Chapter 34

"Shhht, quiet Guy. The Kimlascan Army will be here any minute now," a blonde girl took his hand. They were running. Why were they running? Where were mother and father?

"But Mary…"

"Not now Guy, you have to survive and carry on our house," Mary replied. They started running faster.

"They're here!" One of the maids cried. Mary looked around frantically. What was wrong? Why was Mary so scared? Where was everyone?

"Here," Mary led him to the fireplace. "Hide in here and don't make any noise."

"What about you Mary?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Now you hide and don't make a sound!"

The door burst open.

"You have to survive."

---

Guy cracked his eyes open and stared at the wall. It was that dream again. How many years had it been since he'd dreamt about Mary? Quite a few, but with things the way they'd been recently, he couldn't honestly say he was surprised. At least that damned curse slot was gone. He made a mental note to properly thank Ion later.

Guy shifted his head on the pillow, but a dull throb protested his movement. Why did his head hurt so bad? Guy brought his hand up and fingered the source, a lump behind his left ear. What in Auldrant… Bringing his arm back around in front of him, he felt his hand brush up against something… or someone. Were the others back already?

Wait, Guy suddenly snapped awake. Without moving, he glanced around as much as he could. This wasn't where he had fallen asleep. The walls were a different colour and the sun no longer streamed in the window even though it couldn't be later than noon. But if he wasn't in Grand Chokmah anymore… where was he?

"So you're finally awake," a vaguely familiar voice came from behind him. Though Guy couldn't quite put his finger on it, he did know one thing, it most definitely was not someone he wanted to find himself alone with. The blonde hesitantly rolled over. Not an inch from his face was a grinning violet-haired God-General.

Guy's heart jumped out of his chest and he found himself desperately clinging to the far bed post, as if that would stop the woman should she choose to advance. But she didn't, she simply sat on the other side of the bed in fits of laughter.

Eventually the God-General's laughter subsided, instead her single visible eyebrow was arched and she was giving him a rather pointed look. Guy's death grip slowly relaxed, now wasn't the time to be letting his fear get the better of him.

"Where's Ion?" Guy demanded. There was no way that she could have possibly taken on the entire group, which meant she must have grabbed him and Ion before everyone got back from wherever they had gone. Ion never did mention what they had been up to.

"In his room," the woman replied. "He's being forcefully held there, but he's in his room."

"Why did you take me prisoner too?"

The violet-haired woman sighed.

"Cantabile…" Guy began. "It's you isn't it?"

"Well, well Gailardia," Cantabile replied with a smile. "It looks like I'm not the only one that remembers our past."

--------

The room showed little sign of struggle. The blankets were half-heartedly strewn across the bed, and a few papers had been knocked onto the floor. The vase on the nightstand had fallen over, but hadn't broken, and one of the pillows was sitting in the far corner of the room. Had Luke not known that the Fon Master and his best friend, the person he hoped was still his best friend, were supposed to be sleeping soundly in those two beds he would have thought that someone had simply woken up in a hurry.

"Damn, they're already gone," Anise grumbled when she walked back in the room. The Fon Master Guardian had flown up the stairs in attempt to catch the assailant in their escape. With only one staircase and them at the bottom of it, the culprit only had one way to go, and that was up. "Looks like Gloomietta was in on it too," she continued. "The two of them took off of a couple of those birds of hers."

"They could be going anywhere," Tear pointed out. "How are we going to find them?"

"Easy," Luke proclaimed.

"How's it going to be easy?" Asch gave his little brother a pointed look.

"Because they left behind a witness," Luke replied holding up a ball of blue fur. The little cheagle had opted to stay with Guy and Ion at the inn while the rest of them had visited the palace. From the looks of things, the little guy had just been thrown aside when the God-Generals had attacked.

"Master?" The cheagle's voice came out faintly.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "Are you okay, Mieu?"

"Master!" Mieu jumped right out of Luke's grip and clung to the unexpecting young noble. "I'm so glad to see you! I was so scared!"

"Easy, easy," Luke plucked the cheagle off his face and placed it on his head. "What happened here?"

"The God-Generals came for Ion," Mieu explained. "They took Guy too; I tried to stop them but… mieuuuu." The cheagle's ears sank in disappointment. "They just threw me aside and said they had to hurry back to Daath before everyone else got back," Mieu finished.

"They said they were going to Daath?" Asch confirmed.

"Yes they did!" Mieu perked up realizing the information he had given had proven useful.

"Then I guess we're going to Daath," Luke stated disappointedly. "No offence or anything Anise, but I hate Daath. Nothing good ever happens in Daath."

"None taken," Anise replied. She agreed wholeheartedly.

"It bothers me," Asch stated.

"What does?" Tear inquired.

"Ion, I understand, but what use do the God-Generals have for Guy?"

"That's a good point. They purposefully kidnapped him as well, and taking a second person requires a significant amount of effort. It wasn't something done on a whim," Tear pointed out.

"Could they be planning some sort of trap?" Natalia suggested.

"But why bother with Guy?" Anise asked. "They know we'll come for Ion, it's not like they need bait."

"Thereis always the possibility that he's useful to them," Jade suggested.

"Guy's not a traitor," Luke protested. "He may want…." Luke trailed off before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter, he's not a traitor!"

"I was simply implying the possibility," Jade replied. "If that is the case what will you do? The God-Generals have clearly shown some sort of interest in him, and he has some kind of resentment against the two of you. What are you planning to do?"

"We'll rescue him," Asch provided shooting a glance at his sibling. "But after that… he's going to have a lot explaining to do."

--------

"So who did your parents end up choosing anyway?" The blonde took a sip of his drink before returning to haphazardly drowning the ice cubes with his straw.

"I don't know, some whiny brat from the Western District." Cantabile replied with a shrug.

"Oh, nowthat would have been a happy marriage." Guy rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about it, I would have strangled him by the time he was twenty." Both of them laughed.

"Cantabile…" Guy asked hesitantly after a moment. "What are you doing?"

"What kind of stupid question is that? What does it look like I'm doing?" She replied with a pointed look. "I'm sitting in a café having a dr-"

"You know what I mean." Guy cut her off, waving his arm to indicate their surroundings. They were seated in a little café that was nestled on a small corner in Daath. Just off the main road going in and out of the city, the little shop did well, and the two rather unusual customers went otherwise unnoticed; their conversation lost to anyone but each other amidst idle chatter of the crowd.

"And this is just bothering you now?" Cantabile teased. The two of them had been chatting away for at least an hour if not two already, but still the God-General smiled. "I'm just catching up with an old friend," she replied simply. The last of Guy's tension relaxed, maybe for once, things really were all that they seemed to be.

"Hey, can I ask you something random?"

"Sure," Cantabile replied.

"Does Legretta have a thing for Van?"

"That would be putting it lightly," Cantabile teased. "The woman's borderline obsessed. I've never seen anyone quite as devoted to someone as she is to Van. It's a real pity."

"What is?"

"At one point Van seemed to return the feelings but-"

"Not lately."

"Not lately," Cantabile confirmed.

"See, last time we were here in Daath, we had a rather… interesting encounter with Legretta," the blonde explained.

"I'd bet."

"Oh?" Guy inquired. "You know about it?"

"Not really, but I can only imagine. Did she seem a bit off?"

"Off? She was totally off her rocker," Guy replied. "Any chance she walked in on you and Van doing something questionable?"

"Guy," Cantabile sighed. "You of all people should know that that's the last thing on Van's mind these days."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I miss those days," Cantabile confessed. "When the three of us used to mess around at your place."

"Yeah," Guy smiled fondly. "We couldn't have been more than what? Five?"

"I was five and a half," Cantabile protested and the two of them burst out laughing. "You know," she began once they had both calmed down. "If things hadn't happened the way they did, he would have happily served you until the end of his days."

"Yeah," Guy replied solemnly, "I know."

"I think it's because we were such good friends as kids," Cantabile continued. "Van's always felt comfortable talking to me about stuff, you know? Especially lately, he's always so worried and stressed out about everything; he's going to burn himself out. I know he has to do it, I know why he has to do it, but I still hate seeing him like that. So I do all I can do, I listen when he wants to talk, and I try and help him keep things in perspective. That's why Legretta keeps running into us together and gets all worked up about it. But we're just talking. That's all."

"You still have feelings for him?"

"You remember that?" Cantabile asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I remember. You hid out in my room for three days when your parents told you you weren't allowed to marry him because he was from a lesser household."

"That was a long time ago," Cantabile chuckled. "A lot has happened since then, but I think once all is said and done, it was just a childish crush. We're good friends, but nothing more than that. Besides, he really did have a thing for Legretta," the violet-haired God-General winked.

"You sure haven't changed," Guy's comment made Cantabile smile.

"You have though," she commented and with a devilish smirk motioned to take Guy's hand. Without even realizing what he was doing Guy recoiled, scrambling to grab the table's edge when he nearly knocked his chair over backwards. The entire café seemed to fall silent as everyone turned to see what the source of sudden commotion was. Slowly, as everyone lost interest in the blonde, the murmur of the crowd returned.

"I'm so pathetic," Guy sighed as his head sank down onto the table.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Cantabile said with a soft smile. "It's not like you can help it."

"But still, it's so-"

"I'm sorry," Cantabile's solemn statement cut Guy off and caught him by surprise. "I'm sorry about what happened to your family."

"It's okay," Guy confessed. "To be honest, I don't really remember much about what happened. I've been remembering bits and pieces of it lately, but it's all still pretty blank."

"Can't say I'm all that surprised considering what happened," Cantabile commented. "Maybe it's for the best that way. There are days I wish I couldn't remember watching my mom die."

"Your whole family was killed too?"

"No," Cantabile explained. "Just my parents. Well, I assume my dad was killed, he had gone out when the military invaded. I never saw him after that. My mom was slaughtered right in front of me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault," Cantabile protested. "It's those Kimlascan bastards that are to blame! After my mom was killed the soldiers didn't have it in them to kill me or my little brother. Apparently leaving us to starve to death was more humane."

Guy watched his childhood friend, amazed at the hatred that burned so vehemently within her. It surprised him; five minutes ago she had been the happy, carefree, little girl from his childhood, now… she was a force to be feared. Then again, it hadn't been all that long ago that same flame had burned within him. A desire for revenge, a desire for justice against the ones that had wronged them, was that really so wrong? To want to hurt the ones who had stolen all those memories from them, who had destroyed their future? It was something he had once wanted, and maybe still did.

"So where's your little brother now?" Guy asked.

"He didn't survive. He drowned in the miasma after the land fell," Cantabile replied solemnly.

"How did you escape?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I remember clinging to some kind of statue or rock, but I was in and out of consciousness the entire time. I don't know how I ended up in Yulia City, but Van was there when I woke up. I think he must have been the one that found me. No one else bothered to search for survivors."

"Van did that?" Guy inquired incredulously.

"Yeah," Cantabile answered. "He'd go out for days at a time trying to find anyone who had survived. He'd come back and he'd be worn right out. After me, he never found anyone else, but he wouldn't stop trying. It wasn't until the land finally sank that we were able to convince him to stop. It destroyed him."

"Funny, Tear's never said a word about any of that," Guy commented.

"She was still a baby at the time. Once I was well enough to get out of bed, I helped take care of her while Van was gone. Teodoro didn't like what Van was doing. He believed that everyone who was still out there, who hadn't somehow managed to make it to safety on their own, was meant to die; it was probably the reason he never mounted any sort of search and rescue effort. The Score condemned them so they should be left to their fate."

"I don't think that's right."

"Neither does Van, and I agree with the both of you. I still remember how disgusted I was when I heard him say that. One single prophesy is supposed to make everyone I care about worthless? Then let that prophesy burn in hell for all I care."

"So how did you end up here?" Guy asked curiously

"Well I lived in Yulia City for awhile; Van had already joined the Oracle Knights by the time I moved to Daath. When I was old enough, I joined too. I owed Van my life, and I wanted to help him. I agreed with his ideals, and his vision of the world. Besides, I had faith that if I followed my goals long enough, I'd eventually get to meet you again."

"Cantabile, I really am sorry. All these years I thought you had died, if I had known…"

"It's okay; you were chasing your own goals, just like I was chasing mine."

"Yeah," Guy replied. "I'm glad we met again."

"Me too," Cantabile agreed. "I wish it could have been sooner though. It might have made it easier for you to get through all those years working for those murderers."

"You knew about that?"

"Yeah, Van explained to me what you had decided to do. I really admire you for that. To have that kind of willpower… to choke down orders from cold blooded killers all these years. Don't worry," Cantabile smiled comfortingly. "I'm sure the chance to kill those two little brats of his will come soon. Then you'll be free."

Guy let out a sigh and stared into his glass. To be free, huh? But the question still remained…

Free from what?

And was it even something from which he wanted to be released?

----------

The Oracle Knight crippled under the young noble's blade, his armour crashing as the soldier fell to the ground. The noise echoed in the hallway, but Asch simply watched him fall. In all likelihood the noise would signal to his comrades. He didn't care. Stupid. He was so stupid! Stupid to believe Guy had saved his life because he cared, the only damn thing Guy cared about was that fact Van still needed him. Let the bastards come. He'd destroy every last one of them.

My, my, Jade watched as Luke swung around sending the second guard crashing lifelessly in to the far wall, sinking to the ground much like his companion. The guards outside the Fon Master's room certainly hadn't stood a chance against those two, but really, couldn't they find a quieter way of venting their frustration? They were both completely wound up and quite upset. Beyond reason even. Not that Jade could really blame them, not with what they had just overheard.

After all, they had barely entered Daath when they caught a glimpse of their missing comrade, and despite the fact that they knew the blonde had some motivation to see both redheads six feet under, Luke at the very least, had been relieved to see him. That was when they noticed the company he kept. Now being caught with a God-General could mean a lot of things, but the fact that he was unrestrained, chatting over a couple of drinks with her in a small café on the corner,really limited those options.

So they decided to eavesdrop, the boys' last ditch attempt to give him the benefit of the doubt. Then…well suffice it to say that blew up in their faces. Even Luke could no longer entertain any of the doubts he had so desperately clung to. Though watching the two boys as they had made their way through Daath, each guard they came across becoming another unfortunate victim to their growing frustration and sense of betrayal, Jade couldn't help but wonder who it was harder on; Luke who had trusted his servant as long as he'd known him, or Asch, who had finally let down his guard, perhaps for the first time in his life.

But regardless, the two of them were incredibly focused on the task at hand; more so than Jade had ever seen them. Neither had spoken a word since the group hurried them off from the little café and their former companion. They were still in shock, unable to process the full extent of the truth they had uncovered. Asch got angrier, Luke withdrew, but they both forced themselves onward, neither of them saying a word. They needed to rescue Ion, and they needed to stop the war. If Guy decided to get in their way… then they would just have to deal with that when it came.

All things considered it had been a much simpler task than Jade had previously expected. Aside from Natalia and Tear struggling to keep their respective charges in check and free from injury from time to time, the rest of them really didn't have to do much in the way of fighting. As reckless as the two boys may be, this was probably a good way for both the young nobles to express their feelings. Much better than leaving it bottled up inside where it threatened to explode at a more inconvenient instance. Even Luke, who Jade had feared might do just that, had joined in the fray and quickly gotten over his initial withdrawal. So while they were being more than excessive and rather loud, Jade would allow it. It was better than the alternative.

"This is Ion's room right, Anise?" Luke inquired.

"Definitely," The Fon Master Guardian replied.

"It's unlocked," Asch commented.

"Ion never locks his door," Anise explained.

"But they're holding him captive," Tear pointed out. "Why leave the door unlocked?"

"It does seem rather counter intuitive," Natalia commented as everyone walked in through the door into a small office. It was a rather barren room in spite of the decorated walls. At the center stood a lone desk and chair, all neat and tidy; a thin layer of dust indicating it hadn't been used in quite awhile.

"There is of course the alternative option," Jade pointed out.

"What's that?" Luke asked as he opened the door on the far side of the room.

"What did I tell you idiots about-" The young God-General's scolding was cut off when she noticed exactly who it was who entered the room.

"Gloomietta," Anise seethed.

"What are you doing here Anise?!" Arietta snapped back.

"That there's someone else in there with him," Jade finished with a disappointed sigh. He had so hoped to get in and out without encountering a God-General this time. Oh well, some things it seemed, were simply inevitable.

"Arietta," Ion began. "Please let me go with them."

"I'm sorry Ion, not this time," Arietta stood her ground before the Fon Master.

"Return Ion to us, Gloomietta. It's too small to get your monsters in here and you're out numbered. You know you don't stand a chance."

"I don't care! I'll never let Ion go with you!"

"Please Arietta," Ion pleaded. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore than he wanted the others to have to fight her.

"No," Arietta stated. "You're sick, you're worn out and you can barely stand, but none of these people even care! They drag you around everywhere making you do things for them and they don't even pay attention to your health! What kind of friends are those?! Anise doesn't even take care of you! I'll never let you go back with them."

"But Arietta," Ion argued. "We need to stop the war. Otherwise more people will get hurt."

"Then let them get hurt," the young God-General protested. "They're not worth your health or your life!"

"How can you say that, Gloomietta?!"

"No, how can you say otherwise, Anise?! You're supposed to be his guardian; you of all people should be looking out for him first!"

"I…" Anise found herself at a complete loss for words.

"Have you stopped your selfish ramblings for long enough to see what the Fon Master wants?" Asch shot.

"He raises a very good point," Jade began. "If you truly cared about the Fon Master like you claim to, then you would be quicker to consider what he wants. Shouldn't his happiness be your primary concern?" Tear stared at the Colonel, what was he going on about? True though it may be…hearing Jade lecture the young God-General, about love of all things, was just…weird. Weird, and not like him at all. Just what was going on?

"But I-" Arietta's retort was cut off when Asch's elbow landed in the God-General's stomach, knocking her unconscious.

"Colonel, you said all that stuff to distract her didn't you?" Tear realized.

"When did you two…?" Natalia looked back and fourth between Jade and her fiancée who was picking the unconscious girl up off the floor. When had they planned a strategy like that? Jade simply shrugged and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Shall we be going?" The notorious Colonel suggested.

"Yes," Tear agreed. "Let's get out of here before any more reinforcements show up."

"Don't worry Ion," Luke provided. "She's just unconscious. She'll probably be awake pretty soon so we really need to get going."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Ion conceded.

"Man," Anise stretched as she exited the room followed by the others. "Why did we have to run into Gloomietta of all people? Dealing with her always ruins my day."

"True, but all things considered we were quite fortunate. Had we encountered her with her monsters, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly," Natalia commented. "Still, it would have been nice if we could have avoided the God-Generals altogether."

"Yeah well, let's face it, coming to Daath and hoping not to run into a God-General is kinda like whacking a hive of bees with a stick and hoping not to get stung." Anise's snide remark elicited a chuckle from the rest of the group. Jade simply watched the other laughing in the office as Asch did his best to make the young God-General look like she was sleeping on the bed behind him. With that stuffed animal she carried around it wasn't difficult. Disguising their attack on the girl would buy them some time, so long as people passing by assumed her to be sleeping. It was cute. Jade refrained from pointing out that the trail of Oracle Knight bodies they had left leading all the way up to the Fon Master's room made the entire effort futile.

"You didn't try to kill her this time," Jade pointed out once everyone else was out of earshot.

"You got a point old man?" Asch shot back.

"Not really," Jade shrugged.

"Come on you two!" Luke called back to the stragglers. "We need to get going!"

"Wait," Ion stopped in the middle of his office.

"Let's go," Asch ushered the young boy along as he walked by. His face had become unexpectedly dark and serious. "We don't have any time to waste. We need to get to Baticul as soon as we can."

"But what about Guy?" Ion innocently inquired.

A tense silence fell over the group, no one dared say a word.

"We need to get to Baticul," Asch repeated.

"For more than one reason."

--------

"I'm not," Guy's answer was drowned out by the chattering crowd that surrounded him and his companion.

"Sorry Guy, I didn't catch that," the violet haired God-General sitting across from him replied apologetically.

"I'm not going to kill them. I won't have revenge if it means taking their lives."

Cantabile burst out laughing. The woman almost had tears in her eyes by the time she realized that Guy hadn't followed suit. Her laughter died down a bit. "You're not serious are you?" she managed between chuckles.

"I am."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Guy replied. "I may have wanted it a long time ago, and hell, if I got the chance to take a swing at that man, I sure as hell would take it. But I'm not going to hurt either of his sons; they haven't done a thing to deserve it. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that? I'll tell you what's wrong with that!" Cantabile had clearly become upset. Several of the people at nearby tables had vacated, claiming some empty seats further away from the impending feud. "That man killed your parents, murdered your sister, your friends! He slaughtered everyone one; women, children, people that were completely harmless and utterly defenceless! He slaughtered them all and laughed while he did it! What had they done to deserve it?! He deserves to have everything ripped away from him! He should wallow in a hundred times the pain he delivered to us!"

"I won't stoop to his level, Mary wouldn't have wanted that," Guy replied.

"Mary wanted? Mary can't want anything anymore! She's dead! And her only little brother won't even avenge her!"

"Don't talk about my sister that way!"

"What do you care? You abandoned her! You abandoned them all the second you abandoned your desire for revenge! What happened to you Gailardia? You used to be such a strong person. I looked up to you. Now… you're just a dishonour to their memory."

"I won't kill them," Guy repeated. "I won't have that innocent blood on my hands."

"Like father, like son. They aren't innocent, the same tainted blood flows in their veins. You used to be able to see that," Cantabile replied solemnly. Guy returned her cold stare, but offered no retort.

"Go on, get out of here," Cantabile stood up, braking Guy's gaze.

"What?"

"I said you can go, I have no reason to keep you here."

"Cantabile…" Guy tried.

"Get lost," Cantabile cut in coldly. "I hope you've come to your senses before the next time we meet…" With that, Cantabile turned around and started to walk away. She stopped for a moment and a soft whisper reached Guy's ears.

"I don't want to have to kill you too."

And then she was gone.

--------

Guy lost track of how many hours he had wandered Daath; long enough for the sun to be setting over the horizon and most of the shops to be closing up for the day. He hadn't managed to overhear anything useful, or anything that might hint at where Luke and the others would be heading. Nothing about war, nothing about St. Binah, nothing useful in any way at all; Guy let out a frustrated sigh. He racked his brain, trying to remember anything the others had said that might give him a clue. Cantabile had let him go, but she'd be damned before she gave him a ride back to wherever she had picked him and Ion up.

Ion. There was an idea. He should try and find Ion; the others would obviously try and track the missing Fon Master down. Then again, getting to see him, alone, was probably not feasible. Guy started towards the cathedral, it was worth a shot. Worse case scenario he'd be told no.

The swoosh of a cloak caught Guy's attention. The blonde spun around but the street behind was empty, save for the last few merchants closing up shop. Guy hesitantly turned around, and continued down the small street to wards the main road. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his stalker. The cloak hung down over the person's face, making them unidentifiable. Was it one of Cantabile's men?

No. Guy's memory suddenly kicked in. This mysterious hooded figure had been seated a few tables away when he and Cantabile had been fighting. Come to think of it, they had been just out of eye shot all day…. What were they after?

Guy slowed his pace and the person following got a bit closer, then in a sudden flurry of movement, Guy spun around and grabbed his pursuant, pinning them against the nearby wall. The stalker's hood slipped down revealing a head of bright pink hair and a woman grinning slyly at her captor. Guy jumped back, but his sword quickly took the place of his arm as her restraint.

"You're Noir from the Dark Wings, are you?" Guy demanded. The woman's smug grin confirmed his suspicions.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Noir still didn't answer.

"Why have you been following me?" Guy tried, this time bringing his sword threateningly closer to her neck.

"Who says I've been following you, sugar?"

"Don't screw with me," Guy replied coldly. "I'm really not in the mood for it right now. You've been following me all day."

"I'm doing a favour for a cutie," the pink-haired woman replied with a wink.

"You think I'd believe that? You're after revenge for Chesedonia aren't you? Well you won't find Asch and the others here."

"Oh please," Noir responded, rolling her eyes. "We're hardly that petty."

"Don't play me for a fool," Guy argued, his sword still inching closer to the bandit's throat. "You've been in our shadow ever since then. I thought I saw you back in Baticul, but I figured I was just seeing things. But then you were in Daath too, and in Sheridan. Everywhere we go, you've been. If you're not after revenge, then what are you doing? How long have you been following us?"

Noir's smug grin remained on her face. "I've been following you long enough to know that you wouldn't kill me."

"You know where the others are, don't you?" Guy continued, ignoring the truth behind Noir's statement. "Tell me."

"If you're looking for your friends, I wouldn't bother," Noir provided. "They saw you and your God-General friend enjoying yourselves so they grabbed the Fon Master brat and took off."

"They saw me?" Guy lowered his sword. Noir wasted no time slipping into the nearby alley and vanishing into the slowly advancing darkness.

Damn it! Guy pounded the stone wall. What had they been thinking when they saw him, what could have possibly gone through their heads? Guy couldn't even imagine. With everything that had just happened with the curse slot… they had come in knowing a dirty truth. Ion had warned him. Explained to him how a curse slot worked and told him how broken up Luke and Asch had been about it. Now they showed up to save him, only to find him hanging out with their enemy. How could he have been so stupid?! They had been here, they had taken Ion, and they had left.

They had left him. Now he had no one. Guy glanced back up at the cathedral, that was now nothing more than a black outline against a blood red sky. Well, maybe he didn't have no one.

What a mess this had turned out to be.