"No way in hell," Lamb pounded his fist into the table for emphasis, making sure this time not to break it in the process.

"And why not," Quint asked, "don't you feel it your duty to help save the world?"

"Ain't no duty of mine. Wouldn'tve even known 'bout it if not for her," he pointed accusatorily at Liz.

"But you do know about it. You can't forget what you know now simply because you don't like it."

"Just about died once already. I ain't doin' it again."

"So what, you're too scared to do anything?"

"'Course I'm scared. The hell am I supposed to be? I got lucky once, an' I sure as hell ain't testin' my luck again."

The man frowned. "And you would sacrifice the world out of cowardice? You'd sacrifice your own friend?"

Lamb's mouth tightened. "I'm no coward- just not stupid. 'Sides, who said I'd let Liz go?"

Liz glanced up at that. "You think you have the right to stop me?"

"Don't know nothing 'bout rights. But a stupid girl like you, you'd just get yourself caught again. Or killed."

"You can't stop me."

"I can't let you."

The girl rose to her feet. "You'd tell me what I can and can't do? You'd stop me with force if necessary? Then how are you any different from the Wardens? Or from my old master?"

How are you any different? You're just another brute, hungry for blood. Wouldn't it be better if you went with her, just to give you enemies to fight?

"Shut up!" Lamb snapped. "Think I care? Maybe I'm just as bad. Maybe I'm worse. But I ain't lettin' nobody take you again, not now, not ever, an' if I have to lock you up to keep you safe then fine. 'Cos it'll still be better than whatever they do to you."

Liz stopped as his words sank in. Her anger melted away and her face softened. "Look, I understand you want to help me- and I'm grateful- but please; I need this. If I don't do this, I don't know how I'll live with myself. I have to go."

"Fine," he waved her away resentfully, "do it then. Throw your life away. But I ain't goin'."

"Lamb," she leaned down, forcing him to look her in the eye, "please. I need you with me. I don't know what I'll do if I have to go on my own again."

Lamb sighed, shoulders slumping. "You jus' don't get it. I want to go with you- course I do- but I can't. I just," he clenched his fist, fingernails digging into his palm, "can't. Can't do it."

"Why?" She clasped her hands around his, prising his fingers open. "What are you so scared of?"

"Fighting." He forced his eyes shut. "I done it once, an' I ain't never gonna forget it. It's gonna be with me for the rest of my life. I go back to it, I do it again, I might jus' beak."

"You probably won't even have to fight much anyway," Quint spoke up, "Once you find the first Element you can probably rely on them to look after you."

"Maybe. But you expect me to believe it'll be easy findin' them?"

"If you're that worried about having to fight," he said, "I'd be willing to work with you on that. I've taught plenty of people in the past."

"That's not the problem. Win or lose doesn't matter. I can't go into another fight against them."

"Then what are you worried about? About dying? About being hurt? About losing face?"

Lamb choked out a laugh. "Really think I care 'bout that crap?"

"Then what?"

"You really want to know?" He stood up. "Fine, then. It's myself. An' I ain't goin'." Then he turned on his heel, striding for a second time through the broken door and out into the peace and quiet beyond.


The next weeks passed them by in relative peace. Lamb and Elizabeth bickered, Quint broke them up, and Max remained impassive. The topic of Liz's quest was spoken of rarely, if at all, and Lamb made it very clear that his views on the matter weren't changing any time soon.

As the time passed, and Lamb's injuries began to heal, he found himself pushed into an annoying position. Being in better health, he'd been tasked with collecting and chopping the firewood; but because of his strength, he found that what would for most men have been a day's work took for him a few hours. And whilst the others knew about it, since he wasn't trusted with delicate tasks like helping in the library with Liz, there was only so much they could get him to do.

It wasn't a particularly bad time, Lamb felt- the food was good, he had decent companions when they were around, and Max's cooking was still the best he'd ever tasted- but it was boring. Quint's house was out in the middle of nowhere, maybe a dozen miles from the nearest village, and whilst that fact had kept them safe from the prying eyes of the authorities, it had also isolated them. For a boy like Lamb, who'd spent his whole life immersed in the tales, character and conversation of others, such enforced isolation was a prison all of its own. He found that, with little time-consuming work to occupy himself with, he had nothing to do but argue with his inner voice.

After almost a month of the process, and when his mind had been thoroughly numbed, he returned to the cottage one day to find Quint standing outside waiting for him.

Already on guard at the foreboding welcome, Lamb inclined his head in greeting. "Afternoon."

"Good afternoon."

"Somthin' happenin'?"

The man said nothing for a few seconds. "Everything's been organised now. Elizabeth is setting off next week."

"I'm not goin'."

"I didn't say you were." Another short pause. "Do you have a minute or two?"

"Ain't got nothing better to do."

"Very well." Without further ado he began walking away, leaving the house behind him, and Lamb had no choice but to follow.

A short time later he pulled to a halt and Lamb stopped behind him, taking a look around at his surroundings. A grassy meadow, still in the middle of nowhere, but this time a different nowhere- the cottage was out of sight. "What are we doing here?"

Quint turned to face him. "Are you aware that I used to work for the Wardens?"

Lamb's stomach plummeted, dropping through the ground beneath his feet. "You mean...?"

"I used to teach them. I trained them primarily in the use of magic, but also in armed and unarmed martial arts. This was maybe a decade ago, when I was still a child."

Alarm bells began to ring inside the boy's head. Clear space. Focus your senses. Be ready for anything. He stepped back a few metres, eyes narrowing. "That why you dragged me here? To kill me where no-one would know?"

"If you would allow me to finish," the man muttered in exasperation, "it would be greatly appreciated. The Wardens employed me when I was young, and impressionable, and thought I was contributing towards the justice of this world. As I grew older I became more aware of the corruption within the organisation, and eventually left it to work on my library."

"An' that makes it fine?"

"No. It doesn't. But it means I'm no longer affiliated with them, and I'm not going to kill you like you somehow seem to believe. What I'm telling you is that I was the man who trained a lot of the current Wardens- in fact, the only reason I recognised the Hellcannon is because it's just a weaker adaptation of my Fiery Impact."

"Why're you tellin' me this? What's your point?"

"My point is that, because of my past affiliations with them, I'm not particularly comfortable making direct contact with the Wardens- but also that, because of my experience, I've worked with just about every type of warrior, and have all the knowledge required to train you."

"I don't want trainin'."

"Maybe. But I feel I need to understand you. Hit me."

"No. Already tol' you I ain't gonna."

"You misunderstand me. I'm not asking you as a friend. I'm ordering you as your teacher."

"You ain't my teacher."

"As of today, I am. Now come here and hit me."

"No."

The other man dropped into a stance, both legs bent, right leg behind and angled away from his body. He brought his fists up in front of him, half-clenched. "You're going to hit me, whether you want to or not."

Lamb's inner voice began screaming inside his head. Back off! Get away from him! You're no match for somebody like him!

"Last chance," Quint said, "and I'd much rather we do this the easy way. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Yeah? Well you can get st-"

The slightest twitch of his foot and suddenly Quint stood before him, the ground between them covered in a heartbeat. Lamb's eyes widened in shock. He'd thought the Warden was fast, and that when he'd learned to spot the knight's attacks he'd gotten over missing people's movement- but this was something new entirely.

Quint snapped out with his right arm, striking the boy's solar plexus with an open palm. Lamb gasped, all the air driven from his lungs, flying backwards across the field.

He skidded to a stop, rolling back onto his feet, winded and clutching at his chest. "The hell!? What- the hell- you doin'?"

Quint frowned slightly. "I told you, didn't I? One way or another, you're going to hit me. Whatever else happens is down to you."

"I ain't- doin'- nothin'!"

"A shame." The man charged him again, and Lamb barely had time to bring his arms into a defence before he was hit with a side kick, the sole of Quint's shoe driving into him like a cannonball. Lamb founded himself lifted off his feet and flung through the air again, landing on his toes twenty yards away. He dug his feet into the ground, windmilling his arms to bring himself to a skidding halt. He had barely the time to congratulate himself on staying on his feet when the man appeared before him once more, simultaneously sweeping his legs and hammering an elbow into his upper ribcage.

The boy spun to the ground, eyes watering and world swimming. "You know," the words drifted through to him, "I'm not going to stop. Believe it or not I'm trying to help you, and we could do this much more smoothly if you just played along."

"You got- a funny way- of helping," Lamb choked out, stumbling to his feet again.

Quint raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" Then he stepped in, striking out with a fist at the boy's jawline.

Lamb stumbled backwards, dazed, barely remaining on his feet. He'd known Quint was good, but this was insane- in a contest of strength the man might even be on the same level as him. Had he been an ordinary boy those blows would have crippled, maybe even killed him.

Kill him, the voice practically shouted, get him now. He's just toying with you. If you take him now, when he's off his guard, you can cut him down before he does anything more.

I can't! He's the guy who saved my life!

And if you don't do something he'll be the guy who takes it too!

Another fist struck him, splitting his lip open, the copper taste of blood heavy in his mouth. His eyes closed instinctively and he forced them open again, trying futilely to focus on the man in front of him.

Take him down! Cut off his movement then-

A third punch flew his way, and this time he reacted to it, left hand flying out and stopping it with his palm. The man raised an eyebrow before Lamb closed his fist, locking Quint's in place.

Good. Now get his throat while he's incapacitated.

Screw you! Lamb closed his eyes furiously, I'm not going-

Another open palm struck him in the chin. He stumbled backwards, nearly biting his own tongue off, left hand releasing in shock.

"Come on," Quint seemed, to his disjointed mind, to taunt him, "get me! Or this will go on forever!"

"Go to hell," Lamb snarled through gritted teeth, "I ain't gonna. I ain't killin' anyone!"

"Killing? Who said anything about-"

Get him now! Rip his throat out while he's unguarded!

"Screw you! I ain't doin' it!"

A fist hammered into his ribcage, then another, then another.

Do it now or you never will!

"I'm not gonna!"

Another fist struck him in the side, driving any remaining oxygen from his body.

"Hit me!"

Kill him.

"Do it!"

Crush him.

"What are you waiting-!?"

"Leave me alone!" Lamb clutched his head in his hands, "You can all go to hell! You really want that? Fine!" He straightened, slapping the next punch aside and throwing all his power into his own.

The unexpected blow hit the warrior square in the face, snapping his head backwards and launching him like a stone from a catapult. Quint landed hard on the ground, rolling to a stop amidst a cloud of dust and dirt. He lifted himself painfully to his feet, fiddling with his bleeding nose. "Damn. That was a good one. I think you just might have-"

Lamb howled something inaudible, barrelling towards the other man, who took a step backwards in alarm. "Now hold on a se-"

Lamb swung out with another fist which Quint sideskipped, spinning round behind him and launching a punch into his kidney. The boy grunted in pain but reached for it, grasping hold of his wrist with a vicelike grip.

The man's eyes widened slightly, then Lamb lifted him up, swinging him above his head before slamming him like a flail towards the ground. Quint twisted in the air, landing on his feet and absorbing the impact with his legs. He caught hold of Lamb's wrist in return, executing the same manoeuvre and bringing the boy crashing into the earth.

He backed off a few steps, barely out of breath. "I think you're taking this a little too seriously."

Lamb jacknifed up to his feet, eyes blazing. "What? Think you can beat me like that? Think I'll just stand there an' take it?"

"You know that's not what I'm trying to do."

"You can't. I'll crush you. I'll crush you an' I'll rip your goddamn heart out!"

Quint backed off a little. "You'll what?"

The boy yelled, charging him again, and Quint dropped back into a stance. Lamb struck out with his fists once, twice, again and again, all of which the other man blocked with ease, steadily giving ground. Then Lamb spun round, lashing out with a turning kick towards his midsection.

Quint accepted the blow, absorbing the impact and using it to leap back a distance. "Alright," he waved his hands out, "that's enough. You can stop now."

Lamb shrugged the comment off, leering at the warrior. "Why? You scared?"

"I've achieved what I wanted to. Continuing this further would gain us nothing."

"Really? 'Cos I ain't even close to finished."

He closed the gap between them, lashing out with a hammer fist towards the man's jaw, which Quint deflected off his forearm. "If you don't back off now, I'm going to have to use force."

"Do it then", Lamb laughed, grabbing the man by the arm and throwing him across the meadow, following behind and striking him across the jaw, "if you think you can!"

Quint straightened, using a pushing kick to force the boy away and create a gap between them. "I'm giving you three seconds to stand down, or you'll leave me with no choice."

"Then do it! Stop talking and do it!"

"Three." The word was deliberate, calculated, holding little trace of emotion.

Lamb closed in again, kicking Quint in the stomach and sending him airborne once more. The man landed, sliding to a stop and not flinching in the slightest.

"Two."

Lamb leaped after him, springing through the air, all the fingers on his right hand stretched out like a knife. He snarled wordlessly, drawing it backwards and preparing to lash out with it.

The heart. Straight through his heart.

I know. I'm doing it.

In an echo of his first Warden encounter, time seemed to slow to a standstill. Lamb froze in the air, suspended in animation, eyes locked with his enemy. Quint stared at him, eyes expressing nothing more than a lingering regret. He brought his hands out to his sides, moving effortlessly through the frozen air.

"One."

Time crashed back into action. Lamb stabbed out with his hand, spearing towards the warrior's heart. Quint snapped his palms together, bringing them either side of Lamb's approaching hand.

"Thunder Drive."

Quint's hands fastened shut around Lamb's, stopping it short of its mark. There was the tiniest spark of yellow, and suddenly Lamb's entire body went rigid.

Every muscle in his body tensed, ripping themselves against each other. His head was filled with nothing but agony. More sparks arced before his eyes and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The other man released his grip and Lamb clutched his hand to his chest, screaming through his clenched teeth and waiting for the pain to ride itself out.

After a few seconds the worst of the shock passed, and Lamb raised his head wearily, climbing slowly to his feet, the smell of burning hair cloying in his nostrils. He took a deep breath. Quint stared at him. He stared back. A deathly silence resounded around the world. An eternity seemed to pass between them, before Lamb finally looked away, refusing to meet his eyes any longer.

"Well now you know."