Chapter 8x: The Black Shadow
By SodiumChoride12, derived from Fire Emblem, owned by Nintendo.
A/N: As you can probably suspect from this chapter, I spent a lot of time listening to collegiate jargon that I understand 80.4% of. Physics does that. Hope y'all enjoy!
N: Tired from the earlier battle, the legion reluctantly march towards the Black Fang's base. Meanwhile, outside forces begin to realize that Mark isn't what he appears to be.
Night...
We marched through the darkness in utter silence. Although our motives were unshaken, there was a general sense of tiredness. No one was acclimated to traveling this late in the day. We had traveled for a couple of hours now, but it felt like much more.
The steady beat of the journey felt like a comforting cradle. The soft cushion of the plentiful grass were numb on my calloused feet. My cone of vision narrowed on the road ahead of us. My breathing slowed as my posture hunched over. I fell into a dreamy trance...
A little sleepwalking won't hurt anyone...
Suddenly, multiple, loud snapping fingers popped me from my bubble. It felt like rapier piercing through the kinks of my armor. A falling stream of spit fell down the side of my face. I made out the blonde hair of Lucius, our newest recruit.
He spoke with a soft tone, "Mister tactician. You must stay awake. You can't set a bad example for the others."
I groggily wiped my face with my cloak, and excess moisture stuck onto it. My amber eye twitched with irritation, and my gaze fell onto Lucius' bright blue garb.
I reluctantly agreed, "Yes...you're right. Sorry, Lucius. I'll make a greater effort to stay awake."
The general consensus was that no one would rest until the mission was done. Whether we returned in a few hours or at midnight was entirely dependent on us. That inn in Kathelet laid fresh on our minds.
I decided to keep my mind busy thinking about what happened earlier today. I stared at the moon and allowed my mind to wander...
That man said something that seemed familiar. That name...Azazel.
Lucius raised his eyebrow, he had taken notice to my odd complexion.
Our silhouettes were barely visible under the waning moon. You would have to be within an ear shot to make out Lucius' blue, and my green. Lucius pondered whether it was wise to ask what was wrong. He had just met this man today...
It's my job though. It's written that Elimine would look out for everyone, including strangers. As a man of her teachings, I should ask...
After an awkward moment of mulling over, the monk finally broke the ice.
He asked, "Is...something wrong? Pardon me for asking, but people usually don't stare off in to space like that."
I was still lost in my thoughts...
Did I...know that man? He obviously knew me, and he immediately tried to kill me. Granted, he probably would've tried to kill me anyways, but...
A snap permeated through my mental membrane, again. Lucius was getting noticeably annoyed. His white knuckles shone in the moonlight.
His voice dropped all sense of calmness, "Dude are you going off the deep end or something?"
The outburst took me off-guard. I immediately locked eyes with the monk, who was sweating bullets.
His voice quivered, "Um...Mark...sorry for the informality...I'm just wondering if you're alright..."
My attention was now fully on our priest. After spending a moment getting over his outburst, I scratched the back of my head, allowing my fingers to traverse through the thick jungle of uncut hair.
I calmly replied, "I'm alright...something's been bothering me lately...and I feel like I can't tell anyone about it."
Lucius gave a puzzled expression. He remembered his teachings.
He replied, "If you'd like to tell me you can. We monks are sworn to secrecy when it comes to things like confessions. You can rest assured no one will know, no matter how questionable it may be."
I considered his proposal...
It'd be nice to share this with someone...maybe he can help me.
I cleared my throat and began my long explanation...
In a fortress covered by darkness...
Fang commander Beyard bit his lip. His hand gripped against the empty air as he struggled to come to terms with his superior.
He was in an isolated fortress at a location only known to a few fangsmen. Well...was known to a few fangsmen. Beyard silently cursed to himself of a new development. Someone in that band of rescuers managed to track down their location by following the footprints of his soldiers. He pondered the possibility of a sacaen being within their ranks. People from the plains were notable for such feats.
His gut sank as his eyes locked with the intimidating woman before him. Despite her short stature, everyone in the base had already familiarized themselves with Ursula, a member of the Four Fangs. The Four Fangs are a group of especially talented fangsmen that specialized in eliminating special targets. Ursula's cold resolve is infamous in the organization, and she does not hesitate to enforce the fang's laws. Her purple eyes shot straight through Beyard, his thick armor useless in saving his confidence.
Her voice resembled a correctional office, "So not only did you fail to secure the children...but your incompetence led to them finding their way here."
Beyard seemed to sink deeper into his collar, and he felt a bead of sweat drip down his head.
"Yes...they ambushed us...we had no idea that tactician would be in their ranks, there are reports he may have been Azazel." he replied.
Azazel...he remembered seeing him with that man a few years ago. His inhuman golden eyes, blood red eyes, and more importantly his cold intellect. He lacked empathy like Ursula, but unlike her, he seemed completely incapable of any type of emotional stimuli. All that time ago...since his suspected demise.
Ursula shook her head, "That's to be expected, I'm unsure how he's still alive...if the reports about him are true. Regardless, it's only the end that matters. What do you plan on doing?"
Beyard said, "Defend this place with our lives. They're after this ring after all."
He took out a small, shiny ring. Its gray texture shone in the torchlight.
"This I'll be our bait" he added.
Ursula's purple eyes rested on the object.
What fool would risk their lives for an insignificant object? Fools...all of them. Beyard should be able to handle this.
Ursula nodded, "Very well, do not fail us. I will leave to send a letter to Nergal. He needs to know his little pest may have returned."
She turned to leave and opened the door to their chamber, she gave a Beyard a cold look.
"I will return by sunrise, and if the children are not here, I myself will deliver the fang's judgment."
Beyard watched as Ursula left the room. He turned to the two silent soldiers in the room with him.
"You two...come alive! Tell the others we're expecting visitors. Battlestations!" he exclaimed.
"Um...Lyn?"
Lyn looked at her mounted friend, the lavender knight Florina.
"Yes?" she asked.
Florina cleared her throat, "How have you been? Are you tired?"
Lyn took a swig of black coffee from her canteen, "I was...but not anymore."
She was very fortunate for her decision to buy some coffee beans in Araphen. The caffeinated drink was like a shock across her tired body.
Florina awkwardly fumbled with gloves, looking away she said, "Oh...um...t-that's good."
Lyn felt an uneasiness in her voice...which was unusual. She was usually very nervous around men, but never around her. Something was up.
Lyn asked, "Florina, there something you want to tell me?"
Florina replied, "Yeah...I-It's about Mark. You guys have been close lately."
Lyn raised an eyebrow, "Yes...we talk often and we're pretty good friends...oh? Don't tell me you're jealous for my attention are you?"
Although the only light came from the dim emanation of the full moon, she could see Florina's face turn red. "No! Not that at all! It's just...It's just, just."
Lyn softly put her hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to tell me now if you'd like."
"Do you like him?" she blurted out.
Luckily everyone was either too tired or too far away to listen.
Lyn found herself turning the same shade of red, "No! It's n-not like that! W-We just have each other's back that's all! Why would I like him? He's so dorky, annoying, and uptight. Plus he's so awkward!" she exclaimed.
Florina saw Serra look towards them. A notorious gossip. The duo hushed their voices.
Florina said, "Seriously, do you? It's nice to share secrets with friends you know. I won't tell."
Lyn looked away, "W-Well...to be honest, I don't know."
Florina sighed, "He's a nice man. Besides...you two basically just happened onto each other by chance! It must be fate..."
Somewhere else in marching caravan, the dim moonlight revealed a black and purple haired duo lurking through the night.
Erk confidently raised his fire tome, reading the notes he had written on the parchment. He spoke with a very matter-the-fact tone.
"As you know, magic comes with two factors that must be considered anytime it is performed. First, there's magical power, or rather, the ferocity of the magic itself. This is why a fireball from different mages can pack a different punch. MP, as it is for short, can naturally be strong in some folks, and weak in others. Regardless, this can be trained like any normal muscle to strengthen our attacks. The second, Mana, can be explained as a "currency" for magic usage. If you have mana, you can use spells. If you don't have enough and push yourself too hard, you collapse, or worse. This has happened between mages so many times that it was given a name, Magic Deprivation, and in its worst case, Total Magic Deprivation. MD can involve symptoms ranging from a minor headache and feeling of weakness to begin with, to nausea, seizures, a coma, to death for TMD. Along with MP, Mana can be trained for us to have more "currency" by default."
I gleefully scribbled on a notepad, "Mana is used for all magical abilities. It can be used to fling fireballs, raise defenses against other magical attacks (resistance), and healing. Magical Force, the total force magically inflicted unto an action, directly correlates to the MP and Mana used in an incident. The more of both, the more force."
Erk snapped his fingers, "Yes! Are suggesting that if we could quantify Mana and Magical Force, that we could directly quantify the Magical Force inflicted during an incident?!"
I gave a thumbs up, but then groaned, "Probably, but as of yet I'm not aware of any standard unit to express Mana, MP, or MF. Everything that we're talking about is arbitrary."
Erk looked towards the full moon, "I hope to be the man that can find that out."
A familiar green knight yawned behind them, "You two are a bunch of nerds."
Our irritated red knight glared at him.
"Be quiet, Sain." said Kent.
Sain immediately fell in line. He had never seen Kent angry, but would not like to be the first.
"Y-Yes sir." replied Sain.
A tickling sensation built up in Sain's throat, inducing him to cough onto his sleeve. He felt fine afterward and made nothing of it.
Lyn searched the ground for the messy fangsman footprints that have led them this far. Sure enough, they led up directly to the doorway of this ominous fortress. We had finally reached our destination.
We cleared some nearby forest and congregated nearby the building. The fortress exterior was badly visible under the moonlight, but I could still make out it's black painted walls that absorbed most of the light. It resembled a compound with no windows to speak of, and no light emitted from it. The stone walls showed some isolated instances of crumbling, but the structure was sound. It was completely camouflaged in darkness.
Or rather...it was.
There was a snoozing guard leaning against the front gate. I motioned towards Wil, who silently knocked his arrow.
Whack!
The arrow entered the guard's temple, and he fell onto the ground, motionless. We silently made our way through the crimson pool into the bright enclave. Torches lit up the entire place, and there was no way we could maintain stealth.
I whispered to the others, "Proceed with caution and don't make any noise. Stealth is our friend."
Florina neared closer, and her steed Huey spotted another tired guard right around the corner. Huey squealed, alerting the entire building of our presence.
"Intruders! It's them! Everyone attack!" exclaimed the guard.
I glared at the Pegasus who made a crude attempt to hide behind his owner.
Dammit, Huey.
I observed our current situation. There was no judging how many troops this Black Fang have stationed here. With that said, I should plan for our numerical inferiority. I scanned the aquamarine floors and bland, cracked white walls. Some of these walls look they could collapse at any moment, and there was only one corridor connecting the entrance to the rest of the building. The corridor was wide enough to be defended by one man, a detail I took note of this immediately. With our cover blown, there was no point in keeping our voices down.
"Knights! Take the vanguard!" I exclaimed.
"Yes sir!" exclaimed the duo.
Right as they passed me, I stopped them.
"I'm going to need you two to shout as many insults as possible, set them off. But do not instigate combat. Let them come to you." I said.
Kent gave me a puzzled look, "But why? You must be kidding! That type of fighting is dishonorable."
I pointed towards the corridor, "I think we're outnumbered in this fight. You two are going to need as many one-on-one matchups as possible."
The knights immediately understood what I meant. In this mode of fighting, the only thing that matters is the win.
Kent nodded his head, "Understood."
I turned to the rest of the group, "Everyone, here's your assignments..."
About a dozen fangsmen began flooding the stairways up to the action from the basement.
"There's a mage, archer, cleric, and two knights in the east corridor! To arms! We will show them that we are the Fang!" exclaimed a captain.
There will be no reinforcements. They all either capture the children or die trying.
A fireball flew over a wall into Kent's horse, causing him to fall on the floor. Blood spewed from his elbow. He attempted to move it, but he gasped as it failed to do so. He had broken it.
His horse squealed in pain, it's burning flesh filling the corridor with smoke. An axman exploited this opportunity to charge Kent.
Kent was paralyzed as another fireball flew into the axman, with a couple of arrows treating the man's body like their personal pincushion. He felt a force lift him, and as he turned his head, he saw his comrade. Sain put Kent onto his horse.
"Go to the rear, Serra's waiting." he said.
Kent extended his good hand to his horse, "But my horse..."
Sain looked at the burning corpse that used to be Kent's horse, the squealing had ceased a moment ago. He said nothing.
He sent Kent away as he took out his sword to face his next opponent, a soldier with a lance. Erk was nearby, quickly turning to his next available page in his tome. He had about 20 more pages until the tome was useless.
Sain thought about his fallen friend, and with a renewed ferocity, he screamed at the soldier, "WELL?! YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE?!"
He slammed his sword into a nearby wall. "I'LL BRING DOWN THIS WHOLE BUILDING! I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!"
The bandit charged forward, and Sain dodged the lance to grab his opponent's collar. He moved his grasp to his neck and shifted his weight, using this technique to slam his head into the ground. He took his sword and cut open his skull.
With the deed done, he turned towards the long line of frightened fangsman waiting to die. He raised his still bloody sword as brain matter slid down the tip of the blade.
Although Sain didn't notice, there was bloodlust in his eyes that even frightened Erk and Wil.
Sain felt his sanity leave him. With the voice befitting of a mad man, he exclaimed, "Who's next!?"
We had advanced my group to another doorway. Our enemies' bodies littered the cobblestone behind us.
I focused some of my mana into an explosion that tore open the door. As I successfully deduced, the room should connect us to the rest of the building, and eventually, their commander. I smirked as the debris flew in every direction.
This is too easy...this Black Fang is no match for my intellect!
As the smoke cleared from the blast, I lowered my hand to observe my work.
Suddenly, an arrow emerged from the opening. As it was within a couple of meters of my face, I immediately threw myself onto the ground, and the arrowhead grazed the side of it. I felt my skin brush against the sharp floor, with the friction tearing, but not breaking it.
I heard a small voice scream in pain.
"Agh!"
I turned to see Florina fall onto the floor. The shocked look on her face said enough.
"Florina!" exclaimed Lyn.
For a second, I felt as the world around me slowed down. I placed my hand onto my new wound, and a blob of sticky crimson painted my bruised skin. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread fill my body, and the world around me went numb...
Lyn rushed to Florina's side as she attempted to administer a vulnerary that deeply cut the left side Florina's bleeding face. Wil let an arrow fly into the archer's abdomen, and he fell back onto a wall. With the wall as support, he began to knock another arrow towards us. Wil fumbled his new arrow as it helplessly fell onto the ground.
Wil swore, "Shit!"
Rath immediately drew his bow and implanted an arrow into the assaulter's forehead. The archer slumped against the wall and did not move again.
Rath angrily glared at the tactician who's arrogance had nearly caused Florina's death. He found him frozen in place, unmoving.
Something about him was off. He was suspicious of him since the beginning. This did not help to ease his doubt of this man...
I was in a familiar place, the Sacaen plains. Except, rather than the comforting feeling I had associated it with Lyn, I felt a disturbing aura. I saw a small ger. The very same one I had started my journey in. The bright sun, morbidly transformed into a blood moon. The ger, instantly multiplied into many others. I blinked, and instantly, they all erupted in flames. Many people erupted from the buildings, some shriveling up into an ember, others falling onto the floor, blue to the face. Oh God...the screaming. A ger appeared in front of me, with a huge red X painted on the door. I walked in, and saw a bloody knife with a red-eyed old man sitting on a table alone. He dug the knife into my arm, but I didn't feel any pain. As I saw a red crimson flow from my body, the blood puddled up into the floor, and a red demon emerged from it.
The man and the demon-faced me, and in unison they said:
"You can't run away from this...you did this. Wake up Azazel. Return to your master."
I heard a soft, high voice.
"Mark, are you alright?"
I awoke leaning against a wall, Florina was grabbing my sweating hand. Far away, I could hear the sounds of battle.
"W-What? W-Where am I?" I asked.
Florina let go, "We're still in the fortress, you just collapsed in the middle of battle."
I looked at Florina's new scar, compared to the original injury, it was quite small. It covered an area just above Florina's right eye.
"You almost died...that scar. It's my fault."
Florina replied, "What makes you say that?"
"I put you in the position to get hurt. I foolishly leveled that door without thinking if there was somebody on the other side. I-I was foolish. I should've planned for t-that."
Florina said, "I understand that you may think this was your fault. But please don't trouble yourself. I understood the risks when I joined you and Lyn. Lyn is my best friend, and I want to help her get to where she needs to be, and I would give my life to protect her. But please Mark, don't lose sleep over this. We're in a battle. Things like this happen. You can't plan everything. Besides...you're only human."
I calmed my mind, and took a moment to think about what Florina just said, "Thank you, Florina...where are the others?"
She pointed towards the corridor, "After they applied the vulnerary, they picked you up and placed you here. Lyn wanted to stay until you came to, but Rath said it was important that we killed the commander. Everyone else is either helping them or Sain on the corridor.
I stood up, and looked at the blood that stained Florina's right arm, "We should go meet them if you feel alright."
Florina nodded her head and stood up to mount Huey, "Yes, we should."
As we began walking back towards the group, Florina asked, "Hey, what exactly happened back there when you collapsed? Lyn mentioned that you were dealing with something earlier."
I thought of the disturbing memory I had just experienced. It seemed so real. I just couldn't fathom what I had done before I met Lyn. I didn't want to.
I replied, "I don't really want to talk about it."
Florina looked like she wanted to ask something else, but didn't. She respected my desire to keep this part of me private. As we walked towards our colleagues, I didn't realize this was the first time Florina had confidently spoken with me.
"Agh…" said Beyard.
Beyard leaned against a wall as blood flowed from multiple injuries from his body. Lyn pointed her sword towards him.
"Give us the ring! Swear that you will leave those two children alone! If I have your vow...we will spare your life." she exclaimed.
Beyard briefly thought of following the young girl's demands, but soon thought of Ursula.
I will return by sunrise, if the children are not here, I myself will deliver the fang's judgment.
He dug into his cloak and received the cyanide that he had procured a long time ago. He had hoped he would never need to use it, as he had wanted to accomplish much in life. He thought of what Ursula said again, and he knew what he had to do. He had to take his fate into his own hands.
Beyard took the cyanide pills and placed them on his tongue, he slammed his molars shut, and the poison rapidly entered his bloodstream. He lost the feeling of his legs, leaned against a nearby wall.
"Failure means death." he said.
He collapsed, foaming from the mouth. His skull cracked against the pavement, the sound echoing across the empty hallways. Blood surrounded Lyn's feet.
Kent and the others flooded the room, Lyn was covering her mouth with her right hand, shaken to her very core.
"He...took his own life." she said.
Kent was a bloodied mess, his usually well-kept hair was strewn around his scalp. His iron sword had a large crack going down the center, evidence of constant fighting. He walked with a limp, and Wil struggled to support his frame.
He replied, "An organization that instills indoctrination over self-preservation. This is no ordinary band of brigands. They're well organized and seem to be pursuing an agenda."
Erk, throwing his now useless fire tome aside, said, "It seems we may have made very powerful enemies. This was not an easy fight."
Far away, we could hear the loud clatter of armor. Sain hobbled his way into the room, Serra in tow.
"Get back here! You're still injured!" she exclaimed.
Sain took one step and fell over under his own weight.
He muttered, "Keep pushing...until...the very end."
Everyone stood shocked as it Sain went still. Serra placed her staff near the knight, and to everyone's relief, Sain gave a thumbs up. He's going to live. From that day onward, everyone's respect for the man increased greatly.
Lyn broke the silence, "This Black Fang...what do they want with Ninian and Nils?"
Everyone shifted their attention to the pair, both looked very uncomfortable by the added attention. They both looked on and said nothing.
Florina and I walked in the room, and I looked upon the commander's dead body.
"Looks like we missed all the action." I said.
Rath glared at me, "If by missing all the action, you mean passing out for seemingly no reason, then yes."
Huh? Where is this coming from?
I swallowed my pride, "Thank you for saving my life Rath. I'm sure Florina is as well."
Rath shot back, "Don't deflect the question tactician. Who just collapses in the middle of a battle? You're a liability. I'm starting to be suspicious of you're motives with us. "
I walked away from Florina and neared the nomad. I dropped all sense of complacency.
I spoke with a serious tone, "What are you suggesting recruit?"
Rath glared at me, "Who just randomly shows up at the house of the then-unknown heir of Caelin? Why would said person just happen to be a tactician, one of the rarest jobs here in Elibe? Why were you just willing to stick with the heiress when you don't stand to gain anything from this? Tell me...am I not right to think you have some ulterior motives?"
I clenched my fist, "I don't have any ulterior motives. My purpose here is like everyone else's. I want to see Lyn reunited with her grandfather."
Rath spat on my boots, "You're a liar."
A well of anger surged throughout my body. Without thinking, I grabbed the nomad's collar.
I angrily said, "Take that back."
Rath pushed his right leg against the ground. He clenched his fist and punched me across the face.
I caught myself before my head his the pavement. I received my tome and began casting my fire spell...
"STOP!"
I ceased mid-syllable, and Lyn threw herself between Rath and I. Rath had his bow pointed towards my head.
Lyn was noticeably shaken. She had her head hanging low as she attempted to conceal her tears.
She angrily said, "Stop this...please. I don't want to see you two fight."
Rath slammed his hand against the wall, "Do you not feel that this man is dangerous?! He has shown his capacity for intelligence, yet despite that his actions nearly killed Florina. Do you not suspect that this was intentional?"
Florina entered the fray, her bandaged head was visible to everyone.
She said, "No way! Mark would never do such a thing!"
Rath added, "How do you know? Do you really know Mark? For all we know it could be an assumed name. You judge a man on their past actions...yet this man's past was conveniently omitted. For all we know, this man could be a mole from Lundgren himself!"
The room went silent. I could feel the eyes of everyone around lay on my person. The anxiety of the situation caused my brain to be muddled...and I could not answer Rath's accusations. I looked over at Lyn for some assistance, but she looked away as she seemed to consider my relationship with her.
My savior came from an unlikely source.
"Just a thought"
We all turned towards our mage, and Erk cleared his throat.
"If Mark really was as malicious as you say he is...then explain why he successfully us led battle to battle. Battle against the Ganelon? Win. Battle against some mysterious organization? Win. Battle against Lundgren's own men? Also a win. What you're suggesting just doesn't add up. Why would a mole lead an army against soldiers of his own master? Besides...why would a mole repeatedly risk his own life for us?"
I smiled as I began to appreciate my newfound friend. The mage from Etruria.
Thank you Erk!
Florina said, "M-Mark's a nice man. I don't think he'd do anything to hurt us on purpose."
Serra added, "A man that gets hurt as many times as him, usually don't have evil intentions."
The majority of the Legion nodded their heads. Rath glumly looked away.
Lyn raised her voice, "Well, now that we have the ring...we should probably get going now correct?"
A flurry of approval flooded the fortress, everyone was ready to finally hit the hay.
As we made our way through to the front entrance, we had to walk past the countless bodies of former fangsmen. The uncomforting sight caused us to leave the fortress the same way we got in, in silence.
Although I made the journey back with Erk, I didn't have the heart to talk to anyone.
Lyn had been thinking about what happened earlier for a long time, and felt embarrassed.
Why didn't I speak up for him? He's my best friend! I know Mark! He wouldn't do anything to hurt us on purpose! He's only human...
Lyn made her way back towards me, but was stopped by Erk.
She said, "I want to talk to him."
Erk shook his head, "He requested to walk back in silence, and that goes for everybody, not even you."
She frowned, "I see."
She looked at me, but I avoided eye contact. I gazed at the waning moon that provided our only light...
We made it back around midnight, and everyone that could go to sleep did. I knew I had to wake up early to purchase a new horse for Kent, but despite the need, I couldn't doze away as easily like before. A flood of thoughts crowded my mind.
What if Rath is right? Am I a liability...?
Not even Lyn wanted to defend me! Why didn't she...!
This Azazel...these memories. What the hell! Why can't I do anything about it...?!
Florina's bloodied face, I know she said not to worry about it...but I can't stop thinking about it...
I can't keep living like this! I can't...
Eventually, somewhere tangled within my own thoughts, I found myself finally able to sleep. A burden was finally lifted.
Matthew snuck away in the night to a tree located just outside the village. Confident that he wasn't being watched, he dug his hand into one of the branches to receive a letter. Intel. He tore open the envelope and read its contents.
Dear Littlefoot,
We have reports that the tactician currently with your party is an agent of the Black Fang. His name is Azazel. His appearance is pale skin, black hair, and golden eyes. Determine his intentions and if necessary, protect the heiress at all costs.
Matthew looked at the rough sketch given to him, there was no doubt in his mind that this tactician had a striking resemblance. He looked at the message underneath it.
Permission to terminate is granted.
From, Robin.
A/N: This chapter took a really dark turn. It won't always be like that, but I felt it was crucial for the narrative I'm trying to build. If y'all think I'm being to forceful, feel free to PM me.