Chapter 4:

Grayson

"Hehhh... " I sighed, forehead resting on my forearms. I was wasting time waiting for Izumi's return. Wilson and Danya had come back a while ago, along with a throng of freed slaves, and they had told me that Izumi wasn't far behind him. That she had gone back in to get one last slave that had been left behind. That was two hours ago.

"Damn." Danya muttered. She had relaxed from her stiff ready stance, but she still did not seem completely at ease as she nervously tapped her foot on the rough tile floor. "Did she simply got lost?" I pondered the possibility.

"Izumi has never had the best sense of direction..."

"I severely doubt she could have gotten lost." Wilson interjected. His voice was even more uneasy than ours. He probably thought this was all his fault, though it hardly was. "It really is a straight line from Saten back to here, unless you take a roundabout route weI did, and there would be little reason for her to, since there would only be two of them. Even someone with the worst sense of direction would have to work to get lost."

"Don't underestimate her." Even in this unpleasant situation, I managed a smile. "She once got lost in a strip mall when she was twenty-three."

"Strip mall?" Wilson shook his head. "More of your unusual sayings."

"A strip mall," Danya explained. "Is essentially a line of shops with a path out front to walk on. The fact that she managed to get lost while at one of those..." Danya's expression turned even more worried. "Perhaps she really did get lost." I took a deep breath, before standing quickly.

"Well, we aren't going to find out anything if we just sit here. Danya, come with me. Wilson, you stay here, and keep an eye on the slaves. We'll be back after we find Izumi, though, I don't think we have much to worry about. in terms of her having been killed." Danya nodded in agreement, but Wilson cocked his head inquisitively.

"And how do you suppose that?"

"Well..." I gestured out a nearby window. Some distance away, from behind the trees, black smoke could be seen rising into the sky. "This is just a guess, but that is probably the result of you two's little confrontation, right? Pyros, as a whole, are not really known for their stealthiness. Izumi especially has never been very subtle, in any war game she's played that I know of. She's more the in-your-face kind of fighter."

"I did get that impression, yes." Wilson agreed. "So, you believe that is an indication of her well-being?"

"Was the building on fire before you left?" Wilson shook his head.

"Not that I recall, no."

"Then, absolutely. An Arcan disappears when it's owner dies. Since that fire is most likely her doing, and since it's still going..." I turned to the door, and Danya quickly rose slinging her rifle over her shoulder. "Don't worry too much, we won't be long."

"Do you really believe Miss Izumi is alright?" Danya asked, as we trotted along the road. To her credit, she was taking this whole ordeal rather well.

"Yeah, she's fine." I said, confidence permeating my words. "I have no doubt about that. There's probably something else holding her up, and with her, it's probably something important." Danya nodded in agreeance.

"Surely." She didn't seem very convinced by my argument though. I took a closer look at her, noticing a worrying look in her eyes.

"Hey, Dany..." She turned to me, that same look still there. "You alright?" She sighed.

"I just..." She struggled to find the right words. "I just, didn't expect this, I guess. I mean, I was prepared for combat, and that part I can deal with, but..." She looked to me, with fearful eyes. "I... I'm thinking maybe we aren't even on the same world anymore." I looked at her seriously.

"And what makes you think that?" She seemed to shrink back a bit.

"I-I-It's just a feeling I have. Something always feels... off. Like I feel lighter. And the air too, it... tastes different. Then there's all the different flora and fauna, the language breaks, the level of technology present, I mean, nothing just feels right." My brow scrunched in thought.

"You, know, I think you might be right." I concluded. She looked down at the ground sadly, before slowly looking back up at me. She opened her mouth to respond, but I shouted first. There was a flicker of red up ahead, behind a fruit tree, accompanied by the smell of roasted fruit and charcoal. I could just see a hand out from behind the tree as well, lying limp against a tree root.

"Izumi!?" I called. Speeding up into a full run, I quickly approached, to find Izumi lying against the trunk of an apple tree, with a small girl resting on her shoulder. Both were asleep, making small, content noises, apples spread around them with bites taken out of them.

"Ummmm... " Danya caught up, and her reaction was much the same as mine. Her eyebrows rose, and she slightly cocked her head, gazing down at the scene before us.

"She's... sleeping. With a little girl. Underneath an... apple tree?" Danya questioned. I could do nothing but nod, mind still working out just what was happening.

"That... is an accurate statement." The girl on Izumi's shoulder stirred, being roused by our voices. She looked up at us with drowsy, bloodshot eyes. They were ice blue, almost grey in color, and peered at us through heavy eyelashes. Suddenly, she flinched, her medium length platinum hair fluttering around her. She pulled back, eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and fear. Her dainty face contorted in terror, and tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She quickly hid behind Izumi's now stirring form, clutching her shoulder.

"There's people!" The girl's voice was slight, and trembly as she shouted out in the same sort of accent as the others we had met so far. She shook Izumi, not so gently, and Izumi groaned.

"Uhhh... five more minutes." This only prompted the girl to shake her harder.

"Wake up!" She seemed desperate now, and looked at us, terrified. Danya and I just stood there, unsure what to make of this, making no move towards her. After several moments, Izumi's eyes opened.

"Ugh, what time is it?" She dazedly asked no one in particular. I cleared my throat.

"Late enough. You know, you had us worried for a while there. We thought you had gotten lost, and here we find you, sleeping under a tree without a care in the world. I think you owe us an apology. I mean, Wilson nearly had a heart attack when you didn't come back, and every moment you've spent out here seems to have shortened his life by a year, at least! Not to mention me or Dany! I mean, what were you thinking?" Izumi's eyes quickly focused.

"What were you even doing?" Danya asked. I had gotten my turn to scold Izumi, and now she apparently wanted hers. "We run up, to find you here with this girl we've never seen before, when you should have been back hours ago! You should've come back as soon as you could, that way we can figure out our course of action! It's not like we can just have all those slaves tag along with us, not to mention the fact that the Tarin are probably on their way out here right now! Are you trying to get us killed?" Izumi cringed a bit at Danya and I's harsh words.

"I'm sorry." she conceded, looking down. "I used more of my mana than I thought. I guess I just passed out for a while." She looked around at her surroundings, noticing the girl at her side. She was visibly trembling at this point, like an overexcited dog. Izumi quickly wrapped her in a bear hug.

"It's alright, these are my friends." She cooed. The girl didn't seem convinced by her, however, and she peered at us over Izumi's shoulder.

"R-r-really? B-b-but they were yelling at you..." She whimpered. I just now noticed the scars evident on her hands. I sighed.

"We were just worried, is all." The steel in Danyas voice was gone, replaced by a kind of tenderness. She slowly walked over, keeping her hands in plain view, before crouching next to the girl, on the far side of Izumi. The girl made no move to avoid her, aside from pressing further into Izumi's side. She whimpered pitifully,

"It's alright." Izumi cooed, pressing the girl into her shoulder. She stayed like for several moments, embraced by Izumi, before she slowly turned to look at Danya.

"A-a-are you really a friend of Zuzu?" I quickly looked to Izumi, who only gave me a reassuring smile. Danya simply smiled back at the girl.

"Yep. She and I are good friends. We even had breakfast together yesterday." She held out her hand. "I'm Danya, what's your name?" The girl looked suspiciously at the outstretched hand, before looking back to Izumi.

"Go on, she won't hurt you." Izumi encouraged, smiling brightly at her. The girl quickly looked back at the hand. Danya sat patiently, smiling at her. The girl tentatively slipped her fingers into Danya's hand.

"C-C-Chloe... " She muttered softly. "Chloe Alban." Danaya smiled, gently shaking Chloe's hand.

"Well, Chloe, it's nice to meet you!" Danya brimmed with happiness, and I couldn't help but smile.

"So, Chloe... " I said, crouching down, to look her in the eyes. She turned to me, less scared than before, but not completely comfortable either. "Could you tell me about yourself?" She shook her head.

"Oh." I continued. "Well, that's alright. My name's Grayson, or Gray." I held out my hand, over Izumi's shoulder, brandishing a smile. Tenderly, she rested her tiny hand on top of mine. I studied her dainty fingers. Each knuckle seemed to be swollen, the black and purple traces of bruises easily evident. The back of her hand was crosshatched by raw wounds, on top of a multitude of scars. Indeed, between her scars and the wounds, it was hard to see her skin at all. The girl grimaced, as I turned her hand, finding a similar situation on her palm. I looked at her as reassuringly as I could, given the situation.

"Does it hurt?" Chloe nodded, looking at me meekly. I sighed, before covering that small hand with my own.

"Can you push up your sleeve?" She nodded, after a moment's hesitation, and careful pushed up her raggedy sleeve to the elbow. Her arm was a mess of blood, dirt, and scars. I grimaced despite myself, as I took in the grisly sight.

"What would make anyone want to do this?" Danya asked, horrified. Unlike me, she had never encountered the atrocities Omega dealt with regularly. I was almost jealous of her. The girl started whimpering again, and clutched Izumi. She sighed, before looking at me.

"It's because Chloe is something called a Fae." She brushed back Chloe's hair, revealing an elongated, pointy ear. I gasped instinctively. "Chloe was telling me about them before. They're a race of modified humans going back a couple hundred years. They were created as a bid by a lunatic to create super soldiers capable of destroying any who stood in his way in his quest to control the continent. However, the Fae rebelled, and fought against him, finally defeating him about twenty years after the first Fae were born. After that, they became hated by the very people they protected, because while they are small of stature, and physically are unimposing, their bodies are tailor made for magic. Not only are their mana reserves huge, but their abilities are more efficient too. That's why humans started hating them, they saw them as a threat. The Fae eventually just got sick of it and left, to parts then unknown.

However, about twenty years ago, some explorers found the Fae civilization, known as Sylph. Humans then started raiding Slyph, taking slaves in the process." She looked to Chloe, who was quietly sobbing into her shoulder, and started softly rubbing her head. "Chloe was taken when she was young, and has spent the last ten-ish years suffering, being used essentially as a living punching bag as far as I can tell." Izumi's sad smile quickly vanished. "There aren't any Fae back home. The only conclusion is that we aren't home anymore." Izumi worded it carefully, but I understood. I clenched my teeth.

"I'm not just going to let things like this happen though. MIght as well, since we have no idea how to even begin the process of getting home anyways." I finished darkly. I sighed, before quickly moving next to Chloe, despite her whimpers. I wrapped her in a hug, carefully avoided squeezing too hard, in fear of hurting her. Her eyes went wide, but she didn't respond.

"Listen." I said softly, eyes dewy. "I'm not going to let this happen to you ever again, alright? Sadly, your family's not here right now, so we'll have to look after you instead." I pulled away from her, a sad smile spreading on my lips. Suddenly, Danya grunted.

"Gray." She said, tone flat. I looked over to see her standing, her rifle presumably aimed towards Saten. She was peering through the scope at something around a mile down the road, a rapidly approaching dust cloud.

"It seems we have company."

Soon enough, they arrived. It was a mounted man in ornate armor, followed by close to thirty of what I assumed were his underlings on foot. The

probably-commander flashed me a smile.

"Have you seen a crowd of rabble recently?" The man asked, with obviously false manners. It took all I had not snarl a response.

"Not recently." I answered deadpan. The man's smile became even more forced, and a few of his men snarled in response. One even drew his sword, but the commander waved him back.

"I'll have you know, we are members of the Tarin guard." The commander said, looking down his nose at me. "And we are searching for some slaves that escaped, with the help of a red haired girl, a green haired woman and a peasant. The girl was seen leaving in this direction, in fact, she should have passed directly by you. If you have any information, it would be greatly appreciated." I couldn't help myself.

"You mean, like her?" I stepped out from between him and Izumi, and he huffed. Danya and Chloe were nowhere to be seen, hiding up among the apple tree's branches, per my instructions.

"Indeed." He drew his sword, a bright, silver thing, and leveled it at me. "Make no move to interfere, and we shall spare your life." I snickered.

"Well, that's just rude. I mean, I know my wife is pretty and everything, but she is mine. What sort of husband would I be if I simply gave her away?" I looked to Izumi with a grin, to find her face a mixture of shock, curiosity, and, oddly enough, approval. I laughed.

"Oh come on, enough already. I know you're embarrassed you ended up with some idiot like me but still, don't look so offended." I gave my attention back to the man. He was scowling, beneath that gargantuan nose of his,

"I am known as lord Callus of the guild Tarin. I am, in fact, the second in command for the entire southern domain of the Tarin guild. This woman," He spat the word, as though it had a vilely unpleasant taste. "Destroyed our property, stole assets, killed several of my men, and obviously deserves the harshest of punishments. It is simple; stand in the way, and die." Izumi swung her Scion around, but I held up a hand to stop her.

"Ohhhh, I'm sooo scared. Though, I might be more inclined to listen to you, if those 'assets' weren't living beings. Thus, I must respectfully decline, though I hope no ill-will will come between us." I mocked taking a bow. I mulled over the possibilities from here in my head, and decided that this wasn't going to end peacefully, no matter what. Besides, there was a score to settle with this man.

I quickly looked up, eyes steely. Before any of the men could react, I dashed towards Callus, Pistols flying into my hands. I fired them three times. The first round sparked off his breastplate, leaving a gouge across it, from his right hip to his right shoulder. The second hit his left shoulder squarely, jerking his body back and crumpling his armor around the joint, but not breaking it. The third entered his leg, a bright spray of blood splashing over his horse. His thigh ruptured, as the round tore it's way through his leg, ripping the muscle as it passed through. I quickly ducked, avoiding a wild swing of a sword from one of Callus' faster guards, before smashing into Callus' knee with an elbow. He grunted in pain, as his knee satisfyingly crunched, his kneecap shattering. I quickly retreated, ducking under multiple blades on the way back. I finally dove away, rolling, and came to a crouching position several feet away. The only sound was the dripping of blood, and ragged breathing from Callus as he clutched at the wound with one hand, though he didn't scream.

"If you had any sense at all," I stated, coldly. "You would turn around, leave, and pray to whatever god is yours that I don't find you again." Callus' face contorted in pain, but to his credit, he sat tall upon his horse.

"You may have some sort of magical weapon, but that won't matter against all of us.." Callus leveled his sword at me again, albeit shakily. I glared at him, my wilting gaze causing several of his guards to take a step back involuntarily. I summoned my primary Scion in response. A light slowly formed in my hand, taking the shape of a grip. Silver light spread out from the gip, outlining the weapon. After several moments, the light disappeared back into my hand, leaving behind a large silver scythe, which I swung easily over my shoulder. Light shimmered softly from it's lengthy blade, causing my hair to shine brightly. Callus looked on in shock, but quickly regained his composure.

"Kill him." He ordered. I lept forward once again, kicking up dust where I stepped. It was almost as though I was incorporeal as I passed through the crowd of men with ease, brushing by them. By the time I had made it to the other side of the group, the edge of the blade on my scythe was colored red, and the first of the men started reacting. Each man had a deep gash in their hand, severing the muscles that closed their palm, making them unable to hold their weapons, save one. That guard had been unlucky enough to be moving to draw his sword when I had struck, and had lost all of his fingers on his hand instead. He started screaming loudly, accompanied by a collective grunt of pain from all of his comrades as they clutched their hands near simultaneously. I turned, expression serious as the grave.

"That was the wrong answer." I intoned coldly. "I will give you one more chance. Leave now, and forget all about ever getting your 'property' back, or die. Your choice." Callus opened his mouth defiantly.

"We will never-" He began.

"When you get to whatever hell is yours, apologize on my behalf for sending them such a goddamned piece of work." I bent my legs, imbuing them with magic, before flying forward, past the Tarin guards and towards Callus. Silver shone in the sunlight, as my scythe cut through the air in a broad arc at the level of his hips. Instantly, his torso separated from his lower half and toppled over, blood splashing over me in the process. As he fell, his face froze in an expression of pained shock, and he seemed to mouth something. His torso hit the ground with a wet smack, and his lower half followed, toppling on top of him as well. Callus started screaming loudly, causing his horse to quickly skitter away. Grimacing, I spun my scythe around my hand, painting a line of red on the nearest guard and returning the blade to its previous luster.

"Now then." I said, disdainfully glancing at the blood that stained my jacket, before separating Callus' head from his shoulders.. "I believe you should take your leave." The guards quickly backed away, terrified, before turning and running down the road toward Saten once they had deemed they were safe from my ire. They had left behind their scattered gear, abandoned in their flight for life, and various weapons, bags, and other things lay strewn around the ground. Only the man whose hand had been ruined remained, lying on the ground. He was whimpering in pain as he clutched his right hand, blood running between his remaining fingers. I sighed, and walked over to the man. The guard, upon seeing me approach, assumed the worst and tried backing away, but was unable to evade me, for I was moving much faster than he could. When arcanists went into battle, they moved their Arcan throughout their bodies, enhancing their physical traits by providing more energy to a person's muscles. I could force my limbs to move much faster than normal, explaining my impressive speed with an awkward weapon such as a scythe. I sighed again, and relaxed, drawing the magic back into my core, in order to conserve it.

"Relax, you're no threat." I dismissed. I held my scythe away from him, as my eyes searched him over. They looked upon the man with sadness, as I considered the implications of my actions. I crouched down next to the guard, and silver light enveloped us. When it subsided, the man's hand had stopped bleeding, and his eyes were less fearful. They swam with confusion, but the man no longer looked afraid, at least.

"T-than-" He started, but I raised my hand.

"Don't thank me for what I did. I did nothing right here, so please, stop." The man just nodded, in understanding. He quickly stood, and, clutching his hand, followed his comrades, albeit slower. I sighed, and heard Izumi slowly walking up to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist from behind, ignoring the dampness.

"Are you alright?" Her voice was faint, but filled with worry. She nuzzled into my back, holding me tightly. I sighed, before disapparating my scythe, the same silver light dissolving it into thin air.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered her calmly. She released me, before walking around to my front. There were tears in her eyes, and her front was stained dark red. She hugged me again, burying her head in my chest.

"I-I-I was so worried... I mean, I know you had it under control and everything, but still... " She quietly sobbed, and I smiled down at her.

"That's alright, I mean, it's normal for wives to be worried about their husbands, after all." I replied slyly. She looked up at me, eyes damp. I wiped away a small tear that escaped, before it could run down her cheek.

"Why did you say that?" Her eyes weren't filled with anger, just confusion, which relieved me. I looked up, considering my answer.

"We need a cover story." I looked down at her and smiled. She blushed, but did nothing.

"So that's what it is..."

"Yeah." I agreed. "It's not like we couldn't pull it off, afterall." She smiled up at me.

"Yeah." She laid her ear on my chest. "We could even tell embarrassing stories about each other, like that one time you managed to make a cake explode somehow." She laughed lightly. "I remember my mother's expression when she came home, to find chocolate cake batter on literally every single wall, including the ceiling!" She laughed again, deeper, and I joined her in reminiscing.

"How about that time you managed to peel back half of the living room carpet?" She looked sullenly up at me.

"Don't remind me." I laughed. Izumi had gotten a real scolding from her mother that time, for sure. She suddenly grew solemn, and looked at me with sad eyes. "Chloe... we need to be there for her." She thought aloud. I hugged her tight, trying to reassure her.

"I was wondering about the whole Zuzu thing." Izumi just sighed against me.

"She's alone, with no one to take care of her, no one to call her family. I couldn't just let her be like that, so... " She paused for a moment. "I told her to think of me like her family instead." I nodded.

"That's fine. It helps with our cover, after all. Besides, isn't it every father's dream to have a daughter to spoil?" She looked at me, surprised. and I laughed at her shocked expression.

"I guess so, but why have the cover in the first place?"

"It'll make explaining why you and Danya are with me if you're my wife or even my daughter and Danya is my sister. From what I can tell, this place is pretty medieval, so I'm guessing it's a patriarchy. The cover just makes our group easier to explain." Izumi scowled.

"Gray?"

"Yes dear?" I replied, teasing her.

"Daughter?"