We're still human. Human because we keep on battling against all these horrors,
the horrors caused and not caused by us. We battle not in order to stay alive,
that would be too materialistic, for we are body and spirit, but in order to love
each other.
– Kathy Acker

He had to get up or else he may very well die on this spot. Morbid as that thought was, it motivated him enough to push past the pain and ache he felt from his entire body. He was a soldier, he was meant to endure and strive forward. When Gerard finally managed to, at least, sit up, he began to pull off the tabard part of his uniform. Each movement he made, though, caused him to make a face. Dear Lorelei, how far had be fallen?

He honestly hoped that he hadn't broken anything and that it was just the pain that made him thin—no. He was pretty sure he had a broken rib or two.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about the heat as he finished taking off some more of his armor. Not too much so he'd be defenseless but enough so that he could breath. He preferred the lighter clothes underneath the metal plates and tabard. He searched around but, he couldn't find his axe. It must had landed somewhere else and the Oracle Knight wasn't sure if he had the energy to look around for it. He had a dagger hidden away and while it may not be the same as his main weapon, it would have to do for now.

Grunting as he move to stand, Gerard quickly set to work. When he figured out which direction was which, he assumed that Reyna would head...hmm. To St. Binah, but there was the possibility that she thought he would think this and head to Engeve. She could have also thought he would think the previous thought and head to St. Binah. After weighing both options, he decided to go with St. Binah, despite how far away it likely was. He had to hope he made the right choice.

He set off in that direction.

Some time passed and Gerard soon found his thoughts continuing to drift. It offered some solace as it helped him forgot his situation momentarily. The point of enduring all of this was so he could catch up to Reyna so that he could understand. He wanted to know and understand why she did what she did. It just didn't make sense for her to go as far as she did. She kidnapped the Fon Master and even aided that Malkuth Colonel. It was so out of character for her, he had even been questioned. He was just as at a lost as they were, more so, in fact!

In the end, he was allowed to go with his division, though Commander Largo was kind enough to ask him if he was certain he wanted to do this. That was the kind of person his Commander was and though he may be bias, Gerard was glad to be part of first division. He had told his Commander that he had no doubts and that he had to do this. He was going to find out what had been going through Reyna's mind and show everyone that she had been doing this for the well-being of the Order and the Fon Master.

If not him, who else? The other Guardians were under some scrutiny and he didn't know anyone else who would go after her like he would.

All these thoughts were the same as before even up to that moment he found her on the Tartarus. When her eyes met his and he just couldn't help but ask her why? Why had she done it?

By the end of that, he had been deceived by her, taken advantage of because of their friendship and how he was as a person. Gerard should have known better though—she was just that type of soldier. Not ruthless, but if she had to do something underhanded like that, she would. Anything to protect the Fon Master and make sure that his safety came above all else. It was something he had admired about her. Still did, in fact. She was strong, resourceful, intelligent. Even after she had fallen of the Tartarus, she knew what had to be done.

Despite all that, she was still good. He saw the marks on the ground, indicating something heavy had been dragged and it lead right to where he had been laying. She was still willing to go out of her way to make sure he hadn't been in the sun the entire time he was passed out. That had to mean something!

'Take it slow, won't do you any good if you pass out now.' He thought to himself as he continued. He wobbled a little yet never succumbed to his desire to rest. He was certain the moment he sat down or stopped walking, he would not be able to get back up. Gerard had to keep pushing himself, to keep enduring the pain until he made it to St. Binah.

He walked.

He walked some more.

He walked until his body finally couldn't handle it anymore.

Collapsing to the ground, the soldier let out a groan. Even that took energy! He swallowed, but it was hard and his throat was dry. His breathing began to pick up as he struggled to lift himself from the ground. It took all the energy he had left and when he did manage to take a step, he fell back down to the ground.

He blacked out.

For how long, he didn't know. It had to be some time later because he was opening his eyes, there were shadows above him. Funny thing was, he was pretty sure he could still tell that the sun was out. So what—

"Gerard?"

Who?

He lifted his head up, catching the gaze of someone with bright brown eyes. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but nothing came. He could barely make out the expression on the person's face before he lost consciousness once more.

.

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.

Gerard leaned back against the tree as he stared up at the gaze of Colonel Curtiss from where he sat. His nerves might get the better of him, especially after all the stories he had heard about this guy.

Before this, when he had been awoken, Anise helped him to an area with trees and leaned him against it. She gave him some water, which he drank gratefully but he was considerate. He drank only enough to get rid of the lump in his throat before giving it back to her. No one offered to heal him and he wondered if they even had a healer among them. The Fon Master insisted that Anise, at least, give him an apple gel, which helped with most of the pain he was feeling. He still felt an ache all over his body and he knew he wasn't completely healed, but it was enough so that he wouldn't pass out again.

That had been twenty minutes ago.

Now he was being interrogated.

"You're an Oracle Knight. Your division was one of the few that attacked the Tartarus." This wasn't a question—it was a statement. Gerard couldn't keep his eyes locked with the Colonel any long and he glanced toward the ground. He swallowed, but could not say anything to argue. They were already aware of who he was and where he had been.

"Colonel, please." Gerard didn't have to look to know that this was the Fon Master. The boy was very soft-spoken, something he had noted whenever he was around him. "I know that you feel that we shouldn't have aided him, but Gerard is a good soldier and was following orders."

He felt ashamed that he had to have Master Ion, of all people, defend him. He should be able to do that himself!

"Yeah! Plus, Reyna knows him too!" Anise piped up, causing him to look up toward her.

The other female in the group, one that had to be from the Order given her clothes, spoke. "Perhaps it would be safe to leave him until he is found his fellow Knights."

"He would still be a liability. He would have seen us and know which direction we headed." Jade countered back and it obviously made sense. This man was of war, knowing what had to be done when they had an enemy in their hands.

Gerard could feel his shoulders slump at the idea of him possibly being killed. What could he even say in his defense and what would he even do if he could convince them to let him live? Master Ion looked troubled, but had nothing else to say as did Anise. Truthfully, they were the only two that would argue his case, which was pretty sad when one thought about it. They were, essentially, children. Added to that, from what he could see and understood, the Fon Master was safe and didn't appeared hurt or even seemed kidnapped for that matter.

Had his superiors lied to him? Had...Commander Largo lied to him? He always knew that his duty to the Order, his division, and Commander were important but he always knew that the duty he had always put first in his mind was to the Fon Master. Because when Gerard looked at Master Ion, he saw all the good he had in him, almost like he embodied it for all of humanity and that was all he had needed.

"Second Lieutenant Oracle Knight, Gerard Kartlon. I am in the first division under the command of Commander Largo." As all of their attention turned on him, it took all of his will power not to falter. "My duty has always mattered to me. I have always held loyalty to the Order of Lorelei, but for the Fon Master, I would gladly lay down my life for him."

Hadn't that also what he had been doing? Hadn't he been told they were saving the Fon Master from Malkuth's hands?

'Was it all lies?'

The one to break the silence was the blond male. "So, would you be willing to fight your fellow Oracle Knights for him?"

Gerard turned to meet the blue gaze of said blond, not surprised by the question. He was certain that he hadn't meant to be mean or rude by the question and he could see this question in the eyes of the others. Could he fight his fellow Knights? Could he fight those he had trained with everyday for the past ten years? He felt that he would hesitate if it came to that and he was uncertain he wouldn't want to run back to their side the moment they met.

They were people.

But so had been the people on the Tartarus.

"I would be." Gerard finally answered back, his voice steady.

The Colonel turned his head toward the road, a spear materializing in his hand. The others turned as well and that was when Gerard heard the sound of clinking armor. "Oh dear. Looks like we've run out of time to chat."

Seeing Oracle Knights appear, Gerard tensed up. The thoughts he had before came back at him with full force and he hated the fact that he just...couldn't. He couldn't do that, could he? They had become his family after everything that had happen with his father. Even after his mother and sister left Daath, they had been there for him.

Was it luck that these Knights weren't from his division? He could tell from the designs on their tabards that they were from the third division, but would that make any of this easier on him?

The group readied themselves. Anise was quick to place herself in front of Master Ion as did the other female. Two of the males went straight into the battle, but the other one, the male with the red hair, a...cheagle, he believed, by him, seemed to hesitate. The soldier couldn't help but wonder why.

He made an attempt to stand with the battle already underway. He clutched his side as he watched people he likely knew being taken down. The Colonel easily defended himself again two Knights while the blond was quick and agile, finishing off one and heading toward another. Anise, at this point, let her doll take size and sent a Knight flying while the other female slashed her bladed staff at another, killing him. Gerard moved his hand to feel the dagger inside of his shirt.

Did he dare use it?

There wasn't many left and he could easily get away from killing any of his fellow comrades. The thought of their blood on his hands caused him to shaking his head.

In the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of something. He blinked and already knew that this was bad the moment he saw the red-haired boy frozen in spot, unable to draw his weapon and enter into the battle. It wasn't likely to be the same reasons as he, but Gerard knew that this boy had to fight or else-

"You won't get away!" His head snapped to see an Knight taking a chance to attack at the boy's hesitation.

Gerard was already moving before he was even aware of what might happen. He reached inside and pulled out the dagger, feeling a burst of adrenaline kick in. The boy let out a yelp while he tried to move backwards in a vain attempt to get away and dodge the attack. It would do him no good and Gerard knew he had to reach him before that. He had to reach them before the boy was killed. He didn't know if he would make it in time or if anyone else was even aware, but his grip on his weapon tighten.

Before he reached the Knight, he saw someone place themselves in front of the red-haired boy, protecting him just as the blade came slashing toward them.

The next thing he became aware of was the dagger finding its way into the neck of his fellow Oracle Knight. They all knew, the Knights that is, that were was a slim opening between the helmet and their armor where their neck was exposed. They had always doubted anyone would be able to do anything since that would require close combat, but here he was. Dagger in hand and using that previous knowledge to kill a comrade. He heard a gurgle and he was sure that blood had splattered on him. Not much, but enough fro him to realize what had down.

He pulled back as the soldier fell to the ground, dying or dead. He didn't know and didn't care to know.

Something gnawed in his stomach and Gerard knew it wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

'Dammit...'

"Tear...I..." Finally, Gerard turned his eyes to the redhead, watching as he stared at the other female, Tear he assumed, while he found himself at a loss for words. Tear was on the ground, holding her arm where the soldier had gotten her, seeing the blood. He also saw that the Knight had also gotten her side as well.

"Idiot." She muttered before she went still. Thankfully, she was still breathing. The Colonel and the others rushed over with Anise quickly going to her side while the redhead could only continue to stare. The blond male tried to help him stand, but that seemed to be pretty difficult at the moment.

He turned away from the scene as he returned to the body of the Oracle Knight.

'I just killed him. I killed...'

It was his fault that this soldier was dead, that his friends, family, any lover he might have had, would never be able to see him again. If the others weren't around, he might have sank to the ground and just do...nothing. He wanted to think that he would yell or cry or do something at having killed a former comrade, but he just felt nothing.

It was only when he felt someone touch his arm that he realized he couldn't shut down. He wasn't allowed to, not now.

Gerard turned to meet the kind, gentle, and understanding gaze of Fon Master Ion. He didn't even have to say anything as the soldier nodded his head and walked toward the group.

.

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.

The very least he could say was that he was more trusted than he had been prior to the fight. Gerard wasn't sure if he liked that or not. Regardless, what mattered was that the group needed him and thus, he wouldn't be killed. At least, not at the moment. That kind of thought left him a bit uneasy though...

Gerard glanced at the two people near him, Luke and Guy. He wasn't trusted enough to go get wood for the fire by himself and thus, it fell on these two to go with him. Luke, the redhead from earlier, was staring off into space. Guy, the blond, had caught this and seemed worried.

Taking this as a chance to get to know them better and quell his mind from his earlier thought, he approached the boy. "Luke?"

He must have been out of it because Luke jumped and quickly said, "W-What?!"

"It might help if you focus on the task at hand rather than what happen earlier." He offered, a small smile on his face. From what he was able to pick up, Luke was a civilian. He just couldn't tell why he was with this group. They hadn't let that slip and he doubted anyone would tell him just yet.

"Whatever..." Luke rolled his eyes and shrugged, turning his back on Gerard and got back to work.

"Master, we should focus so we can get a lot of wood!" The cheagle spoke, which still surprised Gerard, even now. His name was Mieu, apparently.

Luke groaned, trying to, but failing, to ignore the cheagle.. "Shut up Thing."

Well...there was that. He turned to Guy and caught his gaze. He offered the soldier a good-natured smile and a casual shrug. Gerard sighed and shook his head. Maybe this was progress and he just didn't know it. Maybe this was just Luke's way of dealing with what happened to Tear.

They had all just finished gathering small bundles of sticks and other things to burn when Luke gave his attention to Gerard once more. "Hey, Knight-person."

"He's an Oracle Knight, Luke." Guy corrected, though he seemed interested that Luke was talking to Gerard.

"Yeah, yeah." There was a pause before his expression turned to confusion. "You...kill one."

Once again, Gerard and Guy met each other's gazes before the solider answered the redhead. "Another Oracle Knight, you mean?"

Luke nodded his head. "He was your friend, right?"

"No, not exactly. He was another soldier from another division." His soft brown eyes lowered to the ground. "That doesn't mean I wasn't around him every day or even hung out with him a few times. We may have even shared a meal more than once. So in a sense, I knew him. Better yet, I knew of him."

"It doesn't bother you that he was human?" The redhead asked while Mieu landed on his shoulder, which he didn't seem to mind at this moment.

That guy had been human, after all. A human that was doing his duty, but then what about him? Did he have to kill him? Did he have to be the one to end his life?

In the corner of his eye, he saw Guy speak up. "Luke, that's not a fair question to ask him after..."

'After I killed him.' Gerard thought, taking a deep breath before he decided to speak, to give the redhead an answer. "Luke, I don't know you or what you've been through. I can't say what it would be like for everyone, but it was very difficult for me. In the end, though, I made my decision and I have to deal with it. I think that even if I was given the choice for a redo, I would do the exact same thing."

"Why?"

Gerard smiled. "I couldn't see you killed for your hesitation."

Silence followed and while it felt kind of awkward, it wasn't the bad kind of awkward. Which Gerard took as a good sign as Guy mentioned they should probably head back. Luke mumbled something before flinging Mieu off his shoulder as he took to Guy's side while Gerard lagged behind. It wasn't the most delightful conversation but he took it and answered as best as he could.

When they arrived back, Tear had finished mending her wounds and Anise had patched her clothes up best as she could but they had little privacy for someone to sew it up or the tools to do that. Fixing it would to wait until they arrived at St. Binah. Jade and Master Ion were talking, but upon their arrival, they group turned their attention back to them. Anise was quick to jump up and head over to Luke, displaying an odd sort of fawning over him. A joke or two was exchanged while everyone did their part to set up camp for the night.

Everyone except him.

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to help out or wait until someone said something to him. It wasn't until Jade made his way over that Gerard realized they hadn't really settled the matter at hand. What were they going to do with him? Thankfully, Master Ion was with him as well. It put him more at ease as he asked, "I hope it's good news and you're not going to tie me up to leave me to fend for myself."

The Colonel adjusted his glasses as he answered. "A very tempting idea, but no, we won't be tying you up. Your concern for Ion seems genuine."

"I discussed it with Jade and you're allowed to travel with us. Along with Anise, you'll act as a guard for me." The Fon Master added, seemingly glad at this outcome.

Gerard nodded. "Alright. I graciously accept."

With that out of the way, Gerard slowly made himself useful but helping Anise out and though he offered to take watch, they told him he was still recovering himself. Tear had offered to heal him, which he accepted. The apple gel had helped, but being healed definitely ease the tension he didn't even realize he had. He thanked her and she told him that it was fine.

Everyone, excluding the first watch, settled down for sleep.

Dawn approached and Gerard found himself walking up when someone shook him lightly. He saw Anise and she pointed toward the Colonel, who was waking Guy up. Tear was already awake, but she had been the last one to take watch. She made her way over to Luke, who was still asleep.

Giving his attention back to Anise, he said, "We're leaving, right?"

"Yup. The Colonel did want to get an early start." She replied back as he began to pull himself up from the ground. "I need to go wake Ion up."

With Anise attending to the Fon Master, Gerard decided to make his way over the Guy and the Colonel. Nodding at them, he asked, "So what's the plan?"

"We'll form a diamond formation around Ion and Luke." He glanced toward said redhead as Tear woke him up. If they were going with that, then that would definitely be easier on him. "I do hope we can rely on you, Gerard."

The brunet met the Colonel's gaze and nodded his head. "Of course."

.

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.

"Shh, be quiet you two!" Tear hissed at Luke and Anise while the group remained crouched in the back of this caravan. Gerard felt like a criminal doing so, but they couldn't go walking in. The place was blocked off by Oracle Knights. Unfortunately, he didn't see which division it was either.

Luke was pouting now, having been reprehended by Tear while Anise pushed herself closer to said redhead and whispered, "Luke, I'm so scared. What will happen if we get caught?"

Gerard wanted to roll his eyes, he really did. Taking a glimpse at the Fon Master, who was on the other side of Anise, he saw that Master Ion simply had a small smile on his face. He just couldn't understand why the leader of the Order would let one of his Guardians blatantly flirt like that while they were trying to sneak their way into St. Binah. He definitely knew that Reyna would not be happy and would have definitely given Anise more than just a few words.

Though he wanted to say something himself, the look Tear gave the Guardian spoke volumes. In return, the girl just smiled sweetly at her before wrapping her arms around Luke's. In return, Luke didn't look all that impressed and tried to pull away from her. Gerard let out a soft sigh as the caravan stopped.

The woman in front, Rose as they had called her, spoke. "We're from Engeve. One wagon should have already arrived."

Gerard kind of wondered what the relationship the group had with Rose since she had so readily agreed to help them.

"Right, go on in." The soldier froze, knowing that voice. It was one of his comrades from his division. Then that meant the first division was here! Did that mean Commander Largo was here? Would he...would he have to turn his back on him too?

Rose thanked the Knight and the wagon started to move once more. It wasn't until the wagon came to a complete stop and the woman came around the other end that they knew they were good. Glad at this, everyone made their way off, appreciating the fact that they weren't all cramped together anymore.

"Well, this is where we'll have to part ways." Rose said with a smile on her face. Gerard was glad that she had helped since it meant they avoided a confrontation with the Knights.

"Thank you so much for your help." Master Ion said with a small bow while Tear offered her thanks as well as the other excluding Guy and himself. Not because they weren't thankful, but Gerard hadn't been there when they met this woman and apparently, neither had he.

Once Rose had left, they all gathered around as Luke asked, "So Reyna's here, right?"

Gerard hoped she was. He wasn't about to be as he while he had seen her on the Tartarus, but he still wanted to know. It was obvious that she hadn't kidnapped the Fon Master and that Malkuth wasn't holding him against Daath. The question was…what was going on in Daath and with the Order?

But the question that continued to burn in the back of his mind was why? Why hadn't she trusted him and tell him what she was doing. He knew Reyna liked to keep to herself, but she had come to rely on him and, especially, her Guardians. Was it too much to ask that she have a little bit more faith in him?

"She is to rendezvous with us at the Malkuth military base." The Colonel replied back, adding, "If she's still alive, that is."

Luke, in turn, rolled his eyes. "Do you really have to say things like that?"

Before Gerard could speak, bringing up that Reyna was alive, Tear crossed her arms and said to Luke. "Don't do anything to draw the attention of the Oracle Knights."

"I know, I know. Jeez, you don't have to tell me every little thing." retorted Luke, looking a little peeved.

Gerard decided to leave it be. There was no sense in arguing whether Reyna was alive or not. He glanced at Anise, which caught her attention and she gave him a smile, indicating that she believe that Reyna, too, was alive.

"Mmm." Guy mused, a small smile forming on his lips as he looked between Tear and Luke. "She's already got you whipped, Luke? Princess Natalia is going to be jealous."

This sparked something inside of Gerard as he turned his attention to Luke. Princess Natalia was the princess of Kimlasca. He remembered letters from his sister as she spoke very fondly of the princess. And if the Knight remembered correctly, the princess has a fiancé.

Wasn't his name—

"Uahh!"

Tensing, Gerard snapped his attention to the blond and to his surprise, Tear had her arms wrapped around one of Guy's. The strange thing, though, was that he was trembling violently but Tear didn't appear to be doing anything was actually threatening.

In a calm and cool manner, she said, "Don't say stupid things."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Stop touching me, please!" Guy replied, nodding vigorously.

Confused, he turned toward Anise, who was snickering. "What just happen?"

"Guy has a thing against women." She answered back, a grin on her face.

"A phobia would be the correct term, Anise." Jade added, which caused the girl to pout.

"Booo."

The Fon Master smiled. "Maybe this journey will help Guy overcome his phobia."

"Can we go now?" Luke complained, looking around like they were wasting time.

"I'm going to take Ion to the inn so he can rest a bit." replied Anise before she turned toward the other female in the group. "Tear, I can fix that rip in your uniform now, if you want."

Tear nodded her head. "Yes, that would be a good idea. Thank you, Anise."

"I suppose that means we'll have to take it upon ourselves to go the the base then." Jade said, sighing as he did so. It almost seemed like a tedious task to him.

Gerard raised a brow at this before glancing at Anise. It wasn't like he didn't want to go, but Anise was the only person he really knew out this group. He had never met Tear before this and the Fon Master and him weren't friends or close in any sort of manner.

Guy was friendly though and Luke didn't seem to dislike him. The Colonel wasn't too bad. Besides, if he went with the men, then he would be able to meet Reyna.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's go already!"

They were just about to part ways when Mieu came floating around to stare at Luke. "Master! Can I go with Tear?"

"Ughh! I don't care!" The redhead made a swipe at the creature, causing it to fly toward the girls and Master Ion.

"Luke!" Tear started to chastising as Gerard shook his head.

After that, the group split into two and left.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the base. The Colonel quickly identified himself and requested to see General Glenn McGovern and soon they were being led into the building. Gerard looking around, having never really been to St. Binah before, much less the Malkuth base.

Upon entering a room, Gerard caught the tail end of a conversation about the Oracle Knights and their status as Scorers. Technically, even he was considered one despite his inability to read the Score. This was more a of technicality. He actually remembered learning about this in one of his history lessons back way when. Mostly, the reason the Knights were considered Scorers was because that gave them power, which they needed where they were out on missions. Sometimes, a governing force in a town or city usually got in the way of an investigate and unless they had orders from their ruler, they weren't supposed to get in the way of an Order mission or investigate.

It was actually a lot more complicated too, but Gerard probably wouldn't have been able to explain it well if asked.

The Colonel apologized for interrupting the two gentlemen, which after listening to the conversation, he figured out the two of the men were related—father and son.

"Is Jade someone important?" Luke whispered to Guy.

Guy watched the conversation between the three older men. "Sounds like it."

"You and His Majesty go way back, don't you? Could you ask him to do something about the Oracle Knights?" This came from Elder McGovern.

"I'm afraid they're here because of us. Once we leave, they should leave as well." Jade answered back.

Elder McGovern shook his head. "That Guardian said something similar..."

Gerard perked at this but stopped. Where was Reyna then...?

"Colonel Curtiss, what business do have here?" General McGovern asked, not pleased with this conversation for whatever reason.

The Colonel sighed. "Ah, yes, my apologies. Have you received any letters from the Fon Master Guardian your father mentioned?"

'Reyna...'

"Ah, that...I'm sorry but we opened it after she finished writing it. For security reasons, you understand."

"That's fine." Colonel Curtiss said. "There shouldn't be anything in there that would be a problem for you to see."

The letter in his hand, the Colonel quickly read it over before handing it over to the rest of them to look over. Gerard leaned in and read:

Jade
I made to this location as planned. However, it seems that St. Binah
will be closed off soon. I doubt I will be able to stay here for much
longer. I will proceed to the next location. Please continue to watch
over the Fon Master and give my condolences to Anise.
-Reyna

"So she's not here..." Gerard muttered to himself as Luke handed the letter back to the Colonel. It looked like he had just missed Reyna again. He was so close to seeing her too. Shaking his head, he turned toward the Colonel. "Where is the next location?"

"Kaitzur. It's a city southwest of here, on the other side of the Fubras river."

Guy crossed his arms and appeared thoughtful. "Kaitzur, huh? It'll be a two day's journey, right? And don't we have to cross a bridge?"

Two days, huh? He supposed that wasn't too bad.

"So we should get ready then?" Gerard asked, staring the the three others.

Luke let out a groan. "Can't we rest a while? I'm sick of sleeping on the ground."

The Colonel smiled. "Ah yes. I forget young Master Luke needs his beauty sleep."

"Hey!"

Gerard rolled his eyes as Colonel Curtiss turned to the McGoverns. "Well then, we'll bid you our leave."

.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

.

The last day and a half had been frustrating. Reyna had been traveling to Kaitzur and made it to the bridge that had been mentioned on a map that she found in Alex's satchel. However, it appeared that the bridge had been taken out by the river because of flooding. A man with a cart had been there as well and offered to take her back to but she declined. She asked if there was any other way to Kaitzur and he told her that if she headed a way back and headed further southwest, she could find a way to cross the Fubras river.

He did warn her that it would be danger, with monsters and wild animals. She thanked him and heeded his advice. It wouldn't be the monsters or anything of that sort that would be the problem however.

Backtracking hadn't been too bad and when she arrived, she saw that the river was shallow enough for her to cross. In fact, she was certain that it wouldn't come up to her knees, which was all that mattered.

A cry brought her from her thoughts as a monster lunged at her. She reacted and dodged the beast before taking a few moments to take it out. Her eyes went back to the river and figured she'd be fighting more and would have to get used to splashing through some of the water. It shouldn't be too bad though. Reyna certainly thought she could make it through this.

It took her an hour, but she was nearly across. Her shoes were wet and she had used quite a bit of energy to take care of some of the monsters. Reyna would have honestly liked it better to have had someone else with her, but circumstances dictated otherwise. They weren't hard to fight again, these creatures, but in a group, it was a little more difficult. She had to use an apple gel on a wound she had gotten when one of the stupid things bit her.

Once on the other side, it was nearing evening. She was tired and even though she knew she could keep pushing herself, she needed sleep.

Reyna searched around, trying to find an area she could set up camp early. Thankfully, she found an empty cavern. Small and not much room to move around in, it still was better than any other. She could tell nothing had stayed in this place for a few weeks and it was hidden away behind some foliage. She still had some of the stuff in that bottle too, so it might be an good idea to eat a quick meal and head to bed early. It would be nice to get a full night's sleep.

She ate, made a small fire to keep warm, and used the last bit of holy bottle at the entrance. With that, any monster that came by would be put off by the smell. Reyna would have to remember to pay back Alex somehow. These weren't expensive, but they weren't cheap either. Usually, traveling merchants sold them and those guys didn't stay in one place for too long. Anyway, she would find a way to let Alex know that this had helped her greatly.

Settling in, Reyna found herself drifting off to sleep.

Only to be awaken hours later? Honestly, she wasn't certain, but she was still groggy. What had woken her up took her a minute to realize. Voices that were close by and speaking loudly. Reyna checked the fire, which was out, before she crept slowly over to the entrance of the cavern. She peeked out, seeing a large group of people moving about. She couldn't tell if they were bandits or something worse. At least they weren't Oracle Knights.

Hurrying back to get her supplies, she moved back to the entrance and was about to carefully make her way out when someone grabbed her through the foliage.

She reacted, pushing herself forward and into the other person. Twisting herself around, she tried to propel her foot upward to hit the person in the face. She missed and her leg was grabbed instead, spinning her around and letting her go. Reyna meant to turn right side up and land right but her body hit one of the rock formations. She let out a grunt before rolling out of the way. Reyna meant to escape, to run far away of these guys, and not look back when her body collided into another person and a yep escaped said person.

Reyna actually cursed but moved to stand when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her shoulder. Again, she rolled, ignoring the pain, and tried to run.

Only, she fell over after a few moments, unable to move. She panicked, uncertain what had happened. The Guardian tried to struggle, to move, thinking it might be some weird fonic arte, but no! It must be something else. She moved her head to the side as she found the group converging on her. What the hell was even happening? Who were these people? They couldn't just be simple bandits, could they?

Someone approached, bending down to grab her chin and have her look at...him. He had a scruffy-looking beard, the color matching his tawny hair. She glared him, his silver eyes taking her in full. He scoffed at her, shrugging as he did so before leaving her and standing. "She'll do. Tie her up and get ready to move out. We need to be back Chesedonia."

Her blood ran cold. They couldn't be!

They were slave-traders!

AN: BAM! Another update! Let me tell you, having a different point of view made all the difference. It was nice to have Gerard come back into the story. I missed him and the other dearly. Funny enough, the last bit with Reyna was giving me a lot of trouble, but I hope this doesn't remain the case. But yeah! That's two updates within the week and within the month. I hope to get more done within March because the ideas I've been having lately are inspiring me, so he's to doing more than one update a week for March and until I'm caught up!

Again, more changes to this chapter, especially with Reyna's. I cut it down because of lot of her freaking out about the water was kind of pointless and out of character for her as she's developed. So that's why it's a shorter than the original. Gerard's POV was expanded as well. Heads up though, I'll be switching around events so instead of a Reyna POV for next chapter, you'll be getting Gerard's!

Anyway, any reviews help and thanks to the people that recently added this to their favorites!

Chapter 11: Chasing A Friend- Gerard and the group leave St. Binah after resting, gathering supplies, and meeting a certain red-haired female. While the others strive to make it to Kaitzur to meet up with Reyna, Gerard's mind is on the choice between his friend and his duty. When the group is caught by miasma and the girl titled with the Wild, is fate out to get him?