Raven discreetly looked at Bell, wanting to ask something, but couldn't find the right words for it.
"You probably want to know about the whole Familia switch, right?" Bell said as he looked at the Dark Elf.
'I've been caught'.
"Ah, yes chosen one, despite us being here, I expected you to remain within the Familia of the Deity Hestia, because in your notes, you seemed to be very fond of them".
"Well, that is true, but my nature won't blend in well with theirs" Bell told him.
"Do you mean to say your history as an adventurer?" Raven asked.
"Well yeah, but I mean-" just as he was about to explain, they heard a roar that came from the gates, and rushed towards it.
Shakti was having a bad day.
She just wanted to relax on her day off with Ilta, and she decided to visit that tea shop that was near the gates.
But fate was a bitch.
All of a sudden, the gate guards felt a strong breeze coming from above, and they saw 4 Gargoyles carrying 2 large crates, and slowly put it down.
The people in the long line were naturally afraid, and scattered in fear of being eaten, but the strange thing, was that the Gargoyles weren't doing anything.
Shakti and Ilta went to see what was happening and were also confused at the situation.
"What's going on?" Shakti asked on of the guards.
"We-We don't know Shakti-San, they just came out of nowhere and stood still" his voice was still a bit shaky, but calmed down a little at the sight of a level 5.
The other guard slowly walked towards the crate, wanting to see what was inside, and since the monster weren't attacking, why not?
Unfortunately, he was attacked by one of the Gargoyles when he tried to touch the crate.
In response, Shakti took the guards spear and threw it at the Gargoyle, but...
"MY LEG!" the spear ricocheted off the it's scales and hit the guard's leg.
The Gargoyle roared, and charged towards them, while the other Gargoyles were in a defensive position.
Shakti dodged the first strike, and Ilta tried to hit its back, but was swatted away by its tail.
"You alright Greg?!" the other guard worriedly asked his injured friend.
"I'll be fine Yorme, just help them!" Greg was putting on a brave face, but the stab wound really hurt.
Yorme nodded and went to stab the Gargoyle, but his spear broke as soon as it came into contact with it.
"Fuck" were his last words before he was punched into a building.
Ilta jumped on top of it and tried to choke it out, which was quite ineffective.
"What's up with this thing?! It's not a norma-!" before she could finish her sentence, the Gargoyle grabbed her face, and smashed her into the ground, and was trying to crush her head.
Shakti saw that it was busy, and took the chance to punch its head, but it had little effect as the monster turned its head towards her, and was about to hit her until...
"Sheesh, good thing we made it in time" Bell stood in between Shakti and the Gargoyle, while holding its claw.
"Stand down Alfa" he ordered, and the monster let go of Ilta and went back to the crates.
Raven was pouring a healing potion down Gregs leg, when he was done, he went towards the Gargoyles and started petting them one by one, and they were... purring? Something which baffled the people watching from the side.
Bell looked towards Shakti, who was rubbing her injured hand, and bowed slightly at her.
"I'm really sorry for this Shakti-San, I knew they were coming but I didn't know they'd be this early" he was rubbing his head apologetically, though something bothered her.
"Wait, so you knew monsters were coming into the city, and you didn't inform our Familia, or the Guild?" she questioned him.
"Well, I did tell Ganesha-Sama yesterday, and said it was okay" he answered her with a small smile.
'And he didn't bother inform us' Shakti thought as she face palmed.
"Well, we still need to do an inspection. While I'm sure you and Lady Nyx have no malicious intentions, any package must be inspected, safety protocol." she sighed as she told him.
Bell just rubbed the back of his head and looked at Raven, who was speaking to the Gargoyles while petting them.
Before Bell could say anything, they heard a familiar scream.
"I AM GANESHA!"
"Sorry, but that's private information, Lady Nyx said that it is of utmost importance, that very few people outside of her circle know about this!" Ganesha told her captain, before laughing loudly
Shakti looked at him for a second, and sighed before giving a signal to Ilta and the guards.
Bell and Raven didn't know what that meant, so they put their guard up, but stopped when she spoke.
"If it were anyone else, they'd have been taken in for questioning, but since my God has given the order, I'll allow it".
Bell looked back, and saw that the guards couldn't move the crates at all and thought of a solution.
"Um, if it's possible, could the Gargoyles take the crates to the manor? While me and Raven could do it, it would be faster if they just flew it over there" he requested, and Ganesha nodded.
With the approval given, the Gargoyles picked up the crates again and started flying towards the Manor, where the Nyx Familia currently resided.
As they started to head back home, they overheard Shakti telling Ganesha about an irregular, they kept it in mind and went to get some snacks for the others.
~1 Week Later~
Loki Familia POV
A loud smacking noise was heard throughout the Twilight Mansion, followed by the pained scream of Loki.
"What was that for mama?!" she complained with tears coming out of her eyes.
"Who's a mama?!" Riveria yelled at her before hitting her again.
"Why are ya so mad at me anyway?! I got ya guys a big chance and you're being so mean to me!" she was flailing her hands around like a child having a tantrum.
"No, we appreciate you getting us this 'big chance' but our problem is you, walking over to Lady Nyx's home and saying 'Hey, we're joining on yer expedition' then running away" Finn said with his arms crossed, sounding disappointed in their goddess.
"Well, she didn't refuse it" she tried reasoning.
"But she didn't approve either, who knows how she might have taken it?! She could have taken it as an insult and decide to crush us if she wanted to!" Riveria scolded her again, before sitting down and rubbing her head.
A few moments later, Raul peeked into the room, and he was sweating buckets.
"What's up Raul?" Finn asked his future successor.
"U-Uh, well, the thing is-" before he could finish what he was saying, a hand shoved him away, and came in the Male Renard from the other day.
He stood there and looked menacing, while the other the 2 executives and Loki were sweating a bit.
Soon after, the door burst open and showed Ais, Tiona, Tione looking ready for a fight.
"We heard someone barged in here all of a sudden" Tione said.
Shiro looked at them before sighing.
"You're missing one, but not my problem" he turned to look at Loki "Don't hold us back, you're there to accompany us, and we won't babysit you" He said briefly and tossed something at Finn.
Finn caught it and saw that it was a silver crescent moon.
When he looked back up, he saw Shiro walking towards the balcony, and jumped off.
"Oi, what'd he give you?" Bete asked.
"Our approval to join them, I guess" Finn let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding, and Loki was cackling, bragging about how her plan worked.
~Nyx Familia POV~
Shiro walked in and wanted to get some exercise done, but he saw something that he needed to stop.
"GET AWAY FROM THE FUCKING KITCHEN!" Shiro yelled as he saw Yuuki trying to sneak in the kitchen.
"FUCK OFF!" Before they could do anything, 2 white tails grabbed their faces.
"Please keep your shenanigans outside" Vixen said before throwing them to the garden.
"I hope you know this is your fault" Yuuki crossed her arms and turned away from him.
"Hah?! I wouldn't have yelled if you hadn't been trying to sneak your poison in the kitchen!" and so another argument ensued between them.
Raven and Stella, who were sparring in the backyard, were curious as to where the screaming was coming from, but ignored it and continued sparring
Tina was in her workshop, making a new magic sword and didn't notice the ice cube that broke in from the window.
Bell and Geld were reading in the library, when they suddenly heard the commotion in the front yard.
"Kitchen?" Bell asked him while still reading.
"Kitchen" Geld answered him, and picked up another book.
Nyx was reading a note from Hades regarding the sudden deaths in small villages.
"Hm, a monster that leaves it's prey as dust and bones?" she was reading the autopsy that was sent to her and smiled "How intriguing".
As she reading more of the letter, a Prum peeked from behind her.
"What's that Lady Nyx?" the Prum asked.
"Oh, you're awake Fianna" she noticed that the girl was wearing her gear
Fianna had orange hair and red eyes, she was wearing a black dress, that was tattered and the bottom, and black gloves that reached her elbows black boots and leggings that were slightly torn, along with a big red cloak that covered her and a unique looking mask.
"Do you plan on hunting today?"
"Yes, I heard that there were some materials that are exclusive to the labyrinth, and I figured Yohan would like to take a look at it when we return home".
"Hm, Very well, have a safe trip dear" Nyx patted her head and watched her leave.
Nyx took a sip from her tea and read another letter, from Hera this time, and when she saw the information, she smiled and started writing letters back to her and Hades.
Published: June 29, 2022
Here it is, I know it's short, but it is just meant to be a bridge of sorts to add the new character and the Loki kids on the expedition.
Next chapter is the journey to the unknown, don't know when I'll post it.
Bye