When everyone was awake, we met by the fountain. I vaguely remember a voice just before I drifted off again, but I didn't care about thinking about it now. I felt more tired than when I first woke up so my thoughts were a bit scattered anyway. We decided to continue north out of the village, as we had come from the south. The group was larger than just the trio now, so there was a little more energy to it. Sips had forgiven me, since he's just that kind of guy. He was talking about random things he just thought about – some that should have been left unsaid. Xephos was more involved than usual; most likely due to being with Honeydew again. They were always close. The two mages conversed about various magical things, stuff I probably should know about but don't. Overall, the group was more lively and happy than when it was just Xephos and I, or Rythian, Honeydew and I. It felt more like the old times. All our banter and laughs...that seemed like another lifetime. We were soon met with tainted ground, which we avoided carefully. Honeydew, being a clumsy dwarf, almost walked straight into it. But with a little help from the spaceman, he narrowly avoided it. For a while after we were joking about what had happened or what could have happened. Our laughter was swiftly interrupted by something we saw ahead. They were dressed the same way as the figure – in a cloak so it was impossible to see anything – but it wasn't them. Maybe...it was one of the other two I saw. I thought they were just figments of my imagination, but turns out they weren't. The new figure stood, their arms folded in front of them. By their stature and build, I would say it was a girl, but there was no way for sure to tell. Not right now, at least.

"Who are you?" We waited, but 'she' said nothing. I glanced at the others, taking a cautious step towards her. "Hello?" I asked. The figure lifted their head, allowing me to see under the hood. I stumbled back, terrified at what I saw. "..." I could feel my heart beating fast in my chest, looking up at the girl. It was definitely a girl. The girl I saw though...I thought I'd never see her again; not until I joined her. "...N-Nano..." My voice was shallow.

"What?" Xephos asked. "Are you going mad, Sjin? You know Nano is dead!" The words hurt, but they were lies. He walked towards Nano, watching her unmoving figure. He pulled the hood back, and the truth was clear. It WAS Nano. "...!" Xephos didn't have any words for this; I almost felt smug. The group was in shock. "How is she alive?!" The spaceman asked. "Nano, is it you?" He asked, watching her. She merely looked up at him, blinking once. "Nano?" He asked again. Still no response. I did notice the spread of taint more on her skin, like paint running across her. Not all her skin was taint, however, which just emphasized the amount of taint on her. Poor Nano...why her? She remained still, silent. It couldn't be her...how...? She's dead!

"How can you be Nano?!" I shouted. "Stop toying with us! Who are you really?!" I almost pleaded. 'Nano' slowly looked over at me. She smiled, before a chuckle left her lips. It sounded the same... Maybe the taint COULD revive people... No. This was just a trick! I slowly stood up, my hand finding the way to the hilt of my diamond sword. I went to attack her, when she 'blinked' like an Enderman would. She appeared further away, before she disappeared. "Damn it...it's toying with us now!" I growled. I felt a hand on my shoulder which, even without knowing who it was, comforted me. Rythian teleported to where Nano last was, soon teleporting back. He held a note in his hand, showing it to all of us.

You'd better hurry north. Your friends might get into some trouble, if you don't.

"We'd better hurry then." We all nodded. Rythian managed to teleport us a way forwards, before he became tired. Nilesy helped him walk, while the rest of us went on ahead. "I wonder what's happened to them...they'll be alright, won't they?" I glanced at Xephos, who nodded.

"Yes. They'll be fine. They can look after themselves." He looked at me. "There's no need to worry about everyone, Sjin." He shrugged. "Most people can look after themselves." Xephos looked ahead. I thought about asking him again, but I remembered what he had said. Everyone has their secrets. But we still trust each other. There was no need to pry anymore. Everyone will always keep something to themselves. It didn't matter what it was, mostly. I could hear the others talking behind us, but I didn't register what they were saying. Just the noise. "Is that...another castle?" I was almost sick of castles. But, sure enough, there stood a tall structure that looked pretty much like a castle. "I suppose that they might be in there, then." He added. I nodded, glancing back at the group. Everyone had seen it, and I could bet they were thinking the same thing. Well, now we get to go into another castle. Yay.


Around the castle looked relatively untainted, even though I expected there SHOULD be more taint. Especially if Nano was telling us about it. It...couldn't have been Nano, though. Was it just the taint playing tricks on us? Screwing with our minds to confuse us? I guess it just wanted easy prey. But what if it WAS Nano, and somehow she was healed...? No. She's dead. She can't be-

"No!" Rythian's shout caused my heart to stop. It was full of pain and suffering. When my eyes saw the sight, my breath caught in my throat. There sat our three lost friends...with an unmoving body between them. The familiar red hair was all that was needed to identify her. The Enderborn instantly picked Zoeya up, keeping her close. "No..." I had never heard him so distraught before. He could usually keep his calm, but this...this was too much. This much despair...it would break your soul. Everyone was silent, not really knowing what to do or say. We left Rythian to his mourning, as I sat beside the three.

"Did you find her like that?" I asked quietly. Trottimus nodded, his body held within his lover's arms.

"Yes. Well...not exactly. We found her as she was dying." He started. "She collapsed right in front of us. We couldn't do anything. But...she...said that she would be happy...with Rythian..." He looked at the ground. "We said he was alive...and she was happy all the same. Then she was taken..." Trottimus took a deep breath, the weight of her death clearly on his shoulders.

"It's not your fault." I put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. Though, I don't think it helped much. "Anyway...are you three ok?" The familiar wolf nuzzled his head against my gloved hand, showing that he was indeed alright. Alsmiffy nodded, but Trottimus just remained silent. "...Well, that's good at least. Nano...well, we're not sure whether it was her or not...but she said you might be in trouble. Maybe...she meant Zoeya." I sighed, closing my eyes. This reunion was bad but good, sad yet happy. Why is that the case with almost everything now? I noticed Xephos place his hand against the door to the castle. I guess he was wondering whether it would open or not. By his side was his faithful dwarven friend, Honeydew. I stood up, walking over to the two. "Do you think it'll open?" Xephos just shrugged. I put my hand on the door next to his, pushing the door open. With a bit of pressure, the door creaked open. I peeked in, and a gust of wind blew against us. Soon the wind died down, allowing us to breathe. "Geez..." I muttered.

"I wonder where that wind came from." Xephos stood up, after being knocked back. He took cautious steps inside, signalling that it was ok once he was inside. I glanced at the group. Everyone was behind us, even Rythian as he had done what he needed to with Zoeya. I walked to Xephos' side as I looked around the room. It was dark, tainted. But, it didn't feel like a castle at all and there was only one way to go. A door straight ahead. "Well, that's odd." Xephos remarked. I nodded, before a swirl of taint grew from the floor. Once it had disappeared, it revealed a figure stood there. It didn't look like Nano, or the one from before, so I guessed it was the third out of the three I had seen. Their gaze seemed to land on the two beside me – Trottimus and Alsmiffy. They then looked at all of us, beckoning for us to follow. They dissolved through the door, leaving us standing there.

"What the...?" I murmured. I then shook my head, looking at the others. "We don't know what's going to happen through there. You all ready?" They nodded. I clenched my hand around the goggles around my neck. 'For you, Lalna.' I thought, before we ran to the door.


A/N: That last part felt like an RPG to me xD The leader goes 'Are you ready guys?' and the other party members are like 'Yes' and then final boss. This isn't some clever way of saying next chapter is the last chapter, by the way. I plan for at least two or three after this. But, maybe this is ending~ Also, if you noticed this then congrats, but Chapter 10 of Tainted was actually when I (well, Sjin) killed Nano. I at first didn't plan on having them correspond like this, but it worked out like this so it's cool. And I thought the title was clever xD As one girl 'returns', one must leave.