Shock numbed him, and for a long moment all Free could do was stare blankly ahead, the acrid scent of charred paper burning his nose. He felt Eruka freeze beside him, heard her breath hitch sharply, and fought to ignore her. He had to: already he could feel his wolf threatening to take over, and knowing she was scared would only tip him over the edge.

In a month he'd be nothing more than a crazed monster, just like the bastard who'd murdered his family. The cut on his finger bled freely, the strangely sweet scent of it wafting upward. He clenched his fist.

…Exactly like him.

"You don't think…" Eruka began, as though voicing his thoughts aloud.

His voice fell flat when he spoke next, unable to add any emotion to his words as he stared down at his bloodied finger. "The wolf who killed my family was just another cursed werewolf."

"Then the wolf who attacked us was also cursed," Eruka concluded. In the corner of his eye, he noticed her turn to the mousy-looking sisters. "Mizune, do you know of any witch powerful enough to have multiple wolves cursed at the same time?"

"A few," one sister said, in that odd squeaky voice.

"No way to know for sure without magic," said the next.

The last, who had been rifling through a wooden box pulled out a scroll and held it out to Eruka. "Pre-made. Two gold."

"You've always been stingy," Eruka grumbled, though Free heard a note of reluctant admiration in her tone. "One gold."

At these words, Free looked away and, unable to remain where he was as Eruka so flippantly bargained with his revenge, wordlessly left the booth, entering the heavy throng of people. In his anger, he shoved aside all in his path, praying that the muddied scent of so many bodies would take the maddening smell of sweet blood from his nose.

Though he didn't blame Eruka - she probably didn't even know her actions had bothered him - he wasn't equipped right now to deal with her selfishness, no matter how small. Where normally he would've shrugged it aside with an easy smile, her actions had him wanting to tear and rend at the hurt they caused.

Frowning at the uncharacteristic desire, Free quickened his pace, feeling panic take hold.

The witches had said a month, but they hadn't said the process would happen abruptly. For all he knew he could have already started the slow progression towards madness. The thought chilled him. He didn't want to forget, to lose the faces of his family members, to lose everything that made him who he was-and, most importantly, he didn't want to be a tool for someone else's mad blood lust.

Then there was the fact that his family had been killed-not by a friend, but by some hidden enemy who still lived. Agony burned in him as the faces of his family flashed unprompted in his mind, bloodied and swollen with death. Clutching his head as though he could push out the unwanted memories, a tortured growl passed his lips, nearby people clambering to get out of his way. The familiar tingle in his skin started up again, fur threatening to burst free from his pores as he gritted sharpening fangs, fisted together clawed hands.

Free's nails pricked his skin, causing the scent of blood to pierce his senses-metallic and sweet. Furiously, he wiped his hand on his pants, heart beating quickly as panic bloomed fast in his chest. The sooner he rid himself of the smell, the better.

He needed to calm down.

Just as the thought ran through his mind-trapped with feelings of anger, revenge, and betrayal-two bodies launched themselves in his path, scuffling together. Surprised, Free looked up as more people joined the fight.

Side-stepping them easily, he raised his head to the building he had unknowingly approached.

Looked like he'd found the town bar.

….

The world had blurred to a pleasant, flickering gold-courtesy of the alcohol and the large fire in the corner of the tavern. Free knew he had issues, significant ones, but the pleasant buzz caused by the drink in his hand made his various problems seem less pressing somehow. He mused on them now as he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass, but they didn't cause the same hurt as they normally did when he thought of them. Absently, somewhere in a part of his brain that wasn't dredged in alcohol, he knew this should concern him. It didn't.

At the very least, he couldn't feel the ache in his chest anymore.

Or his legs, for that matter.

Which was precisely the moment that Eruka decided to show up.

"There you are!" shrilled a high-pitched voice. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

His pleasant gold-tinged world was torn from him, replaced with waves of blue-silver hair as he blearily turned his head towards the noise. Almost immediately a familiar earthy scent filled his nostrils and he let himself inhale deeply, leaning into it. Eruka yelped, pulling away, and Free barely caught himself on the chair next to him. The sudden movement had him groaning as waves of dizziness made his head swim.

But hey, it was better than feeling.

"Are you drunk?" Eruka snapped. "Now of all times?"

Free looked up at her, taking in her incredulous expression. Really now, if he couldn't manage to save his family, how the hell was he going to resist alcohol?

"Have I... have I told you how pretty you are?"

At this, Eruka made a face that wasn't particularly flattering, but Free stood by his words.

"Refill?" asked the blessed voice that had been pouring his drink all night.

Before he could agree, however, Eruka stepped in closer, a hand going to his shoulder. "Thanks," she said, not sounding thankful in the least, "but I think he's had enough."

"And who the hell are you?" growled the bartender, a sneer twisting his face. "Get outta here, broad."

"What did you just say to her?" Free snarled, pushing up from his seat and looming high above the man. He squinted down at him, struggling to focus when the image of the bartender danced before his eyes.

If he'd just stop moving, Free could smack the bastard.

Beside him, Eruka grabbed onto his clenched fist, hanging on when he refused to budge. "Nope. None of that. We are going to an inn, and you are sobering up, mister."

Because he would always have trouble saying no to her, Free allowed himself to be pulled away, stumbling as he went. He had a bit of trouble turning at first, and knocked over a few chairs on the way out of the tavern-growling at anyone who dared send them a dirty look-but eventually they managed to traverse the length of the bar. Distantly, he heard the bartender yelling something about a tab, but they both ignored him.

"You are in so much trouble," Eruka muttered under her breath. She had ducked under his arm, leading him out into the fresh air as he stumbled along beside her. He liked the feeling of her against him-remembered fondly the night before, when he'd slept with her fully in his arms.

They pushed through the swinging doors and Free's nose filled with the scent of crisp night air.

"When did it get dark?" he wondered aloud, tripping over his feet.

Eruka barely managed to catch him before he sent them both tumbling to the ground. She grunted as she forcefully righted him, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she did so. "That was hours ago, you idiot. Meanwhile, I had to pack up all my stuff on my own and get a room at the inn-which I'm paying for by the way."

"Thank you," Free mumbled, suddenly feeling tired. He wondered if Eruka would get mad at him for falling asleep in the streets. He didn't need an inn, he just needed a wall to rest against and maybe Eruka to cuddle with. The thought had a wave of exhaustion blanketing over him.

"Do not fall asleep here," Eruka grunted when he swayed. "I will do unspeakable things to your body."

He huffed, blinking awake. "Is that a promise?"

It was a weak attempt at flirtation, and even Eruka seemed to notice that he hadn't really meant what he said. Instead of berating him, like he thought she might, she simply gripped his arm tighter.

"C'mon," she said. "Let's just get you to the inn."

Free didn't remember much after that, just that they had both stumbled through the night together, bypassing other drunks in the street as they made their way to the town inn. Even in his inebriated state, he could tell that Eruka was mad at him. In that same, absent way he felt about his other problems, he was sorry for this fact-but he wasn't coherent enough to know how to fix it, so he simply remained silent until they reached the inn.

After bypassing the front desk and climbing the stairs, Eruka pulled out a silver key from her pocket and unlocked the door to their room. Stepping inside, she waited until Free tripped in behind her before locking it again.

"Sleep it off for now," she said, pocketing the key once more. "In the morning we'll do the spell."

…..

Morning brought the worst hangover of Free's life, and he spent most of it hurling into a bucket, Eruka yammering on behind him. His head pounded with each shrieking word she said, and he clawed at the wooden floorboards instead of ripping off his own ears. If nothing else, his current situation suited his mood just fine. The headache, at least, meant that he didn't have to think.

When he'd first woken up to find the effects of the alcohol faded, he'd been bombarded by the weight of his memories and emotions-as though by trying to muffle them with booze the night before he had simply amplified them. Thankfully, his hangover had started soon after-shoving aside all other emotions to make room for self pity.

"Are you just about done?" Eruka asked caustically behind him, loudly tapping her foot against the floor. Had her voice always been so shrill?

"Screw you," he said, spitting to get rid of the taste in his mouth.

She clearly didn't like that because her voice grew louder and, if possible, more annoying. "If you would listen to me, you'd know that there's a way to find the witch who did this to you and your family, but I need your help, so get your butt over here already!"

"What's the point?" he groused, shoving away the bucket, nearly tipping it over. He turned to rest his back against the wall, head hanging low between his knees. "What's the fucking point of any of it?"

"Are you serious?" Eruka began, voice harsh. "You want to start this now?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not some perfect picture of mental health right now, Eruka," he spat, feeling the ache eating away at his chest. For once, he took a bitter satisfaction at her flinch at his words, wanting her to hurt as much as he did. "No, really-fucking excuse me, my entire family was murdered. I have nothing left."

Eruka propped a hand on her hip. "So...what? You're just going to sit here and get drunk every night until you turn into a monster?"

He scoffed, his head falling back until it hit the wall. "Sounds like a plan," he said piteously.

For a moment, Free thought she might've left, but then he heard her soft footsteps approach him. He refused to lower his head when when she knelt down before him.

"Free," she said. He ignored her.

Hearing her soft growl, he suddenly felt cold hands clap on either side of his face, forcing his head down until their eyes met. He glared at her, and she returned it with equal fervor.

"I'm only going to say this once," she said between gritted teeth. "And I'm only saying it now because you're not usually like this-and if I thought for one minute that you were actually giving up? I would already have left your ass. You get me, Free? I would be gone."

The words hurt, he registered with a hint of surprise. At this point he didn't think anything could make him feel worse than he already felt.

"Listen to me," she said, catching his attention once more. She re-positioned her hands on his face so that they cradled his cheeks and moved closer-eyes more intense than he'd ever seen them. They went wide, insistent. "Revenge is great."

Free blinked. "What?"

"Revenge is great," she repeated emphatically. "And I want that for you, I want it for your family. But more importantly, I want you to not become a raging monster at the end of the month and I don't know why."

"Huh…? Eruka-"

Eruka ignored him as she sat back, hands falling into her lap. "I should be happy to have you off my hands, overjoyed even. But am I?"

"Ye-?"

"No!" she snapped, cutting him off. "Instead I'm stuck worrying about you."

"I…"

"Shut up and let me finish, will you?" She grew suddenly somber. "Instead of just going home after you disappeared, I stayed and looked for you. For hours, Free. And now-now I'm helping you kill another witch."

Free watched her shoulders tremble. "Is that...bad?"

"It's sacrilegious!" Eruka shrieked. "It goes against everything I believe in-and I'm doing it for you! Do you get that?!"

He sat back, simply watching her, unsure of what to say. Her eyes were dancing as she stared back at him furiously. He knew that she was hardly ever honest with herself, especially when it came to her own emotions, so her unexpected candour on this subject was...enlightening.

Still, as raw and hurt as he felt, he needed more.

"What do you mean?" he asked softly, eyes roving over her face as he searched for anything that might prove what he had begun to suspect, what he hoped to be true.

Eruka let out a noise of frustration, and Free knew it was hard for her. He knew. But he needed more.

"You said-" she paused, taking a deep breath. "-you said that you have nothing. And I get it, I do. Your family is gone, your home-you're even losing your humanity. But…"

Free watched her, eyes wide. "But?"

Eruka reached out and grabbed his arm, digging into the fabric of his shirt with her nails. She stared at her hand rather than back at him. "But I'm here, you idiot. You're not alone." Her teeth clenched. "You don't have nothing."

For the first time that morning, a feeling of lightness filled Free's chest, swelling until it was difficult to breathe. He looked down at her clenched fist, swallowing thickly.

Eruka wasn't done, however, and he found his eyes jerking back to her as she began to speak. "So you better listen to me when I tell you to stop this pity party, grow the fuck up, and come help me with this spell!"

"Okay."

He could tell she was surprised by his sudden agreement, saw it in the way her eyes widened and in the subtle parting of her lips. It took her a moment, but eventually she nodded, clearing her throat.

"Good," she answered, pushing to her feet.

Free watched her leave silently. He still wasn't sure about whatever plan she had in store for his revenge, but she had replaced the endless feelings of despair with something akin to hope.

And so he stood up and followed after his witch.

…..

Free sat cross-legged beside Eruka, silently watching as she examined the flattened scroll between them. A frown marred her lips as she adjusted the place of several bunches of leaves, shook her head, and moved them back where they wereit was. Crossing her arms, she leaned back, tilting her head at the paper, muttering quietly to herself about "useless pre-packaged spells".

An agreement not to talk about the conversation that had just transpired went unspoken between them, cemented by the red-faced glare Eruka had sent him when he'd first sat down. He didn't mind as much as he thought he might - content with the fact that it had happened at all. Progress was progress after all, and if Eruka chose to immediately clam back up in order to feel comfortable again, that was fine with him.

"So how does this spell work?" Free asked, looking now at the intricate circle of squiggles and lines on the page - none of which made sense to him.

"Well, first we need the blood of the cursed individual-so yours," she ignored his frown, picking up several green-ish leaves, "-which we burn with a sage branch while willing the shape of an animal to form."

"An animal?" Free asked.

Eruka nodded, placing the sage so it was in the centre of the circle. "Every witch has a signature in the form of an animal that's unique to them. If we find out the animal, we can find the witch."

"What's yours?"

"A frog," she answered simply.

Free snorted before he could stop himself, and Eruka's head shot up at the sound, glaring. He knew almost immediately that he was digging his own grave by laughing at her, but he couldn't help himself. Frogs and Eruka strangely fit.

Eyes flashing, Eruka said through gritted teeth, "Got something to say?"

He fought to keep his lips from twitching. "Nope."

"Look here asshole," she hissed leaning in close, voice going dangerously quiet. "I'm helping you out of the goodness of my heart, but if you're making fun of me I can quite happily leave."

Free managed to smother the urge to laugh, fought off his smile. "Nope. Frogs are great."

Eruka eyed him, squinting suspiciously, as though making sure he was telling the truth. Finally, she nodded and moved back to sit fully on her side of the paper. "Yes they are. Now give me your hand, I need to cut it again."

This made Free sober quickly enough, and the thought of smelling the abnormal, sickeningly sweet scent of his own blood had the nausea from that morning returning full swing. Eruka was watching him with her unusually large eyes, her face blank, and he fought to clear his throat.

"There's no other way?" he asked, already knowing there wasn't.

"Hair sometimes works-but the results are never as clear as blood," she answered.

Nodding, Free took the ornate knife from her hand. "I'll do it," he said.

"One drop will be enough," Eruka assured, making final adjustments to the placement of the scroll and the sage before leaning back. "Alright, go ahead. Make sure it lands on the leaves."

Placing the knife in his splinted hand, Free sliced his finger neatly. He tossed the blade aside, ignoring the clatter it caused as he squeezed the injured finger between two others until a single drop of blood landed on the sage. It gradually rolled off the leaves until it reached the paper and seeped in.

"Good." Eruka handed him a cloth. She was watching him carefully. "...You alright?"

Free nodded. "Thanks," he said, covering the wound in hopes that it would help smother the smell.

He looked back up at the bloodied sage just as Eruka snapped her fingers. The leaves burst into flames.

"Don't forget to will the image of an animal to appear," Eruka reminded as she closed her eyes, clasping her hands together. Her thumbs touched one another while the rest of her fingers curled inward in what looked like a contorted mess. Free hoped she didn't get hand cramps.

"Focus Free," Eruka snapped, and Free wondered how she knew what he was doing when her eyes were shut. Rather than ponder this further, however, he forced his own eyes closed and attempted to ignoring the burning smell in his nose.

It was difficult to "will" an animal into his mind without actually thinking of one, and for some reason his mind kept imagining rabbits. Fluffy, bouncy, tasty.

He peaked one eye open and saw Eruka frowning, a line between her brows.

Right. Focus.

He squeezed his own eyes closed.

His stomach grumbled.

"You're lucky this spell only technically needs one person," he heard Eruka say.

Free sighed, shoulders slumping. His eyes opened and he saw her smirking to herself. "Then why make me do it?"

"It doesn't hurt," she said. "Besides, I thought it might be good practice. Now hush, I at least need to focus."

So Free settled in to wait, simply watching Eruka. Every now and then her eyebrows would twitch, or her frown would increase, or sometimes he'd even catch her mouthing a silent chant to herself. It was fascinating to watch, and he didn't even realize the spell had finished until her eyes opened and she looked down at the paper between them.

Her eyes went wide with horror.

Surprised, Free looked down at what appeared to be a black, charred mass slowly forming into a long, slithering line.

"A snake," Eruka breathed, her voice trembling.

It made sense, Free mused, thinking back to all the snakes present in his dreams-inky black and slithering like parasites in his mind.

He looked back up at Eruka. "Do you know who it is?"

She swallowed thickly, still gazing down at the image between them. Her fingers untangled, and one trembling hand rose to cover her mouth. For a moment it looked like she might be sick.

It took several moments, time in which Free wondered if she would respond at all, but eventually she spoke from behind her palm, lifting it slightly so her words wouldn't be muffled. "Her name is Medusa," she said.

"You know her?"

Her eyes closed and she nodded, hand still pressed to her mouth. Tears welled up and fell down her cheek.

"Eruka?" Free asked, alarmed. "Eruka, what's wrong?"

He pulled her hand from her face, but when he questioned her further she shook her head, a heartbreaking sob escaping her lips as her head bent low. Shoving aside the paper they'd done the spell on, Free moved in closer. Unsure of what else to do, he clumsily wiped away her tears with his fingers.

"Eruka, talk to me," he pleaded, cupping her cheek.

Breath hitching, Eruka laughed without humour, shoving aside his hand. "It looks like we have something in common."

Trying not to sigh in frustration, because that was the last thing she needed, Free urged, "What does that mean?"

"Medusa was the one that cursed me."

"What?"

Her fists clenched. "She was the one who locked me up, tortured me-all of it. I never-I couldn't-" she took a shaky breath "-I never got back at her. She's so powerful, how could I?"

Free shoved back the fresh wave of anger that flowed through him at this new information, struggling to focus on the present. "Okay, so that just means we have more reason to go after her."

Eruka shook her head. "You don't get it, she'll kill us both. Gods Free, there's no way we can win!"

He grabbed her shoulder with his good hand. "So we figure something out. But we don't give up, remember?"

Her eyes, watery and miserable, raised up to glare at him. Free almost breathed a sigh of relief at the sight-she hadn't given up yet.

"We just need a plan," he tried.

Sniffing stubbornly, Eruka nodded, pushing Free's hand away and wiping her eyes. "You're right. And we both know you're not going to think of one."

Free smiled. "Exactly."

She got to her feet, still looking miserable and sorry for herself, but she was moving, thinking. "This is a really big problem, though. I knew she was bad, but even for her this plan is ambitious."

"Do you know what she's planning?"

Eruka shook her head. "Obviously not-but really, I should have suspected. She's always had a penchant for madness." She stopped pacing, arms folded. "But why bother with werewolves?"

Free tried not to take offence at that. "So do you have a plan?"

She sniffed again. "Neither of us have the power to beat Medusa-and before you get all huffy, let me remind you that you're injured and mortal."

Free, who liked to believe that he had not, in fact, gotten huffy at all, asked, "Where does that leave us?"

"We need help."

"From the Mizunes?"

Eruka shook her head. "It would be asking too much. They're even more loyal to witch kind than I am."

"I don't see who else we can ask, then."

She paused a moment, considering. "In this town... there's a warrior's guild-"

Free's reply was immediate. "You want to ask humans?" he spat, disbelieving. "You hate them more than I do!"

"Well, what other choice do we have?" Eruka snapped back.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe we could not go to the one race that wants to kill every supernatural being on the planet!"

"I have talismans that will hide our presence."

Free sighed. "Okay, say we do get their help. How on earth are a bunch of humans supposed to kill Medusa if we can't?"

Eruka's eyes danced, smirking. "Oh, they won't. They'll be the distraction."

"Wait, so now you want to sacrifice humans?"

She shrugged. "They're mercenaries. It's their job."

Which was true, but Free still frowned at her as she walked over to the pile of goods that they hadn't managed to sell the day before. It wasn't like he was the biggest fan of humans, but still. You should at least give a man a warning before you send him to his death. Even a human one.

"So what will we tell them?" he asked, turning to watch as she pulled out two small pouches from the box of goods. Eruka tucked one into her pocket and tossed Free another.

"Here, this will stop anyone from figuring out who we are."

He caught it easily. "You're avoiding the question."

She sighed. "That's because I don't know yet-I'm making this up as I go. I'll figure something out on the way."

Free dutifully got to his feet. "We're leaving now?"

Eruka nodded, frowning. "If we don't go now," she looked up at him with wide eyes, "I'm not sure I'll have the nerve to go later."

Free laughed despite himself, delighted by her frankness.

"What?" she asked, looking harassed.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Go on ahead, I'm right behind you."

…..

The guild, which was fairly close to the inn-just up the street and around the corner-was not at all what Free had expected.

There were, of course, a slew of wanted posters on the bulletin board to the side-most of which featured witches, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. And, as expected, there was a bar and several crowded tables, filled with what looked to be a variety of different personality types. What was odd, however, was that the guild was absolutely spotless-painted a crisp white to show off the strange, neurotic cleanliness. Even the wanted posters were pinned in place in uniform lines.

"Are we in the right place?" Free asked. He had always imagined warrior guilds to be a bit more...filthy.

"I think so," Eruka said, looking around. "There are wanted posters."

Freakishly organized ones, sure. "So what now?" he asked instead of what was on his mind. "Do we just go up to someone?"

Without responding, Eruka drew back her shoulders and walked towards the long, spotless bar at the back of the guild. Free followed behind her at a slower pace, taking his time to further examine his surroundings. While the guild was certainly clean enough, it didn't mean that these people were any less dangerous-and as he moved through the building he could feel their eyes on him, greedy and human.

Free reached Eruka just as she was approaching a shady looking man with long, straw-coloured hair and a seriously bad case of flood pants. He sat nursing a glass of amber liquid, several swords balanced against the bar beside him. Sniffing once, Free was surprised to find that he was just drinking apple juice.

"Hello," Eruka said pleasantly. The man ignored her, instead taking a sip of his drink, hissing as though it burned his throat. Free made a face.

It was apple juice. The man was drinking apple juice.

Eruka shot Free a wide-eyed "can you believe this guy?" glance before turning back to the warrior. Her voice was decidedly more strained as she asked, "Would you be interested in hunting a witch for us?"

His drink slammed on the table, juice spilling onto his hands as he turned his head to offer Eruka one single, rotten look, before spitting, "I don't hunt witches." He grabbed his swords and stomped away.

Free watched him leave as Eruka returned to his side.

"Can you believe that guy?" she hissed.

Free wondered at her motivations if she was getting mad at a guy who refused to kill a witch for her. Instead of saying so, he offered, "He was very rude."

Eruka shook her head. "Absolutely unbelievable. C'mon, let's try someone else. They wouldn't have witch wanted posters if everyone was against hunting us."

She was a bit pickier her second time choosing a target, but eventually she decided on a pair sitting alone in the corner. One was a beefy looking young woman with sandy hair tied in pigtails, while the other was a somber looking fellow whose white hair kept falling in his eyes. Even as they approached, the boy swept his fringe aside with a toss of his head-it immediately fell back in place.

Free had a sudden, raging urge to chop it off.

"Hello," Eruka began, much the same way as before-overly polite and with a smile the was just a touch forced.

The girl raised her head, smiling in response. The boy watched without changing his expression, eyes suspicious. "Hi! How can we help you?" asked the girl.

"We need you to kill a witch."

The girl's face immediately screwed up in distaste. "A witch, huh? Nasty sort."

"Mhm," Eruka said, noncommittal. Free wondered, not for the first time, whether or not her acting skills were going to get them killed.

Meanwhile, the white-haired boy was eyeing them up and down, taking longer as he examined Free-pausing a moment on each of his injuries. After sweeping aside his bangs with another head jerk, he asked, "How much are you willing to spend?"

The girl immediately smacked him upside the head, hissing, "Soul! Don't be rude."

"It's literally our job, Maka," the boy, Soul, shot back, wincing. Free didn't blame him-this Maka person was jacked.

Ignoring the scuffle before her, Eruka dumped a bag on the table. "Two-hundred gold," she said.

It was the worn sack of gold that she had carried with her from home. Free's eyes widened at the sight, knowing for a fact that it was all the money she had in the world.

He jerked his head towards her. "Eruk-"

"Shut up," she hissed under her breath.

If the guild members were surprised by the amount of money, they don't show it, though Free noted that the boy pulled it closer to himself possessively.

"Who's the witch?" he asked.

Free froze, because this was the part that Eruka had said might cause them trouble. According to her, the snake witch was well known.

"Medusa," Eruka said simply, as though it was any other name.

A hush fell over the guild, and Free looked around to see all eyes staring at them, frozen. Instinctively, he grabbed Eruka's arm.

"Medusa?" Maka repeated, standing up from her chair. "You want us to go after Medusa?"

"What business do you have with her?" asked Soul.

"Does it matter?" Free answered, trying to keep the growl from his voice. He knew he sounded defensive, but he couldn't help it-he didn't like being closed in amongst people he knew would gladly kill him and Eruka given the chance.

"Medusa is bad news," Soul answered. "She's killed hundreds-cursed thousands more. Do you know how many of us have died trying to kill her? You think gold will make us risk our lives for a fruitless quest? No one even knows where she lives."

"We do," Eruka hurried to say.

"What?"

"We know where she lives-she attacked us there. We can show you."

Soul's face darkened. "You're lying."

Eruka frowned beside him, and Free tensed further as the room began to grow rowdy. His head raced with plans of escape, calculating how many bodies he'd have to rend in order for them to escape unscathed.

"I'll help."

Free turned to find the rude swordsmen standing behind them, his face expressionless. Somehow he had approached without Free noticing-which was extremely unnerving. Wordlessly he tugged Eruka closer, ignoring her irritated grunt.

"I'll help you kill Medusa," the man repeated.

Free looked back to Maka and Soul, curious about their reaction. They both stared open mouthed at the man, a mixture of shock and annoyance taking hold of their features. Free noted that Soul's hand gripped the bag of gold tighter.

Recovering first, Maka slammed her hands on the table. "We never said we wouldn't do it!" she snapped. "Don't go sniping our job, Mifune!"

Mifune crossed his arms, his movements languid. "So you're going to go after Medusa?"

"Maybe," Maka hissed, eyes darting to Soul's before shooting back to glare at Mifune. "Maybe not. We haven't decided yet."

A slouchy, tired looking man with round glasses and a white coat rose from his seat and walked over, clearing his throat. "It would be good to have her gone for good," he said, his voice eerily smooth. "Why don't we split the cash and work together?"

Dozens of loud voices erupted all at once, all with a competitive edge, all eager, resounding throughout the guild. Shouts of revenge, of greed, of general bloodthirstiness all collected in unison, reverberating around them.

Free looked down at Eruka, raising a brow at the small, twisted grin on her lips. For the first time he wondered how long and how often she had thought of revenge-every time knowing it was out of reach. He felt his shoulders relax as the voices around them grew louder, all arguing about who would get the chance to join the battle against Medusa.

And that was how Eruka and Free got upwards of thirty humans to follow them to Medusa's lair.