AUTHOR'S NOTE: ok, chapter 13 will be up soon, either today or tomorrow. I just went through my books thoroughly and I was completely wrong, Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess are DEFINITELY brother and sister. So because I didn't want to confuse anybody, I changed parts in chapter eleven, I advise you to go back and reread the chapter so the following chapters and the plot will make sense. I changed my plot and everything so you guys wouldn't be confused. Sorry to everyone that knew they were right, I was being stupid when I wrote that they were her parents, now REREAD ch.11 and check soon for the author's note to be replaced with ch.13 (it will be called The Others, and should be up in one or two days depending on how fast I can clean a house, gag me) anyways I apologize to SarahE7191- you were completely and utterly right, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I fixed chapter eleven just for you after I scanned through my books, thanks for telling me about that, I really appreciate it.(from the author's note I had posted here before

Ok, in this chapter you find out what is happening at HQ and who Guarire is. READ!

Ch.13 The Others and Guarire

Joren strode without his usual air of purpose down the gloomy halls, hand fingering his gun absently. He was worried; he hadn't seen Dom or Kel in the cafeteria once, they were the few of the group that still entered the cafeteria even if they went alone. So there he was on Dom's floor walking towards the man's dorm, ready to kick the door open if he had to. He was tired of being separated from everyone else, tired of himself being angry all the time. His hands still ached daily from his fight with the wall. He knocked once; no answer; twice; still no answer. He waited, thinking his one time friend might still be asleep even if it was only evening.

Some minutes later, he still stood there, just waiting and waiting. He could feel his usual anger boil in his veins just waiting to burst out and scare the crap out of the next person that walked by. So he knocked again, now hammering the door causing it to groan against its hinges. Still no answer, not even a groan or cursing for him to leave, not even a note of some sort explaining his absence. He shrugged and knew what he was about to do might seem rude in peoples eyes, especially that bossy girl Kel who he was forced to work with. His eyes narrowed as he thought of her, but he'd have to try and talk with her as well to know where everyone was. He punched Dom's keypad with the code he'd memorized. The door swung open, revealing no sign of life. He cupped a hand around his thin lips and called out for Dom. Still no answer. He closed the door for some sort of privacy even if living in the TPD dorms was just asking to have your personal life be pried apart.

Before wandering further around Dom's abode, he strode over to the kitchen. He was hungry, he shrugged, he was always hungry it seemed, but it didn't matter it wasn't as if he was obese, he had the slender body of a runner, and his metabolism was in great shape, it had yet to defy him. He grabbed the essentials from the fridge and called out for Dom, mouth still full. No answer once again. This irked him, causing him to slam his fist against the counter and drop all items of food. He walked to the bedroom and froze at the sight. Dom's bed was made. Since when did stuff like this happen? He shook his head and his icy blue eyes scanned his surroundings. The closet door was wide open, hangers everywhere on the floor, the dresser drawers were still pulled out, and clothes hanging on the floor, but most of it were missing. He blinked; surely Dom wouldn't just disappear with out telling his squad. Wait, he thought, they were a squad no more, as they were all safely back in HQ, with the exception of Liz, who was missing. His jaw clenched and his fingers curled into fists at the thought. He shook his head; it would not do to think about that now.

He crawled around the piles of dirty clothes like a cat, searching for some clue about his disappearance but none met his eyes. He peered into the bathroom, but Dom was not their as well, and most of the items in the bathroom were gone as well. He scratched his head as he closed Dom's dorm room behind him. An image of a hazel eyed girl with brown hair entered his thoughts. Light bulb! He'd ask Kel, she knew everything, and she was always in everybody's business. Surely she'd know, thought Joren, she's the know-it-all above all know-it-alls.

Once again, Joren found himself staring at another dorm room, but the hall a bit brighter, and he heard chatter from the other rooms. He knocked slowly, afraid he'd made a mistake by bothering her, after all this would involve talking to that annoying and bothersome girl. He sighed in relief as she didn't answer, but forced himself to knock again. He jumped as a plump face poked through the next door. The girl's curls of midnight black falling through the crack, and she smiled warmly and seductively at him. Joren grimaced and took a step back. "Can I help you?" she asked, chubby hand twisting around her curls.

Joren rolled his eyes, "Where's Kel?"

The girls face drooped, she obviously thought he was there for more than just suspicion to be with Kel. "She left."

"Um…what do you mean she left?"

"She went on another mission, do you-"

But she never got time to finish the question; Joren knew what she would say and wanted to flee there as fast as he could, so he was now racing down the halls. He dashed down the halls, happy for his easy flight, but confused that Kel would be sent on a mission, which would mean Dom would be sent as well. Why hadn't they said anything or left a note? A voice, a part of his conscious that always sounded like Liz said, "Because you were always an ass to our dearest Keladry and you and Dom haven't been the same since…" His train of thought was interrupted. He fell onto his back after he fully body slammed someone in the hall. He didn't bother to get up, and the other person didn't either. He tried to make out the figure through his blurry image, but he could not. He heard the figure wheeze as he got up, still sitting on the floor, and began massaging his temples.

And as his vision cleared he put the blurry blobs together and his eyes made out Lerant. He bit his tongue, trying to prevent himself from letting a long line of curses flow from his mouth. And then as quickly as the anger came, it left him. The poor man beside him looked so miserable, his eyes downcast, he still lay sprawled across the floor, his chest barely moving with each breathe. Joren sighed as he pushed himself up from the floor and held out a bandaged hand to the man on the floor. Lerant took no notice of the gesture, he did nothing except breathe every once in a while. He rolled his eyes as he grabbed Lerant by both shoulders and forced him up into a standing position. "Get a grip old man," he said while eyeing him. Joren's frown only deepened as his eyes grazed over the depressed man more. His shirt was on backwards, his hair a complete and utter mess, his shoe laces untied, huge bags stood out form under his eyes, and there were actually frown marks near thin chapped lips.

Joren grimaced as he grabbed the man's wrist, they were going to have a serious talk now and Joren wouldn't stop until his one time friend was back to normal, all thoughts of Dom and Kel's mission were gone, his old friend was sick, and there was no one else to help him.

Neal opened groggy eyes; he was fed up at being held captive. He looked down at his handcuffs; he was fed up with those as well. They not only bound him from using his hands, but from using any magic at all, his wrists were also beginning to chafe. Any movement caused pain to shoot from his wrist to his hands or to his forearms, ending all the way to his shoulders. He looked across the room, prepared to meet the now usual saddened grey eyes of Owen, but he didn't see them.

His emerald orbs flickered around the room. Where was he? As a matter a fact, where was he? Neal had no idea where he was. He was still hand cuffed, but the chains no longer connected to the wall, and there was no wall. There was no cold filthy floor, no metal bars that separated them from the guards, no tiny window with slim rays of light, and no Owen. There was absolutely nothing, just endless darkness, and he felt extremely warm, which was strange, as their cell was always cold.

He called out in a hoarse whisper, as he was losing his voice from the harsh conditions. No reply. There was just silence. Neal growled he hated silence; it was always the calm before the storm. As if someone read his thoughts, the storm came. Or rather two willowy figures came. One nearly a foot shorter than the other wore a red toga, her golden hair fell down in tight curls past her shoulders and she wore a golden circlet around her forehead. The other, the more willowy figure, lay sprawled across the nothingness. Her hair was auburn and fell to the small of her back, a crown of various flowers fell to the nothingness floor, and her green silken toga bunched up underneath her. Her voice was pleasant and sing-song, "That went well," she snorted into the ground of nothingness. Her companion chuckled lightly before straightening herself and standing with an air of purpose.

The auburn haired woman stood straight and began patting her hair down. Her eyes flickered across the nothingness until she saw a tall man with handcuffs on his wrists that attached to nothing. His clothes were dirty, and dried blood covered his skin from below his mouth to his chin. His hair was dark brown and limp and rested around a widow's peak and his emerald eyes looked thoroughly confused. Liz cocked her head to the side, one hand resting on Helen's shoulder for support as her mind was still whirling. She opened her lips and was about to say something when her entire body froze. Helen's shoulder felt the icy hands of Liz and jumped. She whirled around and saw the toga bedecked Liz still as a statue, one hand grasping onto nothingness where her shoulder had been, mouth opened slightly, and the frightening black eyes.

The man's eyes widened and he cleared his throat. The ends of Helen's lips turned down into a frown, on their entire journey over here Liz kept being called over to the Realm of the Dead, and it was becoming very annoying. She sighed and sat down on the nothingness, she looked over at the bewildered man and sighed, "This should take awhile."

Liz looked around. She was in a vast jungle with plant life every which way. It would have been hard for her to get around, but she could touch nothing as if she was a ghost. And all of the greenery was currently inside of her, but she felt nothing. She heard the crunch of dead jungle leaves on the ground and looked over. There was a tall lean man. His hair was cropped short and was tousled over a widow's peak. He wore green tunic and leggings with a brown undershirt and boots. He almost faded into the array of plant life. His eyes were vivid emerald orbs that swept in the entire canopy. A long emerald hilted sword hung from his hip. A taut rosewood bow was worn over his head and left should along with a quiver full of arrows. He didn't have his blade drawn to chop at the various vines, because for some reason they all moved out of his way. The entire flora parted a clear path for him after they tried to touch him. Leaves and twigs found their way atop his unruly hair. He had a smug grin on his face as he trekked through the jungle.

Liz cocked her head to the side; this man looked like a taller and healthier version of the man in the nothingness she'd just been in with Helen. The man yelled while stopping and looking up at a tree ten feet from him. "Show yourself, I know you're not a silly panther."

Liz gasped as a midnight black panther, with amber eyes the same exact shade as her leapt from a branch of a nearby tree onto the lowest branch of the tree only five feet from the man now. The panther moved slowly back and forth across the branch, showing a shoulder with an eye tattooed on it, the eye blinked every so often and its iris changed color. Her eyes widened as she looked at her own bare shoulder, with the same mark on it as the panther.

"On with it!" roared the man, "I will not be fooled!"

The panther's purr turned into a laugh as it transformed from a sleek panther to a woman lying across the branch. Her bare feet dangled to and fro from the branch and her laughter continued to shake the tree. She wore a green silken toga with a slit down the right thigh, Liz looked down at her own clothing, and it was the same. And Liz saw the same tattoo on the woman's bare shoulder as her own. They also had the same auburn locks that trailed down to the middle of their backs. The only difference in appearance was that the woman in the tree had a crown of flora, and that was because Liz's still remained on the floor of nothingness.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" the man asked, leaning against the nearest tree trunk.

The woman crossed her arms across her chest, "I have nothing to say, at least in this situation. I'll speak when and where I want to. Have you even the slightest clue who I am?"

"No, not really," drawled the man, "I don't recall ever seeing you before. If you don't belong to this realm I suggest going back where you came from, Mithros won't be too happy."

The woman threw her head back and laughed, causing birds to fly from their nests. "Mithros should have learned by now to leave me be."

"You speak lightly of him. Why?"

"He is my brother, is he not? You obviously don't know who I am. But then, who does? Both Mithros and Mothers have kept me locked away from everyone. They say I cause too much trouble, but I'm not half as bad as Uusoae. Don't you think so?" she asked while turning to lie on her back, leg swinging to and fro like a child would.

"That depends, who are you?"

She sighed, "Then again, I am always forgotten, being the youngest and all. Did you know there's not even ONE damn temple for me? Not one! Which is why I've been, let's say, giving the Black God a helping hand with all the Seers. You would thank they'd all at least go together and make at least a shrine for me. But no. I tried to be nice," she said and gave a lopsided grin as she remembered. She growled in frustration, "Mithros said I needed time to think over what I've done. I only killed all of the Seers in this century, there will be more. Maybe they'll learn. They weren't that horrible of deaths. Of course, I did make some of them murdered. But those mortals deserved it; they were the Seers that gave their visions to kings and emperors without even so much as thanking me. They were all my visions of course, and I gave them away freely. I thought they'd at least thank me; show a little gratitude as I helped saved their kingdoms but no. Nothing, notta."

The man mock bowed, "So it is the lovely Vidi that stands before me. Tell me, how did you get away?"

She laughed, "The Tortallans and the Gallans are at it again, with my help of course," she gave a sickeningly sweet smile to him, "they'll ignore my chambers for…well at least a good two or three months. Now I can play."

"I'm guessing Queen of Seers that you already know who I am."

The woman swung down from the branch. Her amber eyes changed to complete and total black. Then they shifted back to amber. "You Lord of Emerald Blades," she joked, "are Guarire, a minor Healer God. You protect the healing plants and grant those who pray to you boons of the herbs. I see you're on another venture for aloe is it? Yes, well, let's make a deal," she said while holding out a hand.

"And what sort of deal?" he asked while raising a brow.

"I'll help you find all you need. I'll be your…assistant as long as you don't rat on me. What do you say Master of Herbs? I can also show you everything that's going on in your lands far far west."

He bowed, "Thank you Queen of Seers, it will be my pleasure. Now, where is the aloe on this side of the realm?" She gave a sly smile while hooking her arm around his and leading him further down the jungle trail that parted easily for him.

Liz fell down on the nothingness, gasping for breathe. She couldn't believe it. That was here, as a Goddess in the Realm of the Gods. How could she be so heartless and cruel? She must have killed thousands, just because she had no temple.

And her eyes widened as she looked over the gaping man, he had no clue of what he was. Her body trembled as she held out a hand to him. He took it slowly and her voice quivered as she spoke, "We meet again Guarire."

Wolset stood, jaw hanging open and unblinking. Before him Joren had his arm around Lerant and they were singing old songs while swaying to the sloppy beat. Joren held a beer in one hand and gulped the rest of it down. As they both sang, their speech slurred in their drunken states. Wolset could barely catch what they were saying, their speech was so terrible. But he knew what they were talking about. They were clearly badmouthing all women and every once in a while Lerant would say something rude about Liz and tell a quick story about something stupid she'd once done.

The rest of the bar watched, these two were their entertainment.

Once everything settled in to Wolset he laughed. What idiots! What was even funnier was that the other day he'd been listening to Joren rant on about his hatred for the man he was now slurping down beer greedily with. He shook his head as he pushed his way through the crowd. "SHOW'S OVER!" he yelled above the horrid singing. The crowd booed but let him in none the less. He pushed the two tall classes of beer from his comrades and first turned to Joren. He smiled widely as he punched his best friend in the head, knocking him out. He was about to do the same for Lerant, when he noticed a stream of drool falling from his open mouth. Lerant had passed out all on his own.

After two trips, Wolset had placed his two friends in the back of his car. The entire drive back to HQ he was shaking with laughter. He couldn't wait till tomorrow; he was going to have fun rubbing it in. After he placed both men on Joren's couch he went into the kitchen and begin his planning on his first prank in years. Yes, Wolset was back in business.

Thanks for reading, next chapter is going to be kel and dom

much love,

redpheonix