Hello Everyone, good news, another chapter is up and within a week of the last update. Been a while since that has happened. Nothing much else to tell you sadly, been real busy planning out with my other stories and also getting this one ready. If you have read my original version, that is now on my Wiki for all to read once more, you will easily see there are some changes here now. Enjoy.

Also all reviews will be answered on the wiki so be sure to check it out to get your reviews answered. The link to the wiki is on my profile for those who do not know, then find the review page and then your there.


Transcendence

Chapter 12: The Conspiracy

"How much does she know?"

Gyram shifted nervously, even the dim light of the room could not hide the piercing gaze of the man who asked that question. He sat behind a simple table with several piece of parchment littering the surface, illuminated by a single candle. The entire room was bare of any other adornments aside from the table and the chair that the man sat upon as he read over the report.

The Lieutenant, that was the only thing he could be called in here, it was his rank and show of authority within the group. No one was ever referred to by name, usually only by rank and initial. But not him, he was the leader of their forces; he was only referred to as The Lieutenant. And of all the people in their group he was one to be feared, for he was ruthless in his ideals.

"All she knows is that the town was attacked and that she saw two Tauren, she doesn't know if it is the Horde or not, but I think people would be quicker to point fingers at them than anyone else," Gyram replied, giving his report the skimmed down version as well as his personal opinion, hopefully it will be enough to satisfy The Lieutenant.

He watched as The Lieutenant finished his second review of the parchment, waiting nervously as the man put the paper over the candle and let it burn. Throwing the burning paper to the side, it harmlessly turned to ash on the stone floor. Soon his eyes focused solely onto the anxious Private who stiffened under the man's gaze.

"We will need to correct this," The Lieutenant stated, his tone calm and casual. "Have someone alter the guard rotations, have them posted to North Point Tower, from there they can easily slip away and get to Shady Rest and then clean up any evidence left behind."

The Lieutenant was already planning on fixing this situation; he needed to remove evidence that would link them to the events in Shady Rest. Although they had no involvement with its destruction, they did involve themselves with certain shady characters within the town that they shouldn't have. Shady characters who were responsible for drawing the Horde to the town.

If evidence of their existence in the town was exposed it would lead to complications, that would ultimately lead to their exposure and the plot they have been brewing. In the end all of them would be hanged for treason and nearly inciting war.

"What about the two survivors?" Gyram inquired.

"There were no survivors," The Lieutenant replied, looking at the Guard with a pointed stare that told him exactly what he wanted.

"I will see it done sir," Gyram replied with a bow, although hesitant in his reply, killing the innocent was not something he found to be to his liking.

The Lieutenant watched the Private leave, his glare never leaving the man's back until he was completely out of sight. The man obviously did not stomach well the loss of life; it may be time for him to retire from the guard.

The Lieutenant smiled slightly, barely a ghost of a smirk on his face as he thought of the current events and how they unfolded. Despite everything that had happened, with the destruction of the town and the loss of life. It could have been worse, in fact, it turned out pretty well for them.

If those two survivors had not come and told his men of what happened, he would have likely not been alerted to the town's destruction. Had that occurred the Theramore Guard would have likely been alerted before they were. This was a blessing of the Light, a chance to cover up any evidence that could link them to the massacre. If they did this right, they could sweep this entire incident under the rug in a matter of months with it being a simple Centaur raid.

"How did this happen?"

The Lieutenants smile slowly turned into a frown, his train of thought interrupted by the man behind him. Lieutenant R, his name was never to be spoken in public or even in secret. That was the rules set up by him to protect their identities should someone overhear them. Obviously Lieutenant R was distraught over what he had heard.

"It was only a matter of time, despite being nothing but animals the Horde has shown to be quite cunning, they likely knew of the Q.R. location inside the town," The Lieutenant replied, his voice a monotone with no emotion as he answered the equal ranked officer. "After that, it was inevitable what would have happened."

"But, the town should have never been involved, they should have been safe…," R cried out, the guilt of the town's destruction a weight on his shoulders as their involvement was the cause of its destruction.

"It doesn't matter now…," The Lieutenant interrupted.

"Doesn't matter? Doesn't matter! Over eighty people are dead, because of us!" R shouted, interrupting the man in turn.

"Calm yourself now Lieutenant!" The Lieutenant ordered. "We are still in this, and if we are not careful we will share the same fate as them."

R could not help but be thrown off by those words. They would still continue this mad mission? They had risked too much already and they would continue to do so? His actions would put the Alliance in jeopardy; Theramore would suffer for his actions if he did not stop.

"We cannot continue in this, already so many lives have been lost, you would rob two more to continue this scheme?" R asked, pleading with him silently to reconsider his course of action.

"We do what we must; this is greater than us and a single village," The Lieutenant replied, his tone darkening as R continued to defy his orders.

"I cannot condone this, if Lady Jaina found out about us and Shady Rest and our dealing with the Quarvel…," R tried again, but then felt himself pushed into the wall, The Lieutenant had his arm pressed against R's throat and face inches away from his own.

"Proudmoore is weak, her father had the right idea, but her weakness and treason cost us his life, and the chance to finally rid this world of those savages. We will continue our mission, his mission, and we will make the Horde pay for that day when they shed human blood in this fortress and across Lordaeron decades before," The Lieutenant growled with a vicious snarl contorting his features.

R slumped against the wall and nodded his head reluctantly to his superiors command. He had no choice but to obey, he would live longer that way, and if he did try to speak out, he would be killed before he had the chance.

"Good, you will be leaving tomorrow, go to Shady Rest and find any evidence and remove it, then report to Lost Point Tower, tell our comrades there that they need to relocate," The Lieutenant ordered, releasing the man and moving back to his seat.

R was silent for moment, staring blankly towards the floor. Yet he still managed to give an affirmative nod to The Lieutenants command.

"Yes sir," R replied, moving for the door, his movements almost lifeless as a ghoul as he dragged himself out of the room.

The Lieutenant glared at the man's back just as he did the Private when he left. R was too emotional; his involvement with the group was tentative at best. He only joined because he thought that they would be fighting for the interests of Theramore. But voices his outrage at the methods they employed. It was obvious that this incident was likely the last straw for the man.

It was obvious that he would need to deal with R; he was too much of a liability now. But simply killing him would not do, his death would need to be for a purpose bigger than being dinner for a Crocolisk.

"For now, let's see what I can do about keeping this under wraps."

The Next Morning

Adelina walked down the well-travelled path around the Isle, taking in the different buildings that made up Theramore. She admired the architecture the humans employed here, finding the clean white stone dazzling, as if the stone actually shined under the brilliant rays of the sun. It was a very obvious contrast to the dull and lifeless swamps outside the walls of the city. Even in such drizzly places the glory of the Alliance never seemed to fade.

White stone walls and buildings that rose high up, blocking out the gloomy swamp beyond. It was as if the walls were barriers to keep out the dirty and glum marshes, and it seemed to work. Even the town's people appeared to be as vibrant as the city they lived within. There were smiles on everyone's faces, laughing and cheerful conversation was all that could heard as she walked through the isle.

But despite the pleasant atmosphere and the shining architecture around her Adelina could not help but feel upset. Her arrival here was not as she expected it to be. She was meant to come here with Ichigo, conscious and alert. To meet with Jaina Proudmoore and learn how he could be sent back home to his world. But that was not how it happened.

Ichigo was still unconscious, his wounds may be healed but he had not woken. She had been told that he may not wake up for many days. Some even said he may never wake, simply dying from the trauma he suffered alone.

But Adelina prayed that he would wake, that he could continue his quest to return home. If he couldn't, she would do it for him. Early this morning she tried to meet with Jaina Proudmoore, trying to acquire an audience to speak with her about Ichigo and returning him home. Yet she was refused every time, saying she had pressing matters to attend to.

Of that Adelina had no doubts; the events in Shady Rest were serious. Adelina knew the implications of an attack on Shady Rest. She may not know much of the outside world, being only familiar with the forests of Ashenvale. But she knew enough about the tension between the Horde and Alliance that this incident would likely result in some form of retaliation and possibly war.

A fight between them would ignite the entire world in a devastating conflict. Both factions have made themselves quite formidable in the four years since the battle of Mount Hyjal. A conflict now would be a very bloody affair, and knowing who was going to be the winner was impossible.

Yet Adelina could not worry about the politics, for she had no part in its workings. She had to worry about Ichigo and getting him the help he needs. If she can secure him passage back to his world before he awakes, then all that was needed was to wait for him to awaken.

"Excuse me."

Adelina turned and to her surprise found Private Gyram standing there right behind her. Although he wore his helmet Adelina could remember his eyes, those pale brown orbs that were filled with worry. Yet now they were filled with something else.

"Private Gyram," Adelina greeted, with a nod of her head and a small smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, I am here to help you," Gyram replied, giving her a nod of his own. "I hear you wish to speak with Lady Proudmoore, I can be of assistance."

"You can deliver a message for me?" Adelina asked, hopeful of finally meeting the Lady of Theramore.

"No, but, I can get you in contact with Jaina's handmaiden, she is busy near the mill," Gyram replied turning and pointing off towards the far side of the isle. "The mill needs to be opened again and she is organizing it with the workers there."

"She can give Lady Jaina my message?" Adelina surmised, and a nod was her response. "Good, the sooner Lady Proudmoore gets my message the better."

Adelina followed as the Private turned and led her down the road towards the lumber mill. All the while he was busy thinking over his plan on how to get her inside without question. That was the only difficulty, after she was inside he could easily dispatch her without the chance of witnesses.

The Lieutenant wanted this done quickly and cleanly, he wanted no survivors from Shady Rest. He would give him that, because if they survived, he wouldn't.

Durham moved into the Barracks, slipping past the two guards and giving them a nod in greeting. He had just finished his plans with Gyram, and they had been given their targets. He would kill the boy in the infirmary. At first Gyram wanted this task, saying that giving the boy mercy was better than taking a life completely. But Durham had made it clear this required a special touch, something only he could do.

Reaching into a small pouch he pulled out a small veil of purple liquid, filled with a very powerful toxin. This poison was quite malicious, derived from the same venom that is used by the giant spiders in the marshes. A slither of this Marsh Venom would kill a person within an hour. Their heart would slowly shut down, leaving the victim to slowly pass and die.

That is how the spiders work, they keep their victims just enough alive so they can feed on them, sucking out their fluids while still alive. Although not as quick and potent as he wanted, it would do the job. After all it was the only poison he could use that wouldn't leave any evidence, no sign that the boy had been poisoned while he slept.

Durham walked into the infirmary, shifting his eyes around and searching for anyone that was present. He found to his desire that none were present, and he knew for certain it would remain that way for several hours to come. VanHowzen would be busy patching up those idiots on the Red and Blue teams for most of the day. While the guard would be on set patrols and likely wouldn't need to come to the infirmary.

Durham moved towards the only occupied cot, looking down at his target, the boy was still unconscious. His breathing was normal and he appeared to be in good health. That would change soon enough.

Pulling the cork on the vial and hovered over the boy. Using a knife and letting poison directly into the boys bloodstream would have worked perfectly, but it would be impossible to cover up. VanHowzen was a brilliant trauma surgeon, a single wound would be easily found by the man and he could deduce effectively the boy was poisoned.

That meant he had to have the boy ingest it, it was the only way to ensure that there was no evidence of foul play before he died. Placing one hand on the boy's chin Durham opened his mouth. He raised the poison to the boy's lips and slowly tilted it up.

Yet he halted before the poison could fall over the rim of the veil. Not because he hesitated, no, because a firm hand grabbed his wrist and halted his movement. Before Durham could realize what happened he felt his world grow fuzzy as something collided with his head. Falling to the ground with a loud crash, the poison in his hand lost.

Durham got to a knee and looked around, trying to find the culprit who had hit him. His eyes landed on the unconscious boy, and to his shock he found that was no longer the case. Sitting there with one leg over the side of the bed and propping himself up was the thought to be unconscious young man, who was looking at the Corporal with an equally confused expression.

Ichigo didn't know what happened, for one moment he was asleep and then he got this weird feeling. Almost like when he woke up every morning, when his did tried to attack him. Without a moment's hesitation he struck, grabbing the closest thing to him and then kicking it straight in the head.

Ichigo found it odd that he didn't hear the usual welcome call when his dad woke him up before attacking him. Although it was not uncommon that his dad would try a sneak attack every now and then to mix it up a little bit. So he did what was natural, he booted the old goat in the head and then got ready to yell at the idiot for attacking him.

But when he did it he felt something was off. First was the fact that when he kicked the old bastard his head felt like it was made of steel. Next came almost as soon as he woke up and found himself in unfamiliar surroundings, a large room with several beds lining the walls. The final one was that the guy he just kicked was not his father.

Ichigo looked down at the man he just kicked. He was covered fully in white plated armor, with deep blue lining and a white tabard with a golden anchor emblazed on the surface. He looked like some kind of knight or something. Yet why was it that he was above him, and why did it feel like he was trying to hurt him? Wait, was he trying to…?

"What… did you just…?" Ichigo started, wondering if his theory was right

His prediction was spot on, proven when the man in armor rose up and reached for his sword. Ichigo shot off the bed and kicked the sword back into the sheath before the man could draw it fully. He closed in and shouldered the knight in the chest, throwing him off his feet and onto his back.

Ichigo felt his shoulder ache from the shoulder bash, he clutched at it as the dull pain hit him. For a moment he wondered why he felt so stiff and full of aches. Everything seemed to freeze for the substitute when the memories came rushing back to him. He recalled the last moments before everything went blank, the attack on the town and that Tauren that attacked him. Then… lightning.

That was all he could recall before everything went dark.

Ichigo returned back to the present when he heard metal drawing across leather. Looking up he saw the guard had his blade free and running right towards him. Ichigo side stepped the swing, letting it fall harmlessly where he stood a moment ago. Ichigo moved to the guard's right side, quickly punching him in the ribs.

Despite him wearing armor Ichigo got a satisfying grunt from him. Although he felt his knuckles sting from the strike, the armor these guys were wearing was pretty tough. If he could feel it despite a heightened pain tolerance then it had to be quite hard. Ichigo shook his head, he was getting off track. He still had to take this guy down.

The guard recovered instantly, trying to attack again. The guard stepped away from Ichigo and swung hard, extending his arm fully to severe his head. Stepping forward the substitute intercepted the strike, grabbing him by the elbow. Ichigo twisted the limb uncomfortably before kicking in the man's knee, forcing him to the ground. He followed up by grabbing an exposed part of the swords hilt and ripping it from the man's grasp.

Gripping the sword tightly and repositioning it in his palm Ichigo twisted around and slammed the pummel into the back of the man's helmet. With a pained grunt the man fell to the ground, staggering slightly as he tried to get back up. Moving forward and grabbing the back of the soldier's neck guard Ichigo hoisted him up. He ripped the helmet off the man's head, showing the clearly dazed soldier, and knocked him out with a hard right hook.

Ichigo let the man go and watched as he crumpled to the floor unconscious. But even with the fight over there was a wave of questions in his mind that were warring to be answered. Where was he? How did he get here? How long was he unconscious? These were but a few, yet each one he wanted answers to.

The substitute's eyes scanned the room, looking for anything that could offer some help telling him where he was. All he found was an empty room filled with unused beds and a single unconscious soldier lying down in the middle of it. Ichigo turned to find his exit, a simple doorway near the far end of the room.

Ichigo took a step forward before halting, clutching at his stomach in pain. Looking down the substitute found a thick layer of bandages over his stomach. Pressing his hand down Ichigo winced as another bolt of pain appeared. He remembered being struck by a lightning bolt; it was the last thing he remembered.

Putting it at the back of his mind he moved towards the doorway, taking cautious steps forward. Silently he stood at the precipice and listened, trying to hear even the slightest sound to tell him if someone was outside. For a minute he heard nothing. Taking a step forward he peaked out the door. To his relief the corridor was empty.

Creeping out of the room and into the corridor and slowly walking. Ichigo had no idea where he was and knew that simply running around would not be good. Go at it slow and carefully was the best idea right now. He had no idea where he was or who he was dealing with, so rushing in like a maniac was obviously either going to get him killed or miraculously to the exit and then killed.

Ichigo stopped when he heard something; at first he thought it was his imagination. But when he heard a second louder noise he knew it wasn't. Heavy footfalls could be heard in the distance, slowly approaching him. Back tracking the substitute took the first doorway he could find; and he found a large stairwell leading up two levels.

Hearing the set of steps coming his way Ichigo without a moment of hesitation ran up the stairs. As Ichigo reached the top he looked down the interior of the stairs, hearing the footsteps pass the doorway below and continuing on. Ichigo let out a breath before finishing the final flight of stairs.

He couldn't risk being seen for the moment, until he knew where he was and who he was dealing with. If he was being held captive by these people then he needed to escape, if not he needed to find out why that guy tried to kill him. But then again maybe he was overreacting; after all he did attack him when he woke up. But still, pulling a sword on him felt a little overboard.

Ichigo looked up and to his relief he saw light out the doorway, a long wooden path lined with stone ahead. But in truth it wasn't a path, when he walked out through the doorway he found himself on the rampant of a building.

Looking around quickly the substitute took in everything around him trying to figure out where he was. He took in the cool sea air as it blew in from the east, and realized he was near the coast. He looked to the south, seeing large white stone walls, and just peeking out over those walls was the treetops of the vegetation of Dustwallow Marsh.

Those two factors were enough for him to realize where he was.

"Theramore…," Ichigo murmured, surprised that he was actually in the coastal city.

But he actually found it to be underwhelming, it was not as big as he thought it would have been. There were very few buildings within the confines of the white stone walls. A single inn on the northernmost side of the isle and a stable, with a large gate placed between them. To the south was a large harbor with half a dozen ships docked in the bay. Long winding docks moved across the water.

In the center of the fortress, upon a small hill and surrounded by towers and a wall formed as a hexagon, was a large ivory tower. Easily the tower's gaze held a supreme view of the surrounding area, over the isle and the area beyond the walls.

Ichigo looked down, finally seeing the people that inhabited this small coastal city. Finding dozens of men, woman, and children; some working at various stalls or milling about and talking. It was no different to those in Shady Rest; everyone was just going about their business. Guards were busy patrolling the street around the tower and the docks. Others were busy training off in a small area in front of the building he found himself upon.

'Crap… I don't know if I want to be here or not now.' Ichigo thought, with the way he was greeted when he woke up there was no telling if that was a one off or these people didn't like company.

Despite this likely being Theramore Ichigo had a bad feeling, it may have to do with just waking up after nearly being killed, but he felt he was forgetting something very important. He had been attacked yet, but that wasn't getting on his nerves, there was something else. He had forgotten something that was very important.

'What was it?' Ichigo grounded out in his mind, trying to force up the memory.

Ichigo caught a brilliant shine in the corner of his eyes. Looking towards it the substitute saw the sun shining off a brilliant staff of gold and silver in the distance It took him only a moment to see her, and realize what he had forgotten and who we was looking at. He saw Adelina walking down the street, completely fine.

Ichigo smacked himself for not realizing sooner, he should have remembered she was with him. Quickly getting over his own stupidity for the moment he looked over to the young druid. Adelina was walking towards what looked like a lumber mill.

"Why is she over there?" Ichigo asked himself.

Then he noticed the soldier with her, having led her to the mill and was now gesturing her to enter. Ichigo had no idea what was going on, but for some reason he knew it wasn't good. Call it being paranoid, but when one guard tries to kill you, you automatically think that the next one is going to as well. Also the fact that this guard was leading Adelina into, what looked like, an abandoned mill seemed to only enforce his suspicion.

Ichigo looked around quickly; he needed to find a way down to get to her. Yelling likely wouldn't work, since the distance was a factor and also the noise from below likely hindered that as well. Ichigo then got a crazy idea, but first he had to check something. Looking down over the side of the wall, the substitute could easily tell that was a fifteen foot drop.

With a growl of frustration he knew what he had to do.

Ichigo backed away from the edge and pressed himself against the stone rampart on the opposite side of the wall. Dropping low and pressing one foot against the stone behind him he pushed off. Running as quickly as he could towards the edge of the wall and jumping just as he reached the end. Using the edge of the ramparts to kick off and boost his forward momentum, Ichigo shot off the wall.

Ichigo sailed through the air for a few seconds, gaining some distance before he started to drop. Keeping his eyes on the ground, he waited for the right moment to brace and roll. As soon as his feet touched the ground he rolled forward, his momentum carrying him through several rolls before he came to a halt.

Rolling onto a knee Ichigo tried to stand up straight away, he stumbled slightly and nearly fell back down, yet got to his feet. Taking a few tentative steps forward, and ignoring the cries of alarm from around him. The substitute saw his goal and quickly took off into a jog, picking up speed with every few steps he took.

Adelina looked at the lumber mill, finding the massive hollow interior completely empty. Apart from a few tools used by carpenter and craftsman, a couple hundred of planks of wood scattered around haphazardly. But apart from that there was not a single soul within the mill, something she mentioned to her escort.

"There is no one here," Adelina said, looking at the soldier who gestured her to go inside.

Gyram looked at the mill for a second, a look of uncertainty passed over his face. He obviously was not expecting much resistance; he quickly schooled his features and replied hastily.

"They may be out back, heard they usually drink back there when they have free time, isn't like they haven't had plenty of that lately," Gyram stated with a shrug, trying to sound uncaring and annoyed at the last part of his reply.

Adelina stared at him for a moment before taking his suggestion and going inside.

Gyram let out a breath, he was thankful he pulled that off better than he hoped. He was worried that she would have caught on to him and not entered the mill. If that happened then he would have had to try and either lure her somewhere else or simply feign having to leave and try to kill her again another time.

Luckily she believed his little lie about the mill workers being behind the building. He threw in the workers drinking to throw off the girl thinking it was a lie. Making it a little more personal to him rather than being a simple statement.

Following after her he reached for the small knife inside the folds of his tabard. He would cut her throat and put her body through the drainage system behind the mill; behind it was where all the waste from the mill would go. Then cover up the blood with saw dust and easily move that down the same pipe.

Gyram felt his heart ache for this; he did not want to kill this girl. She was an innocent and staining his hands with her blood was something he found sickening, especially with how meticulous be was being. He wished there was another way this could end, some way that everything could have ended differently.

'May the light forgive me for this,' Gyram prayed silently, moving up behind the unsuspecting elf.

"Halt!"

Ichigo didn't listen; he didn't even slow in the slightest at the guards yells for him to stop. He rushed past bewildered townspeople and the occasional guard who got close enough to try and tackle him. Yet despite passing a few of them, more guards were coming from every direction to try and stop him.

Ichigo running down the street is not that much of a crime; Ichigo could have easily been passed off as a young man in a hurry. But there was a little factor that made the substitute invalid to that rule. Since he was carrying a weapon in hand, a sword, and was running like a madman down the street, the guards obviously got the idea he was just that.

"Stop him!" Came a cry, and Ichigo saw seven guards round the bend of the hill and block the final stretch of road towards the mill.

All stood ahead of him with their weapons and shields drawn, forming a single impenetrable line in front of the substitute. Ichigo cursed loudly as he rushed headlong into their defensive line. It looked as if he was going to ram right through them. When he was only an inch away from collision, the guards tensed to prepare for the coming hit, and then he disappeared.

An instant later Ichigo reappeared, right behind the seven guards blocking his path. He didn't stop to look at their surprised faces, his eyes set on the mill just ahead of him. In fact it had brought him some time; the guards were so surprised by his sudden disappearance they had to play catch up.

Ichigo rushed up the ramp of the mill, quickly shifting around to find Adelina.

"Adelina! Are you…!"

Ichigo halted when he saw something fly past him; he turned sharply and followed the object that flew by. To his surprise it was a guard, the same guard that he had seen with Adelina. His entire body covered in thorny vines, but luckily for him he seemed to be unconscious.

Ichigo turned back to see the one who sent him flying, Adelina, was strolling towards him with a frown on her face.

"Ichigo? Are you alright? I thought you would not wake so soon," Adelina said, surprise apparent in her tone as well as worry, completely brushing off her own safety for his.

"Yeah, but when someone tried to kill me in my sleep I guess rest wasn't important," Ichigo replied.

"Then it would see we are both victims here," Adelina quickly realized, her would-be assassin thought about slitting her throat.

Luckily for her she was no fool, she could see the concern and conflict in his eyes. Though she had no idea why he was so conflicted she could only guess he had some personal issue unrelated to her. But when she saw him trying to lead her into the mill, she knew that his motives for her were far from pure.

Her many years under the tutorage of her mother had given her a good grasp of finding the motives of others. Though she may not know if these motives can apply to Humans, they certainly have not failed her in finding that Gyram was a threat.

"Put down your weapons!" Both Shinigami and Druid turned to see a cohort of soldiers standing before them, sword drawn and rifles aiming right for them.

"Boy, put that sword down or we will use force," an older man said, moving forward.

"Like hell! You people have done nothing but try and kill us!" Ichigo shouted at them, raising his sword in defense, there was no way in hell he was going to be surrendering to these guys.

"He is correct, that one there attempted to kill me just a moment ago, he lured me here under false declarations and tried to slit my throat," Adelina aided in Ichigo's accusation, pointing her staff toward Gyram who lay behind the protective wall of guards.

The older man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What proof do you have?" He demanded quickly.

"Besides the fact the guy attacked me when I woke up, what do you think?" Ichigo yelled back in reply, trying to get it across he wasn't the bad guy here.

But Ichigo realized that he really didn't have a case right now, sure his attack could be ruled off as a simple misunderstanding. But Adelina, he knew that her lying was not a possibility, she wasn't that kind of person and her people have been shown to be quite honorable.

"Put down your weapons and we will discuss this, you have my word," he said, giving them a chance again to surrender.

Ichigo and Adelina were silent for a moment, thinking on what kind of options they had at the moment. Adelina moved close to Ichigo, quietly whispering in his ear.

"We can't fight them, we won't win," Adelina whispered, loud enough only for Ichigo to hear. "We must remain here, this is Theramore and if we leave our mission here is pointless."

Ichigo looked conflicted for a moment, if this is where he had to be in order to figure out how to get home then he couldn't run. But he and Adelina had been attacked; by the guards of this city no less, so remaining is likely not going to be safe. He had to make up his mind now, if he took too long then the guards would likely make good on their threat.

"Can you fight without your staff?" Ichigo whispered back to Adelina.

"Yes, it is simply a focus; I can do without it if needed," Adelina replied, understanding Ichigo's query.

If this proved to be a wrong move they can still fight their way out, they only needed to escape capture and then the city. Hopefully it would not have to come to that.

Ichigo looked at the soldiers ahead of him carefully, noting their exact position and also the area around him, just in case he needed to make a quick exit. Dropping his sword to the ground and raising his hands over his head the substitute surrendered. But he remained at the ready to act just in case they tried anything. Adelina followed his actions and laid down her staff before raising herself back up and lifting her hands over her head.

"Take them to the Barracks, my office," the man ordered, and the soldiers moved forward to detain them.

Circling the substitute and druid they kept their rifles and swords up. Two guards moved forward and bound their hands behind their backs before escorting them out, as the other guards followed them as an escort.

Vimes looked at the two as they were led off, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at the two who had caused this ruckus. He had planned on detaining them for disturbing the peace and under suspicion of planning to do harm. But now he had him shouting off claims of one of his guards trying to kill him and his friend. He did not like this one bit, and he would find out if this boy was genuine in his accusations or not.

The Captains eyes landed on the unconscious guard on the ground, Private Gyram he noted. He had been accused of being an attempted murderer, that boy couldn't possibly be such a thing. He was a devout follower of the light and one of his most loyal and trustworthy men.

"Get those vines off him, and get him to the infirmary," Vimes ordered, before moving off after the escort.

He had questions for those two kids, and he was going to find out what the hell this was all about.


Hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you next time.