Dear everyone,

If you use a personal shopper service PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF OUR HEALTH AND SANITY HAVE MERCY UPON US. I worked 13 hours today with no food, drink, or bathroom break. We would also like to not get sick and die... Just sayin'...


Loqi had known things were going just a little too well on this mission. They'd found the clones and gotten them into the vehicles with little issue, they'd made good time on the drive, Highwind hadn't killed him yet despite her very clear and burning hatred of him. Nothing had truly derailed them or made them stray from their goal.

They had been driving along silently – Callux's music mayhem had been put on hold as to not alarm their new passengers – with their group split between the vehicles.

As the Argentums didn't seem to want to stray from their respective… subjects of imprintation, Callux, Loqi, the napper, and the predator had taken the original vehicle while Highwind, Evan, and the Shield had taken the other. That worked very well for Loqi. Highwind could fuss over Evan instead of glaring death at him.

The drive was actually quite peaceful.

Until now.

Until one of those damned red giants had designed to spawn from the depths of hell right in front of them.

The drive was no longer peaceful. There was a yelp and growl from behind Loqi where the Argentums were sitting in the back seat, and Loqi himself scrambled for a hold as their truck swerved sharply, tires shrieking and all.

Callux swore, battling the wheel for control as they went off the road in a painfully jarring way. The fact that the truck didn't roll was entirely down to Callux's control, and Loqi spared a moment to note how good at his job Callux was before they lurched to a stop.

"Everyone all right?" Callux asked, fingers still tightly grasping the wheel and breathing elevated.

Loqi twisted to check on the clones, knowing they wouldn't be answering that question themselves.

No broken bones, it appeared. No head wounds. Just one dazed boy and one who looked ready to eat what had driven them off the road.

"No one will be before for long if that daemon catches up with us." Loqi unbuckled himself hastily, clambering halfway into the back seat to unbuckle the Argentums. "How far is the city?"

"Uh, 'alf mile?" Callux had managed to get himself free as well.

That was good. They still had a chance of making it all in one piece. Callux could take the boys and go while Loqi stalled the daemon. Except the predator wouldn't follow Callux.

Dammit.

"Callux, take your clone and go! The less people we have to protect, the better."

Their second vehicle was bound to have noticed their predicament, and Loqi was sure he and the three of them could keep a single person safe, particularly since the boy was following Loqi and Loqi would be keeping his distance. Multiple people was a different story, though.

"Rioght." Callux helped his clone out of the back, disappearing with him into the darkness.

Loqi was surprised he hadn't argued, but he wasn't about to complain. He trusted that Callux knew the way.

"Out you come." Loqi snagged the collar of the predator's jacket and dragged him out despite the hiss it earned him. Once the boy was out of the truck, though, Loqi was happy to release him and let him to follow along on his own. Lucky that he got the one that could actually walk, at least for the most part.

Loqi readied his bow as his calves screamed in protest to the steep ascent of the hill leading back up to the road.

Voices. Commanding ones.

That would be Highwind and the Shield, then. They were already out of their truck and trying to neutralize the threat.

The giant's glowing sword made it an easy target to see, and Loqi made certain to circle around far enough away to where he could loose some ideal shots without placing the Argentum in danger.

…At least this Argentum. Evan did not appear to be worried about getting close.

Loqi had to resist stopping to watch.

Gone was the nervous boy that sank into the background and flitted about, avoiding eye contact. In his place… was a sleek agent of lethality.

Evan smoothly slid and flipped around the giant's attacks, the dagger in his hand making small but still accurate cuts to any piece of flesh that was exposed to him. His brow was pinched in unbroken concentration, completely steady and cold.

Loqi fired off a single arrow, noting that Highwind was driving home strikes from the air as the Shield pulled most of the giant's focus.

A wise battle strategy – the Shield was more that capable of taking those hits while the others could inflict damage without getting their bones crushed.

The three of them had the giant handled, Loqi assured himself. There was no need for him to get involved and potentially endanger his living shadow.

Except… The giant wasn't the only daemon.

Loqi swore as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and the air around them grew thicker with Scourge than normal.

Too much noise.

Too much time in one spot with that noise.

They might very well be swarmed soon if they didn't move.

Loqi notched and fired another arrow. "Highwind! We need to make for the city!"

Aranea paused, on the ground for a brief moment, offering him a nod. "Soon as this one goes down!"

Right. Giants were chunky, but they were big and could move fast. Killing this giant so it wouldn't destroy them when they tried to run was the best strategy.

…And that feat was a surprisingly simple affair with the team they had. Highwind and the Shield would have been a deadly duo any time, but with Evan and Loqi also involved, Loqi had never seen such a tough daemon fall so quickly.

It was the Shield's block of a particular attack that sent the giant off kilter, and they all took full advantage. Full offense. Loqi fired an arrow that lodged into the giant's neck, and Evan followed that up by digging his blade into a joint on the daemon's leg. The leg gave out, and that was when the Shield dismissed his shield in favor of calling a second sword.

One harsh slash across the chest – just one crack in that skin – was all the opening Highwind needed. She drove her lance downward, descending like some legendary flying creature of death and planting her weapon right in that weak spot.

Loqi winced at the volume of the giant's death yell as it bellowed it's last and then slumped over.

Highwind landed smoothly on the ground a few feet away, already turning her attention to Loqi. "Where's Biggs?"

"Already heading for the city with the other Argentum," Loqi said quickly. The last thing he needed was to incur her wrath because she thought he'd abandoned her man.

"Then let's catch up!" The Shield headed that way.

"Good plan." Highwind's gaze flickered to behind Loqi, where he could hear imps chattering.

Definitely time to move. And it was going to be on foot. They might be able to salvage the trucks later, but one of them was off road and the other was already being swarmed by smaller daemons.

Loqi snagged the collar of his living shadow yet again, yanking him along despite the fact he was hissing and attempted to bite the hand on him.

Difficult child. Loqi didn't have time to be gentle with him. And it worked – the boy kept up with him even though he had to release him to shoot more daemons that were closing in.

Damn it all.

There were already so many of them, even if they were small. He had to watch how many arrows he sent off lest he run out before they reached safety. He felt as though he were in a dream where no matter how fast he ran he couldn't escape.

But the city was within sight. Callux had been right – they were close. And Callux and the other Argentum had made it, if the amassing force at the gate and on the wall were anything to go by.

Loqi risked a glance behind him.

…Dear Astrals. They'd led a small army straight to Lestallum.

Which the city had realized the extent of – even the elder Fleuret was outside.

Ravus glared death at Loqi as their group drew close to the prepared fighters. "If Highwind hasn't killed you by the end of this, I'll do it myself."

"Not the time, Your Highness," Loqi shot back, shooing his clone past the line of fighters so that he was protected behind them.

"It will be eventually," Ravus said crossly, yet calmly, readying his sword and settling into his fighting stance. "Get the boy inside!"

Loqi realized – quite ironically since he'd meant his words sarcastically – that his title for Ravus actually fit extremely well at the moment. In his years of seeing Ravus around, the royal had never looked so… royal.

Ravus' white coat made him seem like a beacon as he headed the defending force with all the composure of a king.

Loqi kept shooing the clone until he was over the line of the closing gate.

The Immortal was standing just inside.

Of course. Not as though he could come out and fight himself, but he was still there to lead.

Loqi shoved the boy at him. "Just don't let him bite you."

Cor didn't seem phased by the hissing clone as he ordered, "Close the gate!"

Loqi gave him a nod as he spun on his heel and made his way back to Ravus' side, where Highwind, the Shield, and Evan had already settled into place.

Ravus raised his eyebrow at Evan and Loqi both but said nothing as Loqi joined them.

"Gate secure!" came Cor's voice though the barrier. "Ready yourselves! Defend the wall!"

No shit. Loqi rolled his eyes, drawing an arrow. He brushed the feathers behind his head. Seven shots left, and then he was down to his dagger.

Six, he missed his magitek armor.

But he and the other shooters were the first line of defense here, and he would not be shrugging off that duty.

His first arrow left his grip shortly after the gunfire began to sound. Limited ammunition all of them might have had, but ever there was a time to use it, it was now.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five–

The wave was upon them.

Loqi tossed his bow to the side, ignoring his last arrow in favor of pulling out his knife in time to meet the first daemonified sabertusk.

He fell back as it tackled him, lodging his knife in the beast's neck, painting his hand and shoulder in its blood before he was able to throw the limp body off of himself.

Evan was covering him, taking on two imps with relative ease as Loqi got back to his feet.

It was utter chaos around them. Highwind and Ravus' magitek weapon attacks, the Glaives warping to and fro, fire and lighning and ice shooting about, the actual shooters – it was a wonder they weren't suffering any casualties via friendly fire. Clearly, these fighters were used to working around each other.

The Shield took out a mindflayer to Loqi's left with one wide swing.

Right. Loqi knew what role to play here.

"Evan, focus on the small ones around the others!" Loqi told the boy.

The magic users and heavy hitters could handle the bigger daemons, but their power was wasted and dangerous to use on the ones at their feet.

Evan sent him a firm nod, as focused and composed as he had been with the giant earlier.

Reserved field missions for that boy? Really? Total drivel.

Loqi found an imp to stab through the eye, grimacing at the various fluids that gushed onto his sleeve.

"Hey, archer guy!"

Loqi whipped around in time to see a female Glaive in white toss a crossbow at him. He dropped his knife, snagging the other weapon out of the air and firing it off as soon as he'd found another target. The glaive summoned a second crossbow for herself and slid to cover his back.

"Holler when you need ammo!"

To summon ammunition at will… That Lucian magic certainly did have its advantages, he'd admit.

But how long could they hold out against this hoard with so few fighters? They were well trained, yes, but there was only so much that would help in this scenario.

"Out!" he hissed.

"Swap!" the Glaive said, twisting around to be at his side and tossing the crossbow she held at him. He returned the one already in his hands back to her via the same method.

Good. Good, this system could work as long as they kept a close watch on each other.

And then a mechanical groan reached Loqi's ears that he shouldn't have been hearing.

The gate. Why was the gate opening again?

"Cor! What the hell are you doing?" The Shield bellowed in the direction of the wall.

The daemons couldn't rush the entrance. Not yet, anyway. Their protective force was too tight around that point. There was still time to close the gate again and shut them all out–

Another figure dressed in that rare white…

Quite suddenly, Loqi understood. They wouldn't have to worry about the daemons getting inside the gate if the daemons wouldn't survive what was coming out.

Lunafreya stepped forward with her head held high, the intricately designed trident of the Oracle glowing in her grasp with a magic so potent that Loqi felt gooseflesh forming on his arms.

She slammed the bottom of the trident into the ground, the top brightening to the point that it could have been mistaken for their beloved missing sun. It was a beautiful sight. And a horrid noise.

The daemons screamed. All of them as they either recoiled and fled or were vaporized on the spot.

Loqi resisted the urge to drop his borrowed crossbow to cover his ears. Some of the Glaive didn't even try to restrain themselves – they just dismissed their weapons and tried to save their hearing.

And then all was silent.

The screaming gone as soon as it had come.

Most of the fighters stood still, staring at the Oracle in wonder. Evan Ravus looked shocked.

"Is everyone all right?" Lunafreya asked, the glow of her trident fully dying out as she lowered it.

The trance broke as everyone began looking around ateach other.

Well, Loqi was going to be no help there. He didn't know most of the people who were there to begin with.

He turned to face the white-coated Glaive, offering her the weapon back. "Thank you."

She gave him a smile and a nod in return, accepting the crossbow.

"Evan!"

Loqi snapped his gaze over to find Highwind dropping her knees next to the boy's unconscious form.

What had happened? He'd been standing just prior to Lunafreya's entrance.

Ravus, who was on the edge of their pack of fighters, sheathed his sword. "Best not to dwell out here – let's get him into the city."

Yes, that was a good thought. Loqi began to jog the short distance over to Highwind intending to help, but Highwind stopped him in his tracks with a death glare.

Very well. He'd leave it to her, then.

The daemons might be gone, but there was no telling when more would spawn, or if the blast had even gotten all of them. There were plenty of obstacles set up for the defense of the city behind which a daemon might have hidden from the light. It wouldn't have been the first time Loqi had thought he'd cleared an area only for one last daemon to be skulking about. Ronins in particular were far too damn clever for Loqi's tastes. Their more human-looking forms weren't just for show.

"Fleuret, the vehicles we took were undamaged when we left," Loqi told Ravus.

Oh, look. Someone else giving him a death glare.

"For your sake, you best hope that remains the case," Ravus all but growled. "You can help us retrieve them."

Fair enough.

Ravus didn't wait for a reply anyway – he was already walking that direction, signaling some Glaives to follow, and Loqi had to run to catch up.

Damned anak. At least the white-coated Glaive woman was short too. Ravus was more likely to slow down for her sake.

…Or not. Because it was Ravus. Thought for others had never really been his strong point from what Loqi had seen. But… that was before all this. Loqi wasn't the same person as he was. Ravus likely wasn't either.

His default personality was still an irritable ass, though.

Loqi caught fully up to him with a few more quick steps.

"You're fortunate I haven't already had you thrown directly into locked room and ordered the key to be melted for other needs," Ravus said, and not even at all subtly. The Glaives were definitely hearing him.

"Does the fact that I was right and that I saved two lives with this mission mean nothing?" Loqi asked casually.

Ravus' look was withering and clear, even as they drew further away from the lights of the city.

Fortunately, Loqi was spared at least a small amount of further wrath by the trucks indeed remaining untouched. Lucky that the daemons had chosen to follow them instead.

"Well start the one down the hill up and get her back to the city," the white-coated Glaive reported.

"Then do it quickly," Ravus dismissed, circling around the truck still on the road and checking its tires.

"Oh, the gratitude you ooze…" Loqi commented, leaning against the truck while Ravus finished his check.

Ravus scoffed, nearing where Loqi was. "The last thing I need is lessons on leadership from you."

Loqi stepped off to the side just enough so that Ravus could move between him and the truck. The wind was chilly tonight. "Perhaps, but you could certainly use them in general– Fleuret, move!"

Things went… oddly blank for a moment. Like Loqi had skipped a few seconds forwards in time.

He staggered away from the car as though pushed, his head swimming like his mind was full of TV static.

What…?

There'd been a ronin behind Ravus, but now Loqi was staggering the other way.

"Loqi!"

Ravus sounded concerned. Strange. He'd seemed to hate him a moment ago. What was he missing?

Why did he feel so detached?

His hand was gripping his stomach.

…Why?

Loqi brought his hand up, and it took him a moment to realize that the blood there was fresh and not what had spilled on him earlier.

Fresh. His.

Oh.

The ronin. He stopped the ronin from getting to Ravus, but…

There was a hole straight through him.

He'd been impaled.

He didn't really have time to process that fully as the pavement rose to greet him.