The next morning Puck woke to empty space beside him, his arms clasped around nothingness. He sighed and got to his feet. Running a hand through his hair, his bleary eyes caught a glimpse of someone peeking their head into his tent. "You're up," the visitor grunted. "The commander wants to talk to you."

"That's great," Robin yawned, "but I need to do my make-up first. Beauty sleep only does so much."

The soldier made a face before shaking his head and leaving the tent. "Just hurry up."

Robin grinned. "It's awful impolite of you to just barge in here, you know. What if I had slept naked? I don't, usually, but what if I had? You should really knock first. Unless you want an eyeful of the old twig-and-berries. Then come right in, I guess, but I'm not entirely sure that's consensual."

Through the shadows displayed on the tent flaps, Puck saw the soldier shudder before walking away and giving him some privacy. He took advantage of the time to change into a fresh set of clothes lying across from his cot, and taking a morning piss in a convenient pail placed nearby. The jester emerged from the tent feeling quite chipper.

Of course, then he smelled the smog and remembered where he was.

"Goodfellow!" Gage called. "Come here!"

With a sigh, Robin forced a smile on his face and sauntered over to the commander. "Lovely morning, Gagey-kins," he said with false cheerfulness. "Perfect for a nice assassination, wouldn't you say?"

Gage pursed her lips and and looked past his shoulder, gesturing to someone he couldn't see. Capala soon appeared beside them. "Officer," Gage said, "It's morning. I expect you to head out as soon as possible."

Capala gave her a small nod. "Of course."

"You will be accompanied by these supervisors," the commander announced, and at her words a half-dozen of soldiers appeared behind her, all wielding very dangerous-looking weapons and scowls on their faces. "To ensure your cooperation, of course. Think of this as a trust exercise. It's a mark of my good faith in you that I'm allowing this mission to go ahead at all."

"A trust exercise?" Robin snorted. "Yes, a squad of murderous babysitters sure seems trusting. And it's a tad overkill, don't you think Tin Tits?"

A vein pulsed in Gage's forehead. "Capala has proven her abilities," Gage said through gritted teeth. "These are adequate measures."

"If you say so, Gagey-poo."

Capala placed a warning hand on Puck's arm. "We should leave now," she interjected. "The faster we leave, the faster we can get it over with."

Gage nodded. "It's not a pleasant business, but a necessary one. We've got a trod waiting for you." She herded the group to a door that stood at the far wall, suspended in the air with no walls around it. She swung the door open, and a rush of forest air blew their hair back. Robin breathed deep, the smell of nature comforting him. "The trod will drop you off around Tir Na Nog. From there, how long do you think the journey will take?" the commander asked.

"It could be a few hours, or a few months," Capala replied. "It depends on if he wants to be found."

Gage seemed slightly disturbed, but nodded. "...I see. I wish you the best of luck."

The two fey and their entourage of six soldiers disembarked from the rooftop and went through the trod. They walked down the path and watched as the walls around them turned from steel walls and dangling cables to ice-covered walls and snowy floors, with spirals of frost swirling around them and sending pinpricks of ice into their cheeks.

They arrived on the other side of the trod, stomping through the ice with booted feet. Puck shivered. "Not a fan of the cold, I gotta say," he remarked.

"We shouldn't be out here long, if we're lucky," Capala assured him. She swallowed. "If we're lucky."

"Better start groping the old rabbits' foot then, huh?" Robin grinned. Capala smiled, and they walked together.

The soldiers walked just behind them, their feet moving in a united march, not a single step out of place. Capala guided them through the trees, several hours passing in the gloom of Tir Na Nog. Snow fell around them, a growing blizzard making them hunch down in their clothes. Soon, the howling ice storm became too dangerous for them to walk around in.

"Cap, we have to stop," Puck said, his cheeks a bright pink.

"I-It's not far," the woman replied, her teeth chattering. "We just need to keep going."

"And f-freeze?"

She ignored him. "There!"

Robin followed her gaze through the trees to glimpse a small cabin hiding in the brush. The pair started sprinting after it, following their line of sight far into the woods. They ran until they sweat, the cold air making them struggle to breathe fully. Soon they broke the tree-line, and Puck collapsed in the snow in front of the cabin. As he breathed deep, he noticed the blizzard was avoiding the house. Just outside the faded wooden fence that surrounded the building, snow built in huge mounds, but the house itself didn't have a snowflake on it.

He blinked and looked back to the trees. They had lost the babysitters, as well. "This place is weird," he declared, as Capala helped him to his feet. Robin shivered as the ice clung to his clothes.

"Puck." Robin felt Capala's cold hand reach up to his cheek and make him look at her. Her eyes were wide, the bright blue irises standing out among the white snow. She swallowed. "I...I don't know what's going to happen when we get in there. Just...this means something to me, more than you know. Just trust me. Promise me you'll let me do the talking,"

The trickster felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck, but he nodded. "I can't promise that I'll keep my mouth shut for long," he said, forcing a smile, "but I'll try."

Capala tried to smile and failed, bowing her head and dropping her hand from his face. The pair trudged through the snow up to the gate of the fence. The rusted hinges on the faded wooden gate squeaked loudly as Capala swung it open. In the yard in front of the cabin, great thorny stalks grew up from under the ground, giant brambles twisted around the fencing and around the house. Dry, cracked ground made up the front lawn, and the air hummed with strange magic.

They stepped up to the front door. Capala rapped her knuckles on it in two brief strikes. When no one answered, she turned the knob and swung the door open.

The pair stepped inside. The house was empty. Dirty, filthy, and dark. Tattered curtains covered the grimy windows, and rats scurried along the ground and into cracks in the walls. "Thorne?" Capala said aloud, her fingers lingering on the hilt of her gun. "Thorne, I'm back."

"So you are." A deep, powerful and slightly amused voice echoed off the walls, coming from an unseen source. The pair of fey tensed up. Capala swallowed and continued pacing around the house, counting her steps carefully to avoid piles of rat feces. "It's been a long time."

"It has," Capala murmured. They rounded a corner into another empty room. Puck looked back over his shoulder, a cool breeze running past his neck inside the building. He shuddered as the shadows behind him twisted and danced into terrible images. "I need a favor."

"I know." Something shifted behind them, and the two fey turned around to follow the noises. The unseen voice continued to speak. "But I seem to recall a vow you made, all those years ago."

"And I intend to carry it out." Capala's jaw tightened. "But you can't help me if you're dead."

"Maybe not. You never know. I am me, after all." A pause. "I see you've brought a friend along."

"...He's no concern of yours."

"Ah, Capala," the voice purred. "I wonder what he would think of you, if he really knew you. Knew everything you've done." When Capala didn't reply, he went on. "I wonder what he'd think if he knew exactly what happened to the last man you loved, Cap."

Capala halted. "You have no right to talk about him," she whispered.

"Don't I? I killed him. I heard the last words he said, as the blood spilled from his neck. He asked for you, Capala. Called your name and wanted you by his side. I suppose it's a blessing he never knew the truth."

In one swift motion, Capala drew her gun from it's holster. "I'll kill you," she swore. Even in the darkness, Robin could see shining tears dripping down her cheeks. "I promised him that. You beat me once, and I won't let it happen again."

"Ah," the man said. "But I thought you needed me."

Suddenly, flames burst into life on fixtures stuck to the walls, the bright light making the pair cry out as their eyes adjusted. When they looked back, a man stood in the center of the room. All grime and filth had disappeared.

Capala trained her gun on his heart. "Thorne," she spat.

The man smiled. White hair tumbled down to his shoulders, and night-black eyes gleamed. A wide, toothy smile spread across his face, one that sent chills down Puck's spine. "Capala," he said. "It's a pleasure to see you again."