I know, I know, I'm late. That's what my moma told me when I was born xD

HEY GUYS HOW IS IT GOING?! (coffee, sorry) I am feeling myself - straight up Beyoncé - and be feeling good since 1998! Honestly, I woke up so tired that my bed was legit telling me that I should not go to class! I am in class however (I feel like I'ma be punished xD) and I'm plublishing this chapter because someone has been yelling at me to post this damned chapter! God damn, my ears are starting to hurt, I swear.

Okay, REVIEW ANSWER TIME (cuz I'm getting hungry)

Dommie: xD yeah, Calida is indeed a bro... and who knows? Why don't you read this one and then cut my head off? xD No worries, Dommie... and i'm sorry about mentioning that... hoe? yes, I said it.

Kali: To be honest, I read about them too and I thought about the gifts... so that means, love... that you have TV rights! Also, who has radio rights this chapter? Let me know! And thank you for the ship names!
And that last scene... is something you need to remember! hehe, not gonna say anything else...

boop: I don't know, should it...? and I LOVE the ship names! Thank you! And Dawn... she's a very special secret that we're gonna find out about together, okay? ;)

Midnight Sin 009: You get a A+ just for that comment, boy :) and thank you, sweetie

LadyDiamond92: Thank you, honey!

ON THE FIC!

Chapter 36: The Fire Still Lives

"Are you sure we're ready?" Sky asked, looking up to her lover.

"We have to, Sky." He replied, kissing her forehead, tightening his hold on her waist "It's the first clue in almost three years. We need to take this chance."

"Okay. Then we need to rest up, to leave early tomorrow." She sighed.

"'We'? No, Sky you're not going with us."

"Excuse me?" she raised her eyebrows at him "I am going, mister, and there's no argue with that. Unless you want to open the lower deck and find me there, playing cards with the sailors."

"Sky, you can't come. I'm not risking your life!" he refused.

"Diego, if this is about the baby, I'm having one of Queen Calida's guards come and pick him up tomorrow morning. She's going to keep him safe while we're gone. Everything is already set and ready, you are not going to turn my plans on me, understand?!" she looked him in the eye.

"You're leaving Caio with Calida?" he asked.

"Yes. And she doesn't mind at all. Caio is almost three, you dumb crap. He can handle two weeks without us. Besides, he loves Calida, and she loves him. He will be fine, okay?"

"Okay… I just… He's my kid, Sky, I'm sure you understand my wariness." He looked over to the sleeping child on the wooden crib.

"I perfectly understand because, if you don't remember… he's my son too." She smiled.

The two looked down at the wooden object beside them, contemplating the sleeping life laying there. A small toddler, of around 90 inches high spread all over the mattress, his tiny fist closed around a fur blanket that Zander had given him. Sighing happily, Sky ran her knuckles very lightly over his chubby cheek, smiling when the child parted his lips and let out a breath. Diego rested his chin over her shoulder and kissed her neck, pulling her to himself.

"He's beautiful." She spoke quietly.

"He's ours." He said "Of course he's beautiful."

"Cocky much?"

"Please… realistic." He scolded, letting out a chuckle.

"We should probably get some rest. And I need to check on Zander. You know he's been all over the place since we got the news." She untangled herself from his arms and walked to the door.

"Okay…I'll stay here with him. I'll meet you back in our room." He nodded, and gazed down once more to their sleeping child.

It had been almost three years since Malia had gone missing. Every lead they had, every clue was gone with the wind, but they just couldn't stop looking for her. Their lives had taken a strange turn when Sky had the baby, and Diego could swear that his left hand hasn't been the same since Sky squeezed it during labor. And then… this little miracle happened and their lives haven't been the same since. A lot happened during that time. Tillie and Airdan got married, Aida and Jace got engaged, Seena developed new powers and Roxanne died. Twice. Before Kyra brought her back to life in those two times. She's fine now, although a little incapacitated. She was attacked by one of Blake's assassins – the target was Seena, but the Lith put herself in harm's way – and she was struck down with an enchanted dagger. The enchantment, now they knew, was poison embedded in the blade and that was what killed her, the both times. The first during an attack, and the second, she had a seizure during the night, which luckily, Faelern was just in time to save her.

A lot of bad had happened. Roxanne losing some neurological functions, like coordination, and she still had some rough nights, but Faelern has been her biggest rock. Jace was put out of combat for a while, thanks to a shattered arm, but he was back on his feet, and Aida was the one that had made sure of such. Zander became emotionless for some time and vanished, but they eventually found out that he was travelling all around Arunia, trying to rather research on matters that he preferred to keep to himself (what got him a punch in a face and a screaming fit with Tillie for half an hour). Zander had also gotten into a fight with Diego himself after a very on-point comment from the leader of the Eagles, what caused him to have a lesion on the shoulder for life (on Diego).

"We're going to leave tomorrow, baby." Diego whispered to his child, placing his index finger on the child's open hand "But I promise that we will return. And, if everything goes well, you'll meet your other godmother, aside Aida. We've told you about her… Malia, remember? Mommy and I will return to you, Caio. Daddy promises. It's just… we really have to go. Jackson, from daddy's job, he got a tip on the bad man after almost three years, and we're been training for this moment. We know that he's a mage, but we don't know the type yet.

"Mommy thinks we should have more on him, but she's not backing out on this opportunity. You heard her, you're going to be living with Aunt Calida for a while… just for the time that we go and get our friend, okay? All the sacrifices… it all comes down to this. We're strong and we will make this happen. One day, when you're old enough, we'll tell you this story, and you will know just how badass your aunts and uncles are. And you'll be proud of us. But as to joining the family business…" he chuckled, messing with the child's hair and pulling away "Mommy and I still have to thoroughly talk about that. Goodnight, son. Dream of the angels and lands undiscovered, for one day, those dreams may come true."

.~.~.

The trip to Doregon was interesting. The letter from Jackson had travelled from one hand to the other, and even Nina got the news of it. To be honest, we need to give Nina the credit she deserves because, the second she heard the location she detoured from her course to cross the Northern Sea, near the Devil's Fork – where the letter said Malia could be. At the moment, Diego, Jace and Aida could be found on the main deck sparring, Tillie, Roxanne and Lys were working on some potions, Sky and Kole and Zander and Airdan were having a close combat, and Faelern and Seena were sharing a book on light magic.

"So, how is it going, girls?" Nina asked, smiling down to Tillie.

"It's going…" Lys noted "It's slow, but soon, we will have some strong potions."

"That's good."

"How long… until we get there?" Roxanne asked.

"One day. Tomorrow morning, we should be arriving land." She explained "It's a tricky sea, over here. I need to be careful. There's a reason why they call it the Devil's Fork, you know?"

"What is that reason?" Tillie frowned.

"The bay surrounding the beach… it's miles and miles of a great barrier of rocks. Spiky, deadly rocks. They call it the Devil's Fork because the map of the rocks looks like a fork." The Lith Captain explained "It's extremely dangerous, but this is for Malia. And if this is the way that I can help, so be it."

"Thank you so much, Nina." The dwarf smiled "This means so much to us… you're the best captain ever."

"I'm the only Captain that dares to cross those waters." Nina giggled "I know that, but thank you."

"You're welcome." Roxanne nodded "Lys, could you help me? I want to go to Faelern."

"Of course, Roxanne!" the human woman took hold on the Lith's hand and walked out of the room they were currently to walk up to the upper deck, where Seena and Faelern were.

"Roxanne! Is everything okay?" Seena looked up to the Lith.

"Yeah, I just…" she smiled, tripping on her feet and falling down into Faelern's waiting arms "I wanted to be with you for a bit… before, you know."

"Of course." He nodded and helped her sit down next to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders immediately after.

"Okay, I'm going back to Tillie. You should get some rest, tomorrow will be a great day." Lys climbed down back to the room and settled next to Tillie, grabbing a couple of daisies and throwing them inside the caldron.

.~.~.

They stood outside a large building. It was an old temple from what seemed to be the Feudal Era, but one could not be certain. Roxanne stood behind Faelern as the elf drew out his bow and arrows, waiting for a signal from Diego's end. The latter looked back at Lys and gave her a curt nod, one that she immediately understood. The rosette began to run up the stairs of the temple before jumping forward and curling herself in a ball, being engulfed in light and breaking the ball, falling on her bottom now in her fox form. A adult white fox with blue eyes and a marking of a sickle under her left eye and the tips of her ears black got up on all fours, shook her head and looked back to Diego, before shaking her head once more in a cute small sneeze and climbing the rest of the stairs to the temple.

"That was the most adorable sneeze I've ever heard." Sky commented.

"It happens every single time. The thermic shock is big when she changes from fox to human." Kole explained.

"Cool. Okay, let's go." The brunette said, trailing after the white fox, while Faelern climbed up to the roof to have a better look of the place, leaving them at the entrance.

They entered the temple, taking extreme caution with any hidden trap that could trigger with their presence, but none came. Seena and Roxanne were the last to enter the building, and fox-Lys went over to them, nuzzling her muzzle against the Ileth's bare legs. Seena patted her on the head and turned to Tillie, who had a hand stretched back for the child to take, which she did. Once all the members of the group entered the temple, the door was shut behind them with a loud thump, startling them. Torches began to light all around the room, revealing the empty and abandoned state of the facility, dust and plants all over the place.

"Took you long time to find me."

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and gasped. There, in the middle of the room, stood no other than Kali Blake, sided by his two body guards. He stood there, arms crossed, his salmon hair and purple eyes glowing with the light of the fire. The man at his right was tall and had dark skin. His hair was black as night and his eyes followed in the shade of blue. A claw scar ran down his right eye, and his nose and mouth were covered by a piece of black fabric that tied behind the neck. He wore a simple black armor that covered his entire chest, black steel gauntlets, and black boots, with black pants. He was strongly armed, however. From the large hammer behind his back to the dagger with a green blade on his waist and a sword with a lilac blade on his hands, he was well protected.
The woman at his left had tanned skin and was rather tall. Her hair was dark-brown and her eyes were covered by the two stripes of fabric that made an 'X' shape on her face, her lips pitch black. Her armor covered her chest, over a grey shirt, and her arms covered by black gloves and two fur gauntlets around her forearms. She also wore a pair of black pants and brown boots, a whip on the left side of her thigh and two katanas with purple blades on her back.

"Hello. It's a pleasure – I believe – to see you all. Roxanne, I see that you are doing good. I hope that my friend wasn't too rough on you. After all, all would be well if you had just… stayed out of the way." He smiled coldly, and Airdan took a hold of the Lith's arm to keep her from throwing herself at Blake.

"You will swallow those words." She threatened.

"I'm sure. Right after you make a full recovery." He nodded "Firstly, I would like to introduce my associates. Kacia… and Ezekiel. They too are amazed, as well as I am, that you all survived after three years with a target on your back; made by me, of course. Sky… how's the baby?"

"You keep those filthy hands off my child, you monster!" she yelled, Diego holding her back, although he was having a hard time holding himself back too.

"Oh, how joyful when I see someone pop like that!" he exclaimed, letting out a chuckle "Truly interesting… how something so strong can be set off by pushing a few delicate buttons. Like… a child or a wound that cannot be healed… or a love that I took from your hands."

A guttural growl was heard and the next thing they knew, Zander was crossing the room at lightspeed, his fist on fire and his mind determined on ripping the man's head off his body. But, as soon and fast as he advanced, with the same speed he was pushed away by Kacia, who threw him against the floor and held a sword against his neck. Kali Blake shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing.

"And here I thought I could enjoy a nice and pleasant conversation with you. Apparently, your barbaric minds can only think of fighting. Well, if it is fighting that you want, it is fighting that you will get." He turned his back and made a curt movement with his hand "Enjoy yourselves."

Kacia raised her arm to swing the sword down on Zander, but Sky ran forward and struck her with lightning, kicking her off Zander and pushing her away. Diego called after her and ran in her direction, but Ezekiel placed himself in front of him and pushed the Adeshian away, swinging the sword in his hands, his eyes smirking. Diego pulled his own dagger and smirked at him, before saying "Let's dance, bitch. ATTACK!"

As the group moved forward to jump at the offenders, fox-Lys had taken Seena and Roxanne to a hidden corner, hoping that their invisibility was enough to keep them safe from direct attacks. Further ahead, Diego felt a hand on his shoulder as he realized that Aida, Airdan and Jace had sided him in the fight against Ezekiel, and the blond was the one placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Jace?"

"We got this one. Go after Blake."

"Thanks, little brother." The Adeshian male smiled, and ran over to Zander's and Kole's side, who were currently fighting Blake, taking a small glance at Sky, who was currently siding with Tillie fighting against Kacia.

Punches and kicks were being thrown in all directions, magic sprouts flying everywhere. The sound of thunder echoed in the walls, the smell of ash that floated in the air kept them going, showed them indirect signs that they were all still standing. Bruised and fighting but still standing. Aida got up from the ground once more and threw one dagger at Ezekiel, cutting him in the arm, but instead of blood, a strange black liquid spurted out of the wound. The rogue noble made a disgusted sound as the enemy pulled out the blade and threw it away, grabbing his hammer and starting to swing it around.

Meanwhile, the three males were trying their hardest to take down the mage they were fighting. He was good and fast, but he was outnumbered. Kole, Zander and Diego were an unstoppable team, their rage, technique and power unmatchable. Blake kicked Kole away and pushed Diego against the Kaleik and there, Zander saw an opening. An opening that would allow him to take the man out for good. So, grabbing one of Diego's discarded daggers, he launched himself towards the salmon haired man.

Only to be stopped by someone that pushed a hand against his chest and sent him backwards. That someone…

Was a curvaceous woman with tanned skin, her bronze hair in a messy high ponytail with her bangs falling down the sides of her face. She wore a sleeveless turtleneck black shirt, fitting to her slender form under a small chest plate, a handless glove that went up to the right arm and three golden armlets on the left arm, along with a brown fingerless glove and a familiar leather bracelet. A grey pouch belt wrapped around her hips, black elastic pants, and a dark red skirt with two leg slits that went to the knees, with brown ankle boots. She was also armed with a whip on the right side of her hip and two katanas with blue blades on her back.

She looked up to the moon elf with a cold gaze and the male gasped.

"Malia…" but he couldn't say anything else because she raised her leg and kicked him on the chest, throwing him against the floor.

"Master... what would you have me do with him?" she asked, her voice cold and emotionless, turning her head slightly to the right, in Kali Blake's direction.

"Kill him. I have no use for him. After all..." he approaches her and takes her chin under his fingers "I have you. My dainty flower." And he kissed her forehead.

"No!" the moon elf exclaimed, pushing himself up and throwing a fireball in Blake's direction, but was dispersed by a lash of her whip.

He smirked and walked away, but didn't get very far because Kole and Diego barred his way, and the latter asked "Where do you think you're going? We ain't done with you."

"Malia, please…" Zander sucked in a breath, scared when he saw no recognition in her eyes "Wake up…"

The woman wrapped her whip around her hips and grabbed the hilts of her katanas, pulling them out of their sheaths slowly before turning her head to the side, an empty gaze glowing in her eyes. She twirled the hilts in her hands before looking up to him and sending him an evil smirk. The next thing he knew, she was attacking him.

"Malia! Wake up! Don't you recognize me?! It's Zander…! The man that you were supposed to marry before that… vile thing took you away from me!" he defended her strikes, but never attacked in return "Malia. Please."

But she said nothing in return. She continued to slash and cut him like he was her enemy, never letting up on her attack. The rest of the group realized that Zander was fighting Malia, the Malia that everyone thought to be dead, the Malia that everyone missed dearly was now playing for the other side. And they all tried to wake her up in their own way. But nothing worked, she had no reaction.

"Malia, I beg of you…" he asked, pushing himself up after a strong kick from the woman "Remember me. Please."

"I have no memory of you, how could I… remember something I have never met?" she asked, looking into his eyes, and throwing a pale blue fire ball at him.

"Zander, watch out!" Roxanne suddenly exclaimed, and the male barely had time to dodge the katana that was inches away from his throat.

Listening to the woman, Kacia noted the three that were sitting out of the battle. Shoving her two opponents away, the brunette ran for Roxanne, sword in hand, ready to kill her. Out of the shadows, a white fox-Lys jumped on the woman and sank her teeth in the woman's arm. Howling in pain, Kacia grabbed fox-Lys by the crest and threw her against the nearest wall, the animal letting out a whine with the hit. She made another move to go after Roxanne but a cloud of dust rises in front of her and from there, a tanned fist shot to punch her in the face. Faelern stepped out of the dust cloud and called after Sky and Tillie, the women joined him in the fight against Kacia.

Roxanne shook her head and grabbed her trembling hands; for a second, she saw her life flash before her eyes. Looking back to Seena to ensure her safety, the Lith ran to fox-Lys to pick her up. A trickle of blood stained her snow-white fur, and she picked the fox up, stumbling in her feet to get to Seena's side. "She's going to be fine…" the Ileth smiled "I'll heal her."

A scream was heard and they turned into Zander's direction, watching him bend down in pain, his arm in Malia's hand. The member however, was not in a very natural shape, and the blue-eyed woman pushed him up to his feet and hit him in the chest, throwing him across the room, as he crashed against Aida and Airdan. The two fell on the ground and Jace pushed Ezekiel away for as long as he could, before taking his partners' hands and pulling them up, dragging them away from the man with the face half-covered.

"This is… too much." Diego let out "Pull back! Pull back everyone!"

As everyone made a move for the door, Malia and Kacia appeared in front of it like magic, baring their weapons as if to keep them there. Everyone was getting ready for another fight, although all were a bit taken back because no one wanted to fight and harm Malia. The two women charged forward but suddenly, Seena's voice called out "Boho!" as everyone was involved in a thin pearly bubble. Quick as a mouse, the Ileth turned to Malia and stretched her arms to the side and slapped her palms together as she shouted "Shekhikh!". No one saw what the spell was like, but as Malia placed her hands over her eyes and started whimpering in pain, everyone knew that it had worked.

Turning to Kacia, the little girl frowned before crossing her arms over her chest, palms to her, and turned them out, opening her fists and pushing the cross out. The woman began howling in pain, falling on her knees and clenching to her chest, but no physical wound could be seen. Taking the Ileth's hand, Roxanne ran over the two women and pushed the doors of the building open with her foot, exiting quickly.

A/N: ... I can explain. hehe DOMMIE PLEASE DONT HIT ME and Midnight Sin 009, are you happy now? I hope you like it, and if you did, hit that fav and follow button, and leave a review to let me know your thoughts on the matter!

I'm gonna run now, okay?

Lots of love from this weirdo,

LoneeWolf :)