Alright, I've got a few things to say.

Sorry about the misunderstanding. In response to your actual question, well . . . I kind of made up Ryca's disability. I decided that the formula (psychological trauma+brain damage) was more than capable of creating a bizarre disability like this, so in all honesty it's just an excuse so the disability can work. I plan on going more into detail of Ryca's disability, but . . . yeah, there's a reason you haven't heard of it. I'm sure that as the story continues then Ryca's disability will start to look like a real disability, but from the start it's been completely made up.

SO, moving on.

Everything that could have gone wrong with this chapter did go wrong. It went through a few rewrites, some expansion . . . all in all, it should not have taken this long to create this chapter. I'm shocked that it did take me this long. But hey, it's done now.

So, here's the story!


Ryca, Kshtsi, Tachine, and Sarysi all walked behind the group of +Anima. Kshtsi couldn't believe how fast this was all going. Zacyr had been flown to the city, and now they were going to be brought to the city. How could they get out of this? The worst part was just how cleverly they had been outmaneuvered. The +Anima here had made certain to move Zacyr immediately, and while it may have been partially so he could reach their leader safely, it also would stop any more escape attempts from the group. There was no way that Kshtsi would leave Zacyr alone and at the mercy of these +Anima!

Kshtsi didn't notice that his expression was giving away the conflict within his head. He also didn't see the hyena +Anima looking at him with a slight smile, at least not until the hyena +Anima spoke up. "The human mind is a curious device."

Kshtsi snapped out of it, blushing furiously. However, the hyena +Anima spoke kindly to Kshtsi. "If you try hard enough, you can misinterpret anything that anyone does. Isn't that right?"

He didn't even need to ask what the hyena +Anima was getting at. While Kshtsi didn't give an answer, the hyena +Anima decided to continue speaking. "Our leader, Unibas, is a very kind and caring leader. Zacyr shall not be harmed."

Kshtsi sighed at that. "But what about everyone else? What if that bird +Anima decided to drop him halfway there? How can we know that he will make it there?"

The hyena +Anima gave another kind smile. "Lerigna won't harm him. She was chosen to transport Zacyr because she doesn't hold a grudge against humans. Besides, didn't you see the way she smiled at him?"

Kshtsi had to grin to that. He had seen that, and . . . well, that brought up a different problem entirely. To his amusement, Sarysi spoke up. Her voice was laced with venom as she spoke, clenching her fists. "If she tries to take Zacyr away from me, I am going to slice her goddamn head off."

The hyena +Anima grinned towards Sarysi, but every head turned to face Oroco when he spoke. "You have to be kidding me. A human is not worth fighting to the death over!"

Sarysi grinned as she honed her claws, but Kshtsi was shocked when Ryca spoke up. He was clearly forcing himself to be calm as he glared at Oroco. "Zacyr and I go back a ways, Oroco. I understand that you dislike humans, but I would appreciate it if you don't talk about my friend like that."

Oroco clearly didn't agree with Ryca, and Kshtsi rolled his eyes when Oroco began to speak. "Don't you get it? A human becomes a +Anima if they are put in a life-threatening situation. We are the ones that have adapted to survive. A human doesn't know what it's like to suffer like a +Anima does!"

Kshtsi sighed, but was shocked when the hyena +Anima smirked at Oroco. "So, to pull out the basic facts, we are better because all of us have managed to cheat death once? But following that line of logic, shouldn't humans be superior because they didn't need to use the second chance?"

Oroco viciously glared at the hyena +Anima. "Oh? So that gives them the right to take us off of the street, torture us, take everything we own, then throw us into a ring with another +Anima and tell both the +Anima that they have to kill each other? You make me sick!"

"Well-"

Kshtsi was surprised when one of the +Anima immediately spoke over the hyena one. "Yena! Stop egging him on, damn it!"

The hyena +Anima chuckled before he apologized, and Kshtsi cocked his head as he looked at Oroco. For most of the walk, Kshtsi had been trying to figure out what Oroco was a +Anima of. He had bird legs, and his waist was surrounded with strange feathers. What he did not have were wings. But . . . didn't bird +Anima normally grow wings?

"What are you looking at?"

Kshtsi flinched then blushed as he realized he had been staring at Oroco. "N-nothing."

Oroco smirked at Kshtsi, but to their surprise Yena - the hyena +Anima - spoke up again. "He's a chicken +Anima."

For just a moment Kshtsi believed Yena, until he saw the playful grin on Yena's face. Oroco immediately spoke up, sounding quite enraged. This must have been a common joke from Yena. "I am NOT a chicken +Anima, you asshole! I'm an EMU +Anima! EMU! They are huge flightless birds that run! Now stop being an ass!"

Yena laughed, but left it at that. It was only after another +Anima - this one's back covered in bizarre scales that resembled the spines of a pinecone - mumbled something to Yena that Yena flinched. "Oh! Right, sorry."

Yena cleared his throat, and soon addressed Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine. "Alright, so from today forwards you are a part of the +Anima side of Wralb. Here are some pointers for the three of you. Do not try to run away. We see that as betrayal, and it will be dealt with as such. Secondly, and this is mainly for Kshtsi and Tachine, try to stay out of fights. If someone challenges you two, don't let them force you into a fight. Sarysi, you seem like the type of person that would do the challenging, and it's common for new fighters to be challenged in order for the other fighters to learn their skill level. So long as you follow those two pointers, there shouldn't be much trouble."

He left it at that, and for a few minutes the large group simply walked in silence. After a bit more time, Kshtsi asked about what they would be expected to do. Yena gave a slight smile as he answered. "Well, that depends on what you're good at. I have no doubt Sarysi will be a fighter. However, I'm not one hundred percent sure about the two of you."

Kshtsi sighed as he shook his head. There was no way he'd be a fighter, he didn't have a weapon that he could use. What was worse, he couldn't control what his tentacles stung. They wouldn't sting him, but the stinging was triggered by something beyond Kshtsi's control. He'd be too dangerous in his +Anima form. What was more, Kshtsi wasn't violent by nature. He just wouldn't be a good fighter.

Yena soon asked what Kshtsi could do, and Kshtsi blushed as he realized he had no answer. Now that he thought of it, he barely did anything in the groups besides for monitor Zacyr's Lihalune. And of course, he had stopped doing that when Sarysi demanded Zacyr take no more Lihalune. Now, Kshtsi did little more than leech off of his group for . . . well, everything.

Kshtsi blushed even more. He hadn't really thought of it like this before. Tachine, as she had explained to the group, had been teaching Zacyr how to read. Sarysi was something like a bodyguard for the entire group, and because Zacyr always had so much to think about, he really didn't have much time to do much. So what did Kshtsi really do? "I . . . uh . . ."

Kshtsi wasn't certain how to explain that he didn't really do anything, but fortunately for him Tachine noticed his problem. She chuckled before she addressed Yena. "He's an excellent fisherman."

Kshtsi flinched at that. He had completely forgotten about that, it was just so much part of their activities for him to get fish that he didn't really see it as work. However, Yena grinned broadly as he looked at Kshtsi. "That's perfect! It's not easy finding food for over a hundred +Anima. Alright, now what about you Ta-"

"Hey, we're here!"

Kshtsi flinched as he looked forwards. A little bit in front of them the trees parted, showing a few buildings close by. It wasn't long before Kshtsi and the +Anima group were walking through the street, which was crowded with +Anima. Kshtsi was surprised to find that most of the other +Anima were muttering to themselves, although when he got close enough to hear them he was both shocked and annoyed to figure out it was all about Zacyr.

"Unibas has finally lost it."

"Meh, it's one slip. He sure as hell don't get them much, and I'm certain that human shall either turn into a +Anima or just die soon, so it don't matter much."

Kshtsi rolled his eyes, but suddenly froze as he looked a bit farther in. He was shocked to find a lord's mansion not far away, and now that he saw it . . . how hadn't he seen it before? It was on raised ground, and clearly positioned to be capable of being seen no matter where in the village a person was.

Kshtsi focused when Yena got their attention. "Alright. First up, you all can sleep in the same building that Ryca owns. Since this is your first day here, think of yourselves as tourists. +Anima will let you know where you can and can't go, but tomorrow - and this applies to Zacyr too - you are to report to the mansion. It's over there."

Yena pointed, and Kshtsi almost grinned as both Sarysi and Tachine flinched. "Wow, how'd we miss that?"

Yena chuckled before telling his group to disperse. Soon Sarysi, Tachine, Kshtsi, and Ryca were by themselves in the city. Kshtsi was shocked when Ryca spoke, blushing something awful as he attempted an apology. "S-sorry for this. I honestly wanted you to do that so you wouldn't do this, e-especially him. I uh . . . I-I don't have to do that now so I can do this instead. I-is that fine?"

Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine all looked at each other. Kshtsi kind of wished they had a translator, but after a bit of decrypting they all came up with the idea that Ryca was trying to ask to stay with them for the day, and that he was trying to say he didn't have to do anything else today, which Ryca nodded to. Kshtsi soon decided it was alright, and decided to ask if Ryca could show them where he lived, seeing how they were apparently going to sleep in the same area as him. Ryca eagerly agreed - a bit too eagerly, in fact - and soon led them through the streets.

After taking a few turns, Ryca smiled as he stood before a doorway. "Right here! This is it. In here. I live here."

Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine all exchanged slight grins as they looked the building over. This had to have been a bar at some point, not too long ago either judging from the smell. The group soon went inside, and Kshtsi's jaw dropped when he looked around.

Now, he knew Ryca used art to express himself . . . if his drawings before could be called 'art'. But . . . man, he had one hell of an artistic flair. The walls of this bar were covered in drawings, and many of them seemed to have been drawn just for the sake of drawing. Those ones were quite impressive drawings, especially since they were from the same boy that earlier had been drawing squares for buildings.

Kshtsi was really shocked as he looked at wall after wall of paintings. What was really surprising was just how much these paintings could tell Kshtsi about Ryca. What was more, many of them were of a boy Kshtsi at first mistook to be Ryca, until he really looked hard at it and noticed the facial expressions. Were these all of Zacyr? Did he really mean that much to Ryca?

Kshtsi looked at picture after picture, and suddenly he realized something shocking. Were these all memories? Yeah, now that he really looked at them . . . half of them were of Ryca, half of them were Zacyr. Yeah, this picture here . . . this must have been how Ryca met Zacyr, they both looked so similar. What was more, this picture really looked like Zacyr would have if he was just a bit younger. He looked so timid, clinging to a proud-looking woman's side. His mother was speaking to a man, who had Ryca hiding behind him.

Then here . . . both Zacyr and Ryca were sitting on a log, although Kshtsi couldn't tell which one was which. If these pictures were colored in somehow, he would be able to differentiate between Ryca and Zacyr easily, but in black and white they both looked the same. One of them - in the picture - was in the fetal position, and Kshtsi could almost see him casting fearful glances around him. The other one was . . . crying? He looked really upset, and was pulling his hair in frustration. Was that Ryca?

"It was always so frustrating."

Kshtsi flinched before he turned to see Ryca looking at the drawings. "No matter what I tried to say, I couldn't get myself to say it. Then I met Zacyr. We were so similar, both of us with our own respective problems, too worried to overcome them . . ."

Ryca trailed off, and Kshtsi looked back at the pictures. The next one showed Ryca clinging to Zacyr, which Kshtsi could only tell because . . . wait. The one in front had something covering his mouth, clearly to keep himself from speaking. If that was Ryca . . . Was it Zacyr that had been clinging to Ryca?

Yeah, and then this picture here . . . these shadowy figures seemed to represent Zacyr's hallucinations, and Ryca seemed to be trying to comfort Zacyr. Then their parents were standing here, watching with sad eyes . . . Was it Zacyr that was more afraid of his condition than Ryca? Yeah, Ryca was the one comforting Zacyr!

And then here, this must have been when Erika worked to get Zacyr's confidence back. Zacyr was holding a mouse, and looked excited. But in the background, Ryca was standing with a look of shock, looking . . . really upset as, in the next picture, Zacyr began speaking to other kids.

"He was the first thing I could call a friend."

Kshtsi turned to find Ryca looking at his pictures, a timid smile on his face. "I know it was wrong now to be so upset, but I couldn't help it. He no longer was hindered by his problem, he could make more friends . . . it felt like he no longer needed me. I felt like he was just going to walk away from me and leave me all alone again."

Kshtsi was surprised when he looked at the next picture. Ryca had been upset, alright . . . here he was crying as he ran away from the group of kids, who looked startled. And in the next picture, Ryca ran into a house, and soon ran to a room that was probably his before sitting down and simply crying. The picture after that showed Zacyr running into Ryca's room, and in the next Zacyr sat down with Ryca on his bed. In the next picture Zacyr was looking around.

In the picture after that, Zacyr's eyes were wide open, and in the next he left the bed and he walked towards the side of the picture. The next picture showed what Zacyr had seen: a perfect drawing of him and Ryca holding hands, with two different lengths of rope pinned to the wall above it. In the next picture, Zacyr beamed towards a clearly startled Ryca, but in the next Zacyr raced out of the room and left Ryca alone.

Quite a few pictures after that made it clear Ryca was worried about why Zacyr had ran out of the room, thought bubbles showing that Ryca had believed Zacyr thought Ryca was a freak for being obsessed with Zacyr. But a bit farther in through the pictures Zacyr reappeared, dragging a clearly startled Erika with him.

It was hard to remember that these were pictures. Even for just being black and white, they were so well drawn . . .

In the next one, Zacyr was showing a clearly shocked Erika the drawing, beaming at Ryca as a speech bubble showed that Zacyr was praising Ryca's work. In the next drawing, Erika was agreeing with Zacyr, and Ryca looked extremely shocked. After that, Zacyr and Erika made Ryca begin to carry chalk and brought him to the other kids.

Ryca's next drawing (drawn to show the other kids his drawing skills) wasn't as good as his first one, but everyone's eyes opened wide as Ryca (in the picture) apologized. The speech bubbles showed that Ryca's sentences were making sense. The next drawings were a practical blur of activity, showing Ryca drawing again and again, using them to bypass his communication problem, growing more and more confident with each drawing.

Kshtsi was so engrossed in the pictures that he didn't even realize he had been moving to look at each one. So after a picture that looked exactly like the one Ryca had drawn in his bedroom (in his drawings), Kshtsi was shocked when he found himself looking at the very first drawing again. Finally freed of the captivating effect of the drawings, Kshtsi looked around to figure out what was going on, and was completely shocked to find he had made an entire trip around the walls.

Wow, if Zacyr could only see the effect he had had on Ryca, even after all of this time . . . it was quite clear that Ryca cared dearly for the boy that became friends with Ryca, the one that had helped Ryca become the kid he was today. Kshtsi couldn't help but smile at the real Ryca.

"Wow, Ryca. Zacyr really means a lot to you."

Kshtsi grinned when Ryca nodded happily. "Yeah. We were best friends. He did so much for me. He didn't make me feel like a normal person, he made me feel like I was better than a normal person."

Kshtsi couldn't help but chuckle as Ryca hugged himself, a huge smile on his face. Ryca had such a hard time hiding his emotions from the world, he acted like a little kid . . . it looked so strange to see this bizarre doppelganger of Zacyr in all but colors look so childish.

It was a little bit before Kshtsi remembered that this building was going to be his, Sarysi, and Tachine's sleeping quarters for right now. Ryca was all too happy to show them around. Kshtsi was really shocked when he looked around. Ryca had drawn on just about every surface of the building.

The drawings were all drawn in a strange black chalk, which Ryca happily explained could be washed off at any time if he ran out of room. He shocked them when he explained that all of these drawings were made in the last week, although the drawings in the main room were made a while beforehand. After explaining where they went to get food, water, and where to go to the bathroom (using newly-made drawings to explain), Ryca then explained that he was going to be busy for most of the day and that all three of them could come and go as they pleased.

Once Ryca left, Kshtsi turned to face the girls. "Well, how are we getting out of here?"

Tachine simply shrugged, but Sarysi gulped. "I . . . I don't know. Most of these +Anima here look like they're as tough as I am, so fighting our way out is quite clearly not an option. Sneaking out is too risky. I hate to say it, but from what I understand, we're stuck here."

Kshtsi gulped. After a bit of silence passed, Tachine spoke up. "We should see if Zacyr has any ideas. But . . . we don't know where he is."

Sarysi gave a slight grin before walking towards the door. "No, but I bet the leader does. Let's go see this 'Unibas', and see what we can learn from him."

Kshtsi and Tachine soon agreed, and in a little bit the group was walking out of Ryca's place, and over to the mansion. On the way there, Kshtsi noticed that they were getting quite a few stares from the +Anima, and he unconsciously moved closer to the group. Sarysi seemed to notice Kshtsi's nervousness, as did Tachine, but they said nothing.

About half-way to the mansion, a female +Anima with strange cat-eyes and large teeth purposefully walked right in front of the group and told them to stop. Kshtsi cringed, but Sarysi actually smirked at the +Anima. "Hey look, a little pussycat is blocking our way. Hey there, kitty!"

The female +Anima hissed at Sarysi. "You are not to walk through the streets in your human form! We are different from humans, why should you pretend to be one?"

Kshtsi gulped as both Sarysi and Tachine went into their +Anima forms. Tachine clearly went into hers to simply avoid a fight, but Sarysi was clearly going into hers to make a threat. Undaunted, the cat +Anima hissed at Kshtsi. "You too!"

Kshtsi blushed furiously. Eventually, he was aware that many of the +Anima were eyeing him angrily. Eventually, he realized that he had no choice. His face turned even redder as tentacles sprouted from his waist, and complete silence filled the air.

Eventually, many of the +Anima burst out laughing, and Kshtsi looked away as the cat +Anima walked closer. "He's wearing a DRESS! That's hysterical! I can't even begin to figure out-"

Kshtsi flinched as he felt the cat +Anima put her hand around one of his tentacles. The tentacle immediately reacted by stinging the cat +Anima, who screamed as she let go. "OH FUCK WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? My hand is burning! BURNING! It HURTS! IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP!"

Kshtsi blushed as he retracted the tentacles. "I'm a box jellyfish +Anima. They give a nasty sting with their tentacles."

The cat +Anima immediately looked at Kshtsi with shock, cringing as the wound now on her hand continued to agitate her. "Y-you . . . m-most +a-Anima should s-stay in their +Anima f-forms on the streets, b-but . . . FUCK! W-we'll tell others why y-you shouldn't b-be in your +Anima form."

The cat +Anima cursed again before running off, and to Kshtsi's shock Sarysi chuckled. "Alright, let's continue."

And they did. The scene repeated itself a few times, where Kshtsi was chewed out until he went into his +Anima form, and invariably the +Anima got themselves stung. All in all, by the time they finally got to the mansion Kshtsi had stung at least ten different +Anima.

Eventually though, they got to the mansion. They were surprised to find a good-sized crowd around the entrance to the mansion, and standing in the entrance of the mansion itself was a tall man with the face of a jackal. Right now, that man's body language showed that he was getting quite annoyed at the crowd.

It only took Kshtsi a few seconds of listening to the crowd to truly figure out why. "Unibas, he's not a +Anima! He's one of them! When push comes to shove, he'll slit our throats in order to save his own neck!"

Eventually, Unibas gave a sharp bark that silenced the crowd. He then addressed them, his voice belaying only a tinge of the clear anger he felt. "You do not trust your leader? Zacyr may not be a +Anima, but he has repeatedly proven himself to be a friend to +Anima. When his allies were in danger of being captured or harmed, Zacyr put his life on the line again and again to keep them safe. He proved himself to be a good friend to Ryca, as Ryca told me of him long ago. He has over nine +Anima that claim to know him, and all of them are greatly concerned for his safety."

One of the +Anima in the crowd spoke up, and Kshtsi was shocked to realize it was Oroco. "All this proves is how dangerous he is! He's tricked nine +Anima into siding with him! He's a manipulative bastard that can't be trusted, he's one of them!"

Kshtsi sighed, but Unibas surprised him by baring his teeth at Oroco. "I know quite well why you hate him Oroco. It's because you can't push him around. When you sliced his back open he retaliated, as can be naturally expected from any sentient being. You can't push me around either, Oroco."

Kshtsi watched as Oroco glared at Unibas. "This isn't about you, Unibas! This is about him! I am not going to allow someone from their side behind our lines! Even tactically, this is a huge mistake!"

Unibas' ears twitched with anger as he crossed his arms and emitted a low growl towards Oroco. "A mistake? You can't talk to me about mistakes, Oroco! What happened in that last battle? Why exactly did I give your job as general to Ryca? Because unlike you, Ryca won't 'improvise' his orders to fix the 'flaws' in my plan, and he won't get his entire squad slaughtered! You let your hatred of humans blind you to the threat, and you cost us ten fighters because of it!"

Oroco gnashed his teeth, but Kshtsi noticed that Oroco's face was rapidly turning red. "So you put someone that can't even speak properly in my position? He . . . this isn't about that!"

Kshtsi couldn't have been more surprised when Unibas barked at Oroco, slamming a fist against the doorway. "Oh, yes it IS! You are supposed to be backing Ryca up right now, and instead you choose to come to my mansion and question my authority and my intelligence! Do you have any idea how dire your own situation is? If Ryca's squad is killed, I will have your WHOLE DAMN GROUP HEREbe brought to Lexa! Do I make myself clear?"

Oroco gnashed his teeth, but Kshtsi was shocked when well over half the group behind Oroco sprinted away from the mansion. Soon the rest of them followed, and only Oroco was left there with Unibas. The two of them glared at each other for a little bit, but then Oroco sighed and stormed off. "Fine, but after we've backed him up I will be coming back here!"

Only when Oroco had walked out of sight did Kshtsi remember why he, Sarysi, and Tachine had come here in the first place. While he didn't feel like speaking to Unibas when Unibas was clearly so angry, but when he moved to leave Unibas' ear twitched and he turned to look at them.

To Kshtsi's shock, Unibas gave a huge sigh of relief before politely telling the three of them that they could approach. Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine all immediately complied. Once they were standing at the entrance, Unibas gave them a tired smile. "I apologize for not speaking to you sooner. It's been a very tiring day for me."

Kshtsi nodded, trying his best to be sympathetic. "Yeah. I don't mean to be . . . blunt, but . . . is everyone reacting to Zacyr like that?"

Unibas sighed before shaking his head. "No, but the number of +Anima that accept him is vastly outnumbered by the +Anima that hate him. I've had group after group of +Anima marching up to me and demanding me to have Zacyr killed. It's ridiculous. Every +Anima here was once a human, and yet they preach that all humans are cruel."

Unibas sighed again before looking off into the distance, a glazed look in his eyes. After a few seconds, Unibas abruptly shook his head and gave a tired smile towards the group. "Either way, is there anything I could help you with?"

Kshtsi gulped, but Tachine spoke up. "Yeah. We'd like to see Zacyr, but we don't know where he is."

Unibas gave an 'ah' before looking away. "Zacyr's location was a hard one to choose. With the amount of hatred the +Anima feel towards him, it was quite difficult to find a place he would be safe. But I shall explain that to you another time. Zacyr lives with Lexa. But before I tell you how to get there, I wish to give you a warning. If things get out of hand during your visit, tell Lexa that you are friends of Zacyr. Alright?"

Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine soon agreed. Apparently satisfied, Unibas gave them directions to Zacyr's location. Before the group left, Unibas repeated his warning before wishing them luck. The group politely said goodbye to him before leaving, following his directions.

On the way there, Kshtsi kept getting a weird feeling. Why had Unibas given them a warning about visiting Zacyr? And who was this Lexa person? Didn't Unibas use her as a threat against Oroco's group? Yeah, and Oroco's group had almost immediately obeyed after that threat. What was more, that warning . . . oh, was Lexa a bodyguard for Zacyr? She must have been extremely strong in order for Oroco's group to have been so worried about her.

After a few minutes of walking, the group eventually found themselves in front of what had once been an inn. Kshtsi and Tachine spoke to each other about how to best approach this situation. Tachine started the conversation. "Alright, so we're stuck in a place full of hateful +Anima that want Zacyr to die. It makes sense to me that he does not want to be reminded of that. Above all, we have to be sensitive to the fact that he's in a bad position."

Kshtsi nodded, but they both jumped when Sarysi bashed down the door with her scorpion claws. "ZACYR! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

For a small amount of time both Kshtsi and Tachine just stood there, staring at the ruined door, and Sarysi, in shock. Eventually, Kshtsi grinned and shook his head. "I don't know what I was expecting you to do."

Sarysi turned around with a playful grin on her face, but it soon faded away as she looked back inside. "The hell? He had to have heard that. Why isn't he answering?"

Kshtsi frowned. Sarysi had a point there. It wasn't long before they all entered the building, looking around in confusion. The inn was quite large from the inside. But what was missing was . . . well, the inhabitants. Zacyr wasn't anywhere in sight, and neither was this 'Lexa' person. "Where are-"

"OH MY GOD! Look over there!"

Kshtsi flinched, but soon followed a horrified Tachine's eyesight. What he saw shocked him to the core. An open door was leading to a room completely covered in spider silk, and on the wall was a white cocoon the size of a person! What was going on here?

When the cocoon moved with a muffled shout, Kshtsi's heart almost stopped. It was a person, a male by the sound of the voice. Was that . . .

Tachine immediately raced over to the room, as did Sarysi. "What the hell happened to-"

Kshtsi watched as both Tachine and Sarysi reached the cocoon, but his heart stopped when he saw something else move into view from the other side of that room. Someone completely covered in a pure-black cowl was quickly making their way over to the girls! "Tachine, Sarysi! BEHIND YOU!"

Both the girls turned around, and the instant they saw the approaching figure Sarysi immediately got into a fighting stance. "Tachine, get him out of there! I'll hold this thing off!"

The other figure gave a cruel chuckle as they walked forwards. When they spoke, their voice was cold and cruel. "You won't deny me my meal."

Sarysi grinned as she got ready to strike. "Watch me!"

Without another word, Sarysi charged towards the figure. Kshtsi watched as Tachine reached for her dagger, and frantically tried to cut the cocoon down. The sounds from inside of it were almost frantic, Zacyr had to be terrified!

Then . . . it was so fast . . . Sarysi reached the figure, but the figure easily dodged Sarysi's claws. When Sarysi tried to sting the figure, they caught her by the stinger, and in one fluid motion tossed her in Tachine's direction. The two of them collided, and the momentum caused them to hit the wall. Kshtsi gulped when Sarysi and Tachine tried to get away from the wall, but they had gotten caught in the silk. The figure simply chuckled as they walked towards the two girls. "Not often people volunteer to be food. That was a poorly thought out rescue attempt. I"

It was Kshtsi's fear that got him to speak. This was already out of hand! "We're friends of Zacyr!"

He couldn't have been more surprised when the figure froze in place. They looked at Kshtsi, then at the cocoon. Kshtsi gulped as he looked at the cocoon. He had to find a way to get Zacyr out of there. He had to find a way to help Tachine and Sarysi! But what could-

"That's not Zacyr."

Kshtsi felt a bolt of lightning race through him. He looked at the figure in shock, and from under the figure's cowl Kshtsi saw a slight grin appear. "I am Lexa. My job is to interrogate those that are brought to me, and dispose of them afterwards."

As she spoke, Lexa walked over to the cocoon that Kshtsi's group had believed to hold Zacyr. She casually grabbed the top part, and yanked down a large amount of the webbing. Exposed was . . . well, it sure as hell wasn't Zacyr. This person had bizarre green hair, and strange yellow eyes. Those same eyes were looking at Lexa in pure terror, and Kshtsi soon heard Lexa chuckle. "This here is a snitch that attempted to give the human side information that could have led to our defeat. I shall be interrogating him soon. But for now, he should enjoy the lack of pain. It's not going to last forever, and once I inject him with my digestive fluids, well . . . from my understanding, it's quite excruciating. But you should not concern yourselves with him."

The boy shivered in fear as Lexa's lower half suddenly grew. It wasn't long before Kshtsi and the girls got to see where all the silk came from, as Lexa quickly re-wrapped the boy's head with silk from a large spider's abdomen. Once she was done, she left her +Anima form. "I understand that those in fear make rash decisions, you two. Consider this a warning. Next time you try to deprive me of a meal, you will take their place. Do you understand?"

Both Tachine and Sarysi nodded quickly. Lexa walked over to where the two of them were stuck against the wall, and soon got them down. It was really strange, actually. Lexa's silk didn't seem to stick to her. However she did it, Lexa soon got both Tachine and Sarysi down. Tachine timidly thanked her, but Sarysi was getting her confidence back. "So where's Zacyr? He should have heard me before! What did you do to Zacyr?"

From under the cowl Lexa wore, Kshtsi saw a smirk manifest. "I showed him this room, and told him not to attempt to free them. Once I told him that these are my meals, he fainted."

Kshtsi couldn't stop himself from flinching. "What? But Zacyr never gets scared! Hell, he once had this huge bee-like creature and he almost turned it into a pet!"

Lexa shrugged, or at least that's what Kshtsi guessed she was doing. It was so hard to tell when she was wearing that cowl. It was Tachine who abruptly found the answer. She abruptly broke out into hysterics, and as Lexa, Kshtsi, and Sarysi watched Tachine continued to laugh. It took her a while to stop, but when she did she grinned at Kshtsi. "Zacyr's scared of spiders! Lexa's a spider +Anima, he has to be terrified of her! Oh, that's funny!"

In spite of himself, Kshtsi grinned. He had completely forgotten about that. Sarysi grinned as well, but Lexa got them all by surprise when she chuckled. She didn't comment on it, but soon addressed the group. "On the second floor, in the room to the left of mine, is a bedroom I set up for Zacyr. When he fainted, it seemed best to bring him up there to let him recuperate. You want to visit him, that's your choice. I shall be in the room to the left of this one, interrogating this snitch."

Without saying another word Lexa walked over to the cocooned person, pulled the cocoon off of the wall, and effortlessly carried it out of the room. For a little bit, the group simply stared at the doorway. Then Tachine cleared her throat and spoke. "So . . . what do we do? I . . . I don't think we should just leave without at least speaking to Zacyr, but . . ."

Sarysi spoke up, sounding rather . . . unnerved. "How the hell . . . this is insane. I . . . she didn't even need to go into her +Anima form to beat me. I . . . I think we should go back to Unibas, and see what we can learn about Lexa."

Kshtsi nodded, although Tachine seemed to be in disbelief. "What about Zacyr?"

Sarysi shook her head before looking at Tachine. "If she wanted him dead, he'd already be dead. As for speaking to him Tachine, he's unconscious. He wouldn't be saying much to us. We'll come back later and see if he woke up yet."

Kshtsi nodded, and after Tachine reluctantly agreed the three of them left Lexa's place to head back to Unibas.


Lexa's a fun character to make.

Again, sorry about this one taking so long.

To be completely honest, this part's going to be a hard one for me to make. I've got a lot of points I wish to get into this part, but I don't want to draw too much attention away from the main plot.

By the way, I've only seen a little bit of X-men. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite sure I know what you mean by the reference, but . . . well, it's a big factor for this part. I don't want to say that I have to have that in this part, but . . . well, I hope I'm not going too far with it.

SO, I'll get the next chapter done as soon as I can.