Silence reigned across the clearing. Not a sound was heard besides the hidden crickets in the grass.

A dark gaze came upon Crow Man's face. He grabbed Humphrey by his shirt and held him up. "I am not your father," he growled, breaking the tense silence.

Humphrey tilted his head. "You're right," he muttered, unfazed. "You're not my father, and you'll never be one."

With a grunt, Humphrey kicked Crow Man in the stomach, causing him to release himself. "You know, I've always wanted to see your face when I kill you."

He raised a fist and his hand made his way to Crow Man's chest, but it was stopped. Humphrey's eyes glared at Raphael, who had expertly stopped his strike.

Humphrey's strength didn't stand a chance against Raphael's bulging muscles. He let out a yell as Raphael tossed him like a ragdoll back to the crowd of children.

Humphrey growled as he stumbled forward and charged at Raphael, who easily sidestepped.

"Now Humphrey," Crow Man smirked. "You cannot possibly be thinking that you can beat Raphael, can you?"

"I can try," Humphrey breathed out as he threw another punch, that Raphael once again deflected with his bare hands.

Raphael kicked Humphrey in the chest sending him flying backwards once more. Landing on his back with a grunt, Humphrey softy groaned.

"But you won't succeed," Raphael growled, flexing his muscles. "I've never been beaten."

Gilan watched the exchange in interest. Humphrey had never been friendly with him, but he would be a valuable ally. He watched as Humphrey continued on charging Raphael and falling back. Tilting his head, he looked at them, forming a plan in his head.

Looking at Raphael, he waited until Humphrey was thrown back to jump at him.

Surprised at the sudden outburst, Raphael stumbled to the side, but quickly regained his posture and moved to strike at Gilan.

But unlike Humphrey, Gilan had evaluated Raphael, giving him an advantage. The strength of Raphael was beaten by the swiftness of Gilan. He dodged every attack and soon started to strike back.

As he was throwing a punch, a dark feeling arose in Gilan's mind. This was the man who had mercilessly tortured him. This was the man who started all his pain. This was the man who needed to pay for his deeds.

As the feeling of rage lit inside of Gilan, he received a burst of energy. As he did a series of punches and dodges, Humphrey charged again.

Together, the two managed to beat Raphael. Gilan's speed and Humphrey's strength just barely balanced out Raphael's power.

But another wall came between them. A lithe figure dressed in tight black leather clothes, a dull purple cape, not quite the color of the amethyst, and a stylish, feathered violet hat suddenly stood in front of the two kids. The figure swiftly did a series of movements and ended up having two knives under Gilan's and Humphrey's chins.

"I prefer to keep my clients alive and in one piece," the figure hissed, her eyes sharp.

Gilan stared at the newcomer, back in his usual state. Her dark brown flowing hair was loose and reached her breasts. There were numerous knives on her body, along with a long knife, quiver, and many pouches that were strapped onto her belt.

"Ah." A chuckle escaped from Crow Man. "Meet Kyli, our newest member."

At that one statement, Kyli tossed her head back to face Crow Man, her knives still under Gilan's and Humphrey's chins. "I do not remember joining this cult," she growled.

Crow Man frowned. "Fine," he muttered. "Meet our newest plan."

Turning back around, Kyli sheathed her knives and glared at the children and stepped back outside, having enough of the predicament.

"You'll find that no help will be coming your way," Crow Man sneered at the kids. "Kyli will be sure of it."

With that, Crow Man and Raphael exited the building, locking the doors behind them.

Gilan stared at the door, breathing deeply. He thought about what Crow Man said. And there was only one reason for Kyli to be hired. Halt was on his way.

Gilan snapped out of his thoughts as Humphrey turned to look at him. "Thank you," he murmured as he held out his hand. "Truce?"

Gilan smiled as he took Humphrey's hand and shook it. "Truce," he answered.

A/N:

I decided to end my hiatus early as this book has reached 1,000 reads! Thank you guys for the support!

At this point, we'll be seeing more of Halt, so plan for a change of chapters since it's currently been 2 chapters of Gilan then 1 chapter of Halt.

And I hoped you enjoyed!
<3

P.S. This chapter was written under very short notice, so please tell me if there is any grammar or spelling mistakes.