I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Standing By
Ethan leaned back against the stone wall of the underground area they were hiding in. He and Ryu had both managed to escape without even the Loki Famila spotting them using Orario's sewer system, and had gone to the old church, where Hestia met them to upgrade their statuses as well as pass off gifts from one of Fels' store rooms. Each of them got a clack cloak which, when the hood was pulled up, would turn them invisible. Ryuu had also gotten his new Durandal armor and the second sword Welf had been working on. He promised to pay Welf for both at some point, and Welf said he didn't mind waiting a while. Anya had also gotten a cloak, and had returned to the Xenos with them. Ray had been beside herself with joy when Anya had shown up with them, all but flinging herself at her the moment she pulled the hood down and became visible.
"I still don't understand why you gave me this," Ryu said, holding up her new sword.
Welf had used most of the Durandal allocated for the swords on Anya's by accident, so where Anya's sword had a more stout blade, this one's blade was thin. It was double-edged, had a pure white blade, and a black guard with the front end of the guard being little more than a small tab of metal sticking out in front of the blade, and a white grip. The part of the sword Ethan liked the best, however, was that the back of the guard wrapped down to the bottom of the hilt and had an opening for Ryu to put her hand through, making it next to impossible for the sword to be knocked out of her hand without her hand coming off first.
"I gave it to you because I wanted to," Ethan said. "This at least partially makes up for the one you gave me."
"Yes, but you needed a sword," Ryu said, sheathing hers and leaning on his left shoulder, his right currently occupied by Wiene, who was sleeping peacefully, her hands holding Ethan's right. "I just made sure you'd never need another after it."
Ethan sighed, shaking his head. "Well, now you have a backup sword if you ever lose or drop Alf's Lumina."
Ryu sighed, nodding, and kissed him. "Thank you. I like it, even if it was unnecessary."
"Anything to let me feel more confident that I won't lose you is necessary," Ethan said.
Ryu smiled. "I suppose."
Ethan smiled, kissing her again, only to pull back as Ranye walked over, one hand holding the scar Dix's spear had left.
"I never thanked you for healing me, or for protecting us, both times," Ranye said.
"You don't need to," Ethan said. "I did what I believed was right. I didn't do it to be thanked."
"Even so, you saved my life," Ranye said. "You saved most of our lives. We probably all would have died in the ambush, and who knows how the battle against them in the false Dungeon would have gone. So, thank you. Both of you."
"You're welcome," Ryu said.
"I have to admit, Ethan, I misjudged you," Ranye said. "Not just about you being untrustworthy because of your species. You're much more powerful than I had originally thought."
"I just have a couple of very useful skills and hate to lose," Ethan said. "I lost everything a long time ago. I lost my parents, then my brothers. I nearly lost Anya, and then after managing to just barely protect her, I was stripped of my power and lost the ability to keep her safe or earn us money to survive on. But then Lady Hestia found me and accepted me into her Familia. I swore to myself that I'd never allow someone I cared about to be harmed again, and my desperation to protect the ones I love evolved into my skills and my spells. Well, most of them. My lightning spell was actually a gift from Anya."
Ranye smiled. "She has good taste in magic."
"That she does," Ethan smiled, glancing at Anya, only for his smile to grow into a grin. "Apparently, she has good taste in several things."
He nodded toward her, and Ranye twisted her upper body around to look. Anya was seated against the wall with Ray in her lap, Ray's wings wrapped around her and her arms encircling Ray, Ray's forehead tucked into the side of Anya's neck and Anya's head leaning against Ray's, both girls smiling contentedly.
Ranye smiled, nodding. "It would seem she does. Good. I'm glad."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You, of all people, are happy that Ray's in love with a human?"
Ranye smiled and nodded. "Surprisingly, I am. I've never seen Ray so happy. Usually when she smiles, there's still sadness hidden deep in her eyes. But right now, she truly is happy, even in spite of the danger we're still in. And I know Anya will never hurt her. After all, it was the three of you who forced me to see that not all humans are the same. You showed me that some humans can be trusted, and that people do exist who would sacrifice everything to help others simply because they believe it's right. It was you who gave me hope that Xenos and Humans really can coexist someday. Maybe not today, but someday. So, if Ray's chosen Anya, then I'll gladly support them."
Ethan smiled, nodding just as Fels walked over to them with a small blue crystal sphere in his hand.
"Just now I received a reply from Bell Cranel and the others," Fels said. "They will give you their full cooperation. Tonight we will leave this place. Once we have forced our way through Daedalus Street, we will escape into the Dungeon through Knossos. I am certain the Loki Familia will have seen through everything, but as Ouranos cannot take overt action, we have no other options."
"Do we just need to reach the door?" Ray asked. "Won't the adventurers follow us?"
"Currently, we are the only ones who possess keyes," Fels said, holding up the one they still had. "As long as we succeed in running to the door, the rest should work itself out."
"Hey Fels," Ethan said. "You ever hear the phrase, 'don't jinx us?' Or maybe the phrase, 'Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst?'"
"I have, Fels nodded. "And that is why I had Bell and the others take precautions to aid us in reaching the door."
"He means, 'what happens if we get to the door and the Loki Familia has a key as well?'" Ryu said.
"Then we run," Fels said. "Fighting the Loki Familia is an absolute last resort."
Ethan nodded.
"What do we do about Fear, Let, and the others who got separated?" Gros asked.
"Once the operation commences, we will send the signal," Fels said. "That is all we can do. We are prepared for the adventurers to suspect something is amiss."
"Will Bell-cchi be meeting up with us?" Lyd asked.
"No," Fels said. "Things have taken a turn for the worse with regards to Bell. Word has spread that he fought against humans alongside the Xenos. It's likely that any Ikelos Familia survivors are trying to defame Bell Cranel in repayment for him helping you fight Dix Perdix. Because Bell Cranel is currently almost as unpopular as the two of you, he will be acting as the decoy."
"What!?" Lyd shouted.
"Fels, you would use Bell like this?" Ray asked.
"Fiend," Gros growled.
"Bag of bones!" Lyd said.
"I hate Fels!" Wiene said, turning her head away from him and puffing out her cheeks adorably.
"Wait!" Fels said hurriedly. "Listen to what I have to say! And being bones has nothing to do with this!"
Everyone stared at him in silence.
"Given the rumors the Ikelos Familia members are spreading, Bell Cranel stands out too much. He is the most suitable for drawing the attention of the adventurers without us losing Ethan and Ryu's direct support and protection."
"He's right," Ethan said. "Having Bell be a diversion is the best strategy."
"But...I feel bad relying on Bell-cchi and the others this much and causing them trouble," Lyd said.
"Don't worry about them," Ethan said. "As a whole, the Hestia Familia has a massive hero complex. Even if you didn't want our help, we'd still be there. So relying on the others just skips a step."
"Lyd, Haruhime taught me that on the surface, there's this thing called repaying kindness," Wiene said, taking his hand. "You give the person who helped you all kinds of things to say thank you. So, one day, we can help Bell and the others lots and lots, okay?"
Lyd stared at her in surprise for a moment. "You've changed. Though I can't say how, exactly."
"Really?" Wiene asked.
"Okay," Lyd grinned. "Then once this is over, we'll repay Bell-cchi and the others kindness a lot!"
Wiene smiled and nodded before returning to holding Ethan's hand.
"Okay, let's begin the discussion with Bell Cranel and the others," Fels said, raising the crystal. "Can you hear me, Bell Cranel?"
"I can hear you, Fels," Bell replied, voice slightly distorted.
"It's Bell!" Wiene smiled.
"Wiene!" Bell said, sounding enormously relieved. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Bell, have you been well?" Ray asked.
"Bell-cchi, it's us!" Lyd nearly yelled. "It's Lyd!"
"Quiet!" Gros snapped. "They'll hear us!"
"There are six entrances to Knossos," Hestia said. "Below Daedalus Street to the northeast, northwest, nest, southwest, southeast, and east. But according to our information, the Loki Familia has only made four defense teams. Which means..."
"They've only found four of the doors, right?" Welf finished.
"Yes," Hestia said.
"Then, if we aim for the open doors, we can break through the Loki Familia's forces," Mikoto summarized.
"No," Ethan said. "Finn's more intelligent than that. I'm willing to bet the open doors are traps."
"We also haven't figured out which of the doors Finn and his forces are stationed at," Hestia added. "Even Ouranos doesn't know."
"Unfortunately, we don't have time to investigate that in advance," Fels said. "Knowing the dangers, we must determine that as we proceed with the plan."
Lili's voice sighed heavily. "If that's the case, it doesn't seem like we'll be able to avoid clashing with the Loki Familia."
"Even so, we want to limit the scope of the fighting to the absolute minimum."
"On that note, there's a bit of an added problem," Hestia said. "Bete Loga, one of the Loki Familia's heavy-hitters, apprehended Dix Perdix while everyone was focused on the Xenos, including that Black Minotaur."
Ethan's mind flashed back to Ryu telling him that the minotaur was what she mistook for a Black Rhino, and which beat her in seconds, though it let her and every other human present live.
"Apparently, Finn ordered Bete to take Dix to you directly so that you could deal with him," Hestia said. "Unfortunately, Bete was found wounded and unconscious in Daedalus Street, and Dix was missing. Since then, a number of very valuable high-tier spears have been stolen. We assume he's planning to come after either Ethan or Wiene. Or both."
"If he shows up, I'll deal with him," Ethan said.
"In the mean time, we will need your help to avoid fighting, Bell Cranel," Fels said. "We need you to act as a decoy."
"Right," Bell agreed. "I'll do it."
"Are you all ready?" Hestia asked.
"We can move on your signal," Ethan said.
"Alright," Hestia said. "We'll head out immediately. If it's possible, we'd like you to send Ethan and Ryu to the street, invisible, to be ready to help if it becomes necessary."
"Very well," Fels said. "Try to stay close to us while keeping an eye out for a situation that needs your attention."
Bell and Ryu nodded and both gave Wiene a hug before climbing quickly up the well Fels had been sending his owl out through while passing messages to Hestia and back. They pulled their cloaks' hoods up near the surface, both climbing out of the well silently and holding each otherxs hand to keep track of where they were. Then, they settled in to wait.
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