fleets: I am so in love with Fallout 4 I can't even a;skdfj
Why, then, was I able to find the time to write this? Well... sadly for me, I am currently travelling and could not bring Fallout 4 with me (intense-sobbing).

Thank you so much for your support, everyone! It really brightens my day :D

Chapter 13: Declaration

To say Vaati's defeat had been controversial was an understatement. After the battle, it was assumed by many that the sorcerer had died, as his body had seemingly vanished the moment Zelda's light arrow had hit him. It was not until after the battle when it was made clear that Vaati was still alive. Zelda, Impa, and Darunia had been summoned by the Gerudo witches after they the soldiers had settled down in their camps. Zelda remembered stepping into their tent at dusk, while all of the other soldiers were either eating dinner or preparing for their tired journey home. The leaders had isolated into a hushed corner of the camp, away from the tired but elated post-victory hubbub of the soldiers. She remembered her breath catching as she saw the limp, but very alive, body of Vaati spread out on the ground before the witches' feet, and she recalled the others taking a surprised step away beside her. All three of them had been infuriated that the two troublesome witches had dragged the sorcerer's body away during the chaos of battle, potentially endangering everyone in the camp.

But then, the two witches had made a case which gave Zelda some pause. Their crooked fingers waggling at her, they had asked, what would Hyrule do if they could turn Vaati into one of theirs, to fight for them, and to defeat any other monstrosities that might rise to take his now empty throne? It was inevitable, they argued, that another would eventually claim his place, and when that happened, they would all be dragged into another bloody war.

One of the problems they had encountered when fighting the monsters had been the fact that they knew very little about those that ruled them. Few scouts could navigate the regions they came from, and fewer still could go to the dungeon strongholds where the most powerful monsters reigned. Most troublesome of all, the traps in these dungeons were vicious, but Vaati had been one of the few, perhaps the only one, who could make his way into every single one without harm. Such an ability was much too valuable to lose.

It was with this argument that opinions separated into two camps. Darunia would hear nothing of it, demanding that they end Vaati's life right then and there. Zelda, however, hadn't been so certain. Repeating another war like this… her kingdom wouldn't be able to handle it. She wouldn't be able to handle it. She didn't want to put her people through something like that again – forcing families to separate, sending fathers and mothers to what would be their deaths, having to face the families of loved ones who never returned from the field… she couldn't go through all of that again. If there was anything they could do to lessen the burden on the soldiers, then it was worth considering. Furthermore, agreeing with Twinrova would help better Hyrule's relations with the desert warrior tribes, who they'd always had a strained relationship with before the crisis with Vaati.

Darunia had been furious when Zelda began to talk as though she were weighing the witches offer. That night, he had stormed out of the tent, declaring that the Gorons were no longer friends to Hylians and Gerudos. From what they'd heard afterwards, none of the other Gorons knew why Darunia no longer wanted anything to do with Hyrule: perhaps he'd considered it a personal matter, and hadn't wanted the rest of the Gorons to panic at the news that Vaati was still alive…

Sheik had hoped that, by the time they met with the Gorons again, Darunia would be understanding of Hyrule and the Gerudo's decision. He did not expect friendship from the mountain race, but he'd hoped that they would be able to deal with each other civilly. Unfortunately, their visit had been unexpectedly early with the revelation of the Dusk Shards on Death Mountain, and wounds were still fresh.

Sheik bravely stood his ground as the intimidating Goron chief overshadowed him. They stood unyielding – both believing themselves to be in the right. The other Gorons watched on worriedly, afraid of a fight breaking out between the two of them. However, no one stepped forward to intervene, out of fear that they would exacerbate the situation. The sun had begun to set, and the fading deep orange of the sky was more ominous than pretty.

There was a small commotion, and someone pushed through the crowd of Gorons to make their way to Sheik. As though things couldn't get any worse, Fuu wandered over, completely oblivious that he was the very reason why Darunia was angry with them. Sheik was usually good at keeping a straight face, but this was one of those rare times when he wanted to shout something obscene. Fuu couldn't have picked a worse time to come back from the temple.

Sheik's fingers twitched towards the dagger hanging from his waist, expecting the worst. He watched as Darunia noticed Fuu's approach with surprise, before the chief's craggy brows pushed together into a frightening glare. Fuu stopped in his tracks, not understanding why he was being glared at with so much hate, and he inched backwards to keep an arm's length away from the towering Goron. The others who stood watching retreated slowly away from Fuu, now the focus of Darunia's anger. Fuu was smart enough to understand what he'd walked into, and he decided not to say anything out of fear that he would make the situation worse.

A few tense moments passed as everyone waited for an explosive confrontation. Sheik was slightly crouched, waiting to jump to Fuu's aid in the event that Darunia decided to attack him. Impa, too, already had one hand on the hilt of her greatsword, and Darunia had his hands curled into a fist. From the way the chief's fingers curled and uncurled, it was evident that he was fighting an internal struggle on whether or not he was going to pummel the former wind mage in front of everybody.

Eventually, Sheik saw Darunia's shoulders relax, although his terrifying glare still remained. It was a sign that perhaps Darunia wouldn't cause a scene. The chief, while passionate, wasn't a fool when it came to leading: if he attacked Fuu now in front of all of his people who had no idea about Fuu's past identity, everyone would think he'd gone mad. Sheik's fingers fell away from his daggers. It was going to be fine, Darunia wouldn't attack anyone.

Just as Sheik thought that he didn't have to worry about Fuu getting himself into a fight, he noticed a brief flicker in the shadow below Fuu's feet. His eyes shot sharply towards Darunia, and a chill ran down his back when he saw that the chief had noticed, too. Before he could intervene, Darunia suddenly lifted a powerful fist and slammed the ground in front of Fuu, sending the startled Sheikah apprentice stumbling backwards. Shadow Link popped out of Fuu's shadow, and while Link's doppelganger appeared unharmed, his face had a slightly paler tint and he looked completely caught off guard by the attack that had clearly been meant for him.

The next few seconds were a blur. Darunia roared angrily, charging towards Shadow Link who had drawn his sword in self-defense. As the Goron chief's massive fist flew towards Shadow Link's face, light flashed between them as Sheik intervened, throwing up a light shield to block the blow. However, it had all happened so fast that Sheik had only been able to conjure a weak shield. There was a horrid crack, and the shield splintered under Darunia's power, and the Sheikah was sent flying across the dirt from the spell's rebound. Impa ran to Sheik's side, while Fuu bravely stood unyieldingly in front of the angry Goron in order to stop him from continuing his assault on Sheik and Shadow Link. For a moment it seemed as though Darunia would go through with punching Fuu across Death Mountain like he'd meant to earlier, but instead rounded on Sheik, pointing accusatorially at Shadow Link who appeared confused by what had just happened. "You!" Darunia sputtered, fuming as he paced angrily in front of the Sheikah, "What does Hyrule have to say for itself? Have you all gone mad, siding with monsters?" at this, he shot another glare towards Fuu, before he turned back to Sheik again, "How dare you protect this creature?!"

While not everyone recognized Fuu as Vaati, many knew of Link's double who had spawned from the Dark World. The other Gorons, who had previously been more worried about Darunia's inexplicable anger towards Sheik and Impa, now appeared just as angry as their chief at the sight of Shadow Link. Shadow Link slowly got up and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, backing away from the ring of angry Gorons.

"If you have a problem with him, you have a problem with me," Fuu answered, and everyone turned to him. He didn't quite know what had happened or what was going on, but he wasn't going to just stand around and let a walking rock beat up his company. "He's helping-"

"I wasn't talking to you, kid," Darunia shot, silencing Fuu.

Although it wasn't like Fuu to back down, Darunia's glare was more unnerving than anything he'd ever encountered before. The hatred he felt from the chief's gaze was so powerful that it was almost as though the hatred was personal. Why he deserved such hate, Fuu didn't know, especially since this was the first time he'd met the chief. Right?

In the meantime, Sheik had staggered to his feet, dragging himself over next to Fuu. There was an ugly bruise forming across his face, and there was a gash across his nose where the shattered spell had sliced him. He wiped the blood away from his face with his hand, and he placed a hand on Fuu's shoulder. It was a reassuring hand, as though to tell Fuu that he would handle it from here. "He's with us," Sheik repeated what Fuu had been about to say earlier. His words were simple, but Fuu could hear the edge of frustration underneath.

Darunia stormed over so that his nose was almost touching Sheik's. "Hah! That means nothing, and we both know it," he growled. Fuu didn't really know what Darunia meant by that, but from the way Sheik's mouth tilted into a frown, it was clear that the blond knew what was being referred to. Darunia continued to stare Sheik down, but when the blond stared back just as defiantly, he straightened up and waved his huge saucer-sized hands irritably. "Hylians' have flighty ideas of allies," he scoffed. When he noticed Fuu tilt his head, confused by what he was alluding to, he scowled, his voice sour. "Why don't you ask your princess about the time she betrayed the Gorons, hmm?"

"He's with us," Sheik repeated sternly, not wanting the discussion to stray back towards what Hyrule had decided to do about Vaati.

Anger flashed across Darunia's steely black eyes like sparks across iron. He walked over to Shadow Link threateningly again, but Sheik held out a hand. The hand was more for Shadow Link, who was still pointing his sword at the Goron chief, as though to reassure him that Sheik had this under control. This further angered Darunia, and he lifted his fists in frustration. "He is not. We kill him," he growled, his powerful hands dangerously close to Sheik. Still seeing that Sheik, bruised and a little beaten, wasn't going to budge on this matter, Darunia gave an aggravated grunt and poked the other's chest challengingly. "Hmph. Then swear it," he demanded, "If you say that he is to you what my brothers are to me, then I might believe you."

There was a slight hush from the rest of the Gorons who had gathered to watch. To admit brotherhood to another was an extremely serious matter for Gorons, and not something to be taken lightly. Not only were you judged on your own actions, but your brothers' actions as well. The corner of Sheik's eye twitched. Darunia suspected that Sheik and Impa didn't completely trust Shadow Link, and he was challenging them for it. While Hyrule was more willing to take the "keep your friends close and enemies closer" approach, especially given their decision to keep Vaati and Shadow Link around, the Gorons were more along the lines of "destroy enemies before they cause trouble." For the Gorons, there was no such thing as an untrustworthy ally, and what Hyrule was doing, to harbor Shadow Link and Vaati on the premise that they were useful, was an affront to them. Sheik knew where Darunia was going with this: if they backed down and said neither Shadow nor Fuu were true allies, then Darunia would prove to the Gorons that Hyrule was, indeed, fickle and unworthy of trust. If Sheik held his ground and continued to say that Shadow Link and Fuu were with him, and one of them did something grievous, then Hyrule would again look untrustworthy because they clearly lack good judgment.

Sheik barely noticed that Impa had walked up to him to place a concerned hand on his shoulder. He waved her away. He wasn't going to let the Goron chief see him so troubled by the decision. Taking a deep breath, Sheik stood with his shoulders rolled back challengingly. Surprise flashed across Darunia's face when the warrior answered resolutely, "I swear it!"

"Swear it on your life," Darunia growled, still taken aback by Sheik's response. He hadn't expected that response, and had believed Sheik would admit that Hyrule was wrong for letting someone like Shadow Link work with them.

"I swear on my life that they are to me what your brothers are to you!" Sheik declared.

An incredulous silence fell over everyone, and they all stared in disbelief at Sheik, including Impa and Shadow Link. Behind him, Impa lowered her gaze and gave a sigh for what was to come from this bold declaration. Darunia continued to search the warrior's face for any indication of uncertainty or hesitation. There wasn't any.

"I see," Darunia eventually replied slowly. He seemed to be struggling with words, unsure of what to say in response, and he looked back at Sheik with a strange mix of both pity and respect. He had trouble grasping why Hyrule decided to place their faith on a wretch like Shadow Link, and even more so for an abomination like this… 'Fuu.' Still, he rarely saw the kind of reckless determination that Sheik had shown when supporting those two, and he had to respect that. If Hyrule truly believed that they were allies, then he couldn't challenge that. That was their problem. With a troubled shake of his head, Darunia finally turned away from the Sheikah and grumbled, "Fine. I will let you rest before your journey back to Hyrule, as thanks for helping us against the Nightmare creature." No one missed the scowl that flashed briefly on the chief's face, disappointed as he was about Sheik's answer. "However, I want you to leave us when the sun rises tomorrow. You are still not welcome here."

Sheik took a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding, and exhaled as he let his hands fall loosely against his sides. As Darunia walked away, leaving them at the clearing, the other Gorons who had gathered followed him out back to the center of the village. A few of them cast the Sheikah an incredulous look before they quickly lowered their gaze to mind their own business. Eventually the visitors from Hyrule were all alone, standing under the shadow of the petrified Gohma, the falling sun casting long shadows across the mountain path. Sheik felt a trickle on his nose, and realized that blood had been dripping from his wound again. He wiped it away, and then turned back to the others for the first time since the confrontation with Darunia. They all looked back at him, hesitantly, as though they wanted to say something.

He knew what each one of them wanted to say: Impa, to ask him why he'd made such a rash decision to publicly declare his support for Shadow Link, Shadow Link, to ask why he'd helped him yet again, and Fuu, to ask him what had made Darunia so angry at them.

Eventually, Fuu cleared his throat. "Thanks," he said quietly, "for standing up for him." The uncomfortable words that remained unspoken, then, were, "I'm sorry that it hadn't been me." For all the tough claims he'd made about how he'd be responsible for Shadow Link, Fuu had allowed Darunia to silence him. For what it was worth, the way Darunia had looked at him would have silenced anyone, even the most terrible monsters themselves, but it didn't make Fuu feel less pathetic about it. He just hadn't expected such hatred, and such personal hatred it had been, from someone he could have sworn he'd never met.

Sheik looked at him blankly, unsure of how to react. He liked Fuu, and for the past several days, he'd almost stopped seeing him as Vaati. In all honesty, he'd never met a more genuine person than Fuu, except maybe Link. However, the encounter with Darunia today was a reminder that, while Fuu may no longer be Vaati, the sorcerer's influence could not truly disappear. Those who remembered Vaati, and those who discovered what Hyrule had done, would continue to be in conflict with them. And as much as Sheik liked Fuu, it was hard not to associate him to the conflict with Darunia today. It was unfair to think that it was Fuu's fault, but at the same time he was just too much of a reminder of every single problem Sheik had had recently.

And then, Sheik did something that he'd done so often before when he just couldn't take it anymore. It was something that had cost him friends as Zelda, and something that caused Impa countless hours of frustration. "I need time alone," he said, and walked off to disappear, "don't follow me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Over an hour later, and Sheik still hadn't returned to the others.

Sheik disliked arguing, and the huge argument with Darunia had tired him out. Although the situation had been resolved, it reminded him why he hated dealing with people sometimes. Every argument with anyone reminded him of his role as Hyrule's representative, its princess, and how anything he said could one day be used against Hyrule. Say anything too crazy, and Hyrule was accused of being unstable. Say anything too meek and Hyrule was a weakening kingdom. He was walking a thin line with every argument with anyone, no matter how petty, and it was for this reason that he especially hated arguments.

He hadn't actually gone too far from the others, but far enough that they wouldn't find him so easily. He'd climbed up the canyon ledges around the clearing, and was now perched atop an outcrop that looked down to where the others had set up camp below. A small light flickered where they had made a campfire under the shadow of the Gohma statue, and he watched as Fuu helped throw some deadwood into the flames.

He tried to ignore the small pang of guilt as he saw Fuu look around from time to time, clearly distracted by something. At one point, the Sheikah apprentice asked Impa something as they moved some rocks to sit on around the fire. When Fuu's shoulders drooped in disappointment when the older woman shook her head slowly, Sheik had an idea that he'd asked her where he'd gone.

Impa was already used to Zelda leaving for stretches of time to avoid people, but most others did not understand. Fuu's expression was difficult to see in the dim light, but Sheik could just imagine him furrowing his brows, wondering if this was somehow his fault.

I'm not mad or anything, Sheik kicked away a small rock, and it tumbled down the side of the cliff. I mean, yeah, I guess I kind of am. Since all of this is your fault. Even though it isn't. He sighed, and then leaned against the cool rock as he continued to watch the others from his perch above. But it's kind of like when a friend is… is an idiot, and you're really mad at them, but you also don't want to be too mad at them because you were idiot first. He paused, thinking about the analogy, and then he added to himself, except that before YOU were an idiot, the friend was a bigger idiot back when you legitimately hated them.

He shook his head again, still feeling a little mean but justified at the same time for disappearing. Impa had always grieved that it was a bad habit of his, and had attributed this habit to the reason why he barely had any real friends. Few would guess that the most esteemed and loved princess of Hyrule would be lacking in friends, since everyone seemed to be fond of her, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Zelda was very good at knowing exactly what to say to be amicable, but it was simply something she had been trained to do, not something she did because she enjoyed it. She'd been taught etiquette, and how to smile correctly, and as a young girl she'd taken her teachings seriously because she believed in the duty she had as the Princess of Hyrule. And the more she practiced smiling at people, the more she'd come to hate it.

In times when people overwhelmed her, she isolated herself. Eventually, people who could have been friends just assumed that she was too busy for their time. Or that she didn't like them.

"Hey."

Sheik's ear twitched at the sound of Shadow Link's voice. Hey, the blond noted. 'Hey,' rather than the usually carefree, mockingly cheerful 'Hiya.' Somewhat irritated that his alone-time had been interrupted, and by a serious Shadow Link no less, Sheik pulled the cloth around his neck to further cover his face. He turned his back slightly away from Shadow Link who popped up from the darkness to settle down on the rocks above him.

"I was looking for you," Shadow Link said, "you were a moblin snot to find." When Sheik ignored him, he shrugged and sat cross-legged on the rocks, tugging at his ankles awkwardly like he didn't know how to start the conversation. He hummed and hawed a few times, scratched his head, and then pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Look, about today…" he started, and then decided that wasn't how he wanted to begin things so he bit his lip and looked up at the stars uncomfortably.

The two of them sat in silence while Shadow Link tried to figure out what it was he wanted to say. The moon, a beautiful crescent, had inched up higher during the time they sat staring up at the sky wordlessly. When it was clear that Shadow Link wasn't going to leave him alone, Sheik gave an aggravated sigh. "I didn't do it for you," he mumbled.

Shadow Link perked up, eager that Sheik was willing to talk. "What was that?"

"I did it for him," Sheik nodded towards Fuu who was huddled by the fire. "I did it for him, because I promised that I would trust him."

"What does that have to do with-"

"Because he trusts you, and I decided to trust his decisions," Sheik said, his voice sounding more irritable than he'd meant to. He turned his head slightly towards Shadow Link. In the darkness, only the doppelganger's blue eyes that glinted from the firelight below was visible. "What do you think would have happened if I had let Darunia attack you? If Fuu ended up in the fight? It's better that Darunia remains angry with me, rather than with him." Sheik huffed. "And before you ask, yes I'm annoyed at him, because it's your fault I had to confront Darunia and it's his fault for insisting you live."

In the darkness, Shadow Link rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I guess that makes you as stupid as I thought you were, then. If Fuu ended up in the fight then that's his problem, isn't it? It's not-"

Sheik interrupted Shadow Link for the second time, his irritation more evident now. "It is my problem," he said, "because that's what friends do." He let the words sink in, an allusion to Shadow's earlier claim that Sheik didn't know what friendship was. Then, he stood up to find somewhere else where Shadow Link wouldn't bother him.

Shadow stared after the Sheikah until he realized his mouth had been left half-open in surprise. He scrambled after him until he was standing in his way.

Sheik looked him up and down, and then crossed his arms impatiently.

"Look, I just wanted to say," Shadow Link blurted, unusually agitated, "even if you didn't mean what you said today, to that Goron, no one has… no one has said anything like that about me before."

Sheik blinked, his expression softening. He watched the shadow creature jam his arms crossed over his chest, peeved by his own outburst. Sheik chuckled, and tapped Shadow Link on the shoulder. "You're all right, Shadow," he said, and walked off.

Alone, Shadow Link gave a flustered huff. He raised his hands, and then whacked a rock next to him in aggravation. Damn it, Shadow, you really want to ruin everything you've been working for now? He mentally kicked himself, and then for good measure decided to kick the rocky wall in front of him, too. He'd been so close, so dangerously close, to telling Sheik his real intentions.

The truth was… the truth was that they really shouldn't be trusting him. They were idiots to do so, and yet they did. The whole thing with Darunia today had been a lapse of judgement from Sheik he'd never expected. Of course, getting the Sheikah and Master Vaati to trust him had been the plan all along, but the more he spent time with them, the more he was beginning to hate what he would eventually have to do. "Having doubts now, Shadow?" he laughed bitterly to himself. Cursing, he sat back down, glaring at the empty space just in front of his toes.

In the beginning, he hadn't cared a bit for any of them. He hadn't cared for Hyrule, hadn't cared for Sheik, and certainly hadn't cared for Master Vaati. Well, okay, so he did kind of care about Master Vaati, but it was in that strange, stupid way, where you know someone is horrible and they deserve everything awful in the world, but you can't help but care about them. Like… when you viscerally hate a family member, but can't help but stand by them when someone tries to fuck them up because damn it all no one gets to destroy them but you. The point was that he hadn't cared enough not to go through with his plan which would most likely end with their demise.

But now… now things had changed. First Vaati, and now Sheik. He could almost be fooled into thinking that they were actually people he could get along with. Friends? No, not friends, because he didn't think those were real, no matter what Sheik said. They were people who had his back, though, and that was more than what he could ever say about anyone else he knew. Not even Master Vaati, back before he'd still been his master and before he'd lost his memories, ever demonstrated that he cared about what happened to him. When Fuu had first stood up for him against Sheik, he'd been struck speechless. Fuu had spoken with the words of Vaati, with that voice commanding power and respect, but he'd used it to protect him. The old Vaati had never made him feel like someone worth noticing, much less protecting: in fact, Shadow Link always suspected that if he died, Vaati could always just summon another one of him.

No one had ever stood up for him the way Fuu and Sheik had. It had been… nice.

Shadow Link shook his head, trying to clear it of these silly thoughts. He couldn't doubt now, not when he was so close to finally getting what he wanted. What were two more casualties in the grand scheme of things?

Trivial details.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, everyone was woken by a panicked Goron frantically shaking their shoulders with his rough, gravelly hands. For Fuu, it was especially upsetting because he was still sleep deprived from Sheik's early morning trainings for the last 3 days, and he hadn't had much luck getting a relaxing night's rest ever since he'd woken up at the Gerudo camp. He'd had half a mind to clock the Goron and pretend the guy had passed out, inexplicably, on his own, but he was stopped by the few words he caught between the panicked blabbering of the Goron. "Whoa, slow down. What's the deal?" he asked, while the others rubbed their eyes and slowly got up from their blankets. He glanced up at the sky. It was barely breaking dawn, and he could still see the faint stars glowing against the gradually reddening sky.

"Hyrule… it…" he Goron panted, and he crouched over, catching his breath. It almost looked like he'd ran some distance before coming to them with a message.

Impa, now fully awake, made her way over to the Goron. "Take it easy. What has happened to Hyrule?"

"Hyrule… it was… it was attacked! Last night…" the Goron gasped. A chill passed over them, but it was nothing compared to the sinking atmosphere that came with the messenger's next words.

"The princess is… She's dead."

What? Fuu's breath caught in his throat. Princess Zelda... was dead? He turned towards Impa and Sheik, wondering if he'd misheard. He must have misheard. However, all he could see was the ashen faces of the other two Sheikahs, confirming that he'd heard exactly what had been said.

"… horrible… displayed on a crucifix… middle of the town."

The Goron was rambling on, but Fuu couldn't hear him. Everything seemed to be buzzing. Incoherent. Across from him, Sheik had a devastating expression, completely lost and disoriented. Finally, Sheik looked at Impa, and then to Fuu, his wavering voice nothing at all like the one that had stood up to Darunia bravely the day before.

"So that…" Sheik said hoarsely, "That's why Dethl left. To attack Hyrule."

fleets: I don't really have much to say, except maybe 'yay Dethl?' so yeah. I'll leave it at that. Yay Dethl.

SubZeroChimera: Whatever happened in this chapter was kind of a trainwreck with Sheik as damage control

Serpent Tailed Angel: He truly knows exactly what to do to make everything better for everyone :)

Flufux: I'm actually pretty excited about the future chapters where I can showcase their character for real. They're not really like any villain I've written before (I don't think).
My major concern is how detailed I should go into for stuff like... gore. Guts, blood, and detailed torture scenes and all that jazz. Right now I think I'll keep it tame, so as not to scare anyone away.
And yeah! This chapter has the first hint that this story is a little different (in terms of level of violence) than my other ones.

AquilaMage: We'll (hopefully) see more of that creepy ominous from Dethl :) I hope this chapter answered some of your questions :D

Ai Star: Hahaha Fuu just seems to get into one kind of trouble after another. And yeahhh so Dethl had been busy elsewhere D:

Vesperupus: More trouble to come. Pretty excited about it hahaha
And yes! I definitely named it Bates in secret XD
I have a lot of ideas for Dethl and I'm super excited about when I can actually write more (they're being uncooperative by being all shadowy and indirect...)

Guest: Hi guest! I'm not sure you'll see this since the review was for Chapter 1, but I just wanted to say thank you so much ;w;
It did feel funny coming back to it since I was one hundred thousand percent sure that I would never come back, and yet I ended up coming back to this so soon lol.
I am definitely having fun with it. I kind of forgot how much I enjoyed fanfic writing (it just feels different than writing something original...) and it was nice to get back into it (especially with such a warm welcome back!)