Heart of the Desert

**Date Completed:**6/22/2021
**Previous Role-Play**:
**Users Involved:** User:Katokonia
**Setting:** Svarga , Mount Kleos
**Date:** August 8, 1510
**Celestial Pirates Involved**:
* Jupiter Doomsaint
* Saturn Rezka

**Kleeites Involved**:
* Khepri Bast
* Khepri Hathor
* Komombo Sobek

**Other Characters Involved**:
* Keinen Shana
* Thoth-1
* Jinx-71
* Skycore Caspian
* Saleiiya

**Metrics**: Heart of the Desert/Metrics

## **Where To Now?**

*The day after the expedition to Abraxia was sent...*

"Why the hell do I have to do it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well, Doomsaint, it appears that the only ones available for a mission right now are you, Regalia, and Caducea. Out of the three of you I believed that you would be the best suited for this mission."

"Ha, out of that choice pool no wonder you came to me first. But I'm not going to play errand-boy today pal, I'd much rather take myself a nice long nap. Unless you got an offer, I ain't hearin' it." Doomsaint retorted back, leaning back on the chair he was sitting in, though motioning as if he were about to get up and leave the room.

*\*Sigh\** "Well I suppose if you don't want to go I must find someone else...Is there anything I could offer you as an incentive perhaps?" Rezka tried one final pitch before he would inevitably give up on the man, he had better uses of his time than arguing with his crewmate.

"Bah, you think you can buy me off with cheap gifts? Enough of that Rezka, there's rarely anything I want either way." Doomsaint stood up, and began walking briskly to the door.

Before he made it, though, it opened to reveal a rather confident-looking girl, who entered gracefully, revealing soon after two others to be behind her, one being another girl, sporting blue hair and a slightly deranged look in her eyes, and the other being a bulky armored figure, with a massive helm covering his entire head and armed to the teeth.

Behind the three was yet another man, this one blond and snarky in his stride. He was the first to speak up, as the group passed Doomsaint, who was standing to the side of the room, having been zoned by their sudden appearance.

"Well Rezka old chap, you asked and so I have come! Yes, I know you might think it's a bit overkill, but surely we can trust them to get the job done no?"

Rezka stood up from his seat at his desk, he pressed a button on it, as Saleiiya suddenly appeared from a door located next to his desk with a hand full of papers. Without saying anything, he grabbed the paper on top and spoke to those who had just arrived. "Caspian...do you mean to tell me that you wish to displace our resident Battlemaster from the homeland? While I understand she would be of great use, is that really so wise?"

"Oh don't you worry about the small things, we have droves of soldiers who can hold off a foe even in the event someone does attack. Besides, it'll only be for a few days anyways right? This place looks rather close, at least compared to most." Caspian responded, as the Battlemaster in question suddenly cleared her throat, voicing her own opinion on the matter.

"If I may," She stated, waiting for silence within the room before continuing, "I do believe that a mission so short as this one would not be to great constraint upon our homeland security. Likewise, for a diplomatic matter such as this, I would like to affirm the idea that one that has influence within, and can speak for, the nation of Svarga should be sent no matter who else attends. If one of the Fortune 5 such as yourselves cannot make time to go, I believe it would suffice for me to head this mission, if not for the sole reason of my position."

*"Keinen Shana, Svarga's current Battlemaster, and one of it's foremost warriors...I suppose it would not be too large a detriment to have her away for mere days."* Rezka thought to himself, before speaking up. "Very well, you make a good point, Shana. I assume the two with you have already been pre-decided as your potential escort?"

"Correct. They are some of my most trusted warriors, though, I was informed you would be contributing a member as well? Where have they gone, or when shall they arrive?" Shana asked Rezka.

"Oh dear Shana, oh dear...I do believe you've missed the individual in question as you passed by. Take a look behind you, he yet stands in our presence oho!" Caspian chanted, as he nudged Shana to bring her eyes to the backside of the room, where Doomsaint had began to creep ever-closer towards the exit.

*"Damn, they saw me."* Doomsaint thought to himself, as he straightened his posture and awkwardly waved a hand towards the front of the room, "Yes, hello. It's true that Rezka wanted me to go, though I think I'm going to find better things to do with my time, sorry not sorry."

**"**Ha, you don't seem suited to politics obviously, though I daresay not even to battle. What use would you have on this journey, if not even able to fill the role of a mere bodyguard?" Shana mocked aggressively towards Doomsaint, though her motive was uncertain.

**"**Bah! You better watch your tongue, girl. I wouldn't call you the cream of the crop either, besides, for someone in a position of 'Battlemaster,' I had expected someone that looked better fit for fighting, not an uppity bitch like you." Doomsaint spat back, obviously irritated by her comment.

**"**Now now fellows, can we all just make peace with each oth--" Caspian began, though a sudden glare from both Shana and Doomsaint silenced him on impact.

"You talk large for a yapping dog. I feel it be my duty to show you that your bone is too big for your tiny, cacophonous bite." Shana remarked, her full attention now on Doomsaint, as she caressed the hilt of her sheathed sword.

"That's a lot of talking for someone who's just asking for a scrap. You and me, right now. Let's see what you're made of!" Doomsaint grabbed his spear, activating it as it grew in front of him into it's full glory. He looked as if he was truly ready for a fight, even if it were to take place in Rezka's small office.

"ENOUGH!"

The voice was Rezka's, and it was sudden, and loud, enough to draw everyone's attention for a brief moment.

"If you two truly wish to fight, do it in a proper location. Not, MY OFFICE." He shouted, in a manner uncommon for him.

"I had planned on that all along sir, this fool of a mongrel was the only one who thought it wise to fight in a proper establishment such as this, and not in a dedicated arena." Shana said innocently to Rezka, though she too had been ready to meet Doomsaint's blade had it rocketed forth.

"A fight! Well this is certainly a turn of events isn't it? Come, COME! We shall have this take place in the Falah Dome! Let us make all due haste!" Caspian exclaimed, excited to see a clash of arms between the two.

Saleiiya sighed, as Rezka moved out from behind his desk, "So be it. Come, we shall take my personal transport."

The two soldiers who had come in alongside Caspian and Shana had remained silent this whole time, though the one with blue hair seemed to be holding in a grin and laughter.

"Thoth, Jinx. You two are not to interfere whatsoever, this is merely a fight between me and that fool over there. Well, a fight, but it will likely turn out to be more of a one-sided beatdown, anyways." Shana said to the two, identifying them a Thoth and Jinx, being the bulky masked figure, and the blue-haired girl respectively.

Meanwhile, Rezka had pulled out some sort of disk, and had inserted it into a wall beside him. The wall shifted, as it propped open to reveal what looked like a elevator. "Come. There is little time to waste on trivialities such as this." He entered the elevator-room, beckoning the others to do the same.

One by one they all entered, though Shana and Doomsaint made a point of standing at opposite ends of the elevator. Once everyone else had gone in, Saleiiya entered and pulled out a key, inserting it into a slot. A holographic keypad appeared near the slot, and Saleiiya proceeded to type in a set of numbers.

After she pressed enter, the pad disappeared, and the elevator-room suddenly entered what felt like a freefall. Rezka, Saleiiya, and Caspian seemed to have no trouble maintaining their balance and posture, though the other four found themselves plastered onto the floor.

This only lasted around half a minute, when the door opened, and Rezka and Caspian took the first steps outward.

"Ahh my dear Rezka, I do fancy this invention of yours. I use mine perhaps a little more than I should, but it's just so wonderful for getting around isn't it?" Caspian smirked at Rezka, nudging him on the shoulder.

"It is, isn't it." Rezka replied dully. While there wasn't much change in his voice from normal, it was obvious to anyone who knew him that he was mildly irritated, and wanted this charade to end as swiftly as possible.

Saleiiya exited after the two Fortunes, as the other four pushed themselves off the floor and began to vacate the elevator-room as well.

"Past that door is an entrance to the Falah Dome. Ms. Shana, Mr. Doomsaint, please enter through the door ahead. The rest of you all please come with me, I will lead us to the stands. The Dome is currently vacant, so there is no need to worry about intruding on anything." Saleiiya said, as she began to walk towards the left. The others, save Doomsaint and Shana, followed her, leaving the two alone to go through the door.

"Shall we make any rules for ourselves then?" Shana inquired in a mocking tone, "I'll agree to make sure not to kill you, or even break anything important, how's that?" She offered a hand as to shake Doomsaint's, but he brushed her hand away, replying "No killing. I can abide by that, though if you choose to keep up the high and mighty act, I can't guarantee you won't be hurt." Doomsaint grinned angrily.

"Is that so, very well. I'll be waiting then." Shana walked towards the door and let herself through, leaving Doomsaint in alone in the room.

*"That bitch is gonna get it."* He thought to himself, pulling out his spear **Altair**, as he slowly approached the door, and went through.

## **Clash at Falah Dome**

As Doomsaint pushed open the door, he saw that Shana was already on the far side of the arena. The arena itself had a simply colosseum-type build, a plain and round, yet large floor spanned the entirety of it. To the left side, Saleiiya, Rezka, Caspian, Thoth, and Jinx could be seen seated in one of the seating zones that likely the average spectator would sit during a normal event, as Shana called across the arena.

"I have a proposal for you, he who is to be my opponent." She called, her voice having a much nobler ring to it, "If I win, you must join the expedition to Mount Kleos, even if it be only as a mere bodyguard."

Doomsaint scratched his head aggressively, *"Why the hell did she care if he went?"* He thought to himself, shouting back, "Fine! I agree since you're not going to win anyways. But what do I get when I win, huh?"

Shana thought for a moment, before responding, "I'll be your slave for the rest of the day, since my defeat would be laughable even among laughingstock."

*"Is this bitch that confident? Ha! I could use someone to do shit for me anyways."* Doomsaint muttered unintelligibly, "You're on! Rezka, make the call to start the match." He yelled over to the spectators, waiting for a cue to show Shana her place.

"Hm, very well." Rezka said lamely, "Upon the coming shot, you shall initiate combat."

Rezka raised his arm, as it began to glow a mild tint of purple. His arm then shot downwards, it being aimed up, as an explosive sound emitted from his hand, though no subsequent explosion was seen.

Without a moment's hesitation, the two warriors both rushed at each other. They both wielded spears, finding common ground in their proficiency in polearms if nothing else.

As Doomsaint rushed forward, his spear pointed directly at the right arm of the oncoming Shana, **Boda Cheetah**.

Doomsaint's momentum suddenly burst in speed as to reject Shana the opportunity to time her spear to guard her arm from damage, with Doomsaint's spear now mere inches away from stabbing her directly in the shoulder.

**"**Damn you..." She muttered as Doomsaint appeared almost instantaenously in front of her. She wouldn't have time to guard her shoulder with her spear, as it's angle was still facing forward, so in a split second decision she used on of her Spell Art techniques to coat her shoulder, at the location of impact, with hardened crystal armor.

This easily blocked her shoulder from being pierced by Doomsaint's blade, however the red plaz imbued into it still channeled into the impact, giving Shana an unpleasant zap. Doomsaint quickly stepped to the side, then used **Geosurge** on the ground to launch himself at Shana once more, using **Sky Dash** to slash at her in an arc, aiming to hit her with the spikes protruding from the side of his spear.

Shana did not rush to meet his blade this time, however drew up a defensive pose as she chanted **Ka-Kin,** causing the air around her to ripple, which would blast Doomsaint with tremors the moment he entered melee range with Shana once more. She then stomped on the ground, as several rocks began floating around her taken from the ground below.

Doomsaint noticed the ripple in the air, though moments too late, as he went through with his attack. As his blade struck Shana's as it had been guarding her at the right angle, red plaz once again surged into Shana, zapping her noticeably. However, the moment Doomsaint drew too close himself, his entire body began to shake with tremors, crushing him from every direction. He used **Geosurge** into the ground beneath him, which transferred the tremors to the ground beneath him as he blasted himself away from Shana's range, though he hadn't known beforehand that the tremors would disappear with the move. Now no longer subjugated to the tremors, he widened his stance, using **Force Stance**, and shouted, **Europa!**

Suddenly, a massive spherical object popped out of Doomsaint, as it began to slowly orbit him on a horizontal revolutionary axis around him. He then drew his spear low as to prepare for a lunge, however did not strike forward immediately, as he waited unbeknownst to his foe for the moon to line up so that it would launch into her at an undodgeable angle due to the nature of it's orbit around Doomsaint.

Shana stood, staring at the massive ball that had appeared around Doomsaint. She had no idea what it was, and leaped a few steps back. She shot the rocks that had been orbiting her at the moon to see what effect they would have, then chanted **Ka-Ken**, bolstering the force of her next strike, as she too lowered her spear in preparation of a lunge.

The chunks of rock and earth sent at Europa, upon impact, flew at extreme speeds in all directions, scattering across the battlefield and one even launching itself towards where the spectators were sitting. Rezka, the only one who knew the true power of Europa at the time, dashed upwards and slammed the incoming rock with all his strength, knocking it into the ground as to stop it's advance.

Doomsaint let out a bark of a laugh, as he continued to wait for Europa's orbit to locate itself nearly in front of him, aiming to pincer Shana between it and his spear on his next strike. In the meantime, he used **Graviton Fist**, extending his spear to tap the orbiting moon. He would swap the weight of the moon with Shana's blade upon their next clash, rendering it unwieldable for a few moments. He then rushed forward, Europa now being at the appropriate angle for a pincer.

Shana rushed forth without another delay, skating along the ground as she used **Ka-An** and **Ra-En** in tandem, her rushing swiftly towards Doomsaint. She had seen the force applied to her bullets of earth, and figured to herself that the moon must have some form of repelling quality, though she still didn't know what. She figured that it would drag along with Doomsaint, though she didn't expect it to match it's same position perfectly with Doomsaint's movements. She jabbed at Doomsaint with her spear multiple times, all aiming for his torso.

Doomsaint let off an evil grin, as he blocked Shana's first jab with his own spear, giving it the weight of a moon and rendering it nigh-impossible to lift. He then lifted his right fist away from his spear as to punch Shana, using **Force Punch** straight to her core.

Shana had no idea why she could no longer lift her spear, however the punch from Doomsaint sent her flying across the arena, crashing against a wall. She no longer had her spear, however she still was trying to figure out what had happened, so that it wouldn't occur again. Her current train of thought was *"Does he have a technique that applies weight to something? Or did he make me weaker? Fuck."* As Shana stood back up and slowly drew her sword. She had hoped to get by without it this fight, however it would be reckless to attempt to fight Doomsaint unarmed in hopes of regaining her spear.

As she drew her sword, a dark aura emanated in it's wake, as if voracity was felt from the sword itself, craving to be fed blood.

Doomsaint felt his entire body cover in chills for a brief moment, before he willed himself to return to normal. *"There's only one thing that can force a reaction like that just by existing..."* He thought to himself, as he unsummoned Europa, with now nothing orbiting him any longer. He grabbed Shana's spear, which has returned to a normal weight, noticing it to be a changeling blade as he returned it to shrunken, sheathed form, and threw it behind him across the arena. Thinking back on his action, it might have been better to give the blade back rather than fight one imbued with nether, though he reasoned that a nether blade must be Shana's trump card, and beating her with it would secure his victory.

Meanwhile, Shana had other plans in mind. She stomped on the ground, as razor-sharp crystal spikes began travelling along the battlefield towards Doomsaint. She then shouted **Ra-Un**, as the crystals erupted from the ground, darting towards Doomsaint now as a spread out volley. She then began dashing towards Doomsaint, chanting **Ka-An** and **Ka-In** simultaneously, actuating the entire pathing that Shana glided through, making it ready to explode once one of Shana's techniques touched the space. She then kicked up the earth in the trail behind her, immediately causing the raised ground to explode violently, sending random sized shards of rock across the battlefield in all directions. Using the now-riddled with dust and debris battlefield as cover, Shana used **Ska-Sen**, concealing her presence entirely from everyone, even those spectating the fight. She then glided around the perimeter of the arena towards where her spear had been thrown, reaching to grab it and wield it once more.

Doomsaint was caught off-guard by the explosion of the ground while he was busy dodging the initial volley of crystal shards, causing him to be unable to visually track where Shana had gone. He assumed that she would either make a direct attack from one of his peripheries, or use this chance to get back the spear he had thrown far behind him. In an attempt to cover for both potential outcomes, Doomsaint grew manifested **Europa** once more, grabbing it and launching it towards where Shana's spear was now located. He then dashed about halfway towards the spear, before abruptly stopping as he entered a one-legged stance. **Boda Viper**. His eyes closed, as he angled his spear tipped downward.

Shana has almost reached her spear when the giant moon came crashing towards her location, with so much force that she was blown away from where he spear lay, flying backwards towards the side of the arena. As it landed, the moon made a deafening sound, releasing a massive heat wave from the impact of it onto the ground, and sending a powerful rush of wind in all directions. Doomsaint, who she saw somewhat closer to her however unmoving, was unfazed by the neither the heat nor the wind, as he appeared to be in a stance resembling that of a snake ready to strike. *"Did he think I was going for him? Ha, what an idiot."* Shana thought to herself, she then had a revelation as she planned her next attack. **Katchko**, her spear, had a passive effect that made the blade stronger according to all physical force and pressure applied to it. As Europa had crashed onto it just now, while it still lay under the moon, it must have accumulated an incredible amount of strength from the blow. She wondered how she would be able to rid the moon from it's spot atop her spear, though before that decided to see what the meaning of Doomsaint's stance was. This was the first time she had gotten this heated in a mere duel, and she decided that it was time to up the ante. Crystal shards peppered almost half of the arena's floor, which rendered their respective areas impassable without injury. Some debris yet fell around the arena, though no longer enough to provide an active distraction. She began coating her sword, **Thana**, in haki. She then dashed towards where Doomsaint yet postured himself, using **Ra-Un** to allow her to surf on the ground as the earth rose and receded to allow her mobility. Nearing Doomsaint, she then launched a tiny nether projectile from the tip of her blade towards him, before quickly launching herself away from the ground.

Doomsaint reacted immediately the the nether projectile, as if he had been able to sense her entering his range even though she remained invisible to the standard senses. His spear rocketed towards the projectile, clashing with it as red plaz began to simmer and erupt from Doomsaint's blade as it clashed with the unholy element. The nether soon imploded, disappearing from existence, and Doomsaint opened his eyes. His opponent was already gone from his range, and it seemed as if that slash was simply a test of reaction. He took a quick glance at where Europa lay, and upon sensing that it lay above Shana's spear, decided to lock it in position, as to leave it there. He had other moons to play with, after all. He still could not see where Shana had gone, but it was obvious she had some control over the ground she touched. Aiming to deny her this right, Doomsaint slammed his fist into the ground, **Radia Yas-Ta**. A low-height wave rippled across the entirety of the arena, though not reaching high enough to affect the spectators. This wave would instill frailty of will within any it passed through, meaning that Shana would feel this effect head-on unless she had the reaction to escape to the air to evade it. Doomsaint didn't actually care if she escaped or not, but rather wished for her to escape to the air so that he could see where she had gone. If she took the wave without resistance though, it would inevitably lead to him being able to find her due to her, at the very least momentary, lack of concentration and willpower, alongside draining some of her raw power as well.

Shana had no way of knowing what the wave would do to her, however it rushed forth so quickly that she wouldn't have the time to burst herself into the air even if she wanted to. She rose a wall of earth in front of her in an attempt to block the wave from hitting her, however if seeped through it as if it weren't even there, hitting her head-on. The haki on her blade immediately disappeared due to her lapse of willpower, and additionally her perceptive invisibility faded. She felt weak, extremely weak. So weak that she could barely even lift her sword for a few moments. She struggled to raise it, though managed to enter a loose defensive stance. *"I can't lose to this crass fool, DAMN IT!"* Her resolve was rejuvenated, as her will matched in kind. Shana placed her palm on the ground, as she let loose a mass of crystal spikes erupting from the ground in all directions around her. She then proceeded to coat most of her body, excluding her joints, with a crystal armor as to allow travel along the now-rough terrain without being affected too badly by her own technique. She launched herself into the air with a jolt of earth blasting her upwards, as she began to launch towards Doomsaint, coating her blade fully in nether this time. It seemed that she was still unable to manifest haki, so she prayed that her crystal armor would be enough to thwart any attempted strikes upon her. To stay safe, just as she entered Doomsaint's range, she used **Ra-On**, as to repel any initial strike made to her. It would be more than enough to match and repel his blade, however she was unsure of what it's reaction would be if he utilized his moon from before against her. However, if he moved his moon that would work in her favor, as she would then be able to retrieve her spear, smirking at the thought.

**"**The hell are you smiling at!!?" Doomsaint roared, as he leaped into the air to avoid the oncoming rush of spikes along the ground. He noticed that Shana's blade was now emanating pure nether, and struggled with the idea of meeting her blade with his own. Believing he would actually lose such a clash, against his pride's voice, Doomsaint decided to manifest another of his moons. "Surge Forth, **Callisto!**" An even larger moon than before appeared directly in between him and Shana, and she would collide with it if her course of action could not be adjusted in time. **Po Pakkei!** Doomsaint proceeded to send a massive shockwave towards the right side of Callisto, which was the most-likely location that Shana would dodge to if she intended to go through with her attack, aiming to blast away such an attempt with it.

His shockwave was meaningless, though, as Shana found herself colliding with Callisto. With **Ra-On** yet active, she and the satellite clashed in a mass of sparks and thunder for a few brief moments, before Shana was launched backwards violently, crashing into a massive crystal spike, though luckily being saved by the crystal armor she had opted to don as a preventative measure. *"He has a second one???"* She screamed to herself, but then realized that her thoughts weren't quite accurate. The object she had just collided with, while similar, was not identical to the one that yet lay atop her blade. This one was much larger, and it froze to the touch, leaving a nasty pain of frostbite after her collision. It seemed that the moon had faltered in it's orbit momentarily due to the effects of her technique, however she ended up being helpless against it upon impact. If that was the effect of a collision, she was lucky to have not touched the one from earlier at the beginning of the battle carelessly. Though, how then would she lift it off her spear? She shook her head, brushing off dust from her clothes and stood up. *"For now, I have one last thing to try."* Her nether-coated blade hadn't come in contact with Callisto, as it had hit her head-on rather than hitting her blade, so she wasn't sure how they would interact with each other upon collision, as nether was technically unable to be collided with. She made a circular slash around her, as the blade cut through all the nearby crystal constructs that were located in Shana's near vicinity. She then stared at Doomsaint, waiting for the object orbiting him to pass from it's location in between them. She then used **Ra-En** to dash at Doomsaint once it passed. If he matched her blade, she would attempt coat it in nether once again to strike him with it, no longer caring about the risk of injury from it, and additionally resolved to use herself as a conduit to activate **Ra-In**.

Doomsaint's warning sensors flared as Shana dashed towards him. She was much faster than before, and by the time he processed her movements at all she wall nearly within his range. Europa yet remained on her spear, with Callisto's orbit facing away from the direction Shana came from. Doomsaint could have manifested a third moon, however he did not. Instead, he chose to let his pride stand in the way, and to match Shana's ambition that he felt drove her past the effects of his former Radia attack. **Boda Warrior.** Doomsaint's body bulked up instantly, muscles bulging from him as his raw power, known only to himself, had just multiplied several times in a mere second. He then stomped on the ground, ready to take Shana's blow head on, lowering his blade as he chanted **Po Troja-Bankaora**. The air around him began to rumble, as did the ground. It was an if a small earthquake surrounded Doomsaint's entire body, as his skin began to visibly channel red plaz throughout his body. He raised a single palm to match Shana's sword, as if challenging it to make contact.

**S**hana entered Doomsaint's range, though was thrown off-guard by Doomsaint's apparent willingness to be hit. She faltered in her strike, however her **Ra-In** still activated. In fact, the **Ra-In** interacted violently with Doomsaint's technique, as the rumbling aura surrounding him struggled violently against the implosion of **Ra-In**, which seemed to be attempting to close, however finding itself unable to do so. In this moment Shana reaffirmed her desire to strike, as her blade coated in nether, and she struck straight at Doomsaint's palm, the only body part of his in range. The moment the two connected a massive spiral of red plaz erupted from Doomsaint's palm, though it sank back towards the two due to the pull of **Ra-In**, electrocuting Shana relentlessly. She grit her teeth as her life flashed before her eyes, though it seemed as if Doomsaint was having trouble handling the blow as well, his posture noticeably weaker. Shana stomped the ground as she began to collapse, sending a volley of crystal shards directly into Doomsaint's torso.

Doomsaint was unable to dodge in his exhausted state and at such close range, as he collapsed in a howl of pain. The rumbling air ceased upon his collapse, as the **Ra-In** then imploded, blasting both him and Shana backwards in it's subsequent explosion. Europa yet remained active, however Callisto began to waver from existence, indicating that Doomsaint's consciousness was fading. On the other side of the arena, it appeared as if Shana was in a similar situation, as she tried to stand up again, falling under her own weight upon every attempt. Doomsaint bit his lip, as he clumsily stood up, stumbling but catching himself with his spear, as he stood to face Shana, who was yet remaining on the ground. His stomach was bleeding intensely, crystal shards yet protruding from it, some thin wounds but others deep into his body. Much of the piercing damage had been negated by his Warrior technique, though it seemed that it wasn't enough. *"Is it...over?"* He asked himself, still eyeing at Shana wearily.

However, while Shana initially seemed to be nearly routed in energy, suddenly she rose as if nothing had happened at all. There were no more wounds on her body, and she seemed to have rejuvenated the energy she had lost in the prior confrontations. Looking closely, the ground around her appeared to be empty, almost as if it were hollowed of substance. This is because Shana had utilized one of the highest-tier techniques of the art Mitsuori-dō. She had drained the earth beneath her of energy to replenish her own, leaving such ground desecrated, however now still able to fight. She dashed towards the tired Doomsaint, as she raised a fist and slammed it straight at his jaw.

*"How the hel--"* Doomsaint began to think, though Shana's blow knocked him out on impact, placing a rather unspectacular end on their short spar.

Shana turned to the audience as Doomsaint collapsed onto the ground, "And there you have it. Should we just load him onto the boat then? I think we've wasted enough time."

Caspian whistled, impressed, "Well I'll be, our dear little Battlemaster delivered on her promise, though maybe not so one-sided looking at some parts eh?"

Ignoring Capsian, Shana instead looked to Rezka, awaiting his permission to begin the actual reason she had come in the first place.

"Very well. Come, you shall use a small ship, we don't wish to attract unwanted attention. Starting now," Rezka looked at a watch that suddenly popped from inside his arm, "You have five days to gauge the impression of the current ruler of Mount Kleos. I believe that they have had the same ruler for a very long time, however should it be someone different, there may be some difficulties..." The last part he muttered to himself, as he waved to Saleiiya to finish the preparations for the mission, as well as bring those individuals to be sent on it to the necessary facilities.

Rezka jumped down into the arena, grabbing something from his coat and shoving it into Doomsaint's mouth, before leaping back into the stands and addressing Caspian, "We are to report the go-ahead of this to the others, come."

Caspian rolled his eyes, as he followed Rezka out of the Arena.

The two Scopas who had been watching the battle stood up as well, waiting for instructions from Saleiiya on what to do. While Thoth's emotions were entirely unreadable, Jinx seemed to have been having a bit too much fun watching the battle, as she shouted down, "Nice one boss!" Giving Shana a thumbs up.

Shana smiled, though more as an obligation to the compliment, "Thank you Jinx." With renewed vigor, she then asked Saleiiya, "Where to? Can we grab some food for the road, I'm starving."

Saleiiya hesitated for a moment, before replying "I'll have food delivered to the boat you all will be taking." She looked at Doomsaint's body, "Can one of you carry him to the docks? I really don't think I want to..."

With a single grunt of a response, Thoth jumped down into the area, picking up Doomsaint and holding in his arms. "Done. Let's get this started." He stated simply, obviously ready to get on with the mission.

Jinx giggled, as Saleiiya began leading the four to the docks where their transport awaited, though Doomsaint would remain unconscious until long past the group departed.

## **This Time, By Boat**

Doomsaint woke up so the sound of a muffled engine breaking through the water. It sounded like a zooming speedboat, *"But that can't be, right?"* He thought to himself. Opening his eyes, Doomsaint leaned up, finding himself to be laying in a small bed. There was a circular window beside him, just low enough for him to easily see out of it. He rubbed his eyes thoroughly, as he looked out the window to see waves speeding by, the occasional sea animal sighted just under the waters. *"What...the hell?"* Doomsaint thought to himself. His first instinct was to make sure his spear, Altair, was with him and intact. He grabbed around his waist, and began to panic slightly when his hands didn't find his blade. He looked around the room he was in, something he hadn't yet done as he first looked out the window right after waking up.

There was a small table with a lamp and radio on top of it beside the bed he lay on. A dresser stood next the the edge of the bed as well, though it didn't seem to be important. Then, nearby a sturdy-looking door, there was a chair. Leaning on the chair was Altair, luckily enough for Doomsaint, however more worrying was that someone, Jinx, was sitting in the chair, staring intently back at Doomsaint with an innocent smile on their face. They didn't say anything, so Doomsaint chose to.

**"**Who the hell are you?" He asked, mild agitation lining his words. He had no idea what was going on, though finding out who had been watching him this entire time was took priority.

Jinx giggled in a mix of sarcasm and nervousness, "What, do you not remember me?" She asked back.

"No. So tell me who the hell you are, huh?" Doomsaint snapped back, this time with more annoyance in his voice.

"Sheeeeesh calm down big guy, and here I've been making sure you've been doing alright while you slept." Jinx mock pouted, though her grin quickly found itself on her face once again. "I'm Jinx, hello nice to meet you again, I guess. I'm the one that's been taking care of you since you got a smackdown from Shana, how about a thank you?"

"Give me my spear." Doomsaint said with a sharp edge, as he move to the side of his bed and began to stand up.

"Oh this thing? Sure, I guess. But only if you promise not to make any trouble, mmk?" Jinx responded, with a mock motherly tone.

"Give me my spear." Doomsaint said again, though this time the aura he gave off incited Jinx to back down without another word, her eyes widening slightly, as she awkwardly tossed the folded changeling spear to Doomsaint, who caught it effortlessly.

Doomsaint then stomped towards the door, reaching for the handle. Jinx reached at the handle first, blocking him from grabbing it, and meriting from him a dangerous glare. "Wait wait wait, pleaaaase just one moment! Don't you want me to tell you what's happened since you were knocked out? Don't you care?" She asked frivolously, though bringing up a good point nonetheless.

"I need fresh air. Tell me if you want, but you get to follow me outside, then." Doomsaint swatted away Jinx's hands, as he grabbed the door handle and swung open the door. Rather, he pulled open the door after failing to attempt to swing it outwards, before heading into what appeared to be a short hallway. There were four other doors identical to the one he had just exited from, with two on each side of the hallway and one at the end of it. On the opposite end was a short staircase that led to the deck above. Without any hesitation, Doomsaint briskly moved towards, and up the steps, heading to the deck. Jinx scurried out of the room to follow him up, not wanting to be left behind.

When he reached the deck, Doomsaint was met with a bitter taste of salt, as the breeze created from the boat's speed slapped him in the face. The vessel itself wasn't that large, obviously meant to prioritize speed over bulk or durability. There was one other person on the deck already when Doomsaint came up, who was leaning over the railing towards the side of the boat. It was Thoth, who seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"You're that soldier who was with that crystal bitch right?" Doomsaint directed towards Thoth, who slowly turned his head to face the inquiry, though the rest of his body yet remained in it's position.

"Crystal bitch. Perhaps not, though my boss is fond of utilizing them. I am called Thoth-1, Thoth is...fine." Thoth responded, and he simply turned his head back towards the passing sea without another word.

"YOU REMEMBERED THOTH, BUT YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER ME?" Jinx exclaimed, peeved at the notion.

"You're annoying, shut up." Doomsaint growled, as he walked over to Thoth and leaned on the railing beside him, "You look reliable enough, can you tell me what the hell is going on here?" Doomsaint asked the Scopa, liking his personality much more than Jinx's thus far.

Thoth once again turned only his head, though at a much lesser angle as Doomsaint was now beside him, "Hm. We are bound for the desert isle of Kleos. We are to disembark on the isle. We are then to act as emissaries; diplomats, to the authority of Mount Kleos. To add personal inquiry," Thoth's visor flickered a dark shade of blue before returning back to normal, "I did not know of this place before this mission. We have maps of the world, yes. However, so near this island is, yet so uncertain is it's existence." Thoth remarked, turning his head to the right this time, facing the front of the boat. "It has been 4 hours since your combat with the Battlemaster. Yet," He pointed past the tip of the boat, to a silhouetted shape nearing every second beyond it, "We are already so near."

Doomsaint sighed to himself, realizing this was the mission Rezka had been trying to get him to go on. He looked to where Thoth pointed, and there was indeed a shape protruding there, most definitely that of either a massive ship, or an island. Assuming that it's significance in Thoth's words meant that the mass was Kleos, as Doomsaint let out an exasperated breath. *"But wait, I feel like I've heard the name Kleos before..."* He thought to himself, but was abruptly cut short in his thought, as a massive serpentine sea king burst out of the water in a roar to the side of the boat opposite to where the three were. On it's head was Shana, who seemed to be wrestling with the beast.

"Wooooohooo! You'll get him this time boss!" Jinx cheered, pumping a fist up and down as she watched the spectacle.

Thoth merely turned around to face the event, as Doomsaint's jaw dropped slightly, wondering what the hell was going on.

Shana didn't respond, too preoccupied with the massive sea monster, as it dove back under the water's surface, taking her with it.

"What...the hell is that?" Doomsaint asked aloud. It was just one thing after another, first he woke up on a boat, and now there was a giant sea king being wrestled by the girl he had fought, allegedly just a few hours ago.

"It is a sea king. It has been following us for two hours now; it has tried to eat our boat five times now; the boss is currently attempting to drive it off; the boss does not want to kill it, though it has been a...nuisance." Thoth responded, his words correlating awkwardly with each other as he spoke.

Jinx rolled her eyes, decided to reiterate what Thoth had conveyed, "This big freakin' Sea King has been following us since an hour out of our ride, and the boss is trying to get him to fuck off without actually hurtin' the poor fella too bad." She mused, smiling at Doomsaint.

"...Right..." Doomsaint replied. Rather than continuing to be surprised, he simply closed his eyes for a couple moments, and leaned on the railing once again next to Thoth facing the other side of the sea, "Well Thoth, I probably should've slept a bit longer huh?" He asked, a faint grin showing from his face, though he quickly hid it.

What might be comprehended as laughter, though what sounded like a strange jumble of sounds one might hear coming from a computer, or the electric waves of a mushroom, came from Thoth, as millions of tiny green dots sparkled on his helm. "If only...I could sleep too." He replied, attempting to convey humor to Doomsaint.

Doomsaint seemed to understand the intention, slapping Thoth playfully on the back, "I think we get along pal'" He said, as Jinx pouted behind the two:

"What about me? Are you saying we don't get along, even though I've been with you from the start! How cruel!" Jinx hugged herself tightly with a hurt look on her face, and while it was obviously a fake expression, she did actually deep down feel somewhat left out by the two's bonding.

Aside from the occasional bursts of sea king and Shana from the surrounding waters, the group made it closer and closer to Kleos, eventually reaching near it's shore.

The view of the island was unremarkable at best. It was a barren, scorched landscape. A large rock formation lay central on the island, however the rest of it was rolling plains of dust, unfit and devoid of any semblance of civilization, or even life at all. As they approached for landing, the sea king that Shana had been riding for the past few hours sprang up out from the water, standing tall. It wagged it's body, shaking Shana off with relative ease, as it looked at the boat and simply swam away. Shana, who was dripping wet with salt water, crashed onto the deck beside the three who had all found themselves on the railing at this point.

"I almost had him too." She pouted, standing up and seeing that they had arrived. But first, she mentioned, "Oh! You woke up! How was your sleep?" She asked Doomsaint, with not a hint of sarcasm in her voice whatsoever, unlike their last encounter.

"I woke up hours ago, not that you'd have known playing with that snake." Doomsaint said back. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be mad at her or not, so he kept his words short as to see where the conversation led.

"Oh, I see." She responded simply, heading towards the stairs leading down, "Thoth, park the boat somewhere safe, I'm going to dry off."

A grunt came from Thoth, as Doomsaint quickly wondered aloud, "Wait, who was driving the boat this whole time anyways?"

Thoth turned his head towards Doomsaint, as he displayed something in his hand that appeared to be some form of controller, not unlike those used in games. The gesture showed that Thoth had been controlling the boat's path the entire time, even having been standing on the deck.

"Yea, Thoth has some super weird quirks. Get used to it~" Jinx remarked, as she eyed the shore of the island. While there was still a short ways to go to reach it fully, she decided that she wanted to be the first one to arrive, as she crouched and made a massive leap towards land. Doomsaint noticed that as she leaped, her legs seemed to move like a spring. Remembering that she was a Scopa and not a human, he simply waved it off as a robotic build of some sort.

"Well, I guess we can only go forward from here..." Doomsaint muttered, accepting that he wasn't simply going to be able to return to comfort before doing what needed to be done here. *"Well, guess I'll do the same."* He thought to himself, launching himself from the deck onto the shore. His leap was much faster than Jinx's, and he actually managed to touch ground before she did.

**"**Nice try, but looks like I won." Doomsaint said as Jinx landed beside him, flashing a toothy grin.

Jinx smiled sarcastically back at Doomsaint, as a backpack came flying towards her. She caught it and slung it on her back, then catching a massive firearm that came after it with ease. Looking back, it was Thoth who had thrown them to her. She waved in thanks, before grabbing a device from her backpack and placing it on her eye. It looked as if it were a red optic, and it granted Jinx infrared sight over the terrain. While it was mostly visible normally, there were some stray objects and obstacles that could provide cover for an ambush, something that there was little point in ignoring. The gun had a scope as well, though it seemed to be a normal magnifier, and Jinx raised it to hip level, slowly looking around at the landing zone.

*"That's surprisingly professional."* Doomsaint thought to himself, as he simply stood there, though looking around all the same.

"Jupiter." Thoth called from the boat, "Please attach."

Doomsaint looked back, as a rope was being tossed to him, alongside a massive iron spike. He realized that Thoth was asking him to tie the boat to the shore, as he caught the nail, easily stamping it into the ground, and tied the rope to it.

After he had done so, Thoth too leaped to shore, his weight causing a crashing sound as he landed, though without injury it remained loud. Behind him, Shana leaped as well, apparently having dried off and changed even though it looked like she was wearing the same clothes. They both had backpacks on their backs just like Jinx, and Thoth additionally carried a massive gun that took on the appearance of something in between a sniper rifle and assault rifle, alongside a large box being strung to his back as well. Shana's weapons were both sheathed, her notably having her spear once more, and she tossed an extra backpack to Doomsaint. "Rations, Equipment, Supplies, just take the pack, ok?" She said as if distracted by something in the distance, only looking at Doomsaint for a brief moment. She then barked out orders for her troop, "Jinx, you're in front, Thoth, you take the left, I want you on canary duty." A unified "Yes sir!" echoed from both of them, as Jinx kept her spot in the lead, with Thoth breaking away from the group slightly and walking to the side of them. Shana then turned to Doomsaint, "Are you good at anything in particular I should know about, or are you just here to light up the place if things turn south?" She asked Doomsaint. While her remark was obviously rude, it didn't seem like it was intentionally rude, more simply to get a gauge on what Doomsaint's role could be as they approached the island's center.

Doomsaint glared at her, as he simply began to walk forward from where he already was, leaving her behind as he called back, "I'm a fighter, that's about all you're getting from me."

Shana shook her head, as she took her position behind the other three as rearguard. She and Thoth were rather separated from the group, leaving Doomsaint to deal with Jinx during their trek forward, assuming no complications arose, that is.

## **A Gate Guarded by The Sands**

As the group made towards the rocky formations to the center of the island, the island's natural defenses came into play. Dusty air whipped up miniature sandstorms constantly, irregular yet unanimous in their ability to cause irritation and lack of visibility to the group pathing forth. The sun overhead felt unnaturally hot, scorching the lands below with a torrid heat. When unobstructed by the crashing waves of dust and sand, the sky was clear blue glass, not a single cloud in sight, even though they had been situated as normal during the boat ride here. On the topic of the boat, it had long since faded out of sight, yet it seemed as if the group hadn't gotten closer towards the center of the island at all. A screeching sound could be heard overhead, with a small flock of birds circling around above the group. Their appearance was silhouetted against the sky, though their intent was obvious. They would feast upon those below were they to collapse under the heat, though luckily the four traveling were not so weak that they would falter just yet.

"Oi, Jinx." Doomsaint said to the girl in front of him, "Doesn't it feel like we aren't making any progress at all?"

Jinx looked back at him momentarily, unnaturally focused to her job, at least in Doomsaint's eyes, "Hmm, yea it does feel that way doesn't it. We're definitely moving...but you're right, my sensors are saying that we've barely gained any distance towards those rocks over there." She said, checking her distance scanner.

"The hell? So we're moving but we aren't getting closer? That doesn't make much sense to me..." He answered back, too tired to make a snide comment over what sounded like a contradiction to him. "I'm going to take a look from above, maybe shoo away those damn birds while I'm at it." He said towards Jinx, as he launched himself into the air, as high as the birds flew. This action alone caused them to disperse temporarily, as he looked at the landscape below. What he saw both amazed him, and pissed him off all the same. Jinx waited for his descent, which came about 20 seconds later, asking, "So? Anything off?"

"Yea, damn right something's off," Doomsaint growled, "The entire fucking desert we're walking on is moving towards the shore. Don't ask me how, but this shit is just going to keep us here forever."

Shana, having seen Doomsaint rocket into the air, ran up to the two. "What's wrong?" She said in a huff, as Jinx replied, "Looks like the island doesn't want us to get closer," She let out a weak laugh, "Doomsaint here says that the ground is pushing us away from the rocks, dunno how though." She added, her expression somewhat withered from the notion.

Shana rose her hand, calling for Thoth to regroup with the three. However, there was no response. "Thoth! Report!" Shana shouted over to the left, though there was still silence. She called again, this time Jinx joined in, "THOTH! WHERE ARE YOU!" But alas, there was yet again no response.

"The hell did he go? I remember seeing him just a few minutes ago." Doomsaint remarked, looking over in the direction of where Thoth had been walking beside the group. The other two looked around some more, with Shana running over to the left to see if there was any trace of him. As she ran over, gunshots were heard. Strangely though, they came from far in the distance, at least a few miles in front of where the three were, towards the rocks they had been travelling towards. While Doomsaint took them as a sign of conflict, Jinx and Shana knew immediately that the pattern of shots heard was a code for "Ambush."

Shana immediately pulled out her spear and began dashing towards the gunshots as fast as she could, running while using her Spell Art to shift the ground to speed her up even more, quickly leaving Doomsaint and Jinx behind.

"The hell is going on?" Doomsaint asked Jinx, as he prepared to dash after Shana.

"It looks like there's an ambush, though I dunno why or how Thoth got all the way over there...Also, are you planning on leaving me here all by myself? I can't move as fast as the two of you, just saying." She said back, though broke into a run towards the sound all the same.

Matching her speed easily, Doomsaint asked, "Don't you have some mod in your legs that lets you go fast? I saw your leap from earlier, it was definitely better than average."

"Oh, thanks," Jinx said awkwardly to the compliment, "But no, that's more for height than distance, it would only be slower in the long run." She replied, running as fast as she could.

"Ah, can't be helped then." Doomsaint grabbed Jinx, who struggled to break free from his grasp until she realized what he was doing, as he held her and used **Boda Cheetah** to spring towards the sound at a pace even faster than Shana, even using her Spell Art, quickly catching up to her.

Shana glanced to the side, letting out a slight grin before saying, "You two take the right, I'll barrel straight, ok?"

Doomsaint didn't like taking orders from her, though he reluctantly nodded, following the instruction. He noticed that unlike before, they were now moving at a speed that gave them actual distance towards the center, with their earlier walking pace apparently having been just the right speed for them to have been making almost no distance at all. The island wasn't all that large in the first place, and the two split groups easily gained on the rocks' center.

As Doomsaint reached the border of the massive wall of rocks that now sprouted along every inch of earth before him, he turned left and began flanking where the gunshots had initially been heard immediately. As he raced forward, he heard a screeching sound, followed by the revving of what sounded like a gatling gun. The ground shaked, as Doomsaint began approaching more cautiously. A poke from Jinx reminded him that he had still been carrying her, as he awkwardly placed her down onto the ground. She immediately pulled out her gun and was battle-ready, lacking in jeers and with a serious face that spoke *"Let's do this."*

Doomsaint grinned slightly, pulling out and extending Altair as he began to run forward towards the sound. Thick clouds of dust scattered in front of the two, obscuring their vision from mere inches away. A roar was heard, followed by what sounded like a crash. Doomsaint's instincts forced him to dodge, as Thoth suddenly flew right by him, his battle armor appearing as if it had been bitten, with large tooth-shaped gashes denting Thoth's body. Jinx looked at Doomsaint, before quickly running back to check on Thoth's wounds, as Doomsaint readied his spear and continued to walk forwards.

A clash of blades, and even more piles of sand and dust rang through and filled the air. Doomsaint could see a large shadowy mass through the thick particles in the air, and he dashed forward towards it without a moment's hesitation. Reaching the figure, he found it to be a massive reptilian creature, a crocodile, with a large metallic crown-like helm upon it's head. It's eyes were red, as it turned to face Doomsaint. Now seeing it's front, Doomsaint noticed a large spherical jewel at the fore and center of the helm, as it began to glow.

Doomsaint furred his brow, as he dashed forwards with his spear, aiming to strike the creature in it's torso. He wasn't sure where Shana had gone, but he could hear a subtle slashing sound to his left, indicating that there may be more of these beasts. The crocodile hissed, as the jewel on it's helm began to shine with intense brightness, though barely moving at all to dodge Doomsaint's spear. Its scales were hard and thick, though Doomsaint managed to pierce past the scales, though most damage was averted. He could barely look forward at this point, blinding by the light emitted by the jewel, as suddenly the crocodile let out a roar and a light emitted from the jewel in the form of a beam. The creature turned, as part of the beam brushed off of Doomsaint's arm.

"GAAAAAAH!" Doomsaint exclaimed loudly, pulling himself away from the creature, moving a few paces back. He looked to where his arm had met the beam of light. It appeared scorched, burned by the searing light that emitted from the gem with an intense pain. **Sei Mystic**. Doomsaint stopped the pain from his wound, attempting to heal it entirely though the wound proving to remain as a scar. He twirled his spear, looking around to find the creature once again to attack it with more vigor than before. However, the sand clouds had only thickened, completely obscuring any and all forms that may have moved within it. The only cue Doomsaint had as to it's location was it's decision to begin charging it's helm-jewel once more, as he began running in a circular movement towards it, attempting to both flank the crocodile, as well as dodge the beam. However, he was cut short as he ran face-first into a rock, apparently having moved towards the cluster of them to the side of the field.

He heard another slashing sound, however this time it was followed by the sounds of a gasp of pain, one full of rage preceding death, most definitely belonging to one of the crocodiles, though not the one Doomsaint had been facing. He looked towards the sound in vain, his vision completely unable to see towards if it were Shana or not. Back towards where he had left Jinx and Thoth he heard the sound of gunfire once more, this time from a different source, most likely Jinx's gun. Noticing as a ray of light began making a path towards him, Doomsaint began running over to the gunfire, realizing that the two Scopas were less likely towards a successful encounter compared to Shana, who he regrettably admitted was a rather capable warrior. *"She doesn't need my help."* He thought to himself as he rushed over. However, he was intercepted by yet another creature, though this one appeared different from the others. It was still crocodilian, however it stood on two feet, with red eyes and an aura that was much more refined, yet much more dangerous than that of the earlier creature. It suddenly brandished a massive stick, which it proceeded to attempt to whack Doomsaint straight on the head with. Doomsaint tactfully evaded the strike, though had no time to counterattack as suddenly orbs of light began to flicker on all around him. They nearly entirely surrounded him, so made the split-second decision to flee to the air rather than by foot, using **Boda Cheetah** to launch himself upwards. He was certain that he reached high above the ground, yet the sand did not falter in it's presence, obscuring him even within the sky. Cursing, Doomsaint attempted to reposition himself by using **Boda Sugar Glider**. He wasn't certain which direction he traveled towards, however it would have to do, arguably better than being surrounded by crocodiles, one of which carried a makeshift weapon of sorts. The gunfire he had heard from over where Jinx and Thoth were had ceased by now, as he prayed that it was because they were retreating, and not because of their untimely defeat.

Below him, he heard a crash, as he himself crashed, albeit lightly, into a tall rock. He latched on to the rock, digging his hands into it as if they were claws, as he looked down below him. He still could not see below him, however he now had an idea. Taking one hand off of the rock, he closed his eyes and began to chant **Eye of Heaven**. He only channeled the ability for a moment, however in that moment a massive storm exploded with Doomsaint at it's core, whipping up and subsequently scattering and displacing all the sand and dust that scourged his presence even this high up in the air. As it turned out, he was quite high up in the air as well. Far below him he now saw Shana, who had apparently been the cause of the crashing sound, her body getting up from having crashed into the massive rock Doomsaint currently latched on to. There were ten large crocodiles, each fitted with a gem, surrounding her, and the crocodilian that stood on two legs with the stick stood there as well. Doomsaint looked towards where Thoth and Jinx had been, though his momentary release of wind had seemed to have not reached that far.

Down below, an injured Shana stared at the crocodilian with the stick, demanding, "Who are you? How dare you ambush my troop!" Her voice was shaking slightly, obviously winded from her impact on the rock. Her emotions were flaring, a tinge of anger seething from her aura. Her spear was glowing with a sharp, yet faint heavy aura, as if the air around the blade itself was shaking. While Doomsaint wouldn't have seen this, she had just blocked the full force of multiple light beams from the crocodiles with her blade, causing it to strengthen tremendously, albeit temporarily.

The standing crocodilian had obviously noticed this as well, weary in it's strides. Amazingly, it suddenly began to speak, though in a deep and raspy voice, "Ahhhh, ambush is such a nasty little word isn't it? I prefer...taking the initiative, and using my advantages to, well, my advantage. Perhaps I should apologize for the rude encounterrrrr? You seem...much more rrrrefined than our previous guesssssts..." It said, showing off an unnatural capability of speaking, and intelligence for that matter, at least for a crocodile.

Shana's arm began shaking, as if she could barely hold back from striking the creature, though a unified clamor of growls and hisses from the other crocodiles caused her to waver momentarily. They had held their attack, making it seem as if their leader, being the one who had just spoken, may be wishing towards a diplomatic resolution, even though he had allegedly attacked first.

"We come to petition the Empress. If you find yourself in her care, I demand you stand down immediately!" Shana barked, with a half-assed refinery in her speech, though her flaring temper obviously cutting through it.

"The Empressssss you say? Hmm..." The creature though aloud, "A petition, hmm? I sssuppose one of your..." It looked up and down at Shana thoughtfully, "Would not pose much threat to herrr..." It drifted, then snapping one of his fingers as out of the sands came four humanoid warriors, though they were covered from head to toe in shiny armor, making it hard to tell whether this were truly the case. They each carried a line of rope, revealing to be leading to the bound hands of Jinx and Thoth, though while Jinx was actively resisting, Thoth seemed to be completely calm as he slowly walked forth.

"Vvverryy well..." The crocodile-man said, as the sands around the area suddenly died down, sweeping away, drifting far and wide across the vast desert plane. "Untie the ffffalllen..." It spoke, as it turned around and began walking the perimeter of the rocks' edge. "Come." It spoke, as the crocodiles followed it, with a sudden emergence of armored soldiers prompting Shana and the Scopas to follow as well. One of the soldiers looked up at Doomsaint, and figuring now wasn't the time to retaliate, Doomsaint slid down the rock he was on and landed in a small cloud of dust upon his impact on the ground. He ran up to Shana and whispered, "What the hell is that thing?"

She gave a nervous glance back, "I'm not sure, but it's strong. If I hadn't been actively tracking movement through the ground, he might have taken my head before I could naturally react."

Doomsaint gave a genuinely shocked expression, though didn't respond, as the two strayed behind the two Scopas, following the lead of the crocodilian man. Jinx looked utterly exhausted, only looking back at the two once, giving them a weak and weary smile, though she was obviously shaken by whatever happened to result in her capture. Thoth's helm was moving as if something were loading, with a strange blue loading circle rotating at the fore of his helm, though none of the three seemed to know what it meant, at least, neither Shana nor Doomsaint did. If Jinx knew, she didn't have the energy to tell them, though.

After a short walk, the crocodile-man stopped, as the quadrupedal crocodiles walked behind him and turned around to face those walking forth. He barked a command at the soldiers who had been in front of the rest of the group, as they turned around and ran past the people still approaching, heading back towards the rocks from whence they came. Approaching where the crocodile-man had stopped, there was a massive wall of rock standing to one side, with a narrow, yet visible slit of a passageway apparently leading through a cut in the rock. The crocodile-man spoke, "Iiii cannot accompany you furtherrr...troubling times...turbulent times...the Red Sun has risen twice now the past weeeeeek." It paused, shaking it's head as it re-attempted to convey it's message, "Iiii am called Sobek. Speak my name; of our encounter...to those awaiting deep beyond these rocks...past, these rocks. Trrreeeaaad lightlyyy...beeware of traps rife on the passssaagggee wallsss..." Sobek drifted, before making a gesture with his hands and bowing his head slightly. He then simply walked past the four to the soldiers behind them, as he began to speak to them, now completely ignorant of the fours' presence.

"Well..." Shana said, "I guess we go this way..."

She took the lead, beginning along the path between the behemoth rocks beside. Thoth followed her in step almost a little too quickly, as Doomsaint passed by Jinx to take third place in the line. He looked back at Jinx, now getting a good glimpse at her face. The childish and teasing face that had been there before was gone, replaced by a dull expression, with eyes looking blankly ahead as if they had been filled with melancholy, then emptied in their entirety. He almost said something to her, but as she began to slowly drag her feet to follow the rest, he decided to leave it for the time being. Right now, there was a road ahead to travel, and apparently, a misleading one.

## **Heart of the Desert**

Luckily, aside from a few pitfalls and close calls with spiked coming out of the walls, there was little incident on their trek through the passage in the rocks. After about a 45 minute walk, in front of the passage, and blocking any further travel forwards, was a large gate. Five armed and armored figures could be seen dotting the top of it, as one of them called forth, "Halt! Who goes there?"

Shana responded flawlessly, though there seemed to be mild annoyance in her voice due to yet another obstacle in the path, "I am Keinen Shana, dignitary and Battlemaster of the nation of Svarga, and am here for the purpose of diplomatic affairs with the Empress of this nation." She recited dully, "Oh, and these are my bodyguards." She waved unenthusiastically towards the three behind her.

The guards muttered to themselves, as the same voice asked, "How did you find this passage?"

"Not very accepting are we..." Shana muttered to herself, showing her first visible irritation thus far, "That giant Gator Sobek showed us this path, though he didn't say it would be nearly an hour of walking." She replied to the gatekeepers.

They seemed to accept the response, as the gate swung open, and one of them let out a loud whistle that echoed throughout the passage. Looking through the gate, there didn't seem to be much difference between what lay beyond it and what lay where the party stood, though with the desire to simply stride forwards, the four silently walked through the gate. Immediately upon passing through, sunlight pierced their eyes, and upon seeing again there was a complete shift in terrain. The narrow passage opened to a massive valley, filled with lush trees and houses, with several colossal monuments dotting the landscape. Birds chirped happily, and a light rainfall was currently underway, something that the four who had just walked through a scorched desert had not expected to see to any degree. It was a stark contrast at a minimum.

"Well this is something isn't it..." Doomsaint began, though too fatigued to say any more. Looking back, he realized that he hadn't had anything to drink for hours, and the constant dripping of sweat from his body, alongside the energy he exerted in the earlier fight were both sapping his energy reserves. He had been powering through, though now that they had reached their destination his worldly needs had returned.

Shana seemed to be much less effected by dehydration, but a glimpse saw that there was a straw attached to her backpack, a cool liquid contained within. Shana noticed Doomsaint's gaze, and asked blandly, "Are you thirsty? You can have some if you'd like."

Doomsaint waved away her offer, "Don't worry, I have my own."

Doomsaint waved his hands around for a moment, as out of his pocket came Europa, though it was miniature in size compared to when it was active on the field earlier. He held it in the cusp of his hand, mouth wide open beside it.

"Dude, what are you doing." Jinx asked impatiently.

"Just watch and learn kiddo." Doomsaint replied toothily, as after a few moments a spout of water rocketed from Europa into his mouth, further fountaining the rest of his face in the process. "Ahhh...."

"Hey, I don't know what that is, but let me get some!" Jinx exclaimed, having been reinvigorated slightly compared to their walk here. She shoved her face next to Doomsaint's, and into the line of fire for the geyser of water spewing from Europa.

Shana looked on in mild amusement, glad that Jinx's spirits had risen, though unsure as to why they were low in the first place. She instinctively looked over to Thoth as well. She hadn't spoken to him at all since the ambush, and honestly was unsure as to the meaning of the loading sign that had appeared on the face of his helm. "Thoth, you feeling ok?" She asked, awaiting a response.

Thoth turned his head to face Shana, displaying that his face was still filled with a loading circle, however it was now changing colors in a rainbow, causing even further confusion as to what was going on. Shana looked at him nervously, waiting for a response that never came.

"What happened to Thoth? He doesn't look so good if you ask me." Doomsaint asked casually, meriting an annoyed glare from Shana.

Jinx responded, causing the two to turn their heads towards her.

"It's complicated, but I can try to explain I guess..." Her voice had become depressed again, "He took one of those light-beams straight to the face you know, so obviously is fucked him up pretty bad, right? At least that's what I thought would happen, definitely scared the shit out of me when he started talking like normal, I thought his core was fried. He said something along the lines of 'I will be vacant for some time. Please take care of my body, it will be on autopilot.' Like, what the hell does that mean? I don't have an autopilot or whatever, that must be a him thing. But yea, after he said that these soldiers came and attacked us, you probably heard me shooting. This fucking idiot took the bullets straight to the chest, for who the hell knows why. Must've not wanted to hurt the other guys but really, why? After that I got bagged, but that's the gist. Honestly I knew we were at a disadvantage in a fight, but we lost real bad, and to normal people too. Doesn't do so good for the morale huh does it? Makin' me feel kind of useless."

Doomsaint and Shana processed Jinx's monologue, as Shana quickly walked up to Jinx and gave her a reassuring arm on the shoulder, "Jinx, if you were useless you wouldn't be on my team. Even I had trouble with those gators, there's nothing to be ashamed of. And for the record, I picked you for this mission because I trust you. Are you going to just break my trust just because of a single fight? Don't worry about it too much, ok?"

"Yoohoo, sweethearts?" Doomsaint said in a heavily sarcastic tone that didn't fit the mood whatsoever, "I hate to ruin your make-up sesh, but this chick has been waiting for us for a little while now."

Sure enough, standing next to Doomsaint was a girl in rather revealing attire, with a headband sprouting a pair of long ears from the top of her head. She was wearing a lot of golden jewelry, practically a piece per square inch, and held in her right hand a rolled-up parchment. She leaned forward, "Oh come on, they were having a moment!" She said in mock anger to Doomsaint, then turning to Shana and Jinx, "Don't worry you two, in fact rejoice! The Empress has decided to grant you all an audience, though, um, what's up with this guy?" She pointed to Thoth, who was now visibly shaking in addition to his prior condition.

Doomsaint looked over to Shana and Jinx, "Any idea on what the hell is up with this guy?"

After they both slowly shook their heads no, Doomsaint let out an aggrieved sigh, "Ok. You two go on ahead to your 'audience' or whatever, I'll stay back and make sure this guy doesn't do anything stupid.

Shana rested her chin on her hand for a moment, thinking about the proposition, "I guess that could work, you don't seem fit for these types of meetings anyways; you'd probably start some trouble for no reason."

"The hell? Do you really think that little of me? I know how to bite my tongue...sometimes." Doomsaint retorted, though with a slightly guilty look.

"I can watch over him if you'd like to go with..."Jinx started, realizing that the girl that had appeared had yet to give her name.

"Oh! I'm Hathor. Khepri Hathor yessiree! Do take your time, well. No, don't take your time, if you keep the Empress waiting it'll be a pain for all of use, I mean, not an ideal scenario." Hathor responded cheerily, the ears atop her headband swaying with her speech.

"Right...well Doomsaint, I can watch over Thoth if you'd like to attend the meeting?" Jinx finished her question.

"Nah, you go with this self-proclaimed 'Battlemaster' and look pretty. I'd rather stay with this guy anyways." Doomsaint pats Thoth on the back, to receive a response of complex beeping sounds as Doomsaint quickly backed away a little bit, though nothing happened afterwards.

"And so it's settled." Shana exclaimed, "Jinx, you're to be my accompany! Hathor, lead on!"

Hathor raised her hand in a salute, as she promptly began marching towards the center of the city beyond.

Watching them go, Doomsaint eyed Thoth curiously, "Well Thoth ol' pal, looks like it's just you and me now. Might as well get comfortable, I think it'll be a while before their back from their shit with this so-called Empress."

Thoth seemed to nod slightly, though it was hard to differentiate between the gesture and his constant shaking. He plopped onto the ground, and stopped moving entirely. The loading screen was still showing, so Doomsaint decided not to worry about it, as he leaned against a nearby tree and started playing with his miniature moons, already bored.

- - - -

Leaving the two behind, Shana and Jinx followed Hathor, who was leading them down a large, cobbled road that had begun upon nearing the city. There were many buildings and markets to the side of it, bustling with activity and commotion, some of which was whispers and comments about the foreigners that were being displayed very prominently in the middle of the street. In the distance, a massive pyramid could be seen at the end of the road, ornate and beautiful, glistening a mixture of colors between gold and jet-black in the sunlight. The tip of the pyramid displayed a massive head of a creature neither Shana nor Jinx had ever seen nor imagined before, as it seemed to watch their approach intently.

Hathor told the two all about the livelihoods and community of Mount Kleos, obviously happy to be talking to people not from here. On the walk to the pyramid, which was their destination, they conversed on Mount Kleos itself, with some side dialogues regarding the life in Svarga, which saw a glitter in Hathor's eyes, obviously impressed by it.

Finally, the three arrived at the base of the temple. Hathor turned to the two and went over some ground rules for entry, "Ok so I know you may not want to, but there's some rules you're gonna have to follow to go in, ok? First thing, no weapons allowed. You can leave them outside, or place them in one of these safes," Hathor displayed a massive black box, "Ok? Now second, once you go in, Bast is, er, the Empress is going to be sitting in her throne at the back of the room. It's customary for you to bow when you enter, and kneel as you state the purpose of your visit/presence/whatever you're here for. Is that ok?"

"So we can't arrive as equals, then?" Shana asked sharply, seemingly annoyed by the second rule.

"Well...it's complicated, but something like that. She rules here as an incarnation of god, so you kinda sorta hafta place yourself below her, y'know?" Hathor responded, though it was hard to tell if she genuinely believed in what she said or not.

"Hmmph." Shana stated simply, as she threw her spear and sword into the box. "Jinx, just do as she says."

Jinx nodded, unslinging her gun and placing it in the box.

"Right, now let's head insid--" Hathor began, lifting the box, but stopped moving as Jinx raised a hand for her to wait, indicating she was not done.

Jinx proceeded to reach for various things on her body, first producing a set of pistols, which she placed in the box. Hathor nodded as she tried again to take the box away, only to be stopped once more by Jinx. Jinx then pulled out several grenades, tossing them recklessly into the box as well, and while still holding up one finger, grabbed a knife that was hidden in her shoe and placed it in as well.

"Ok, I think that's everything." She said plainly, as a smirk came from Shana at Hathor's shock from how armed Jinx was.

"Riiight, you sure that's it? I'm kidding, alright then let's head inside." Hathor called to a nearby guard, handing them the box as she closed it and sealed it with some unknown material, then hopping back over to Shana and Jinx, motioning for them to follow her.

The two complied, with Shana walking in front of Jinx, who walked in file behind her, keeping a short distance between them to embolden Shana as the leader of the two, though this was subtle. Entering the Pyramid, a row of guards clad in golden armor stood by the path which showed itself to be a grand gold-red carpet, adorned with sparkling gemstones and leading to the floor before the throne. The room itself was small compared to the massive structure it resided within, however was nonetheless spacious and grand in appearance, golden bricks lining the walls and all manner of fancy ornaments and trinkets designed the periphery of the room. Elevated to the far back of the room was a throne, with several steps leading up to it. Upon it sat the Empress, who held a tall golden staff in one hand, and one leg crossed over the other, her head leaning on her other hand as the three approached.

Once the group reached about halfway through the room, Hathor announced, "O' Divine Empress of Kleos, I have brought before you those seeking audience and hailing from the foreign nation of Svarga. Representing them are two of their most esteemed warriors, one a dignitary and the other her powerful guard. Would thy holy-self grant these humble dignitaries a welcome?" Hathor kneeled and bowed her head as she spoke, subtly motioning for the two to do the same, which they quickly caught on to and did without hesitation.

"Raise your heads, people of Svarga." The Empress commanded, an almost overwhelming regality present in her voice. Her aura was immense, as if it genuinely stood above all those that kneeled below her.

Shana and Jinx both rose their heads, as Hathor slowly stood up and walked towards the Empress, standing before the steps and facing the two Svargans, as the Empress made her own introduction.

"I am Khepri Bast, Divine Empress of Mount Kleos, Child and Incarnate of the Great Goddess, and the Third of the Khepri Bloodline, though eternal in make." She stated, as she uncrossed her leg and leaned forward. "Tell me, for what reason have you made this onerous trek to our beautiful paradise?"

Shana waited to make sure that Bast had finished speaking before responding, "My name is Keinen Shana, I come on behalf of the nation of Svarga. The desire of our land is to establish a friendship with Mount Kleos, and to promote an interaction between our peoples. In order to promote transnational cooperation, and peace and security within this region of the sea."

Bast nodded her head as Shana spoke, making a gesture almost as if she were sighing, "So, I take it you're not the leader of Svarga, then?" She asked, unamused.

Shana hesitated at the question, hoping that the truth wouldn't be problematic, "That is correct Empress, I am one of the foremost warriors and generals of our nation, however I do not hold a position of administrative authority within the nation."

"Ah, is that so." Bast replied mirthlessly. She stomped her staff onto the ground, creating a jingling sound as she said in a loud, yet still refined tone, "Who would think it wise to ask for my divine presence, even would they not present their own vessel?" She spat. "Begone."

Shana looked around, not knowing what to say, as she remained kneeling. Jinx was looked over to Shana nervously, not knowing what to do either.

Noticing their lack of vacancy, Bast said once again, "Have you not ears on that vessel of yours? I said, BEGONE!" She shouted the last word, an ominous presence creeping from her towards the two.

Shana stuttered a bow, before standing up and turning to leave the room. Jinx did the same, hurriedly following Shana as the two exited the premises.

Waiting for them to leave earshot, Bast then asked Hathor, "Sobek told me there were four of them, where are the other two?"

"Oh, I honestly don't know what was going on, but one of them has having some sort of seizure. He had a big helmet on so I didn't see his face, but it looked like the other guy stayed with him to make sure everything was alright. Honestly, I couldn't say myself."

"Hm. I'm going to see those two to see what they're made of. Keep the ones that just now left distracted if you need to."

Hathor nodded, as Bast stood up, a glow lighting in one of her eyes as she smiled, and suddenly disappeared from sight.

## **Harmless Deception**

Doomsaint was sitting down leaned back against a tree, half-asleep with one eye on Thoth, who hadn't budged an inch since Shana and Jinx had left, and his other eye closed. He yawned, wondering *"If he was just going to go braindead, why the hell didn't I just go with the other two? This is fuckin' boring."* Doomsaint let out an exasperated yawn, though it was interrupted by a voice.

There was a girl with long, dark-green hair standing behind Doomsaint. She had apparently walked up behind him just recently, because Doomsaint had no recollection of her presence not even a minute ago.

**"**Should you really be resting like this even though your friends were jus--" The girl began, though stopping immediately as she looked Doomsaint in the face. It was Bast, with widened eyes as she looked at the half-asleep man.

**"**You're...what...how...?" She asked, fumbling over her words in surprise.

Doomsaint blinked a couple times before looking up at Bast, annoyed that someone had given him a rude, and unprecedented, awakening. However this was quickly cut short as he looked her in the eyes, peering deep inside of them, "...Bast?"

"It IS you!" She exclaimed with her hands up to her mouth trying to cover her surprise. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have prepared a feast to last the entire week!" She placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.

"Uh, yea right, but first what the hell are you doing here?" Doomsaint asked, confused as to what was going on.

"What do you mean what am I doing here, this is my country." She retorted, equally confused at Doomsaint's remark.

"I thought you lived in some desert or whatever." Doomsaint replied, then realizing that they were indeed standing in the center of a desert island. He then immediately reiterated, "I thought you were some sorta royalty or some stupid shit like that though." It then dawned on him that, if she was royalty, and she lived in a desert, then perhaps..."No way, the Empress is your sorry ass?" He exclaimed, bewildered.

"How dare you say that to me..." Bast muttered, though shook her head, "Ok, but why are you here? Are you with those Svaragians?" She asked him, looking around to make sure noone had seen them talking, though the only other being in the area was Thoth, who had remained motionless, before whispering, "Are any of the others here?"

"Bah, get out of my face woman." Doomsaint said, shooing her away, "No, noone else is here. Also it's Svarga, and one of the leaders of that damn place is Rezka for better or worse."

"Hmm...well I just kicked your friends out of my hall. If you had gone with them, this would have been so much easier." Bast stated, though as if she felt justified in her actions, "So, apparently your thick-skull didn't know I was here, but did Saturn say anything about me? This was his idea, right?" She asked with eager curiosity.

"Huh, I don't know, though he was pretty intent on me coming, that bastard." Doomsaint sulked for a brief moment, before he scratched his head and stood up. "This is too much for my brain to handle, I'm going to sleep." He walked over towards Thoth and laid down behind him, "I trust you'll see to those two idiots that somehow got themselves kicked out of the negotiations, but then again I guess if you're the Empress it's to be expected."

"...what does that mean, Jupiter?" Bast said, aggravated at his tone as she closed her eyes and gave an angry smile.

"Huh?" Doomsaint muttered, closing his eyes to fall asleep, "That's 'cuz you're a bitch, why else?" He said, starting to drift off.

Bast's eye twitched, as it began to glow as if it were extremely hot, almost on fire. She began walking towards Doomsaint, however was stopped in her tracks by a deep, low-pitched creaking sound that emitted from Thoth as she approached.

Bast wasn't sure what it meant, but it was enough to let her calm her emotions, as she stomped her foot on the ground, "Hmmph. I see you're as much of an ass as you've always been, then. Don't expect me to get you a bed tonight, Doomsaint." She pouted, suddenly disappearing from sight.

- - - -

Shana and Jinx walked drearily down the cobbled road, their looks forlorn, but more-so at a loss as to how their encounter had gone so wrong when they hadn't done anything, in their opinions, badly. It was simply on the whim of a ruler they had just met, over a condition hardly worthy of such harsh crackdown.

"Well...I guess she did kind of have a point about the fact that one of the five shoulda came...maybe..." Jinx commented, her arms drooped down.

The two had, at the very least, gotten their weapons back after they had left the pyramid, though it wasn't as if they had much use for them at the given time regardless. *"Does this mean we failed our mission? It couldn't have ended just like that, right?"* Shana thought to herself, giving a glare towards Jinx though not having the energy to respond to her. Shana was quite honestly taken aback by Bast's reaction over something Shana thought trivial, especially since she held an esteemed position within Svarga. Because of her popularity, she wasn't used to being shut out so easily, nor so abrupt, meaning that the interaction had taken a minor psychological toll on her. Not that she was being pretentious in any way, it was just a new experience to her, so she wasn't entirely sure how to deal with it.

Without receiving a response, Jinx looked over to Shana. Seeing her down make Jinx feel a bit worse as well, though rather than thinking to the audience just now, she thought back to earlier when she failed to do her job as a soldier. She thought she was over it, but now that there was nothing barring the memory it gradually began to gnaw at her again. *"I can't let this get to my head again...not when the boss is down in the dumps too..."* Jinx thought to herself, lightly slapping herself.

This mildly surprised Shana, who reacted to the sound with a turn of the head, momentarily snapping her out of her self-loathing, "Everything alright Jinx?"

"You tell me boss, I haven't ever seen you lookin' this gloomy, like, ever." Jinx responded in kind, looking Shana in the eyes, "Look, it's not your fault that we didn't get the mission sorted out. That Empress was being completely unreasonable for no reason, that's on her. If I were them, I'd jump at the opportunity to snatch up some of our tech!" Jinx cheered patriotically.

"Unreasonable, you say?"

The two turned around to see Bast, though she was almost unrecognizable, wearing normal clothes compared to her earlier regal attire. Had it not been for her twitching eye and scoff of a remark, they might have easily mistook her for someone else.

"Tch. I don't appreciate your distaste for my decisions, especially when they are the right ones. However, I have reconsidered your proposition. I was unaware that Saturn resided within this 'Svarga,' you should have mentioned it sooner."

Shana looked up at Bast, confused, *"Did I ever mention Rezka's name?"* She thought to herself, responding "If you would humor my words a little longer, may I ask how you learned of Saturn's name, and why that's relevant?" Shana accidentally let a little of her annoyance slip into her voice, though it seemed to go unnoticed by Bast.

"Yes, that asinine scientist and I have a rather...complicated history. I suppose this means he told you not of our relationship, then?" Bast responded, then before even allowing for a reply to her half-question, she continued, "If you had brought Jupiter to the audience hall, this would have gone more smoothly. But it's ok, I've forgiven you already. Aside that, I have asked Hathor to prepare beds for you to stay in within our grand hotel!" Bast exclaimed proudly, not apologizing in the slightest for her rudeness earlier, *"Our only hotel, mind you."* She murmured to herself, as she proceeded to laugh haughtily and walk away down the street.

*"She forgave us...for what exactly?"* Shana thought to herself, but bit her tongue. Jinx whispered to Shana, "Does this mean everything turned out ok? But what changed?"

Shana gave a weary look towards Jinx, "I have no clue, but we must count our blessings today Jinx, it seems there aren't many going around."

A shout came from down the road, "Are you going to follow me? Or have your feet failed you after your trip afoot the desert wastes?" Bast called back, apparently having been expecting them to follow her.

Shana and Jinx jogged over to catch up with Bast, though they both shared the thought that this girl was just a bit *too* self-entitled in her social interactions.

Bast strutted proudly down the road, as Shana and Jinx were subject to their second round of stares and comments from the populace today. Eventually, they reached a medium-sized building. It was by no means fancy, and aside from an elderly lady sitting in a rocking chair by it's entrance, it seemed to be completely empty.

"Oi, Menhit, wake up! For I have entered your presence!" Bast said loudly towards the lady, who jumped up, apparently having been dozing off.

"Empress! Forgive my sloth! I had not expected such an auspicious visit today!" The elderly lady named Menhit responded, quickly bowing her head before continuing, "To what do I owe this pleasure of an occasion?"

Bast sighed with a smile on her face, "Rejoice, your first guests in years have arrived." She moved out of the way to gesture towards Shana and Jinx.

"How do you do." Shana said, bowing her head slightly to the elderly lady.

Jinx simply waved with a happy smile on her face, "Good evening Ms. Menhit!"

"Oh! Guests, how lovely. Please, come inside come inside, you certainly have your choice of rooms!" The elderly lady mused, as tried to stand up, grabbing for her walking cane, though she accidentally dropped it onto the ground. Bast leaned down to pick it up, handing it back to Menhit, then providing support to the lady as the two entered the building.

Jinx whistled quietly, "I guess she has her nice moments too?" She said after watching the event, stepping forward in front of Shana to enter the building. Shana blinked twice before following, surprised as well from the kindness Bast had showed.

Now inside, the room was by no means grand in nature, though it was very well-kept, especially if Bast's comment about it not having visitors in years was true. A fan dangled from the ceiling with an unknown power source, and colorful gems provided light to the room, lined on the ceiling symmetrically.

Bast let go of Menhit, who walked behind a desk that sat in the back of the room. Menhit rummaged through a few papers, producing a dusty book. She blew on it, then shuffling through a few pages and placing a pen on top of it. "If you would be so kind as to sign your names on the guest list." She said, beckoning for Shana and Jinx to sign. They both signed their names, though Menhit furred a brow when she looked at the signatures.

"Excuse me young lady, why did you place a number after your name?" She asked with a calm, yet curious tone.

"Oh, I'm not actually human." Jinx responded, wanting to see how Menhit would respond to her brief, yet confusing answer.

To her surprise though, Menhit simply smiled warmly and closed the book. "How interesting, maybe we can have a chat over tea sometime about it. Please follow me to the first-floor rooms."

Menhit began walking slowly towards a door, opening it and showing a short hallway beyond, with six doors total split within the hallway unevenly. Jinx followed right after her, though Shana looked back towards Bast, who was crossing her arms and looking idly at a random spot on the ceiling, "Is this goodbye for today?" She asked Bast, who didn't look back at her, yet responded, "Hmm. Yes, I will send someone for you in the morning. Take your rest."

"There's two more people in our group, will they be joining us here?" Shana continued, remembering that Doomsaint and Thoth still remained.

"Tch." Bast scoffed.

Shana blinked, not quite comprehending whether it was a sneeze or Bast's response, "Excuse me?"

"You are excused. I refuse to give luxury to that crude man. If the other one awakens, I will send someone to lead him to this establishment, however I do not think he will be waking anytime soon." Bast responded, almost pouting as she spoke, she then shouted over Shana's shoulder, "Menhit, I trust you with our guests, fare well!" Shana looked back to Menhit, who had opened a door and was letting Jinx inside. She quickly turned back to watch as Bast departed, yet somehow, she was already gone. A tiny gust of wind rolled inside the room, but aside that it was without a trace.

*"Right then."* Shana told herself, deciding not to care as she walked over towards the other two, "Is it alright if we take separate rooms?" Shana asked Menhit.

"Of course dear, please, take this one across the hallway." Menhit replied, opening a door on the other side. Shana looked inside the room, it was very well-kept, and it had all the amenities she could ask for, a personal bathroom to the right of the door, two large beds, a large closet and drawer, as well as a small table with an accompanying chair that had some sort of stone tablet lying atop it. There was a window as well, and the room was lit by a bright white gemstone.

Jinx called over from her room, "Aww you don't want to share with me? There's so much space though..." Jinx whined, though her elated voice was obvious, and the sound of her plopping onto a bed made Shana laugh a little. Menhit smiled warmly as she told the two how to use some of the features of the room, "Listen up you two, the water temperature for the shower doesn't take time to heat up, so don't you waste it. Also please limit your shower and bath time to under 10 minutes of use, it's not the most plentiful resource around here. Lastly, to change the brightness of the light, there is a wheel by the door that shifts it precisely. Turn it all the way to the '0' to turn off the light, and bring it to '1' for maximum brightness. Enjoy your stays, you two look pretty tired!" Menhit cackled, as she walked back down the hallway, then going outside presumably to sit back in her rocking chair.

"Hey boss." Jinx called over, both of their doors still open.

"Yes, Jinx?" Shana responded.

"I'm taking a shower, then I'm hitting the sack. Knock if you need anything." Jinx stated, a well of happiness behind her words.

"I think I'll do the same, rest up while you can." Shana responded, as she closed her door shut. She heard Jinx close her door as well, quickly followed by the sound of water crashing against a tub.

Shana smiled as she walked towards her bed and sat down. She leaned back, exasperated from the long day they'd had. She began to close her eyes, but turned her head to see the tablet that was on the table. Curious, she got up and walked over to look at it. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was not a tablet at all, but rather a stone-colored book. It didn't seem to be a manual, nor a religious text, though it was submerged in dust. Shana blew away the dust to read the cover of the book. It was titled "Captain Nymo On Duty!: Volume 2" Shana thought to herself for a moment, wondering where she had heard the name before, though gave up after a couple minutes of failed attempts at remembering it's source. Sighing, she placed it back on the table, as she took of her armor and decided that it was a good time to take a shower, and afterwards, an even better time to take a nice, long, rest.

*"Finally, some relaxation."* She thought to herself, as she went off to take a shower, humming one of her favorite songs made by a band in Svarga as she moved along. *"What a day this was..."*

- - - -

Meanwhile, the Sun had set on Mount Kleos, and Doomsaint was lying down outside, still next to Thoth, who was illuminated a cool shade of blue.

"You're one weird dude you know that?" Doomsaint muttered to Thoth, not expecting a response as he lay back and looked at the constellations above.

"Weird. Maybe. As are we both." Thoth responded, causing Doomsaint to jump up in surprise.

"You're not braindead anymore!" Doomsaint cheered, slapping Thoth on the back, "What the hell have you been doing anyways?"

"Hm. Transmitting Data. Re-assimilating mind circuitry. Scouting." Thoth responded.

Doomsaint cocked his head confoundedly, "I only understood half of that, but what do you mean by scouting?" He asked, unsure as to how Thoth defined it.

"Scouting as in--..." Thoth paused, "...Scouting." He finished, not clearing up any confusion whatsoever. Thoth then turned to Doomsaint, as the glow emanating from him disappeared, "Our stay here. May be prolonged. The boat. It has been destroyed."

"Destroyed? The hell do you mean destroyed? Was it some animal or what, and how do you know that?" Doomsaint bombarded, possibly more interested than normal as it was the first conversation he'd had since Bast had abruptly showed up earlier.

"People. Raiders, perhaps. No." Thoth said, as a purple beam appeared at the front of his helm in a vertical fashion, extremely similar, if not the same, to the color and appearance that often showed on Rezka's helm. Suddenly, the light turned a dark crimson red, as Thoth released an aura that could only be tantamount to one of fear, "Raiders, I was correct. However." Thoth faced his head towards Doomsaint, who was looking at him nervously with a trickle of sweat rolling down his cheek, "They are similar. No. The same as those of the Isles. Isles. Yes. I see thousands. No. I see tens of thousands. Maybe there are more. My sight shall rout before they see me. Yes. I have not fought these men. No. I have learned of these men. Yes. All us within the Phantasma Brigade know. Yes. All us within Svarga should know. Yes. They are..."

Doomsaint gulped audibly, out of anticipation, and perhaps a stray thought that said Doomsaint already knew what Thoth referred to.

"Kurzhen."