Old AN: Helloooo! New chapter, nice and prompt for a change. Thanks go to my reviewers, Mimic Shalle and Yukiko Shiroryuu. Now, onward! \o/

February 2013 – rewrite complete! (Literally nothing done to this one but a few minor word corrections.)

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(Previously)

Fast asleep, the teen didn't hear his bedroom door open, nor the slow, soft tread of purposeful footsteps on the plush carpet. He stirred briefly when the mattress dipped, and rolled towards the disturbance. A hand brushing the hair from his forehead made him mumble in his sleep, before calming at the familiar voice, not alarmed in the slightest.

"Shh, it's just me. No need to wake up. Sleep for me, and I'll make it all go away…"

Reassured by the familiarity, he didn't react when the complex patterns of light first appeared, and afterwards, he couldn't. He couldn't scream, couldn't kick, couldn't get away from the agony, like a scalpel carefully cutting away at his heart. The only thing that did escape were faintly luminous tears, shining blue like the eyes beneath closed lids.

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In the darkened room no one was there to witness the scene, no one but the other Remnants. Blood Chalice who was still clinging to Rush's wrist, instantly tried to interfere. Unfortunately it was rebuffed easily by the experienced Blessing user, the woman all but ignoring the little Remnant. Panicked jabs at the boy only got a faint whine of pain as a response, and the little bracelet was in a tizzy about what to do.

Realising that it needed help it called out to the other Remnants in the room, who were also humming with distress. Relaying a brief plan, Blood Chalice and the other Remnants screamed in perfect synchronisation. The effort produced a truly unearthly sound, a deep bellowing wail of desperation loud enough to shake the stone around them.

The bone deep vibrations were loud enough to wake half the castle, though most didn't realise what it was. Some even thought it was thunder and just tried to ignore it.

The severity of the noise was almost enough to make Marina withdraw from her self-appointed duty. Though the glowing, hissing lines of light wavered they didn't collapse, and Marina was able to squash the desire to cover her ears and flee.

Just a few rooms away however, Irina nearly fell out of her bed, nerves buzzing like she'd been electrocuted. Severely disoriented the young girl took a moment to realise what she was hearing, and more importantly what she was feeling.

"What…? Why… can I feel the Blessing, Mum isn't here, is she?"

Tottering groggily out of her room, she followed the sound, breaking into a run when she realised it was coming from Rush's rooms.

Two corridors away, David was woken abruptly from his sleep by the unbelievable noise, groggily wondering why there was a dragon screaming at four in the morning. Sitting up he resisted the urge to clap a pillow over his head as he untangled himself from his sheets, but only barely. Hearing the door his head jerked up, to be met with the sight of two purple orbs blinking up at him from knee height.

"Mr. Diggs? What…?"

The little creature was clearly agitated, hopping from foot to foot and beckoning with both front paws. Bleeping and whistling urgently, it pushed the door wide before jumping and vanishing in its signature sparkle of light.

Realising that the noise had stopped David didn't waste any time, leaping out of bed to grab his sword. He knew the only reason Mr. Diggs would come to him alone meant that something was amiss with Rush. Tearing out of his room, David spotted the little mechanoid digger at the end of the hall and followed it, grim thoughts running through his mind.

Arriving seconds after Irina, he found himself temporarily struck dumb. At first glance the tableau seemed quite peaceful, a mother watching her child sleep. The cold blue-white light illuminating the scene however, cast the tear streaked face in stark relief. It highlighted Rush cringing in agony beneath the hands of the woman who had raised and cared for him all his life. It was a sickening sight to behold.

"Mum no! Stop it, you're hurting him!"

Flying across the space between them, Irina latched onto her mother's arm, trying to pull her away. Mr. Diggs joined in, leaping into the fray with a squeaky battle cry, grasping the woman's hair and tugging in an effort to help.

The woman was stronger than she appeared though, shaking both girl and pseudo-animal off, the Blessing's shining pattern unwavering.

"Don't interfere Irina, it needs to be done. I won't lose him or let him hurt you. I won't let that creature take over!"

Speechless at the impassioned response from her mother, Irina just sat where she'd fallen, unable to comprehend what was happening. David meanwhile had shaken off his stupor, drawing his sword and advancing.

"Stop what you are doing Mrs. Sykes, and get away from Rush. If you don't I will be forced to remove you… against your will if need be."

With barely a glance at the naked blade now inches from her throat, Marina turned back to Rush, speaking to David over her shoulder.

"I'd have thought you would understand the necessity of this, Marquis. You know all too well the dangers of Remnants, why they must be Bound."

Incensed at the casual naming of her own son as a dangerous Remnant, David's hand went white knuckled around the grip of his sword. Two seconds later she slumped to the ground, out cold from the pommel strike to her head.

The moment her concentration broke and the Blessing's patterns faded, the teen in the bed shuddered violently, finding his voice in a keening wail. Scrambling for her brother, Irina felt tears gather in her eyes at the heartbreaking look of confusion and betrayal painting his face.

Reaching out to him, he flinched away at first before hesitantly accepting the embrace, breathing strained and body tense as a strung bow. Tearing his gaze from the woman sprawled on the floor, David turned his eyes to the siblings huddled on the bed. Seeing the unasked question in both faces, he just shook his head. He didn't know how she could be so callous to her eldest child anymore than them.

Moving over, David put a hand on Rush's back in a gesture of comfort. That touch seemed to be the trigger to open the floodgates though, as the teen lost control of his tears. Quiet sobs turned into harsh wounded cries as he burrowed into his sister's arms, seeking familiarity in the face of such betrayal. Knowing Rush needed support above all else right now, David took a seat and stretched an arm around both siblings. Irina clung to her brother almost as fiercely as he was her, losing her own battle with tears soon after Rush.

Running her hand through her brother's hair in an effort to comfort him, Irina almost didn't hear the faint words.

"…hurts…"

Cuddling closer, she just nodded.

"I know, Mums aren't meant to do that… it's all wrong!"

Shaking his head, Rush pulled away slightly, face paling to a sickly grey.

"No… it hurts!"

Lifting one hand to grip the cloth over his heart, Rush slumped back with a whimper, prompting alarm from both Mitra. Irina, even as shaken as she was didn't hesitate, touching the crystal lamp to bring it to full brightness before pulling the nightshirt up to expose his chest. The skin across most of his chest and inching up his neck was red, inflamed like it had been sunburned. That was startling enough, but the thin silvery lines that formed clearly recognisable Remnant symbols were worse.

They looked almost like old scars, but ones Irina had never seen before. She had seen her brother enough times at home to know those marks hadn't been there before… or hadn't been visible.

The frightening thing was that there were so many, the skin around them raised and angry looking. The scars themselves also seemed to have an almost metallic quality in the lamplight. David she saw was trying to mask the look of horrified curiosity on his face.

Rush meanwhile was just trying to shut out the pain, the stabbing, nauseating ache that attacked with each beat of his heart.

Hearing running feet in the corridor, David swept to the door, intercepting the small group of soldiers. A few quick words later and Marina had been removed to a more secure room, to be kept under house arrest for the time being. A runner was also sent to find Pagus, on the off chance that his healing expertise could be of use for Rush.

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"Well, I don't really know what to say. To put it bluntly, I don't know what's wrong with the poor boy. Without the healing spells all I can do are treat the obvious symptoms."

Utterly perplexed, Pagus finished spreading the pungent paste over the raised, reddened skin of Rush's chest.

All his attempts at diagnostic and healing incantations had slid off the boy like water off a duck's back. Nothing was working and the experienced healer just didn't know why.

That wasn't to say he didn't have other methods, far from it. However a stethoscope, thermometer and other sundry doctor's items just didn't provide the same exacting detail as the internal visualisation a diagnostic spell gave. Rush wasn't coherent enough to give any proper answers to his medical questions, and Irina too anxious.

The flummoxed qsiti didn't even know what had caused this, neither the young Miss Sykes nor Lord David willing to divulge the necessary information. The only thing they would admit to was that it was apparently Rush's own mother that had inflicted the mystery ailment. The Remnant symbols were truly peculiar, many of which were new to him. It was disturbing to think of how they might have been created, and how long ago given that Irina swore she'd never seen them before today.

Rush himself was frighteningly wan, head nodding dozily between winces. He was barely able to resist the urge to just curl up and sleep despite the pain. His whole body ached, limbs wobbly as limp noodles and he felt utterly exhausted. His head also hurt, the bright lights of the healing ward stinging his eyes.

He didn't even have the energy to think about what had happened, vaguely aware of someone propping him up while Pagus bandaged his torso. Dave was nearby, dim with anxiety while Irina bled confusion and sadness from somewhere behind him.

He wanted to tell them not to worry, that he just needed to sleep… but he didn't know how. Words were beyond him for the moment, and his tired mind didn't realise how strange it was that he knew where everyone was and how they were feeling. Especially since his eyes were closed…

"There now, let's get you to bed before you fall over. Without knowing more, all I can recommend is rest, and hope this clears up itself."

Practically lifted into a bed in the healing ward, Rush was sound asleep by the time the sheets were tucked around him.

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That sleep would last for nearly two weeks. In that time reopened wounds that never had the chance before began to fully heal. Connections were made and irrevocable changes began, both in body and soul. Meanwhile, below the castle…

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"Would you stop doing that! We're on guard duty, not nap duty, ya numbskull."

Cuquenos whacked his partner over the head with his sceptre. He was one of the pair of Celapaleian guards assigned to the Gae Bolg's underground resting place. Of all the places to be assigned it had to be Athlum, which he personally thought of as a backwater pigsty of a city. Naturally, to go with this he was assigned the laziest mitra in the Celapaleian guard as a partner.

"Keith!"

Another wallop dislodged the Mitra from his precarious position on a broken topped stalagmite, lance slipping out of his grasp and hitting the ground with a clatter.

"Damn it ya midget qsiti, stop hitting me! It's not as if we ever get to do anything down 'ere."

After a good round of insults, the two went back to ignoring one another. It wasn't easy to do, with nothing but the underground scenery to hold their attention. Their post was at the second (and last) set of massive doors leading to the Remnant cannon's cavern, and boredom was a constant companion.

Half an hour later and Keith was frowning, head tilted while he stared at the huge inner doors, lit by glow crystals set into the ironwork frame.

"Hey Cook, d'you hear anythin'?"

The tick by Cuquenos eye just got worse at that blatant mangling of his name.

"If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, it's Cuquenos! Cu-que-nos! Now what are you talking about you poor excuse for a hairless imp. We're underground, why would there be anything to hear?"

Ignoring the deadpan snark from the qsiti, the Mitra laid his ear flat against the doors listening intently.

"Exactly, so why can I hear some dame singing?"

Huffing, Cuquenos hopped over, interested despite himself. True enough, he could just faintly hear a soft, lilting voice emanating from deeper in the cave system.

"C'mon, help me open this thing."

The qsiti just stared at his partner for a moment, the man struggling to operate the complicated mechanism for opening the massive doors.

"Well?! We can't not check this out, no one should'a got past these doors. Besides that, don't you want ta take a peek at that Gae Bolg, see what's so special 'bout it?"

Grumbling death threats under his breath, Cuquenos never the less helped his overeager partner open the doors, the aged wood groaning under its own weight. With the doors open the voice was much clearer, a low ethereal chanting that seemed to draw them in. Entranced, they followed the singing, their weapons dropping unnoticed to the ground.

Coming to the main chamber, they didn't see the cracked floor or the cooled slag from the melted chains. The only had eyes for the Remnant, glimmering form devoid of any protective shield to stop Kellendros influence.

"It's beautiful…"

Shuffling forward, they gazed at the shimmering golden shape, eyes glazed with enchantment. The low chant continued until Keith stumbled on the uneven marble, both hands slapping against the humming cannon's side as he caught his balance.

Instantly the voice stopped. Keith surfaced from the enchantment just long enough to see the bright glow from the Remnant sweep up his arms, suffusing his body. In his mind an intruding voice spoke, soft and cold and utterly malicious.

"Hello little Mitra, how nice of you to come and visit me. Unfortunately I can't let you leave, but I never planned to let you escape anyway. You see, I haven't had a real meal in, oh… several centuries at least, and I'm very hungry… starving even. So you're just what I need."

Confused but not really scared yet, Keith tried to pull away but found his body frozen in place, unable to move.

"Tsk, what a weakling you are, the world will be better off without you. Still, you should be satisfying enough after centuries of nothing but crumbs. Now, be a good boy and let me devour you."

Panic finally sparking to life in his brain, Keith only had time to register the sensation of cold and pain and being swallowed up by searing, smothering light…

Cuquenos was still trying to clear his head when he noticed Keith. The Mitra was twitching jerkily against the Remnant, hands clawing at the metal. His mouth opened in a silent scream before his whole body spasmed twice, back arching almost to the point of breaking. Then it was over, a loud sigh escaping his parted lips before he dropped to the ground, dead.

Too confused to realise the danger he was in, Cuquenos crept over, shaking the body's arm.

"Hey Keith, you okay? …stop joking around, we need to get out of here."

Leaning back to peer around the cavern, the qsiti's shoulder touched the Gae Bolg and he heard an alien voice resonating in his head.

"Mm, I'd forgotten how delicious they are when they're whole… and how they squirm. If only I had a few more and it would be a veritable banquet! Oh, I can't wait to sink my claws into my sweet, sweet David with that pathetic excuse for a Remnant forced to watch… Ah ah ah, don't run away now little qsiti, it's rude to leave before a meal is finished..."

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Due to their posting rotation, the guards absence wasn't noticed until a week later. Their replacements found the inner doors wide open and weapons abandoned. Rather than fetching their superior, the new guards ventured into the tunnels beyond, hoping to find them…

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Hehee! I know this chappy is short, but it really wanted to end with Kelly getting some screen time and (she insisted) a four course meal. Keith and Cuquenos are real characters from the game, available for hire from the Celapaleis branch of union of the golden chalice. New chap is already underway, and the ball is really rolling now. Marina has no idea what events she's set in motion…

Keep in mind Rush is too out of it and Irina too worried to feel Kellendros eating those poor soldiers, and Marina is being kept isolated for the time being.