Chapter 10: Sneak, fight, run, and hide

When they got off the mountain they headed towards the hillside.

"You think that hellion is pissed off?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, it looks like a waterspout to me." Said Sergei.

"It probably is, why else would it be trying to tear down a bridge?" Said Edna.

"So upfront attacks would anger it more?" Said Mikleo.

"It is an oroboros, Meebo-"

"Meebo? Where the hell did you get that?"

"It has a shit ton of malevolence built up in it so I guess an upfront attack would probably piss it off."

"Wow … you sound so certain about this."

"If we were physical I would've hit you."

"Ugh would you two just shut up!" Rose shouted, "Yes a hellion that we interrupted when it was in the middle of knocking down a bridge and then ran from would be pissed off! So unless either of you two have any bright ideas we're gonna run in to fight it and run away if we're about to die, screaming."

"We could sneak up on it." Said Mikleo.

"And how pray tell would we do that?" Rose asked. Mikleo got out of her body then went over to Sergei and started pushing him aside, or trying to. Sergei felt the force and looked at Rose confused, she shrugged then signaled him to move. Sergei then moved away from Rose. The water seraph went back to Rose, summoned his staff. He waved his staff and then a bubble surrounded her and Mikleo, and technically Edna.

"Rose!" Sergei called. He looked around panicked and started running around the area looking for her. "Rose? Rose!" Rose however looked over to Mikleo who had his finger in front of his lips. The two quietly walked over to Sergei still looking for Rose. Mikleo tapped on his armor making a "tink", he turned around and the bubble popped. "Gah!" He shrieked, jumping back a bit when Rose suddenly appeared in front of him. "What the heck was that?"

"What is that?" Rose asked Mikleo.

"The spectral cloak, something I learned years ago." He replied. "Since you're my vessel I think you can use it as well."

"It's something that can allow us to sneak up on the Oroboros." Said Rose.

"Well if that's the case then let's go." Said Sergei.

"Yes, we need to restore Lady Lake's blessing one way or another." Said Edna. Mikleo went back into Rose's body. Rose then put her hand in front of her summoning the bubble around her and Sergei. They walked closer to the Oroboros however it wasn't exactly quiet since Sergei's armor kept clanging catching the attention of every rabbit, squirrel, and hellion that they passed by.

"Mikleo." Said Rose.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"The spectral cloak doesn't block out sounds does it?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Said Mikleo.

"Crap …" She turned to Sergei. "Can you do something about your armor?"

"Not really, it's naturally loud." Said Sergei.

"How about we move slower?" Suggested Rose. Sergei shrugged and they started moving slower. However the clanging was replaced with slow, ear splitting, screeching that happened to be so much worse. "Oh fuck this!" Shouted Rose causing the spectral cloak to break. "Mikleo, can you take over?" Mikleo went out of her body.

"Yeah …?" He said.

"Sergei get on the ground I'm dragging you."

"What?" Sergei exclaimed.

"You're loud as fuck and with your armor you're heavy, I doubt Mikleo can carry you, I can't carry you by myself, and Edna wouldn't want to if she could. Also I doubt we can have someone maintain the spectral cloak and carry you at the same time, so I'm dragging you." Said Rose.

"Hey!" Snapped Mikleo.

"Oh fine I'll get down." Said Sergei then flopping on his back. Mikleo grumbled something as he put up the spectral cloak and Rose grabbed his ankles and dragged him down the hill side, leaving a trail of earth that Sergei's armor plowed through as they went. As they got closer they went over a pebble that caused Sergei's armor to produce a loud "tink" startling Mikleo causing the bubble to break and the oroboros to come out of the river screeching at the party.

"Fuck!" Rose screamed.

"So much for trying to sneak up on it." Said Edna coming out of Rose's body. Sergei scrambled up and drew his sword.

"Hephsin Yulind!" Rose shouted armatizing with Edna. Sergei charged up to the oroboros but it whacked him aside with its tail and threw him into a tree. Rose charged up and tried to punch the hellion but it also whacked her aside, right on top of Sergei. Mikleo gave a long drawn sigh and casted healing artes on the two. They got back up and ran towards the hellion again only to end up in the same position, again with Mikleo needing to heal them, again. So they charged at it again while Mikleo casted a different arte with Rose and Sergei failing again but at least Mikleo's spell managed to hit. However Rose managed to heal both her and Sergei.

"You know this isn't working." Said Mikleo.

"Noooo, where ever could you have gotten that idea?" Said Edna.

"No no, this is totally fine, all we need is one big attack or for Dezel to show up and somehow save our asses." Said Rose.

"You just want the armatus off don't you?"

"Yes … but that is besides the point! If we just give it our all we can take this hellion down!" Said Rose. And so they hit the hellion with everything they got and five seconds later they were on the ground in a dog pile with Mikleo being crushed under Sergei's armored ass and Rose.

"Rose … can you please tell Sergei to get off." Said Mikleo, by then the armatus came off and Edna was standing next to the pile with a shit eating grin on her face. Rose got off.

"Why Meebo you look so comfortable." She said.

"Suffocating looks comfortable to you?" He replied.

"Sergei, can you get off of Mikleo?" Said Rose.

"Oh! My apologies Seraph Mikleo." Said Sergei.

"It's fine, we're not dead yet." Said Mikleo brushing himself off.

"Any more bright idea's shepherd?" Said Edna in a mocking tone.

"Mikleo, get the spectral cloak ready we're gonna have to make a break for it." Said Rose.

"Really?" Said Sergei.

"Figures." Said Mikleo waving his staff down creating that light refracting bubble once again. Rose signal for them to run they nodded and ran off with Sergei's armor making a racket. When they got far enough away from the hellion they figured that they might as well camp for the night then head back to Lady Lake.

"You know this quest would have been so much easier if you'd just agree to be the Lord of the Land in the first place." Said Edna.

"Maybe, maybe not. It still doesn't change the fact that you all would still get your asses kicked on the way back to Lady Lake by the Oroboros." Said Mikleo.

"Come on you two, we've had a bad day, now shut up and get some rest." Said Sergei holding onto Rose's hand.

"Yes let's get some rest and go for Elysia, maybe try to find Dezel and or get you something that could get me to armatize with you." Said Rose.

"If you're gonna do that, then unfortunately I can't really join you this time." Said Sergei.

"Right, you have a job that you're brother is covering for you." Said Rose.

"Great … more busy work." Said Edna. "I highly doubt that we could get something that could allow Meebo to armatize with you since things like my gauntlet are few and far between."

"Think they would be found in ruins or somethings like that?" Rose asked.

"If they haven't been looted, remember some places didn't create good security for their dead or ceremonial buildings so over time they could have gotten looted." Said Mikleo. "If any of these sacred relics have been stolen they would likely either end up in a museum or on the black market."

"So you like history and ruins and stuff like that?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I used to always read the Celestial Record and dreamed of exploring ruins all over the world." Said Mikleo.

"Hm … I think I might know someone that might help." Said Rose. "Anyway, let's hit the hay, I'm beat." Rose let go of Sergei's hand, flopped back, and fell asleep. The next day Rose woke up in Lady Lake's inn. 'Wait what?' Rose thought, she jolted up and wondered if the last few days were just a dream with Mikleo and Edna standing at the foot of the bed.

"Morning sleepy beauty." Said Edna.

"What happened and how did I get here?" Rose asked.

"Well you weren't really waking up and you had a fever so we figured that you managed to get sick from the sub-lord pact and exhausted from running and screaming everywhere yesterday." Said Edna.

"Sergei carried you back here and went back to his job afterwards." Said Mikleo.

"Great. Anyway you know if the Sparks are still in town?"

"What about going to Elysia?" Mikleo asked.

"That could wait, maybe." Said Rose. "I want to ask one of them something." She got out of bed and headed outside with Edna and Mikleo going back into her body. She ran around Lady Lake until she found Muse doing some shopping. "Muse!" She called as she went over to her. She then stared at her baffled at the fact of her shopping for some sort of medicine. "Aren't you part of a merchant's guild?"

"We don't carry everything." Shrugged Muse. "Need something?"

"Yeah. I wanna talk to Sorey know where he is?" Rose asked.

"He's at the inn." She replied. "He's been having breathing trouble lately so we're staying here for a few extra days."

"Oh …" Said Rose.

"I think he might be fine to talk by now." Said Muse. "You can give him the medicine." She handed her a black pouch. "Just mix this in with some hot water and have him drink it."

"You sure he doesn't need more rest of something?" Rose asked.

"Like I said, he might be fine by now. Plus I think he would like some more company." Said Muse.

"Okay … thanks Muse." Said Rose. Mikleo left Rose's body as she headed towards the inn and looked back at Muse for a while. Just for a moment Muse seemed to notice him as well. "Mikleo!" Rose called snapping him out of his thoughts he ran after Rose as they headed back to the inn. Rose asked the innkeeper where Sorey was and she directed him to the room. She knocked on the door. "Sorey, I'm coming in." She said opening the door to find a familiar old man with yellow tipped hair, in purple robes and wearing some sort of stilt shoes standing next to the bed Sorey currently sleeps in. "You!" She cried. Edna came out of her body.

"Oh, it's you again." She said.

"Well … It's a pleasure to see you two again." He said.

"You know him?" Mikleo asked.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story, I just became a shepherd and my friend Dezel turned into a hellion, Edna and I had to fight him, and uh …" Rose started, and turned to the old seraph. "I don't think we ever got your name."

"Zenrus." He said.

"Thank you." Said Rose turning back to Mikleo, "Zenrus saved my life when Dezel was about to blast my face off."

"Uh … huh …" Said Mikleo.

"So … what brings you to this unconscious kid's room?" Rose asked. Mikleo sighed and face palmed.

"I'm doing a favor for Muse, since she normally can't take care of Sorey when he gets his episodes." Said Zenrus.

"Episodes?" Mikleo questioned.

"Yes, from the time he was but a babe he would suddenly have coughing fits and could barely breathe, sometimes it would be bad enough that he would pass out." Said Zenrus. "He couldn't do much the days after they happen because he would be so weak, the best we can do is my healing and the medications he's been prescribed to."

"Including what's in here?" Rose asked taking out the black pouch.

"Yes." Said Zenrus then walking over to Rose and getting the pouch from her.

"Sounds like a pain to try to keep a dying boy alive for this long, why would you go through the trouble?" Edna asked.

"For one, Muse is a good friend of mine. I knew her since she was a little girl, when she was running around with those shits." Said Zenrus. "She asked me to help her take care of this child and …" he glanced over to Mikleo then looked back to the sleeping Sorey, "she formed the Light Sparks and they somewhat became a new family to me."

"What shits?" Rose asked. Zenrus didn't respond.

"So are the Light Sparks resonant?" Mikleo asked.

"The majority of them aren't." Zenrus replied. "Muse definitely has resonance, however in big cities like this she pretends she isn't as to not scare the people because that would create malevolence." They heard a moan coming from Sorey. "If you three want to talk to him, I think I should leave you be while I prepare the medicine." Said Zenrus as he left the room. Rose looked over to Sorey seemingly love struck for some reason.

"Wow …" Mikleo thought he heard Sorey whisper, Rose and Edna heard the whisper too. They smirked and snorted to try to keep themselves from laughing.

"Hey Sorey." Said Rose when she regained her composure.

"Hi." Sorey said softly.

"I wanna ask you some things. First off how are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He replied.

"Dude we both know that's bullshit, I mean you had that bad coughing fit a few days ago and now you're bedridden." Said Rose. "How are you really?"

"Okay okay." Sorey sighed. "I'm drowsy cuz I just woke up and my chest and throat hurt a bit. But I should be fine within a day or two. Again this isn't anything new." He assured.

"You sure about that?" Rose asked.

"He seems oddly okay with constantly getting sick." Said Mikleo.

"I mean … there's no reason to dwell on it I've always been this way, and a lot of people say there's nothing we can do about it." Said Sorey.

"Seems to be damn miracle that you're still alive huh." Said Rose crossing her arms. Sorey laughed weakly. "I don't mean to change subjects too quickly but you're interested in history and ruins right?" Sorey's eyes lit up.

"Yeah!" He said as cheerfully as he could in his current condition, Mikleo turned to him. "They're our link to the past, and reading about them was the only thing I was able to do as a kid! … When I get out of bed and get a break from work I really want to explore ruins all over the world."

"Everybody who's read the Celestial Record wants to do that." Said Mikleo, Rose could swear that she could see a smile creep across his face, that immediately turned back into a slight frown. "Unfortunately, none of us ever will."

"Do you know any ruins that are nearby?" Rose asked.

"Well … there's the aqueduct which I think the majority is off limits but I think there are other passage ways hidden throughout the city." Said Sorey. "And there are the Galahad ruins which are among the few that haven't been stolen from."

"Why would that be?" Rose asked.

"Like the aqueducts, it's protected by the king. I think it's considered holy ground … since it contains holy water that royalty uses before coronations." He said.

"Would it be possible for it to contain like some sort of holy relic?" Rose asked.

"Maybe … it is protected so I don't see why not." Said Sorey.

"So where would these ruins be?" Rose asked.

"A bit up north close to Aroundight forest, though I think there was a rock slide that ended up blocking most the area between the Galahad ruins and the Aroundight forest." Said Sorey.

"If it involves crossing a bridge and going past an abandoned village I think I may know a shortcut." Said Edna.

"All right, cool. Also have you seen a wind seraph anywhere?" Rose asked again.

"Um … nope nope, totally not at all I mean I absolutely can't see any seraphs much less a wind seraph." Said Sorey. Mikleo gave a long drawn out sigh while Rose and Enda gave each other a knowing look.

"Right … okay. Thanks again Sorey, hey Mikleo can you heal him?" Said Rose.

"Huh?" Said Sorey.

"Maybe, since this is a long existing condition that's been messing with his breathing I'm not sure how much I can do for him, but I'll try to give it a go." Said Mikleo. Mikleo turned to Sorey with his hands hovering above him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A light blue light came from his hands and glowed for a little bit before fading.

"So how do you feel?" Rose asked.

"Well … my chest hurts a little less, but I'm still gonna be bedridden for a bit." Said Sorey. "But thank you, for the company … and trying to make me feel a bit better."

"Hey, no problem, how about we give you some rest." Said Rose.

"Yeah, sounds good." Said Sorey. They let Sorey go back to sleep.

"I think I know what we should do next." Said Rose. "We're gonna check out the Galahad Ruins to see if there is one of those sacred relics there. If not then we would be close enough to Elysia that we could ask one of the seraphs there if they can help us out. Then we can look for some secret entrance to the Aqueducts to try to find something to help us with the Oroboros."

"You know, usually you'd do the closest thing first but whatever." Said Edna.

"Hey, either way we're exploring ruins so it sounds good to me." Said Mikleo.

"Great! Just let me write a note to Sergei and we'll be on our way." Said Rose.

Welp that didn't work out as planned and oh dear it looks like Sorey has a case of Ambigins Soapoperaitis a strange disease that behaves according to how the writer wants to either shoehorn in drama, fluff, or put them out of commission for a time. Plus since it's abundantly obvious that Sorey can't hide the fact that he's resonant to everyone but Sorey himself everybody knows now that Sorey still thinks Mikleo is hot.

Boy, I wonder how many people will lose interest in this fic now that I confirmed here that Sormik will be a thing here since this isn't AO3 where 90% of it is Sormik and there's much more Sorose and Sorali here.

pheiral- You're welcome dear. And Eizen will appear sometime in the distant future whether he's alive or not is a different question. Bahamut is an alias not his actual name likely developed due to Mikleo's oath. As for the Iris gem, it could be her, but I'd pay attention to her whenever she comes up. Oh and Mikleo won't be alone in his suffering since Rose has been Edna's punching bag lately.