Dopple walked out from his home, a tray in his hand that balanced two cups of tea. He placed it on a table between him and Marie, sitting on the chair across from her "...So tell me more about yourself, Marie..." he said rather solemnly "This is our third time meeting, and I barely know you..."

Marie stared up in confusion "Third time..." she tried to pick through her mind "Wait, you're in your true form now, right? I knew you had a familiar scent... but you don't seem so hostile now..."

"Meh... I can see now that I'll never get what I want. There's no need to continue to channel my rage towards you." he took a sip of his tea "You see, there's bigger fish to fry..."

"I guess, so ya want to know a bit about me? Even I'm not sure anymore... supposedly my earlier memories have been altered greatly... but I" she glanced down "In my dimension, as simple as I looked, I was one of the Klonian deities in Cryssna, my home planet..." her eyes closed in sorrow "I was feared by my fellow deities for harboring a power that tears through reality and the universe... so they had my memories altered... they tell me that I never had parents, I was the first being in my universe, but it makes me skeptical" she thought "But over these millennia, I have been weakened by time... if only I was as strong as I was then..."

"Your power never fades, dear child." Dopple responded placing his cup down. "It's just up to you to rediscover it. Sometimes you have to learn new ways to master it in order to unleash its full potential."

"But I'm not allowed ta use it..." she said "It's a forbidden magic... bah... creatures were never this rough in Phantomile... maybe I just need to take it to the next limit" She swished her tail, lying down on the porch, the pleasing smell of tea tickled her nose, causing it to twitch slightly.

"Forbidden things are simply misunderstood." he shook his head "Though you may not be able harness your full power. You still have yet to reach your limit, especially if the monsters here provide challenges for you."

"I see, but what if it hurts others?" she shuddered "I'd rather not think of all the destructive things it could cause if I lost control... Why is it me with this power? There are many other deities, let alone mortal people who are much stronger than me, yet it is I who has this power..."

"That, my child is what you have to master." he took another sip of his tea "If you cannot control your powers, you cannot use them. However, with great control you can learn any skill." He stared into the door at Convivial "...The human who taught me that lesson was a great man. He taught himself to speak our language through years of practice." The doppelganger turned back to Marie "However, while trying to teach others he was regarded as a demon and banished to the depths of the Payon dungeon."

"Augh..." she groaned "So I gotta train... but first thing's first, I gotta clear my name here... I wonder how? I'm viewed as a demihuman monster, yet I haven't harmed anyone... why are they like this? Bah..." She lied backwards, staring at the soft fluffy clouds in the sky "Actually... being here feels nice... I feel like sleeping"

"Perhaps he knows the way..." Dopple told her while not noticing Marie was dozing off "You should head to the Payon dungeon and ask him. He's a very wise sage, you know..." He looked over to her and noticed her knocked out "...Ah, never mind..." picking up the tea tray, carrying it toward the kitchen for washing, Dopple couldn't help but notice Convivial resting on his couch with his Lute in his grasp "...Company feels nice..."

Convivial awoke to the sound of birds chirping and trees blowing in the wind. The sun shined brightly and he was lucky enough to be shaded by a large tree. The scent of nature flowed through the air, a wondrous smell that filled him with life as he breathed it through deep sighs.

"Ahh...You know. For an underground forest this place is perfect." he took another deep breath "Nice clean...air? Wait, this wasn't here when we came down..." Aeon sat up, looking around with his Lute in his lap. Marie slept at the base of a nearby tree, tilted slightly. Next to him rested Succubus, her back seemingly in a lot better shape. As he scanned the horizon a bit more he saw a sign in the distance. He got up to check it, yawning his way up. As he got closer he could see the sign read "Payon"

Soon the young Klonian child stirred, forcing herself up from her slumber, she blinked "Ugh... I thought I was awake... how did this happen?" she asked, walking up to the sign "What does this say? I can't really read..." In the distance, she spotted a party of knights, as she quickly ran to Succi "Wake up!" she frantically nudged her shoulder "We can't get caught!" Succubus twitched, groggily sitting up in a daze, but managed to take cover in the bush with Marie. Peeking through at the group, she recognized Joe from long ago, his group of warriors just making its way to Payon, preparing to search the grounds for the wanted Klonian. However they failed to notice her dashing behind the bushes. As they walked past Marie they heard nothing, not a voice, not a sound. They seemed to be strictly business partners, and didn't joke about a thing.

"...Time out." Joe said as he stopped and turned to his comrades "How long were we doing this again?"

"I told you," One said in a long white coat "The 'stfu' game lasts until we reach the next town. Now shush. Don't give Kane any ideas."

"Hey, I resent that!"

"What to do now?" Marie softly whispered to Succi as quietly as possible "We need to go to Payon, but there's so many knights... we need a disguise... I betcha we could find some cloaks in town..."

"Hey, you hear that?" Joe said, holding his hand up and grasping his sword "Hear what Joe, Birds in the bushes, jeeze, I swear you're uber paranoid sometimes" Joe crept closer to the tree Marie and Succi were hidden behind, beginning to draw his sword slowly. Succi began to shiver near Marie, rustling the grass a bit further. He tuned out the sounds of the environment and listening for the rustling. There was a long moment of silence in the forest and not a sound was heard, as Marie stopped Succi from shaking. The knight was just around the corner.

"Hey Joe!" The silence was broken as Convivial greeted his pal "Whatcha doin' over there? Having fun with your buddies?"

Joe lost his focus, standing straight and waving to Aeon "Nah... I thought I heard something. Must've been a poring."

Marie let out a slow sigh of relief, easing herself deeper into the bushes slowly. Looking up, she was quite glad that once again, Convivial had saved her from a very close call. "I can't wait till I clear my name..." she thought to herself.

"So Viv, what're you doing out here?" Joe slid his sword back into its sheath as he spoke. "I thought you were in Geffen."
"Yeah, I did too." Aeon responded "But after training myself up in the dungeon, I found myself here."
As he kept up the conversation, Succi began to shiver again "...Let's head into town. I could use some pants right now."

"And I could use my shawl back" Marie crept backward, and said "This way, we'll take cover through the bushes, when I give the signal, take flight into the tree canopies" she pointed up slightly, not raising her arm "Aeon will be fine, this guy is his friend. Once we get into town, we'll find us some clothes"

"Sounds good." Succi said, reviewing the plot in her head. "Oh, here..." She stood in the bushes and removed Marie's shawl from her waist. "If we're sneaking into town, I'm sure they won't notice..."

Marie slipped it back on, still fitting like usual "Good, I think a few cloaks could help conceal us, then we head to the cave, I hope Aeon finds us there..." she said. A poring walked by, she took a flower, tying its stem around a pebble. It attracted the poring's attention, as Marie gave it a toss in another direction, the poring followed, then gave the signal, taking flight into higher branches.

"Wait for it..." she said, seeing the poring wander by the two "Now, fly this way"
Succubus nodded and followed closely behind Marie.

"Yeah so, then he said, 'You haven't seen the last of me' and I shot him right in the head." Convivial found himself bragging to keep Joe's attention. His pals were laughing a bit, but he kept his eyes on the bushes behind him. Joe heard a rustling from the bushes and quickly drew his sword.

"AHAH!" he yelled, dashing into the bushes he dug his blade into the ground in a slash. The others ran behind him to see his sword had chopped through a small rock and scared a young poring. Joe sighed, "...Darn, I was hoping to find something..." he put his sword back up "Ah well... what were you saying Viv?" He turned back toward the road to see nothing. "Convivial...?"

"It worked" Marie said "Now to get to the village..." she took flight ahead, seeing Payon in the distance "Up there, let's see, there's a shop in the distance... let's land behind it"

As they landed Marie and Succi saw two novices "So I said to her, 'Screw you, this is mah biscuit!'" one said, causing the other to giggle.

"Haha, you're so funny..." The other coughed. Succi stood to attract their attention, then blew a kiss toward them. Her breath took on a solid form and a large heart floated in their direction, bursting in front of them and causing them to drop to the floor and fall asleep.

"...I think I just found myself some new pants, Marie."

"Ummmmmmmm" a sweat drop fell "Congrats?" She looked, wondering "Well, I guess if we get into the cave, I won't need a cloak, but then again, I'm wicked short... a simple jacket could work..." she took a shirt, using her magic, it reassembled the cloth into a cloak, seeming to meld together perfectly. Placing it on, she wrapped her tail around her waist, and pressed her ears by her side; folding her wings "What a tight fit..." she thought "Let's go find Aeon..."

Further away, Convivial stood before a large building, slightly hidden in the trees of the Payon forest. He stared at its doorway which held a sign down its face, allowing feelings of regret and embarrassment to get the best of him.

"...Why can't I go in?" he said, closing his eyes and clenching his fist "...What's wrong with this place? Five Minutes have been up since forever!" He punched the wooden door in frustration, looking up to read the sign again "...Out to Lunch, Be back in 5"

"So there's a person in Payon who understands monsters..." Marie debated in her head, back at the shop "Let's find Aeon, he might know something" With her cloak, she walked out in the open, resembling a Jawa she looked around. Though very odd looking, no one could recognize her as the girl on the wanted poster.

"Stay here" she whispered to Succubus "I'll be back, I promise"

"It's fine Marie" Succi flapped her wings twice before making them completely disappear "I'll wait for you here. I'm sure no one will notice..."

"Okay" she nodded, walking out into the open. Raising her nose in the air, she caught the faint smell of the bard far away, walking towards the forest. She received odd stares from people as she walked by, mostly because of her size.

"...Dude... who the hell is that?"
"I dunno, I think it's a mage"
"I like gravy…"

A few voices trailed off from a distance as Marie approached the blue clad bard who was resting his arms on the door "...Come on you bastages. Let me in... I have to get my ramen!"

"Aeon" Marie whispered "Get over here, we can find some food later, we have important stuff. Do you know anything about monsters in any part of Payon?"

He turned around to the oddly familiar voice, but couldn't really recognize her face "Er... who're you again?" Aeon scratched his head. "I don't remember meeting any novices in the past few days..."

"You know" she whispered "It's meh, Marie! Succi an' I got some clothes, and I made this to conceal mehself!" She looked around, hoping not to raise any attention "We need to find someone in Payon; a sage who can understand monsters!"

"...Sage who can understand..." He thought with his hand to his chin. "...Ah, him... I heard about a man being banished into those caves over there a long while ago." He pointed to an opening in a wall that was surprisingly black, as if sunlight couldn't penetrate the entryway "I was a boy then, a little novice still picking up the tricks of the Archers. I can barely even remember the entire story, since it was my parents who told me about it and even they were kids when it happened... They said he was a devil worshipper that spoke in the tongue of the Doppelganger. He was caught reasoning to Dopple right outside the town in front of all the people who were armed and ready to fight of his army. He stopped a Payon raid by monsters." Aeon took in a breath "But, why would you want to see him?"

"Oh, I have my reasons" she said "He might be able to help clear my name. Succi is behind a building not too far off, I'll go find her and meet you there, giving you some time to eat" she said "I'm fine without a meal, but you look famished..."

"Huh? Eat? Nonsense, I--" Convivial's stomach groaned loudly "...Yeah, ill go find some food."

"Just don't take too long, okay? There's knights here, if they found that you were helping me, you might get in trouble as well..." With that, she dashed off, seeking out her demi-human friend, still behind the shop. Sitting down by her she said "Succi, do you need anything? Aeon's getting something to eat, and if you need any meals or anything of the matter, than this would be the best time..."

"Hmm..." Succi closed her eyes and looked toward the sky, thinking of the possibilities "...Food, I haven't had any of that for decades." she looked back to Marie "Ever since my brother lured me into people's dreams, we've had no need to eat anything. But I miss the taste of fruits and savory meats, vegetables and pastas, mashed potatoes and gravy..." She began to drool at the thought of it then shook it off "...um, maybe an apple or two?"
"Ummmm sure" Marie replied, reaching into her shawl, she pulled out some fruit, fresh and ripe and handed it to her "If I need to replenish my energy, I only need to find a river... that might help, or just some water..." she glanced around "But they're further away from the village, if I remember correctly. I shouldn't stray to far away with knights about..."

As Succi took the fruit she looked around, finding a reflection on a nearby cliff wall "How about that pond over there?" She pointed toward it. "It doesn't look too bad..."

"Yes..." she said, taking off her gloves. Her small hands, furry and snowy white, had tiny kitten claws on each finger. She plunged them into the pond; a blue aura surrounded her as the water was absorbed into her arms. When she withdrew her hands, they glowed a slight blue, as she placed back on the gloves "This energy should keep me going for a good while" she said, sitting back in her spot "Let's wait a little while..."

Succi nodded sinking her teeth into the fruit before looking back up to her friend who sat in content. Marie stared out into the distance, searching for signs of Convivial's return from his food search, her fur slightly flowing with the wind and her focused eyes filled with cobalt light.

"Um..." Succi blushed, looking back at her fruit. "I guess my stomach isn't as big as most people's."

"That's okay" she said "If I couldn't absorb water, I'd probably eat all the food in town" she joked "You can never tell how big your appetite is. I don't exactly need food for energy, but it sure is tasty!"

"Heh... I guess so." Succi sighed, twirling the fruit in her hand. She looked back to Marie who was searching for Aeon once again. Her fur taunted the demi human with its fluffiness. It seemed to draw her towards Marie, her curiosity tugging at her arm as she stretched it out toward one of her long fluffy ears.

"...Marie..." she whispered."You wouldn't mind if I..."

"No problem" she said "I guess I'm used to it, though it peeves me when complete strangers think it's fine, ya know what I mean? I understand, my ears are quite soft and floppy..."

"...so soft..." Succi stroked her ear for a few minutes "...so cute..."

After petting for a little longer she stopped and cuddled Marie, lifting her into her lap. "Oh, you remind me so much of my Kyri!" Succi hugged a bit tighter "I used to love her so much, until Incu burned her under that Christmas tree one day..."

"Hey you two!" Convivial called out from a distance with a bag in his hand "I'm back... hey, what're you up to?"

"Ack" Marie thought, being squeezed "A little too tight there..." still in Succubus' grip, she looked up to see Convivial "It's the hug of death" she whined "ah well, I'm fine, let's just hope this doesn't become a habit! Well, as soon as Succi lets go we can head over there!"

"Hug of death, you say?" Convivial shook his head. Succi's face beamed red as she snapped out of her cuteness fit.

"Oh... sorry." she let Marie go. "…I guess I got carried away."

"It's okay" she said "Just a little joke, at least you're not like a certain baka demon friend of mine!" she sat up "It felt nice before you hugged too tight though... so now we're all ready, and we can find this sage in the caves, once again I guess Aeon's leading the way..."

Convivial nodded and pulled a burger from his baggy, unwrapping it and taking huge bites from it "Yeshm..." he mumbled through his stuffed mouth "mmfollow meh.."

Succi's mind drifted off for a bit as Aeon and Marie began the walk, still thinking of the cuddly Klonian. He stopped and swallowed his food.

"Er... Succi, you coming?"
"Oh right." she nodded and got up, walking and leading the way toward the cave. She tried to hide her face from Convivial and Marie, but Aeon had a fairly keen eye. He turned and whispered to Marie "I think she likes you..."

"Err..." Marie had an odd look on her face "Well, that's one less person who wants ta kill meh..." Closer and closer they made it to the cave, the entrance pitch black. Without any hesitation, she plunged through the darkness, coming through the other side.