(A/N)

Sorry about taking so, so long to write this chapter! I've been at a loss with this story for awhile. There's so much I want to do with it, but I'm at one of those parts in it where I had nothing planned. That, and there's the fact that I kinda fell out of my obsession with SDS. Recently, though, I've gotten back into it - at least, into my fanfic and its characters. I can't tell you that I'll be updating more often now, as I have no clue when I'll have another chapter written, but I want you all to know that I do not plan to abandon this story. There are still so many things I want to happen. So many reveals I want to make! Someone even went to me on Wattpad and DMed me asking if I still planned on posting here on FFN! I'm glad that people are still reading this and thinking about it even when I've been on hiatus.

For my responses to people's reviews:

Lavendor Queen: While I would have loved to make them stay longer, I was having difficulty figuring out what to have them do while still keeping the story interesting. Though it would have been smart for them to help out around town. But Zinnia was getting anxious to leave, as well, and wanted to get back to her friends.

GoatSinSparkles: I'm glad Zephyr made you think of a cat there - that's what I was going for! In fact, when I was first coming up with this story, Zephyr was going to be a cat, but I felt like it didn't quite fit the story. He did manage to keep some of his cat-like tendencies, though.

Dakedoooooooo: I didn't forget - I promise! Just major writer's block. Thank you so much for reading and letting me know people are still reading.

CAP1PERCENT: Glad you like it!

lolistarkiller: Glad you're looking forward to future chapters! Though I cannot confirm nor deny the identities of those characters, haha. I'm looking forward to the chapters where they're revealed - I've been excited to write the one that will reveal her Onii-chan since I first started writing this.

Goku275: Thank you so much! I'm guessing by "LEGIT OC Character" you mean a character from the original story? If so, I'm really glad to hear that! I've put a lot into trying to figure out how Zinnia and Zephyr tie into the world in every way possible, so I'm happy to hear that it's working.

So thank you all so much for your patience, and please enjoy the chapter!

(Also, sorry if the writing style is any different; it's been half a year after all.)


The brunette girl - Zaneri, I was told - had taken Meliodas and Elizabeth off to the spire on the right. Everyone else, including me, Zephyr, and Helbram, followed Jenna and Theo to what Jenna called the Cave of Training. This was the other structure that I had spotted on our way in, and was apparently where druid warriors trained.

"Hey, Jenna," Harlequin started, floating towards the front of the group. "What are you taking us to a place like this for?"

That was a good question, were it not a little obvious in its answer. After all, she had already said that this was where druids trained, so if these people were helping us and one was taking us to a training ground, then-

"To train, obviously!" she snapped. "You just can't figure anything out, can you."

Yeah, that had been exactly as I had been expecting.

Zephyr trotted at my side, glancing up at me. I hope no one expects you to participate. He murmured. You're in no condition; you're still hurt from the albion.

"He's right, you know." Helbram spoke from my other side. He glanced anxiously at Harlequin. "I'm also a little worried about Harlequin. He seems a little off right now. You shouldn't go in there with him."

"But I can't just sit around and do nothing while everyone else is training and getting stronger!" My wings flickered in frustration. In my annoyance, I didn't notice that the group had stopped, and bumped into Harlequin. In response, he flinched away from me violently, sending a glare my way, before glancing at Helbram and quickly turning away.

Okay, maybe Helbram is right… I glanced at the green fairy, who was now nodding at me. But what did I do to get him to act like this? I haven't even been with the Sins for quite awhile! Helbram shrugged, and I quickly made a point to stop this line of thinking. Him responding to my thoughts was just too weird. I turned my attention back to the rest of the group.

"-there's already a group inside." Jenna was saying from where she had turned around near the entrance to the training grounds. She smiled, both hands on her hips as she leaned forwards. "Apparently they know you."

"Maybe it's Ban?" Hawk offered.

Harlequin shook his head, all signs of being upset with me gone. "Well, she said 'a group,' so maybe Guila and Jericho…?"

It was in that moment that a form began to appear in the entrance, walking out while holding what appeared to be a sturdy stick in one hand. "Sorry to disappoint you…" The deep voice was unmistakable.

I froze, and I could sense Helbram going rigid next to me. A low growl sounded in Zephyr's throat as he revealed his fangs.

"Y…"

"You're…"

Jenna seemed to be the only one relaxed. "Oh, out already, Hendy?"

That seemed to snap everyone out of their daze. Harlequin was the first to move, instantly increasing his spirit spear and directing an attack towards the ex-demon. "Hendrickson! So you're still alive!?"

But how could he be alive? The Sins had told me that he was dead - slain by Meliodas with the help of everyone else. So how could he be here, of all places? What would Helbram think? This was the man who had resurrected him, amplified his hatred of humans with his magic, and forced him to do his bidding and to nearly kill his best friend. This was the man who had forced so much suffering on a fairy that had already suffered enough for a lifetime.

I glanced over at my friend, whose eyes had widened at the sight of Hendrickson. The emotions I saw there were mixed: anger, hatred, fear, terror, and a mixture of countless negative emotions. Helbram still hadn't even moved, though, when Hendrickson collapsed, face-first, to the ground.

Jenna, standing just ahead of Harlequin, held up a hand. "Hold on, King. I understand that you have reasons for holding a grudge against this lad, but he's returned to normal now. Would you hold back your rage, for my sake?" When King stopped, she turned back to the unconscious former commander of the Holy Knights with a shake of her head. "My,my… What a hopeless lad…"

"Look!" Slader's shout snatched my attention from Hendrickson. "There's something else near the entrance! A weird lump of black mass… Tattered old rags?"

Tattered old rags…? Why would those be in a place like this?

Hawk, ever the one to snatch an opportunity, ran toward the mass, mouth agape. "No! This is the smell of something burnt, crispy, and delicious! It's probably druids' leftovers!"

"That's impossible." Harlequin sweatdropped, giving the pig a doubtful look.

Hawk, nonetheless, advanced, sniffing whatever was on the ground. "...Huh? Thi… This isn't leftovers… or old rags! The three tattered rags!"

That… didn't explain what it was on the ground in the slightest. Everyone approached, though I noted that Helbram was hanging back, his gaze still lingering on the prone form of Hendrickson. I gave him a worried glance, but continued with the group; we would talk about this later.

It appeared that the "three tattered rags" were in fact Howzer, Gilthunder, and Griamore. They were just as exhausted as Hendrickson, if not moreso, judging by the fact that they hadn't even made it out of the mouth of the cave. With a gasp, Gilthunder opened his eyes, and Howzer groaned as though just being woken up.

Gilthunder pushed himself into a sitting position. "Owww… I thought we were in the Cave of Training just a second ago…" He first looked at Jenna, but his eyes wandered to the group standing behind her and he rubbed his head. "Oh…? When did you all get to Istar?"

This was when I noticed that Helbram still had yet to move from his spot. While I had moved forward with the group to investigate, the green fairy hadn't moved an inch since spotting Hendrickson.I had expected him to follow, even if he had lingered for a moment. In fact, he wasn't the only one that had remained. Harlequin was still facing down the man, his back hunched with barely repressed rage. Clenching his hands, Harlequin reprimanded the former Great Holy Knight. "Hendrickson, I don't care what reasons you had, I will never forgive you! Especially after what you did to Helbram!" He gestured to the other fairy, who had begun to sweat.

Hendrickson's voice was full of regret when he responded. "...No words I say to you can absolve what I've done, and I will not defend my actions…" His head was tilted downward, his eyes close. Now, though, he glanced up to look the Fairy King in the eye. Only… his gaze landed on Helbram, and he lagged in his speech. "I will accept… my due punishment… when it… comes….. How?" The last word was obviously directed at Helbram. "How are you alive? My magic stopped working. You should be dead." He held a hand to his chin in thought, and his words came slowly. "Could this be why it didn't work when I tried to bring you back again…?"

Zephyr, standing at my side, pawed at his nose with a noise that was halfway between a growl and a whimper, but it was just at that moment that Helbram snapped out of his shock, so I hardly noticed Zephyr's movement. Helbram quivered with rage, and his lips twitched up into a smile ominously similar to the one I'd seen him wearing when I had first encountered him fighting Harlequin. "You tried to bring me back… again?! But of course you would. You're a despicable human, after all! You just take and you take until the one you're taking from has nothing left to give - and then you take some more. That's all you greedy humans know how to do!"

It was like the world had frozen. I had thought that he had gotten better. Merlin had said he would be better. Had she been wrong? Or was the issue just not fully fixed? Perhaps it was because it was Hendrickson himself. But then, why would Helbram say it was all humans? Had meeting Hendrickson reversed his progress? Would he go back to trying to murder every human he saw? Starting with the humans behind me? I could hear that the others had gone silent; they were probably watching Helbram and Hendrickson to see how this played out.

I clutched my shirt above my heart. If this was happening - if Helbram was turning back into the heartless murderer he had been, then I would fulfil my side of the deal. I would take down my friend with my own hand or - failing that - end my own life. It wouldn't be pleasant, and I was certain that Zephyr would try to stop me, but if it was necessary-

Helbram twitched his wings, and I noticed that his eyes flicked toward me momentarily, a look of shock and perhaps even betrayal in them. He drooped slightly, but he didn't seem to be so focused on Hendrickson anymore. "Something's wrong with me…?" While the words sounded like a question, I was almost certain he knew the answer. He was only confirming it.

"Yes. I- I'm so sorry, Helbram…" The tears in my eyes were obscuring my view, but I kept going. "I was hoping that perhaps… you would get better before you noticed. You seemed so much better back in Akshur! You acted completely normal with the people there."

He gave a small, sad, disappointed smile. "But… those weren't humans, were they? They were elves. Delphi told me so. It's humans I have a problem with, right? This is what you've been hiding from me, isn't it? That if I go crazy, you'll kill me - or worse - kill yourself?"

"I can't help it!" I cried the words. "It was either that or let you die. I didn't want you to die - not again! It's my fault! I screwed up! If I just knew more about my spirit spear, maybe I could have done it better. Maybe I could have made it to where your life didn't have to be tied to mine. Maybe I could have gone with you seven hundred years ago and stopped you from going crazy and dying in the first place. But I didn't!" I tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in my throat. "So yes, I made the same promise that Harlequin did - that I would stop you if something were to go wrong, no matter how I had to go about it." My voice went quiet. "Even if that meant ending my own life."

Helbram just stared at me, his eyes slightly rounded. Had he not thought I had the guts to put my own life on the line for this? Or maybe he hadn't realized how upset I was about everything. Either way, I was glad that if nothing else, I seemed to have snapped him out of his rant against Hendrickson. While I hated Hendrickson with all my being for what he had done, he seemed to no longer be the demon the Sins had described to me. That, and this was neither the time nor place to fight Hendrickson if he wasn't the threat.

Jenna clapped her hands together, snapping Helbram's attention from me and mine from him. "Save the chitchat for later! It's time for training." She smiled as though nothing had happened. Though, the rest of the group was staring pretty openly at me, Helbram, and Hendrickson.

Harlequin crossed his arms, turning away from Hendrickson. "Honestly, I'm not in the mood anymore."

Helbram followed suit. "Neither am I." I couldn't tell, though, if his unhappiness was directed at Hendrickson, me, or the both of us. He certainly wasn't looking at me.

Jenna seemed amused, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. "Very well. But I have a hunch that the Ten Commandments couldn't care less about our mood or convenience."

Even so, the Grizzly Sin didn't join the group that ended up stripping down to their bare essential clothing and entering the cave with nothing but an ash branch. Nor did Helbram, Zephyr, or I. We all remained outside in an awkwardness that only momentarily broke when a strange portal appeared and a black hound popped out. As soon as the black hound - Oslo - disappeared into the cave with the rest of the trainees, we returned to awkward silence.