AN: Managed to finish FFXVI five days after its release, and immediately started working on this. The next chapter might take a while, hopefully, not a full month, seeing as I have to take two courses for the company I am working for.

Chapter 32

"It's weird to see you of all Deities coming to me without that nauseous grin of yours on your face, Loki."

The God Ouranos narrowed down his eyes at the petite red-headed Goddess, whose eyes were opened, clearly trying to get a read on him.

"You know how it is, sometimes even I find things I just can't laugh at."

"Oh, is this perhaps about the most recent damage caused by your Familia?" if it wasn't for the God always sounding dry, she would have guessed he was enjoying her current predicament; yet he wasn't. "Demi Ymir's Pub, Rivira, Hephaestus' Familia's forge yesterday."

"Damn, news runs fast." She said sardonically.

Hephaestus, of course, was not happy, nor any other positive emotion seeing this could be considered a direct attack on her Familia. It seemed like Finn's smile was worth two shits to the Goddess, because the only thing missing as she stumbled past him on purpose was planting her palm on his face to push him out of the way; Yes, Hephaestus was that pissed.

'I should have been the one pissed! My Ais-tan got uppercut into the sky damn it!'

Suffice it to say, given how her Familia's treasury was becoming a little dim, she had no other choice but to sit on her knees and plant her forehead on the floor; Yes, the trickster had performed a dogeza.

But that wasn't enough for Hephaestus.

No, she had demanded not just remuneration for her Captain's - recently remodeled! - forge… but also immediate action towards Ais. To Hephaestus' surprise… Loki had already implemented a punishment on the girl. Or as Tsubaki Collbrande would word it; put a leash on her.

Flashback

"I hate you!" Ais shouted from inside her room, Riveria pinching the bridge between her eyes like a disappointed mother as she stood in front of Ais' door while the Goddesses watched from afar; the bigger one looking at the smaller one with complete astonishment.

"… You actually did it." Hephaestus commented, her single eye fixated on what was in front of her.

"Yup… and now she's throwing a tantrum… like a completely normal teenage girl." Ais hadn't really given her any other choice. The blonde had pretty much stood up the bed like a damn automaton, just standing up and walking towards the exit of the manor after watching the ceiling of the infirmary for around an hour. It was clear where she was going, back to Cyclops' place to demand a weapon out of her… among other things.

Of course, none of the Executives could allow that to happen, seeing as it would be like adding another damn forest to an already existing fire; a fucking huge one.

Ais, of course, had put up some resistance.

It wasn't until Bete of all people stepped in with his, as Loki would put it -newly found Soul Power Bullshit- that way they're able to put her down… long enough for Loki to seriously consider the punishment she had come up with.

Finn had been against it at first, seeing as Ais' absence might make it look as if the Familia had been weakened from the inside out.

Riveria on the other hand had been the voice of reason; mostly thinking about Lloyd's words regarding the kind of lack of authority they had over Ais, or better said the lack thereof, and how it would only get worse for all of them if such behavior continued.

Gareth… Gareth was too tired to think about anything; not that anyone could blame him.

And thus… here they were now.

"You sealed her Falna…" Hephaestus looked at her, astonishment clear in her eye. "You of all people."

"Bitch, I can be responsible." Loki feigned offense.

Hephaestus gave her a bland look. "Baldur."

"Oh, be quiet." Usually, she would throw a fit at hearing that name, but she wasn't in the mood for that either. "Now that we are on the topic of things we don't want to talk about, the hell's your Child been doing for the past months?"

The Goddess of the Forge narrowed her eye. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" she asked, wary of Loki finding out about their relationship with Drake.

"In her state of a conceited brat, Ais-tan mentioned things like asking your Child 'How She got so strong.'" She slightly opened her eyes. "Enough for a Level up."

The taller Goddess knew where this was going. It was illegal to keep such information as a Level Up from the Guild.

"You have some nerve to accuse me of anything; let me remind you are in no position to make any demands."

"Hey, I ain't demanding shit. I am just pointing out something interesting, so calm your tits."

A vein popped up Hephaestus' forehead. "I am not Hestia; so don't expect me to get down to your level of insults."

Loki clapped her tongue, not wanting to hear the name of that useless Goddess.

"I haven't updated Tsubaki's Status for months; you can even go on and see her Status for yourself." She saw Loki's hands twitch at the thought. "Keep your hands to yourself, though."

"Damn it…" Loki cursed, dismissing all perverted thoughts as she stared at her fellow Goddess… no lies to be seen. "Sorry… been a couple of… stressing months."

"Funnily enough… I can relate." She said that, and yet, unlike Loki, Hephaestus had gotten a few positive things out of those months; enough to put a silly little smile on her face, something that didn't go unnoticed by the redhead.

"You have a lot of nerve to say that with that 'Girl in love' smile." Her smile broke in an instant. "What? Did someone tell you you're beautiful or something…" Her silence and stare at nothing, in particular, were all Loki needed. "Holy shit, someone did say that… you sure he wasn't lying?" Loki snorted, sealing her fate.

"I am gonna send you the costs of the repairs for Tsubaki's Forge; I hear the labor cost is going through the roof nowadays." Hephaestus said, 'smiling kindly' at Loki as she turned around to walk away after giving her a couple of taps on her shoulder. "Have a nice day."

And so she left, leaving Loki staring with a twitch in her eye. "I really should learn how to shut up."

"Oh, to think you would put such a punishment on your Child; your favorite if I am not wrong." Ouranos commented, hearing the punishment she had implemented on Ais Wallenstein.

She twitched, knowing now he was definitely smug about it.

"Hey! I know it is rich coming from me of all Deities, but give me a break damn it." She almost begged, thinking about how her favorite was now throwing tantrums left and right.

'This is just her rebellious age, that's what it is.' The Goddess of lies deceived herself, calling bullshit on her own self-thought seeing it was far more than that.

"Leaving those incidents aside, there's also the fact your Familia violated the Guild's order of not going into the Great Fall when the emergency notice was issued."

"Bah!" She looked away while making a motion with her hand. "That could have been anyone's Children."

"Loki." He called her name with a tone of warning.

"… Come on now," her eyes opened slowly, equaling his glare. "You know how I am. You expect all the good shit to happen without me being involved; I feel offended you thought I wouldn't find the way to get into it." None of them blinked for a moment, knowing the Trickster wasn't gonna be apologetic at all. However, what happened next was something Ouranos never expected to see. "And I fucking regret doing it." She sighed, tiredly.

And this was surprising, seeing he was talking about the Goddess who tricked a blind God into shooting an arrow at another and laughed it off as a bad joke.

"… You are scared," he concluded, noticing the sudden twitch in her hand after she said those words as if recalling something she didn't want to.

"I am mortified." She answered honestly. "Never in my long ass life has the contemplation of Death crossed my mind." She scowled. "And all it fucking took was hearing that brunette's words to have me having some kind of fucking trauma."

The God raised an eyebrow. "Words?" he asked, wondering if it was one of Drake or one of his so-called 'Brothers' responsible for this.

"Don't." she raised her palm. "I don't want to fucking remember them." She found the strength to glare at him. "But I think we both know whom we are talking about, at least the main person involved with this."

Drake.

"… Only by name." He mentioned, revealing the one thing he was willing to reveal; it was funny enough that besides what Ratatosk had told him, he still only knew his first name and nothing beyond that; even his appearance alluded him.

"That fucking blonde and his fucking eyes… everything that has happened to my Familia started with him!"

The God narrowed his eyes at his description. "I thought you said he was a brunette."

She snorted. "That was his Big Brother; going as far as threatening us or wiping us out."

"And a few words was all it took to make you reconsider your life choices?" it wasn't a sardonic question, no. Because he was honestly curious about just what exactly was said to put her on edge.

"Pillars of light… deciding from the Heavens. Judging us, cleansing us, deleting us from existence as if we were nothing… it's a fucking vision I keep having every time I remember my conversation with him…" Her smile trembled. "The worse fucking thing is, my vision feels So. Fucking. Livid."

"… is that all?"

Her eye twitched, flipping him off with her two hands without any hesitation. "You may laugh it off in your own way while I fear for my life and my Familia's safety, while you sit here without having to deal with that Monster."

"Because I know how to pick my fights, Loki." He elaborated. "I may have never seen him, but I had been warned against him," he narrowed his eyes. "Everyone willing to kill a God without any hesitation is someone I intend to keep away from."

Funny enough, that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg of the person Ratatosk considered a mistake in existing. Surprisingly, Loki didn't seem fazed about it. "You already knew that."

"Aye." She recalled Bete's visions of past memories. But that still didn't explain where Ouranos got the information from… but it wasn't the time for that. "I know where I stand now… and I don't like it."

Th God understood now, the Goddess that never left anything past her was willing to let things go just to get away from the problem that was Drake. "Is your Familia willing to let things go just like that?" he asked, recalling some of the reports Fels had given him regarding Loki Familia and Drake.

"You already know Ais, not gonna bloody go into detail where she fits in this. Finn's overworking his tiny head in trying to figure out how to deal with him. Riveria and Gareth know better, opting to stay away from antagonizing him."

He narrowed his eyes. "And Vanargand?"

"…" She looked at the floor for a moment. "He's probably the one who knows the situation the best. Honestly, kind of miss his bitching seeing it was normal from him… now, not so much."

The God closed his eyes in contemplation. "I see… I kind of expected you to come here demanding answers and threatening me in some way… but it looks like the Jester had been forced out of her act and opted to stay off the main floor." He didn't need to open his eyes to know Loki was fuming at the comment. "… So, I ask you, Loki. Why are you here?"

She rubbed the back of her neck, sighing with a shameful smile. "So… with all recent events, my Familia is kind of in a pinch."

Ouranos opened his eyes with a bland expression. "That's an understatement-"

"Of the financial type."

None of them said a word, Ouranos narrowed his eyes as if seeing something disgusting below him; said disgusting thing shrugged a little as her shameless smile widened.

"No."

"Oh, come on!" she fell to her knees. "Our numbers are so goddamn low saying 'we are in the red' wouldn't even fit." She expressed, tragically. "To the point it would be more accurate to say one of the two main neutral colors would fit more."

"Loki."

"I know, I know." She said, noticing the warning in his tone. "If I say White I am referred to as a fucking supremacist, and if I use the other one, I will get shit from Isis and the whole Egyptian Pantheon again."

She sighed as Ouranos replied. "You know better than anyone I technically don't have any control over the Guild. If you want a loan, you might as well address Royman."

"He's a literal hand rubbing little greedy shit!" she expressed dramatically, but accurately. "He's gonna try to get something out of this to use it against me later down the lane, I just know it!"

Ouranos groaned. "And what do you expect me to do? Talk to him?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed dramatically.

Royman was the very definition of the elitist, stuck-up Elf. Too above everyone that wasn't some sort of people of renown like Royalty or a Deity. But if there was someone whom the Elf listened to out of their 'work' relation, it was Ouranos.

"I am just asking you for a little help covering the damages to Mia's Pub and the Cyclops Forge." The Guild made sure to keep the Familia's and the Adventurers in the city in check, they would pressure everyone to pay up for their respective crimes as they saw fit; in the best case scenario, it would be with Money… exile in the worst. "Rivira will be a different problem though." The place was called the lawless city for a reason, the Guild technically didn't have any hold on the place.

"… Will you pay, though?" The God asked, pretty much resigning to deny her request given how stubborn she could be.

"Of cooooooourse." She waved her hand confidently. "Nothing a couple of farming from my Children won't fix in a month or tw-"

"With interest." Ouranos swore he heard something cracking inside the Goddess, just as her smile did.

"Oh come on!" she pretty much slapped the air as her frustration increased. "I thought the fucking Elf was the scumbag in the Guild!" She took a deep breath. "Go on… what do you want?"

And now they went straight to business. "Two things."

"Asshole."

He ignored the interruption. "You will owe me one; when the time comes, I may ask something out of your Familia and you will not refuse." She rolled her closed eyes, nodded reluctantly. "And as for the second… I want to hear it."

"… Permua?" she asked, not knowing what he meant; but still feeling a chill running down her back.

"I want to hear what that person said to make you of all people desist in your foolery."

"What the fuck do you win out of this?" she scowled, eyes open.

"Pure and simple curiosity, nothing more."

She gritted his teeth, glaring at his unfazed and ever-stoic expression. The took a deep breath, having once against a vision of pillars of pure light erasing her very being, her body almost shaking at the thought.

"The Light of [Judgment] shall fall as rain upon those impure souls who crawl in the world."

Ouranos remained stoic, making Loki look bored at him.

"Is that all?"

Loki simply nodded, knowing there was no need for more words. But even so, she felt he had to have the last word as she retreated. "I learned my lesson on whom to fool with… but how long before other Gods get involved for one reason or another," she knew for a fact Freya already had tried something on Drake; failing miserably by the looks of it. "We have a time bomb in our city, Ouranos. So I suggest you start thinking about how to disarm it or get rid of it."

And so, she left, leaving Ouranus in the room… with the one other being hiding in the shadows.

"The title of Jester really fits her." Ouranos' eyes darted towards the side, seeing a veil of darkness in the room lift as if it had never been there.

"My Apologies. I wasn't expecting her visit."

"Nor to dart in the room as if she owned it, good thing she was loud even before entering," Ratatosk said, recalling he had literally used the Shadows to hide in the center of the room before slowly moving to the side the moment Loki barged in. "May I suggest a lock for that door?"

The God groaned, having already heard such suggestion from Fels and even Royman… the only issue was-

'Who would unlock it though?' The God thought, denying the idea once again seeing he would have to stand up from his chair to do so.

In the end, the God Ouranos was someone that took his job in praying to calm the Dungeon seriously and could not stand up from his chair to do such mundane things… even though The Great Spirit Ratatosk now pretty much did half of the job and said God was only being lazy.

"I believe we were talking about the contract you and Drake signed." He said, changing the subject back to the original topic.

"Right…" Ratatosk walked towards the center of the room and took out a black piece of paper, glowing along its red letters. According to the Spirit, Drake had used his own blood to write the agreement, making even the paper display some Divinity that could easily be now considered a Divine Construct… yes, even if it was a mere piece of paper. "Son of a bitch really didn't make it easy for me."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "A being him. B being Me"

Neither A nor B shall try to kill each other in any shape, form, or by any machinations.

A will get possession of the Centurion of Light if it is found. In the case the Centurion of Light is found by anyone from B's side, they will hand it over to A's as soon as possible.

"I have to ask… what's so important about that Centurion?" He asked, feeling the scorn in Ratatosk voice as he read that part.

"As you know, most of the elements I am able to control at the moment are only because I have recovered the Centurions of these elements. It is obvious to say that most of my Artes are also available because of that." He released a chuckle. "In the case of the Centurion of Light, there's a very specific Arte that can pretty much seal Drake's Fate."

The very same Arte responsible for his first death.

"… Can't blame him for being too careful." The God muttered. "What about aiding us if the city needs it?"

"Just getting there."

In no way will A be obligated to help with Orario's conflict unless it involves him or he feels the need to intervene. Nor shall A be obligated to listen to anyone belonging to B's side.

Ouranos sighed. Ratatosk had already warned him to leave Drake alone and that in no way would he help Orario seeing that was their job.

"It was to be expected, seeing he already figured out the relation between us and Ganesha…"

Ouranos raised an eyebrow, noticing the silence in Ratatosk's voice.

B shall give A free quantity of his supply. With no room for what A may ask of B as long it is in his capacity.

"… Devious bastard," Ratatosk grinned annoyed under his cloak.

"I fail to see the issue here."

"Now that I have recovered Solumn, all of my Earth-related abilities have returned. That includes not only Spells, but also creating and manipulating anything related to it; including the literal creation of minerals."

Ouranos let that sink, his eyes widened for a moment at what that would imply. "Are you implying you could create metal out of thin air?"

He could feel Ratatosk deadpan under his cloak. "For the sake of simplicity, yes."

The God narrowed his eyes. "With Aura?"

And there was the most important thing of the subject, and the reason as to why Drake had stipulated those conditions.

Yes, everything earth related, including metal that was created by Ratatosk would contain Aura. To make things 'better', seeing as Dust was also a mineral grown from the planet back in Remnant, he could also 'farm' them; of any elements.

'I basically became his fucking Walmart.'

'I am afraid that would entail he would have to pay, My Lord.' The words of Tenebrae just made the Great Spirit growl in his mind.

Ouranos on his part acknowledged Ratatosk's silence as a positive indication. Which meant it was time to get something out of it "Would you be willing to give some of those for Orar-"

"Denied," Ratatosk said in a heartbeat. "Don't get me wrong, we are on the same side and all…" he raised his head, revealing his red glowing eyes. "But let me remind you we have a bit of a rat problem in his fucking city; rats, who let me remind you, we haven't been able to be identify."

Evilus.

Even if they knew Familias like Thanatos and Ikelos were involved, there were still known Familias that were secretly supporters of their cause. That meant there was a risk of the material-infused Aura falling into the wrong hands.

On the same note, Tsubaki Collbrande may have been able to create Aura weapons on her own; seeing she was a blacksmith, Ratatosk had been a little worried about her seeing them. But ironically, he trusted Drake in his judgment of character and risk assessment.

"Hmm… you are right." Ouranos conceded. "Is there anything else in the contract?"

The Great Spirit just shook his head. "That would be all." He turned around and started to walk away. "I am gonna resume my search for Ventus later. The good thing is seeing this technically involves Drake, he will take part in this."

"I will await good news then…" Ouranos stated, closing his eyes with a sigh. "But before the meeting is adjourned, there's something I would like to ask."

Ratatosk turned around, and a soft hum in confusion was heard.

"That incantation… the one Loki mentioned… Are you familiar with it?"

Ratatosk turned around, keeping silent for a second as he stared straight into the eyes of the oldest God. "I take it this is still the same curiosity you displayed with Loki." The reply he got was a stiff nod. "It's for a Divine Arte." He snorted for a moment. "Lloyd's father was quite attached to the Spell; he even used the name of the spell as Lloyd's middle name. "

There was no reaction from Ouranos. "But the fact that Lloyd used that spell as a threat means that the relationship between Drake and Loki Familia is at a critical point. So I guess it's a good thing Loki had her priorities straight." He narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Although… I can't help but wonder why Loki is having visions of the Spell… and describing how it feels, no less."

Ouranos closed his eyes. "I am in as much of a lack of an answer as you are."

"I see…" Ratatosk said in a neutral tone before reaching the door. "Try not to work too hard."

Clearly, Ouranos was being mocked for just sitting around all day. But he didn't care.

The Old God just sat still for a long time before-

*CRACK*

He cracked his chair's handles as he recalled what he heard from Loki.

'That fucking blonde and his fucking eyes… everything that has happened to my Familia started with him!'

'The Light of [Judgment] shall fall as rain upon those impure souls who crawl in the world.'

"Please… I beg of you…" he looked up at the dark ceiling. "Let me be wrong." He prayed, closing his eyes as the memory of a familiar set of green draconic eyes invaded his mind.

'He's hiding something.'

'Of that, I am pretty much aware, Tenebrae.' Ratatosk mentally replied, stopping for a moment in a dark secret hall inside the Guild building. 'But there's no reason for us to worry about it now.'

If there was something that he and Drake shared at the moment, it was the fact that neither knew why they had been sent here after their deaths. Ouranos' reaction might just be a really big coincidence if it turns out there was a Spell in this World with a very similar incantation.

'Let's leave it as it is for now.' he thought, right before stopping for a moment as he heard someone walking towards him.

"I take it the meeting went well."

"Adam." Ratatosk greeted his Knight, with a little surprise. "I thought you would have solved your business in the Guild and headed out with Drake to retrieve that."

"Yes…" he scowled. "But then I spotted someone undesirable around the Guild Hall; so I stuck for a while to see what she was up to."

"Someone undesirable…" Ratatosk narrowed his eyes in realization. "You spotted his Captain." He replied in affirmation before Adam nodded. "… Keep your senses sharpened, I will warn the Xenos to be wary in the Dungeon just in case."

His Knight nodded.

"I take it you will return back to the Dungeon?"

To his surprise, his Lord shook his head as his cloak faded into dark particles, revealing his whole self. "I think it's time I take a walk around the city," he smirked. "And fulfill part of my contract with Drake."

Not just Adam, but he could also feel Tenebrae looking at him with blank stares.

"Ratatosk." Adam said with a warning in his voice, dropping all formalities in the process.

"What? I truly mean it," he smirked. "But that doesn't mean I can't mess with him a little."

Adam pinched the bridge between his eyes and sighed, while Ratatosk looked in a particular direction, away from Adam. "… you told him to meet you here, didn't you?"

Adam simply nodded, making Ratatosk snort before walking away. "Then I better take my leave, he already noticed me as well."

The Knight tensed, seeing a Spark of his Lord's Aura leak out at the thought of the person he hated the most; remembering those two could never meet eye to eye at all, if ever.

"Take care, Adam. Tell me if you find any problems down there." He gently tapped his friend, before heading his way.

"Ratatosk… please behave." Adam said, turning around to his Lord looking at him with an innocent smile… and different-colored eyes.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Adam. I have never done anything wrong." His tone changed, lacking every bit of authority he had.

'… Tenebrae.' Adam mentally called the Centurion of Darkness; not needing to say anything else to pass on his message.

'… I… will try to keep an eye on him.'

Adam couldn't help but sigh.

'Count to ten; we all know that shit doesn't work but still try it.' Luke suggested, in a rather rushed tone as if trying to prevent something.

'If it doesn't work, don't suggest it, dumbass.'

'I don't see you suggesting shit, Yuri!'

'Everyone, calm down.' Flynn demanded order. 'Drake, think of something positive, hum a song, watch one of those 'don't laugh challenges' in Dustube.'

'Really, Flynn?'

'If anyone has a better idea, I am more than happy to hear it, Zelos.' Flynn answered back, making the redhead shrug before Yuri smirked.

'I have an idea-'

'No! X6' The rest of the Guardians sans Drake denied the idea in an instant, knowing that it would be something along the lines of 'Go Gunz Blazing' being Yuri's suggestion.

'Can all of you kindly be silent for a bloody minute?' Drake thought, holding a clear growl as he opened his eyes.

He was currently resting against a wall in the Guild building with a scowl so deep it might as well have killed someone; being the reason why everyone averted their gazes the moment they noticed him. Even if half of his face was covered by his scarf, his eyes said it all.

Adam had told him to meet here instead of at the Pub for some reason.

He didn't have a problem with it and texted Tsubaki to meet them there as well. However, his mood did a complete one-eighty the moment he took the first step into the building. It was like a complete shock that started in the brain and then ran through every nerve and bone in his body. Said reaction could only be caused by his instincts, detecting a certain someone close by.

Ratatosk.

In the past, he was able to control his rage better depending on where he was… but his Dragon side was not making things easy seeing he had the literal urge to go straight towards him, tearing every wall or person in the way.

This brought us to the present, with him resting against a wall, crossing his arms while his hands took hold of the opposite forearm; such strength on the grip he might have as well just broken his own bones.

'… He's leaving.' Guy commented, feeling the Great Spirit's presence fade. '… Are you cool now?'

'… Will be.'

Zelos sighed. 'The fuck was horny thinking of getting these two close to each other?'

'Let's give Taurus the benefit of the doubt, and wait for his and Tsubaki's arrival.'

Drake gave a positive grunt to Lloyd's suggestion. 'Yeah… in silence.' The last part was said in a more serious tone; rendering his brothers silent as he tried to calm down.

"Look at that guy," and then was when Drake remembered people, in general, were an annoyance. "How's he not sweating wearing all that in this heat?"

'… Right… it's summer.' Drake thought, recalling how the whole city was supposedly hot due to the season.

'People here really gotta have it hard without something like an AC, huh?' Zelos snorted. 'Well… except for the Hostess.'

"All hail the mighty ice breeze machine nya~" One Anya Fromel praised, bowing on her knees in front of one of the AC units Drake and one of his brothers installed earlier.

"Praise~" and she wasn't the only one, as some waitresses and even patrons did the same; yes, it was that hot outside.

"Talk about being overdramatic," Mia muttered, getting deadpans from those that were not what was now known as the AC cult.

"Maybe so, but you are no better Mama nya~" Chloe commented, seeing as the Dwarf was standing right below one all for herself.

"Pot calling the kettle black, brat," Mia argued back, seeing as Chloe's group was pretty much doing the same.

"We are patiently awaiting patrons to call for us. It just so happens we all decided to wait right here."

The group nodded at Ryuu's words. "Yeah, what the clever Elf said," Lunor commented, low-fiving the Elf.

Mia only snorted, not really having any reason to say anything seeing everyone was having a good time… except for a certain group.

"Why don't you all lazy pieces of mortal flesh come and stand in the kitchen with us nya~?!" May shouted from the kitchen, the only place that didn't have an AC unit seeing it might affect the food.

'May's look was that of promised pain and suffering,' Luke snorted. ' To her, your actions were like a betrayal.'

Drake internally sighed, noticing people still looked at him warily.

"Don't look at him; he looks like someone who would pick a fight over nothing."

"I wouldn't call whispering about me, right in front of me may I add, nothing." He scowled at the group, making them flinch before leaving in a rush as he heard the distinguishable taps of heels approaching him.

"You are as unapproachable as always," he sighed, knowing the owner of the mature, yet feminine voice addressing him. "I know it is rich coming from me, but do try to smile a little."

'Please, let this not develop into some kind of drama.' He looked to his side, seeing the ever-stoic Rose Fannett. "Miss Fannett… it's been a while."

Her lips twitched upward. "Oh, I didn't know we were in such a formal relationship."

And drama it was.

"Why shouldn't we be? You and I are a little more than acquaintances at best."

'Poor choice of words, Bud.'

As much as he hated to admit it, there were situations Zelos was better at dealing with; this one being one of them.

"Emphasis on more, seeing as you treated me so well the last time we saw each other." She feigned a depressing expression, going as far as placing her hand under her cheek with a tilt of her head; as if she were grieving. "Even after 'helping' me through the whole night, you seemed to forget me rather easily."

'Need a hand with this one, Bud?'

His eye twitched. 'No… and don't fucking call me Bud.'

"Miss Fannett," he stood up properly, adapting a formal tone. "You were being rather clingy to me the last time we saw each other; I understand you were needy due to your condition, but give me a rest already, woman."

'Strike two, Bud.'

"You say that, yet you kept 'helping' me for hours and hours until not even I in my state could keep up with you; going at it as you pleased." Her lips turned into a slight smirk.

'Drake Aurion ladies and gentlemen; can deal with Deities, Corrupt Councilmen, Fifteen-year-old brats with a hero complex… but can't beat a woman in a battle of sexual wits; shame on you, Bud! Presa would be disappointed.'

There were a lot of 'uuuuuuh' from his brothers, not helping his patience. 'Because your replies rely on degrading the person on the opposite end until they break into a weeping mess. Also, do not utter that Succubus' name.'

He had seen his best friend dealing with one-night stands that wanted to take advantage of his status as a Noble one too many times. He would shame her, show secret recordings that might help him against his 'opponent', and reveal secrets said by the person in the time either in the bed or before that… suffice to say, all of the women he dealt with were shamed until they broke.

'A reminder that I do hate 'Women'~' Zelos replied with a singsong.

But Rose wasn't a one-night stand, she was someone that needed the help at that moment. Not just someone he had a fling with. Had it been the other way around, he would have pretty much pulled a Zelos Wilder on her.

'She's salty, and I don't need to use the Darkness to know that; the only reason I can think of is 'ghosting' her after the act.'

This was not the case, he had simply been too busy, and there had not been any reason to contact her seeing that what happened was not something to be interpreted as romantic; something both of them agreed on.

He sighed. "Hey Rose," in the end, it was better not to continue with this unless he wanted to kink-shame her beyond a certain point.

"Hello Drake, how have you been?" Her demeanor changed, adorning a small smile on her face.

In the end, it looked like she was more offended by his greeting. 'So much for being professional.'

He was about to reply back, only for both of them to finally notice the silence in the Guild Hall; their eyes turned coldly, noticing every single person looking at them with anticipation, some of them with a blush visible on their faces.

"What the fuck are you staring at? If you have so much free time to waste, why not go into the Dungeon already? At least you will die in a more painless way instead of me doing the place's work."

"Rehmer, I seem to remember there was a mountain of paperwork with your name on it. Sophie, have you already finished cataloging the records of new Adventurers? Eina, stop standing there with that blush on your face and move it, your Adventures will not get tutored by themselves. Misha, stop being useless. And why don't I see the rest of you moving? Do you want me to be like Royman and be on your case 24/7?"

The killing intent emanating from both of them was enough for everyone, Guild Staff and Adventurer alike, to go on their business. None of them dared to look back in their direction, mentally omitting whatever exchange of words the two of them might have from now on.

"So… what brings you here? Any new information you might be seeking?" She asked normally as if the last minute never happened in the first place. "Also, are you ok? I know you usually have either a dull expression or a scowl on your face… but you really looked like you wanted to murder something a moment ago."

"Afraid not, I actually agreed to meet with someone else," he replied, remembering as to why he was here, and whose presence he felt earlier. "As for the other question… I noticed someone I have a… beef with being here as well." He shrugged. "So I decided to wait here and cool off."

"Oh," she mouthed cooly and amused. "So even you can get riled up."

He mildly scowled. "Believe me, that person is not someone who you want to meet."

She shrugged before she smiled. "If you don't need my assistance, I will be taking my leave. But before that-" She extended her hand to him. "I never quite properly thanked you. I know it isn't much, but my words alone and this action might have to suffice."

Drake narrowed his eyes, noticing the mischief in her eyes. 'Careful~' He heard Zelos' voice. 'She's cooking something~'

'I am aware.' He mentally glared at him. 'But don't sound too excited, you piece of shit.'

'On a serious note though… is it just me… or does she look kind of pristine?' Zelos commented, making Drake notice that contrary to everyone else and sans himself; she looked completely refreshed despite the heatwave of the summer, she didn't look fatigued or tired either… it was almost as if…

'As far as I know; afterglow sex should not last this long.' Every Guardian groaned, making Drake drop his line of thought as he just went for the handshake.

And for the second time today, his whole body went into shock. But this time, it started in his right hand, running through its whole body until it reached his brain.

"What?" she asked, her lips turning up a little bit smug. "Wolf got your tongue?"

He quickly recovered, looking at the hand he was grasping before looking at her straight in her eyes; a deep scowl on his face. "I think I might actually have a little talk with you, NOW."

Her eyes narrowed, the sly smile never leaving her face as he dragged her away by the hand. "As you wish."

They left, ignoring the fact that everyone stared at the end in silence. It wasn't until Sophie the Elf broke the silence by muttering what everyone pretty much was thinking that the silence was broken.

"Oh, they fucking."

"Someone paid attention the last time he was here," Rose remarked, seeing he had dragged her to the library, all the way into a dark corner where the sections about normal education were located; the place where no Adventurer or Guild staff would usually visit. "Why pray tell would you drag me here, I wonder?"

Her question was accompanied by a hint of mockery, seeing as she was now being forced to sit on top of a table that was against a wall; his hand gently touching her neck while the other one rested on her lap.

The thing about Aura was that its most used functionality was merely to enhance the body so it could always be in a great state while also granting enhanced protection. Someone with a massive pool of Aura could easily be said to have a great amount of protection, to the point they wouldn't feel anything; not even a gentle touch, something cold, or even something hot. But that could be easily fixed with the proper training to control the Aura.

But there were two issues in this scenario. The first one was that nothing in this World had Aura in it despite being alive, so even with the proper Aura training, someone with it couldn't feel anything.

The other issue with Drake was his Dragon-like sub-skin taking the sense of touch out of him. At first, it wasn't much. But soon after, he could no longer feel the heat or cold water whenever he took a bath. He could still feel pain though if it was self-inflicted, for obvious reasons. In all honesty, he was just glad the insides of his mouth were still normal, otherwise, he would just stop eating altogether if he were to lose his sense of taste.

Then, what was the issue here?

Simple, he felt something the moment he shook hands with Rose; something that should not be possible. And to make it worse, it was as if his hand had become incredibly sensible at her mere touch… someone was playing dirty, no doubts about that.

"Should I make the first move, then?" She asked in a whisper, managing to lose herself for a moment in his green glowing eyes scanning her whole body, not unlike an epicure gazing at the gourmet meal presented to him. She chuckled, seeing no reaction as she leaned forward, only to be stopped by the hand on her neck.

"So, that's how it is…" he finally muttered, narrowing his eyes on her neck before swiftly unbuttoning her collar, making her smirk a little as he scowled. No, her reaction of amusement was not because he finally made a move, but because he found what lay around her neck.

"Tsubaki, you crazy bitch."/'Tsubaki, you magnificent bitch.' Drake replied in perfect tandem with Zelos' statement as he saw a collar with a plate on it around Rose's neck; a plate that was filled from top to bottom with a variety of small and familiar runes on which his eyes focused, a moment later also noticing the light azure blue Aura surrounding her body.

'Hey, Lloyd *munch munch* mind translating for those of us that don't have the running knowledge? *munch munch* Thanks.'

'Already *munch munch* on it.'

Drake mentally twitched, recognizing the sound of someone talking with their mouths full of popcorn. 'You fuckers are enjoying this, aren't you?'

'Yes *munch munch*' that was a unanimous reply.

'It doesn't unlock a person's Aura. Rather, it leaks a measurable amount of it and coats the body as it normally would; my guess is it drags out enough for a person to have the usual effects Aura would have… very clever indeed.' He said, complimenting Tsubaki seeing the thought never even crossed his mind on forging something like this when Drake was back in Remnant; mostly because someone could always unlock another person's Aura.

'But… that still shouldn't be enough to make Drake feel so much from a mere handshake.' Jude commented, making Yuri snort.

'So much for mocking Elves for getting horny from a mere touch of the hand huh, Drake?'

The blonde didn't reply, focusing on reading the rest of the runes, realizing Jude's words held truth. Tsubaki's Item didn't just drag Aura out of a person's Soul, she also added some extra attributes…

-Fifty Percent Piercing against those with a 'Draconic' attribute.

-Fifty Percent Damage against those with a 'Draconic' attribute.

-Extra Stamina

-Extra Body Recovery

'Well, that explains why she wasn't sweating one bit in this heat.' Lloyd commented, becoming unsure for a moment about the attributes. They could harm Drake, yes… but the context behind them… 'Is it just me… or was this Item made with sexual intentions in mind rather than harming you?'

'It does.' Drake growled as Zelos just laughed out loud.

"Speechless, aren't you?" His thoughts went back to the Werewolf woman, seeing her easily moving down his scarf to gently run her hand through his cheek, feeling the warmth of her hand.

With that Collar, everything Rose Fannett did to him would be felt tenfold; something he could notice in an instant.

"It all started with a girl talk."

'Of course, it did!' some of the Guardians said with rolled eyes.

"As you can guess, Tsubaki brought up the subject of my heat cycle." Her smile widened a little, but it wasn't a positive one. "Saying that despite being just an act of helping me, I couldn't make you feel anything."

"I didn't tell her such a thing." He didn't, she figured it out on her own.

"Oh, I know, you don't seem like the kind of person to kiss and tell." Her other hand rested on her chest, moving down little by little. "But even so… I think every person would hate being told 'Not good enough' for one reason or another."

'I get the why, a little shallow, but understandable if you overlook the fact that all of this began with Sex. But… while I get the motive… what is the endgame?' he quickly wondered, knowing someone like Rose was professional enough not to engage in the act during working hours.

'Reminder, people *munch munch* don't think straight when horny!'

Zelos' warning was sad but true. It was up to him to put a break to this already.

Too bad he had been too deep in thought to not notice Rose's next action.

How far am I willing to take this, I wonder.

Those were Rose's words as she had approached Drake a while ago.

A line of thought that was partially discarded when he had tried to act professionally with her. It stung a little, which was the hypocrisy on her part seeing she was the one that stated there wasn't meant to be anything out of him 'helping' her that one time.

The fact that he called her by an honorific and last name meant he was keeping his word; yet it was her who pretty much instigated the current situation.

Tsubaki hadn't been clear about how the collar worked, only saying that she would feel better in every way and would easily manage a reaction out of him.

Suffice it to say, she may have been up to something, seeing the following days were a figurative breeze for her. She no longer felt tired, she was always energized, and her body always remained at a cool enough temperature; so, no sweating on her part despite the heat.

Tsubaki Collbrande… to think she would feel somehow indebted to the Captain of the most prominent Familias in Orario for such a thing, as she would call it, 'Lifehack'.

All she had asked her was to test the item, everything else she decided to do was on her; including Drake. A decision she took in her own two hands the moment Drake seemed to want to avoid her by being professional.

She thought that Tsubaki was exaggerating; saying a mere touch of his skin would be enough to get his attention. People would talk, most definitely seeing how he dragged her out of the Guild Hall. But rumors were something she has experienced before, both as a listener and the center of the rumor. Besides, it's not like she was going to escalate things too much…

'And yet, here I am.'

Her tongue easily danced in tandem with his, managing to invade him since he was distracted. Her other hand meanwhile had a gentle hold on his crotch.

He had managed to figure out Tsubaki's machinations with ease, but he had still been too deep in thought looking at her Collar to notice her deathly approach, claiming his lips with ease before completely invading him.

His shock was momentary and mild, soon trying to separate himself from her. But she was able to keep him close by taking hold of the back of his neck and the cross her legs behind his back to keep him close; It was his fault for forcing her into such a position in the first place.

She could feel her whole body heating up, not just because of their deep exchange, but because of how her own body was pressed against his. Her tongue continued exploring his own, getting a little carried away as she became more feral in her approach, her arousal increasing as he started to move against her.

The sheer advantage and the element of surprise disappeared as he leaned his whole weight forward, to the point she was almost laying completely on the table.

She managed to separate from him for a moment, a very visible line of saliva connecting their lips as she panted; her blush was mad, her breathing was erratic, and her vision just stopped being blurry as she noticed his gaze on her. Hazy memories of that night came to mind, her asking for more and more as his cold eyes laid on her; displaying a hunger she easily recognized now again.

'I think I bit more than I could chew.' She hazily thought, noticing parts of her buttons had come undone to reveal her red undergarments while his hand moved to undo her pants.

This was bad, she had never intended for things to go this far. She could feel her own heart beating at an ever-increasing rate, her own hearing deafening as his other hand wickedly caressed her under breast.

She mentally gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling how her own body started to betray her. In the end, all she could do was muster one single word to him.

"Stop~"

*BONK X2*

He snapped, noticing he was now in his Soulscape, with a familiar but appreciated pain on the back of his head.

He looked over his shoulder, noticing Guy and Luke holding the 'Bonk' and 'No Horny' bats in their hands. He stared at them for a moment, only to suddenly put a double thumbs up at them, who returned the action along with a sigh.

He looked around, noticing Zelos was being held down by Flynn and Jude. The redhead just smiled sheepishly, most likely wanting the things in the library to go down without a sense of guilt.

As for Yuri…

"You could at least put on a worried expression," Drake commented, seeing the Third Guardian laying back in his chair, both of his legs resting on the round table while eating popcorn with a bored expression.

"Nope."

The blonde twitched, sighing in resignation before looking around for his Brother. Lloyd was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is-" Everyone just pointed to the side, he stared at the far edge, at the 'Mountains' that surrounded his Soulscape; seeing them stir a lot as a white blur pivoted with rush attacks while the 'Mountains' just growled, loudly.

"DOWN BOY!"

Drake couldn't help but deadpan as he heard Lloyd's shout, even though he was grateful for the action.

"You should really control your libido, Bud. But don't worry, it happens to the best of us!"

Drake couldn't but groan, giving his scumbag of a Best Friend some reason. The moment Rose kissed him, what Zelos had proudly dubbed the 'Feral Switch' had been flipped inside of him. He more or less recalled the state he had during the night with Rose.

He felt an insatiable hunger, a need, a carving, a sense of being in control of the situation… but not of his right mind.

"Just fucking say you are horny, damn it."

In Zelos' oversimplified words, even though it felt like something completely abnormal, he was right.

"Fucking Dragon genetic bullshit." Drake cursed, hearing a growl in the far distance; kind of like a mockery. "FUCK OFF!"

The 'Mountain' just kept growling, leaving Drake pinching the bridge between his eyes.

"If you are worried about Rose's state, just BONK her." Everyone looked at him with a hint of surprise on their face. "What? It has worked with you, twice may I add."

"It's not that…" Jude trailed off while Flynn laughed awkwardly.

"It's just weird to hear you say something helpful in this time of situation."

Zelos looked offended.

"Hey! Even if she's saying no, her whole body is saying Yes~"

Everyone groaned at the reference.

"Even so, doing it in the Guild's Library at plain work hours? Come on, Bud! That's just like asking to be caught, even though you did pick up a good place… despite having an onlooker."

"Let it be known for the record I didn't plan any of this," Drake growled before sighing, resigning himself to what befalls him. "Goddammit, Tsubaki.

*BONK*

Rose blinked perplexed, looking at herself to notice she was now standing; her uniform was completely fixed, along with her thoughts completely cleared.

She couldn't help but look at the blonde she had pretty much instigated into this situation, crossing his arms while looking down with closed eyes.

It had all happened in an instant.

He had swiftly made her properly stand up, fixed his uniform, and then chopped her on the forehead.

She cleared her throat, failing to hide a small blush on her face. "My apologies… I think I took things too far."

He grunted in agreement. "… Just answer me this, did Tsubaki put you up to this?"

"Not really," she answered in an instant, feeling a little ashamed for what came next. "She worded the idea, though."

"Bitch."

Both of their eyes twitched at the sound of a familiar voice. They turned their heads, noticing a black strand of hair poking out of the corner of a bookstand.

"Out, both of you." Both stated, scowls deep in her face. They heard a sigh, accompanied by a faint whimper.

"Oh," Rose expressed surprise just before her face turned into a disappointed face. "I expected more from you, Eina."

The Half-Elf shrank at the sight of a figure of authority scolding her.

"I wish I could say the same about you, Tsubaki."

The Blacksmith just put on a wide smile, like a child that thought she hadn't done anything wrong. "Ah, you know me." The blonde twitched, seeing the bitch had the audacity of tilting her head, smiling cutely while silly hitting her own head; the cute girl act.

"Miss Rose, I just followed you in case this… this…" Drake rolled his eyes, seeing the Elf looking his way and then away with a mad blush on her face, clearly not having the guts to call him names.

"Pervert, Scoundrel, scumbag, piece of filth, waste of trash, womanizer, son of a bitch, Devil, Heartless Bastard?" Drake suggested, having listed all of the things Zelos has been called by Women through the years… at least the one he could recall.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, pointing at him as if accusing a murderer.

"Wow!" Tsubaki exclaimed. "The audacity of this Elf." Eina flinched at Tsubaki's smiling face, right as she suddenly appeared behind the Guild worker. "I just happened to be walking by looking for you when I suddenly saw this girl hurrying into the library with a mad blush and a furious face. Imagine my surprise when I saw her hiding away, watching everything from afar, her legs brushing against one another while a drool ran down her mouth."

"I was not drooling!" Eina replied in a hurried tone. Drake watched over her head, seeing the statement 'True' appear above her head.

"Give her a break, Tsubaki." Drake's statement made the Half-Elf stare at him for a moment with a little tiny bit of HOPE.

"The part about her legs rubbing each other, though..."

True

"Classic perverted Elves." Eina was taken aback by the sudden change of attitude, shaking his head in disapproval while his face rested on his palm, even Rose had a similar expression.

"This… This isn't about me!" she pointed at him again. "You were assaulting-"

"I instigated the whole thing, and let it scale to such a point." Rose's argument dismantles Eina's, right before she scowled at her. "Having said that, even if that wasn't the case; were you just gonna stand there and watch while pleasuring yourself?"

"I was not!"

False

The blonde opted to just stay quiet, but that didn't stop him from giving her an unamused glare.

"I… I… was gathering the Courage to intervene," now she pointed at Tsubaki. "But she suddenly appeared from behind me and covered my mouth and held me back from intervening."

Everyone stared at the Blacksmith, Drake clearly not surprised seeing she had been keen on acting as his Wingman for a while now; it reminded him of a certain scumbag.

'Ayo' said the scumbag, making himself present inside his mind.

"Hey, you should thank me!" everyone seemed to have a thing for pointing at him. Because that's what his friend was doing. "This guy is a fucking Beast, not letting his prey go once he's in the 'mood'. For all we know, he could have made you join in the action."

"Hmm…" Rose moved her hand under her chin; adopting a thinking position. She recalled his change of demeanor a moment ago, along with that night's. "She may be up to something, seeing how… forward and sure of what you were doing… Tsubaki's statement might have some ground."

"See! He's-"

"That sounds about right."

"Huh?" the three women exclaimed as they looked at Drake, who had interrupted Eina's statement before she could try to shame him.

"What?" he shrugged. "There are even things about myself I am just finding out; apparently being too forward in these kinds of situations is one of them."

All three of them seemed at a loss upon hearing his words, pretty much confessing something else might have happened if Eina had tried to 'stop' him.

"Wah! Wah! Wah!"

Everyone ignored the blushing Half-Elf, definitely thinking of what might have happened if her blushing face and incoherent speech pattern was any sign.

"Having said that," he scowled at both Tsubaki and Rose. "Seeing as we all have learned something out of all of this, I HOPE neither of you tries to pull this shit again on me."

Rose nodded, even though she was giving him a subtle smile with narrowed eyes. "To think even you would succumb to carnal desire…"

He blandly looked at her. "All mortals are animals in a sense," he looked down. "Let's not pretend a part of you wasn't looking forward to it." His eyes focused on her wagging tail, making an implicit comment about it. "As for you-"

"I know! I know!" she raised her hands in a sign of surrendering, it was her smile that made him doubt her intentions. "I just have to set a better time and place for you to- Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Let me go, damn it!"

The Blacksmith's complaints were ignored as Drake dragged her out of the library by pulling her ear.

Eina on the other hand sighed, seeing as the people causing her all this stress were finally leaving. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" only to suddenly feel a familiar pain in her ear as Rose dragged her out in the same way Drake did Tsubaki.

"Let's get you back to work, seeing as you don't have your priorities straight. You will have plenty of time to rub yourself outside of working hours."

Yeah, Rose was clearly holding a grudge for that one.

"… Do I want to ask?" Adam Taurus asked, seeing as Drake was holding Tsubaki by the ear, while Rose did the same with Eina.

"A Zelos shenanigan."

"Say no more." Adam replied in the same dull tone as Drake, pretty much figuring out what was happening seeing they were going out of the library.

"Mister Taurus," Rose kindly bowed, along with Eina while the former still had a hold of her. "I hope you are having a good day."

Drake noticed the cordial tone she was using, along with the bow; almost as if Adam were their superior. "You know each other?"

Rose adopted her professional persona. "Mister Taurus is an acquaintance of Lord Ouranos, working alongside him on matters that go out of the Guild's reach," she looked at Drake. "As such, we have been told to show proper etiquette to him, even though he very rarely comes here; during working hours no less."

"He's the person I was meant to meet."

"Oh, kind of curious as to what kind of relationship you two-"

"We tried to kill each other in the past." Ironically, it was both Drake and Adam who said that without a hint of care, leaving Rose speechless.

"As for you," the Guardian scowled at Adam. "I almost lost my cool in here earlier, getting him and me in close proximity to each other, are you mental?"

The Faunus growled. "It's not my bloody fault you two have a hate boner for one another."

"Oh, what are we talking ab- Ouch! Ouch!" Tsubaki was silenced by Drake pinching her ear even harder.

"Later."

Adam sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "Can we just go on already?"

Drake simply nodded, looking at Rose with a nod of goodbye.

Rose just returned it, seeing them retreating while Drake still dragged Tsubaki by the ear. She finally sighed, not expecting any of the developments that occurred in the last half an hour.

And somehow, Drake being associated with Adam Taurus was the most surprising one. She shook her head, seeing it was not the time to think about all of the suppositions coming to her mind.

Unaware that over all of them, a pair of Cyan colored eyes watched the short exchange with a hateful but calculated glare.

"… I see something… round." An armored figure commented, making a certain Goblin sigh in exasperation.

"… Let me guess… is it a rock?" Lett asked, completely unamused as his fellow Xenos replied.

"Correct… your turn."

"Aude," The Goblin started, heavy patience in his tone. "We are inside of the Dungeon, in the darkest corners of the Deep Floors; where there's nothing but rocks, rocks, and rocks!"

"… They are different shapes, though."

The Goblin's head snapped at the War Shadow, with a look of contemplation on whether it was worth picking a fight or not; Lett was pretty sure he was being taunted.

In the end, neither did anything, feeling a small spike of Aura in the Area before they looked at an empty space before it started to glow. A small explosion of energy happened, revealing three humanoid figures; one of them was suddenly handed a paper bag before throwing up in it.

"I don't need a paper bag, you said," Drake commented, seeing Tsubaki kneeling as she threw up everything in her stomach inside of the bag. "I am not gonna throw up, you said."

She stopped for a second, she looked at him with disdain, prepared to say something but Drake beat her to it. "Not over yet."

And as if it was magic, her eye widened before focusing back on the bag and then resuming her previous action. "Badasses don't throw up, you said."

"Right… everyone throws up on their first teleportation," Lett thought out loud, recalling the first time they used the Teleportation Dust… he threw up next to Fear and Ray. "They still stay away from me every time we use the damn thing."

Drake sighed, kneeling next to her before patting her head. "There, there."

A full minute later, Tsubaki was looking miserable at the ground. "Fuck teleportation," funny enough, she had been excited to try it when she first heard of it; but not anymore! "Not even my first hangover was this bad."

"As the Goblin said, it happens to everyone for the first time." He grimaced, remembering it was a collective experiment, the results were not always clean. "The whole process is based on making you disappear and appear in a new location-"

"No shit."

"-That means reorganizing all of your organs back into reality, which is something it takes the body time to get used to." Drake took out a napkin.

"Thanks… you can stop patting my head," she commented tiredly.

"You sure, you seemed awfully better when I was doing it."

"I am not a fucking child."

"Clearly." He snorted, making her groan seeing she walked straight into a 'You are old' innuendo.

"Of, fuck you." She stood up, looking at him to see him offer a mouth watch; her eye twitched.

"Say what you want, but yes, you fucking stink of vomit; so shove it, and shove it." He said, gesturing at the drink.

"You guys done?"

"Yeah," Tsubaki replied, having already used the mouthwash she had been provided. She knew Drake was smug about it for being prepared for her, only lacking the 'I told you so'. "Get on with it, tour guide."

"To your right, there's a wall." Adam gestured to his side. "And to my left, there's another wall."

Adam just rolled his eyes, gesturing for them to follow him.

"… I didn't know you had acquaintances in the Guild."

Drake eyed Adam for a second, reaching a conclusion as to why he brought on the subject. "I am not creating an information network, Adam."

"Just making sure. Gotta be weary if you and your Brothers suddenly decided to start playing Monopoly in the city."

The Blacksmith raised an eyebrow. "Monopoly?"

Her question went ignored.

"It's just like you say; she is little more than an acquaintance."

Tsubaki snorted. "If we are calling 'more' your most recent and previous interactions, sure, let's go with that."

Adam absorbed the words, taking him a good ten seconds before he stopped, remembering they had met right outside the Guild's library. "In the Library? Really?" he snorted. "Are you trying to start a tag list like Zelos?"

"Taglist?"

"A list of places, positions, and other things Sex related." Zelos Wilder stated, having materialized out of Drake's shadow without warning, making everyone but Adam and Drake jump back.

"For fucks sake, man!" She exclaimed, not being used to being taken back by surprise.

"May I say how grateful I am that you finally managed what I couldn't do in eleven years of friendship?" he ignored her outburst, making her chuckle a little at the realization of him meaning her playing Wingman for Drake and succeeding.

"I find the whole thing about being a Redhead the most outstanding fact above all."

"Oh, fuck you, cat lover." Everyone saw how Adam mildly scowled at Drake's kink-shaming, seeing even the Xenos were snorting. "Can we fucking focus on what we are doing?"

"You are the one that started this conversation, you little shit," Drake replied, rubbing the side of his neck a little before cracking it. "And now that we are on the subject, mind explaining what exactly we are retrieving? You mentioned it was related to why the Scroll is working with network-"

"And!" Tsubaki interrupted him. "That you might have one of those fine Dust Refiners."

Adam grunted in acknowledgment, smiling in a small smug way. "Tell me… how well do you keep track of everything that you have stored in the Shadows?"

Drake rolled his eyes. "I may be an item hoarder, but when everyone you know tells you to keep something for them and then never fucking asks for it, it's kind of hard to keep an order in there…"

"You can't blame me for that," Zelos commented. "If anything, I am the lesser evil in all of this; the most I have asked you to keep are proof of all the infidelities I took part in over the years, so backup clothes, Spare Scroll, and such."

"You really live up to the name of a Scumbag, huh?" Zelos just shrugged at Tsubaki's remark.

"Leaving my things and my brothers aside, there are also things that I had to put in there in a hurry; debris from battles, bodies I had to cover for Yuri-"

"Oh yeah, those were a thing," Lett commented, recalling his skin went from green to white the moment a decapitated body fell next to him when they first started to take out Drake's things from the shadows a long time ago. "I cannot stand Zombie movies thanks to that."

"- and… where exactly are you going with this?"

Adam didn't reply, opting to just smile widely as they kept walking into a darker part of the Dungeon; stopping right as they stepped into a massive room that would make an Adventurer believe they were about to fight a Monster Rex; the fact that Tsubaki could see absolutely nothing made her believe that.

"…" Tsubaki looked at her sides, noticing nobody was saying anything. She focused on her right, seeing Drake slowly running his hand through his face while releasing a soft groan. Zelos on the other hand was pinching the bridge between his nose as he walked back and forward. Seeing the former being annoyed was like breakfast; one rarely missed it. But seeing Zelos doing the same, that was weird.

"Fucking elitist piece of shit." Drake suddenly commented.

"I know right," Adam muttered. "Any idea when you put that in the Shadows?"

"Trying to remember… most likely during the fall of Atlas."

She narrowed her eyes, being kept out of the look seeing she clearly wasn't seeing anything in the dark. It was then that she noticed everyone's eyes were glowing. "A reminder for people that I don't have Aura; therefore, I can't enhance my fucking eye."

"Zelos, would you kindly?"

The redhead raised his finger as if it were a gun, creating a small white glyph on it that shot a spark of light above. The light gained height, stopping at its tallest point before it slowly started to brighten the room. Her eye started to brighten up, her jaw slowly dropped; suffice to say, she looked like a child witnessing something amazing for the last time.

It was a massive structure, a massive metallic structure. For a moment she thought it might have been a boat of sorts. But then, she noticed what looked like broken wings with partially destroyed cylinders. It was then she remembered Drake had stated his people were able to create flying vehicles… it was an airship, a pretty fucking massive airship.

"That thing is… what? As big as Orario?" she managed to ask, a little dumbfounded at seeing such a magnificent creation, even if it was partially destroyed.

"Thrice," Adam commented. "We are currently in an area outside of the Dungeon, I figured it was the best place to put this for the time being." He narrowed his eyes behind his shaders, seeing the name 'The Ark' painted in dark blue letters with the Symbol of a snowflake on it; the Symbol of the Schnee Family.

"Zelos… explain." Drake stated, seeing as his former kingdom was responsible for the bullshit he was seeing.

"So!" he clapped his hands, crouching as he was apparently still annoyed for some reason. "Around the time after your death in the battle of Beacon, your uncle gave the order to his people to support the Kingdoms of Atlas as much as they needed."

Drake growled, already knowing where this was going. "They abused that."

"Quite majestically may I point out," Zelos commented with a sour tone. "General Ironwood thought that if he could not beat Ratatosk or Salem-"

"Who?" Tsubaki asked.

"A side bitch, completely unimportant," Drake replied before letting Zelos continue.

"He thought… let's get off the planet!" he said sardonically. "And with the resources good old Mithos had, it was a possibility. Overall, it was not a bad idea… but guess who was in charge of the project?"

Drake narrowed his eyes at the Snowflake symbol. "Jacques Fucking Schnee." He gritted his teeth. "And the General allowed this to happen…why?"

"The guy had too much in his hands at the moment. Initially, he had trusted the other members of the Council of Atlas to do the job, but all it took was for the SOB to appear with his silver tongue to convince them of the project." Zelos sighed. "As you might have recalled, I served as a Lieutenant under the General at the time. I knew something was going on seeing how the number of things that your Uncle gave the Kingdom was limited for the common people. It was to be expected seeing how Atlas is, but I didn't expect it for this. It wasn't until I asked Rita to hack into Atlas' systems to track what was going on that I found out what was going on."

Rita Mordio.

A name both Tsubaki and Hephaestus have heard in the past. One of the creators and the one they had to thank for the Storable Spell Knives. Zelos' girlfriend, a genius in the field of Magic Artes, Dust, and over-innovating technology. However, something that Drake had made sure to clear with Tsubaki was that the woman had an attitude and was antisocial, almost as bad as Drake himself when it came to dealing with people.

"I take it that's what you found out there."

"And with a rather interesting message directed to all the people with power in Atlas that said;" Zelos created his throat, standing firm and regal. "As you all know, this project we are investing in is for the future of not just Atlas, but humankind as a whole. As such, it is also up to us to see who is fit to come with us on this journey to a new World. Therefore, we must also procure those who are worthy of such a privilege."

Yup, he sounded like an absolute stuck-up asshole; almost High-Elf-like.

"He intended to gain a profit out of it, making a business to sell tickets to those who could pay as if it was a fucking cruise; keeping the Faunus out of it" Adam concluded, recalling he never heard what the fate of the man was. "What the fuck happened to him, anyway?"

The Guardians looked at each other before shrugging.

"I am sorry to interrupt this and all, but that still doesn't explain how this ended up inside your shadows."

Everyone looked at Tsubaki, who stared at Drake.

"The Fall of the Kingdom of Atlas… there were many factors that lead to it; hacking of the systems responsible for the machines levitating the city caused them to fail, Salem the side bitch sending her goons to wreck chaos, the General losing his mind and prioritizing defense rather than offense… but if I had to pinpoint the whole fucking iceberg, it would be-"

"Here we go again." Zelos sighed, already knowing what was coming.

"Team RWBY," he looked at Adam, who was scowling at the memory. "His Ex, to be more specific."

Blake Belladonna, a name who has been dropped a few times among some others; accompanied by a look of hatred so pure it almost looked like he hated her more than Ratatosk.

"In a nutshell, they had managed to obtain a Centurion; Tonitrus of Lightning."

Tsubaki winced, recalling Drake mentioning Atlas was a literal flying kingdom. Someone losing control with Lightning of all elements in their power while being in a flying city… horrible combination.

"Hold it… are you telling me this was another Loki Familia situation with that group?"

There was a collective grunt.

"The only difference being, we didn't know what a sealed Centurion could do to someone. Nor did we know it had been in the possession of Team RWBY." Zelos commented with a scowl.

"Ruby Rose thought that she and her team could keep it safe, expecting Adam or someone else from Ratatosk's side to retrieve it."

Adam snorted as he looked at Drake. "This is the funny part, I hadn't even set foot in Atlas, and she had already lost Control." Adam started to ponder. "I don't think it's a situation similar to Loga's. She had already seen what I could do with a Centurion, my guess is that in her cowardice, she willingly took it and used it. Of course, we can already imagine what happens to someone who can't control her emotions and it's not strong-willed."

"Many people died because of her; it all went into the literal ground when she summoned a Lightning so fucking massive that it split a third part of Atlas, pretty much dooming us… until he appeared."

Everyone looked at Drake, pinching the bridge above his nose. "Atlas was so fucking elitist that the idea of the whole flying city was a way to show how the wealthy lived above the poor."

"… you say that as if there had been another city under Atlas…" She was met with stares. "Let me guess… they were so full on themselves that the idea of their ivory tower falling never crossed their minds." Again, stares. "Fuck, your people are stupid." She replied to Zelos, who simply shrugged.

"So… I had no other option than to create a portal into the Shadows that was big enough to fill the whole city and its people and then instantly get the civilians out of there to a safe location." Just remembering the whole thing gave him a headache.

"So… there's a chance this ship fell and remained in your Shadows during that moment," Tsubaki concluded. "And since we are talking about stuck-up people, there's a chance everything inside might be way over the top; like my future refiner and Gods knows what else."

"She's drooling," Lett commented, seeing the Blacksmith completely lost in her thoughts.

"I still don't see the issue," Drake commented. "You had one and a half years to move this if you used Tenebrae to pull it back in the Shadows, why didn't you?"

Adam sighed. "We didn't have Solumn then; so we couldn't make the right space to store this." He looked around. "It was a miracle we found this place."

"Ok then," Drake flexed his hands. "One big ass hole, coming right-"

"Hold it, we still have a couple of problems to deal with." Drake just raised an eyebrow. "When we first found out about this, we tried to enter it by force. We didn't expect it to be running on minimum capacity, so it triggered the alarm." Drake looked at the ship, noticing the reinforced doors, and the floor near it full of holes; no doubt from gunshots.

"That's where I came in." The War Shadow commented. "My semblance allowed me to change my shape in any form and shape."

"Like making you thin enough to pass through the door."

The Xenos nodded.

"We instructed him to go and find the security system. We found it, but the ship needed to be fully energized so it could be operated."

"Fucking backup protocols." Drake thought out loud. "I take it something else happened after?"

"It was the AI, wasn't it?" Adam just looked confused at Zelos.

"How-"

"I told you, I had Rita look into it." He commented, noticing the Bull Faunus tensed at the name; as he did before. "She noticed the planning for the whole ship, including the Ai." He snorted. "She installed a backdoor just in case."

"Well that solves part of the problem," Adam commented. "The AI had instantly recognized Aude as a threat, setting the security to its maximum."

"I barely made it out alive… that machine was really offensive, too." The War Shadow commented with a low tone, making it sound depressed.

"Do you recall reading who the AI was based on?" Drake asked, to which Zelos shook his head.

"It's not the General," Adam commented. "It wasn't Papa Schnee. either."

"Which just sums it down to every average racist person in Atlas," Zelos tapped Drake's shoulder before walking towards the ship. "By protocol, it should let me in if it recognizes me. Since this is around the time I was a Lieutenant, it should have my credentials in its Database. If it doesn't, we will use the backdoor."

"… As long as he's walking ahead, no problems."

Zelos didn't turn around but still flipped off the Goblin as intense light turned on him. Soon, small holes opened to reveal tentacle cameras focusing on him.

"Zelos R. Wilder. Rank: Lieutenant. ID: 35146534364"

Zelos narrowed his eyes, having a sense of déjà vu; not the good kind.

'Drake,' Jude suddenly said, in a deathly one. "Tell Adam to cast a wall and Zelos, get back, Now." The blonde didn't ask any questions, proceeding to do as told.

"Jude, where have I heard the voice before?" Zelos asked, walking back slowly. "Please tell me it was not someone I slept with." He commented, noticing it was a female voice.

"Access to the ARC… DENIED!"

Tsubaki's eye widened, seeing as several more holes opened to reveal various torrents and missiles, all aiming at Zelos without prejudice.

"Oh shit, it's packing heat!"

The ship opened fire, wasting no time in giving a warning, making the Guardian backflip just in time for Adam to create a massive wall of reinforced earth.

"Who the fuck did you piss this time!?" Adam asked, curious as to why the ship was showing even more prejudice to Zelos.

"Jude! Context!?" Drake asked, but the Ai beat him to it.

"You are a shame to the great Kingdom of Atlas! Abusing your power to do as you pleased!"

Zelos' eyes widened, finally recognizing the voice. "You have got to be fucking kidding me! Cordovin you useless cunt, is that you!?"

Drake blinked, as did Adam; the name sounded awfully familiar.

"You ruined my military career! All to help a filthy Faunus!" The discriminated fire continued, just as Drake's eyes widened.

"Cordovin… Caroline Cordovin!? The midget that almost destroyed the City of Argus because of her ineptitude!?"

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Her shouting increased. "IT WAS BECAUSE OF THOSE MEDDLING KIDS!"

Drake stood still for a moment, then he looked at Zelos. "Don't tell me-"

"Yup!"

"TEAM RWBY! IT WAS ALL THEIR FAULT!"

"Wow," Tsubaki explained, resting against the rocks that were covering them as if nothing were happening. "You might actually be up to something about those four if these fuckups keep happening. So, the context?"

"Caroline Cordovin," Adam said, finally recalling who she was. "A specialist operative from the Kingdom of Atlas, tasked with keeping the City of Argus safe from the Kaiju Level Grimm."

"Kaiju? As in, massive Monsters?"

"Yes, way, way, waaaaaaaay bigger than a Goliath." Zelos continued. "Team RWBY and their posse had been trying to get transport to Atlas; Cordovin being the cunt she is, denied them access due to the Faunus in the group."

"I WAS DOING MY JOB!"

"Anyway," they ignored her. "The meddling kids decided to try and steal a Ship to the Kingdom, they were caught in the process. And this dumbass-!" he pointed over the ship. "Decides it's a good idea to use the giant mech normally used against the Kaiju to fight some children; and the best thing of it is-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Bitch had a fucking Metal Gear, and she couldn't beat a couple of brats!?" Lett said, looking a little over the wall. "Damn, you suck!"

"SHUT IT YOU GREEN VERMIN!"

"Since the only line of defense had been destroyed, Team RWBY just took a ship and left. A couple of hours later, there had been a Grimm invasion with a Kaiju in it. And since the robot meant to deal with these things was out of service, they were pretty much fucked."

"Ok, but that still doesn't explain why she's pissed at you."

"Going there, Baki. The only reason the City didn't fall was because Jude and some of our friends were heading there."

"They did her job."

"They did her fucking job." He sounded proud. "And what does this bitch do? She jails them."

"Trying to steal their credit?" Tsubaki asked, looking unamused at anything related to the Kingdom of Atlas by now. "What a salty bitch."

"THEY HAD NO JURISDICTION TO OPERATE IN MY AREA! THEY SHOULD BE HAPPY I DIDN'T END THEM! THEY SHOULD FEEL HONORED I EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THEM! AND WHAT DO I GET IN RETURN!? I GET BEATEN WITH A GOLF CLUB!"

Everyone looked at Zelos, who simply smiled. "Yeah, that was me." He suddenly scowled. "I received a message about the Kaiju Alert and that the Robot had been damaged. I also knew Jude was around those parts, so I flew there. When I arrived all I saw were our friends in chains. Those with Faunus traits were even put on a hose… you can already see where this is going."

Tsubaki winced, internally wincing as she imagined someone being beaten with a club.

"Where the fuck did you even get a Golf Club?"

Zelos shrugged at the Goblin. "It was a coastal city. For some reason people love to practice their Golf Swings looking at the ocean. There was a lot to spare." Zelos sighed. "Anyway, I beat her to the brink of death, made her lose a foot of height, used my authority to do a dishonorable discharge, and the end… or it would be if I wasn't listening to this bitch ass voice!"

"YOU RUINED MY MILITARY CAREER, HUMILIATED ME BY RECORDING THE WHOLE THING, AND LET ME PARALYTIC YOU IMBECILE! BUT MY KINGDOM DIDN'T ABANDON ME! THEY STILL HAVE A JOB FOR ME! TO SERVE AS THE AI OF THE GREAT ARC THAT WILL LEAD US TO A NEW WORLD!"

"Oh right! I did record the beating!" Drake partly facepalmed at his best friend.

"Can you please just trigger the backdoor?"

"Aye, aye. Just let me have the final word one last time." Zelos stated, making Drake sigh before giving him the ok. "Hey Midget! We are no longer in Remnant!"

The shooting stopped.

"What stupidity are you spouting now!?"

"Atlas fell, your original body probably fucking died without anyone caring, you didn't apport to anything in the end seeing this shit never took flight, and you are an irrelevant character." The Guardian replied calmly, seeing the confusion in the machine.

"You are lying! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! LIES! LIES! LIES! LIES!"

More holes appeared on the ship, making Drake's eyes widened as he noticed that no torrent or missile launched. "Zelos, that's a straight light particle concentrated beam! Hurry the fuck up already!"

"Got it… " Zels turned serious, only to clear his throat and take a deep breath. "01010010 01101001 01110100 01100001 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01100010 01110011 01110100."

Everyone just stared dumbfounded at him.

"Rita, what the fuck?" Drake stated, somehow not surprised their friend had used binary as the password.

"… WHAT!?" The various weapons suddenly stopped, before the various weapons retreated back into the ship. "What is-%&/($&/( on!? Why don't I (%)#/&=) control?"

"Huh… she's being erased."

"Wi-)#/%)(=/#der!" the lights turned off, just to be turned on again after a moment.

The mechanical arms appeared again, focusing on each of them.

"Should we-?"

Drake raised a hand, indicating to Tsubaki not to do anything harsh.

The camera moved to each of them, not paying much attention to Tsubaki or the Xenos; staring considerably at Zelos, Drake, and finally Adam.

Soon, everyone heard a noise, their eyes moved to see a hatch opening. Drake narrowed his eyes at the camera, just as they retrieved themselves back into the ship.

"… The fuck was that about?"

"… Rita's backdoor most likely erased Cordovin, and replaced it with a more robotic AI."

"Judging by your expression, that's not a good thing." Drake couldn't reply to her question, opting to just go out and be prepared for the worst.

"Don't let your guard down."

Everyone followed him as they finally entered the ship, just for the door to close behind them.

"Fucking classic," Zelos muttered before looking at the blonde. "Think we will find Zombies or some shit like that?"

"I would rather fight a hundred machines over rotting corpses," Lett commented, making Zelos snort.

"Cowa-" his words died down, as everyone noticed their surroundings in the small hall they were in glowed for a moment. Zelos' eyes widened, looking at Drake to say something, but it was too late as he faded out of existence a moment later.

"The fuck?" Tsubaki said, noticing Drake's shadow was back with him… and said blonde soon fell on his knees; as did everyone else but her. "What? Don't tell me we are now dealing with a feminist AI!?" she instantly helped her friend stand, just as he held the side of his head.

"Son of a-" he cursed slowly. "My Aura… our Auras-"

"Have been sealed." Adam managed to mutter as he used his weapon for support.

"Damn it… I forgot what it used to be without it." Lett commented, as even his fellow Xenos groaned.

"Fucking Atlas… no… rather… damn it, Uncle," Drake commented, seeing as this was technology his Uncle's organization had developed.

"Shall we go out? Pretty sure I can break the door."

"Doubt it," Drake commented. "This fucking thing is not just made with metallic Aura, but also refined at perfection. Even with your bracelet, you won't be able to break it."

Tsubaki scowled, noticing Drake was now looking at a specific point. Her eye darted, narrowing her gaze as she noticed a camera in the hall, focusing on them before everyone heard a sound.

"-.. - -. .-. - ... ... .- -.- ... .- ... .- - .-. -.."

"The fuck was that?" Lett asked, just as Adam was able to stand up on his own.

"No idea, but we should continue; nothing is gonna come out of just standing around." The Xenos nodded.

"Wait, what about your blessings? Shouldn't that overpower whatever mumbo jumbo this shit is?"

Adam nodded. "But that would mean getting unwanted attention, from the Dungeon and the Gods in the City alike." He sighed. "Don't you agree, Aurion?" there was no reply, making Tsubaki look at her friend, who was still staring at the camera while more weird sounds kept happening.

"... - .- ... .- .-. . ... -.- - ..- ... .- .-.. .. ...- . ..-.. ... .- ... -.- ... .- .-. . ... -.- - ..- ... .- .. - ... ... - .- ..- .-. ..- ... ..-.."

"Drake?" she asked, noticing he just looked boredly at the camera.

"I am ok." He suddenly said, tapping her shoulder a couple of times before she let him go. "Baki, you walk on ahead, seeing you are the strongest person in here."

They stared at each other for a moment, she slightly narrowed her eyes before nodding. She took notice of the look in his eyes. Yes, he seemed tired due to the sudden lack of Aura, but there was something else now. Something only he noticed and couldn't say anything about for some reason; either because they were being watched, or because he didn't want Adam to hear them.

But either way, he managed to look at her with enough intensity to transmit his message.

'Trust me.'

And so she did, not saying a word as she took charge.

He followed, as did the rest. But Drake just kept staring at the camera for a moment, twitching his fingers so only it could see it.

'What the hell are you playing at?'

Rose stretched her arms high in the air. But not out of fatigue or being tired. But rather, out of pure bliss seeing she still felt great despite putting almost triple the effort in her job.

Something that could not be said about the rest of her coworkers seeing everyone was groaning as they just went for their break.

"Seriously, what's with you and all that energy? It was fine the last couple of days, but now I am just plain envious." Sophie groaned, as did the rest.

"I am just taking care of myself." A partial lie.

"Right… you sure it isn't that glow-up that you got directly from the source earlier?"

Rose smiled at her friend, catching up on the clear innuendo in the sentence. "Whatever you could mean? Sophie."

"You can't possibly pretend to play the fool, not after that exchange earlier today. Not to mention we didn't see you for the last thirty minutes after that."

"And yet I finished my load of work for half of the day." There was another set of groans. "Also, this is the first time I have seen him in a while. And nothing happened while I was gone earlier… isn't that right, Eina?"

The Half-Elf shrank a little at the mention of her name, instantly digging her face in papers to pretend to be working so they wouldn't see their blush. "No… nothing happened."

"Yeah… no one's gonna believe that one." There were some grunts in agreement. "Also, pretty sure exercising your authority on her is an abuse of power."

The Werewolf deadpanned. "Tell that to Royman." This time everyone, even her, groaned. "So, are we going for lunch or-"

Now it was a collective sigh. "We still have some work to do… so-"

"Oh, that you want me to wait for you in the usual place, that is ok." The Werewolf commented, placing her hand on her chest with a helpful smile before turning around so she wouldn't be coaxed into helping them with their work.

"… At least make sure to order for us," Sophie said in a defeated tone.

"Already planned on that." The Werewolf replied before exiting the staff room and subsequently the Guild. Even if things went a little out of hand earlier today, she couldn't help but smile.

Truth be told, she now felt a little conflicted seeing she was getting awfully close to him; going directly against her policy of establishing any kind of relationship with Adventurers… and yet she couldn't help to continue contemplating the idea, even if it wasn't a formal relation.

She shook her head, opting to just smile, and thought about it later as she walked through the streets to enjoy her rest.

Completely unaware of a group of Adventures that closely followed her.

The Goddess of the Forge sighed.

She was currently sitting in from of the counter in the Hostess of Fertility, having some free time to herself and looking to escape the heat.

When she said that to Mia Grande, the Dwarf snorted before calling her out for being the Goddess of the Forge and Fire and still feeling the heat. Truth be told, she wasn't affected by it, but escaping from it and going into a cold place was a delight every living being would agree it was a must.

She sighed, looking down at the counter as her eye focused on the current subject of her attention. Something she shouldn't even have in the first place.

Flashback

"You know…. You really make me feel better about myself," Tsubaki commented, moving some bloodied weapons that had seen better days. "I mean, I treat my Forge like my Temple, my room on the other hand-"

"Is a fucking mess, we are aware."

Hephaestus rolled her eye, agreeing with Drake.

"But you!" she pointed her finger at him. "You just make me feel like the cleanest gal in existence by virtue of the sheer amount of stuff you had in there."

"First, pretty sure a gal is someone young," he easily caught a knife with his fingers, thrown by a smirking Tsubaki. "Second, you have seen my room in the Hostess; completely pristine."

"Doesn't change the fact that you are an item-hoarding bitch, bitch!" she said, carrying the box of weapons out of the garden and into her forge.

"Thanks to this, she will be able to have ingots with Natural Aura, instead of just infusing normal metal with her Hammer." His eyes darted to the Goddess, who brushed her forehead as she moved her black sweatshirt to gain some air.

"Don't mention it, not that any of that stuff was mine to begin with."

They had agreed that as long as it wasn't something dangerous and it wasn't marked with his initials, they could keep it. So here they were, helping him separate things.

"Kind of disappointed we can't keep these, though." She commented, holding one of the flash grenades with his initials.

"I was actually gonna teach Tsubaki how to do it, among any other warfare tools seeing that fucking Goblin used most of them." He said, recalling that Lett had shown expertise in Flash and Electro Grenades when he was running from Freya's Pallum.

"They don't need Dust?" she asked curiously, seeing that material was one of the only things keeping Tsubaki from advancing in her craft.

"The Flash ones don't. But I already have the Dust issue solved, both of you are gonna have an amount of each type of Dust in a few days."

"Both of us?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I made two-of-a-kind hammers. One for the crazy bitch that isn't here, and another for you; you know, to forge with."

Her eye twitched, seeing as he was making motions with his hands to explain these words as if she had mental problems.

"Even if you don't have the same knowledge about the Runes I taught Tsubaki, you should still be able to forge something. If it is at the risk of harming your hands due to the waves of energy of the hammer, then I will just make some fortified gloves for you." He looked away, focusing on his item cleaning, not seeing the Goddess taking her fist to cover her mouth and lower face, the prospect of receiving another gift from Drake excited her a little.

"Well…" she coughed a little, recovering her breathing. "Believe it or not, I have been a little nervous about what I might end up creating." She smiled confidently, crossing one of her arms while she placed her other hand over her chest. "Had it not been because I am careful, I would be bringing some old ideas into fruition."

"Like an exploding sword?" he asked with a deadpan, making her snort as she adopted an offended look.

"Please, that is so basic."

The blonde froze for a moment before smirking at her. "Fucking, thank you."

She raised an eyebrow, curious as to why the sudden thanks.

"Drakey!" Tsubaki's shout came from her Forge. "I don't know why, but fuck you!"

"Love you too, you basic bitch!" he snorted a little, making Hephaestus confused at the exchange. "You ask her."

She shrugged, not wanting to be involved in one of their shenanigans at the moment.

"I am gonna go to that corner over there," the Goddess commented, walking towards the mountain of books assembled at the side. "Anything I should be looking out for?"

"Most of them are probably adult books Guy or any other of our friends owned."

Said Guardian was heard slamming his face on the table repeatedly. Even if his fear of women was finally gone, he shall forever be mocked for it; because that's what friends do.

"As for what to look for; anything with Jude's name on it, or anything that sounds stupidly complicated," Drake explained that those were probably projects or research that could be applied in real life.

They didn't speak much, wanting to be done with things fast.

The only times they exchanged words were when a weird title caught her attention; like the one right now. Most of the papers she saw didn't even have covers, those ones were usually the ones that Drake described as those of adult content, or novels of another kind, and this was no different.

But for some reason, she couldn't take her eye off it seeing how the material for the cover of the book was overly elegant and robust, as if it was some sort of important book. She ran her fingers through it, focusing on the weird symbol of roots and a giant tree on it.

"Does this one hold any kind of important value or information?" she asked, reading the title of the book and the author, still not getting a reply from the blonde. "Drake?" nothing. She looked over her shoulder, curious as to why she wasn't being addressed. She thought that perhaps he had left without her noticing, seeing as his steps were silent. But that wasn't the case, he was there, his eyes locked on the book she was holding. His eyes remained stoic, but the little brightness they usually carry was gone as if they had been taken away.

"Put it with the things to lock away." He commented, turning around before focusing on something else. "…" a full minute passed before he released a sigh. "If you want to ask, just ask."

"I haven't said anything."

"And yet I feel your eye on me." She frowned, curious as to why something like this would put him on edge.

"I just don't want to pry if it's a sensitive topic." Had it been any other time, he would have rolled his eyes seeing he still could feel her stare on him.

The Goddess took a deep breath, seeing no right to pry if he didn't want to talk. She prepared to do as told, not even daring to open the book out of respect. But he beat her to it.

"It's a book Ratatosk wrote in his free time; the genre is tragedy… in his own words." Her eye widened, her head snapping at the book to read its title and author. "You would think someone intending on ending all Mortal life would have his hands busy, apparently it isn't."

"But… the name in the book says-"

"It's an alias," he replied. "One that he used to manipulate someone gullible, but that's a whole different story." He shook his train of thought, not wanting to remember one of the many fuck ups Blake Belladonna did.

"This…" she started, trying to find the words as she saw through some of the pages. "This is about you."

"… Pretty much, yeah." He stated, in a rather uncomfortable yet grim way. "He took advantage of his Curse on me to write it. Most of the events up to when I was Seventeen were there, so he took that as the source and put it in his own words."

"… Why? Why do this?" she asked, a little more perplexed and surprised as to why the Great Spirit would do this.

"Easy, just read the dedicatory."

She raised an eyebrow, going near the first pages to see the words Ratatosk had written. "… To the person I despise the most; he who shall have not been born…"

"He did it to spite me," Drake stated, noticing the frown that started to form on her face, making her chuckle with a shrug. "I don't need your pity, Hephaestus." he turned around, but she noticed him getting a hold of his right forearm as he said that.

She dropped the subject, recalling she had said something similar when he saw her unmasked face. But contrary to him, she didn't know what to say in this situation. So she opted to just drop the subject… partially.

"Why did you keep it?"

"Because the Son of a Bitch enchanted the damn thing. I can't get rid of it or burn it, otherwise, it will appear next to me without me being aware."

The Goddess couldn't help but deadpan. "… That is so petty."

He turned around, back to his usual bland expression. "Rich coming from the Goddess."

All she could do was smile at him, with a tick mark on her forehead while her hands tried to rip the book apart out of not having a smart reply.

But she dropped the subject, walking towards the place Drake had asked her to put the book. But not before looking at the cover one last time and doing as asked.

She did not do as asked.

The Goddess fought the urge to slam her head on the counter at the memory. Thinking that Drake or even Tsubaki could look at her in disgust, seeing as she did it with the intention of finding out about Drake…

'That is not stalkerish… right?'

She remained unsure, looking at the final pages of it with a frown.

The Goddess didn't know how to put it into words. She was like Zeus, the bastard who only thought about stories and such, herself beaten only by his lust. She on the other hand only knew a few, and only because she saw the events happening when she was in Tenkai.

But this wasn't that kind of Hero story where the good prevails after a hard battle that contained heavy losses.

No.

This was truly the very definition of a tragic story, and Ratatosk made sure to transmit it.

He detailed Drake's thoughts and actions, and why he did them; calling everything he did futile seeing how in the end Fate wasn't on his side. He also put on his shoulders every bad event that happened; every misfortune that happened to his brothers, his sister's death, Lloyd going into a coma, every tragedy, catastrophe… all of it.

He even went as far as taking a small part in making a feud between the Spirit of Light and The Spirit of Darkness; both of which would possess each Aurion brother respectively to then kill each other. But then she recalled Tsubaki telling something similar not too long ago, resulting in said Spirit being Drake's maternal Aunt; denying what she had read seeing as that event didn't come to pass.

It was truly a dedication to Ratatosk's hate for him; all to make Drake feel miserable.

But in the end, she couldn't really give a thought at the ending of the book. That was probably due to Drake getting rid of the Curse that let Ratatosk see everything through his eyes. Although, that didn't make her feel any better.

The message at the end of the book stated that it didn't matter how hard he fought, struggled, and persevered he would fail in the end… because that was the FATE of him who was hated by the World.

The only positive thing that came out of it was that the words of The Great Spirit didn't come to pass, seeing as Drake succeeded in his journey… even if that resulted in his death.

'Talk about bittersweet endings.' She frowned, wondering if, in the end, everything he went through was worth it seeing Ratatosk was still alive. Knowing him, he would probably say yes… she isn't going to lie… even if she was one of the goddesses that interacted more with mortals, she couldn't say she understood them completely. But she thought that deep down, even if Drake could tell no lies, that didn't mean he didn't force himself to believe everything was fine and all of it was worth it.

Hell, she knew for a fact she wouldn't be forgiving if it came down to it… she scowled, recalling a blonde-haired Goddess with blue eyes, showing her stupid smile while spewing nothing but lies.

"Hephaestus~"

The Goddess gritted her teeth and held the side of her head while lowering it to not be seen, cursing herself for going down memory lane.

Hephaestus took a deep breath, calming herself down.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before releasing a snort. Around a month ago she indirectly accused Drake of going into a rage fit and pursuing his Revenge again due to Ratatosk; he claimed he wouldn't do the latter, but not sure about the former if he saw the Great Spirit.

The Blacksmith on the other side couldn't even think about the person she despised the most without almost snarling.

"Fuck, I am petty." She voiced with a snort.

"So is every damn God in this city." The Goddess blinked, looking straight into the eyes of one Mia Grande. "At least you are one of the good ones." The Goddess smirked a little with a smug expression. "Before you say anything, yes, I speak from personal experience." Her smile just widened, thinking it was ironic the cause of their annoyment were both Goddesses of Love.

"You ok? It looked as if you wanted to smash someone's head with a hammer."

The Blacksmith's sweat dropped a little. "Was it that obvious?"

Mia nodded with a semi-wincing smile. "Was that book really that bad?"

She blinked, looking back at the last page of the book before sighing. "Not sure about that… the author is kind of a dick."

"So is every author nowadays; nothing original there either," Mia stated, recalling a certain Goddess had made her read the same books as her just so she could talk with someone about them; suffice to say, she's not a fan of Romance novels. "Anyway, are you going to order anything else?"

She looked down, noticing she had finished her beverage without realizing it. "Yeah… another one of those Ice teas would be ok."

The Dwarf nodded, retiring to relay the order and leaving the Goddess alone to get some piece of mind.

"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertili- Damn, that's a lot of luggage." She heard Demeter's Child comment all the way from the entrance.

"Th-Thank you," a soft voice said, "a little more and I was a goner."

"Welcome Sir!" Syr Flova commented. "I take it you want to book a room judging by these cases?"

The young man gave an awkward laugh, the waitress was most likely being too pushy at the newcomer.

"Oh, sorry. Just catching my breath a little." He said, panting a little. "Summer is being really merciless this time around."

"You must be exhausted!" the waitress exclaimed. The Goddess' ears twitched as she heard their steps getting closer. "I am sorry, but the seats at the counter are the only ones available."

"Figured as much seeing it is so cold in here," the man, who could pass as a young boy in his teenager by the tone of his voice, sat next to the Goddess while his cases remained close to him.

"So, will you be staying? Or would you perhaps like to order something first?"

"Some water would be nice." The young man commented, making Syr make a motion to a waitress nearby to bring it to her.

"Aren't you going to bring it?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to keep company to a cutie like you."

The teen look-alike laughed awkwardly. "It may not look like it, but I am older than you probably think; older than you, most likely."

"That doesn't make you any less cute, sir!" that girl was just too damn forward. "Say, Mister, You aren't from around here, are you? Are you perhaps an Adventurer coming to try your luck in the city?"

'Poor guy.' The Goddess of the Forge commented, seeing he was being assaulted by the waitress.

"Not at all, I am just a third-grade writer at best." The man commented rather like a sheeple.

"That isn't bad, either! I love romance novels!" she clapped her hands. "Are those cases filled with some of your books?"

"I am afraid not. I have only made a single copy of my work, and gave it away some time ago." The Goddess could hear the waitress moan in disappointment. "Besides, Romance is not my genre, I found it too simple."

"Don't say that," she berated him. "Those who said that are people who haven't really experienced love yet."

The man released a soft laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Funny, some people I am acquainted with say the people praising romance as an art are those that have never truly experienced it."

Every waitress laughed.

"nya~ nya~ nya~ nya~ nya~ nya~ nya~." Chloe covered her mouth to hide her laugh. "It happened again nya~."

"It is the second time I have been told that," if Hephaestus had looked, she would have noticed how somber Syr's eyes had turned. "Your acquaintance might just get along with someone who works here."

He laughed a little more relaxed. "Wouldn't surprise me, I was told one of them was working here."

"Oh?"

"Blonde, green eyes, mean look, overall lousy attitude."

Hephaestus' eye opened slowly, it was pretty obvious as to who he was speaking of… but something didn't add up for the Goddess.

"Oh, it is weird to know someone who associates with him; the last one seemed to be someone he wasn't exactly on good terms with."

"Hahaha, I can imagine. Drake has never been a people's person," everyone close by rolled their eyes in agreement. "Truth be told, I am pretty sure he would hate to see me as well."

"Poor thing," Syr faked a sad voice. "Looks like nobody really likes him; makes one wonder if his brothers feel the same."

The more she kept listening, the wearier Hephaestus became. It was obvious it was someone from Remnant, just like Drake. Most likely allied with Adam and Ratatosk.

Drake probably didn't know this person was here, either.

"I am afraid he's not here at the moment."

"Of that, I am aware," he sounded pretty relieved by the fact. "As I said, he would really hate to see me." He looked at the cases. "I just came to drop this for him."

"Oh, kind of weird for him to hate a Novelist just like that? Even for him."

"Ah, that's because of many, many, reasons; one of them being the genre of my novel." He sighed. "For someone so cold, he was never a fan of Tragedy."

It was at that moment the Goddess felt a chill run down her spine while she started to feel as if there was something in her throat, preventing her from breathing properly.

'… No… there's no way.'

"mou~ his attitude aside, that's just a boring genre."

"The same could be said about romance." The young man shrugged a little. "But it wasn't by choice," he smiled. "I wanted to transmit a sense of failure in the protagonist of my novel. That it didn't matter what they did, he would never be able to defeat or surpass Divinity or forces beyond him. Isn't that supposed to be how things are usually here? Mortals unconditionally following the will of the Gods?"

"Yes, but the way you say it it's kind of depressing." She tilted her head with a smile. "You and Drake might not get along, but your way of seeing things is very alike."

He laughed nervously again. "Even if it is true, I can't help but feel that's like a very bad joke; like a Goddess pretending to be a Mortal." The air around them became cold. "It is just plain stupid."

"I wouldn't know," there was a short, but tense pause. "But Gods are known for being capricious."

"I suppose you can be right about that, Miss." His voice remained low, free of any content, as was Syr's.

"I am afraid I have to go back to work. But it was a very interesting conversation to have, Mister…"

"Emil… Emil Castagnier."

The waitress smiled with empty eyes, bowing before leaving him.

"… I am not gonna get my water, am I?" he asked nervously, laughing in a soft tone to himself before he smiled, turning around to properly sit in front of the counter. "So… what do you think about my book?"

The Goddess of the Forge didn't reply.

She leaned forward on the counter, both of her elbows resting on it while her hands held her forward as her single conflicted eye ran through the title of the Novel… and the name of its Author.

Tales of Fate

By Emil Castagnier

A fake name, for a fake persona.

The Goddess couldn't say anything, feeling a knot in her throat as even breathing became difficult at the realization of the person, the being, sitting right next to her.

"Come on, I would really like to hear your feedback."

She slowly lifted her head.

Her eye saw a man around one-seventy meters tall, with pale blonde hair, and green olive eyes. He wore a white coat, with a black shirt and pants that reminded her a little of Drake.

"The one other person that read it clearly didn't like it, so I expected a Goddess out of all beings to like it," his smile was innocent, lacking any malicious intent. But since she knew who this person was, she knew that was the smile of a devil, and she was proven right a moment later.

"So," his smile turned into a discreet vicious smirk, his eyes changing to a color of Crimson Red. "Mind if we talked a little," his tone changed as well, his sweet and innocent tone replaced by one that commanded power and hid a tinge of arrogance. "Goddess of the Forge" the smirk of the Great Spirit Ratatosk remained, seeing struggle in the Goddess' single eye.

Omake: Zelos' Box of Wonders

"Now that we are here organizing your shit," Adam commented, holding a box that made Drake's face turn into one of pure disgust. "Mind explaining this?"

Drake just groaned, just as Tsubaki walked over to look at the box and open it. "Potions?"

"Allow me to explain!"

"For fucks sake!" Zelos suddenly materialized behind her. "Zelos! Get out of my ass!"

He ignored her.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, are potions commissioned by yours truly to help those of the feminine gender deal with their unsatisfied bodies."

"If that is your slogan, you are gonna need some work." Tsubaki deadpanned, seeing a lot of potions yet none of them labeled.

"I kept them away from the Xenos in fear of what effect they might have." He blandly looked at the other redhead. "Now, I know I was right in doing so."

"Bitch, it's not like there's venom in these things…" he pointed at the first one. "I just asked a good alchemist friend of ours to cook these for me, all of them work; the first one for example is just a potion that increases one's height."

"And suddenly, every Pallum in Orario heard a song from the heavens, unaware that the answer for their height problems was right here all along… keep dreaming you little shits."

Back at the Soma Familia HQ, one Liliruca Arde had the urge to strangle her Boss.

"The one that decreases one's height one is next, then there's the bust increasing one."

"You know, I just knew there was gonna be one for that, but coming out of your mouth, it just sounds wrong," Adam commented, to which everyone agreed with his statement.

"And sadly enough, I can think of a few people that could use that one… especially a certain Elf." Tsubaki commented.

"Funny…" Hephaestus suddenly said, walking closer. "I can say the same about a certain Goddess"

"…What the fuck are you doing now?" Lunor asked.

They were currently in the Pub's changing room, with the brawler not being able to hold the urge to ask what Ryuu Lion was doing; the Elf not looking her way as she just kept looking down at her own chest while touching it, as if she had suddenly become self-conscious.

"… Do you think my breasts are small?" she asked, with such bluntness and lack of shame that left the whole staff in the room speechless.

"… Nope. Too early for this bullshit." Lunor just continued what she was doing, leaving the Elf to reflect on her own body by herself.

"Loki… what the fuck is going on with you now?" Gareth Landrock asked, seeing his Goddess looking at the ceiling with her eyes wide open.

"Someone is mocking me… pretty sure it's that damn midget back in Heaven." She suddenly raised both her hands to flip off the ceiling. "Fuck you, Chibi! I am not plain!"

"The next one is of course the breast reduction one-"

"Oh! Gimme!" Tsubaki instantly took it, opening it and stopping midway to drink it as she saw the stares she was getting. "What!? Do you have any idea how tiresome it is to forge with these things literally dragging me down?" and as if it were an act of magic, her breast jiggled for a moment. "A lot!"

Zelos shrugged. "Fucking go for it then, just don't complain when people focus on your ass."

Again, she stopped, just when her lips were about to make contact with the vial. "…Sumimasen?"

"Hai!" Zelos replied in her language. "Everyone knows that people tend to focus on your rear if your boobs are smaller than your ass."

Tsubaki's jaw dropped a little at the loss of words, just as veins started to pop on her forehead. "The fuck? Is that a thing?"

Drake pressed his lips in a tight line, reluctantly nodding along with Adam; both were thankful she didn't ask if she had a thicc ass.

"Oh, fuck that. I can take it being awed at the front, I always have a comeback for those! But I am not gonna be able to say or do shit to anyone watching me from behind!" She put the vial back in the box. "Can't I just drink one of those and another with my ass?"

"Nope. Too many chemicals in the body are bad for you, you know?"

She groaned, resigning herself as Zelos continued.

"There's the ass set one, the one to make your hair longer, and of course… the most controversial one…"

Drake couldn't help but groan, looking at it as if he had chills running down his whole spine just from seeing it alone.

"The gender-bending one."

Silence made an entrance, everyone stared at him with bland expressions. But it was Adam who decided to ask the question everyone but Drake had on their minds. "I can see the logic behind all the previous ones. But I can't help but ask with this one… motherfucker, why?"

"Wanna take this one, Bud?"

Drake glared at his friend. "Don't fucking call me Bud." He sighed before looking at Adam. "Remember Judy?"

Adam's eye twitched behind his shaders. "Judith, Flynn's Girlfriend, the White Dragoon, Triple Spy, Vixen Faunus… yeah, I remember her."

The Goddess and Hephaestus saw the Bull Faunus trying not to clench her fist. But something else got their attention. "Triple Spy?"

"Later." Drake commented. "Anyway, this dumbass!" He pointed at Zelos, who waved his hands innocently. "Had the audacity of saying one of the things you should never, EVER, say in front of a woman."

"You look fat?"

"Your older haircut looked better?"

"It was only a one-time thing, I wasn't cheating on you?" Everyone looked at Hephaestus for a second, her expression completely unamused.

"…" Drake looked at Zelos. "This imbecile, in a drunken state and one of his weird episodes where he shows his Misogynist side, uttered the words; Women have it easy."

Adam winced, while the Blacksmith and Goddess looked at with glares that could kill… and the scumbag simply shrugged without care in the world.

"Said word was heard by Judy, who then told the rest of her posse, contacted the previously mentioned alchemist, and that-" He pointed at the blueish-pinkish potion. "-was the result of it."

"You better not just leave it there."

He glared at Tsubaki. "I wasn't. Of course, the creation of that thing was with a purpose, one that was carefully planned… with calculated collateral damage, that is."

The Blacksmiths' expression changed into one of realization as they looked at him. "Nooooooo," their tones were full of disbelief, even if Drake just nodded at their supposition.

"It was a pretty fucking elaborate plan," Zelos commented. "They knew I just wouldn't take anything from them; I can read a woman's mischief a mile away. They also knew that they could not coax any of our brothers into this; either because some couldn't act as if nothing was happening, or because they wouldn't play along… so they decided to just do the whole thing and let it blow up by getting all of us at the same time."

"Those damn bitches made sure to put the damn thing in every single beverage we had… by the next morning… the damage was already done… supposedly."

"Wait, what the fuck's that supposed to mean?" Tsubaki asked in confusion. Drake just sighed as Zelos continued.

"It means that whatever happened, was too much for everyone involved, so much that all of us who took the potion had to wipe our memories of the last twenty-four hours after the change had been made." Zelos said, his expression remaining neutral. "When we woke up, we just saw the girls; all of them unable to look us in the eyes. Explaining everything they had done, and not revealing anything of those missing twenty-four hours."

"Could it be they were just laughing about it behind your backs?" The Goddess asked.

"Nope." Drake replied. "For some reason, the whole thing was also a regret for them…We wanted to dig out more about what happened… but there was a message with my writing next to my bed that said 'DON'T' ASK'. So I decided to follow my own advice and drop it… however," his face turned into a grimace. "There were two things I still remember hearing… one of them being who I am still guessing is Zelos' female voice saying and I quote 'Holy shit! I would fuck myself!'"

Everyone sans Zelos groaned.

"What?" Zelos asked amused. "You all know what I am about."

"And the second thing was someone calling me 'Butt Floss' for some reason."

Tsubaki laughed. "So, you had a big ass?"

He nodded reluctantly. "Most likely."

"You know…" Everyone turned at the Goddess; Hephaestus displaying a rather somber expression. "I can actually think of a few Gods that should have a taste of this." Her expression just grew darker. "Then it would only be a matter of taking them into the red district."

"Lord Hermes, please stop with your foolery!"

"I can't… I don't know why… but I just can't help but feel targeted for a moment, as if some kind of holy retribution would hit me at any moment." The God said, using his Captain as a shield against anything that may come his way.

"If that does happen, I am pretty sure it would be deserved."

In a village far, far, faaaaar away, a certain bearded God hid under his bed out of fear. "Hera! I know it is you! Stop plotting against me!"

"Dark." Drake muttered, making everyone stare at each other before silently agreeing to close the box.

It was too soon for any of these to be used.

AN: Not much to say for this one, so I will just jump to the notes.

- Loki sealing Ais' Falna. For those who didn't play or see the 4th Anniversary event for Danmemo; Vesta, AKA actual Bestia, seals the Falna of all the members of Hestia Familia so they wouldn't stop her. Of course, Bell manages to break that lock due to plot armor. The rest do as well after. Ais isn't gonna do it though. She's now an emotional teenage girl throwing a tantrum.

- Someone asked in a recent review what exactly Team RWBY did, and since they were referenced in this chapter, I am going to answer that. Going straight to the point, everything they do ends up in a lot of collateral; in canon, they don't face any consequence. Like in Volume 2 when they are chasing Roman inside of the Paladin IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY; and yes, there were chapter, no mention of punishment about that.

In Tales of Fate this and many other things are addressed as Ozpin covering for them. But also, there's the fact that everything they do, they do it without thinking about the consequences. In Canon, the whole Cordovin situation they caused was fixed only because of Ruby's Deus Ex Machina; two as a matter of fact, and then they were just conveniently let go. That wasn't meant to happen in the TOF version. Drake's hate for them basically comes from how they mess things up because they don't think before they act. Followed by how some of its members just irked him; Ruby because of her naivety and hero complex, one of the main triggers of the bad things that happen later in the story, making things worse with her decision.

Then there's Blake, being a former member of the White Fang was already a big reason to be hated by him and the rest of the Brotherhood; this one will actually be explained in the next chapter. Then there are her actions due to being a coward as mentioned in this chapter. There are a lot of events that I could never put in the story to describe how much they fuck up because of their way of thinking, and Ozpin's machinations. But the biggest reason why Drake loathes them, is related to why he has an armband on his right arm. I am going to hint about it in this Volume, but not fully reveal it.

- Ratatosk, or rather Emil. The protagonist of Tales of Symphonia 2. Here, the bad guy of the Original story. I actually managed to write ONE scene of his character in the OG story, with Blake of all people. He pretty much manipulates her into thinking Drake is a bigger menace than she initially thought, to the point she accuses him of committing a murder, which pretty much stops him from preventing the battle of Beacon when he puts all of the pieces together; by that time, he's not able to stop the event. Funny enough, he also makes mention of the book Hephaestus is reading in this chapter.

- In case you are curious, the password Zelos used is binary, feel free to use a translator to see what the password is; it isn't anything outstanding though. Also, the lines and points in dialogue, it's Morse code.

(beta-reader: I didn't even watch RWBY and I feel infuriated at reading all of that. Sounds like the girls of RWBY are a bunch of idiots, from what is being described. Also, ya all tell this mofo in the reviews to stop writing Chapters as long as 60-70 pages. It's a pain in the ass to beta-read -_-)