Chapter 55

The next morning found me a little less refreshed than I would have liked. A longer than intended after dinner session in the workshop, followed by dark dreams that didn't quite wake me up had left me a little groggy, but, I managed to pull myself out of bed all the same.

I could tell everyone had noticed, but they were all too polite to point it out. I considered taking a 'coffee pill', but while the effects were as intended, it tasted so vile I kind of regretted ever making them.

"Chigusa?" I called the supporter over before we set out.

"Kodori-san." She replied, stepping over and looking up at me.

"Welf and I finished your shield. If you'd come to the workshop, we can put the last touches on it." I said, "And I made some of that stuff to cast your face for a mask."

"Oh! Okay." She stepped away, spoke a moment to Ouka and Asuka, then returned to me and we headed to the workshop. "I don't mean to be..." She started as we were out of earshot of the rest.

"I'll know when we get down there." I replied with a sigh, "I have to shake this, or I'll be a slave to it forever." She flinched at my tone, but I tried to calm her with a brush from Haruhime's tail. "Sorry... I know everyone is dancing around the topic, and it's kind of made me ... not angry... but close."

She nodded, and gave my golden tail a pat, then a second one when it kind of insisted. "Kodori-san... You do so much for us, we would all like you to lean on us a little more." She paused, and started to go back to being shy, "I mean... If you would like to... We wouldn't mind..."

I stopped, just outside the workshop, turned, and bowed to her. "I'll be in your care, Chigusa-sempai." Technically, she was my senior, regardless of my level, she'd been an adventurer for at least a year longer than me. "If you would allow your kohai to support you as well."

She started to stammer a variety of apologies, 'it's not like that's', and 'you're two levels higher' all at once. But I put a hand on her shoulder and opened the door to the workshop.

"I understand, and thank you. Now lets not keep them all waiting."

We left Wiene at home with Asuka, who was going to wait for the plumber, or what ever they were called here. Hestia was still sleeping, the lazy Goddess that she was, but said she'd talk to Hephaestus later, before rolling over again. But aside from that, we all turned out for a proper trip to the dungeon. It felt nice to be in my armour again. Haruhime had cleaned it up for me without my noticing too, the only red on it now that of the scales themselves.

Marius and Chigusa were comparing shields. The Jr. version that Chigusa had wasn't covered in drake scale, but it was exactly the right size for her, and looked, as the name suggested, like a smaller version of Marius's. Complete with spikes at the bottom for bracing. It looked out of place on her, with her thin build, but she was level two, and seemed to have no problems carrying it on her arm.

"Okay, first stop for me. Bell? Scout the board, see if there is something there worth doing. Don't worry about splitting the group. Anyone want to help me with..." I made my voice ominous, "The administration."

Marius chuckled, then tried to look innocent when the others looked at him.

"Okay, Miss Kodori. Lilly? Could you go with her?"

"Lilly will go." She said, though I detected some strain in her voice.

"Thank you. We won't start without you." Bell said, waving to Lilly and I as he and the rest went ahead.

"So." I started, as Lilly and I waited in Eina's line. One of my tails beat me to putting a hand on Lilly's head to check if she had ears today. "You've been avoiding me."

I brushed my tail off her head and onto her shoulders, the supporter slouching a little as my hand ruffled her hair. "I... Feel like it was partly my fault." She said, without her usual mannerisms. "I know it's not. But..."

"You're right. It's not. It was supposed to be a simple trip to a few of the shops we always go to. It's not like we were expecting a trap of some kind." I stopped ruffling her hair gently, and leaned down to look at her, "If anything, it was my fault. I didn't remind you to bring your weapons. I didn't follow my own teachings that I've been drilling into everyone's head since I started training with you all." I poked her nose before she could respond, "And it nearly got me killed. But, I heard you did everything you could to put me together again."

It didn't seem to help her mood any, but I said it anyhow, "Best supporter."

"Next." Eina said, looking at the two of us and giving us her best smile. "It's good to see you on your feet again, Kodori. And hello Miss Lilly."

"It's good to be on my feet." I said with a smile that was only a little forced. "We have a few little bits of business today." I looked down at Lilly, "You have the paper?"

"Lilly has, the paper." She said, holding out a bit of paper for Eina, who took it and unfolded it.

"Lets see... Ah, the permit for altering the pipes. You need some one to go and do that for you? Today?"

"Yes. We've done all the measurements, and made all the pipes we need. Just need an actual expert to do it." I replied. "And, I'd also like to report that Haruhime is now level two."

Eina's face brightened, "That's excellent news." She made a note, "Tell her to come by soon and we can have a little meeting about it. Like I've done with all of you before."

"I'll do that." I nodded, "Oh, and lastly... This isn't actual business though." I put a little box on the desk between us. "Open it later."

Puzzled, she accepted the box, and put it inside her desk next to a little box that I assumed was her lunch or something. "Thank you." She paused, looking behind me at the line, "How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, "I visited, while you were..."

"I am fine." I poked my thumb into the centre of my chest, "But not sure." I tapped my forehead. "Everyone has already gone ahead into the tower to check for something to warm me back up again."

She nodded to me, wiping the concerned look off her face, and smiling her professional smile again. "Thank you for reporting in, and good luck."

We both thanked her, then left, letting the next in line go ahead. "Lilly likes her. She makes me wish she was Lilly's big sister."

"I thought I was your big sister." I pouted, though I couldn't help but smile a half second later.

"Miss Kodori is everyone's big sister."

"Okay, that's fair."

"Miss Kodori, Miss Lilly." Bell greeted us as he spotted us approaching the job board. "How did the meeting go?"

"Well, Eina knows we need someone to look at the water, and Ha-chan needs to visit her personally, to report." I replied, "So, find anything?"

"Some gathering missions." Bell started, "Hell hound pelts, moth wings, goblin teeth..."

"Nazza asked for that one I'm guessing?" I asked, getting a nervous chuckle from the rest of them.

"Yeah..." Bell replied, "A few others, minotaur horns, hard armoured shell, cloud fruit, fire bird feathers... The rest of the missions are deeper down, or back in the city."

"Lilly wouldn't mind camping with Mr Bell for more moth wings."

"Goblin teeth would be... Too simple." Mikoto said.

"I have no wish to fight fire birds again." Marius said, taking off his helmet and running a hand through his hair.

"Hard armoured aren't too hard, but still, group this size?" Welf added.

"Minotaur and hell hounds are around the same floors." Ouka said, "And since Kodori-dono insisted we all have salamander wool in our armour..."

We all looked at one another, most of us nodding, others shrugging. "Sounds like a plan." I said as all eyes fell to me.

I was a little nervous. Even more so than my first day, all those months ago. It was like the walls were closer than the last time I was here. Back in my old life, I'd been a tiny bit claustrophobic, but nothing like this. Haruhime, in her black Goliath skin robe was walking next to me, one of her tails curled around my arm. Not quite holding my hand, but it might as well have been.

Embarrassing, but I was thankful all the same.

Due to the size of the party, and the fact that the upper floors were a place for all the level one adventurers to work, we either waited for the rookie dungeoneers to finish their kills before we walked by, or just killed what ever dared to bother us. It was easy, and as safe as the dungeon would ever get.

Yet, I still couldn't make my legs move when there was a monster in the way. I was basically rear guard, though Marius was walking behind me, so I really wasn't even that.

"Remember back when we started, Miss Kodori?" Bell asked, letting Ouka and Mikoto lead while he moved back to chat with me. "How, before we met Lilly, we had such a hard time."

"I do remember. All those bite marks..." I chuckled, "If you were wondering Ha-chan, that's why I'm so good with first aid, and why my legs are so ticklish."

Haruhime's hood was up, so I could only tell she was blushing by how her tail twitched on my arm, "I was... curious about that, yes."

Bell was blushing too, his white hair making it look worse than it was. "Or later, when Miss Lilly joined. The frogs."

"Eww, yes, I remember that too."

"So does Lilly!" Lilly said from further up the line.

"It's been a long time since then." Bell said, looking a little wistful, "But we've both come far. And with everyone's help, we've become a good team too."

"We have." I agreed. "It might take a while, but I'm not going to retire yet. Too many things to do."

He nodded, and I noticed a few of the others looking back at me. "Good. But don't forget, we're a team. You taught us that. We lean on each other, so we can all return home safe."

I felt the urge to ruffle his hair, so I did, "We do have people waiting for us, and dinner. I am really looking forward to taco night."

Lilly 'tee-hee'ed' while the rest of the group made a variety of faces about Lilly's spicy cooking.

As we progressed, my anxiety got worse. Cold sweat, jumping at random noises, hiding behind Lilly of all people. The fifteenth floor was next, and I was basically being a piece of luggage in the party. No one mentioned it, and Bell was acting like a model captain too, so my 'absence' wasn't a problem. He was basically treating me like a wounded member, and not calling my name when it came time to act.

And I hated it.

Not that Bell was doing a wonderful job in my place. That made me proud. But the fact that I was simply... existing. Going to work, passing the time, then going home. Was that all I was? Again?

No.

I would not have it. I would not use this second life I'd been given, to go back to my old ways.

"Ko-san?"

"Miss Kodori is glowing again..."

Feet planted firmly, I focused everything inwards, looking inside the cage of my soul, and reaching a hand towards the lock.

If being 'rational' wasn't working. Then I would discard it and try something else.

"Bell." I said through my teeth, "Point me at something."

There was a pause, as my senses focused to a single point, my body practically vibrating in place while I waited. The moment stretched until it felt like a single thread holding me back. Then I felt a subtle quiver under my feet. "Tunnel to the left." Bell said.

I needed to know if I could fight. Calm or angry, it didn't matter, if I were to ever return to my normal self, I needed to overcome the darkness just outside of my vision, and fight. Behind me, I could hear the rest of them trying to keep up as I practically ran on all fours down the tunnel.

My vision was a hazy red, my tails were trailing behind me like streamers and the air rushing past my ears was practically howling. Through my hands and feet I could feel the heavy footsteps of something down the hall, and I was running towards it like a comet.

Minotaur. A group of three.

Screaming as I arrived, the first one turned towards me, starting to raise one of its huge fists.

And I destroyed it. Not even slowing down, I roared at it and slammed my fist into its gut at close to the speed of sound.

What followed was a blur of blood, screams, and totally reckless combat. My rational mind was almost unable to keep track of what was going on, as the beast behind the bars rampaged through the room. Other monsters, attracted by the noise, rushed towards me, but they too were caught up in the melee. Unable to stop myself now, my inner beast was pushing my aura outwards, the dripping black smoke extended outwards like a claw, and I swiped it towards another minotaur.

"DEVOUR!" I screamed, the beast simply falling to bits as the spectral claw became solid and shredded it with all the grace of a collection of sharpened crowbars.

Then something hit me. HARD. It slammed into my side like a wall, and I sprawled sideways. My tails, as well as my hands, lashed about and brought me back to my feet almost instantly, eyes searching for what ever it was that just hit me.

Then something else hit me. Water?

Cold water dripping down my face, the temperature shock confusing me right out of my rage, I blinked and sputtered, looking around.

Marius was standing in front of me, the dragon scale shield held in front of him at the ready, though his other hand was braced behind the shield and held no weapon. "Back with us?" He asked.

Still confused, I shook my head, grimacing as water got into my ears, and squeezed my eyes shut to clear them. "What..."

Around me, I could hear a collective sigh of relief. "Best use of my canteen yet." Welf said from behind me, "Good shot Lil'e."

"Ko-san?" Haruhime's voice made my knees wobble, the sudden adrenalin crash setting my body trembling. "Are you hurt? Lilly!"

There was movement around me, and three pairs of hands steadied me. I didn't shake them off, but it was something close as my hands reached out to grab on to something. I caught the edges of a familiar breastplate, and found myself looking into Bell's face.

"This time, we stopped you from doing something stupid. Sit down, sister, calm down. We'll clean up." His red eyes looked angry, but he helped Lilly and Haruhime fold my legs up properly and sit me down. "Miss Chigusa? Help Miss Lilly. Mikoto? Can you help Haruhime?"

So I sat, my body slowly balancing itself out again, the shakes slowing. Haruhime and Mikoto checked me over for wounds, but aside from a bit of water in my ears and a bruised shoulder, I didn't have anything but monster blood on me. I used that time to look around the room. My logical mind catching up while I did so. It reminded me of the half remembered fight with the Amazon Phryne. Claw marks along the walls. Craters in the floor. Broken stone everywhere. And shattered monsters.

"Kodori-dono." Mikoto called my attention back to the present. She waited until I focused on her, her face concerned. "If this is the only way you can fight, from here on, you should retire."

Haruhime made a distressed noise, but I put a hand on her shoulder, "The first step is always the hardest." I said, throat feeling dry, "Please, help me remember the path if I stray from it."

"So long as you understand." She smiled a warrior to warrior smile, then looked to Haruhime, "You were right."

Haruhime smiled her brilliant smile, and nodded, "If its Ko-san, I know all her weak spots."

"And secret cookie boxes." I added, reaching a hand out to Mikoto and standing up stiffly, "Yes, any fight that leaves me that out of control, and this wobbly after, is a terrible way to fight. Thank you." I said to Mikoto, "Marius!"

"Ma'am?" The soldier looked towards me from his spot in the middle of the room, watching over Lilly and Chigusa as they cleaned up the monsters.

"Thank you."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Urg... Okay, going to need a pill, and some more water." I said, reaching into my coat for the little bottle of mind pills.

"Mind mints." I said.

"What?" Marius asked from just behind me.

"That's what I'll call these things." It had taken three of the little blue 'potion pills' to clear the haze my rage had brought on, and the minty feeling they brought on, that wasn't so much a taste as a feeling, made me think up the name. "I'll just use that little brewing kit to make them into actual candy."

"I wonder what Ma'am Nazza will think of that." Marius asked.

"My money is on two tail wags and a pout that she didn't think of it first." I replied, getting a chuckle from Welf who was just ahead of me.

"Careful there sister. She might start charging us full price for potions again." He said.

"Hm, yeah, maybe I'll just... Na, I'll make them, and share the secret only if she keeps giving us a discount." I grinned.

"Are you sure you don't want to try being a merchant?" Marius asked.

"I'm a fox, not a wolf." I repeated.

As we got closer to the eighteenth, the monsters became more aggressive. I hadn't gotten over my fear, but what amounted to me having a temper tantrum had proven that I could still fight. I found myself able to stand firm and protect our supports properly.

It wasn't my usual place at the front, but it was a start.

Then we heard someone yelling.

"Trouble?" Ouka asked, "Bell-kun?"

"Let's go, if it's something we can help with, then we help." He replied, earning a grin and a nod from everyone. It was exactly the answer we expected of him.

What we found was a group of adventurers, running away from something. I even recognized a few of them, like the barkeep from the tavern on the eighteenth. When they spotted us, they changed direction and headed towards us.

"Its an invasion!" One said, his face bloody, and most of his armour only half put on, as if he were in a rush to leave.

"Invasion?" I asked.

"A whole bunch of monsters, all wearing armour, came up from the nineteenth and just started rampaging through the town. They were ridiculously strong too!" Another said. Mikoto was tending to what looked like a broken arm.

"Hold still." She said, "Armoured monsters?"

"Yes! There was huge lizard man, a gargoyle... even a few I don't even know the names of." The bartender said, recovering his breath. "We all got out as fast as we could once we saw how strong they were."

Our party shared a look. Xenos. But why would they be attacking? "Are there still people down there?"

"No, we all got out. But everything is flattened. Totally destroyed." The dwarf said, "Most of us are second tier adventurers. But we were completely overwhelmed."

There were about a dozen of them here, all wounded in some way. Some even had broken weapons, still clutched in one hand. I shook my head, this didn't make sense.

Then I felt my back heat up. Perking up, I noticed some of the others, Hestia Familia only, were perked up the same way. Hestia was touching our memory stones, and it felt completely different than usual. "Bell..." I started.

"I feel it too." He said, "Takemikazuchi Familia, Lilly, Haruhime, Welf, help them get back up, then get home quickly." The order got him a few troubled looked, but he shook his head, "Marius, you stay."

"Thank you, but..." The barkeeper started.

"We'll make sure they don't follow. Report to the guild as quickly as you can." Bell replied firmly, "If it's too much, we'll run too, but if they are as strong as you say, we can't have them come to where the new adventurers hunt."

"We'll warn the others on the way up as well." Ouka said, Chigusa nodding beside him. "You heard our captain. Lets go."

"Miss Kodori." Lilly said at my side, pressing something into my hand. "Lilly picked it up, just in case."

It was the little pyramid 'key'. "Thank you Lilly. Best supporter." I looked to Haruhime, gave her a nod and what I hoped was a good smile, "Be safe, see you soon."

She nodded back to me with that wonderful smile, then turned and started running with the others.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" I asked Bell.

"If it's them, we have to help." He looked up at me, then to the others, "You understand, right?"

The three of us nodded. I still owed them a debt, though I'd never actually met one of them, at least while awake. Mikoto and Marius were both on board too. Thankfully the Goliath wasn't there, and we got to the eighteenth floor without incident.

And they were right. The place was in ruins. The town of Rivera that was built around the trunk of the great tree was little more than smoke and broken wood. From where we were at the entrance to the floor, we could see figures moving around amidst the ruin, roaring, smashing already broken structures, and generally being... monsters.

"Something is really wrong." Bell said, "It's them, for sure." He pointed at the lizardman, "That's Lido. The leader. That one is Gros," He pointed to what looked like a grey lizard with wings, "He's a gargoyle."

"It is them." Mikoto said, "But why?"

"I agree, they were too disciplined to do something this rash." Marius said, "And those are the motions of any of the monsters I've seen, not like a thinking person's at all."

"So." I started, "What's the plan? Just as you said, they look..." Even if I was in good shape, they looked really strong. "It's not like we can just... Oh, maybe we can." They looked at me, "If they are acting like monsters, then we should try and lure one someplace."

"Good idea." Bell said, "But we have to be careful." To punctuate his statement, a burst of flame erupted from someplace in the ruin, "Both Lido and the giant hell hound I told you about are there."

"Not a problem for me, though I'm tired of having short hair." I replied. "I'll be bait."

Bell nodded. "Marius? Do what you did with Miss Kodori a little while ago." Marius nodded, "Mikoto, Lido's legs work just like ours, be careful of his tail." When she nodded, Bell said, "We'll lure him away then try and get him back to his senses somehow."

I was starting to have second thoughts. Third and forth ones too. But as I watched from under a pile of bushes near the edge of town, my eyes tracked Lido. Up close he was an impressive monster. About two meters tall, muscled like a minotaur, and armoured like a proper adventurer. His mouth was filled with meat ripping teeth, and when he let out a blast of fire, it was enough to instantly blacken what ever it hit, be it wood or stone. His eyes however, were glowing red, the sign of an angry monster that you could find anywhere in the dungeon. Though, unlike any monster in the dungeon, Lido was also holding a massive cleaver like sword.

There were others around as well, from a giant... ape... thing...? that was mostly brown hair and slabs of metal armour, to a giant needle rabbit, who was probably Chime's mom or something.

Waiting until every one but Lido was looking elsewhere, I tried to get his attention with something shiny. Using the restored supporter's knife, I tried to catch the lizardman's eye. When he was looking my way, my tails started to shake the bush in what I hoped was a 'small food animal is hiding here' fashion.

Curious, Lido stomped over, his hunting sense probably telling him that if it WAS food, he had to try being quiet. With all the noise they were making, I was pretty sure what ever animal was still on this floor, was either deaf, or incredibly stupid.

As he got closer, I could hear him sniffing.

So, I gave a cloud fruit that I'd picked up a squeeze, breaking the skin and releasing a sweet smell into the air.

That got his attention, and he crossed the last two big steps quickly, the hand not holding the massive sword reaching for the bush I was under.

"Surprise!" I shouted, punching him in the nose as hard as I could from the awkward position, then turning and running down the hill behind me.

Roaring, Lido gave into his instinct and chased the fleeing 'prey'. Being the fleeing prey, I was shaking my hand out, and crushing more juice out of the fruit as I ran towards Bell's position. Even if it wasn't at full strength, it felt like I had punched the edge of a stone block. He was a tough monster, on par with the skull of a drake for sure. He wasn't as fast as me though, and I made sure to pace myself to keep just ahead of him. Near the bottom the the cliff, I ran towards the treeline, the heavy footfalls of the lizardman just behind me.

Then Marius stepped out from behind a tree that was thick enough to hide him, and with a solid 'thump' planted his shield into the ground and braced behind it. Unable to stop, Lido slammed into it, his entire body bouncing off it like a ball. Marius grunted as the lizardman toppled clumsily into a tree, then another, then finally, as he started to regain his balance, Mikoto popped out from another tree and used her sheathed sword to smash the back of Lido's leg, then again to the back of the lizardman's scaly head.

Stunned, off balance, and now with me, hopping up on his back and wrapping my arms around his arms and body as best as my much smaller frame would allow. Bell added the last touch by kicking the giant blade out of his hand, and then tackling the leg Mikoto had hit.

And finally, Lido fell over onto his stomach.

"Guys..." I said, as the lizardman started to try and shrug me off. "He's strong. Really strong."

"Bell?" The voice from under me was low, "Is... Grr... that..."

"Lido! What happend?" Bell asked frantically, "Your eyes? What..."

"No... Time." Lido growled again, and even with my unbreakable grip, I could feel my shoulders dangerously close to popping out of their sockets. "A man... Found us, before we could all move. Some taken. Othes killed. He..."

My tails felt something move under me, and suddenly something hit me from behind, flat across my back and shoulders. Dazed, I started to let go.

"A curse!" Lido yelled, Marius and Mikoto moving in to help me, but unable to stop him before he got a leg under him, "And now we avenge our fallen!"

His tail slammed into me again. He stood, upsetting my sense of balance, as a great clawed hand grabbed onto my shoulder and tried to pull me off of him.

"Let go!" Bell yelled as Lido roared, his other hand joining the first on my opposite shoulder.

"GO BACK! OUR... HOME!"

That was the last I heard before I let go, and got thrown.

"And Kodori gets a frequent flier mile." I mumbled to myself as I tried to sort myself out. I'd landed on a tree, someplace close to the outer wall of the eighteenth. Nothing felt broken, though there was probably a lump on my head, and my shoulders felt strained. My tails were tangled up with the tree and themselves as well. I could hear the sound of the rampaging monsters and the even fainter sound of running water.

"I think she landed over here somewhere." I heard Bell say.

"Up here." I called back. "What happened?" I carefully moved about, the leaves and upper branches of the tree groaning and snapping under my weight. "Hold on... I'm kind of tangled up here."

They waited as I tried to do a controlled fall through the branches. It worked, mostly, though my tails were covered in little twigs and I'd gathered a couple more bruises. "Kodori-dono? Are you hurt?" Mikoto asked, letting one of my tails visit and helping to pick the worst of the tree out of it.

"Nothing serious." I replied, "He was really strong. Couldn't break my grip, but the rest of me... Like the first time I tried it on you Bell."

"We only got away because he tried to hold back... A curse, he said?" Bell replied, nodding as he remembered.

"I'll have to thank Master Welf for the shield. The studs at the bottom are a brilliant idea." Marius said, inspecting the front of his shield.

"When you're king, you can make it the new standard." I replied. "So, now what? Lido mentioned... Home?" I reached into my coat and opened the little bottle of healing pills. I chewed one, and swallowed a second.

"Maybe that's where they were ambushed?" Marius said, "It would make sense, if this Ikelos Familia found them, and they were still getting ready to move..."

"But, that is two floors down, and we do not have everyone..." Mikoto added.

"We might have another option." I said, reaching into one of the pouches on my belt, "Best supporter that she is..." I held up the little pyramid, the faint magic inside it making my fingertips tingle. "If we can find the door, then maybe we can do our own ambush..."

"Do you remember where..." Bell shook his head, and looked at me, "Where she was headed, before you caught her?"

"If I can get a look around, I'm sure I could remember. Can't use the hill though." I pointed to the hill I'd used to spot the running Amazon. It had a bus sized hellhound on it, breathing fire into the sky. "Though if we just walked around the outer wall, I'm sure we'd find it all the same."

"I am concerned about what is happening back home as well." Mikoto said, "Lady Hestia's touch... Felt panicked."

"We will trust the others." Bell said, though his voice was just as concerned as Mikoto's. "We have to help the Xenos, since we are closest to them.

"Right. If this is a key, lets find the door."

Notes

And so we step into roughly the middle of book 10. Where the Xenos situation goes right down the crapper. I've had to change even more things around, allowing for the story I've altered from the original. But that's what makes it a fanfic, right?

Also, book 11 was awesome. And wow, I've got some interesting things to write on that one.

See you in 5 days. :)