yeah, I don't want your big mouth getting me in any more trouble. If you guys need me, I'll be heading to Riften, sounds like my kind of place anyways," said NegaMorph before vanishing.

He reappeared briefly at that, "Oh...and even if Matt wasted his ammo, the others won't have...and they're just as good." before vanishing, leaving Draco with a sinking feeling.

"I just keep digging myself in deeper, don't I?" groaned Draco.

"Who cares?" growled Kala.

Draco opened his mouth before closing it. Chances are he'll end up shooting himself in the foot before stuffing it into his mouth. "So what are we supposed to do now?" asked Draco.

"Whatever you want. We can survive in this land just as well as anyone else. We don't need to rely on technology here," said Kala.

"Chip's not gonna be pleased," said Draco.


"Boss, I have interesting news," said Lucius.

"More sunken treasure?" asked Ghoulwyrm dryly as he reclined upon a sizeable heap of gold.

"No, it seems Lynch's team is broken up," said Lucius, "He just sent an order that most of those experiments are no longer members of his crew and ordered them shot on sight."

"Most interesting," said Ghoulwyrm, "You have made sure that transmission did not leave the planet, right?"

"So long as my ship is working, they won't be able to send any messages outside of the atmosphere," said Lucius.

"Good, I've waited too long for them to arrive and I'm not having them leave before the final act of this play is finished," said Ghoulwyrm, "A shame we don't have that Soundwave robot or we'd be able to send them false messages. But I suppose an embargo will have to do for now. Lucius, I want a pinpoint location of every single one of them."

"That may be hard, considering they've scattered and have limited tech available," said Lucius.

"We have plenty of time," said Ghoulwyrm with a nasty grin, "They aren't going anywhere."


Matt was still fuming from the com as the twins came back out with a Dark Elf woman, the twins looking terrified. "Now what?" snapped Matt.

"There's a dragon attacking the watchtower and we've been sent to kill it," moaned Iguanus.

"The Jarl didn't specifically say 'kill'..." started Tiatara.

"Good, I feel like killing something!" snapped Matt, "Where's this tower?"

The Dark Elf, Irileth, said "Eager for blood? You don't look like any berserker I've ever met."

"What? Am I required to be overburdened with muscles or something?" snapped Matt.

Irileth smirked, "No...but you have the temper of one."

"Whatever, I just want to bury my axe into the nearest thing that deserves it!" snapped Matt.

"Be careful what you wish for," said Irileth sagely, the four heading down the stairs.

"So, what do you know about that...Mist girl at the companions?" asked Matt

"Little more than she knows about herself," said Irileth, "The Companions found her in the mountains with no memory of who she was. But she had all the skills of a warrior and she's a quick learner is what I've heard."

"Yeah...she...I mean, she helped us in the barrow," said Matt, pausing .

"You're lucky to have someone from the Circle. They're usually hired for bigger things," said Irileth.

"Yeah...lucky," said Matt gloomily as they walked towards the gate.

There were several town guards assembled at the front gates as the four arrived. Irileth immediately walked forward. "Here's the situation," she said, addressing the men who were all business, "A dragon is attacking the western watch tower." This was met with quite a bit of shock and disbelief . "That's right, I said a dragon," said Irileth, "I don't care where it came from or who sent it. All I do know is that it's made the mistake of attacking Whiterun!"

"But Housecarl, how can we fight a dragon?" asked one guard.

Irileth looked stern and said, "That's a fair question. None of us have ever seen a dragon before, or expected to face one in battle." She paused for a second before saying "But we are honor bound to fight it, even if we fail. This dragon is threatening our homes, our families. Could you call yourselves Nords if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?"

Matt clearly heard one of the guards mutter, "We are so dead."

"But there is more than our honor at stake here," said the she-elf, "Think of it: the first dragon seen in Skyrim since the last age. The glory of killing it is ours, if you're with me! Now what do you say? Shall we go kill us a dragon?" The guards sounded a lot more enthusiastic this time. "Let's move out," said Irileth before heading for the gate.

"I'll give her this, she knows how to carry the crowd," said Matt innocently .

"Irileth didn't get to be Jarl Balaruuf's Housecarl just for her skill with a bow," said Iguanus appreciatively.

"I'm guessing. Well let's follow them. I'm in a bad mood and that flying flamethrower's drawn the short straw," said Matt ,

The Argonians exchanged a glance and Tiatara said, "You do realize what you're dealing with, right?"

"I fight dragons all the time," snapped Matt, "I can take one out with just an axe."

"You actually believe that," said Iguanus in a tired voice .

"Just watch me!" snapped Matt as he stomped up.

"Is insanity a requirement for being a berserker? Because he's overqualified," commented Tiatara.


After a short walk, the tower came into view, damage and small fires seen. Irileth said sternly "No sign of any dragon now, but it sure looks like he's been here," before she turned to her men. "I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere."

"You'd think it'd be easy to spot then," said Matt dryly. Irileth glared at Matt at that before waving her men forward.

As the guards looked around the tower, Matt headed up to its doorway. Inside, he found a few shell-shocked guards. "Hey, we got survivors here!" called Matt.

The twins ran in first before the guard grabbed Matt. "No! Get back! It's still out there. Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!" the guard gibbered before he cringed down as a roar was heard, a guard outside yelling "Dragon!"

Matt looked out at the sky to see the huge beast flying towards them. It was built like a wyvern so for a moment, Matt thought it was Ghoulwyrm. But the dragon passing across the sun reminded Matt that it couldn't be him. "So that's what the local variant of dragon looks like," said Matt, "I've seen better."

The dragon turned to glare at him, sending a stream of fire at the others before landing in front of it. "Hmm...you don't seem like the others," it said in a deep voice .

"Maybe it's because I'm more concerned with chopping you up than the fact that you're a giant flying bat-lizard," said Matt.

"Dovah should not fight dovah," sneered the dragon .

"I can agree with that, but dovah shouldn't be stepping on the other races," said Matt before he swung his axe at the dragon.

The dragon sighed before swiping Matt aside, pinning him down. "You look like the lesser race, but you don't smell like one," the dragon growled before a fireball hit it in the back . The dragon snarled in annoyance as it looked for who attacked it. A small spike of ice embedded itself in its nostril right after it saw Tiatara throwing it.

Matt drew his sword at that and stabbed it into the foot holding him down . The dragon roared before tossing Matt aside. It took to the air as it angled itself around to fire upon Tiatara.

Tiatara backed up before rolling to the side. Just in time too as the dragon sent a blast of flame out before an arrow hit it in the eye, fired by Iguanus . The dragon roared in anger before swooping down at Iguanus who rolled out of the way and started slashing at it with his swords.

The dragon roared in pain from the slash it received, crashing before pulling itself up as the guard went for it. One sadly got too close, the dragon grabbing the guard in its mouth, shaking it before sending him flying .

Tiatara sent sparks of electricity at its hide as Iguanus hacked at its tail. The dragon roared in pain before Iguanus climbed up its back and stabbed down, the dragon gasping before looking scared. "No! Dovahkiin!" it said in a desperate voice .

Iguanus made one last stab before the dragon roared and fell. Iguanus jumped off its back before it hit the ground. As he turned around to look at it, the dragon's flesh appeared to be catching fire. However, as the skin burned away, the 'flames' flowed forward, appearing to enter the twins.

The guards looked surprised at that, some of them muttering something about Dragonborn . Matt ran back up and asked, "What'd I miss, what'd I miss?" He looked at the dragon bones and asked, "How'd you pick it clean so quickly?"

"We didn't...we sort of...absorbed it," said Tiatara in confusion .

"Absorb it? How?" asked Matt.

"They are Dragonborn," said one of the guards.

"Say what?" asked Iguanus.

"The old stories tell about the Dragonborn, those who are born with the souls of the dragon and the power to slay dragons permanently by draining their souls and taking their power," said the guard.

"Bullshit," exclaimed Matt, kicking one of the bones before jumping, feeling a twinge up his leg .

"Yeah, how can there be two Dragonborn in the same age?" asked another guard.

"Anything can happen these days," said another guard, "I've heard rumors that there's a bear who is Dovahkiin, as the dragons call them."

"A bear? What kind of mead have you been drinking?" asked the second guard.

"Ok...so what can Dragonborn do?" said Matt, folding his arms .

"If the legends are true, the Dragonborn can project their voice into a Thu'um, a Shout like the dragons can. Can you two do that?" asked the first guard.

"Oh please," said Matt, Iguanus turning before seemingly concentrating and saying "FUS!" a sonic boom sending Matt head over heels into a pond. "I'm a believer," he called .

"What about her?" asked the second guard, pointing at Tiatara. Tiatara gave him an annoyed look before shouting, "FUS!" and sending him flying.

Matt walked back up at that. "Can we just go back to the hold? The skeleton's creeping me out."

"Yes, the Jarl needs to be told about this," said Irileth.

"Can I actually come in with them this time?" asked Matt

"What did you actually do against the dragon?" asked Irileth.

"Almost got eaten, plus I think my sword burnt up with it. It was in its foot," said Matt calmly .

"Here it is," said Tiatara, holding it up, "This dragon had a lot of loot on it."
Matt took his sword before stopping, "Hold on...how'd you get the loot?"

"Same as any fallen enemy," said Tiatara with a shrug.

Matt just looked confused. "That makes no sense," he said aimlessly , "I mean seriously, it's a skeleton. A bare, smegging SKELETON! It has no hide, no guts, not even any brains left! How can it store anything? And where would it have stored it when it was alive anyways? It couldn't have ate everything it was carrying! That's just plain stupid! This is frickin' impossible!" He paused before glancing around and seeing that everyone had already walked off. No one was nearby except the dragon skeleton and a curious fox. "What are you looking at?" snapped Matt at the fox.

The fox said in a Scottish accent, "Someone with my sorta thinkin'."


The Argonians, following the guards back jumped as a blood curdling scream was heard from the tower.

"Yeah, this guy is overqualified for the insanity quality of berserkers," said Iguanus.

"Could use more muscle though," said Tiatara.


The twins were quite pleased with their reward: titles in the hold. "We're finally having some luck after Helgen," said Tiatara happily as they walked down the steps, a deed for a house in hand.

They passed by Matt who was twitching and muttering to himself, "A Scotty foxy, makes sense, Scots hate fox hunts, makes as much sense as loot from a dragon skeleton."

The Argonians looked at one another before sighing. "Come on, you have anywhere to stay?"
Matt jumped at that. "NOOO! NOT THE FOX!" he screamed before seeming to snap out of it and noticing the amused looks of everyone .

"You sure we want him at our house?" whispered Tiatara.

"Who else will take him?" retorted Iguanus.

"You're right. He did help at the barrow and it would be cruel to leave him out on the street," said Tiatara, offering her hand to help Matt up.

"I...thanks," said Matt dully .

"Well, you need some place to stay at until your friends arrive," said Iguanus.

"Yeah...that might be a while," said Matt grimly.
"Hey, cheer up. You'll find them," said Iguanus kindly, the trio walking towards the street leading to the gate and a small house, before nearly being knocked over as two guards ran past towards the gate, where some shouting could be heard .

"What is it this time?" grumbled Matt.

"I'm telling you, a friend of mine's in this hold and this one...I mean I need to talk to him," snapped a female voice.

"Hold on, I think I know that voice," said Matt before he started heading over to the gate.

He walked forward to see a female lion lady arguing with the guards. "Will you let this one in or not?" she snapped before seeing Matt . "Matt, it's about time you got here," she snapped.

"Contrinus? Why are you a...why are you here?" asked Matt.

"Looking for you, obviously," said the Khajiit.

"You know this person?" asked a guard gruffly.

"I thought I did before she and her friends backstabbed me," said Matt coldly.

"You backstabbed us first," said Contrinus.

"Sounds like something we need to take before the Jarl," said the guard.

"No, I can handle this," said Matt, glaring at Contrinus .

"This is a private matter," said Contrinus.

The guards looked at one another before saying, "If this turns into a fight, we'll break it up. Keep it civil." before they walked off, though not far.

Matt got close to Contrinus and said, "I suppose you're here to beg me to reconsider my resigning you lot."

"Beg? You can't be serious about that. I'm only here because otherwise it'll be months before you're able to swallow your pride and go seek Kala's forgiveness. Plus you won't be able to convince Chloe of anything on your own," said Contrinus.

"Oh, you're saying I don't know how to speak to women right?" asked Matt sarcastically.

"Yes," said Contrinus bluntly.

"I am not speaking to Kala. If I'd given her those nanites and they'd killed her..." hissed Matt, his voice trailing off.

Contrinus paused before asking, "Then why take them yourself?"

"Because I'd rather me die than her. If that makes me selfish, call me selfish but I wouldn't risk her for anything. If the nanites had been dangerous, I'd have gotten her encoded to human form if she so wanted...but I wouldn't risk her," said Matt .

"Kala doesn't see it that way. She thinks you're just being a hypocrite," said Contrinus.

"Then that's her choice. It's always her choice. But you lot...you should have trusted me in the first place. You have held back information that got crew hurt and killed...and now you backstabbed me without hearing me out!" snapped Matt, his voice raising .

"We have not held back any information that got anyone killed," snapped Contrinus, "Perhaps we'd be more willing to tell you things and hear you out if we knew we can trust you and you've given us plenty of reasons not to trust you."

Matt glared before grabbing Contrinus by the throat and pushing her back. "Do Parisian werewolves ring a bell? That got Chris infected!" he snapped, "Or knowing the locals in your worlds New York? Or knowing the Plumbers? Any of that FAMILIAR?" snapped Matt, lifting Contrinus off her feet.

"You've got dozens of skeletons in your own closet and when they're revealed, you just say 'you never asked' and completely get away with it," snapped Contrinus. The guards probably should have intervened by this point, they seemed to be more interested in placing bets about who'll come out on top.

Matt growled before squeezing. "I keep the places I've been secret because the people there deserve to be left alone," he snarled, only the gasping Contrinus able to see his teeth sharpening and his eyes glowing red .

"So...do...we..." squeaked Contrinus.

"Enough! Get off of her," said Tiatara as she pulled Matt away. The guards made soft noises of disappointment. Contrinus coughed dryly on her hands and knees as the twins tried to hold Matt down .

"You haven't seen nearly as much as I have seen to judge-" snapped Matt before Iguanus hit him on the head with the pummel of his sword.

Contrinus jumped back as Matt fell forward, the guards walking forward to grab him. "Wait...this one...be gentle. He speaks the truth when he says his life has been harder than it seems."

"Berserkers are unpredictable, particularly when they get angry," said the guard, "Keeping this one nearby is just begging for trouble."

"He's not a berserker...he's just...hurt," said Contrinus sadly .

"Fine, but don't blame us when he starts torching the town," said the guard.


Matt came too in a bed, a Nord keeping an eye on him.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Matt.

"Lydia, Housecarl to the Thanes," said the Nord coldly before walking out.

"Whatever," said Matt, "Sure, I'm crashing with the Thanes because my friends all left me over some overblown situation." He probably would have started feeling angry again, but his anger just wasn't rising to the occasion. Instead, the full weight of it all was coming down on him: he was stranded on a primitive world with no way to contact for help, there were untold dangers here, what few friends he could contact were not speaking to him, he had ordered that they be shot, his girlfriend was so angry she considered him a non-entity, and his own sister hadn't the foggiest memory of she or he was. The crushing feeling soon pulled him down into a pit of loneliness and despair.


Contrinus was preparing a snack when she saw Lydia walking for the door. "He awake?" she asked.

"Yes, though I doubt he'll be in a pleasant mood," said Lydia.

Contrinus sighed, before going back to her meal, before pausing, hearing sobs coming from upstairs

She quickly got up and headed upstairs. She went into Matt's room to see him on the bed, tears streaming down his face. "I blew it, I completely blew it. I lost everyone," he moaned.

Contrinus sat down on the bed and hugged him. "Shh...you haven't lost them all yet. You can get them back," she said soothingly.

"She'll never hear me out...it's all over..." sobbed Matt

"You'll have to prove it to her," said Contrinus, "She'll be angry for a while, but eventually she'll be willing to hear you out."

"No...she won't…" said Matt gloomily .

"You can't give up on Kala any more than you can give up on Chloe and Chloe's apparently the more difficult of the two," said Contrinus.

"It needs to be both ways...and you can talk...where's Draco?" said Matt darkly .

"Er, we kinda had a little spat about him shooting our collective feet. At least I'm pretty sure he's sorry about it," said Contrinus.

Matt sighed, before passing the com over. "Oh, no need, I brought my own com," said Contrinus.

"Uh, there was only one comm between you guys," said Matt.

"No, there's the backup comm...which Chip is trying to fix..." said Contrinus with growing chagrin.

"You took their only com?" said Matt, Contrinus twitching before saying "Son of a-"


At long last, here's the first chapter of the next fic. I've been pretty busy this summer with several stories including this one. It's taken me too long to start uploading this, but the plus side is that this will mean there won't be much waiting for new chapters to come out for a while.

Anyhow, there's gonna be quite a bit of turmoil during this fic with the gang all split up and going separate ways. There will be some chapters that'll be following the questlines in the game very closely, some chapters that'll follow them pretty loosely, and some chapters where we're doing completely original material. There may also be a few chapters that might push into the M rating, though nothing extremely explicit will be shown. I will be placing small posts to show if there's gonna be a large amount of original material or more mature content at the start of each new chapter.

The next chapter ought to be out pretty soon, within two days at most. Keep an eye out for it and please review.