A/N: Finally the much shorter, long awaited second chapter is up. Thanks to all of those who left reviews, you support is much appreciated. I would like some feedback for what direction you would like the story to take and one or two people to preview chapters before I release them would be lovely.

Nothing particularly adult in this chapter, just kind of picking up the pieces from where we left off.

Acsh grunted in frustration. The Necromancer had been gone for nearly two hours and Asch had utilized every second to try to escape. He had been trying to free himself from the ropes that bound his wrists above him, but so far his efforts had yielded nothing but exhaustion. He needed to get Arietta out of here. She had lost a lot of blood and was deathly pale. Gritting his teeth in determination he tugged on the ropes one last time. He felt them slip, just a fraction of an inch, but that was all he needed. Using the fingers of his right hand, he dislocated the thumb of his left and slipped out of the ropes. He snatched the knife that Jade had used to stab him off the stump and cut his other hand free. He ran to Arietta.

"Arietta!" He gathered her into his arms and checked her heartbeat. It was frighteningly faint. He gently set her down and looked around the clearing. He found his jacket and sword in a neat pile; he quickly dressed and picked up Arietta. As he was rushing out of the clearing she awoke.

"Ungh, Asch?" she murmured. "Where – where are we?"

"You're going to be all right," Asch said sternly, quickening his pace.

"I couldn't stop him," Arietta moaned, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "He killed them all, my family. They're dead Asch, and I couldn't stop him."

She began wailing in agony. Asch held her a little closer to him. He didn't know why, but he needed to comfort her. He felt that if he did that, somehow he could maybe forget his own defeat.

The Necromancer surveyed the landscape. There wasn't a living creature in sight. He sniffed the air. They were close; it was only a matter of time. The patchwork lyger he had stitched together sat beside him and affectionately nuzzled his hand. He absentmindedly stroked its large head while concentrating on his next task.

All of a sudden he felt a surge of resistance.

Stop it.

He shook his head. It couldn't be, he was imagining things.

Stop it.

He put his hands on his temples and concentrated on drowning out the noise in his head. This was all wrong. There shouldn't be any resistance at all.

"You can't fight me," he muttered. "I'm stronger than you. You can never win."
In a flash, he was on the ground gasping for air. His back arched as he tried to fight the other self from gaining control. Images flashed through his head. A blond man smiling, laughing, touching his face. With one last push he gained control once again. He shuddered. That was too close. His eyes narrowed in a moment of clarity and he let out a laugh.

"It's him! He's keeping you here. He's your last remaining link." The Necromancer sneered. "Well, don't get to comfortable. He won't be around for long."

Guy stumbled onto his knees. They had been walking for 18 continuous hours with no stops or breaks. The others were miserable, he could tell but he didn't want to stop. If nothing else his growing apprehension kept him going. Tear came up behind him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Guy," she said softly. "You need to rest."

He nodded glumly. The group set up camp on the bank of a nearby river. As Guy poured some of the freezing water from his cupped hand onto the back of his neck, he thought about the day after he and Jade had kissed for the first time. What were only a few weeks ago now seemed like an eternity. He slumped to the ground. He felt defeated. He heard someone move up behind him and he turned around.

"I don't suppose you need some company," Luke mumbled, looking embarrassed. Guy shrugged and turned back to stare at the water.

"Where are the others?"

"Tear is taking a nap and Anise is out looking for food," Luke picked up some rocks and started throwing them into the river. "I wanted to talk to you, about you and, uh, Jade."
"If you're here to make fun of me and call me a freak you can just fuck right the fuck off," Guy said angrily. He was tired and moody and did not feel like dealing with Luke's immaturity.

"I wasn't going to call you a freak," Luke insisted. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I've treated you all these years and I'm glad you found someone who has made you happy."
Guy stared at Luke in disbelief. These were words he had been waiting for Luke to say for years. But instead of making him happy they seemed to fuel his anger.

"So you think that makes everything okay?" he hissed. "You think the years of subservience and humiliation are just going to go away because you say you're sorry? Screw you, Luke. You don't know the first fucking thing about me."

Luke looked taken aback. This was obviously not the reaction he had been expecting. He opened his mouth to respond, but seemed to think better and promptly closed it. He stood up and retreated back to the camp.

Guy turned back to the river. He forced himself to revel in his anger. To let it consume him. He couldn't waver, not for a second. If he did, he would never be able to kill Jade. He had long since resolved himself to the fact that Jade was lost to him. The Necromancer was too strong and Jade would never be able to fight back. The only solution was to kill him. So he would teach himself to hate Jade. To hate everything.

Asch stumbled into the headquarters of the God-Generals. It took all the strength he could muster to keep from passing out right then and there. He went to Dist's laboratory and kicked in the door.

"Welcome back," Dist said without turning around. "I can assume you were unsuccessful."

Asch put Arietta down on a nearby sofa.

"It makes no goddamn sense," Asch fumed. "I've fought him before. He was never that strong. It makes no fucking sense!"

Dist walked over to the sofa where Arietta lay and looked over her. She was still unconscious and breathing was labored.

"Can you do anything for her?" Asch asked.

"I'm a scientist, not a doctor," Dist sneered. "But yes I can help her. Tell me about Jade."
"I was following him; he was all alone so I figured it would be a good chance to start picking away at the herd, so to speak. And he outmaneuvered me. It was like he knew what I was doing before I did. He killed all of Arietta's lygers tortured her half to death before he started in on me. The strangest part is, that he seemed angriest when I called him by name."

Dist's eyes flashed in what looked like jubilation at this. "What do you mean? What did he say?" He insisted urgently.

"He said he had killed himself," Asch said.

Dist smiled like his birthday had come early. He started excitedly pacing up and down the laboratory muttering to himself.

"What's going on Dist? I know something's up and I know you know what it is."

"It's far too much for you to comprehend now," Dist waved his hand dismissively. "To put it in simple terms, Jade's alter-ego has taken control of his mind. He's much more cunning and leagues above the Jade you know in terms of strength and skill. He would be an incredible asset to us."
"Are you insane? He almost killed me last time I saw him. I don't think he's interested in helping anyone, least of all us."

"It's all about finding the right motivation," Dist spoke like he was talking to a slow child. "You set him to a task that serves his interests and he will fulfill it. All we have to do is warp our tasks around something that does serve his needs."

"And how do you suggest I do that? I can't get close to the guy without him almost ripping me to pieces."

Dist stared at the wall, deep in though for a few moments. After a few moments he looked back at Asch.

"Do you know where the rest of the 'herd' is?" he asked.

"I know the general area but not the exact location," Asch answered.

"Find them and bring them here. The Necromancer will want to cut off any links that tie him to Jade. He will want to be rid of those that would seek to bring Jade back. Find them and he will come to us."

The Necromancer stalked through the tall reeds at the edge of the river. The group was ahead he knew. He was so close. He heard the sound of voices only a few feet away and saw the orange glow of a fire. He started to pick up snippets of the conversation.

"And I'm telling you that you don't know what you're talking about," a woman was saying. "After everything he's been through do you really expect him to be any position to accept any sort of half assed apology you offer him?"

"Well, maybe," a younger man's voice responded. "I just wanted, you know, for things to go back to normal."

"Normal? Normal for you is belittling him at every opportunity and treating everyone around you like garbage!"

"You know what I mean! I'm sick of everyone acting so depressed all the time!"

The Necromancer stalked forward a few more paces. They were distracted, just a few more moments and it would all be over. They would never see him coming.

He felt his head jerk back and a knife pressed to his throat. Someone was holding him back by his hair and breathing into his ear. He couldn't turn around to see who it was.

"I bet you think you're fucking sneaky, don't you?" A man's voice hissed. "I've been watching you the entire time. You're sloppy."

"Oh yeah? I guess I'll just have to be more careful next time."

"Guess again asshole, there's not going be a next –"

Before the other man could finish his sentence, the undead lyger came running out of its hiding spot and threw itself onto his attacker. The Necromancer pulled away and whirled around to face the man. His eyes narrowed. It was the blond man. The last thing holding Jade in this world. Well, this would be a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. He could stop those perusing him and rid himself of the parasite all in one blow. He began to conjure the magic he needed to finish the deed when a wave of nausea rushed through him. He fell to his knees, vomiting on the ground in front of him.

"You son of a bitch," he cursed.

You can't stop me

He heard yelling and footsteps approaching from the campsite. The others had been alerted to his presence and it wouldn't serve him to be found this way. The blond man had thrown the lyger off of him and was approaching fast. The Necromancer rallied his resources long enough to throw a weak stunning spell at him before running off into the darkness.

"Guy! Are you alright?" Tear came up beside him and tried to put her hand on his shoulder. He threw it off and looked at her, his eyes full of malice.

"Goddamnit! I almost had him!"

"Who was it?" Anise asked. "Did Asch come back?"
"No, it was Jade," Guy grunted.

"Wait, if it was Jade," Luke looked confused. "You weren't trying to kill him, were you?"

What little tolerance Guy had stored inside him broke. "Of course I was trying to kill him you fucking moron! Jade is fucking dead, there's nothing left! If I don't kill him he will kill you and me and who knows how many others. Forget this shit, you do what you want but I can't deal with this group anymore."
Guy picked himself off the ground and, avoiding Tear's piercing gaze walked into oblivion.