Warwick followed close behind Lily as she walked across the bridge, a small bounce in her step. "Stop that." He hissed, frowning when she didn't seem to hear him over her annoying humming. He glanced around, seeing people smiling and walking around as they did their daily errands.

"Everyone has the same dull, vacant stare…" Gerome whispered as he bumped against Anessa. "It's rather disturbing."

"Pay them no mind. We're here to get the Orb of Heroes. Let us press on inside the caste and continue the search." Anessa pushed Gerome off of her, growling at the old man.

Lily led the way inside the large broken throne room, her smile spreading as she looked up at the man in one of the thrones. "My Liege."

"Welcome home! I had begun to fear that they company had come to grief in an attempt to slay Hargon, about whom we were so mistaken." A Kingly man stood, sweeping his arms out to the group. "But thou art returned unharmed! Verily, 'tis further proof, if such were needed, of Hargon's boundless mercy! Yea, as a brother did he greet me! And full gladly do I serve him!"

Lily left the others at the base of the stairs, a cool hatred in her eyes as she flicked her hand. "We grow tired of your games, show us where you are." She paused at the top when the kingly man and the two girls that had been standing on either side of the throne disappeared. She turned, a hand on her hip as she looked down, seeing a priest of Hargon slowly appear behind her people.

"Just as these puppets ceased to exist, soon too shall you. It is your destiny, as it is ours… all things – be they illusions or be they lies – must come to an end. None can say when this annihilation will come." The priest tipped his masked face up towards Lily, the orb in the middle glowing faintly. "The day of destruction approaches, and none can escape it! Not even you!"

Lily began her decent down, magic dripping from her like water as her people slowly moved to the side. Until she was standing next to Warwick. "Except for you, the good priests most faithful disciple."

Warwick flinched and looked over, watching as Lily took her time putting her hair into pigtails and pinning her bangs back on the top of her head. "What?"

"As she said, you have proven yourself one of us. Come, take your rightful place at my side!" The priest laughed, slamming his morning stars on the ground.

Lily reached up, cupping Warwick's face with gentle fingers before he could get too far from her. "How does it feel? To be good at something for once in your life? To have lived a lie?" She whispered as she pulled him down to her, her lips a breath away from his.

Anessa stared at Warwick as tears started to form in her eyes. "W-Warwick?! You-! How could this be?!"

Warwick laughed as he spoke to Anessa without looking away from Lily. "To fracture friendships, weaken the military, and ensure the construction of the Kazapple cannon – that might eventually fall into the monsters' hands… that was my mission. And though I encountered many difficulties along the way," his eyes narrowed on Lily, a growl leaving him. "you being one of them, I have finally achieved my every aim."

"It was you! This whole time, you were the spy among our ranks! But why, Warwick?!" Gerome cried out, unable to bring himself to move towards his friend.

Lily kept Warwick where he was, locking him against her as she finally kissed him, her arms wrapping around his neck. She shifted her foot, locking it around his knee until he fell before her. "You've always wanted this, haven't you?"

"I have."

Lily cupped his face again, hunger and anger swirling in her eyes. "You asked me a question, months ago, Warwick." She watched him tip his head, unsure of what she was talking about. "You asked me what was so good about him." Recognition lit in his eyes and she knew just like every good angler knew, when she had a fish caught in her trap. "What's so good… about worshipping the very being that you despise?"

"…What?" Warwick shot up, stumbling away from Lily, breathing heavily. "What do you mean?"

Lily put a hand to her mouth as she let out a childish giggle. "What does a puny, half-wit monster have on a God?! What is it, Warwick? Why are you backing away from me?" She lashed out, magic flaring as her hunger for cat and mouse grew. "Don't you want your monsterhood?!"

Warwick fell to his ass when a ball of fire erupted where the priest had been standing, he hadn't seen Lily throw her blade at the priest. "Father!" He let out a scream as his bones cracked, realigning themselves to fit his new form. He clawed at his own skin, crying out as he slowly changed. He finally pushed himself up a moment later, large red eyes narrowing on Lily as a snow white batmandrill rose from where Warwick the human had just been. "I can't wait to bathe in your blood, builder! Eek, eek, eek!"

Lily took a step to the side when Warwick lunged at her, her hand striking out and catching his tail when he flew right by her. "I won't leave enough of you behind for you to bathe in my blood, filth!" Lily slammed her foot into the ground, twisting her body so she used the momentum of Warwick's speed against him, sending him flying into the castle wall beyond.

She slowly walked towards him, cracking her knuckles as he pushed himself up from the rubble. As soon as they had engaged, the others had started their attack the other monsters, leaving Warwick all to Lily. "I only wish that Malroth was here to enjoy your death as much as I will."

Warwick started to lunge at her when he froze. He could see her magic, bright and golden as it flared above her, forming the shape of a beast. "Wh… no!"

Anessa went to run for Warwick when a hand grabbed her, it was covered in a deep red cloth. Before she could fight the hold, magic wrapped around her and her fellow troops, blocking the attacks from the monsters outside, and from Lily. "Forgive her, she's been broken, and she must set herself right again." Anessa looked up and back, seeing a snow-white mask staring out at Lily and Warwick, his voice sounded so sad, so hurt. "I am unsure if my barrier will protect us from her wrath, as it is not hers alone. She is stealing from Malroth, letting him revel in this death with her."

"Who are you?" Anessa looked back towards Lily, watching as the castle walls crumbled beneath the force of the builders magic. It was magnificent and horrifying all at once.

"I am a friend to Lily and Malroth. They call me Tiny, or Dracken. Whichever they prefer." The being chuckled as he winced, trying to fight through the pressure Lily was putting on him. "You may see me as a friend, though I understand if you do not."

Lily grabbed Warwick by the ear, pulling him out of his hole she had thrown him into. "That was for drugging me." She threw him to the ground, slamming the heel of her foot into the side of his head, listening to him cry out in pain. "That was for forcing me to sleep with you." She stepped over him, her hands gripping his leathery wings. She ignored him as he cried out, begging for mercy. "This… is for jailing Malroth. For trying to turn us against one another."

Warwick let out a blood curdling scream when Lily pulled back, his wings were ripped from their sockets, but no further. She had the strength to rip them off, he could feel it. She was toying with him. He looked back at her, letting out a pathetic noise as two beasts hovered over Lily, one was slender, covered in soft blue and golden feathers as it started wrapping around the other which was much thicker in build, his green scales shimmering in the sunlight as the monster loomed over the batmandrill. The green beast had four arms and a tail with a snakelike head at the end. "Mercy… please-"

"You wouldn't have shown any to me. You didn't show any to me." Lily leaned down, hissing in his ear as she shoved his face into the dirt. "I remember trying to fight you off when you forced that drink down my throat the first night. You had been so scared, so afraid Malroth would come in and kill you. But then the magic had worked, hadn't it? You made me forget." She sat back, keeping her hand against his head as she smirked. "Don't worry, you were forgettable… in every way imaginable."

Anessa ripped away from Dracken, breaking out of his barrier as Lily twisted her hand, snapping Warwick's neck with ease. "Warwick! Lily! No!" She froze, watching as Warwick slowly turned to ash that was slowly carried away on the wind. "Why… why would he…?"

Lily grabbed Anessa, throwing the other girl behind her as a shot of magic rocketed towards them. Lily shrugged the attack off and glared at the priest. "Do you forget who you serve, priest?"

Anessa stared up at Lily in awe, seeing something shimmering around the builder as she engaged with the priest, ripping him to shreds like he was nothing. She had seen that ferocious speed from only one other person. Malroth. "It's like you're one in the same…" She whispered as Gerome ran over, helping her up.

"You must be careful, Anessa! You could have gotten hurt." The old soldier held Anessa against him as Dracken stepped in front of them. "Priest?"

"High Priest, thank you." Dracken grumped at the old man before turning his attention to Lily who was slowly standing from the blood bath that was the wrecktor priest. "These are your friends, your allies, Lily. Do not forget that."

"If they're my friends… my allies… why didn't they stop him from…?!"

"Lily, you can't blame them for his wrong doings. He is dead, he can't ever get to you again." Dracken stiffened, forcing himself to stay still as Lily slowly advanced towards him. His shoulders dropped and he tipped his head some as he watched her. "How did you get out? Must I lock you up each time?"

"Leave us alone!"

"She is not yours to use."

"She gave herself to us!"

"Without consulting me, you tempted her with honey." Dracken let out a sigh and put a hand up, magic humming around him. "She was in a desperate spot." He tipped his head back to look at Anessa, not that the girl could tell due to the all white mask. "Did she come close to death?"

"We healed her! She is us!" Lily's voice boomed around them, causing the castle walls to crumble more.

"No, not yet." Dracken reached out, grabbing Lily by the back of the neck which caused her to go limp in his hold. "Gather around, humans that belong to Lily, I will take you back to your unguarded castle."

"What's going on?!" Anessa growled, refusing to step closer to the monstrous priest.

Dracken let out a loud groan, clearly annoyed by this. "Atlas is about to ransack your home, woman." When she still didn't budge, Dracken picked Lily up and cradled her against his chest. "Fine. Hargon set me to find a builder to bring here to strengthen the Master of Destruction, I did so. But she formed a bond with my Lord and Master and somehow created a beast out of her own magic and the magic that belongs to Destruction, Lily isn't strong enough to control it so I've had it locked in the back of her mind for however long its' been around. She almost died so it found a way out through her desperation to live. Is that good enough for you? Can we go now?"

Anessa frowned but shuffled over to the priest, her head bowed. "I meant… about the illusion, but I guess that works too. How did she form a bond with the Master of Destruction?" Between one blink and the next, the group was standing in the battlefield before the castle. "What… what happened?!"

"We talked for too long." Dracken growled as he looked around, trying to find a place to put Lily's limp form. "I must tend to her-" He flinched when he looked down and saw that Lily was staring at him. "Are you back to normal, or should I…?"

"My best friend is stuck in the dungeon while dragons are ransacking that castle. Set me down before I go berserk." She stood when Dracken went to set her down. "I'm getting Malroth out, the rest… I don't care about."

Anessa watched as Lily pulled her sword out and headed towards the castle. "Lily! Wait!"


Lily slid her sword in its' home once the dragons were defeat, her entire being focused on the mass of annoyance and anger sitting beneath the castle. She hadn't made it three steps when the entirety of Moonbrooke was on her, asking her about the quest and where Warwick was. When they finally stopped with those questions, they started drilling her about who Dracken was, the creepy fellow looming in the corner. She was about to start pulling her hair out when they started talking about blueprints. "I just want to free Malroth!"

"Let us finish this blueprint, Lily, then I promise we will free Malroth." The King urged her towards the back of the castle, clearly worried more about his people than the best weapon they had. The one that was angry with them all.


Lily was staring at the cannon, a frown set on her lips as Anessa came running up to her. "Huzzah! The cannon is complete! At long last, we have the power to overcome Atlas! I told you before, Lily, that my faith in the Children of Hargon was unshakeable. That is was my heartfelt conviction to fight forever more. This was a lie. The foundation of Moonbrooke Castle were laid by a builder who came to this island many years ago. By the time I was born, the Children's teachings had already spread far and wide. Builders were seen as harbingers of chaos and war-"

"Not to be rude, Anessa, but do you have a point to this monologue, or can I go get Malroth so we can defeat Atlas?"

Anessa flinched, but sighed, grabbing Lily's shoulder. "I just wanted to let you know that the Children are my sworn enemy. I pledged to overthrow them and become a builder, like you." She was beaming, a weight lifted off her shoulders as she continued to ramble. As she did, the magic from the other two towers collected and poured into the Orb of Heroes, making Lily's skin itch. "By the Goddess! I have never seen such power!"

"This will attract some attention. Can I have the key now?" Lily tapped her foot as she crossed her arms over her chest, growling when they ignored her.

"What is it, Lily? We stand on the threshold of victory – so why do you wear such an aggrieved expression?" The King frowned at her; his hands folded behind his back.

"Malroth! I have been back for three hours since defeating that rat shit, Warwick! And all you people keep talking about is how you're excited to defeat Atlas! Fat chance at that without Malroth! Now give me the damn key before I lay Moonbrooke flat!" She hissed, thrusting her hand out to the King. "Screw Atlas! I'd have half the mind to just take Malroth and leave you fucks behind!"

"Oh! But of course! The matter had entirely slipped my mind!" The King laughed as he fished around in his pocket, producing a small silver key.

"Lily," Anessa grabbed Lily's arm before she could make a run for it to the cell. "Malroth and I may have our differences… but I never wish to see him imprisoned. I should not make excuses. I may not have urged Malroth's incarceration, but neither did I argue against it. I beg your forgiveness, Lily."

"When Malroth forgives you, so will I." Lily ripped her arm away and disappeared into the castle, making a B-line for the cell. She ran down the stairs, heart in her throat as she rammed right into the door, unable to slow her movements. Her hands were shaking as she fumbled with the key. "C'mon, c'mon… dammit!" She dropped to her knees, unable to hold herself up as she tried to hold back her sobs, picking up the key that she dropped. She had a hold of the lock when she looked up, seeing Malroth glaring at her.

"Finally decided to let me out, have you? What's happened? Atlas finally on his way?" Malroth crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the cell bars, watching Lily fumble with the key. "Can you even get the lock?"

Lily let out a pathetic noise as she grabbed the lock, yanking hard on it once, twice… three times, before it finally groaned and broke against her pulling. "Mal, please! Don't be like that-"

"No, no. It's fine. Some big baddie is coming so you decide to let me out now. Just admit it." He leaned down, face close to hers. "Admit it, Lily. While your magical shit traps are handy, there just ain't nothing like a little raw muscle."

The way he hissed out the words had shivers running through Lily. She dropped her gaze quickly, now wasn't the time for her belly to get in knots and making her cheeks turn red. "Mal… I'm sorry, I-"

"You leave me locked down here, never even dropping by once to say hello…" Malroth snarled as he forced Lily to her back, a fire blazing in those dark eyes. "And now that you're in trouble, you come to me for help?" He slammed a fist into the cobblestone floor next to her, something twisting inside of him when she let out a yelp. "And you reek of death and that son of a bitch." He gripped her chin, making her meet his eyes. "You're disgusting, Lily."

Lily lay frozen as Malroth got up, leaving her alone in that wretched room. She choked on the first sob, but then the rest ripped from her throat, uncontrolled. She gasped like a fish out of water, trying to get air into her pathetic lungs. He hated her. Warwick had been right, when he was through… Lily and Malroth would never be the same.

Dracken stood at the top of the stairs, his attention on Malroth as the angry male stalked by him, ignoring the pathetic sobs coming from below. "My Lord-"

"Shut the fuck up." Malroth stopped when Dracken stepped in front of him. "Move." When the priest didn't, Malroth puffed his chest out and gave a hearty growl. "I said-"

"I heard damn well what you said. No need to repeat yourself, My Lord." Dracken hissed right back, pausing when fingers touched the sleeve of Malroth's jacket.

Malroth turned, pulling his arm away from Lily. "What? What else do you want?"

"Mal, I'm sorry. Please, I wasn't me when-"

"Shut up! Okay? Just… shut up. I've heard enough of your excuses." Malroth let out a growl when Lily struggled to hold back her sobs. "Oh, for crying out – anyone'd think you were the one whose best friend betrayed them…" He started to reach up, when Anessa burst into the courtyard, panting.

"Malroth! Even though Warwick sowed the seeds of doubt in my mind, I should not have stood by while this wrong was done to you. For that, I am truly sorry."

Malroth crossed his arms, looking away from Lily who was a breath away from being a crying heap in the dirt. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have let those soldiers die at Moonahan."

"I'm sure you did all you could to save them. For my part… I should not have taken my anger on you. It was not your fault." Anessa glanced to Lily who was completely focused on Malroth. The builder seemed like an entirely different person to what Anessa had seen back in the one-sided fight against Warwick.

"Well, I'm still sorry about it all." Malroth shook his head, glancing to Lily. "Hey, Lily." He put his hands on his hips, frowning when he saw the shimmer of hope in her eyes. The shimmer that he knew he was about to crush. "I'll help you beat Atlas, but after that… we're done." He turned away from her, crossing his arms as he started to walk away. "You built a dungeon to lock me away and only let me out when you needed my help. That's low. Real fuckin' low." He let out a sharp chuckle, trying to keep his anger low but he could barely contain it as the chuckle grew into a laugh. "I suppose it makes sense, though. Why would a builder like you care about a guy like me who can only destroy stuff? I though we could be friends, but I guess I was wrong." He walked away, put his hand on the door as he went to leave the courtyard. "You and me, Lily – we're through."

Lily crumpled, falling to her hands and knees as she watched her best friend leave through tear filled eyes. "No… Mal… that's not… please…"

Anessa looked down at Lily before averting her gaze, unable to watch as the builder shattered. "I… am glad he's finally free… I'm sorry about your friendship, Lily… when you arrived on this island, you seemed inseparable. This anger cannot last…" She leaned down, without look at Lily and touched the top of her head. "A friendship like yours is not easily sundered. It may take time, but this wound will heal. And I shall do everything in my power to help!"

Lily swatted Anessa's hand away, recoiling away from the soldier. "You… you've done enough, Anessa. Just… come find me… when it's time." She half crawled, half stumbled into her workshop, leaning on Dracken when the priest finally moved to help her.