Welcome back!

I hope I do not offend anyone with what might look like a horrible re-crow-bar-ing of the story line. As I said in the comments last chapter, (If anyone reads them. Does anyone read them?) I jumbled the main story line a little. Honestly, I'd forgotten some of it. But a helpful wiki later, and I am now working towards at least putting some of those plot points in.

But what is a fanfiction, without a little creative crowbar wielding?

Chapter 8.

It was early afternoon when my previous vision of Ganesha was shattered. He was a tall slender man with dark tan skin, wearing an elephant mask, and... He seemed like a total idiot. He was however, God of one of the largest most organized Familia in the city, so he couldn't have been a total dolt. I mean... Who would answer a reporter's question with "I AM GANESHA" ? Not just one question, but all of them.

Everyone loved him it seemed. No matter the Familia. Probably because he could also organize the best festivals. Lights, decorations, exhibits, even food were all brought in and sponsored by the Familia.

"Miss Kodori doesn't like wine?" Lilly asked, holding a child sized wooden mug of something deep red. "It isn't too bad."

"Not to my taste." I replied, "Aren't you too young for wine?"

She didn't comment, but her face darkened for an instant, before a food stall caught our attention. Curiouser and curiouser. "Oh, Syr! Why are you here?" The girl running the stall was in fact Syr. "Not by the Hostess?"

"Oh! Kodori. No, we have a stall there too." She said, quickly putting three half sandwiches on a little wooden tray for Bell, Lilly and myself. "You and Bell are getting along well I hope?"

I put a hand on Bell's shoulder, mostly to keep him in place before he could hide behind something or run away, "He is very reliable." But also to tease the both of them, "Has he told you how much he likes your lunches?"

This had the desired effect of making the two of them break down into stammering blushing idiots. I caught Lilly's eye as she looked up at them break down, and gave her a wink. I think her return smile was the first time I'd ever actually seen her smile at all.

I let Bell's shoulder go. "Have you seen the exhibits yet?" I asked Syr, "I've seen a much MUCH smaller... silver back? Before. But some of the others..."

"Only some of them. I won't be able to wander around until a little later." She replied, "You've seen a silver back before?"

"Much smaller." I made a 'this high' motion, that was a bit taller than Lilly. "Still big and strong, but..."

I heard something over the sound of people enjoying themselves. A different pitch than the rest of the background noise. A break in the pattern. Some one had screamed.

Bell had heard it too, and his posture switched from 'having fun' to 'where is the danger'. Just like the rabbit he resembled, except he had the hand not holding his sandwich on the hilt of his dagger. I heard the noise again, followed by a crash of noise, then another, and a third, before some one closer yelled, "THE MONSTERS HAVE ESCAPED!"

"So much for a relaxing day of fun." I said.

"We have to help!" Bell said, starting towards the source of the noise. "Normal townspeople won't stand a chance!"

"Master Bell those monsters are too strong for you." Lilly said, holding Bell's coat sleeve. He shrugged her grip off, eyes determined, and started running. "Miss Kodori, don't let him go."

"Syr, you and Lilly can help guide people away, keep them from running on each other." I gave Lilly's head a pat, "I can't stop him, but I won't let him go alone." And I was off running as well.

Panic. Panic can do a lot of things to a person. That one moment where you are undecided between fighting, or fleeing. I ran after Bell as fast as I could, just barely keeping his white mop of hair in sight as we ran against the slowly increasing flow of people. I saw Bell's head look left suddenly, and he changed directions. I caught the glint of metal in his hand as he did.

I angled myself and curved my path to meet him, "As a team." I panted as I caught up. "Just like the dungeon."

He slowed and we matched pace, and I spotted what he had. It was about the size of a small car, and had plated skin like an armadillo. I had no idea what it was, but that didn't stop us. We watched as it took a couple of running steps forward and curled up, rolling itself into a ball and demolishing a store front as it slammed into it. Some people screamed as the small two floor shop started to collapse. It pulled itself free of the rubble, and started looking for something else.

Knowing it wouldn't hurt it, I picked up a fist sized bit of cobblestone, skid to a halt and threw it as hard as I could at the thing's head. As usual, the weapon shattered into dust on impact, but I had gotten close enough to one of its eyes that it started pawing at its face and growling. "Bell, get to the people!"

I picked up another rock, and another, throwing as fast as I could find them until the monster, satisfied it could see well enough, focused its eyes on me and started lumbering forward. After a few quick steps it curled up and started rolling.

Panic. Panic can do a lot of things to a person. Seeing something that was basically this world's equivalent to a very angry smart car coming at me, I was at a bit of a loss for what to do about it. So I ran.

I was just barely keeping ahead of it too. It must have had some ability to keep its momentum up while it rolled, because even after about a fifty meters, it hadn't slowed at all. Every breath I took in was used to yell at people to get out of the way, and thankfully, they did. I was however, running out of street and had to make a choice about what to do next really fast.

I got a little closer to the alleyway wall, glancing behind me and seeing how it would react. Predictably, it rumbled on, and slowly adjusted itself to stay directly behind me. I had to time my next action just right...

I jumped suddenly to the far side of the alleyway, slid around on one foot until my other touched the wall, braced, and pushed off against the wall as hard as I could.

I crossed my arms above my head and slammed into the top of the monster as it was about to roll past. My momentum upset its balance just enough that it slammed into the corner wall of the mouth of another street, slamming into the stone with an impact I could feel even in mid air. I could have sworn I had broken something, but as I got to my feet, all my limbs seemed intact and mobile. Both my shoulders felt like they had just been twisted the wrong way, but I seemed fine otherwise.

Lacking a weapon, or the ability to use one, I did the only thing I could to fight the monster. I jumped on it while it was still dazed, pushed it over again, and started slamming my fists into it as fast as I could. It felt like I was punching a telephone book. Its armoured shell absorbed my strikes and did little more than give it something to focus on as it got its legs under itself and stood up again. I tried a few more times to hit a soft spot, but just didn't know enough about the monster to know where to start. It's underside did look softer, but now that it was on its feet again, I couldn't really do much about it.

I backed away a half step as it finally decided it was upright enough to start attacking me. Its legs, though they had sharp digging claws, weren't meant for attacking, but it had a quick neck and jaw, almost like a turtle. I kept as close as I dared, to stop it from rolling at me, but it nearly took my kneecap off with it's first attack.

Trying to think of a way to gain advantage, I pulled off my shirt quickly, and started trying to bait it into biting me again, bringing my leg forward again. It tried biting me again, but this time, I unfurled my shirt and covered its head. With a quick step in, a loop, and a twist, I had entangled its head and loosely tied the shirt under its chin. It might have had a long neck, but unlike a turtle, it didn't seem to be able to pull it back into its body. While it clawed at the shirt, I started kicking at its head as best I could while it flailed its front limbs around. Each kick I landed made the monster growl angrily, but it was hard to tell if I was hurting it, or just making it angry. I started striking at other places too. The side of its neck, its front knees, any place I could think of while I still had time.

With a shredding of fabric, my shirt came free, and the monster turned a bloody eye towards me. I was out of time. But an idea popped into my head.

I jumped back a pace, just out of reach of its mouth, and then jumped up again. Its head followed me, and it lifted its front end, while pushing with its back legs to try and snap me out of the air. Taking a page from Bell's book of dodging, and adding my own notation, I slapped my hands against either side of its head, gripped as best I could, and curled my body so its sharp beak like jaw just missed disemboweling me. I curled my knee under its head, stuck my other leg out so I would land as low to the ground as I could.

And the hard rim of its armoured body came down with full force on the back of its own neck.

With a spasm and a wet pop, its neck broke. My leg was trapped under it, and feeling a bit twisted, and my ass felt like I had landed on a rock. I gave the beast's head a couple of punches, and poked my thumb into its eye, but it was unmoving. I had killed it.

It took a bit of work, and my ankle and knee were definitely twisted, but I wiggled my way out from under it, and pulled a potion from a little pocket on my belt.

"It was down here!" I heard some one yell. "Come on!"

Three people, all in similar armour, and with a small elephant head logo on their breastplates ran down the some what wrecked alleyway. They skidded to a halt next to me and the beast and simply stared at the scene.

"Oh... Anyone have something I can cover myself with?" I asked, realizing that my shirt wasn't the only thing that was shredded. I hadn't dodged the last bite as well as I thought, as my sport bra was missing the fabric that spanned my cleavage. "I need tougher clothing..." I mumbled, sighing and covering myself so I would stop distracting the three men. It was flattering, I suppose, but not the time.

"Oh! Sorry!" The one in the lead said, pulling his eyes off me and undoing the sash at his waist and handing it to me, politely looking away as he did so.

"Thank you. Yes, well... Sort of. I made it kill itself." I said, tying the sash around my bust. "I made it fall on its own neck. I am not strong enough to break its shell. And have no weapon.

"Thank you for cleaning that up for us! Many of the cages broke, and we have been trying to chase them down. No weapons? Get the stone out for her." He motioned to one of the others, and with a sharp 'sir!' he pulled out a hooked knife. "Least we can do for your help. How long have you been adventuring? I haven't seen you around, and Renards are rare in the city."

"About two weeks?" I said, not thinking anything about it, though the three of them looked at me like my tail had split into nine and I was breathing fire. "What?"

"I am very impressed!" He said, taking my hand and shaking it, "You have talent Miss..."

"Kodori." I replied automatically. "I'm sure my partner would have had an easier time... I have to go find him too." The body of the armoured beast dissolved into black dust suddenly, and the guard kneeling next to it stood and handed me a much larger shard than I was used to seeing. "Oh, thank you."

"Again, you did well. Let's go!" The leader said, running back to the road where they had come from.

I stretched out my leg, did a couple of small hops to test it, and ran back to the street I had started from.

Knowing Bell, he would find trouble and rush forward. He was fixated on being the hero. Wisdom from his grandfather I suppose. So, I did the same. I rushed from street to street, looking for a white haired boy trying to save some one. What I found however, was Hestia. She was running with purpose down the street, a bundle of fabric clutched tightly to her chest.

"Hestia!" I called to her. She turned to look, her eyes relieved, but kept running as if the hounds of hell were on her tail. "Where are you going?" I matched pace with her and followed along side.

"Si... si..." She was out of breath, so I couldn't understand her. "Run!"

Hestia was, in the limited time I'd known her, a person not used to hard work. She couldn't stand for long periods. Couldn't lift very much. Didn't really know how to cook... I was reminded of a shirt I'd seen in the other world.

'I don't run. If you ever see me running, you should run too, because something scary is chasing me.'

With a sinking feeling, I looked behind me. "Silver back." I exclaimed, reaching over and picking Hestia up.

"Put me down! I am not a sack of potatoes!" She protested and instant before squealing, "Run faster!"

I didn't blame her. The silver back I saw in the heavily built cage looked to be about three meters tall. It was sitting down at the time, looking mean and grumpy, so it was hard to tell. It might have been the SAME one that was chasing us now, but I was too busy balancing Hestia over my shoulder to take a second look. "Less snacks for you Ma'am." I said as I turned a corner, trying to lose it.

It seemed determined however, and with a howl that I felt against my back, it turned with us and kept charging. "Are you saying I'm fat?!"

Unable to resist, and needing to keep her still for another turn, I placed a steadying hand on her rear as I turned another sharp corner. "You have some of the nicest curves I have ever seen." I turned again, catching sight of the giant ape about to throw something at us, "But you are heavier that you look."

She squeaked at my grabbing of her rear, and then screamed as the silver back threw what ever it was he was going to throw. "Duck! Turn! Something! AAAAAH!"

That last scream was because I made another sharp turn while ducking low. My feet nearly slid out from under me, but I managed to keep them flat against the cobblestone, and just barely stopped myself from slamming into the wall before I had forward momentum again. But I had screwed up. It was a dead end. "Fuck." I said, with feeling.

"Don't swear!" She said as I put her down, and stood between her and the silver back. It knew we were cornered. The walls were about four floors high, and the lowest window was too high for me to jump, let alone with Hestia on my back.

"Ma'am... If I have to, I will punch a hole in that wall and stuff you through it to keep you safe." I was surprised to not only hear the words coming out of my mouth, but believing them too. "But I'm not sure I can climb through with you. Do you understand me?"

I wasn't sure if it was the Falna on my back, or it really was how I felt. But I was ready to protect Hestia with my life.

She was about to say something, but I stepped away from her hand as it reached for me. Looking up at the beast, I stuck out my middle finger at it, and said, "Come and get it."

It was fast. Much faster than I thought it would be. But I just managed to get out of the way of its first swipe. I was ready for the second, and even the third, but then it used one of its feet to throw a rock at me.

I managed to raise a hand to stop it from slamming into my face, but it still glanced of the top of my skull and upset my balance. Its next attack swatted me aside like I was a bit of paper, and faster than I could think I was suddenly falling out of a wall.

Hestia screamed, I think, but I managed to some how pull myself to my feet and cough out the wet feeling in my throat. I dodged again, though it was more like a controlled falling roll, and again, interposed myself between the beast and Hestia.

"I will not bend." I said to the beast. "I will not break." I continued, crossing my arms over my head and bracing my legs as it brought one of its massive arms down to crush myself and Hestia at the same time. "I will be a wall for the home my Goddess has given me."

It felt like both shoulders, my spine, both knees and both ankles tried to escape through the bottoms of my feet, but after the initial shock, I was still standing, and Hestia was still safe behind me.

"FIREBOLT!"

The silver back was suddenly slammed from behind, the smell of burnt fur filling the air.

"About fucking time, hero." I said, falling forward onto my knees, coughing again and covering the ground with a spatter of blood.

The beast turned away from me, and faced the white haired figure at the end of the alleyway., and instant before dashing towards him.

"Kodori!" I felt Hestia's hand on my back, and then at my belt where my other potion was. I couldn't move, at all, so the little Goddess heaved herself against my side to get me on my back, and poured the potion down my throat.

Instantly, I felt the warm tingle of the potion working itself through me, but my limbs simply didn't want to move. It all felt so distant, like it just didn't matter anymore. I heard another impact of magic, and another scream of pain. An impact. A wall falling in on itself.

"Hestia." I mumbled, even my own voice sounded like it belonged to someone else. "What is that?"

She still had the bundle of cloth held tightly to her chest. "Hephaestus made it for Bell."

I felt the will to move sluggishly move up my arm. I grabbed her wrist, making my Goddess wince in pain, "Then, leave me and get it to him."

I let her go, and felt my heart lurch at the tears in her eyes. I felt like the villain for pushing her away, but unless Bell stopped distracting the silver back, I would be fine. I watched her stand up and dash towards where I heard the combat happening.

I must have passed out between blinks, because the next thing I knew I was looking up into Hestia's concerned face. The sky above her was darker than I remembered but the walls of the alleyway were the same. I could even feel the craters my feet had made when I blocked the silver back under my calves.

"oh hi." I said, becoming aware of a hand petting my head between my ears. I felt a hand squeeze mine, then lay it on the ground gently. "Bell? Izzat you?"

"She is speaking funny again... But she's okay!" I heard Bell say happily. Tired, but happily.

Turning my eyes to look into Hestia's took a lot of effort for such a small movement. "Help me sit up please?"

Wordlessly She and Bell moved me around so that I was leaning with my back against Hestia, who hugged me around the middle. "Idiot." She mumbled into my back.

She at least waited until I was able to stand, and walk on my own, before she started to lay into me like she had Bell. I figured I'd deserved it this time. I had messed up with running away, nearly gotten crushed, gotten crushed, and if my guess was right, suffered from Mind Down. The last part made me both happy and frustrated. If I was right, I used my magic. But I also don't know what I did really to make it work.

The item Hephaestus had made for Bell, I saw, was a dagger. Black metal with a fine edge and positively tiny runes scribed into the sides. I recognized the runes themselves as Norse, but that was about the extent of my lore there. Interesting, considering the alternate worlds, but I mentally shrugged at the oddity. As Bell held it out for me to look at, the blade glowed with an inner light that was an almost cold violet.

"How did you convince Hephaestus to make that for you?" I asked, "And... How much did it cost?"

Hestia flinched as if some invisible arrow had pierced her chest. "Umm... *mumblemumble*"

I was too tired to do more than roll my eyes, "No more days off for you." I said, causing her to flinch again.

"Don't worry! I will pay it off myself!" She said proudly, "Even if it takes a hundred years!"

"I wonder what Bell would look like in a hundred years..." I said out loud, "Or myself. I wonder if I'll make nice skeleton."

Hestia looked shocked at me for a moment, but shook her head back and forth rapidly, "Unless you... umm... Die. You will live a long time. Since I gave you the Falna."

"Hm, it's true it is a divine gift. That makes sense." Well, as much as anything made sense around here.

"Umm, Miss Kodori" Bell asked, oddly nervous, "What happened to you? You had the Hard Armoured chase you, but..."

He must have been coming down from the adrenalin, and was having a hard time figuring out where to look at me. "Oh. I killed it, eventually. Not before it nearly bit me a few times." I replied, "Is that what it is called? Poor name, but a true one." I said before continuing, "I used my shirt to blind it, but I couldn't break its shell with my fists. Kicking it in the head didn't really work, and it nearly bit my leg off. So I baited it into jumping up at me, then had it fall on its own head."

The look on Bell's face was one of awe, but I mustered the effort to put a hand on his shoulder, "See? We can adapt. That's what sets us apart from them. Afterwards, some of Ganesha Familia ran by. One of them gave me his sash," I motioned towards the white sash keeping me decent enough to stop Bell from having a nosebleed, "and another cut out the stone for me." I fished the stone out from my belt pouch and handed it to Bell, "I might put this next to the first tooth I picked up." I said with as much cheer as I could.

I was so tired that I fell asleep while Hestia was updating my status. The last thing I recalled before the next morning was taking off what was left of my sport bra and laying on my belly on the bed. Next thing I knew, I was still in bed, half naked, under the covers, and being hugged from behind by Hestia.

For no other person in this world could have been that soft against my back.

"I am not a stuffed animal." I whispered to her sleeping form. Nature was calling and I had to get out of bed without disturbing the sleeping Goddess.

It took some effort, and a few gentle whispers in her ear to make her roll over and return to a deep sleep, but I managed to do my morning ablutions without incident. In the near dark, I could see Bell sleeping like a stone on the couch, his new dagger in a sheath, and being hugged to his chest. He had the silliest smile on his face too. Boys and their toys. Same in any world I supposed.

I had ruined my last shirt and bra it seemed, as I couldn't find any more in my single drawer for my clothing. With a quiet sigh, I tied the sash I was using in place and resolved to go clothes shopping. I was about to head upstairs to the ruin of our 'front lawn' when I saw a bit of paper on the coffee table. With a childish little drawing of a happy looking Hestia, and a much neater printing of my name next to it, I picked up the sheet and turned it over.

Kodori

Power: F 315

Endurance: D 529

Dexterity: G 283

Agility: F 302

Magic: G 202

Congenital Magic: Self Re-enforcement

Through will alone, boost basic stats.

Curse: Weapon's Bane

Weapons used to attack will break upon impact.

Titan's grip

Grants an unbreakable grip.

I nearly dropped the paper when I read the stats in my 'still learning mumbling words to myself' voice. My stats had jumped two letters each with endurance jumping three. I folded up the paper again, using the pen next to it two write 'thank you' next to the little Hestia head. Still stunned, I made sure I had everything and went upstairs to practice.

It was darker than usual, but I suppose since I passed out just after sun down, it was to be expected. I was done my usual warm ups and shadow boxing just as the sun was hinting at it being morning, when I heard the basement door open again.

"Miss Kodori." Bell said, as polite as ever. "You were so tired last night, I'm surprised you are awake."

"Nature." I said simply, lowering myself into a split and grimacing slightly as my knees complained, "Still sore." I said, "How about you?"

"A little. No potions left either." He replied, doing his best at a split in front of me and reaching out his arms.

"Another day off it seems." I said with a shrug, grabbing his arms and pulling him forward to help him stretch, "I really have to get new clothes." He pulled me forward to help me after a moment, "And talk to Naaza, and make sure Lilly is okay." I sighed as we pulled against each other, and stood up, mutually supporting and balancing the other.

"Yes. S-Syr too." He mumbled, "Ready?"

"Go!" I said, throwing the first punch.

Hestia came upstairs about an hour later, and saw us trying to beat the crap out of each other. We weren't really, but she was alarmed none the less, as we did our level best to strike or pin the other into a 'finishing move'. He was getting better at predicting my strikes, but I was still beating him roughly two out of three.

"I swear..." She said, exasperated at how dishevelled we looked, "You fell asleep before I could tell you, but Hephaestus wants to see you, Kodori. So go wash up and make yourself look at least a little presentable. And you!" She pointed to Bell, "Walk with me to work."

We shrugged at each other, then to Hestia we both said 'Yes Ma'am', earning a half hearted glare from the tiny Goddess.

Apparently I was expected. It was just after sunrise, with the normal noises of the city just picking up speed, when I reached Babel. A human, with broad shoulders, long coat, and a collection of hammers at his belt greeted me as soon as I got close to the entrance.

"Miss Kodori?" He asked with a voice that sounded like it was used to talking over machinery. "This way please." He continued after I nodded to him.

We took the elevator this time, to the eighth floor. He walked me down a hall with doors at regular intervals along the inside and outside of it, and stopped at one marked with a little gold emblem of a two hammers with a red flame behind them. Without ceremony, he knocked on the door and said loudly, "She's here."

"Come in, thank you." A pleasant female voice replied, "Don't let your fire go out!"

"Yes Ma'am!" He replied, turning the knob of the door, then leaving me standing there.

With a shrug, I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me. "Hello?" I said, looking around.

It looked to be a cross between an office, and workshop. To one end, was a desk, like you'd find in any modern day office, to the other was an anvil, furnace, and collection of tools. Sitting behind the desk, was a not quite slender shouldered woman with long red hair and one red eye. The other, and a good part of her face on that side, was covered by a black patch. She looked up at me and stood, smiling slightly at the look on my face. "Some thing strange?" She asked.

"I thought you would be taller." I replied, "But you are the second least strange odd God or Goddess I've met so far."

Her smile remained, but then became a little puzzled, "Second?"

"I met Loki. She was exactly how I'd thought she would be, once I knew who she was."

"And what makes me slightly more strange than her?" She asked.

I felt like I was being tested, but I answered honestly, in English so I wouldn't be misunderstood. "You look more like an artisan, instead of a metal smith. You look too pretty for some one who has a forge in their office." I motioned over my shoulder to her anvil.

She blinked at my candid reply, then laughed. "Hestia wasn't exaggerating about your manner. You really do see us as just another people, don't you?"

"Why wouldn't I? Or rather, shouldn't I?" I said with a smile, "You laugh, cry, stub toes, and sleep just like any one else." I shrugged, "Aside from some odd habits, you divinities are just like us mortals."

"But we are Gods." She replied, looking half serious.

"Who are basically doing a foreign exchange program with us mortals." I retorted, "I've seen Loki pretending to be drunk, high on the success of her Familia. I've seen Takemikazuchi and his perfect calm. My Goddess, is a bit lazy but works hard to help support us. And you, are testing me against what your friend has told you about me." I was feeling a little angry for some reason, so before I continued, I took a deep breath, "If it weren't for that quiet sort of majesty you Gods and Goddesses seem to radiate, you would be like any other mortal. So why wouldn't I see you as just another people?"

"Hestia was right. I do like you." She replied, offering me her hand, "Hephaestus, pleased to meet you."

"Kodori." I replied, shaking her hand. "You wished to see me, O ruler of the forge?"

My sudden switch to a more formal tone actually made her blush a little. "Hestia told me you were cursed."

"That's... A bit of a problem." She said after I told her what I knew about my curse and some of the details of my situation. Hestia trusted her, but even she would probably never hear the entire story about my past.

"The thought of you making a weapon for me, that I would probably shatter the first time I hit something with it, is actually kind of heart breaking." I said, "It would be like washing a fine painting with acid or something."

"Thought of a shield?"

"Not my style really. And it might shatter if I hit something too hard with it on purpose." I countered, "I'm willing to bet that if my gloves were spiked, they would break too."

"Thrown weapons are no good either?"

"Rocks I throw impact, but dissolve into dust. The dust has more effect than the projectile..." I trailed off and met her eye, "Oh... That might work."

"Smoke bombs? How many do you plan to carry?" She replied, "A good idea, but when you run out..."

"I do know an alchemist. And could mix my own if I knew what the materials were called in this land. I know how to make glass too... Oh, speaking of, here." I took out the bit of paper with my design of a 'scale stamp' on it. "What do you think of this design? Worth anything to you?"

She unfolded the bit of paper, and blinked at it. I watched her bright red eye scan the page, before it widened, "This... How did you come up with this?"

"My old home was... More industrial than this place. Less magic, more machine." I replied carefully. "But, if the Goddess of the forge sees value in it..."

"Sold. What do you want for it?" Her instant response nearly knocked me out of my chair.

I worked my jaw a few times, but couldn't find any words. Covering my sudden case of nerves with a sip of tea, I thought for a long moment before responding, "What is the strongest metal one can obtain without too much trouble around here?"

"Adamant." She replied easily, "It can be found occasionally around level twenty, and some monsters occasionally drop metal trinkets made of the stuff."

"I suppose it is a pain to work with?"

"That's a given, yes."

"I would like you to put a request at the guild for me. I would like enough adamant to fill the space of your anvil." I pointed to the anvil of her workspace. It looked to be a meter long, from pointed horn to squared off end and about a third of that wide.

The look on her face told me I might have gone too far, so I continued, "No, I don't want it all at once, or worked into anything. After seeing what you made for Bell, I know you don't need any more practice. But under suggestion of... Dald, the shop keep on the second floor, I should look for a rookie smith to contract."

"You think in circles." She said, crossing her arms, "So you want who ever you contract with, to make you things from adamant."

"Isn't that how it works? They make things, I find materials." I replied, "I even have a smith in mind." I held up my gauntleted hands, noticing that they were starting to wear a little, "Almost two full weeks of hard use, and they haven't fallen off. Who ever this Crozzo guy is, rookie or not, he makes things tough."

Her scowl softened at the mention of Crozzo, and she changed her posture, uncrossing her arms, "Okay. You make a good point." She tapped her chin, "I will put in the request, and let you know when the request is filled."

"Deal." I put out my hand.

"Deal." And we shook.

That task done, I walked towards the central square fountain. I was within sight of it, entertaining the thought of trying to invent a flying machine, or a glider, or something really bizarre, when I heard a familiar voice.

"We know you've been going into the dungeon." It was the voice of the curly black haired man who I'd met accosting Syr.

"So, why don't you fork it over? We're Familia after all." That voice came from the sandy haired one.

Just out of sight of the main fountain, I saw them just inside an alleyway, looming over a tiny figure in a white robe.

"Excitement never stops." I mumbled to myself before switching languages before approaching and calling out, "What is it with you two and bothering young ladies?"

The two turned to face me, hands going to weapons. Lilly also looked to me, the look in her eyes a mix of pleading and worry. For me or herself I wasn't sure. "Oh! Look who it is!" Sandy said, mocking, "Shame you're not dressed like the first time you bothered us."

"Back off bitch." I recognized that exact line from the first time I tried a rescue, but couldn't understand the language. "This is Familia business." Curly said threateningly.

With the two focused on me, I thought about my tail, and told it to swish left a few times, trying to signal Lilly. "What sort of Familia acts like thugs towards their own members? Are you some sort of bully? Monsters too scary?"

"Last chance doggy." Curly said, letting go of Lilly's shoulder so he could hold the sheath of his blade. "Back off or we'll see what you have in your pockets too."

"Maybe see if you look the same as back then." Sandy continued, doing the same with his weapon, leaving Lilly unrestrained.

"Aside from a few bite marks, I'm probably the same as you remember." I confessed, flicking my tail again to the left, looking down at Lilly, and winking. "I mean, I can't even grow hair anywhere but my head."

"Ha ha, is that so?" The two took a half step in unison towards me, and Lilly dashed away quietly.

"After we deal with our little problem here, why don't we go some place, and we can see for sure?" Sandy teased.

"What little problem?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

They both turned around as one, to see that Lilly was long gone. I used that moment to dash away as well, heading towards the fountain as fast as I could, ignoring the two angry shouts behind me.

Lilly found me a little later as I was following the map in my hand towards the red light district. I was honestly surprised to see her, but was glad all the same.

"Lilly is thankful you did that." She started, tugging my sleeve to pull me into some shadows, "But Lilly wishes you hadn't too."

I knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder, "Please tell me what that was all about?"

I felt her try and shy away from my hand, but she couldn't, not without removing her robe. "Lilly's Familia is broken." She said miserably.

She told me how she was born into the Soma Familia, and more or less abandoned by her parents. She had no talent for being an adventurer so she became a supporter. Soma, the God of the Familia, wanted nothing to do with the Familia itself, and simply grew grapes and made wine.

I knew the legend of this wine already, and could guess the better part of the rest of the story. The wine was so addicting that the Familia members would do anything for another taste of it. Including bully other members of the Familia to get enough money pay for it.

Lilly stopped talking for a moment and started shivering under my hand, "Lilly can't even leave the Familia. Zanis won't let me speak to Lord Soma."

"So, this Zanis person has taken over, because Soma doesn't care for anything but his hobby." I asked, getting a nod, "And because of this, you are trapped, and being taken advantage of." Another nod. "And you hid from them, but now you've been found again." Another nod. "Was there no one else to turn to before this? Does the guild know?"

Lilly shook her head almost violently from side to side, "The guild doesn't care. No one else has cared about Lilly. Lilly hates adventurers!" She started swinging her little fists at me in frustration, "Lilly was going to take advantage of you and Bell!" She said suddenly, "But Lilly can't! Lilly wants to escape!"

Her little fists effect on my bosom would have been amusing in any other situation. But as she yelled her frustrations at me, and preceded to dissolve into sobs of frustration and grief, I tried to calm her down. Eventually I just hugged her tightly and pat her head, trying to get her to sob quietly into my shoulder, instead of potentially attracting more attention than her yelling already had.

"Lilly, I want you to do a couple things for me." I said finally, after her sobs worked themselves down to a quiet sniffle. "First, go to my home, and stay there tonight." Her bloodshot eyes looked into mine, "Bell knows you, and I'm sure Hestia won't mind. Don't leave there without one of us around, okay?"

She nodded sniffling quietly, "The second thing, tell them I'll be a little late tonight. But not because I am visiting the red light district."

She blinked at me in surprise, "Lilly didn't think Miss Kodori was like that."

"Miss Kodori doesn't know what Miss Kodori is like." I replied, "I have to meet some one here, and the guild told me this is where they were."

She gave me a sly look, ruined slightly by her still red eyes, and I shrugged at her. "Lilly understands. Lilly thinks Miss Kodori should get different clothes thought. Miss Kodori is too pretty to walk around there like that."

Now wearing a plain grey robe that hid just about everything about me, save for a small lump where my tail was, and a small curve where my tightly bound breasts rested, I stepped into the red light district.

Author's notes

So another chapter done. I do hope my jumbling of events hasn't confused or annoyed any of you, my dear readers. I do hope however, that you keep reading, and discover how I will (eventually) tie these different events together.

Unlike the books, this is done in first person. There are many things going on in the background that our heroine is not aware of. Just keep that in mind, if you feel I am missing things. :)