The Cirromon Caverns

It was Fidget who had led the way through the Caverns, having vaguely remembered the route she and Dust had taken fifteen years ago. She was also the one who had suggested entering the underground village of Mudpot one at a time — the locals, after all, weren't the most social of types when it came to complete outsiders. Fidget, at the least, was known to the villagers (providing the ones she'd known before were still alive), and so she had the best chance out of the whole group of asking for a place to stay for the night. Entering Mudpot one at a time also reduced the chance of the group accidentally frightening the locals into distrusting them — as long as it didn't seem like a full frontal attack, they stood a chance of a more hospitable stay.

"Come on…please tell me some people are still around…" Fidget muttered to herself as she flew over the low wall that surrounded the backyard of the first Mudpots she and Dust had met: that of Ma-mop and Bopo. "Uh…hello? Anybody there?" she called out nervously.

"Who's there?" a voice sounded. It wasn't one that Fidget recognised, but a Mudpot did indeed exit the house nearby. He was wielding a wooden spoon in one hand and a shovel in the other, which made the nimbat recoil in terror slightly (Fidget had been through a lot recently — you couldn't blame her).

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" she shrieked, shrinking backwards as much as she could while remaining airborne. The Mudpot blinked a few times before his face lit up with a smile of recognition.

"My, my!" he exclaimed. "Strike me down with my own shovel! That ain't you, now, is it, Fidget?" Fidget had to blink a few times herself.

"Wait…Bopo?" she realised.

"By the Life Thread, it is!" the now-grown-up Bopo smiled in greeting. "It's been near twenty years. Where've you been?"

"Actually, it's been fifteen, but I've been keeping busy," Fidget replied, relaxing a little now that she knew that she was talking to a familiar face. "Yourself?"

"Also keepin' busy," Bopo answered. "Been taking care of Ma in her old age. Ain't Dust with ya?" Fidget's ears drooped, and Bopo instantly caught on. "Oh…oh, no…" he murmured.

"Things…a lot of stuff happened after we saw you last," Fidget said softly. "Long story short, Dust got himself kid-ified, war's started again on the surface, and he took a really bad hit."

"My word…" Bopo whistled in disbelief. "I'm real sorry to hear that, Fidget. I truly am…"

"A friend told us that Lady Tethys might be able to help him," Fidget explained. "She's still around, right?"

"The Lady? Sure is," Bopo nodded. "Visits Mudpot on more occasions than before, so we see her a lot more regular now. Where's Dust at?"

"Uh…actually, there's quite a few of us with him now," Fidget grimaced. "The party's grown a fair bit and we didn't want to just barge into Mudpot all at once. The others are with Dust just outside town right now."

"Well, anythin' to help the person who got our waters runnin' again," Bopo smiled. "Bring 'em through. I'll send word around Mudpot that we've got visitors, and that you're here to see the Lady. Maybe someone can go tell her you're here?"

"You'd do that?" Fidget exclaimed. "Thanks!"

As Bopo went off to inform the other Mudpots about the arrival of outsiders from the surface, Fidget darted back out of the village to find the others, most of whom were starting to shiver in the cold, dampness of the caves.

"We good to bring in somebody else?" Ash asked.

"Actually, Bopo gave us all the go-ahead," Fidget replied. "You know, it really does help to have connections," she added in an undertone.

"Really?" Ginger exclaimed. "The Mudpot villagers are really willing to let seven complete strangers…"

"Technically six strangers," Fidget corrected automatically. "Remember Dust is a local hero here, too."

"Fine. Six total strangers into their homes?" Ginger finished.

"Like I said — helps to have connections," Fidget shrugged. "Come on — let's get Dust to a proper bed before he catches pneumonia or something." Ginger agreed — Dust was so comatose that he wasn't even shivering in the cold caverns, but anyone with a pulse could feel how freezing he was getting, even as his fur puffed up to make him look like a fluffy ragdoll.

As Bopo had promised Fidget, the villagers of Mudpot were happy to let the group of travellers into their midst, many of them remembering Fidget from fifteen years prior (Flo-hop, now a young woman herself, even mentioned that she'd given her nimbat doll to her child. Fidget was less than pleased that the other doll was also still in existence). Dust himself was quickly moved into Bopo's home when Ginger tucked him into a proper bed, barely big enough to fit him, while the others spread out around Mudpot to find their own resting places. They all reconvened outside Bopo's after a while, though.

"Has anyone gone to see Lady Tethys yet, Bopo?" Fidget asked as Ginger sat quietly by her comatose son.

"It's late — there's a lotta monsters in the caverns at night," Bopo grimaced. "Even if it is for Dust, no one really wants to put their own lives at risk. We're not exactly fighters, you understand."

"And I wouldn't ask them to," Ginger said softly. "You've already done so much in letting us stay here."

"Well, you lot ain't the first travellers seekin' refuge," Bopo said. "A lotta lizard people like your three friends outside have passed through over the last couple-a days."

"That'll be all the Moonbloods from the surface," Fidget realised. "Things have gotten really bad up there again."

"I dread to even think," Bopo sighed. "I can go see the Lady myself in the mornin', if you'd like. You lot should rest up — you look like you've been through a lot."

"We can't afford to wait," Fidget winced. "We need Dust awake yesterday, and if we don't hurry up then no one's going to be safe from the King. Not even underground's going to be safe."

"You're right," Ginger agreed. "Talk with the others, Fidget — I'll stay here and look after Dust." Fidget nodded and exited the house. The others were waiting.

"Still no sound from our little hero?" Taka frowned.

"Nothing," Fidget shook her head sadly. "We can't wait around until morning for one of the villagers to tell Lady Tethys that we're here. We need to find her now."

"You heading through the caverns?" Ash asked. Fidget nodded. "And Ginger's staying here?"

"It might be best if we split into two groups," Sanjin suggested. "With the King having done what he's done, there's no telling what he'll do next. I'll stay here and guard Mudpot. I noticed on our way to Aurora that monsters have been increasing in number." Fidget noticed that the increase in monsters seemed to have been rising ever since Dust first regained his memories.

"The Souldiers as well," Ash pointed out. "I'll stay, too. I've got my strength back so if any of them get close to the village I can defend it."

"I'll go with Fidget," Kim decided. "Someone's going to need to keep everything going."

"I'll go too," Taka added. "And we'll take Jarin while we're at it."

"Hey!" Jarin protested. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"We could use your shooting skills," Kim shrugged. "You've got good aim." Jarin puffed up slightly with pride, his eyes flashing proudly for a moment before he agreed to accompany the group going to Lady Tethys.

Bopo hadn't been kidding when he'd said that the presence of monsters increased further at night. Although Fidget, Taka, Kim and Jarin had all but lost their sense of time in the Cirromon Caverns, Fidget did take note of the far greater number of monsters than she remembered, although that could be just fifteen years worth of not being in the Caverns playing with her memory. Even so, with Taka's quickness, Kim and Jarin's sharp shooting and Fidget's magic, the group made short work of the Florns, hounds, trolks and spiders that crossed their path.

Because of Kim, Taka and Jarin's large sizes and Kim and Jarin being unable to perform a crouch-dash of any kind, the group had been forced to take the long way round in order to reach Lady Tethys' chambers. The increased journey duration did, however, quicken the pace at which they moved as well as raise their determination to not let any of the monsters they faced get in their way. Kim was fairly sure he hadn't seen Fidget look as serious as she did throughout their entire journey, not that he could blame her in the slightest.

Eventually, after trekking through countless tunnels and caverns, Fidget heaved a sigh of relief when she spotted the remains of an old merchant's tent — the remnant of Sereth's presence when she and Dust had been here last. A quick hop and a jump down, the group found themselves in a chamber which Fidget found all too familiar. Floating in the centre was an ethereal being, mostly pale green in appearance but with blue and pink accents highlighting her dress. Behind her head floated something akin to a stiff-lace collar made of coral, and her head was adorned with a small shell-like crown. She was unlike any creature Kim, Taka and Jarin had ever seen before, not resembling either Warm or Moonblood, but actually looking more similar to the Frites of the Blackmoor Mountains.

This could be none other than the Guardian Deity of Water, Lady Tethys.

"Whoa…" Jarin exhaled in awe. The sound brought the deity's attention to the group.

"Who seeks an audience in my domain?" Lady Tethys spoke, her voice soft and echoey, yet bearing a power that made even Taka shrink into herself ever so slightly. Gulping, and praying to the Overseers of Elysium that this visit was nothing like the last one, Fidget flew forwards.

"Umm… Greetings, Lady Tethys," she said, a little shakily but as loudly as she could muster. "It's been a while."

"Hmm?" Lady Tethys hummed in wonder before her gaze, unblinking, landed on the orange nimbat. Her collar flashed a soft, pale blue, signifying that she was in a calm state and more than happy to share a conversation. "Oh, Fidget!" she exclaimed, a smile radiating in her voice. "I did not see you there. What brings you here? And who are your companions?"

"My name is Taka, my Lady," Taka curtsied before indicating the boys. "And these two are Kim and Jarin."

"My Lady," Kim bowed. Jarin also bowed as deeply as he could, but unable to take his eyes of the deity.

"Uh…hello…" he eventually squeaked out. Lady Tethys floated down so that she was level with her visitors.

"I cannot say that I have seen surface dwellers for over a decade," she greeted, before turning to Fidget. Her aura shifted to a melancholy indigo, as if offering sympathy. "I am sorry about what happened to Dust, Fidget," she said sadly. Again, Fidget gulped. She knew that this conversation could go one of two ways and she didn't like one of the ways so she was really hoping for the other.

"Are we talking about what happened fifteen years ago?" she grimaced nervously. "Or what happened a lot more recently?" Lady Tethys' aura flickered in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?" she frowned.

"We are here because of Dust, Lady Tethys," Taka explained. Kim was surprised at how well the thief/whatever-Taka-called-herself was carrying herself. Perhaps it was the presence of a deity that was forcing her to formal things up a little? "Do you know what has been happening on the surface?" she asked carefully.

"I have sensed the land once again at war," Lady Tethys replied, the hurt of hearing thousands of souls crying out in pain ringing in her voice. "And recently I felt a tear in the very cosmos itself. What has been happening?" she inquired.

"The King of Falana…" Kim started. "He's raging war against the Moonbloods and our allies again."

"I feared as much," Lady Tethys sighed. "I had hoped that peace would last after General Gaius' campaigns had ended."

"Looks like Fate had other plans," Taka grimaced.

"What of Dust?" Lady Tethys asked. "Only yesterday I heard a fractured soul cry out in pain…such a soul I have only ever seen in him."

"He's…something happened to him," Jarin said, finally finding his voice. "King Julius is using…he used some kind of magic to control Dust."

"Magic?" Lady Tethys repeated. Fidget shivered when she heard the subtle tone of confused anger beginning to surface in the deity's voice.

"Dust…wasn't himself," she explained, treading as carefully as she could. Lady Tethys' aura was starting to flicker red, and Fidget had a feeling that she was already starting to piece things together. This was going downhill. "The King was calling him Cassius…and he started answering to that name when he never would have done before."

"Wait… Cassius?!" Jarin spluttered. "I know that name!" he exclaimed. "Father said he was one of the King's assassins and a friend of General Gaius. But he died years ago! Before I was even born!" Lady Tethys was now framed with an aura of faint red, growing stronger with each sentence.

"Is this Cassius anyone to Dust?" she asked, her voice soft with anger.

"Umm…yes?" Fidget replied, her voice faint with nerves. Kim jolted in shock.

"What?!" he cried. Taka also looked horrified.

"How is Dust connected to that monster in any way?" she almost yelled.

"Dust was created with two souls, Lady Tethys," Fidget explained. Kim knew this, but all he'd known from the conversation with Elder Grey-Eyes at New Zeplich was that one had been Ginger's brother and the other had been his killer. But for that killer to have been the best Royal Assassin Falana had ever known? "Cassius is one of them."

"You mean to say that the man who slaughtered my people is part of the hero who was supposed to save us?!" Kim shouted angrily. Lady Tethys shone blood red.

"Silence!" she half-bellowed. Kim shrank in terror. "Let her speak!"

"S-sorry, my Lady…" Kim mumbled fearfully. Fidget was getting almost too scared to speak. She'd backed up so much she was almost hiding between Taka's ears.

"The Blade of Ahrah said that the King had awakened Cassius' souls…" she whimpered. "Using the…"

"The Eye of the Life Thread," Lady Tethys finished, her voice deathly quiet. Everyone fell silent, trying to anticipate what would happen next. Things had gone downhill very fast. "Even after the war ended, Julius still sought out ways of wiping innocent beings from this world…" Lady Tethys growled softly. "And now…you mean to tell me that he has defiled the Life Thread itself?!" she roared.

"EEK!" Fidget and Jarin both screamed. Taka instantly grabbed the Starsheen Knives and shifted into a defensive stance. Unless they could talk the deity down and quickly, a fight was their only option.

"My Lady!" she yelled. "Calm down!"

"You dare address a deity in such a manner?!" Lady Tethys bellowed. Taka threw all manners out of the window at that point — in her defence, she had tried to be polite.

"I'll address anyone like that if they're about to completely lose their heads!" she shouted.

"You saw all of this happen…" Lady Tethys continued, her hands starting to spark with lightning as she summoned a red coral scythe. "And you deemed not to stop him?!"

"It's not like we knew what was going on until it was too late!" Jarin protested, readying his bow and keeping a hand hovering over his arrows. "Everything happened too fast!"

"Spare me your excuses!" Lady Tethys shrieked, enraged. "This land had truly turned to ashes… I will pass judgement on its denizens!" she cried, the entire cavern starting to shimmer and crackle with electricity. "The Life Tread has been defiled and I will not stand by to watch it be used in such a way!"

"This is bad…!" Kim shouted over the crackling lightning.

"How're we supposed to get her to help Dust now?!" Jarin yelled but he received no answer as Fidget's eyes suddenly took up half of her head.

"Watch out, guys! We've got incoming!" she screeched.

Thanks to the nimbat's warning, the team were able to split just before a bolt of lightning struck the floor where they had just been standing. A fight now unavoidable, they set to work in knocking some sense back into the enraged deity. This had been what Fidget had hoped so desperately to avoid, but given how Lady Tethys had handled things last time…she was starting to think that she really shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.

Fidget was, however, relieved to see that despite fifteen years having passed since their last battle, Lady Tethys' combat techniques and style hadn't changed all that much. She still mainly used lightning as her primary attack but would still take a few swings with her coral scythe if anyone (mainly Taka and sometimes Jarin if he tried getting a few whacks in with his bow, which horrified Kim to no end) got too close. The group learned quickly and soon took advantage of this — if Taka was able to get close enough she was able to have a one-on-one duel of sorts with Lady Tethys while Jarin, Kim and Fidget took pot shots while the deity was preoccupied.

Although they had a strategy down fairly quickly, the group still felt the full brunt of Lady Tethys' attacks. The lightning would sometimes electrify all of the water in the cavern, which made Taka and Kim regret going around barefoot everywhere (Jarin, at least, had decent soles on his shoes), and the coral scythe was sharp as well as heavy, and the group found that they were quickly going through the few health provisions they had left.

It took many minutes and a few near brushes with death itself, but Taka eventually managed to get Lady Tethys in a guard lock, giving Kim the perfect opportunity to sneak up from behind and strike the deity sharp around the head with the butt of one of his pistols. Lady Tethys cried out in pain and was sent reeling as the team regrouped, panting and exhausted (as well as all hair standing on end), as well as heavily injured, but nonetheless alive. Fidget struggled to catch her breath as Lady Tethys' aura went from blood red to a passive blue once again.

"P…please tell me…you've stopped…the homicidal rampage…" the nimbat panted. "…again." The Water Deity rose once more, pacified and no longer out for blood.

"I apologise…" she said, her voice ringing with regret. "That is the second time I have given into the dark desire for justice. I vowed I would never do so again…"

"I don't blame you," Taka winced. "Knowing what the King has done has made me furious too." Lady Tethys' gaze passed over the group, her aura flashing with concern.

"I hope that I did not hurt you too greatly," she said. The team shared a glance — well, they were fairly scratched up and fairly sure that there would be some lightning burns somewhere but they were standing, if that made a difference.

"Nope…we're fine," Jarin said dryly. "Just peachy…" He was interrupted by Kim elbowing him in the back.

"Shut up and mind your manners, brat," the Moonblood snapped.

"Hey!" Jarin squawked in protest. Luckily Lady Tethys stepped in before any more damage could be done.

"Tell me more of what has happened," she requested. "You said that King Julius awoke a soul within Dust using the Eye of the Life Thread? A soul belonging to someone named Cassius?"

"Well, more accurately Cassius has been dormant for the past thirteen years and was woken up by the King saying his name," Fidget corrected in an attempt to distract herself from her aching joints. Her wings needed some serious R&R following that battle. "Cassius is one of two souls that make up Dust. He gives him his power…his strength."

"And what of his other soul?" Lady Tethys asked.

"A kid called Jin," Fidget replied. "He's the one who gives Dust his moral compass. Does a good job of it too, for the most part." Lady Tethys nodded in understanding.

"I see. So that is why I could not see clearly into his past before," she realised. "You say that the King was controlling Dust after he awakened Cassius' soul?"

"Sure didn't look like your typical mind-control at first," Kim frowned. "I mean, sure — Dust clearly wasn't in control of himself but it looked like Cassius was fine to begin with."

"That was until Ginger awakened Jin," Taka remembered. "When she did, something snapped…even Cassius starting fighting against the King's control."

"King Julius was using the Eye of the Life Thread to control the soul itself," Lady Tethys realised. "Because Cassius was newly awakened, he had no time to understand what was happening before he fell under the Eye's influence. Waking Dust's other soul…waking Jin…broke the spell for the briefest of moments, it seems."

"Long enough for Dust to fight back," Fidget guessed. "And for Cassius to realise what was going on."

"Where is Dust now?" Lady Tethys asked. "You said you came to me because of him?"

"He's in Mudpot," Jarin explained, still reeling with the trauma of the battle he'd just been a part of. "When the King tried taking control of him again, he just zonked out all of a sudden. He's not woken up for two days now."

"Elder Grey-Eyes said you might be able to help," Fidget explained worriedly. "The Blade of Ahrah said it couldn't contact Dust…that it was as if his soul had vanished. Apparently it was some form of self-defence against the Eye…we don't know what…but…" Lady Tethys had gone deathly pale, her aura flashing white in alarm.

"Oh, no…don't tell me…" she murmured. The group shared glances again.

"Uh…Lady Tethys?" Kim frowned, but the deity had already opened the way to a teleporter behind her.

"Take me to him! Immediately!" she ordered.

The team didn't need to be told twice.