*ahem*

I realized this about half way through the chapter that I MUST!

Must

Must

ABSOLUTLY MUST

put in a warning.

This chapter has some rather extreme (for what you've read up to now) content. I'm probably not pushing what the site allows, but for some people, this might just... not be for you.

Warning given.

That being said, I can't really skip it. It contains a few things that tell you a little more about the kind of world this is. As Bell, in the books, mind you, gets more involved in 'politics' and the like, he sees more of the darkness in the PEOPLE around him. It's not just monsters who are the well... monsters. Apollo was a good 'start' to it. Just as I (hope I) portrayed him, he was obsessed with the things he wanted. Doing what ever was needed to get them, even if it was clearly wrong. It gets worse in many places in the books. And our hero finds himself fighting not just whats underground, but above too.

Chapter 23

Our first problem, aside from yet another case of being the underdog, was that we also had no pretence to run off and bother another Familia. As far as the guild was concerned, Familia business was Familia business, so long as it didn't bother the city at large, or another Familia. Soma's case was a good example.

But with a name like 'Killing Stone', one wouldn't expect a nice dinner and tea. This was going to be murder. Blood sacrifice. What were they? Primitive... Okay, maybe compared to 'when' I was from...

"Kodori?" I heard the voice the first time, this time around. "You're pacing again."

"Yes, Lady Hestia, I am." I replied, not stopping my back and forth walk, "This situation is... Difficult."

Everyone was watching me as I spoke, I had only half noticed it, but they were all looking to me for guidance. Learning to lead small teams on a work site was a transferable skill I suppose. "Do you have any ideas?" Bell asked, "If we asked them? Told the Guild?"

"Politics." I tried very hard not to sound like I wanted to bite that word, "We have no 'war game' to hide behind. We have no official 'reason' to basically go and 'rescue' some one from another Familia. The guild won't step in unless an actual law is broken. And if we go and try and pull Haruhime away from Ishtar, we would be breaking the law."

"But we cannot allow her to come to harm." Mikoto declared.

"No, we cannot. Bell, you said the Amazons wanted to capture you?" I looked at him, his worry about some one else, overriding his embarrassment.

"Yes. While I was running, I heard one of them say they were under orders to." He replied.

"You're young, handsome and strong." I said, "No surprise." This did make him blush, as well as raise a few eyebrows around the table. I paced a couple more times before continuing, "So they will be on alert for you." I felt the beginnings of an idea forming, but hated myself for the direction it was going. "Bell..."

"Yes Miss Kodori?" The look in his eyes was one of absolute trust.

"If we can't rescue her, we can rescue you." I felt my heart twist, knowing I was about to suggest that the rabbit jump into the wolf den. And he would let me.

Hestia was instantly out of her chair, and gripping my tail with RIGHTIOUS FURY... That I hardly felt. "You can't possibly mean that!"

"Mean it? Yes. Want it? Not in the slightest." I replied, my tail trying to wiggle free of its own accord, "It isn't like the war game, but we can still use a similar tactic." I sighed, giving up on my tail freeing itself on its own, and gently prying the Goddess off it. "They want Bell. Fine. While they go after him, we have an excuse to go into Ishtar Familia territory. Now, if we just happen to rescue Haruhime while Bell escapes..." I looked to Mikoto, "You're light on your feet. Think you can do it?"

Again, she answered me with the same thing she had said before the war game. "It is not 'can'. It is 'must'."

Of us all, I was the only one who knew anything about the entertainment district, aside from Lilly. She was certainly capable of sneaking, with her ability to change shape, as well as being naturally quiet. But she was no fighter. However, the two of us laid out a map for Bell and Mikoto, giving them locations, paths, and other such, in case they needed them. If the ritual needed a full moon, we had very little time.

First in our act of deception, was to pretend that we knew nothing. Gathering up our things, we set off for a day in the dungeon. Takemikazuchi Familia and Welf went off to do their own work, purposefully taking a job that was as close to the entertainment district as possible. That left Bell, Lilly, Mikoto and I to head to the dungeon.

The first hint something was up, came around the eighth floor. Business as usual for us, we methodically cleared rooms, cleaned up our kills, and moved to the next. But, every so often, one of us would slip up. First, Mikoto played her part, backing down from a group of frogs, falling back until she was near the edge of the room, before working her way back to Bell and I as we fought together.

We all knew they were waiting. It was hard to miss the number of Amazons waiting outside the dungeon. Or seeing a small group here and there on the way down. But now, they were no where to be seen. THAT was the suspicious part.

In the next fight, Lilly was the one to get separated. A few too many killer rabbits, making the poor supporter move away from the rest of us. I went to rescue her, trying to make it look like I was put off by the effort.

Then it was my turn. We encountered a pair of hard armoured, and I let one of them chase me away from the other three. We put on a great show of me playing matador, jumping aside, twisting away at the last moment, and generally playing down on how easy it was.

Then, the Amazons entered the room.

A half dozen of them, bronze skinned and tall, they came in from two different tunnels, trying to cut us off from each other. Right on time. I watched, between dodges of the hard armoured, as a seventh entered the room. A HUGE monster of a woman, she carried a mean looking battle axe in one hand. Of all the members of Ishtar Familia I'd met so far, she was... well, not very good looking. He face reminded me of a bullfrog, and her figure looked like what ever primordial clay she was formed from was shaped to be a woman as a kind of afterthought.

Her voice was ugly too, harsh and mean, "You guys are total amateurs! We've been watching you screw up all day, and figured we might as well put you out of your misery now." One of the Amazons tossed a spear at the monster I was toying with, the simple metal pointed shaft slamming into the beast and pinning it to a wall with what looked like a casual effort on the thrower's part. "Get them both!"

Both? I felt a sinking feeling as I watched the frog faced one focus on Bell, and the other six focus on me. As planned, Bell needed no inspiration to act like a cornered rabbit, turning tail and dashing down the closest tunnel as the giant frog lady stomped after him, axe raised.

Not as planned, I had to do the same.

Leaving the other two behind, I was confident that they would be fine on their own for getting out of the dungeon. If what I knew about the Berbera, the Ishtar Familia's team of aces, the one chasing Bell was their level five, one Phryne Jamil. I'd heard her described as 'monstrously strong' but had no idea the description was literal. I hoped Bell could at least avoid getting hurt as he ran. I on the other hand, had the other six after me. I felt flattered that they thought I was that dangerous, but was still puzzled on why they were after me at all.

Run now, think later.

They knew the only way out was up. So, instead, I kicked my brain into remembering the way down. The tenth floor was covered in a thick fog, almost always, and if I wanted to lose them, and double back, that would be my best chance. But they were fast, REALLY fast, and by the sounds of the feet, they wouldn't lose sight of me unless I did something drastic, or found a way to speed up.

Trying to forget the fact I was probably being chased by six level threes, I started to heat up my inner magic. Glancing over my shoulder I caught sight of two of them, a fair bit ahead of the others. Legs pumping furiously, I drew my fist back as I entered the next room, aimed myself at the other end towards the next tunnel, and with a push down with my magic I launched myself forward, hurling myself towards the exit like a catapult stone and slamming my fist into the wall next to the opening.

I heard the shout of alarm as the tunnel started to cave in behind me, my sudden burst of speed carrying me through before the falling rock could bury me with it. I heard some one shout a few orders, but I couldn't hear it over the sound of falling stone. I had bought myself a window of invisibility, now I just had to find a way down. A turn, another, through a room, down an S shaped hallway, and...

"Damn it." I said, entering the room with the path to the ninth floor. Four Amazons were waiting for me. Not the same ones who were chasing me either. They had been one step ahead of me all along.

Swords, spears, shields, they were all armed like a Spartan warrior, though not quite as uniform. Wordlessly, three of them simply braced their shields, levelled their spears and waited. The forth, her outfit, a red leather breastplate and shorts, where the others were plain brown, stepped forward. Team leader maybe?

"We don't want to get rough." She started, "But, we have our orders."

I didn't answer, other than to raise my hands and lift my heels off the ground.

"Suit yourself." She drew her sword and as one, the four of them advanced.

I'd like to say I won. My blood pumping, my magic burning within me like a bonfire... I did my best to break through. I had rendered every one of their shields worthless. I had broken all their spears and shattered each of their swords. I ducked, dodged, kicked, punched and thrown my way around that room for at least five minutes. Every second of it spent at nearly full power.

Then the other six caught up with me, having worked around my dungeon remodelling.

The day I can fight a mix of TEN level two and three Amazons, each with YEARS of fighting experience, and win, is the day I walk up the side of Babel and steal all of Ottar's left boots. Eventually, their ability to work together, corner me, and start to simply slow me down enough to land blows on me brought me down.

Beaten bloody, I glared as best I could through eyes swollen almost shut at the Amazon in red. She had just pulled herself out of the dungeon wall I had thrown her into, and was breathing heavily. No words passed between us as she curled her hand into a fist.

Both arms held out, unable to resist, I simply glared and clenched my jaw.

I remember nothing past that until I woke up next. I had an absolutely epic headache, and my nose stung with some sort of acidic smell. That meant I was probably drugged to keep me out long enough to get... Where ever I was. My eyes were either blindfolded, or swollen shut entirely, but with the pain in my head, I couldn't tell which. My arms and legs, as well as my middle, and under my breasts were bound by what felt like smooth leather. It didn't feel cold, so it probably wasn't metal. Even my tail was bound in what felt like a very heavy sock.

I was also tilted backwards slightly, and my feet, both bare, weren't on the floor.

And I was naked, the feeling of smooth wood against my back.

Of all the things I have done, in this life and my last one, I'd never have expected to end up on some sort of torture table. I would probably have panicked, or struggled, or something, but it felt like my heart had moved to the centre of my skull and was running a marathon without the rest of my body. About all I could do was try and take deep breaths, and think about not panicking.

About thirty breaths later, I found that I could blink, meaning I was blindfolded tightly. I could still move my head about, though every motion I made felt like it was sloshing my brain around inside my skull. I also realized, while naked, I didn't feel cold, or bruised. That meant some one had fed me a potion while I was out as well. And the room was warm.

Thirty more breaths, and my head stopped feeling like it was filled with jagged bits of obsidian. It was still throbbing, but my heart had slowed down again, and the acidic sting in my nose was now just an annoyance. My ears, free from the utter distraction of skull grinding pain, tried to pick up sounds now.

Nothing. My own breathing, the slight creak of my straps when I clenched and unclenched my fists, and what ever was binding my tail brushing against the wooden board I was on.

Another thirty breaths. I started tilting my head to the side, trying to rub my shoulder with the side of my head and maybe work the blindfold off. Who ever had put it there had done a good job of it, because about all I managed was to make my head hurt again. Okay, so that didn't seem to work. Next I tried my arms and legs. But they were both firmly secured, and while my struggles proved useless, it didn't chafe my wrists or ankles.

I couldn't help myself. I realized exactly what I was on, remembering who had caught me. "I'm on a bondage table." I mumbled in English, "And here I thought I'd never try any of that." It always seemed like too much effort, and I'd never been one for anything more restrictive than say, a really good hug.

Some one took a deep breath to my left, as if they were either waking up from a nap, or taking shallow breaths for a while, to keep me from hearing them. "Hm, maybe she hit her a little too hard?" I heard who ever it was say. "All awake now?" I heard the voice get closer, but no footsteps, meaning carpet, or very light feet. A single fingertip poked me right between the breasts.

I felt my heart pick up again, my head thankfully not cranking back up to its former levels of pain. I couldn't help but gasp at the contact. "I don't know the word for what ever it is I'm on." I tried to command my body to calm down, tell it that if I was going to be killed, I'd be dead already. Or if they wanted to torture me, I'd be in a cold stone room with a much less gentle form of restraint.

Logical mindset can only yell so loud in the face of near total helplessness however.

"Aw... I'd heard you were a foreigner. It's just a table, for some one who likes to play at being helpless... Orrrrr play with some one who is helpless." The finger traced a line up to my throat, then down again, the touch gentle. "It's not my thing to be on your side of things, but... I'm told I'm very good on this side. Tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Like my head was used for a mace head... And strapped to a board. And naked." Panic was making me babble.

"Mmmm," The lady purred, "Well, we didn't want you waking up on the way here... You or that lovely boy. I suppose that," She used a word I didn't know, "may have been mixed a little strong." The single fingertip became two, then three, then four, tracing themselves over my shoulders, around my breasts and across my belly, "Then again, you did manage to fight against ten of us. And proven yourself very strong." The purr again, stretching out 'very' in a way I would have found pleasing, had I not been strapped down. "Ohhh, I just love how your heart is beating." the fingers were now an entire hand, lightly brushing over my breasts, simply tracing over my skin. "Could it be you like this kind of thing?"

I tried to test my bonds again, hearing the leather creak some more, as well as something else, faintly audible through the wood behind me. "No... I'd much rather be free." My panic was slowly fading, settling on a much easier to deal with state of worry. "Why am I tied here? Aside from being dangerous."

"Welllllll." She seemed to be taking great pleasure in simply brushing her hand over my skin. I suppose I didn't blame her, it was something I enjoyed a lot too. "You see... Lady Ishtar wants you to join her. Wouldn't it be nice? Being in the same Familia as the only other Renard in the city?"

I wanted so hard to slap my forehead right then. I had no idea if I were royalty, for all I knew this body was some sort of homunculus created for my soul when I was taken from my world. But, I was a Renard, and had magic in my blood. She wanted me as a spare, and if not a spare, I was strong, and good looking.

"And..." I focused on her voice again, trying not to think about her wandering hand. "Our little Princess simply adores you."

I felt a little tingle of anger, "I adore her too, but, I will not abandon my Goddess."

"You just haven't felt Lady Ishtar's love yet." I felt something twisted about how she said 'love', like the word didn't mean what it did to her, as it did to me. "But..." Her palm settled on one of my breasts, then curled up slowly, fingers gripping my nipple and pulling sharply. "That just means I have to make you beg for it."

The sudden pain was quickly followed by what felt like a slender stick against my ribs. I cried out at both the pull, then the lash, the suddenness of them surprising me before I could clamp my mouth shut.

I tried to struggle again, to brace against the next strike, to do anything but just lay there and get hit. But I couldn't. Every time I tried to focus myself and call on my magic, the next touch of the lash would dissolve my concentration. The bonds holding me were obviously meant for adventurers, and resisted my twists and tugs. And without being able to see, I couldn't prepare myself for the next hit. Nothing I did seemed to work, and all I was accomplishing was tiring myself out.

I don't know how long she was at it, but when she stopped, I had been reduced to a twitching mass. I felt dampness down my cheeks, and down my legs. My mouth tasted bloody, and every single part of me either stung or tingled.

When I realized she had stopped, I tried to get my breathing under control.

"Aw... Poor fox." Her voice disgusted me, "Would you like me to stop?"

Unable to do more than gasp, I remained silent. I felt helplessness well up inside of me, but refused to let it free. After catching my breath, I 'looked' at the spot I heard her voice coming from, and said, "Bring it."

Defiance was about all I had left at that point, after all.

She gave me another two rounds of torture after that. Taunting me occasionally, trying to shame me by asking if I was actually enjoying it. Making lewd comments about how at least my body was being honest, or if I'd just ask her, she would switch to something less 'aggressive'.

She had taken my pride. Made my body helpless, tormented me, touched me. But now, with every strike, I thought about just how much I would enjoy being the one doing the beating. I didn't try and bring out my anger, but I held on to it, and let it twist my thoughts to keep my mind off the pain.

And then, as I recovered my breathing, another voice said, "Maybe, we should let Mr. Tammuz work with her?" It was Ishtar, her voice brushing against all my senses like a warm breeze.

I felt a lump of ice appear in my gut, my tail trying to wrap itself around my leg. The anger I was holding curled up around the lump in my gut.

I heard the quiet flutter of fabric, and the scent of spice filled my nose, "Oh my, you are a mess..." I felt a hand on me again, then another, gently brushing over my sore skin, exploring. "Such a shame to mark a beauty like yours... Much like my little princess, so smooth, so pale."

I tried to hold on to the anger in my gut, but the ice was starting to thaw, the gentle touch of her hands, along with her voice, was turning all my pain into that pleasant tingle I felt when some one brushed my tail. Independent of my body, my tail was starting to almost panic in what ever it was bound by.

"I wonder what..." She trailed off, her fingers getting very personal for a moment, before slipping away, "Is keeping you bound to that immature Hestia..." Damp fingers traced over my hips, up my sides, "Back in the Gods Realm, she was a virginal Goddess after all." I could feel her voice, like a physical pressure, my anger all but gone, my heart feeling like it was being cradled by a soft glove, "Ohhhhh, you resist... Interesting...You've never known the touch of a man, either..." Her hands moved up further, and I felt her body press against me, warm and comforting against my abused skin. "You are obviously a creature with needs..."

If it wasn't for my tail, trying to lash back and forth, its connection to my spine throbbing with effort, I might have lost my will to her. Straining, trying to control the building wave of of pleasure Ishtar was causing, I said, "I gave Lady Hestia my heart..."

I started to shudder, my body giving in to Ishtar's touch. She held me through it, purring into my ear and mumbling gentle encouragements to let myself fall to the feeling of her touch.

But after, as my middle stopped twitching, as my ability to breath returned, I said into her ear, "And she gave it back, better than it was."

Ishtar growled then, a little frustrated sound that made my abused pride want to dance. "Show me her back. I want to see."

"Yes, Lady Ishtar." I heard a new voice say, this one male. I felt my original 'attendant' grab one wrist, while a different pair of hands gripped the other. A moment later my tail came free of what ever was holding it, and the wooden surface I was on seemed to vanish. I heard the quiet squeak of metal and wood clapping together, and assumed the table I was on folded away some how, leaving me suspended by what ever the leather cuffs were attached to.

"Bring the potion." I felt the air hit my skin differently now, as people moved about. I felt a small drop of liquid on my shoulder, and my back suddenly heated up, as if my status were being updated. Ishtar's finger traced over my bare back, and I tried my bonds again, feeling them give a little more than before, now that the wood was away from them. "I see..." She mumbled quietly, my sensitive ears almost not hearing it. "No matter! I think I will just keep you here until I take over Freya's spot... Yes... Just in case... It's not like I don't already have a useless Renard around."

I pulled again at my shackles, feeling my anger sluggishly wake up again.

"Until then however... I think I will let you stay here. Do keep her entertained for me." The scent of Ishtar receded and the room went quiet for a moment.

Free from most of other bindings, I could breath properly again, and I counted about ten good breaths before my tormentor spoke again.

"Well..." I heard my original tormentor say, a smile in her voice, "I suppose, since this side is all exposed..." Her voice made its way around me, my ears following her until she stopped behind me, "Maybe I can get more of a reaction from here?"

I felt, and heard, her manipulate something. What sounded like a crank, and maybe some chains. My angle changed, and my arms were moved upwards above my head.

"You know... Maybe we should call Lady Ishtar's man back here... If my touch isn't good enough, maybe that's not what you need?"

I felt that lump of ice return, and my anger curled around it again. Free from its bonds, my tail lashed angrily. "But, not until I have my fun first. Maybe I'll play with your tail too... It looks like so much fun."

Again I had lost track of time. But, suddenly something other than the steady random 'whip-snap' of what ever she was hitting me with caught my attention.

A bell. Loud and clear, steadily ringing out. An alarm. My tormentor stopped, and I felt myself smile. "What..." I felt a breeze over my abused skin, her voice a little further away, perhaps by a window? "How did he escape?" Her voice moved again, this time towards where I thought the door was, "I suppose you can just hang about here. Don't g..."

Something that sounded like what I had been experiencing for how ever long I'd been dangling here, hit my tormentor with a solid meaty sound. A moment later, something heavy hit the carpet. "Kodori-dono?" A familiar voice asked a moment before gasping, "What... have they done to you?"

I wanted to make a joke, but the sudden rush of relief silenced me as I felt my eyes go hot. "I..."

"Shh..." She said, her voice getting closer.

"No. Secure her first." I couldn't stop myself from crying, but I managed to at least keep a little logic together. If she woke up, or called attention to us, we'd be in trouble. "What happened?"

I heard something, maybe a bed sheet, being manipulated, and the quick friction of fabric on fabric, as well as Mikoto grunting as she secured my tormentor with knots. "Bell-san was caught, and as planned, Lilly-chan kept watch. I followed, and attempted to free him, but was chased and caught as well..." I could hear the self inflicted shame in her voice, but she continued, the feeling of sudden air pressure against my front, and a pair of hands tugging the blindfold away from my eyes.

I squinted and blinked rapidly, eyes clearing themselves of tears. She made a disapproving sound, looking at my other bonds and trying to puzzle them out. "Haruhime-chan... She saved me, and led me back to where Bell was, before we were separated again." She shuddered, but kept working on freeing my wrists. "I freed Bell-san, and with Lilly-chan, we found where you were being held."

My wrist came free, and I let my hand fall to rest on Mikoto's shoulder. The shorter girl's face held concern, but she worked my other wrist free continuing her story. "Bell-san is distracting them, while I do this, and Lilly has withdrawn, to get help." She gasped as my wrist popped out of the cuff, and I all but fell limply on to her.

"Sorry." My arms, my entire body, felt weak, like I'd just gotten over a bad fever. I tried not to feel guilty, but I felt so good with Mikoto supporting me. Her warmth heating up my skin and making me shiver at suddenly 'feeling' as naked as I was. She knelt, lowering me as well, the normally distant seeming girl hugging me tightly for a moment, before her hands went to the cuffs at my ankles.

"It's okay." She mumbled, "Just sit still, I'll have you free soon." Having the hang of it now, She got my legs free quickly, and she continued talking, "Can you move? Night is falling, and we do not have much time." Her arms wrapped around me again, rubbing my back.

"Wait... Night?" For the first time since the blindfold came off I actually looked at the room. I'd been almost hyper focused on Mikoto, my heart in turmoil and latching onto her. I was where I thought, in a nicely decorated room, with a fluffy bed in one corner, shaggy carpet on the floor, and... The rack. With a shelf of various other tools that I was suddenly very thankful I wasn't subjected to. It was all done in red too, a nice satin red.

Looking out the window, with its red curtains drawn, I saw the rising moon, big and full.

"You've been held since yesterday." Mikoto answered my question before I asked it.

I felt anger again, burning hot and savage inside of my chest. I looked around the room quickly, my eyes spotting the tied up form of an Amazon. I started to rise, pushing Mikoto away, but she grabbed my hand, tugged me back down to my knees and slapped me, hard, across the face.

Again I felt shame, my hand going to my stinging face.

"Can. You. Move?" She asked me again.

I looked back at the Amazon, then to Mikoto. "Yes. Bell needs us."

Quickly, I cobbled together some clothing. My equipment was nowhere to be seen, and the Amazon on the floor was tied up well enough that I'd be wasting more time taking hers than just using a what I did. So, dressed in an evening red pillowcase, folded and tied around my bust, and a cut blanket around my hips, I had what amounted to basic decency in the 'entertainment' district. It was a little breezy, but I was in a hurry.

Looking about the room, I spotted a couple of candles. I shuddered, remembering what they were used for, but they were still lit. On the shelf of... Novelty items, I spotted a small bottle.

"Kodori-dono? What..."

Picking up the bottle, I opened it, tested a drop between my fingers, making the girl stutter a bit more, then gasp as I sloshed the contents over the wooden bits of the table I'd been put on. I grinned at her, and dropped the candle onto the freshly oiled surface.

"Lets go." I said as the oil caught fire. I picked up the still unconscious Amazon, making a point to not look at her any more than I had to. I suspected Ishtar had done what she tried to do to me, to her, and it twisted something inside the proud warrior. Despite that, I wouldn't leave her to burn. I was better than that. "This should distract some of them from Bell." I finished, flopping the Amazon over my shoulder.

"Lilly-chan said that there was some kind of altar, set up past here." Mikoto said as we climbed a set of stone steps.

The entire place seemed to be a sort of theme park of different styles. It was at least six or seven times the size of the new Hestia residence, and had a building designated to each style that the city itself contained. We had exited from a Victorian style manor, had taken a flight of stairs to a walkway, overlooking a great deal of the complex. From there, I saw the other styles, Roman, Eastern, Arab... It was all there. Mikoto herself was pointing to the middle of the complex, a small castle like structure that made me think of the Disney land castle. Behind it, on one of the high towers, was what looked like an open stone platform. I dropped the Amazon over my shoulder, figuring that she would be safe from the now voluminous smoke pouring out of one of the windows in the manor behind us. I also noticed another fire getting started off in the Eastern section, and a flash of red from one of the windows in the centre castle.

"Bell is in there." I said with certainty, "He's trying to get to that platform too!"

The distance wasn't far, but the walkways were twisting and indirect. If we jumped down to the ground, a long way down, but not impossible to land, we would still have other walls to climb. "Then we must run." Mikoto said simply, putting her left hand on the sheath of her sword, and dashing forwards along the stone wall.

I couldn't help myself from constantly checking the windows of the centre palace, hoping I'd see another glimpse of Bell's signature red flame. But as we got closer, I saw no such sign. We did however, spot several groups of Amazons running not towards us, but to the fires, as well as other places. It seemed we weren't the only ones here. We hadn't met a single group of guards in the short convoluted run to the castle gates. That would change once we entered I was sure.

"Kodori-dono. They will surely have people inside," The young samurai knew what I was thinking, "Shall we try something less, forward?" She looked up, eyeing the windows.

Looking up as well, I spotted a good target, "I'll jump, you follow." I knelt down, feeling my legs protest with the deep movement after a day of torture. A couple more flexes though, and they felt a little more like they should have. Taking aim, I pushed down with my legs and felt my heart leap with me as I sprung into the air.

I could have made the jump to the window myself, but I wasn't sure Mikoto could. Half way up, I touched the wall, fingertips latching onto the very edges of some of the brickwork. My Goddess given ability kicked in, and I stuck fast, grip unbreakable. I looked down at Mikoto, and extended my hand. Smiling, she jumped as well, catching my hand, then bracing herself as I tossed her up further, her body feather light against my adventurer strength. She caught the edge of the tower window with her own hands, and pulled herself inside quickly. Like a spider, with my bare feet finding the smallest of edges for my toes to cling to, and my hands sticking to the brickwork literally like magic, I crawled up the wall myself and entered the window.

Mikoto was already at the door of the room. Well appointed, this looked to be an office of some sort. Shelves of books with titles that looked more like dates, (I still hadn't bothered to figure out the calendar and no one else had noticed I didn't know) than proper book titles lined the walls. There was a nice hardwood desk too, with all of the usual things you'd find on an office desk on it.

"I hear yelling..." She said from the door, "Kodori-dono?"

I was hearing it too, and it was Bell. Body on automatic, I ran past Mikoto, my caution gone, my magic not so much heating up, as suddenly burning within me. All the shame, anger and frustration of my time under Ishtar Familia's tender care was driving me forward.

To make sure it didn't happen to Bell.

Down a short hall, up a flight of carpeted stairs, a left turn, the sound of Bell's voice reaching a frantic pitch, before stopping. I heard Ishtar's voice then, behind a double door at the top of the last flight of steps. The caged flame of my magic melted through the bars, grew, consumed, and poured out as far as my skin would allow it.

And. I. Broke.

Two stood in the way, voices demanding, the door behind them snapping like ribs as knees and body met. Eyes burning, body under me gurgling, the one I hate is there, over my sibling. Pointed spears, brilliant shields, stepping forward as the hated one backs away.

Forward, another crash, burning along my side, claws grabbing, pulling, breaking. I face four, throwing a broken thing away, as the sibling struggles to rise beside me. A voice, a demand, fury burning, wind over skin, a cry as claws meet shield, as teeth sink into flesh.

Another line of fire over my skin, the sensation of weightlessness, throbbing in the side. A giant between me an my sibling.

Suddenly flat to the ground, many hands over my body. Panic! Fire! RAGE! I WILL NOT BE CONTAINED!

"GUILLLLLLLLLTLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The sound of thunder, my mind echoing with it, as I flopped to the floor, looking out a massive hole in the wall. Bell was next to me, Mikoto too, the room around us filled with the smell of blood, fire, and fear. "Bell, go to her." I heard myself say even as I spat blood, "Please, I'll be there soon." My body felt like it was filled with broken glass.

He made to protest, but Mikoto pushed him away from me, a look passing between them. This time, he kissed the top of my head, "Yes, big sister."

I watched him go as best I could, struggling to stand, or just move really. I had fallen in an almost kneeling position, one knee down, one elbow down, but feeling that my other leg and arm were broken. Without my gauntlets, the skin tight protection they offered also keeping my hands from breaking when I hit things, who ever I had hit last...

"Mikoto, help me up, please. I have to..."

"You're hurt, Kodori-dono... Please, trust Bell-san." She said, helping me sit properly.

I turned my head to look at her, and all I saw was... Devastation. No less than a dozen bodies were on the floor. Broken spears, shields and swords lay next to people who were simply laying on the floor, bloody and still. Claw marks, over flesh and stone walls alike were all over the room. One Amazon, leaning against the wall, was holding her shoulder the white of her collarbone exposed under a bite mark.

Again, Mikoto slapped me, the tears forming in my eyes blurring my vision enough to draw my gaze away from the wreck of the room.

"Focus." She said, touching my side, making me wince, "Use my shoulder, careful."

I put my right arm over her shoulder, using my unbroken left hand to hold what was probably a slash that hadn't gotten through my stone skin. My legs felt broken, but they still supported my weight, though they too were bleeding from more slash marks. "Who..." I nodded my head towards the giant hole in the wall.

"It was the one who chased Bell. She kicked you away from her..." She pointed to the one who had the bite mark on her shoulder, "But then you punched her. You broke your hand on her axe." She pointed with her chin at a humongous battle axe, that had its metal handle bent into a shallow V shape. "Was that how you killed the Drake?"

"I'm... Not sure? I lost myself... I only sort of..." What I did remember flashed through my mind, and I pushed away from Mikoto just before we got to the foot of the steps Bell had ascended, my mostly empty stomach heaving out what little was in it.

Mikoto just rubbed my back until I was able to stand straight again, "Can you move?" She asked.

Tasting more blood in my mouth, I simply nodded, leaning on the samurai as we went up the steps.

Suddenly hearing the sound of combat, I tried to will myself upwards faster. But my berserk rage had sapped all but the most humble of effort from me. Mikoto helped me as best she could, and I noticed that she too was wounded. Glancing behind me, I saw that it wasn't just claw marks and broken limbs on the wounded, but sword marks too. Looking forward again, she pushed open another double door, and we found ourselves once again on a stone walkway. Like a European castle wall, the smooth stone pathway was lined with square edged crenellations and led to a small platform. That platform had yet another set of steps, this one leading up a short way to the altar we had seen on the way here. And there, on that platform, stood Haruhime, looking down at the lower platform, where Aisha and Bell were fighting.

Back and forth they went. I'd never seen Aisha fight, but she was certainly very good. While not as fast as Ais, or as strong as one of the Amazon twins, she fought with a near perfect economy of motion. No wasted moves, no fancy acrobatics, her kicks and punches exactly where they needed to be when they needed to be there. She even carried what looked like a wooden great sword, but for now, she was just using it to block the occasional strike from Bell.

Bell on the other hand, was fighting how he usually did. Quick, nimble, trying to confuse and twist the opponent on themselves so that they would leave themselves open without meaning to. But Aisha was just not buying into it. The much larger woman carried no arrogance with her.

But no joy either. Gone was her easygoing manner. The look on her face was one of dispassion, this wasn't something she wanted to do, but had to. It made me think of the twisted personality of my tormentor, how she had kept telling me to give in and accept Ishtar's love.

I suddenly realized why she was also the only Amazon here too. It was no secret she was Haruhime's friend. The easy way the normally shy girl acted around her, the way Aisha kept trying to encourage me to visit more often, or how she did her best to help Haruhime fit in with the rest of my friends.

But, before Bell arrived, it was only her and Haruhime.

Exhausted as I was, with blood loss making me cold, ribs hurting, legs feeling like they were supporting me through nothing but willpower, I felt my rage burn again. Ishtar, with what ever twisted method she had tried on me, had charmed Aisha, Haruhime's only friend until recently, to be the one to use the killing stone on her.

Knowing Bell, he'd already tried to talk to her. As good as he was at killing monsters he did it because he was an adventurer, not because he enjoyed it. He was even less of one to turn his hand on a person, Hyakinthos the only one I'd seen him attack outside of sparring.

But Aisha simply fought him, with that look of resignation on her face.

But, beaten up as I was, no matter how angry I got, I would only be a hindrance to Bell. But, while I couldn't help him fight...

"Haruhime!" I called out, Mikoto and I now only maybe ten paces away from where Bell and Aisha fought.

Aisha kicked Bell, sending him crashing flat against the wall of the platform. He tried to move, but could only gasp, the wind knocked out of him. "One more step, Demon Fox." She swept her wooden great sword around, and pointed its tip at Bell's throat.

Haruhime looked at me, her eyes red, but her face... resigned. She'd all but given up, it seemed. "You didn't read my letter..." She said, "I told you that you didn't have to come... I don't deserve to be rescued anymore." Tiny tears glittered down her cheeks, "I'm not worth saving anymore..."

That got a tiny reaction from Aisha, but her face quickly switched back to the same kind of resignation as before.

"You took the time to fold it into a crane," I replied, trying to stand on my own, "So, no, I didn't read it." I honestly didn't read it. Male mind not thinking about it, I'd assumed it meant she was simply copying my method from the first time I'd sent a letter. "And I won't ever read it." I was about to move forward, but Bell gasped as the wooden point of Aisha's blade touched his skin.

"I am under orders, Kodori." Aisha said, "I must kill Haruhime, tonight, and anyone who tries to stop me must be dealt with."

Something clicked in my mind. Hermes said it was the second stone he had delivered. Aisha was being punished, by being told to kill her friend. "You must resist, Aisha. We are all friends here, no one has to die, but you must resist!"

"I tried once." She said, her voice slipping from that almost robotic tone to a bitter one. "And now, I must kill her. For Ishtar to love me again..." She turned away from Bell, though the point of the sword still rested on him, "I must kill her, and give the last of her blood to the stone..."

"Is her love worth it? Is that all your friendship with Haruhime is worth? The empty love of some over...sex...ed? Goddess?" I stumbled on the word as I tried to put it together. "A Goddess who uses the word 'love' and 'control' like they mean the same thing?" I was about to move forward, but my legs buckled and forced me to lean on the wall, "Some one who would tell you to kill your friend, because it would bring them power?"

Mikoto was by my side again as I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My anger and frustration wasn't letting me ignore the broken glass feeling inside of me any more. "Is her 'love' worth losing hers?"

Aisha was crying now, and so was Haruhime. The Amazon's feet kept going forward, towards the golden haired Renard. Except now, Haruhime was backing away, while Aisha was fighting it. No longer convinced she wasn't worth saving, seeing the conviction of her friends, Haruhime was trying to move away. Every muscle on the Amazon's body was twitching, straining, trying to go forward and pull away at the same time. Bell, desperate, clung to her leg, but it hardly slowed her down.

I felt so useless, my breathing felt like it was being filtered through burnt metal, my arm only staying on the wall because of my unbreakable grip. "Mikoto... Help her." my body tried to cough, but couldn't.

Having told her to leave me, Mikoto ran the ten paces towards the Amazon, latching onto her side and trying to slow her down. It hardly mattered, but Haruhime was trying to talk her down too, moving away until her back touched the farthest point of the dais.

Notes

You know, I think it is the writer's privilege to do this kind of thing. I'm not sorry, but I also hope you don't hold it against me too much.

This chapter was very... difficult to write. It challenged me in many ways, from writing about being blind, the torture, the (ahem) not quite graphic sex, (must follow rules after all) and even the half aware state of a berserk mind running amok.

And honestly, I'm not happy with some of it, despite smashing my head against the keyboard until it at the very least read well enough to say 'good enough' to. Oh, then coming back the next day, and shuffling words about again. Twice.

Until next time, dear readers.