Thank you SO much BlessedArrow, CouslandSpitFire, anesor, Apollo Wings and Morninglight for your awesome feedback! I also want to thank all of you who are now following the story and those who now have it on their list of favorites as well! Cookies for everyone! :D

A special thanks to my lovely Betas: Eynla and CouslandSpitFire who also have written awesome fics of their own! Be sure to check their fics if you can! (The links are on my list of favorites on my profile!) :D

Ok, this is one of the chapters that isn't totally AU, because I HAD to include Varric's line about stepping over Bartrand's corpse along the way – I just love it! Also, nothing very different about the whole Deep Roads thing, except for the fact that Velanna makes an appearance. I apologize for the lack of originality! It's just that I really HATE the Deep Roads and wanted to smoothly sail in and out, but discovered to my horror that it took me three chapters to do that! O.o So, sorry about that, too!

My disclaimer as always: Bioware OWNS! :D

Chapter 10

They reached an area that was higher than the rest of the places they had been to so far. Hawke turned to Varric to ask him if he knew where they were and a very loud scraping sound behind them interrupted their chat. Anders's eyes widened as the biggest rocks around them continued to scrape against the stone floor until a huge rock wraith stood in front of them, its skeletal interior glowing and pulsating menacingly. For a moment it just stood there, balancing precariously on what could have been its legs, except for the fact that they were a couple of jagged rocks. Then it laughed – the ominous sound filling the chamber and echoing off the distant walls.

"We're so dead!" Anders muttered as he dipped into the Veil for the strongest ice spell he could focus on. He did not fail to notice Hawke's blurry form as she sped forward to attack it, and felt his heart somewhere in the vicinity of his throat as fear gripped him hard. "Damn it, Hawke, get out of the way!"

Anders's yell was interrupted by Varric's scream as the monster flung an electric bolt at the dwarf that threw him clear across the room. He quickly applied a healing spell on him and Varric stood right up again, firing three deadly bolts directly at the giant. The creature screamed in pain and suddenly disappeared under the ground - reappearing on the group's far left. The rocks had somehow fallen from its skeletal core and Hawke now leaped toward it, hacking in earnest, as Bethany ran forward, a cold misty fog shooting from the tips of her hands which froze it solidly – if only for a few minutes.

Anders finally managed a well-placed ice spell as well, giving Hawke more time for her to continue her attack on it. She slashed at the thing mercilessly as Varric sent out more bolts that tore into the monster. The ice melted and the wraith finally shuddered, as the rocks started to scrape against the floor, slowly adhering to the skeletal interior and forming the protective shell around it once again.

Hawke saw it taking shape and took cover behind one of four massive pillars in the room, practically dragging Bethany with her. She called out to Varric and Anders to do the same. The four of them huddled behind the pillar and at that moment, the great monstrous wraith ended up turning into a huge ball of rock. The thing sent out a blinding ray of red light that enveloped everything in the room, except for the four friends that were behind the stone pillar. One of Anders's arms shot out, planning to cast another ice spell at it, but he screamed in pain and quickly drew it back to his side again. He applied some healing to himself as the rest watched him with concern.

"I can safely say you saved our lives, Hawke," he managed after a few moments. "That red light seems to suck on any life force it can, probably as a regenerative measure."

"I really had no idea of that, you know. It was just pure, dumb luck," Rhianna smiled warmly at him. "But I guess that it's safe to say we can all dart behind one of the pillars for cover if we see it about to change shape."

He could have kissed her right then and there – he certainly wanted to, but the bloody monster had stopped emitting the red light, an indication that it was fully recovered.

"I have a plan, which was the real reason I pulled you all here to begin with," Hawke quickly said as she noticed smaller rock wraiths taking shape around the monster. "While it's like this, just hit it with ranged spells as much as you can. If it seems to be changing shape, which we can tell because it starts shuddering and pulsating like crazy, then run for one of the pillars and take cover behind it! Can you do that?"

"Aye, Captain!" Anders saluted, and then grinned as he stepped out from behind the pillar. Twirling his staff playfully he shouted, his combat cry reverberating against the walls.

"Destructive forces of nature, coming right up!"

…

They were exhausted when the monster and its minions finally fell, but Anders had fared worse and was now kneeling on the floor, his breath coming in short gasps. He had had to deal with offensive as well as healing spells throughout the entire battle. He briefly wondered if he would ever be able to get back on his feet again.

"You look like you could use a drink," Rhianna said with a smile as she handed him a water skin. Anders took it with a smile and drank deeply. Sighing happily, he passed the water skin back to Hawke. Bethany had stayed behind, sitting up against one of the pillars and Varric handed them some ham and cheese, which he had taken from the backpack where they kept the food.

"Your sister isn't eating, Hawke," Varric said, shaking his head.

Rhianna frowned and put back the piece of cheese she had been holding in her hands as she stood up and went to Bethany.

Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was sleeping, so Hawke turned to leave, only to be interrupted by Bethany's melodious voice.

"I'm so glad you finally dealt the killing blow, sister. That thing was taking its toll on all of us."

"Indeed," Hawke said in a low voice, a frown on her face. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, kneeling in front of Bethany. "What's wrong, sister? And don't tell me it's nothing – I just know something is very wrong…"

"You aren't easily fooled, are you?" Bethany commented with a sweet smile, still keeping her eyes closed. "I'm just tired, sister, I promise. I'll just rest here for a while; I can hardly keep my eyes open…"

Rhianna stared at her, trying to find any clue that would tell her what the matter was. After a few moments, she shook her head and smiled at her sister as she got up. "All right. I think all of us need a break. I'll let you know when we're heading out."

"Thank you, sister," Bethany replied, her eyes still firmly shut. But when Hawke left, Bethany opened them. If Rhianna had stayed behind, she would have seen a cloudy film starting to creep over her sister's irises.

Bethany sighed deeply, finally accepting that what she was feeling could only be the product of having fought the darkspawn while she was too close to her sister. Some of the blood must have surely spattered on her, and she must have inadvertently swallowed it. She knew that even the tiniest of a drop could taint any living creature.

It would only be a matter of time now, as she very well knew. Her mind envisioned Aveline's husband, Wesley, begging to be killed rather than turn into a monster. She sighed again, shutting her eyes tightly.

Bethany had been tainted and probably only had a few more days to live.

…

The following morning, they packed to leave and literally stumbled across treasure on their way to a door, which was conveniently locked.

"Treasure? Here?" Anders asked, the surprise in his voice making Rhianna smile.

"Well, Varric said that this was probably the Vault. It makes sense," she replied as she opened the first chest. Hundreds of gold pieces glittered in the half-light of the lit braziers. Lying on top of the gold was a bronze key.

"Aha! A way out of here, maybe?" Varric grinned as he spotted the key. "Shall we fill our backpacks with everything we can carry?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Hawke chuckled.

As soon as they finished stashing away as much gold and gold objects as they could, Hawke tried the key on the door. Moments later, they heard the familiar 'click' that told them it was unlocked.

"I'm willing to bet this is the way out," Varric grinned.

"You're always betting on things, only to lose horribly afterwards," Anders laughed.

"Only once!" Varric protested. "I can just picture Isabela's face when we get back."

"I hope I'm there," Anders said with a chuckle. "Don't want to miss that!"

"What bet are you two talking about?" Hawke asked as she walked, and Varric shook his head.

"Nothing!"

"Ah, if you only knew about the bet," Anders teased. "Why don't you explain it to her, Varric?"

"Bianca's twitching something awful, Blondie," Varric retorted. "Why don't you just drop it before she coughs up a bolt and fires it at you?"

Anders burst out laughing. "Uh, oh! Don't tell me you're actually going to hurt me?"

"Just don't push your luck, Blondie!" Varric said. "I've only just forgiven you for telling me you knew how to play Diamondback!"

"But I do know how to play Diamondback!" Anders exclaimed.

"Very badly!" Varric added with a grin.

"Now there's an idea! Once we're back in Kirkwall, we should make plans to get together at The Hanged Man to play Diamondback!" Hawke exclaimed happily. "I bet I can beat you all easily!"

"And I bet you can't beat me," Anders shot back, wiggling his eyebrows. "I know what you do when you bluff."

"Really? Have you been studying me, then?" Hawke giggled.

"If you're trying to make me blush, it's not working!" Anders replied with a laugh. "I'm not the kind of person who blushes easily!"

"Well, I already did that before, so no!" Hawke announced, turning to face him, her violet eyes shining merrily. "But I can ask you to pull your trousers down again so we can all see you blush!"

Anders broke into a sweat as the images flooded his brain. The bright vermillion on his cheeks made everyone burst out laughing.

Maker help me!

"Hahahaha!" Hawke laughed, the tears streaming down her cheeks as she pointed to his red cheeks.

Even Bethany, who had been quietly listening to their playful banter, was laughing.

"Oh, I'm going to get you for this," Anders mumbled, shaking his head. "Just you wait!"

"I can't wait!" Hawke said with a grin. "I'm all-a-tremble!"

"Oh, you'll tremble all right!" Anders teased.

"Well, I can safely say we're on the right track. All the stairs we are running into so far seem to be taking us upward, which is where we need to go," Varric announced with a chuckle as they went up a flight of stairs.

"That's good to know," Hawke replied with a smile. "How long to get back, do you know?"

"If we're unlucky? Five days at the most," Varric replied.

"And if we're lucky?" Hawke asked curiously.

"We'll stumble over Bartrand's corpse along the way," Varric said through clenched teeth.

They all burst out laughing at this as they walked on, a spring in their step and hope in their hearts.

…

They continued on their journey, talking to each other and joking from time to time, stopping only to set up camp, eat, and rest when they were tired. None of them really knew how much time had passed, but Varric actually managed to figure it out and would let them know whenever they asked him. No shades or profane popped out to get them, and they were thankful for that.

They finally reached an area they recognized and stopped to look around. It looked like the vast chamber where they had fought the dragon and dragonlings what felt like a million years ago.

"This looks familiar! Isn't this the place where we fought the dragon and all those dragonlings?" Hawke said excitedly.

"Could we…stop? I – I feel so… ill…" Bethany said behind her in a weak voice.

Fear grasped Hawke's heart and stopped her reply as she turned to get a good look at Bethany. Pieces of her skin were missing and her eyes were covered in a misty white film. Bethany fell to the floor and clutched at her throat as she gasped for breath.

Hawke cried out her name and ran to her, kneeling beside her as she took her in her arms. Anders rushed over, his heart in his throat as the tingling sensation of the Taint suddenly overcame him. He immediately knew what was wrong with Bethany and frowned, a concerned look in his eyes.

Why didn't I see this sooner? Maker!

"She's been tainted," He said softly. "I can feel it…"

Hawke cursed under her breath, rocking Bethany gently.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked her sister, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Well, we were trapped at the time, and you couldn't do anything about it, could you?" Bethany replied with a small smile. "I'll be just as dead as poor Wesley, won't I? It's coming on faster!"

"There could be something we can do," Anders said, remembering where he had gotten the map. "I stole the map from a Warden that was here in Kirkwall. I thought he had come here looking for me, but discovered that the Wardens were actually mounting their own expedition to the Deep Roads."

"And that helps us how, exactly?" Rhianna asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Well, if the Wardens are here, we could take Bethany to them," Anders began.

"And what? Become a Grey Warden?" Bethany finished off for him. Anders nodded.

"Is becoming a Grey Warden a cure?" Hawke asked, looking up at Anders hopefully.

He nodded, but sadly. "I suppose you could say that, yes, but…"

"But what? Spit it out!" Hawke demanded.

"Well, becoming a Grey Warden is not easy. And, it may also mean you'll never see your sister again," he replied sadly.

"But what about you? You're not with the Wardens anymore!" Hawke countered.

"You think I got away from them?" Anders shook his head sadly. "I have no illusions about that, Rhianna. I know that maybe someday either they or the Circle will drag me back. Of course, I would probably escape again, but…you really can't get away like you may be thinking," he replied, the sadness in his voice making Hawke want to burst into tears.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Varric grumbled in a sad voice beside Anders.

"I'm to become a Grey Warden, then? Is that the only option for me?" Bethany asked Rhianna.

"I see no better option, Bethany. Do…do you think you can stand?" she asked her gently.

"I can help with that," Anders said. "I know a healing spell that can magically sustain her – keep the Taint at bay, so to speak," his hands glowed golden for a few minutes as they hovered over Bethany. "We'll have to move faster, though. I can sense the Wardens, so locating them won't be much of a problem."

Rhianna nodded and helped Bethany up, as Anders took the lead. They moved quickly down a side passage, and after a short while, Anders stopped as he felt the familiar tingle all over his body, but not as weak as with Bethany before. This could only mean a large group of Wardens or…

"What is it?" Rhianna asked.

"Hmm…" Anders tilted his head slightly. "I think they're nearby…" the tingling was getting even stronger and felt very wrong to him. He instantly knew what was at the end of the corridor and quickly unsheathed his staff from its holster on his back. "Or…it could be darkspawn!"

Anders was right. Just up ahead was a really large group of darkspawn that immediately attacked them – an Emissary commanding them. Hawke disappeared from view as she quickly ran among the fiends to attack the Emissary first. When she reappeared, she was stabbing the thing in its back. Bethany extended her hands, pulling into the Veil for a spell that made the emissary cringe in horror so that Hawke could finish it off. Anders, meanwhile, had sent out a bolt that ricocheted off each of the darkspawn – most of them dying instantly. The rest of them jerked around on their feet, unable to move, giving Hawke another opportunity to kill them easily. He yelled a warning to Hawke, who leapt out of the way to avoid the electric bolts that were still hitting everything in their path. Varric had been firing bolts at the darkspawn and was waiting for Hawke to come back to fire a rain of arrows upon them, but he needn't have bothered.

"Hurry, up sister!" Bethany cried, urging Hawke to come to where they were standing. "I want to use fire to finish them off!"

She waited until Hawke was beside her before dipping into the Veil to shower fire down on the remaining darkspawn. The fiery explosions did the trick, and soon they were all fried to a crisp, their corpses littering the floor. One of them, however, had managed to get away and was sneaking up behind Anders.

Anders turned quickly, flinging one of his deadlier electric bolts at it and as the darkspawn fell, found himself face to face with Stroud and a group of Wardens.

"Hey, Stroud!" he grinned at the surprised Warden as he sheathed his staff. "Did you miss me?"

…