Welcome back everyone to Witches and Warlocks. I gotta say, I'm slightly miffed. I just detailed Royals appearance last chapter, only for Xur to sell boots that I start using. So that's cool I guess. Whatever, not important. Enjoy the new chapter. Or don't. You're a free soul.


Chapter 4: To Those Who Travel

Of all the shapes Royal had expected an interdimensional portal to be, a door was not one of them. It made sense, but it just seemed too mundane for the purpose. Granted, the door in question was rather elaborate. The most striking feature had to be the humungous eye plastered across the front. Eda pulled out a matching key and pressed the eye-shaped button. A bright light shone from the doorframe as Royal turned around.

"This shouldn't take more than a few hours, just long enough to confirm Lancers' theory." He looked to Luz, "You sure you don't want to dip through, just for a second?"

Luz shook her head, "No, I'm not ready to go back yet, even if it would be brief." Royal shrugged, accepting her reasoning. He still didn't know why she was in the Demon Realm, but if she didn't want to talk then he couldn't force her.

"Alright, Lancer will contact you when we're done, be back soon."

With that, he stepped through the portal. There was a bright flash and a sense of weightlessness for a second. He felt his feet touch solid ground again. Looking around, he saw that he was surrounded by trees. He drew his pulse rifle, Darkest Before, and swept the immediate area.

"Lancer, you still with me?"

"Whether you like it or not, ready to start?" Royal nodded in response and Lancer continued. "Alright, before we begin, I should let you know that there's a small town nearby. Luz told me it's her home, called it 'Gravesfield' or something. So, you know, try to avoid detection as best you can." Royal grumbled a little at that, his stealth skills were fine, so long as you ignored the fact that he seemed to get caught every time.


The Goblin stood perfectly still as the wind swept around it. The grass waved in a pale imitation of the ocean's might. The sun overhead shone bright, causing the foliage to appear as if it was glowing. The Goblin analyzed all of these ecological factors, but it could not experience them itself. Not that it had any desire to.

The Goblins' arms were outstretched and its head was bowed. A less intelligent lifeform would assume it was lifeless. On the contrary, it was alive and with purpose. It had been ordered here by Synegorus to await reinforcements. It had been ordered to wait, so it would wait. The amount of time that it waited was irrelevant.

An indefinite amount of time passed and the Vex naturally kept count, though it did not view the information as relevant. Eventually, its unthinking patience was rewarded when a vortex was torn open. Three more Vex forms dropped through, impacting the ground with impressive force. The new constructs stood up. There were two more Goblins and a Hobgoblin, a long-range configuration of the standard Goblin.

The Hobgoblin stepped forward. It screeched in the technological tongue of the Vex and transmitted a new set of orders to the original Goblin. The three Goblins were to continue gathering information and strengthening the Vex foothold. The Hobgoblin was here specifically to locate the Guardian. It would kill him if it could and tail him if it couldn't. Synegorus had given the Hobgoblin the ability to 'taste' the Light, for lack of a better term. It would be able to track the Guardian down while he was unsuspecting and eliminate the one threat to the Vex in this universe.

The trio of Goblins' departed, stomping across the windswept plains. The Hobgoblin scanned the area, searching for a trace. Eventually, it found what it was looking for. With a harsh metallic clank, its arms slid into a ready position and its primary weapon came online. It began to march toward the last known position of the Guardian.

It began to march towards the Owl House.


"20 snails says he doesn't come back."

Luz looked at her mentor in mock horror.

"Don't say that," she chided playfully, "it's not like he'll get lost."

The two shared a laugh at that. Last night, after Royal had finished explaining everything, he had excused himself to go clean off his armor. Lancer had filled them in on their escapades through the Boiling Isles. Specifically, the parts where Royal had no idea where he was supposed to go. The day had been all but spent by then, so everyone decided to head off to sleep and send Royal through the portal tomorrow. The Exo had agreed, mentioning a need to cycle his systems. He seemed a little unhinged when he woke up and Luz could have sworn she heard him mumble about something called 'The Deep Stone Crypt'.

The Guardian had also told them one final piece of information before his departure. He believed that the Emperors Coven had recovered some Vex technology and was currently holding it somewhere. He also had reason to suspect that there may be another Vex construct somewhere on the Isles. He had stressed that, if they found it, it needed to be destroyed. He had given Luz an advanced-looking revolver called Fatebringer just in case. After a quick crash course on gun safety and a promise from Eda that she wouldn't sell it, he allowed Luz to keep it for the time being. When Luz asked Lancer how he was able to carry so many weapons at once, the Ghost just told her it was magic and made a motion that she guessed was the equivalent of him waving his nonexistent fingers.

Heading around to the front of the house, she pulled the gun out and looked at it. It was an elegant weapon, clean and simple. The metal shone a brilliant, steel black. Now that Luz considered it, she had a lot of doubts about Royals' qualifications when it came to teaching. While she was no expert on firearms, she was certain that the number one rule of gun safety wasn't "Have fun".

She looked over at the makeshift target Royal had thrown together. He wanted her to at least familiarize herself with how the gun felt to use. His reasoning was solid, she didn't have any magic to defend herself with aside from her light glyph. Unfortunately, Lancer had told her that her light spell wasn't nearly as powerful as Royals' capital 'L' Light.

The end of the hand cannon shook as she raised it uncertainly. The target was directly ahead of her. The weapon felt heavy in her hands, despite its relatively small size. Royals' advice echoed through her head. She took a deep breath, blocking out the noises coming from the forest around her. Her finger lightly squeezed the trigger but she couldn't bring herself to fire. Luz looked at the weapon in disappointment. She hadn't decided to remain on the Boiling Isles so she could learn how to fire a gun, she stayed here so she could learn magic. She sighed, wondering how Royal was doing in the Human Realm.


"Hey, I'm gonna go for a poke around, see if I can't find anything interesting," Royal shouted towards Lancer. The Ghost quickly weighed up the pros and cons of letting Royal run around a pre-Golden Age Human civilization. The ramifications could be disastrous if they were discovered. Temporal paradoxes, potentially being labeled as an alien invader, getting mistaken as a cosplayer. Lancer shuddered at that last one, the possibilities were simply horrifying. Needless to say, Lancer had reached his decision.

"See if you can't find some movies for us to watch, we've blitzed through our current catalog and I need some new material."

Royal shot him a quick thumbs up and slipped into the trees, heading towards Gravesfield for a little cultural research.


The Hobgoblin was getting close, it could tell. It could almost feel the Light radiating toward it. It finally emerged from the edge of the forest. The Vex form stood at the border of a clearing overlooking a large house. It was unknowingly occupying the same space Royal had when he first arrived here. Before it was a strange portal, which the trail led into. The Hobgoblin crouched down, calculating possible outcomes. It did not possess the sheer simulation power of the Paradoxical Mind, so it could not ensure that any plan it concocted would be foolproof.

The Hobgoblin finally decided on a course of action. Logic dictated that the Guardian would return through the portal, eventually. So it elected to wait. Then, when the Guardian did return, it would strike. Fortunately, the Hobgoblin had been armed with weaponry tuned specifically for the task at hand.

The Hobgoblin stayed low, holding itself impossibly still. A single red eye blazed with vile intent as it lay there, undetected.


"Sturme, what have you managed to learn?"

The Witch in charge of conducting research jumped. He had been so engrossed in his current project that he hadn't noticed the head of the Emperors Coven enter the room. He was a rather lanky Witch, tall and thin, whose clothes were almost permanently disheveled. His face was framed by a tangled mess of short, navy-blue hair. His three eyes blinked a few times as he collected himself.

"Ms. Lilith, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Apologies for the mess," he managed to stutter out. Lilith raised her hand in a gesture to ease him.

"The fault is mine, I should have sent you some notice. Now, have you made any breakthroughs with the creature?"

Sturme nodded excitedly and hurried to gather his notes. Lilith raised an eyebrow as the stack grew larger and larger. It seems the research team had been busy.

"This is most of the data we have been able to gather from the subject. Once you told us that it was providing us with blueprints, we managed to decipher some of them. Our current theories are that they might be weapons of some kind," he explained.

"And how are you able to decipher them?" Lilith asked, "When you first sent them to me, you said that they were in a language you had never seen before." Sturme nodded excitedly.

"They were. However, after we provided the subject with some samples of our dialect, it was quickly able to translate them. Though I must say that it seems to be intentionally moving at a very slow pace." He rubbed his hands together frantically as Lilith picked up some of his research. The creature was highly intelligent and it seemed fairly benevolent, so far at least.

"I had an altercation with our other unknown subject," she stated suddenly, "he referred to them as 'Vex'. Does this name mean anything to you?"

Sturme shook his head, "No, should it?"

Lilith didn't answer, staring at the Vex as it lay dormant on the observation table. As she gripped some of Sturmes' notes, she felt something writhing around in her gut. Strange thoughts began drifting through her head. This creature possessed intellect far beyond anything they had ever seen before. Its weaponry was advanced to such a degree that it had terrified the armored stranger, the same stranger that had been able to match her in battle. Whatever this thing was, it was dangerous. They were making a huge mistake. They needed to destroy it.

"Ms. Lilith, are you alright?"

Lilith snapped back to the present. Her fingers were clenched tightly around the papers, threatening to tear them. Sturme was looking at her with concern written across his face.

Her eyes shot over to him. "Yes, of course. Forgive me for my lapse." She handed the documents back to him.

"Be sure to report back to me if you find anything else."

Sturme nodded before returning to his research. As Lilith left the compound, she glanced back for a second.

"Get it together Clawthorne, you've seen worse. You survived going to Hexside with Edalyn, you can handle an odd hunk of metal."

"You know," a voice called out, "most people view talking to yourself as pretty weird, even by the Isles standards."

Lilith spun to face where the voice had come from. There, standing not but a few meters away, was an annoyingly familiar nuisance.

"Golden Guard, how unfortunate that I should run into you out here. What do you want?"

"I don't want anything," he said smugly, "in fact, I'm here to give you something you want." Lilith raised an eyebrow. Like she would trust anything this brat said.

"And what would that be?" She asked slowly.

"Just that the 'mysterious stranger' you had a tussle with happens to be bunking with none other than your sister."

Her skepticism vanished instantly. "How do you know this? Why do you know this?"

"The Emperor ordered me to keep an eye on our mutual friend since you're too busy failing at bringing in your sister."

Her fists clenched as she shot the Golden Guard a murderous glare. How she wished she could put him in his place. But no, she couldn't touch him since he was the Emperor's nephew. Nepotism at its finest.

"I see, is there anything else you wish to tell me?" She said through gritted teeth.

"No, I think that about covers it. See you around. Bye!" The Golden Guard teleported away, dragging out his 'bye' as much as possible. Lilith watched as the red trail of magic streaked away from her.

"One of these days," she muttered, "he'll get what's coming for him."


"Any guess as to when wonder-bot and his little Lightbulb are gonna be back?" Eda asked her pupil, who was busy doodling away on a piece of paper. Luz looked up at Eda.

"I dunno, probably soon. Royal said it shouldn't be more than a few hours." She went back to her drawing. Eda craned her head around to take a peek. It was Luz, dressed in stereotypical witch's robes. She had an ornate staff in one hand, while her other was outstretched, casting an orb of light. Majestic wings of fire stretched from her back, spanning the width of the page. Eda rolled her eyes.

"Well, I need to talk with him once he does get back. He keeps acting like I'm going to rip his head off.

"He has been fighting against a bunch of nasty aliens for years. It makes sense that he would be uneasy around things that aren't human," she weakly tried to offer some justification. Eda shook her head, they both knew that was a poor argument.

"When he gets back here, I intend to make it very clear to him that Witches are not his enemy," Eda declared.

"Please tell me you're going to do it civilly," Luz begged. Eda chuckled and ruffled her head, assuring her that she wouldn't attack him.

"So… what else have you been working on?" She questioned.

Luz rubbed her arm awkwardly, "Trying to figure out how I can befriend Amity."

"The mint-haired girl from the duel?"

"Yeah her. Azura was able to befriend her rival, I just need to find my own way to do it."

"I wouldn't waste your breath," Eda snorted, "the Blight family are just a bunch of pompous nerds who are too obsessed with their image to bother associating with a bunch of free-spirits like us."

"Well, I think I can do it. I just need to find the right angle of attack." She paused for a second as an uncomfortable look came over her face, "That sounded more aggressive than I intended."

King took that moment to enter the living room. He had slept through Royals' explanation last night and had to be given a quick rundown by Lancer. Needless to say, he was very interested in recruiting the immortal warrior to his Army of Darkness. Royal had not been amused by the offer.

"I heard that Eda was fighting someone, direct me to the bloodshed."

"I'm not fighting anyone, King. Not unless I'm forced to," Eda replied. King booed at that. The two were interrupted when Luzs' phone began to buzz. She quickly grabbed it and inspected the screen.

"Lancer's sending me a message, he says they're pretty much done and will be back in a minute or two. Apparently, Royal went off on some exploration, and Lancer's just waiting for him to get back," she informed them.

Eda crossed her arms, "Sounds good, I'll be out there to welcome them back." With that, she left. The portal was right where she had left it, sitting in her backyard. She leaned against her staff, waiting for the Guardian to reemerge. As she waited, she felt a presence wash over her. It was almost like something was watching her. A quick glance didn't reveal anything. Eda shook her head, it was likely just paranoia. Besides, if there was a threat, Hooty would have already notified her.

She looked back at the portal as it began emitting a sound. Royal stepped through with a bag slung over his shoulder. Lancer was floating off to his right, interrogating his Guardian.

"So, where did you get the money to pay for this stuff?"

"I just used some of my silver. You should have seen the cashier's face, he looked like I had just given him a god role Palindrome."

Eda cleared her throat. "Looks like you've been busy, did you find anything interesting?"

Royal shook his head, "Just some movies for us to watch in our free time. Fortunately, people just assumed I was doing a cosplay, so they didn't ask too many questions." Oddly enough, Lancer shuddered as he said that.

"Alright then, how about we head inside and you can let us know what you figured out."

Royal nodded and stepped forward. However, before he could get very far, a bolt of red energy flew out of the forest. It slammed into Royals' head, tearing through his helmet with minimal resistance. Royal fell, dead before he hit the ground. A second bolt came flying towards Lancer, only to hit a barrier Eda had hastily conjured. The barrier shattered, causing Eda to stumble. She reached out and grabbed Lancer, ignoring his surprised shout, and quickly ducked back inside the Owl House. She slammed the door closed and placed her back against it as Luz ran over with King on her shoulders.

"Eda, what's happening?" She asked, clearly panicked.

"I don't know kid, but whatever it was, it got Royal. Nearly got Lancer, but I managed to save him." Said Ghost beeped in her hand. Realizing he was still in her grasp, she let him go.

"Thanks for the save, but we need to get to Royal."

Eda shook her head, "Not gonna happen, we'll just wait in here until Royal resurrects."

"Slight problem, I have to resurrect him," he explained, "and we can't really go back out there without getting… you know."

"Seriously, what's going on?" Luz asked again, looking to her mentor for guidance. Eda opened her mouth before realizing she didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Lancer spoke up for her.

"It's the Vex," Lancer explained, "likely a Hobgoblin, based on the power output of their weapon. Somehow, they found us, and now Royal is out of action until I can get to him, which leaves you three to take care of this bugger." There were a few moments of pause as Lancer looked around at the residents of the Owl House. Everyone was giving him a different look; Eda was ready and determined to defend her home, Luz seemed shaken but was trying to put on a brave face, and King looked the most nervous out of everyone.

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

"Sorry," Eda shrugged, "just not used to you being so… serious."

"Believe me, I don't like it either. So how about we put our heads together and draft up a plan?"

"Do you even have a head?"

"Not the time King."


The Hobgoblin inspected Royals' body, running a myriad of scans to confirm that he was dead. It could still detect the Guardians' Light. The Ghost would need to be eliminated to ensure that its mission was complete.

-]Status of primary target: Deceased[-

-]Status of secondary target: Active[-

-]Assessing situation[-

=Secondary target has received assistance from local lifeforms=

=Primary directive: Eliminate targets=

=Secondary directive: Remain undetected=

\Subnote: Local lifeforms have detected Vex presence=

-]Assessing[-

-]New targets acknowledged[-

-]Primary directive parameters expanded[-

The Hobgoblin rose to its full height and leveled its weapon on the door to the Owl House. After another quick series of calculations, the Vex determined that it was likely they would be waiting for it to enter so they could jump it.

-]Theoretical: Guardian is the most dangerous threat to the Vex presence[-

-]Practical: Targets will want to revive Guardian to combat this Vex form[-

-]Assessing potential course of action[-

-]New strategy formulated[-

The Hobgoblin retreated into the forest, ready to lay its trap.


"Alright," Eda asked, "Does everyone understand the plan?"

Luz and King nodded. Lancer spun his shell around in confirmation. Eda grinned, this plan was perfect. They would storm outside, behind a protective barrier made by herself. King would get Hooty to aid them. Together, Eda, Hooty. and Luz would distract the Vex; Eda with her magic, Luz with her glyphs, and Hooty with his horrific voice. Finally, Lancer would resurrect Royal and they would destroy the Vex together. And then she would gloat for at least the next two weeks. It was a foolproof plan.

"Then let's send this time-traveling robot back to whatever pit it crawled out of."

She swung the back door open and raised a barrier, pooling her impressive magical power into it. A shot came streaking out from the forest, slamming into her shield. Fortunately, she was ready this time and the barrier held. She winced, whatever weapon the Hobgoblin had was quite powerful. Eda gritted her teeth as Luz cast her light glyphs. Soon, the air was filled with miniature suns. Unbeknownst to the group, the Hobgoblin's sensors were going haywire as it struggled to comprehend the Wild Magic being used against it.

Setting aside the sparse information it had gathered for transmission, it rose from its hiding spot and stepped closer, finally managing to lock its sensors lock onto the Witch. However, it was too late. Eda drew a spell circle through the air, raising large stone walls from the ground to entrap the Hobgoblin. As it struggled to break free, Lancer flew over to Royals' body. A beam of Light shot out of his eye, enveloping the Guardian.

"How much longer do you need?" Eda asked as the Vex began to break free from its stone tomb.

"The question of my life," Lancer muttered to himself. Then, speaking louder, "shouldn't be too long." Right as he finished his sentence, the stone walls shattered with a purple blast of energy from the Hobgoblins' hand. A small chunk of rock caught Luz on her shoulder, knocking her to the ground, though thankfully not drawing blood. Eda began to draw another spell circle before quickly diving to the side as the Hobgoblin took a shot at her. As she rose back to her feet, the Vex teleported over to her, delivering a savage punch to her face. Eda recoiled, falling onto her back to the ground as blood ran down the side of her head. The Hobgoblin planted its foot on her throat and leveled its rifle directly at her face. Eda gasped for air as the Line Rifle glowed, preparing to fire.

Luz sat up groggily as the Vex decked Eda. She watched in horror as it prepared to kill her mentor. Without a moment's hesitation, she drew Fatebringer from the sling on her hip and aimed it at the Vex. She squeezed the trigger and the gun roared with a harsh, metallic sound. The Vex staggered from the shot, having been hit in the right shoulder, rendering its weapon arm inoperable. It turned around, staring at Luz with its singular optic, blazing with hatred. It began to march towards her. She fired off a few more panicked shots, but they went wide due to her hands shaking. The Vex swiped the weapon out of her hand and reached for her throat. She scrambled backward, trying to keep distance between herself and the murderous machine. Eda reached for her desperately, still weakened and gasping for air.

The Hobgoblin's hand was inches away from her and Luz closer her eyes in fear. Oddly enough, she began to taste metal in her mouth. A booming crack reached her ears as the Vex form screeched. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of lightning coursing through its body. Following the arc stream, Luz saw Royal propped up on his back with his left hand outstretched. His helmet was on the ground beside him, revealing his snow-white face contorted with rage.

"Lightning flowing through your veins," Luz whispered. She could feel the energy radiating from the Guardian, she could feel how it made her electrons sing.

The Hobgoblin let out one final shriek as it collapsed, lying motionless on the ground. Royal slowly got to his feet and stumbled over to the prone Vex form. It regarded him with a flickering optic. Royal raised his foot, bringing it down on the glowing white core in the center of its torso. The casing fractured and shattered, spilling Radiolaria fluid across the grass. His shoulders slumped for a second before he turned to look at Luz. He offered a hand, which she gladly accepted, and pulled her up to her feet.

"I'm gonna need a rundown on what just happened, but I think that can wait." Luz nodded in agreement before jogging over to Eda. Her mentor was sitting up now, massaging her sore throat.

"Nice shot kid," she croaked out as Luz helped her up.

"I don't know how I managed to hit that. I've never fired a gun before."

Lancer flew over, hovering next to her. "Sound like you're quite shocked by your own capabilities."

Luz giggled at that, holding up her hand for a high five. Lancer obliged by lightly bumping into her palm. Royal and Eda groaned in unison.

"Lancer, buddy, I just got revived. Please wait a few minutes before you start the 'jokes' or I'll sink another bullet into my head."

"Save one for me," Eda chimed in.

Royal shot an indecipherable look at Eda. Luz coughed into her hand, drawing his attention.

"You know," she started, "Eda did most of the heavy lifting there, protecting us while Lancer got you up. Not to mention this whole thing was her plan."

"I also saved the Lightbulb over there," Eda added while Lancer protested his nickname indignantly. Royal looked back at her, clenching and unclenching his fists. Finally, he afforded her a nod.

"Thanks."

He quickly recovered his helmet and went inside the Owl House. Eda watched him, slack-jawed as Lancer offers an apologetic shrug and follows him.

"Really? 'Thanks'? That's it? I stuck my neck out for him and that's all I get in return? This, this right here is why I don't like him."

Luz was about to console her mentor before remembering something.

"Hang on, wasn't King supposed to get Hooty to help us?"

The two looked at each other before quickly dashing around the side of the Owl House. There, they saw Hooty napping, extended across the ground, curled around the struggling form of King. He reached out to them desperately.

"Help me," he squeaked.

Luz crouched down, "Ni siquiera voy a preguntar."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just please get me out of here!"


While Eda and Luz were attempting to free King from the clutches of the sleeping house demon, Royal and Lancer were conversing inside.

"How did the Vex manage to track us down?" Royal asked, slamming his fist into the table.

"I don't know," Lancer replied evenly, "Maybe Lilith isn't as thorough as she thinks."

"Maybe…" Royals' voice trailed off as the door swung open. Luz walked through, carrying King in her arms. The two collapsed on the couch as Eda stepped through, closing the door behind her.

"How are you guys holding up?" Lancer asked. Eda shot him a murderous glare. Lancer recoiled in surprise, hiding behind Royal to escape the Witches' gaze.

"Apparently, pretty bad," Royal answered for her.

"I'm not dealing with you, either of you, right now. I'm gonna go crash in my nest. If you need me for something, I advise you to figure it out yourself." With that, she stomped upstairs. Royal shook his head slowly.

"The foolish seek to understand the alien," he said, reciting the first part of an old saying he had been told.

"Would it kill you to be at least a little bit polite to her?" Luz spoke up.

"Considering my track record, it is very possible."


Synegorus watched through the Hobgoblins' eye as it died. Fortunately, it had supplied the Mind with a myriad of useful information. The Guardian had found allies in this new reality, these allies had powers that the Vex was unfamiliar with, and they had bested its assassin. Ultimately, the loss of the Hobgoblin was insignificant, the construction unit had served its' purpose and delivered valuable information. Synegorus put its incalculable mental power to work, attempting to decipher the strange power. It had been receiving periodic reports from its other agents, the Harpy and Goblins. Eventually, it found what it was looking for.

-]Accessing report[-

\Local lifeforms possess potent reality-altering ability known as 'magic'

Synegorus did the closest thing it could to a scoff. Magic was a term primitive lifeforms used when they lacked understanding of the Universe around them.

-]Evidence suggests that 'magic' is limited and requires training to properly utilize[-

-]Assessing[-

-]'Magic' is not paracausal[-

-]Theoretical: Vex can simulate 'magic'[-

-]Practical: Vex effectiveness would increase by an estimated 13.70714%[-

-]Requires more data[-

Synegorus transmitted a new set of orders to the Harpy, instructing it to accelerate its pace. Unfortunately, the Goblins had not managed to make much progress with the construction of their conflux. Understandable, as they had limited materials and were forced to avoid detection. However, Synegorus would be unable to send them any more reinforcements until the conflux was active. Tearing open the rift had proven dangerous and the Mind did not know what would happen if it did so again.

Synegorus looked back through the Hobgoblins' final moments before it settled on one detail. The one summoning the orbs of Light was a Human, unlike the other creatures inhabiting this reality.

-]Human presence unexpected[-

-]Theoretical: Human child presents potential weakness to exploit in the Guardian[-

-]Practical: Humans are fun to kill[-


Night had fallen across the Boiling Isles and Luz was preparing to head to bed. As she pulled back her bedsheets, she heard a knock on her door. Letting her sheets fall, she walked over to the door of her room and pulled it open. Standing in the hallway was Royal, wearing his usual set of robes, though the armor plating had been removed. He waved awkwardly.

"Hey," Luz greeted with a smile, "what brings you up here to my little retreat?"

Royal fiddled with his hands as he looked down. "I wanted to apologize for putting you in danger. It's my fault the Vex came after you."

"No it wasn't," she consoled, "besides, we're all here to help each other out."

"Royal nodded, "Thank you."

"Of course," Luz said as she elbowed his arm, "besides, us weirdo's have to stick together." Royal smiled a little at that.

"Anything else I can help you with?"

"Actually, we had a few questions we wanted to ask you," Lancer said as he materialized next to the two.

"Questions about what?"

"Old Earth," Royal elaborated, "I know we were just there, but records from before the collapse are incomplete at best. It would be nice to learn about it from a first-hand source."

Luz gestured for the two to follow her into her room. She sat on her bed as Lancer constructed a small chair made of Light for Royal to use.

"How about this, you ask me a question, then I get to ask you one about what it's like to live in the Last City?"

"Sounds fair to me."

"Alright then, what do you want to know about first?"


And that's that. I'm kinda iffy on some of the chunks in this chapter, but I don't know what I could do to make it better. Also, real quick, we've officially gotten over a thousand views. I'm genuinely flabbergasted. Bamboozled even. Flummoxed if you will. I'll stop now.

But for real, a massive thank you to everyone who's left a review, followed the story, and read a chapter or two.

OMAC001: Hey mate, I'm really glad to hear you liked the characters' meeting. Honestly made me smile. Wasn't expecting this story to get nearly as much attention as it currently is and it feels really good.

Hexylen: Oh I am awaiting the day I can unleash proper Vex combat units on the Boiling Isles, it's gonna suck. For them, I'm sure it'll be fun for us.

tomahwakESP: Well I'm sorry to disappoint you with the Eda/Lilith/Royal scuffle. However, Royal suiciding himself is an amazing idea that I am very angry I didn't think of and one I will definitely be repurposing later.