Betchya thought you'd seen the last of me ;)

It has been two-ish years. Does anyone still want to read this? Lmao.

Hope you enjoy

I have a playlist if anyone is interested! It's on my profile.

I've reviewed all the previous chapters, and they have had a touch up. Specifically the first few, including a few new scenes! So it may be best to refamiliarize yourself ;)

(When I'm uploading this, all of the previous chapters should be updated, but on my laptop, the first two haven't, yet have on my phone, so...)

[Words: 5844]

Chapter 10:

Necropolis

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I stir to movement. Nose scrunching, I burrowed into the warmth.

There was soft laughter and the rapid rise and fall of the pillow.

"Not that I don't enjoy this, Beth," a voice said softly, full of mirth. "But I need to get up."

I drift on the very edges of consciousness, unable to process anything. Not even the dull throb of pain my body was in. Certainly not who was speaking.

Whining softly because my brain somehow understood the impending loss of warmth, I clung harder to my pillow.

A sigh and fingers thread through my hair. A thumb stroked where temple meets hair. There was another chuckle. "Can't let Hawk see this, he might think I'm corrupting you. But such a snuggle bug, who knew? Well, I suppose I did. You were like this as a kid."

Slowly, I roused.

"Oh, no, no. Go back to sleep," the voice whispers in a panic.

Too late, I cracked an eye open. Instinctively, it was my left eye. I made a confused sound, groggy and tired. I reached up, rubbing my eyes before raising my head, meeting emerald eyes. It took a moment for my sleepy brain to register.

There was a defeated smile on Meliodas's face. "Good morning, Beth."

"Morning?" I blinked. I sat up and rubbed my eyes again so I could hide my blush. Damnit, I had been using Meliodas as a pillow.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, pushing himself up onto his forearms.

"Tired," I grumbled.

The morning sun crept between the parting in the curtains and lit the room up, thankfully not too brightly as to burn my eyes.

A yawn escaped as I patted my cheek, feeling the bandage. I could probably take it off and leave it to the open air. At the thought, I peel it back. As I do, Meliodas rolls out of bed and cracks his spine with a groan.

Hawk the alarm clock promptly began shouting. My body had already adjusted to wake up before the pig could yell the roof down with his so-called wake-up call. I sighed, hearing the pig climb the stairs.

"I should really gag that swine sometime," Meliodas muttered, staring at the door in plain annoyance.

I laughed. "He'd probably just eat through the fabric."

"He would." Meliodas nodded, hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe a muzzle?"

I sniggered, pushing myself to my feet and reaching for my eyepatch. I had clothes I needed to repair, and all my items were still in my room, old room? Ban had taken it over after all.

There was a door slammed open above us, followed by a thud and a groan.

"I think Ban's awake," I chimed merrily.

Mel sniggered and grabbed his clothes, slipping into the ensuite.

I used that chance to climb the stairs.

"Wake up, you lazy slob!" Hawk exclaimed.

I cocked a brow, amused and stepped into the doorway to see Ban laying on the floor, an arm thrown over his face. "Good morning, Hawk, Ban."

"Beth!" Hawk oinked. "Meliodas wasn't a prev last night, was he?"

"No, no." I waved my hands.

If anything, it was me, I thought in embarrassment.

I looked up from Hawk and to Ban as he sat up, leaning against the bed. He grinned. "Heya Princess, good to see you."

"You too, Ban. How have you been?" I asked, treading to the drawers where I had been stashing my clothes and began making a pile.

"I've been great, finally able to stretch my limbs now I'm no longer cuffed to a wall," Ban remarked, standing with a large stretch. His body gave several loud cracks. I smile.

"Ah, sorry about taking over your room." Ban sat on the bed, leaning back on his hands. "Captain didn't tell me it was yours."

I chortled. "It's alright."

"No it's not!" Hawk squawked. "Now he has free gain to grope you when you're most vulnerable!"

Ban laughed.

"It's not that bad Hawk, honest," I chided the pig. "Besides, what's the harm in a little fun?"

I winked, skipping out of the room and back down to the master room, hearing Hawk's aghast wail of shock. "He's corrupted her!"

If possible, Ban just laughed louder.

Meliodas stood in the doorway to the master room, arms crossed, a cheeky grin on his face. Oh, he had heard the entire thing, stars that's embarrassing. "I still plan to get back at you for siccing Diane on me, you know."

I gulped nervously, hurrying past him to set my bundle of fabric and sewing supplies beside my tattered Boar Hat uniform. "C-come now, Meliodas, no need for that!"

Too late.

I squeaked as hands groped my chest, a chin resting on my shoulder as Meliodas sniggered quietly into my ear.

"MELIODAS!" Hawk screeched, barrelling into the room.

The man just laughed, darting away from the pig only for Diane to appear at the window, vengeance in her eyes. Meliodas gulped.

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Two days later…

It was easy enough to fix the thankfully small tears in the tavern uniform and pull together a more everyday outfit. For the first time in seventeen years, I was wearing shorts. Well, a skort. The front sat like a skirt which I embroidered some golden wings into.

As the skort was the statement piece, I used purple, and with some of the white fabric, I cut a crop top with a diamond shape to reveal some of my breasts. The high-waisted skort sat above my belly button and revealed only a relatively small sliver of skin compared to the alternative.

Using the money Meliodas paid me for my work in the tavern, I had brought a pair of above-the-knee black boots that flared out and were open-toed, from a shop in a village we passed through.

Never in a million years had I thought I would wear something like this again, but even then, as Bethany, I never quite had the courage to pair such an outfit.

I would be having the lecture of a lifetime if I wore this back home in Liones and it makes me giggle at the thought.

I took one last glance in the mirror, nervously fiddling with the belt on my skort. Was it too much? I was far from uncomfortable. If anything, it felt good to be free from long dresses and little to no skin showing. As much as I adored my princess wear, I longed for the freedom of movement too.

"Beth?" Hawk questioned from outside the door. "Breakfast's ready."

My stomach rumbled at the thought, and I moved over to the door. I smiled down at Hawk as I opened it. "Thank you for letting me know, hon."

"Ooh!" Hawk awed. "Is this your new outfit?"

I smiled again and gave a twirl. "What do you think? I wanted to try something different, be a bit adventurous."

"You're so pretty Beth!" Hawk spun in an excited circle. "You're really talented but!" he stopped, glaring up at me. "You're wearing a skirt—what about those leggings! That sleezebag might take advantage of this!"

I laughed and pulled back the loose fabric. "It's actually shorts, no need to worry!"

Hawk paused his rant short with a gasp, eyes glistening. "You're so smart! Now he'll have a harder time groping you!"

I sighed, petting his snout. "Come now, Hawk, let's go have breakfast, mh?"

He cheered happily, prancing from the room. I followed at a slower pace, unable to help the smile at Hawk's protective nature. It was sweet. From both him and Diane but really, neither had to worry so much. As funny as baiting Diane into punting Meliodas the other day had been, I wanted to let them know to go easy on the overprotectiveness.

As much as I hated to admit it, it was…kind of nice to have such attention. Besides my family and Howzer, I saw little in the way of physical affection and even with Meliodas's…touch being, ah, not the norm, I—

Maybe I should put that to rest for now. At least until I better understood my own emotions towards Meliodas.

I paused, worrying my bottom lip. Growing up, I had never felt anything for the man besides the desire for his presence. His warmth. There had never been anything inappropriate about it, even with my consciousness being older. Maybe it was because my body and brain were technically younger. Blah, it was complicated, and I didn't know where to start, but I was confident I wasn't in love with him.

Right?

I had never loved anyone before, not romantically. I've had crushes, only as Bethany, but it was nothing beyond that infatuation.

Swallowing down a groan, I finished descending the stairs to see Meliodas and Ban sitting at a table with food set out. Hawk was already scoffing down his portion, and I smiled as the pig glanced at me briefly before returning to stuffing his face.

"Good morning, Ban," I greeted warmly.

"Princess." Ban supported his chin on his curled fist. He waved his fork with a lazy grin. "Nice outfit."

Meliodas, sat with his back facing me, turned as he lowered his mug. He blinked, eyes doing a twice-over. I sighed as he smirked. "I like it."

My cheeks warmed and I sat. "I wanted something that wasn't as restricting as long flowing fabric."

"Yeah, and it's actually shorts!" Hawk informed through a mouthful. Maybe I should speak to him about manners, yuck. "So no panty grabbing!"

I sighed.

"Aw, that takes the fun out of it, Hawk," Meliodas complained lightly, a pout on his lips. He gazed at me. "Beth, why would you do this to me?"

I gave him a flat look. "If you're going to grope me, I'm going to make you work for it."

Meliodas blinks, then grins wickedly.

"BETH!" Hawk wailed, almost throwing himself at me, crying fat tears. "Why?!"

Ban roared laughter, spilling some of his drink onto the table.

"Hawk, hon, it's okay, I was just teasing."

"You're being cruel to now? He really has corrupted you!" he continued to wail.

From the corner of my eye as I calm Hawk down, I see Meliodas lean on the table, a thoughtful expression on his face. I turn to him, brows raised.

"What?"

He chuckled. "Nothing, nothing."

"Beth~!" Hawk pawed at my leg.

"As funny as this is," Ban began, foot reaching out to kick Hawk. The pig yelped and scampered off to nurse his pain with sniffles. "Didn't you say Fatty was six feet under these days?"

I tilted my head. "Are you talking about King?"

I had heard Ban call King fatty far too many times to keep count before they had been framed and chased from Liones.

Meliodas nodded in my direction before gazing back at Ban. "This Necropolis is the only lead we've got so I think we might as well check it out," he explained before shoving a forkful into his mouth.

"I wonder what kind of place it is," I mused aloud, memories vague except for green. It was annoying, but I was going to have to accept my memories were fading. Maybe I just hadn't realised it sooner with how busy life was. It had been seventeen years after all. No memory is perfect.

"I have no idea," Meliodas shrugged. "Honestly, the only thing I know about it is that it exists."

Hawk reappeared, hooves and snout resting on the edge of the table. He trembled. "Look, guys, if you ask me, it's probably haunted with a spooky name like that. Bet it's gloomy and dark all the time with rows and rows of creepy graves everywhere!"

I shuddered at the thought.

Diane leant close to the window. "There won't be any bugs, right?"

"Once we get there and start looking, what'll happen if we do find King?" Hawk whimpered, shuffling close to me and I petted his head. "Do you really think he's still gonna be alive?"

"Hawk," I chastised. "I think you might be overreacting a tiny bit."

"Overreacting my backside!" he squawked.

"Some ghosts, huh?" Meliodas mused.

Hawk wailed.

"Please don't antagonise him," I begged as Hawk threw himself under the table.

Meliodas merely smiled sweetly, and Ban sniggered into his mug. I sighed.

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Mama Hawk came to a stop and announced her arrival before burrowing beneath the earth. Sat on the porch, I looked up from my sketchbook to gaze out at the decrepit hamlet. It looked to have been abandoned for at least a decade, maybe more. Roofs were falling apart, and everything was overgrown.

"So this is the Necropolis? It's not what I expected," Diane remarked.

"How'd a run-down little village end up with a name like this, anyway?" Hawk questioned.

Meliodas stepped up beside where I was sitting. I glanced up at him as he crossed his arms. "Rumor has it this should be the place that's closest to it."

"It looks abandoned." I closed my sketch up and set it down to stand. "I'm not sure we'll be getting answers from anyone."

"Guess we're on our own," he chimed. "I suppose we should split up and see if we can find anything. Ban, you can—"

We all turned to see the man gone.

"—huh, well, I guess he'll let us know if he finds something," Meliodas finished with a smile.

"…Right," I agreed.

"Hey Beth," Diane crouched, crossing her arms over her bent knees, and I turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

"What do you remember about King?" she questioned with a smile. "It's been so long, and you were really young still when everything happened."

"What do I remember? Hm." I tapped my chin as I stewed over my memories. "Quite a bit, I suppose, but it has been ten years. He and Ban used to clash a fair amount, yes?"

Diane laughed. "They did!"

"King was kinda like the Seven Deadly Sins' mascot," Meldioas said thoughtfully. "Our pet, I guess?"

I failed to suppress my laughter.

"Hey, you know perfectly well there's no pets allowed in here! Having an animal in a dining establishment is disgusting," Hawk butted in, unimpressed. All three of us turn to look at the pig blankly.

"Ever heard the word irony?" Meliodas deadpanned. He turned back to me. "Oh, about King, there was a time when Ban was totally into stealing plushies, and King was inconsolable."

"Oh, I know," I said darkly at the thought of my poor moo cow.

Diane giggled. "I remember how he waited until Ban passed out from drinking to much before returning them all."

"I understand how he stole the other plushies but mine too?" I muttered. "I kept it in my bedroom."

"That's not entirely true," Meliodas argued, and I blinked at him. "You brought that cow plush out quite a few times, but I wouldn't question Ban's ability to steal anything. He's nabbed some downright impossible things before."

"You know, this just means Ban's an even bigger jerk than I already thought he was," Hawk grumbled.

There was a distant commotion and we turned back towards the village to see Ban and someone else. Someone flying.

"We best go check that out," Meliodas said, and we began making our way closer.

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"—Now for the last time, who the hell are you?" Ban demands only to promptly get whacked on the head by Meliodas.

"Bad Ban!"

The other person, King, I realised with a blink, stared down at us in shock before his features smoothed out.

Ban blinked down at Meliodas. "Hey Captain, could you butt out? I'm kind of busy here."

"What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me?" Ban asks incredulously and pointed up at King with annoyance. "Some little punk I've never seen before came out of nowhere and started a fight. I mean, just look at what he did to my sweet threads!"

Sweet threads my backside, I sniffled.

Meliodas turns to look at the figure in the air as Diane approached.

"All right, someone better tell me what all this commotion's about, huh?" She turned to King. It took her only a moment to recognise him, eyes practically sparking. "King!"

Ban whirled back to Meliodas. "Tell me how that tiny creep is supposed to be King!"

"Well, maybe he lost a little weight?" Meliodas mused.

"A little weight? That ain't even the main issue here!" Ban snapped back.

Diane leant closer to the fairy. "King, we came to look for you, and now you're here!" she said cheerfully. "This is incredible. I'm so happy to see you again!"

"Diane," he greeted cooly before turning and flying away.

"What made him so angry at you Ban," I questioned.

Instead of answering, Ban blinked down at me before looking back in the direction King vanished in. A tightness pinched the man's brows. "That doesn't matter. I found some kids that look like they could do with some food. Might as well see if they have answers while we're at it."

"Good job," Meliodas praised, offering a thumbs up. "You're the only one who found something."

"That implies we were looking, Captain," Diane deadpanned.

I muffled a laugh behind my hand. Right, we did say we were going to all look but after Diane's question distracted us…

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We returned to the Boat Hat. Ban's own return was delayed as two young children accompanied him, the brother perhaps around twelve and a sister about nine or ten. They stepped hesitantly inside, and we greeted them with warm smiles.

As they sat, I offered some warm tea to line their stomachs as Ban swept into the kitchen to begin preparing a meal for the children.

Within half an hour, Ban had cooked up a hearty brunch and set it on the table to the children's astonishment.

Hawk immediately began salivating at the smell, and Meliodas took him by the ear, yanking the pig back whenever he tried reaching for the table.

"Alright then, dig in. Eat as much as you'd like," Ban encouraged.

"This is great, but we—" the young boy began, but Ban cut him off.

"If you don't eat it, I'm just gonna give it all to the pig," Ban threatened.

It prompted the two children to begin digging in while Hawk whined pitifully.

Meliodas thumped him on the head with the hand not holding Hawk's ear. "Get a hold of yourself, porky."

"But it smells so good!" Hawk whimpered pathetically.

I sighed. "Hawk."

Hawk slumped to the ground. "Elizabeth," he whined, accepting defeat.

Meliodas released his ear in surprise. "Why don't you listen to me like that?"

"Because you're mean to him," I deadpanned, and he just shrugged in a fair enough gesture.

I knelt and began petting Hawk's snout as he snuffled, leaning into my affection. I tsked softly but affectionately. Honestly.

"It's wonderful!" the young girl beamed.

After the children had a moment to get some food into their stomachs, Ban sat down. "It's time for give and take. Alright? Now, tell me everything you know about this Necropolis place."

Meliodas, having sat down and watched me comfort Hawk rather unamusedly, blinked at Ban. "What are you doing? Finding King was our mission. So, there's no reason to go there anymore, right?"

"No way in hell that little punk is King!" Ban denied.

"Trust me, that's really him!" Meliodas confirmed.

"I think he's a fake."

I smiled at the two bickered.

"Nope, it's really him."

"He's a fake!"

"So, you guys are trying to get into the Necropolis too?" the boy asked, breaking up the argument. When he had their attention, he continued. "That boy's asked us questions about it a lot and he told me that he had to find it, no matter what."

"King said that, huh?" Meliodas mused.

"He told us he's been looking for a long time too," the boy nodded.

Hawk finally pulled his face from my side. "So it's actually here in this run-down place?"

Shaking his head, the boy said: "No, but it's not far away."

"Then, where is it exactly?" Diane asked from the window behind me.

"The entrance to the Necropolis can be found here in this hamlet. But it's not a place that you can reach just because you want to."

"Look kid, riddles have never really been my thing," Ban complained.

"Oh, I get it. So what you're saying is it's something like this?" He held a plate of food away from Hawk and kept it away when the pig tried desperately to get it.

I chuckled. "I don't think that is it."

"So it's like a grave that's normally hidden, right?" Meliodas tried next.

The boy shook his head. "It's not a grave at all. It's a land on to itself, a place where you'll find the spirits of those who've died."

"Are we talking about the afterlife?" I asked as Hawk still tried to get the plate from Meliodas. "But how would we reach such a place?"

I reached over and nabbed the plate from Meliodas's hand, setting it down for Hawk, who cried happily and dug in. "Thank you, Beth! You're the best!"

I just hummed, humouring him and ignored the amused glance Meliodas sent my way for being weak to Hawk's patheticness.

"Tell me," Ban dragged their attention back to him. "Have you guys ever had a chance to go there yourselves?"

The boy baulked. "Oh no, of course not! All that stuff is just superstitious nonsense!"

"If you share with the dead your precious memories, they will lead you where you want to go," the sister spoke up. "The man next door used to say that to us all the time. I'm sorry, but that's all I know."

Ban smiled, ruffling her hair. "That tip just paid for your meal and then some. Seriously, well done. Thanks a lot. Now eat. There's still food on your plates."

I giggled softly, scoping up the empty plate at my feet as Hawk rolled over into a food coma. Serves him right for scoffing it down so quickly. I take it to the back, setting it down with the rest of the dirty plates to be washed later.

"What kind of reason could it be that King wishes to get into the Necropolis now?" I asked, the notion bugging me. Not even names of important people besides those I had already met would come to me. Nor their reasons when I know for certain I once did. I withheld a sigh.

Meliodas thumbed his chin. "That's a really good question. I guess we'll learn the answer when we get there."

Diane sat up outside and I peered out at her. She pouted.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm just wondering why King ran away from me like that," she said.

Well, he had always had a crush on you, I don't say. It was as obvious as the grass is green, and the sky is blue. Yet Diane had always been oblivious to it.

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"Even if this Necropolis place actually exists, there's no way to get to the other side," Hawk remarked.

After almost half an hour of searching, nothing had turned up. I was inclined to agree with Hawk had I not known otherwise.

"Well, I guess all we have to do is die, right?" Meliodas said.

Hawk glared up at him. "You big idiot."

"Ellen said to share memories that are precious with the dead," I reminded, then thought about it. "I suppose she meant sharing the memories of deceased loved ones."

"Hm, you're probably right," Meliodas said as we came to a stop. There was a thoughtful twist to his expression. "What about your mother, the late queen?"

"She died when I was…four." It took me a moment to realise just how young I was, just how long ago it happened. A sharp stab to the heart followed. "My memories are hazy at best." It wasn't a lie. I could only recall her face because of the paintings in the castle. I hadn't spent nearly as much time with her as I should have knowing her death drew ever closer. I'd also acknowledged that the baby brain just hadn't logged the memories as well as I was used to. Undeveloped brain aside, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

I blinked back to sting in my eyes.

Ban stopped up ahead, and we carried on to catch up. Before our eyes, pink roses blossomed from the soil. Thousands upon thousands of them sprouting.

"Wow," I leant down, fingering along a stem. No thorns too. I smiled.

"What the hell is this?" Ban questioned, finally noticing the roses.

"They sure are pretty," Diane beamed happily.

"Who cares about a bunch of stupid flowers?" Hawk grumbled. "You can eat these things all day long, but they'll never fill you up!"

Meliodas reached out, flicking the pig's ear. Hawk yipped and pranced away, sending the petals scattering. Not just a few but all of them, and with a strong swirl of wind, the petals began encircling us. Magic filled the air. It was strange, floral and something with hint of metal, rock? I pictured a geode being pried apart.

Through the gentle pink fog that whirled around us, we heard the older brother call out to be careful.

I stood as I was battered by the growing strength of the wind, and it was only Meliodas hooking an arm around my waist that I didn't tumble to my knees again. With one final strong gust, the petals vanished, revealing large, minty green shimmering crystals of all shapes and sizes and a sky that was a colourful array of green hues that reminded me of an aurora borealis.

"Captain, is this really…?" Diane trailed off, words failing her. I think all of us were shocked wordless in the face of the Necropolis's beauty.

Suddenly, Ban was running.

"Ban!" Diane called but he didn't stop.

Then King flew right past us and after Ban in a hurry.

"King?" Meliodas called in surprise.

"I'm guessing he followed us?" I asked, head tilted.

"What the hell is going on?" Hawk grumbled, kicking the ground.

Diane knelt, glancing at Meliodas. "Captain, what do you want to do? Follow them?"

"I guess we'll run after 'em for now?" He rubbed the back of his head, looking confuddled at the sudden events.

"King has a problem with Ban, right? Whatever it is, it seems rather serious," I asked. "Should we let them fight it out?"

Meliodas hummed and set his hands on his hips. "You know what, you have a point. Law Five of the Seven Deadly Sins, when two Sins are in disagreement they can resolve it with a fight."

Diane gasped. "You're right! It's been so long I'd almost forgotten." She grinned widely. "I wanna see it!"

"You guys have rules?" I asked, thoroughly amused.

Meliodas grins. "Yep. Now let's—"

"Ah, Hello Meliodas the Dragon Sin. How do you do, Diane the Serpent Sin?"

We whirled around at the unfamiliar voice.

Wait. Not unfamiliar.

Guila stood there, a smile gracing her lips. She rested a hand above her heart and bowed. "Your Highness, Princess Elizabeth. My name is Guila, a Holy Knight."

Hawk baulked. "Wait, how did you get here?"

"Simple. By dying," Guila explained, another smile curling her lips.

"Did she say she got here by…dying?" Hawk squeaked unsurely.

"She sure did," Meliodas blinked.

I stared at Guila, nonplussed but something thick and oily sat on my tongue, her magic warm like a hot coal felt tainted with gasoline. Was it the demon blood?

"Then that probably means this lady is bad news, isn't she?" Hawk shimmed back, hiding by my legs.

"Afraid so. Really bad news." Meliodas widened his stance as Guila drew her rapier.

With an explosion of heat magic, Hawk went flying back. I stumbled on my feet, and my heart began to race.

"Beth, you and Hawk get out of here and as far away as possible," Meliodas ordered.

"Alright," I agreed and hurried along to Hawk as he climbed to his feet.

Hawk offered a ride, and I straddled his back and almost went flying with a squeak as Hawk took off running.

I yell over my shoulder. "Try not to get too hurt, you hear me!"

"No promises," Diane called back apologetically.

I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face.

Behind Hawk and me, the fight began.

Hawk merely ran, leaping over crystals and crevices that made me nervous at how large they were. Still, Hawk made the jumps easily, and I trusted his judgement on his abilities.

"That Holy Knight Guila is really dangerous!" Hawk voices eventually, slowly to a trot. "It's what my wild instincts are telling me!"

"Maybe, but I trust Mel and Diane's strength to deal with her," I answered.

"You're right!" Hawk agreed. He came to a stop. "Do you think we're far enough away?"

I felt it before I saw it. "No! Run!"

Hawk took off again, and behind us, someone crashed into the large crystal we had just been standing by. A glance over my shoulder as the smoke cleared revealed Meliodas. He glanced and nods at me before his attention is refocused as Diane comes falling his way.

I let out a breath, confident in their abilities.

As explosions rock the ground beneath us, Hawk eventually goes flying, and thus, I, too, go flying right off his back. We crash into the ground.

"Ow," I groaned. My bruises were finally fading, I didn't want anymore, damnit.

"I'm sorry Beth. I'm pooped," Hawk sniffled.

"It's okay," I assured and sat up. I noticed King and the glowing lights. "Oh, hello King."

"Who…" he stared. He whirled back around to the lights which had faded while his back was turned. "Elaine?"

King sighed and turned back to me. "Are you alright?"

I smiled, pushing to my feet. "Besides probably bruised? I'm fine, thank you."

There was another distant explosion.

Hawk groaned. "Do you think they're beating the Holy Knight?"

"If there are still explosions? Probably not, Hawk," I remarked, humour lining my voice.

"Who are you and how do you know Meliodas and Diane?" King asked.

I turn back to him. "It's Beth, you know," I made a vague height reference.

King stared, his eyes widening. "Beth?! You got so big?"

I titled my head. "I…that's what humans do?" Again, humour filled my voice.

King cleared his throat, red gathering in his cheeks. "Right, I—I knew that."

"Of course," I nodded sagely.

There was another explosion and we all turned in its direction. King sighed, hand grasping his spear. I watched as he stared at it, contemplating. Determination filled his face and with a swish, King was in the air.

"I'm going to assist them. Be safe," he said.

"You too," I smiled.

Hawk sat up beside me, finally having caught his breath. "How strong do you think this guy is?"

"Well, he's part of the Seven Deadly Sins, so I have the utmost faith in his abilities," I answered.

Sitting down, I cross my legs, eyes set on the distance. It was merely a waiting game.

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When silence falls and no more explosions rumble the earth, I push to my feet, and Hawk once again offers to play horse as we return to the others. It doesn't take long, and soon, all four are in my sights. I sighed in relief.

"No one was hurt too badly?" I asked as Hawk came skidding to a stop. I petted his head in thanks and climb off, stumbling on my feet.

"We're all good, nothing but a few scratches," Meliodas assured with a smile.

"Good, otherwise I would be the one beating your backsides into next week," I sniffled.

Ban and Meliodas laughed as Diane crooned, "Ah, no better way to show your love than to threaten violence. You go, Beth!"

I grinned up at her.

Debris slides and Guila pushes herself to her feet. She's bruised and battered, and I can't help the wince.

"At a range as close as this, even the power of the spirit speak can't save you from me!" she snarled, launching herself at King, her rapier bubbling with fire.

And yet, Meliodas moved. He was there one moment and gone the next, deflecting Guila's attack.

"Back at you."

He performed Full Counter, throwing her attack right back in her face. With a blinding light that turns into an explosion, she vanishes from the Necropolis.

"I don't sense Guila anymore," Diane remarked once the explosion died down.

I nodded in agreement. That tainted hot coals were gone.

Hawk began to glow at the ears. He squealed in panic, "My ears!"

I looked down at myself to see I was glowing as well. "You're not the only one."

Meliodas appeared from nowhere, hands groping my breasts. "Is it better after I do this?"

I thump him on the head. His hands vanish.

"Captain!" Diane growled, a warning in her voice.

The blonde just grins cheekily.

A familiar voice spoke, echoed. "The Necropolis senses that you don't belong here." We turned to see the boy and his sister. "So now it's beginning to push everyone out."

"That was great!" Ellen cheered. "You saw who you'd hope to."

Ban peered down at them, brows furrowed. "What are the two of you doing here?"

King floated closer. "Hold it, do you mean you were from here the whole time?"

"The cooking you did for us was really yummy! Thank you so much!" Ellen said instead of answer which was an answer in and of itself.

Ban smiled. "Sure." His eyes trailed off to the side and I knew who he was looking at. "Later, Elaine."

I averted my gaze, turning to Meliodas. His outfit wasn't too tattered. His sleeve needed a bit of a repair, but it wasn't anything I wasn't capable off. I tsked, tugging at the ripped fabric. "Honestly."

He chuckled.

The light grew too blinding , and suddenly, I could feel the wind on my cheeks, and the smell of the outdoors tingled my nose. I opened my eyes to see we were out of the Necropolis.

"We're back," Meliodas smiled.

"That place totally weirded me out!" Diane sighed in relief.

I spotted Guila and I'm ashamed to admit it was a bit of a jumpscare, seeing her hand shoved into her own chest and standing on her feet lifelessly…

"I would have thought she would be awake by now," I said.

Meliodas stepped closer with a curious hum. "She reached the Necropolis by putting herself into a state of near death."

"Does that mean she'll wake up soon?" Hawk panicked.

"I saw we kill her while the killing's good," Ban encouraged.

"You barbarian," King scoffed. "I'll petrify her."

"Take it easy," Meliodas waved a hand, grinning. "I have an idea. Beth, can I borrow some ink?"

I laughed, knowing exactly what he had planned.