A/N: Chapter 11 of Rekindle. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OC. Tales of Beresia belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

Chapter 11: Eizen and White Turtlez

West Laban Tunnel...

"Well, aren't you the impudent one." Velvet spoke after the blond haired male asked us to join his crew because we apparently, 'passed the test'. "Honestly wasn't expecting you to say that."

"Says the daemon who torched Hellawes." was the snippy remark, one blond eyebrow raised with mild interest. "You and I aren't too different if you think about it."

"You knew about that? Word goes around fast I guess..."

"I hope you realize we're doing you a favor." The leader of the pirates spoke with utmost importance, like he expected us to return the gratitude in some way, shape or form. "If you'd stayed on that course, you would've smashed right up against the Gate of Vortigern."

"You're headed for Midgand, aren't you?" His second in command, the male with the hat and the silly bird on top whose name is Benwick, questioned cheerfully. "That means you're gonna have to go through the narrows up ahead. But the kingdom has a massive fortress there built to defend them...with a tremendous gate."

"Gates are puny and weak!" I barked, picking at a tooth with a hand. Wrapping my tails around myself for comfort I added, "I can crush it no problem if I were to eat something."

"But a fortress...with probably iron defense..." Velvet crossed her arms and thought about it. "This is harder than we originally imagined."

"If this is true then we're in your debt." said Rokurou.

"We desire to pass through as well, but we lack the strength." The tall malakhim admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I propose we form a partnership. In fact, it may be better if I take that rascal off your hands."

"Huh?" I looked at him as if he grew a second head. "What did you say?"

"I've seen you fight and you didn't use all your strength. You're strong and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get you to come with me." He gazed at me with stern blue eyes, "What do you say? Will you join us?"

"I don't answer to anyone...especially not someone like you who seems to like giving out orders on a daily basis." I frowned, crossing my arms with defiance over my chest. I barely missed the relieved looks on the faces of the others since I was so preoccupied staring him down. "I wanted a way off the island and I got one through the people I came aboard with. My agenda is completely different from yours anyhow and I don't even like you."

"It doesn't matter whether you like me or not. You will join my crew."

"You can't take her from my crew since I found her first." Velvet narrowed her eyes in warning, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rise with anger. "And it seems like she's in an agreement as well. If you want you, you'll have to fight me for her."

"Who are you to make a call like that?" He growled, seizing her up. The two of them had been arguing back and forth that it was causing headaches among both crew and daemons alike. "But that's enough of that, would you instead think about extending that olive branch and aid us in our quest?"

"I'd be a fool to blindly trust the words of a pirate." Velvet answered before adding, noting that some of the men were glaring at her as well, "And I'm sure none of your men would like to sail with her." She jabbed a thumb in my direction. "Not after what she did to your poor ship mate."

"You may be correct about that, but do you really want to see the gate for yourself? We won't stop you and we'll even throw you a nice funeral if you like." The muscular blond challenged before walking forward. The others tensed up, assuming he wanted to go another round, but the pirate just walked past without so much as lifting a finger.

"So, what? Are we allowed to refuse?" Magilou asked when he just breezed past without showing any more animosity. "For a pirate such as you to allow your opponents a way out, considered me surprised."

"Your business is your business, and ours is ours. There's nothing more to say."

"Good. Getting tired of all this pirate stench so the farther away you guys are, the more air I can breathe." I remarked just as Benwick rushed up to him with a concerning expression upon his face.

"But First Mate! Y–You can't go alone! We'll all come with you!"

"You'll only get in the way. Stick to the plan and focus on your duties aboard the Van Eltia." with that he continued walking till he left the rest of us behind. While the pirate crew loitered around with nothing else to do, Velvet and the others tried to decide what was the next course of action.

"Tragically, your favorite witch is neither a sailor nor a warrior. All she can really do is look on."

"Who said you were our favorite witch?"

"You're so mean!" Magilou pouted at Velvet's statement, her cheeks puffing up into the size of small golf balls. "Honestly how can some people stand your attitude?"

"And besides, I have no argument to what you said. Because it's true."

"...I can't believe some people actually like you since your demeanor is quite...the rude type."

"Is the Gate of Vortigern really something that impressive, Dyle?" Rokurou asked the lizard daemon who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I've never seen it before."

"They've got a fortress and a patrolling fleet if I remember correctly, but the gate is the real show." Dyle replied after thinking and collecting his thoughts. "Even a battleship couldn't blast its way through that thing...that little girlie said something interesting. I wonder if she really can take on a gate like that..."

"Before we attempt that option, is there no sea route that avoids the narrows all together?" asked Velvet.

"There is, so to speak, but it's a long way out into the open sea." Dyle scratched his head and sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We'd just end up shipwrecked."

"Well that's no good." Velvet mused before making her way over to where the pirates were clustered together. Her sights were on the blond boy with the funny hat, Benwick was his name. He looked up when he noticed her approaching them and turned to face her. "What are you folks planning, anyway? Seeing that you came to stop us and all..."

"Like I said, we're getting through that gate. If you're not helping us, then the conversation's over." He said plainly, definitely not a friendly tone in his voice, but he does seem guarded.

"You trying to guilt trip us, boy?" I snarled angrily, feeling my tails sway side-to-side restlessly when my ears picked up on their conversation. "Why we decided to talk to you is beyond me. And I'm still starving!"

"Is it possible to get through?" Velvet ignored me and focused her eyes on the pirate, staring hard enough to the point it looked as though she was staring into his soul.

"If the first mate says he'll do it, he'll do it." Benwick proclaimed proudly, puffing out his chest with confidence. "It doesn't matter that he's a malak. He's got the captain's blessing, and that's enough for us."

"Couldn't you ignore the narrows and just sail around?

"Not now. We lost both our compass and several of our crew in an earlier attack." Benwick shook his head, missing Velvet's reaction to the word 'compass'. Even Number Two reacted to the word but he just looked at the ground with dismay. "But in the end, we're pirates. If someone blocks our way, we can't just fall back!"

"And that's what makes a pirate huh?" Leaving them to their devices, Velvet trudged her way back to her own band of misfits. "The pirates share our goal. I don't think we have any choice but to band together.

"True enough! If forward lies destruction, and backwards lies doom, sideways is your only option!" Magilou chirped, pretty happy about her dramatic performance.

"And yet you don't feel like you want to help out." Velvet growled angrily, her right hand curled into a tight fist.

"I sure don't!" The sorceress admitted with pure honesty.

"That malak isn't all he seems to be. Who knows what's up his sleeves..." Rokurou warned, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "We have to be extra careful when talking to him."

"The kid's a malak too." Magilou walked over to him and asked, "You sense anything out of him?" The kid didn't respond with full words, but he did let out a small 'hmph'. Definitely not coherent or understandable language.

"We both have ulterior motives. In any case, let's go after him." Velvet ordered, waving her hand for us to follow.

"We may need a new navigator who can actually help us get through the rough patches."

"Right, because I couldn't even navigate worth a damn." Dyle scoffed with sarcasm, crossing his arms over his chest and refused to go with us. Magilou herself decided to stay behind as well, stating that she wanted to do some self research among the crew. "Excuse me for not trying to run our ship aground! Good luck trying to swim your way to Midgand."

"Then you can wait with the sorceress and the pirates. If they start moving then go with them. Since we're going to be with their captain, we'll rendezvous at the same spot regardless." was all Velvet said before she led Rokurou, the malak and I into the impending darkness.

Inside the cavern...

The dampness within created goosebumps to appear along my skin. I couldn't even fathom the thought of letting any of my tails to trail along the surfaces, but luckily for me the ground I walked on was all grass. All sorts of smells bombarded my nose but one in particular caught my attention and it belonged to the malakhim I traded blows with from before. So far the only monsters we had to fight were the slimy slugs that fell from the ceiling.

"There he is." My eyes found the tall, blond-haired male as he finished off what seemed to be a scorpion. The creature let out a death cry before exploding into tiny dark particles.

"So, you have decided to trust a pirate." He spoke, rolling his neck to get the kink out. Turning around he focused on us with a tiny smirk on his face. "Definitely not what I expected to happen."

"Don't get your hopes up." Velvet replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "But if you're prepared to lend us the use of your ship and crew until we reach the capital, we'll help you in exchange."

"...I'll agree to those terms. But there's something I should tell you first." The male spoke after mulling over the pros and cons in his mind. Fishing around his pocket, he took out what looked like a gold coin and flicked it into the air.

Hmmm? The image of a reaper and an angel? I narrowed my eyes when I noticed what was on the faces of the coin. Definitely mimics the ideas of life and death...

"I bring ill fortune to all those around me. The 'Reaper's Curse' if you will..."

"Huh, so you're not too far off from me." I mused, idling brushing a tail fur with a hand. "In terms of having a curse I mean."

"I could flip this coin a thousand times and still land on tails." The man opened his hand to show us the face of death lying on his palm. "Trying to get through the fort cost the lives of five good sailors, ones of which I'll never get back. If you join up with me, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Since when has that ever meant anything? Normally something like that should be said to the enemy..." I bared my teeth at him. "Don't think for a second that we're some spineless creatures. If we're comparing curse power, I have no doubt I have you beat in that department."

"Why would you go out of your way to warn us?" Velvet questioned him.

"Even daemons don't want to meet an unfair death, right?" Not waiting for an answer he tossed the coin, watching as she caught it with a bewildered expression on her face. "If you still want to come with me, just know the risks. It's better than not giving a heads-up."

"Works for me." Velvet gave him back the coin without bothering to look at it. "I land on tails, I'll flip it to heads on my own." Turning his hand over and uncurling his fingers, the head of the angel gazed back at him.

"Your name?" He asked, putting the coin back in his pocket.

"Velvet. This is Number Two." She gestured to the small malak beside her who bowed his head in response but didn't say any words.

"I'm Rokurou. A pleasure." The dark-haired daemon samurai introduced himself.

"Klare Ahri." I spoke when I noticed the man staring at me, his arms folded over his chest. "Seems like we're gonna team up. Consider yourself lucky because now I can't eat you."

"Ahri? As in the Ahri Clan? Now that's a name I've heard of in legends, now I'm seeing one with my own eyes." He nodded his head with approval. "Very well. I'm Eizen."

"Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, I'm sure you have a plan of attack. Let's hear it." Velvet prompted him.

"To put it bluntly, Vortigern is impregnable. It won't fall to an attack whether by sea or by land."

"So, no plan? That's not reassuring in the slightest." Rokurou commented.

"Wait. What about both at once?" Velvet asked, watching as a small smirk made itself present on Eizen's face. "You're grinning. That means you're thinking the same as I."

"Exactly. We send in the Van Eltia to draw their fleet out of the narrows. So while that's happening we slip inside and open the sea gate ourselves. But not is lost, the Van Eltia will break away and rush back into the channel. Once we climb aboard we'll push through."

"One problem with that plan. If we screw up just one step we're all good as dead." I spoke, the gears within my mind grinding against one another.

"Then don't screw up and we won't die. It's as simple as that."

"Velvet, the iciness of your voice fails to have any affect on me. I don't know why you even try to threaten me." I snapped as I walked past, smacking the back of her head with a tail or two for good measure. "Bantering is so energy consuming and a waste of breath."

"But then again, walking with the reaper, eh? Not a pleasant thought." Rokurou chuckled, folding his arms behind his head. "Although, we were already traveling with a monstrous beast so, one more odd ball isn't going to make any difference! The more the merrier!"

"The plan is already in motion. Let's move, this cave leads to the fortress." Eizen jerked his head before I had a chance to retort, indicating that he would take the lead for awhile. Not complaining we followed him through the cavern and fought monsters along the way.

"The kid's awfully quiet. You think maybe there's something wrong with him?" Rokurou spoke up, glancing at Velvet who just gave him the side-eye. Number Two toiled behind, his hand wrapped around mine; I don't know what it was but his presence was special. I also thought it was cute that he wanted to hold hands in the first place, a hand that wasn't Velvet's for once.

"Number Two's always that way. What more do you want from him?" was the response.

"Stop that. Calling him by a number is cruel."

Hmmmm? My eyebrow arched in wonder when the kid came to a stop and he turned his head to the right. Trying to follow his line of sight I squinted my eyes against the poorly lit surrounding. What's he looking at? A plant?

"Is that so? What does 'Rokurou' mean?" Velvet questioned.

"Well, 'Son Number Six.' if we wanted to be technical..."

"Same thing, then. It's a number."

"Not even remotely!"

"...oh, is something over there?" Number Two was pulling at my hand gently, and I moved my feet to follow him. However because I had my attention drawn, the other three disappeared. My ears swiveled around in hopes of picking up the bickering but I heard nothing. Ah, damn it. Where the hell did they go?

Skitter~ Skitter~ Skitter~

"A cave scorpion?!" I looked behind me as the creature came at us, its pincers clacking together with excitement. "How did it come here so fast?" Number Two made a noise but covered his mouth with both hands. Unfortunately the monster heard it and went towards him instead. Its tail swayed back and forth before shooting forward, aiming straight for the head.

"Oh no you don't!" I quickly wrapped Number Two up with my tails, wincing when the barbed tip broke through the fur and embedded into my flesh. A tingly feeling floated up and I swore I just got poisoned. Enraged and creating a large blue fireball with one hand I lobbed it, setting the creature aflame. With a dying screech it rolled over onto its back and faded away into little particles. "Fuck off."

"Oi! You two kiddos alright?!" Eizen rushed up with concern, watching as I unwrapped my tails from Number Two. "What happened back here?"

"Why didn't you two say something?!" Velvet yelled at us when she and Rokurou arrived next. "If Eizen hadn't noticed in time, you'd be dead! Both of you!"

"Ha! You think I'd die to something like that?! Who do you think I am!" I shot back before my inflamed tail reminded me of my wound. Lumbering away I said, "I'm gonna go and take care of this before the poison reaches my heart or something like that. And don't bother escorting, I'll follow my nose out. See you on the other side." With that, I disappeared.

"You ordered me to keep my mouth shut..." Number Two answered Velvet's question, lowering his head like he was ashamed. Honestly he looked a kid who was scolded by his mother.

"That's not what I meant!" Her eyes brimming with shock as well as with sadness, Velvet placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him violently. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Easy there, Velvet." Rokurou placed a hand on her shoulder. "You might scare him even more."

"Let me guess, kid...you were bound by an exorcist?" Eizen spoke up after pondering the thought. He got a head nod in response. He let out a sigh, "I thought so. This boy already has his will sealed away. Malakhim have individual personalities, just like humans. But exorcists have developed methods to seal those personalities away...so they can use malakhim as uncomplaining tools."

"Will he always be like this?" asked Velvet, glancing at Number Two with concern.

"Can't say for sure. I've never seen one escape the exorcists before."

"Then, let's continue on our way." Eizen spoke, noting that there was nothing left for them to stick around for. "We can't let the other lady to wait long."

"Listen, kid. If you're ever in trouble, speak up, ok?" Rokurou turned to address Number Two who trotted by their side. "You nearly gave Velvet a heart attack if I ever saw one. Frankly, she looked like she wanted to tear through hell and back just for you."

"If I'm in...trouble?" Number Two repeated without emotion. The samurai turned to address Eizen instead, wanting to know more about the relationship between exorcists and malakins.

"You said exorcists bind malakhim's free will? How do they do that exactly?"

"Not sure how, but it should be by some kind of spell. We've lived in this land a long time, and we're our own folk, just like humans." Eizen explained to him before shrugging his shoulders. "Only a small portion of humans – those with strong resonance, like the exorcists – were able to perceive our existence."

"But the Advent changed that, didn't it." Rokurou said.

"Now malakhim can be seen by ordinary people. We're being robbed of our free will and made into obedient tools. Humans praise Artorius for providing a miraculous new weapon against daemons, but malakhim aren't mere objects."

"Malakhim aren't things..." Number Two whispered.

"They are." Velvet spoke with conviction before explaining, "As far as Artorius is concerned, malakhim, daemons, and humans are all nothing more than tools. Everything that can have their wills stripped away are used to service his utopia of reason. That's all anyone is to him...Even my brother..."

"Are we there yet? How far out is this tunnel...?" Rokurou asked after half an hour of walking. "We haven't even seen Klare, wonder if she already got out."

"Oh she didn't. I can assure you that's true."

"What? You spot her already?" The samurai looked at Velvet with surprise.

"Yeah, she's talking to that weird looking character." She pointed with a finger in the general direction. "Let's go check it out."

Somewhere near the back of the cavern...

"Turtlez! Turtlez!"

"Yeah yeah, you said that for quite some time now. These...'turtlez' must be amazing creatures." I couldn't help my eyes from rolling into my skull. However, my right ear twitched to the sound of footsteps, and turning around I realized that it was the others. "Oh, you caught up didn't you? What took you so long?"

"I see you haven't made it out yet. What happened? You were so confident that you'd get outside before the rest of us." Eizen asked me.

"I figured out that the more I moved, the faster the poison flowed through my blood stream. So, I sat here to lick away at the wound when this fellow came along shouting 'Turtlez'. There's only so much my saliva could handle on the surface level, but fortunately he gave me medicine to cure the rest of it that already went further along."

"Are you a...turtle daemon or something?" Velvet asked the unknown stranger, an eyebrow raised in wonder. "What a weird thing to say?"

"No no, you gotz it all wrong! I'm the White Turtlez. Sorry about spookin' youz all!" White Turtlez replied before dipping his head to me. "I wasz just lookin' after youz friend!"

"If you're not a daemon, then perhaps you're a malak?" Rokurou wagered a guess. "Strangest malak I've ever seen too."

"Nope! I'm just a plain ol' Turtlez! Nothin' more 'n nothin' less!" He replied, getting some more curious expressions from the group. "I'm sure you guyz have lotsa questionz about me, but for now, I'd appreciate it if you could hold off on 'em!"

"Uh, right...sure. If you insist."

"Much oblige!"

"Don't ask for too much, he's not gonna play fair any way." I spoke up from where I sat, draping an arm over a knee. "Give me a few more minutes and the poison should be completely out of my system."

"The Turtlez are traveling merchants of considerable savvy. Their services could be quite useful for members of the underworld like us." Eizen informed us based on his knowledge of the group.

"You don't say? Sounds handy." Velvet thought about it. "We could use them to our advantage later when our missions become dangerous."

"You betcha! And at ol' White Turtlez's Shop, we believe the customer's smile is what matterz most! That bein' said, this being where it is, my pricez unfortunately might be a little on the high-"

"Oh no you don't." The therion interrupted, knowing just what was about to happen and decided to stop the train before it left the thought station. "You're gonna give us a bargain."

"I'd love to do that, tootz, but when you doez business out in remote areaz like this, the costz add up and, well..."

"You're just taking advantage of the situation." Velvet narrowed her eyes in warning. "Am I correct?"

"Um...I cant'z entirely deny that, but..." White Turtlez shivered when he noticed the spike in danger level. He could practically see the waves of anger rolling off Velvet. "Perhaps there's somethingz else that could make youz customers happy? A happy medium if youz will?"

"Then that settles it. You'll do business with us at market prices and that's final." Velvet huffed as she felt satisfied with how she handled the business transaction.

"We should seal the deal with a smile, too, since it matters so much to him." Rokurou chuckled at the frown that soon appeared on Velvet's face. He grinned widely, "Like this!"

"M-Much obliged." White Turtlez whimpered, clearly feeling uncomfortable at the smile. "At these pricez, I'm gonna goez in the redz..."

"You ready to go?" Velvet asked me as the male searched through the goods White Turtlez had to offer.

"Yeah...I believe I'm ready to go. Wait a minute..." Standing up I took a deep breath and exhaled. Small particles of dust left my mouth and disappeared into the air. Noticing the intrigued look I said, "Sometimes when we get ailments such as paralysis, poison or sickness we have a way of expelling it out of our bodies. What you saw was the last remnants of poison. Alright, now I'm ready."

"And we are too." Eizen said as he, Rokurou and Number Two approached us after doing their shopping. "We aren't far from the exit."