Chapter 8: The Rock in the Hard Place

I... I am freaking the fuck out right now.

I AM FREAKING THE FUCK OUT.

You wanna know why? Well, I got into newgame+4 in Dark Souls 2 a while before the exams... And I confronted the Pursuer. I knew he was gonna be tougher and shit like that...

I underestimated exactly HOW much tougher.

He... unlike all the other times in previous playthroughs, he was actually smoking Abyssal darkness of him and his visor had a red glow coming from it. I was fucking terrified.

Either way, I'm glad that my last chapter got so many good reviews, especially regarding Louise's permanent wardrobe and appearance change. I'd also like to thank Avatar of Erebos and Twilightiger1602 (the phantom reviewer) for such long and constructive reviews.

I… don't really know what else to say really.

Solaire: How about the matter of Louise and Ta-

Me: Ah, yes! The matter about Tabitha's feelings for Louise gets confronted and settled in this chapter. Just... not in the way you would expect.

Now, in this chapter, we also finally get to see who Siesta's ancestor from Lordran is!

To which case, I would like to speak to Twilightiger1602 about something. He/she suggested that sir Alonne from Dark Souls 2 should be her ancestor, as not only is he from the land of the east which is essentially Drangleic/Lordran's equivalent of Japan, but having his armor or his katana as the replacement for the Dragon's Raiment would be pretty cool.

I was all for it but there is a slight problem.

I needed the ancestor to be FROM Lordran. Alonne came from a different 'East' in a different time. I needed somebody that Artorias would recognize, somebody who he knew.

At first I thought Ornstein, but then I remembered that he's appeared once in Halkeginia and was nowhere near Siesta's hometown of Tarbes.

So… now I have decided who it will be.

Prepare to be mindblown (well, not really).

Also, if the quality of this chapter seems lacking, keep in mind that I did work on this during my spare time in an otherwise busy few months. Hope you guys still like it though.

On another completely random note for the day, Shadow of the Colossus is awesome.

Game Grumps is funny.

And Ufotable's animations for the new Ps Vita opening of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia is absolutely amazing. I had a Type/Moongasm when I saw it (see what I did there?).

Pity that there were minimal appearances of Avenger in the opening. Avenger needs more love, both in animating and in fanfics. I hope that Ufotable ends up making the animated series of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, or at least OVAs.

I think I'm just procrastin-

Inner Manus: GET TO THE FUCKING CHAPTER!

Me: Alright, sheesh! Anyway, enjoy!

It was several days after the attack on Albion. Several days after the fall of Newcastle.

Several days after Reconquista emerged victorious.

Princess Henrietta of Tristain was fidgeting nervously in her chair in front of her desk in her room as she sought for something to distract herself with. She had not heard from Louise, nor from her escorts, which consisted of the Gramont general's youngest son, the Griffin knight captain Wardes and the mysterious familiar from another kingdom; Artorias.

She had feared the worst outcome. Louise and the other three were either dead or imprisoned and Reconquista would not only have the letter but also hostages that the other members of the court would not want to risk saving.

The only plus about the possibility that Louise and her escorts were hostages was that the pinkette's and the young Gramont's parents would probably be enraged enough to storm Albion and take them back singlehandedly.

That was wishful thinking though, as both General Gramont and Karin the Heavy Wind were soldiers and they knew how to keep their cool, Karin even more so.

And knowing the stoic Karin, she probably wouldn't even appear to give a damn if Louise was hostage. A great warrior loyal to Tristain she was indeed, a good mother... not so much.

Henrietta was interrupted from her thoughts as she heard somebody knock on the door. "Yes?"

"It's me princess." Agnes, Henrietta's personal bodyguard and one of her few trusted friends replied. "A pair of hooded strangers have entered the castle and they are dragging a prisoner with them. They demand an audience with you."

"Did they say who they were?"

"No, but one of them said you know who he is. He said to tell you 'The knight of the lord of Cinder has returned.'"

Henrietta's eyes widened. Only one man comes to mind hearing that. She hardened her expression and stood up. "Bring them here."

"What?"

"Did I stutter, Agnes? I know this hooded man. And so do you. Bring them here."

Agnes was silent on the other side for a few moments until Henrietta heard the knight begin to walk away. Minutes later, she returned, opening the door to reveal a pair of black robed figures, one of which was absurdly tall, with their hoods up, a man bound in chains held between them. The prisoner had a cloth sack wrapped around his head, preventing any way from seeing his face. The only thing that was possible to tell was that he was male, if his physique was anything to go by. The prisoner was wearing ragged and torn noble clothes that appeared to be Albionese.

Henrietta wordlessly motioned for them to shut and lock the door before casting up a privacy spell. Feeling the spell take effect, she started to speak.

"Is that truly you, knight of the lord of Cinder?"

With a small chuckle, the tallest of the hooded figures drew back the hood to reveal none other than Artorias himself. "It is a pleasure to see you again your highness. And you, captain Agnes."

Henrietta broke into a smile, Agnes standing in shock next to her before breaking into a small grin of your own.

"I knew it… if you're here then that means that Louise is alright as well? And sir Wardes and the young Gramont?"

Artorias turned silent at this, something that worried Henrietta immensely.

"Master is… alive at least. There was a battle and she was... Injured. We think she will be fine but for now, she just needs rest."

"A battle? What happened?"

"Wardes was a traitor. He was with Reconquista the entire time. He attempted to marry Master Louise and then make off with her and the letter, but we managed to prevent that. She... used a few spells on him in a fit of rage and the chances of him still being alive after that are unlikely."

The other two women in the room's eyes were wide with shock. It was understandable, Wardes was a seemingly loyal knight who served Tristain with a passion. For him to be a traitor was simply mind boggling.

Agnes seemed to suddenly notice that the other hooded figure was silent the entire time and the prisoner had not made any attempt at struggling.

"Sir Artorias, who are these two?"

"Ah, this is a friend of mine. Pardon the hood, she's very shy."

Agnes narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the hooded figure. "I'm not buying that, not one bit."

"I know that, but her identity must remain anonymous. She was a double agent for us and without her, we wouldn't have known that Wardes was a traitor."

Agnes still seemed uneasy but Henrietta waved her off. "It is fine Agnes. If he trusts this person then I am willing to as well."

Artorias smiled at the lavender haired royal before giving a small bow of his head. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Oh don't call me that, I'm not a queen yet. Now then, who is this prisoner?"

"Ah yes. This scoundrel…" Artorias said with a smirk "Is a man we apprehended for committing the most heinous of crimes. We brought him here so you may decide his punishment yourself."

Henrietta's face became quite confused and curious at this, while Agnes seemed to become a bit worried that such a dangerous person was even in the room. She let her hand drift near her sword just in case.

"And what crime would that be?"

"The crime of making a girl wait."

Before Henrietta could even ponder on what that meant, Artorias yanked the sack off the prisoner's head.

Revealing the prisoner's blonde hair and blue eyes that can melt the princess into butter.

"W-Wales…?"

The prince of Albion smiled sheepishly. "Hello Anne."

The princess' expression was blank for several seconds until she started to crack her knuckles, prompting the rest of the room's occupants to stiffen in shock.

"Could you all wait outside please? I need to have a moment alone with him~" Henrietta said with a sickeningly sweet smile, a shadow covering her eyes making her beauty appear much more terrifying than possible.

As soon as Agnes, Artorias and the other hooded figure hastily left the room, they heard something that somehow broke through the privacy wards that the princess put up.

"YOU IDIOT!" *SMACK!*

"I bet that's gonna leave a mark…" the hooded figure next to Artorias muttered, the voice being female. Agnes' eyes narrow as she crossed her arms. A small strand of green hair was hanging out from the figure's hood as well.

"I knew it. Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt." She said, causing Fouquet to flinch, not expecting to have been heard. Artorias sighs and turns to the knight captain.

"I know she-"

"Save it. If the princess trusts you then so will I. As far as I'm concerned, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt was taken from her cell and then executed by Reconquista for failing them."

Though in truth, Agnes actually respected Fouquet a fair bit since the thief stole mostly from nobles who had… unsavory rumors circulating them. Agnes herself hated a lot of the corrupt nobles in Tristain, Henrietta and the Vallieres being the only nobles she ever actually respected. The Gramonts were fine too but there have been instances where general Gramont had rather… extreme battle plans that involve collateral damage. Usually commoners.

Not to mention that the man was actually a very subtle pervert, though it was difficult to tell unless you paid attention to his eyes.

Artorias and Fouquet stared at Agnes for a few moments before nodding. Agnes nodded as well before marching up to the thief and grabbing her by the collar of her hood. "But make no mistake, if I ever hear a single negative rumor about your activities in Tristain again, I will hunt you down myself. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Fouquet said without missing a beat.

Artorias stared at the two , briefly imagining Agnes' form to be replaced by a certain blonde assassin's, before breaking out into a small laugh, causing the other two women to turn their heads towards him with confused expressions.

"What's so funny?" Agnes asked.

"Nothing, you just reminded me of someone I know."

Before Agnes could ask him to elaborate, the door to the bedroom opened, revealing a flustered looking Henrietta, whose clothes were a bit ruffled and disheveled along with her hair and her cheeks were flushed. Wales was standing near her and was in a similar state.

The trio entered the room and the door was locked again, neither of them commenting on the appearance of the two royals.

"A-anyway, I must thank you, sir Artorias and you too stranger for helping me. I owe you a debt. I only wish I could say this with Louise here as well."

"She is currently at the academy and will probably remain there for a long period of time to rest. Once she's better, I can take her to see you, if that is what you wish." The knight of Gwyn said. Henrietta smiled and nodded.

"That would be delightful, but I am afraid I will be busy for quite a long time. With Albion under Reconquista's control, I will need to consult with the council in case of war. When you see her, tell her I said she may keep the water ruby ring. It is the least I could do for her help. Now then, if you will excuse me, I need to discuss with Wales and Agnes on how to sort out this little mess we seemed to have gotten ourselves in. The situation with Germania and Albion just got much more complicated…."

"Sorry." Wales said with a small grimace.

"Humph. You better be." The lavender haired princess huffed in a childish manner.

Several minutes later, Artorias was walking alongside Fouquet, the two cloaked figures walking out of the castle and into the darker alleys so that Fouquet could slip away through the earth.

"So, where will you go now? Even though you have reformed, I doubt that headmaster Osmond would allow you to return to the academy."

"Pssh, there is no way I'm getting a job as that pervert's secretary again. I'm planning on travelling with Aladdin to R'ub Al Kali for a bit to gather some funds before returning to my own homeland."

"Homeland? You do not come from Tristain?" Artorias asked curiously.

"No, I actually come from Galia. I have a home there… or at least, my sister does, bless her sweet soul."

Fouquet heard nothing from Artorias after that and then turned her head to find him smiling at her. "See? I knew you weren't a bad person. Nobody truly bad would talk about a relative with such affection."

The green haired earth mage blushed and turned her face away from the knight. "S-so what?"

The two continued walking until they reached a completely abandoned part of the alley, the earth beneath them already soft and ready for Fouquet to dig through with an earth spell. She turned to face Artorias and smiled serenely. "It was truly a pleasure getting to know you… for what it's worth, I'm sorry I tried to kill you and your master. I hope she recovers soon."

Artorias smiled back at her with his usual dazzling charm. "Of course, it was a pleasure getting to know you as well. You do not need to apologize, I have forgiven you long before today. I hope you have a safe journey Fouque-."

"Mathilda."

Artorias raised an eyebrow at the sudden interruption. "Sorry?"

"M-my real name. Mathilda De Saxe-Gotha. Please call me by that name from now on." The bespectacled woman said with a blush. Artorias stared at her before smiling and nodding.

"Mathilda… yes, that name suits you more. I hope you have a safe journey, Mathilda De Saxe-Gotha."

Mathilda smiled in return as she waved her wand and began to sink underground, not before quickly stepping up to him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, sir Artorias."

With that, she sank into the ground and vanished.

Artorias put a hand on where she kissed before smiling and shaking his head. 'At least it's better than her trying to kill me."

'If your girlfriend finds out about this, you'll probably be suffering something worse than death wolf boy.'

'Indeed, most likely castration.'

Artorias and the inner Manus grimace at the thought before the knight began to walk back down the alley and make his way to the academy.

#Hogwarts academy of witchcraft and wizard-just kidding! Tristain's academy of magic#

Osmond sat in his office, a grim expression set on his aged features. He has been the school's headmaster for many decades yet this is the first time a student has ever showed up horribly injured.

When an Albion fishing boat with R'ub Al Kali modifications suddenly crashed into the forest near the academy, Osmond had sent out Colbert and a few other teachers to deal with it. What they found shocked him.

The knight Artorias, Guiche, Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche and Tabitha's familiars, a dark skinned man and a hooded figure were on the ship and they weren't all in good shape.

Artorias was wearing his old battered armor that seemed much more damaged than before.

Guiche and Kirche were sporting bandages on parts of their bodies and signs of exhaustion.

Tabitha seemed the worst off, bandages covering her abdomen, chest and parts of her limbs. There was a patch of red on the bandages around her stomach, meaning that the wound covered up there was recent.

The mysterious man, who revealed himself as Aladdin, was obviously suffering from willpower depletion, and the hooded figure immediately vanished onto the other side of the boat and then promptly disappeared into thin air.

It was the last two passengers on board that shocked the teachers the most.

The crown prince of Albion, Wales Tudor, who was battered and had a bandaged wound on his upper left arm.

And last but certainly not least, Louise of the Valliere family.

Except that her appearance has change significantly.

For whatever reason, the only way Osmond could describe her appearance was 'Dark' and not just in coloration but in aura.

Her hair had turned a darker shade of the vibrant pink it once was, the bangs having a pitch black tint at the ends of them. Her eyes, when the nurse examined them, were vampiric in color. Her iris had turned blood red and her pupils were blank white, like a single flake of snow that landed on red velvet silk (If you're having trouble imagining her eyes, just look up Disgaea's Rozalin. Her eyes are like that.). Her skin was much paler, almost porcelain and her nails were black.

The most astonishing change was her clothes. Or any clothes the nurse attempted to put on her.

No matter what kind of blouse or shirt they tried to put on her, it somehow ends up black. The first time the nurse tried to put one of Louise's white blouses on the small girl's unconscious form, a black stain suddenly spread from the center of Louise's chest and then soaked into the cloth.

Not just the shirts, her skirts, socks, shoes and even her bloody (not literally) underwear turned pitch black with dark blue highlights every time they made contact with her skin.

It a truly peculiar phenomenon but there was nothing they could do about it.

When they found Louise, she was still in the cabin, sleeping soundly in a bed which she apparently shared with Tabitha. The blue haired girl was also asleep and curiously, had her hand entwined with Louise's in an almost intimate manner.

It was when Artorias explained what happened to Osmond that the old headmaster became horrified.

One of the escorts, a knight captain no less and Louise's fiancé to boot, had betrayed them and attempted to kill prince Wales and then injured Tabitha in a fight. According to the prince, the youngest Valliere was enraged and released a burst of dark smoke from the ground beneath her before the changes took place. It was the next part that scared Osmond the most.

She used magic.

Not wind, fire, water, nor even earth magic.

And whatever it was, it was definitely not the void magic. Void magic was described to have been destructive, yes, but was also very bright. Like a white sun.

This spell she used was one from the Apocrypha and left Wales with the deepest feeling of terror he had ever felt.

According to him, Louise fired off six flying projectiles made of dark smoke with white outlines which chased after Wardes. Wales said that Wardes crashed into the ground in panic as the traitor attempted to flee from the spell, and the last remaining projectile that wasn't destroyed in the chase exploded directly into the knight captain's face.

Osmond wouldn't have realized that the spell was from the Apocrypha if it wasn't for one thing.

Wales said that Louise shouted the name of the spell before she casted it.

Pursuers.

Osmond had read a part of a journal of one of the Apocrypha's previous owners before returning it to its place in a sealed bookshelf due to mixed feelings of fear, awe and sheer disgust. He remembered reading about some of the dark spells that the dark mage who fought against Brimir used and Pursuers was a deadly one.

In fact, it was one of the worst.

Whereas one of Brimir's favorite spells was his Explosion, not to be confused with the fire spell of the same name, the dark mage had Pursuers, which was exactly what it sounded like. A spell that will hunt its target down and not stop until either it or the target has been eliminated. The longer the distance travelled by the Pursuers, the faster they get and with each Pursuer destroyed, the others will gain even more destructive power.

So now, Osmond sat silently, pondering about what to do next. His thoughts were interrupted when Colbert entered the room.

"Sir, Artorias has returned. Prince Wales has made it to the castle safe and sound."

"Good…."

"Sir? Is something the matter?" Colbert asked with a concerned expression.

"Ah Colby, so many things are a problem right now. The rebels, the ever increasing tax, the reports of murdered and violated commoner women in certain villages, and the fact that the Valliere girl has gotten into such a state."

Colbert took a seat across from Osmond, whose face had twisted into a scowl.

"Colbert, the worst thing I could have imagined was Artorias turning into a mad raging beast again. Now, it is his master instead who might, the poor girl. We were wrong Colbert, she isn't a void mage. I should have known that from the moment you told me about Artorias' runes. He's a familiar from the Apocrypha. And now she's probably the next dark mage."

"Sir, she's still a little girl, she can't turn out like that yet!" Colbert exclaimed, horrified that while it was unpleasant, Osmond had a point.

"Look at her appearance, she became like that through rage, Colbert. And with how the Reconquista have conquered Albion, it is only a matter of time until they set their sights upon Tristain. The wedding will not be for at least a month or so and Tristain is at its most vulnerable. There will be war Colbert. What if she loses somebody? What if she sees the Reconquista do something so abhorrent that she descends into a rage once again? What if… she never comes back from it?"

"T…that…"

"The end of the world Colbert. Unless she can control her powers or a void mage appears to try and stop her when she loses control, the end of the world will be upon us." Osmond finished grimly. The two scholars sat in silence for several minutes before Colbert looked at Osmond dead in the eye with a serious expression.

"She can do it. She is a Valliere and if I know Karin's family, a Valliere is stubborn as a bull. She will try and not stop until she can control her powers. Not only that, she has several good friends who can support her and her familiar is something that is, forgive the pun, familiar with the darkness. She will not be the cause of Halkeginia's apocalypse, Osmond. If anything, I dare say she might be its savior."

Old Osmond stared at Colbert for a few moments with an unreadable expression before snorting and lighting his pipe before taking a deep puff from it with a small grin. "I knew you were going to respond with that. Which makes me all the more convinced that you should be the one for this job."

Colbert's expression descended into one of confusion. "Sir?"

"Colbert, when you aren't teaching or aren't busy, I want you to keep an eye on Valliere. Don't shadow her or anything, just check up with her once in a while to make sure she is doing alright. Have a few conversations with Artorias as well about her progress when she starts her training. If possible, give her some pointers."

"Why me?"

"Colbert, you are the one man I trust the most in this world, other than my little friend here." Osmond said as he patted his breast pocket, prompting his mouse familiar to peek its head out before sinking back into the apparently comfortable confines of the pocket. "You are intelligent, friendly and you have more battle experience in this building than all of the students and teachers in the school, sans myself, combined. Not only that, you can make notes about Valliere's powers to determine its strengths and weaknesses and how she can overcome some of her darker impulses when she uses it."

"Are you sure? You seem to have some sort of ulterior motive." Colbert said with narrowed eyes, especially after Osmond mentioned the battle experience.

"….yes… in the off chance that Valliere does lose control and not show any signs of recovering, I want you to put her out of her misery."

Colbert stood in shock. He knew that Osmond was thinking about it but to actually give him that order was a shock.

"Of course, that's a big IF. Should your little speech from before be true, I doubt you'll never even need to think about it." Osmond quickly continued with a cheeky grin. Colbert sighed and massaged his temples.

"..If you don't mind, I need to check up on her. If she's awake, do I have permission to tell her about the Apocrypha?"

"Yes yes, you have my permission." Osmond said with a wave of his hand, dismissing Colbert as he smoked from his pipe.

Colbert exited the room with a hammering heart. The entire conversation had created too many Ifs in his mind. Osmond was terrifying in how blunt he was with what he ordered Colbert to do. Really, the man could be really manipulative at times. He didn't even flinch or seem to notice Colbert's smoldering gaze when the conversation turned sour at the mention of the possibility of the fire mage being required to kill Louise.

'You haven't changed a bit have you? Osmond the Sandstorm.' Colbert the Flame Snake mused mentally as he walked down the corridor.

#Louise's room#

A diminutive figure was curled up on her bed, the sheets covering her body protectively. Her burnt pink hair covered her eyes as she kept her face downcast. Sitting next to her was a bespectacled blue haired girl, gently holding the pinkette's hand as they both sat there in silence.

When Louise woke up, she had wondered how she had gotten into her bed before blushing brightly realizing that Tabitha was there by her bedside, holding her hand. Before she had a chance to comment on that, she suddenly felt a tremendous wave of nausea and had to rush to her bathroom to empty her stomach's contents.

It was in the middle of throwing up into the toilet that she remembered what had happened.

She was drugged. Wardes tried to marry her without her consent. He was a traitor. He hurt Tabitha.

And she made him pay with his life.

All that seemed to make her feel even more sick as she continued to vomit until she was dry heaving.

Once she had washed her mouth out, she realized that entire time she was throwing up, Tabitha was there rubbing her back comfortingly.

Tabitha. She was alive.

Realizing this, she engulfed the megane kuudere in a back breaking hug (Or about as back breaking as she could manage, with her diminutive frame), sobbing loudly as she did.

She spent the next few minutes crying into Tabitha's shirt, the silent ice mage stroking her friend's hair softly through it all.

Louise couldn't believe what she had done. She had taken a life. She had killed Wardes. Yes, it was justified and the bastard deserved it. But the power she used…. It scared her. It felt raw. Wild. Untamable.

Alive.

Louise shuddered in fear, realizing how dangerous it was. She was under no illusions that whatever she did wasn't connected to the Abyss that Artorias spoke of with such loathing. The only silver lining out of this was that she had some sort of magical ability, just like she's always wished for.

Except that this power could lead to her being called a heretic or a freak.

While the pink haired Abyss mage was stuck in her own thoughts, Tabitha was feeling absolutely dreadful. It pained her so much to see the one she loved like this. The bluenette was going to make damned sure that Louise wouldn't go through this pain alone. Tabitha had resolved to stick with Louise through Hell and high water. That was decided when she stormed the church with the intention of separating Wardes' limbs from his body.

While the two were stuck in their thoughts, a sudden knock on the door snapped them out of it as a familiar tall knight entered the room, a smile blossoming on his face as he noticed that they were both awake. "Master, Miss Tabitha."

"A-Artorias?" Louise whimpered out before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around the knight's leg in a hug. "Artorias!"

The cyan eyed man smiled softly as he pat her head. "There there master. All is well. We are all safe."

"*sniff* W-what happened to Albion..?"

Artorias' smile vanished and was replaced by a grim expression. "I'm sorry master. I'm afraid Newcastle is no more. The only solace we could take was that we all came out alive and we dragged the prince with us."

"T-the prince? You managed to bring him with you?" Louise's sad expression turned to one of surprise. There was some joy in her eyes at that news.

"Yes, he felt responsible and came with us. He is currently with the princess who is trying to sort out this mess. She is very happy Louise and thanks you. She also said you could keep the ring."

Louise nodded at the information and her eyes widened at the fact that she was allowed to keep the water ruby ring. "D-do you really think I should keep it?"

"You might as well keep some sort of trophy from your first adventure. Hopefully we don't have any more too soon though. None of us are in any shape for any more intense battles."

"Says the man who fought off dozens of wyverns at the same time in a thunderstorm." Louise deadpanned.

"To be fair, I had Ornstein with me but yes, I guess you have a point. I am starting to regret sharing my ridiculous experiences with you." Artorias muttered out that last part. Of course, she had to pull the wyvern card. Although, that battle was the best show of teamwork he ever had with Ornstein.

Louise and Artorias laughed a bit. Tabitha smiled, seeing Louise begin to cheer up.

Artorias patted Louise on the head once again before moving to the door. "Master, I need to have a word with the headmaster. Please stay here in bed, you still need rest. So do you, Miss Tabitha. You both had better get some more sleep to heal your fatigue."

"B-but it's in the middle of the day!"

"And you just recovered from a coma. Please, just listen master, for me?"

Louise frowned but nodded anyway. Artorias smiled and patted her head again. "Now then, I better be off. Get some rest, okay?"

The two girls nodded as Artorias left the room. Louise sighed before turning to the wardrobe and opening it up. If she was going to sleep then she'd better get into gear. She didn't notice Tabitha's face light up like a tomato when Louise began stripping in front of her without a care in the world.

Thank Brimir that Artorias locked the door.

Tabitha tried to look away but her eyes kept drawing back to Louise's backside. True, she still needed to develop more before her body could be considered 'sexy' but there was an impish charm to Louise's short stature, despite the flat chest.

She had a cute butt and damn nice legs though (Tabitha's opinion, not mine).

Tabitha felt a small part of her become disappointed when Louise slipped on her nightdress. The pinkette closed the wardrobe and walked to the bed before laying down in it, neither noticing that once Louise entered the bed, her nightdress had turned black with blue outlines. It was only once she lied down that she realized that Tabitha was there too. The two were stuck in awkward silence for a few moments.

"I should go-"

"W-wait…" Louise interrupted Tabitha shakily. She looked up to the bluenette with her red and white eyes. "C-can you stay with me for now? I-I don't know if I can handle being alone right now…."

Tabitha's eyes softened at how adorable Louise's face was, just like a child's. Complying, the megane crawled under the sheets with her and held her hand. This seemed to reassure Louise as the pinkette snuggled closer, making Tabitha blush.

"…you know, I had a strange dream…." Louise said after a few minutes of silence. Tabitha raised an eyebrow and murmured an 'Hmm?' prompting the pinkette to continue.

"I dreamed that I was running in a dark tunnel… it was wet and I could see dark figures walking around with weapons… I fell over and started crying… and then you came… you hugged me and told me everything was going to be all right… so… thank you. Tabitha. Thank you for being my friend and helping me all the time…" Louise said sincerely as she moved her head so she could look at Tabitha's face, to find that the genius' face was red and her eyes were wide with shock. "…Tabitha?"

"I… had the same dream…." The bluenette murmured, causing the pinkette's eyes to widen as well.

The two remained like that in silence for a few more moments until Tabitha broke it. "D-did I say anything else?"

"Yes, you said you… you… lo-love…" Louise trailed off, noting that Tabitha's eyes widened further and her blush had turned brighter. "W-wait… are you telling me..?"

Slowly, Louise began to put two and two together. Why Tabitha seemed to look even more depressed than usual when she met Wardes. Why her face was bright red in the library when Louise was really close to her, before they ended up in a tangled mess. Why she looked so angry at Wardes at the church.

'She was…. All this time..?' Louise thought, her own face blooming red like a rose.

Neither spoke for a good few awkward seconds.

"…Louise… I-"

"Stop… please don't…"

Tabitha's expression morphed into one of hurt, fearing she had been rejected so quickly.

"I-I'm not ready for this yet… j-just give me some time… please… I don't know how long… I just need some time…" Louise said, her eyes downcast. Tabitha's expression lightened up a tiny bit but still remained saddened. It wasn't until Louise snuggled closer to her and wrapped her arms around her that the kuudere's face lost the sad expression.

"L-Louise..?"

"I-I don't know why… I-I'm not ready to talk about that yet but… I felt… really happy… when you said that…." Louise mumbled into Tabitha's bosom as she began to let sleep take over.

Tabitha's face bloomed into an expression that is rarely seen on her. Her eyes had a light in them that hasn't been seen in many many years.

A light called hope.

Tabitha smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around Louise and nuzzled her hair, taking in the smell of strawberries and ash.

"Thank you… Louise…"

#outside the room, several minutes ago#

Artorias locked the door to Louise's bedroom and began his trek to the headmaster's office. Along the way, he bumped into none other than Colbert.

"Ah, Professor Colbert, I was just on my way to inform the headmaster that the prince has been delivered to Princess Henrietta."

"Ah, no need for that, he knows." Colbert waved the knight off with a smile.

"Well, I still need to discuss with him about my master. I think we need to tell her about the Apocrypha."

"Incidentally, old Osmond just gave me permission to inform her about it. I was just on my way to tell her now."

"Ah, then you may need to wait. She's in bed. I told her to get some rest." Artorias said with a sheepish smile. Colbert sighed but nodded.

"Oh well, I guess it will have to wait till tomorrow. Speaking of Miss Valliere, I need to inform you that I have been tasked by Osmond to watch over her every now and then and perhaps even give her a few pointers."

"With what?"

"Controlling her power."

Artorias' face turned dark at this. "Osmond wants her to be trained to use the Abyss?"

"Unfortunately so. It is necessary in case she gets involved in another battle. We cannot risk her going into the state she was in that the prince described. You yourself know how dangerous the Abyss is when it takes control, you should understand."

Artorias nodded with a frown. "I still don't like it. She shouldn't have to use that power at all. If she ends up like I did… I doubt she can be saved."

"Which is why you need to make sure she doesn't lose control again. You seem to have a certain amount of control over your power so you need to do what you can to help her." Colbert said calmly. "If what we've seen happen to you is any example, the Abyss seems to greatly affect one's mental state. You are a soldier so you have an even head on your shoulders. You are used to pain. But she is a child and if her mind cannot bear the strain, Brimir knows what will happen."

Artorias nodded again.

"*sigh* I miss when things were far more simple, sir knight. Do you know what I mean? Just me, teaching students who could hardly care about most of my droning lectures, Miss Valliere enjoying her time with her two friends and you watching over them. And now our country might be threatened by war and things have gotten far more complicated than they should have."

"I know. Unfortunately, my old friend, Gough, seems to be right again, bless his soul."

"About?" Colbert asked with curiosity.

"He said that peace is like a supply of food. As it is, life is good. But eventually the food will run out and conflict will begin, until it is refilled. The question is, will it be refilled through peace and cooperation or through killing each other?"

Colbert had nothing to reply to that with, so he stood there with Artorias as they mulled over their thoughts.

#the next day#

It was in the middle of the day and Louise was sitting on her bed, Tabitha sitting next to her and Artorias standing nearby. Colbert had just explained the situation with her powers and Artorias' identity as a familiar of the Abyss, which was the direct opposite of the Void.

Louise's expression was completely mortified.

"I-I'm not going to be burned at the stake for being a heretic, am I?"

"Brimir's sandals, why would you ever think that?" Colbert exclaimed in surprise. "Nobody is going to harm you Louise. If anything, you should view your powers as a blessing!"

"What? How in the name of the Founder can I see this as a blessing?" Louise said, distraught.

"You see, the last person who had those powers had every intention of overthrowing Brimir. But now, you, a young girl without a shred of evil in her heart, have become the next user of those powers. Think of the possibilities if you use them for the sake of good. For Tristain. I am not insinuating that you should be a hero, but you could very well save lives one day in the future."

Louise sat there in thought, her brow scrunching up. "But… this power is… scary…"

"Trust me, I agree with you on that." Artorias said with a comforting smile. "But if you know how to use it, there is no reason to fear it. Respect it, yes, but do not fear it. At least you do not have to worry about the extra passenger."

'Oh haha, I love you too.'

Suddenly, Louise yelped in surprise and snapped her head around the room. "W-who said that?"

'….of for crying out loud, are you kidding me?' the intangible ape-like creature groaned as it face palmed.

"M-master, you can hear him too?" Artorias exclaimed in surprise.

"Hear who?" Colbert asked with a quizzical expression.

"My powers over the Abyss come with an extra passenger. He has been riding around my soul for quite a long time. It seems that by using the Abyss, Master Louise has developed the ability to hear him as well." The cyan eyed knight said with wonder.

'Oh great, now the shorty can hear me. Now I can tease somebody else for a change!' the inner Manus cackled.

"Hey! I'm not… okay, I admit that my height is lacking a tiny bit, but you don't need to rub it in!" Louise shouted with irritation in her voice, an anger vein pulsing furiously on her forehead.

'Hah! The day you manage to do ONE Abyss spell without effort is the day I'm ever gonna leave you alone!'

"FINE THEN, I ACCEPT YOU'RE CHALLENGE!" Louise all but shrieked.

'I-is he deliberately provoking her to train her abilities?' Artorias questioned mentally. The fact that the inner Manus was actually being helpful under the guise of being an ass was a surprise. And a bit suspicious. 'What are you planning...?'

'Hehehehehe, I am gonna have SO much fun with this.'

#days and days later*

Time flowed normally for the academy, though many were shocked to see the physical and wardrobe changes of Louise Valliere. None even had the guts to make a comment about it, not just because of Artorias' presence but because Louise's own presence had developed an unnerving aura, even though she tried to keep herself looking as inconspicuous as possible, uncomfortable with the attention she was getting.

Speaking of wardrobe changes, Louise had early on discovered that her new found abilities came with a small side effect. The dyeing of her clothes. She became increasingly annoyed that whatever she put on turned black and blue, but eventually she disregarded it and just accepted the change. At first she thought it was a prank from her new... 'Mentor'. However, the inner Manus honestly denied having to do anything with it.

'If I had the ability to do that, I'd dye all of wolf boy's clothes pink.'

The deformed monster had taken to teasing Louise constantly and grating on her nerves. The rare moments he didn't, he spent giving small pointers on how to use the Abyss. The basics that he told Artorias. Sadly, he wasn't going to teach her the Abysswalk.

Tabitha had practically become Louise's shadow. Students began whispering and gossiping about how the blue haired bookworm began to follow Louise everywhere and stay at her side at all times. Some even mentioned that they saw her holding Louise's hand when they sat down under a tree together. They were practically joined at the hip.

Tabitha herself didn't know how to describe her relationship with Louise. It wasn't dating. That was for sure. If anything, it was more like she was Louise's emotional support.

It almost reminded her of her mother's situation with her doll.

Louise had become too scared to sleep alone, especially since she began to have nightmares of the Abyss. The inner Manus said that those were natural and Artorias had them a lot but he could take it. Louise on the other hand had a more fragile state of mind compared to the tempered mentality of the knight of Gwyn.

Louise had taken to sleeping in Tabitha's room, since the inner Manus said that sleeping in the same room as another user of the Abyss' power would make them a tiny bit worse, especially with the monkey monster itself around.

So Tabitha had become a sort of mental shield for Louise, helping the girl when she began to have panic attacks at night after a nightmare and calming her down.

She had no idea how much Louise truly appreciated her presence.

Kirche and Guiche had taken to hanging out with them more often. Kirche, being herself, enjoyed teasing the two short girls about the rumors that have been going on, always laughing when she sees the blush on the two girls' faces.

Many people were confused and surprised that Guiche had taken to hanging out with the trio, especially since he was once humiliated and nearly killed in his match against Artorias.

One of the reasons he hung out with them was a small touch of concern for the three girls, since they were still sort of recovering from wounds from the Albion trip. He and Kirche still remember the pain of having broken bones. Tabitha and Louise had it the worse, Tabitha with the combination of falling from incredible heights, getting struck by a lightning bolt and also being stabbed by a wind infused wand-sword, Louise with her little transformation which affected her mental state.

When Kirche asked Guiche if he should even be hanging around them instead of his little girlfriend, he said that she would understand that he was showing concern for injured classmates, especially since he was injured along with them.

Though nobody other than them knew how they got injured, only that they went on a small assignment given to them by some member of royalty.

Guiche had also remembered Artorias' promise. When he reminded the cyan eyed knight, he was given instructions to wake up every morning, at least an hour before dawn, and then meet him in the Vestri court. The training would last until a short while before breakfast and it would continue after school. On free days, the training would go nearly all day.

Artorias was going to train him and by Gwyn's beard, did he TRAIN him.

Guiche was prepared for intense training but the training he got was more than just intense. It was nearly life threatening. He had to do push-ups and go jogging through the dangerous forest, sword matches with Artorias (using wooden swords of course, though Artorias had to use one fashioned out of a tree trunk), and other exercises that leave most men winded and panting for breath and mercy.

The only solace he had in it was that Artorias and two of the other four knights of Gwyn went through the same thing upon their initiation. Which meant that come the end of the training, he should be on a level of power and manliness close to Artorias.

This sudden new training regime that Guiche undertook was quite a shock for other students who once hung around the blonde fop. People who were close to him, like Montmorency, were surprised that he would even attempt to undertake such a grueling workout.

The 'three stooges', had mixed reactions to this.

Tabitha and Louise were quite surprised but rather impressed that Guiche was going through the training and not stopping.

Kirche was curious to see if he would come out of the training looking like a hottie. If he does, she may have to try and steal him from Montmorency.

On the subject of training, Louise was struggling with her own.

She did her training after school hours, usually at dusk. It was during those times that she would be in the forest, trying to use her powers, with the Inner Manus and Artorias watching.

Several times, she ended up turning a tree into a dark crystal stalactite. Other times the trees would either melt into dark goop or explode, much to the pinkette's chagrin as it reminded her of her repeated failures at using normal magic.

Then there were to more... intense moments. Sometimes, the power she held as she tried to use a spell would scare her and then she would panic and lose control, releasing a burst of abyssal energy from her body with a scream.

The Abyss is directly connected to her soul and mind, therefore it it is connected to her mentality. Being a source of negative energy, it brings out dark emotions and thoughts in the users mind when they use it.

Anger, fear, remorse, lust, these were a few of those dark emotions. Artorias' feels bloodlust and rage as he uses the powers of the Abyss. Louise feels fear.

As such, she became stricken with horrifying images and thoughts at times when she attempts to use her newfound powers. This caused her to break down crying or screaming during the early stages of her training.

Yet, she never gave up. She continued on trying to use her powers.

Colbert came to see her train once and he was worried about her when she let loose a burst of abyssal energy during an 'episode'. However he felt a small measure of pride and awe when she got right back up and tried again.

Though he had to wonder, how difficult it must have been for all this training to use just ONE spell. One which was called 'Dark Orb.'

The spell looked simple, when Artorias described it. The caster will fire a medium sized sphere of abyssal energy at their opponent and once the spell hits them, it explodes in a sizeable blast of abyssal energy, ripping apart the enemy's soul. Any who survive that spell will end up with a handicapped soul, never to fully heal themselves as they slowly turn hollow.

However, since Louise was a 'Contractor', due to her status as the master of a being that was directly corrupted by the 'Father of the Abyss', the simplest Abyss spells would be enhanced significantly. Meaning a simple spell like Dark Orb would end up going off with twice the amount of strength it's supposed to have.

One of the days she came back from training, she was practically walking dead. Her eyes were empty and she keeled over the moment she caught sight of Tabitha, who thankfully managed to catch her in time.

Tabitha was not allowed to be present during Louise's training as the Abyss is known to corrupt living beings easily. Colbert was a teacher and a square class fire mage so he was fine since he had a sizeable mental barrier built, especially due to his past as a soldier. However, he still had to stay a considerable distance away from the training zone, just far enough that he could see and not be affected.

Tabitha, despite living her life practically fighting to survive before coming to Tristain, had a surprisingly fragile mental state, which she tried to reinforce by burying her emotions. Now though, her emotions were a tiny bit unstable as she was recently reintroduced to the emotions of fear, love and anger.

So when she saw Louise in such an exhausted state after her training, she practically begged Louise to stop training for a while. The bluenette could not bear to see her loved one like this. However, Louise simply smiled at her and said 'If I cannot go through this training, I cannot protect my friends... especially you.'

So Tabitha had to simply trust in the pinkette, as the unstable girl went through her training.

#days later#

"Hey Tabitha?"

"Hmm?" the bluenette replied, looking up from her book. She was currently sitting with her back leaning against a tree in the middle of one of the school's courtyards. She had her legs folded under her and Louise was lying down on the grass, her head on Tabitha's lap. The pinkette was just lying there, staring at the sky, her white pupils glazed over, not really focused on anything.

"...Am I scary?"

"Huh?" Tabitha intelligently replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Everybody thinks I've been possessed or something. Some think I turned into a vampire. Most of the teachers look uneasy just being in the same room with me. And my powers are dark and... horrifying. Do you think I'm scary?"

Tabitha stared at Louise for a moment before closing her book and moving her head down to peer into Louise's eyes. They both blushed at how close their faces were.

"...Not scary. Cute. Pretty eyes."

"T-thanks." Louise said with a smile.

"Good Founder look, they're kissing!"

Both girls snap their heads to the source of the voice, which was a couple of students, one boy and one girl, staring at them wide eyed and blushing before running away.

From the angle and position they were watching when Tabitha lowered her head, it looked like she was leaning down to kiss Louise.

"A-awawa... that doesn't sound good." Louise muttered with a sigh.

"No it doesn't." Tabitha agreed with a weary groan, realizing that within the next fifteen minutes, the whole school will know.

They both remained like that in silence for a while as Tabitha continued to read her book.

"Hey Tabitha?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think kissing would feel like?"

The bluenette promptly dropped her book with a steaming face. Louise lips then formed a grin that rivaled Kirche's in mischievousness, though she had a small blush as well.

It was then that Tabitha realized that she was just teased.

#afternoon#

Apparently, karma was invoked.

"For the last time, WE WEREN'T KISSING!" Louise exclaimed in exasperation at Kirche, the red haired Germanian smirking at the smaller pinkette with a raised eyebrow.

"Now now little Louise, there's no shame in being a lesbian. I am slightly bisexual myself. You should be proud that you're dating Tabitha of all people, who usually has the emotional range of a statue." She then turned her head to face the bluenette mentioned. "No offense."

"...None taken." Tabitha replied with a furrowed brow, her cheeks red in embarrassment.

"For the love of Gwyn, we didn't kiss! She was just looking into my eyes!" Louise said with an angry vein on her forehead. Kirche's other eyebrow rose up to join its twin at the mention of Artorias' God, before she grew a cheeky grin.

"She was looking into your eyes now was she?"

"Yes!" Louise shouted before pausing to think about how that sounded. "Oh no, wait wait wait, I didn't mean it in that way!"

"Sure you didn't." Kirche says with a chuckle at how flustered Louise was getting before deciding to drop the subject. As fun as it was tormenting her like this, she was warned early on by Artorias that her mental and emotional state was not exactly stable. Teasing her is a good way to let her mental state to normal, as it is something she always did prior to Louise's transformation, so her mind would register it as normalcy. But if she went a bit too far, Louise's powers may react to her frustration at Kirche.

"So, are you going to go train again?" Kirche asked.

"Train? Oh Founder, I nearly forgot! I will see you two later!" Louise exclaimed before jogging off towards the forest where Artorias and her monstrous mentor would be waiting.

Surprisingly, Guiche was there too, and he looked absolutely haggard.

"Guiche? Why are you here?"

"Ah, Valliere." Guiche said with a small and tired smile. He wore nothing but his school pants, his feet were completely bare and so was his torso, revealing the lean build he had, muscles beginning to develop on him due to intense training. He was coated in a layer of sweat and he held a small wooden shortsword in his right hand. "The Lieutenant told me to train here with him while waiting for you. He said that he has a small announcement to make."

Ah yes, Guiche had taken to calling Artorias as 'Lieutenant'. It started when Guiche asked what rank Artorias was in the Knights of Gwyn. Since there were only four of them though, the only official rank was Captain, the title held by Ornstein. However, Artorias said that he was the one in charge when Ornstein was not available, basically making him the lieutenant. Which is why, as a sign of respect, Guiche began calling Artorias that.

Speaking of the knight, he strode into the area, his state of dress similar to Guiche with the exception that in addition to tracksuit pants, he wore a tight black tank top that only emphasized his muscular build. He held a large, blunt bronze greatsword which had its weight increased thanks to Miss Chevreuse's earth magic. The blade was enchanted to be almost twice as heavy as Artorias' serrated sword, which weighed nearly as much as a pony.

"He's right, there is something I need to tell you master. And I'm not sure how you will react to it."

Louise was a bit worried now. 'Is something wrong with my powers? Do they think I will go insane? What if they've decided to kill me off just in case I DO go insane!?'

Louise erratic thought thundered through her head, her emotions beginning to run a bit wild.

"We are putting your abyss powers training on a halt for a while."

"Huh!?" the pinkette exclaimed in shock. This... wasn't exactly what she expected to hear. And it was not what she wanted to hear either. "W-why?"

"Master, you train a lot, I respect that. In fact, I would admire you for it. But if you keep training yourself ragged like that, you will burn out."

"I haven't been training myself ragged!"

"Master, we tell you to try and use your powers for two hours and you end up trying to do it for triple that amount of time! We tell you to take fifteen minute breaks and you rest for about three! And don't think I do not know about how you have been sleeping in a few classes due to how exhausted this training is leaving you."

Louise blushed in embarrassment at that. "W-well..."

"I'm gonna have to agree with wolfy, this ain't good shortie."

Annnd there's the nail on the coffin.

Louise turned her head to where she heard the monster from. "You actually agree with this?"

The Inner Manus shrugged, though nobody could see it. "You're actually doin' a surprisingly good job, you're determination is pretty damn impressive. But you're still mostly human, even though you've got the power to use the Abyss. Your tiny little body isn't strong enough to handle this much intense training so frequently."

"M-my body isn't strong enough? You mean if I train my body physically, it will eventually become strong enough to handle the amount of training I'm doing?" Louise asked, causing the Inner Manus to scratch his own chin in thought.

"Well... if ya put it that way, I guess so. Look at wolfy, he's fitter than all the guards in the princess' castle, how do ya think he can handle so much of the Abyss powers?"

Louise nodded and immediately turned to Artorias with a determined look that made the knight actually flinch. He felt something bad had just occurred.

"Artorias, as your master, I command you to train me like how you are training Guiche!"

"Brimir's balls..." the cyan eyed knight muttered before palming his face, causing the Inner Manus to begin to cackle in amusement.

#elsewhere, unknown location hidden in Albion#

In the darkness of the large and cavernous room was a pit. The pit exhumed dark energy and wisps of black smoke as its murky tar-like surface rippled and rolled like an ocean in a storm. In front of it stood the leader of the Reconquista, Oliver Cromwell. His clergyman robes fluttered as he laughed and waved his arms like a lunatic.

Oh wait, he IS a lunatic.

Above was a sight that would make the bravest of men whimper in fear. Four humongous ethereal forms floated above the pit, circling it like demented moths around a lightbulb. They all bore the same appearance, white faces with blank expressions like statues, layers upon layers of ghostly cloaks fluttered around their bodies, thorny crowns resting atop their heads of wild and long spiky silver hair and gigantic twisted looking greatswords with serrated edges held in their respective right hands.

Behind Cromwell was a man who remained hidden in the shadows, a demented smile upon his lips as his ethereal familiars manipulated the dark energy that flowed from the Abyss. Standing next to him was the stoic and intimidating form of the late Viscount Jean Wardes, now an ascendant Dakrwraith. His black feathered hat and cloak fluttered in the wind as he gazed at the pit.

Ever since his transformation after his untimely death at the hands of one enraged Louise, his thought process had been simple.

Follow master. Listen to master. Kill for master. Obey the four kings.

Yet, he found a small semblance of his old mentality when he gazed at that pit.

He felt his empty eyes get drawn into the darkness. He felt his bones shiver in some unknown emotion as he suppressed the desire to leap into it. He felt something beneath the pit, possibly far below it, inside the depths, calling to him. Something wanted him to do something, to take something in exchange for something he had lost. He could not remember what he had lost though, only fleeting images of a wild pink flame that rested atop a pale white face with angry red orbs as eyes, shrouded by a cloth that was darker than black and bluer than the ocean. He felt the echoes of the voices of so many beings like him, all hollowed and corrupted beyond salvation.

And slowly, several of those echoes were getting closer.

He was broken out of his daze and returned to becoming a drone when Cromwell let out an excited laugh as figures began to break the surface of the Abyss. Skeletal beings rose from the murky depths, the dark and partially gas, partially liquid sludge began to slide and steam off their forms. Their skull faces sneered emptily at the world as they stepped onto land, their blades in hand.

It was at that moment, that five Darkwraiths were released into Halkeginia.

#the next day, Tristain's magical academy, Osmond's office#

Old Osmond felt much more tired than he has ever been as he glared at the object on his desk, wrapped up in layers of paper transmutated into steel, chained up with five locks, in a blessed silver cage with a sacred leather handle.

Colbert shivered as he saw pure unadulterated hate and contempt flowing from the square class earth mage's eyes.

"S-sir? What is that?"

"This my dear friend is something that I wish I could destroy. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that Miss Valliere will need this eventually, if she is to control her powers."

Colbert's eyes widened. Only one object could actually help her at that. "You mean that is-"

"The accursed Apocrypha. The black prayer book. The tome of sins. The Necronomicon. Call it what you want, it's a stain upon the world. After Valliere uses this thing and it loses its worth, I pray she hurls it into the deepest darkest depths of the Abyss."

Colbert had to admit, Osmond really did not like that book. It was understandable, as it practically spat on their very religion and contained very disturbing pieces of information. It also gave off a horrible aura.

The sealed book suddenly pulsed as it felt something approach the room. Something... dark.

Its master.

A knock on the door made Osmond slip back into his grandfatherly persona. "Come in!"

Louise opened the door and entered the room, Tabitha at her side as usual. Whatever she was about to say immediately died in her throat the moment she felt the aura come off the sealed artifact on Osmond's desk. "What's that?"

"Ah, this... thing... is the reason I have called you here. This book, sealed inside layers and layers of protection, is the Apocrypha."

Something about the name stirred something within Louise. She felt herself get drawn to the book, her eyes nearly glazing over until Osmond started speaking again.

"You see, the Apocrypha contains information about the Abyss and its powers. It also contains a few spells that you should be able to use. Essentially, this thing could probably be your little guidebook to using your powers. "

Louise nodded absent mindedly as she approached the book. Suddenly, it began to rattle in place as it seemed to struggle against its bonds.

"What on earth?" Colbert exclaimed in surprise as the book began going berserk, trying to escape its prison. Louise raised a hand and then the book stilled. All was quiet in the room as Louise seemed to almost dreamily wave her right hand at the cage.

With that motion, the Apocrypha began to trash violently in its bindings until it pulsed once and all the carefully constructed seals around it promptly disintegrated. The cage around it was blasted into pieces as the book began to levitate, the cover facing Louise's glazed eyes.

It was an ugly looking book, all beaten and burnt and it had numerous scars where previous owners attempted to destroy it, only for it to regenerate and keep a scar, just to remind its owners of their failed attempts. Beneath the damages was the pattern of shrieking skulls covering the book. There was no title, only a single deformed mouth with jagged teeth and a glowing amber eye with a slit pupil inside it staring at Louise. Slowly, the maw closed and opened, as if blinking and the book floated into Louise's waiting arms. The dark piece of literature was nearly as big as an Atlas, so she had to hold it with both her hands.

Louise began to smile as she stroked the spine of the book in an almost motherly fashion as it shuddered and the maw closed, shrouding the glowing eye from the world.

Osmond and Colbert could not help but gape in shock. The book was practically purring at the pinkette. Tabitha was staring at the book, and then Louise, and then the book again. Her eyes were wide with shock but she managed to refrain from letting her mouth drop open like the two older teachers'.

"Thank you for the book principal Osmond." Louise said with a smile. "I will take good care of him." With that, Louise turned around and left the room, Tabitha hurrying after her.

Left in silence, Colbert managed to regain his voice.

"D-did she just say 'Him'?"

#minutes later, Tabitha&Louise's room#

As it was the weekend, there were no classes, something which Louise was grateful for as she got to read her new book.

Once she entered the room, she promptly plopped down onto a pillow in a corner of the room and began opening the book, Tabitha staring at her warily as she did so.

The bluenette was a bookworm through and through, but even she had to admit that the book in Louise's hands was an abomination.

For Brimir's sake, IT HAD A FREAKING EYE. It BLINKED.

Then again, if Derflinger can exist as a sentient sword, why can't a sentient book exist?

Louise gasped, startling Tabitha who rushed to her side immediately to see what had her so shocked. Her eyes locked on to the first page of the book.

Gibberish.

Absolute gibberish.

The page contained nothing but strange lines and squiggles in black ink. Whatever language it was, it certainly did not look easy to understand. She felt compelled to narrow her eyes, trying to make sense of the writing, a strange itch developing in her eyes as she did so. The longer she stared at it, the itchier her eyes got until suddenly Louise snapped the book shut, startling Tabitha.

"...Tabitha, I wouldn't try and read the book if I were you." Louise said with a worried tone.

"Why?"

"I think only those connected to the Abyss can read it. There was a poem of sorts on the first page." The pinkette said as she began to quote the poem. "Rejoice children of the night, this book reveals secrets for you to know. Beware children of the light, this book will make your fresh blood flow. Rejoice pilgrims of the dark, and release your long held baited breath. Beware peasants without the mark, this book will cause your painful death."

Tabitha stared at Louise with widened eyes before nodding and promising she won't even as much as glance at the pages.

Satisfied, Louise opened the book again and turned to the second page as Tabitha moved to sit across her before opening her own book.

Louise grimaced as she held the pages of the book. The pages felt strange under her fingers, it felt leathery and rough, yet she could swear that it also squirmed under her touch.

Like flesh, but most certainly not human flesh.

She could not shake the feeling she had about the book. It was disturbing to look at, especially with the fact that it had a moving, LIVING eye on the cover. But something inside her just made her feel that this book was something to treat delicately. Something to hold carefully, like how a mother cradles her baby.

The second page of the book contained a long paragraph of strange text.

"The Abyss. When one thinks of such a place, they imagine a dark and deep hole in the earth, with unknown depths and a foul and intimidating aura surrounding it to ward off trespassers.

And they would be correct. The Abyss is the deepest and darkest realm known to man. It is a realm that no ordinary living thing can traverse, as the very nature of its air tends to corrupt life and twist it into something horrifyingly remarkable.

Even if one were to somehow develop a means to become immune to the Abyss' corrupting air, they would still need to be wary of its denizens. Shapeless beings that float through the Abyss like wraiths, without purpose other than to find the nearest source of life and snuff it out.

These 'Shades', come in different sizes but all bear similar forms. Black gaseous bodies without limbs and a white blurry outline. They all bear empty glowing white eyes that stare at you constantly.

And these are but the weakest of the beings that stalk the Abyss.

And lucky you, this book holds descriptions of all of them.

Welcome, child of the dark. When you finish reading this book, will you be a pilgrim of the dark, or will you become the Shepard?"

Louise blinked slowly before looking at the third page. A table of contents.

-The Entrance. 4-30

-Denizens of the Dark. 31-46

-The Serpents. 47-68

-The Guardians. 69-87

-The Father of the Abyss. 88-94

-Contractors. 95-130

-Miracles and Sorceries. 131-155

-The Invaders. 156-180

-The Closing and the Truth. 181-182

Louise scowled as she looked at all of the chapters. All of them seemed interesting but the one that seemed to catch her attention was 'The Guardians'. What kind of beings actually defended the Abyss?

She got her answer the moment she opened up the page.

'The Abyss is not an easy place to enter, as stated in the first chapter. However, should foolish beings attempt to enter or even dare to assault the Abyss, it will retaliate with extreme prejudice. However, some Gods have proven that their champions are in fact strong enough to infiltrate the Abyss and even seal it.

The Father of the Abyss once decided that the Abyss required protectors. He found beings perfect for that duty, inside and outside the Abyss.

In the depths of the Abyss waits the Darklurker. A malevolent being that existed for as long as the Father did. It was a being of ambiguity, never remaining in the same spot long enough to get a single good look at it. The Darklurker only appears when one has wandered too far into the Abyss. The Darklurker is a guardian, a sentinel and will eradicate any trespassers on its territory. What treasure rests in the depths of the Abyss that is valuable enough to warrant the Darklurker's protection, no one knows, not even the Father of the Abyss himself.

The two beings are of equal strength, having both existed for the same amount of time. However, the Father of the Abyss has the advantage in which that it can create its own followers and is dangerously intellectual, contrary to its bestial appearance.

However the Darklurker has the upper hand in brutal savagery and is capable of manipulating ALL kinds of magic. It bears no mind, only a single driven purpose, ingrained into its soul from an age long forgotten by even itself.

Humans whom are exposed to the residue of the Abyss for too long end up as abominations, twisted beings that only vaguely resemble their past selves. However, when a human corpse is saturated in the Abyss for extended periods of time, it will begin to reanimate. The Abyss will draw out its humanity and then invert it. It will tear out the corpse's bones and fashion it into armor, rend the skin and hair and make it into cloth, erode the flesh and turn it into abyssal tar and grant it a blade of the darkest obsidian metal.

And then it will be human no more. It will just be a Darkwraith.

Darkwraiths are the fate of any who perish inside the Abyss. Whenever the Darklurker executes a trespasser, a Darkwraith will be born shortly after. Darkwraiths are drones, empty husks of terror that instill a primal sense of despair within all those who gaze upon them. They only obey those who manipulate the Abyss, such as Contractors or the Abyss' stronger Guardians.

There is no salvation for those who become Darkwraith. The only peace left is true death.

If the Darkwraiths are the result of a corpse being submerged in the Abyss, the Pursuers are almost the opposite.'

Louise's eyes widened as she recognized the name. It was the spell she used against Wardes, albeit the fact that her memories of the incident were blurry, she still remembers that word all too clearly, and the screams that Wardes made before he was obliterated.

'When a Shade searches for the nearest source of life, should it happen to find a human, it will attempt to assimilate with that human's Humanity. It will then become larger and hungrier as it continues to hunt down Humanity to grow and evolve.

Should it succeed, it will become a Pursuer.

A Pursuer is a titan, a colossal being of pure Abyssal energy, contained within armor fashioned from the bones and blood of humans, smelted into what is known as Eldritch Steel, the metal ore that is only possible to create through the Abyss. It can levitate and hover around up to its limit of fifty meters, as if its hulking size meant nothing, and can wield almost any weapon. Its most commonly used weapon is the titanic greatsword it wields, forged out of the Abyss, made from the compiled souls of the lives it took.

The Pursuer is exactly that, a chaser, a hunter. It searches out for threats in the Abyss and quickly executes them with extreme brutality. Whenever the Abyss senses something that can threaten its existence, it will influence the Pursuer to find that threat and eradicate it.

In layman's terms, the Pursuer is an assassin that hunts down people who may pose a threat to the existence of the Abyss. It can appear from anywhere around the destined target and is almost invincible. Its ability to fly makes escape nigh impossible and its blade can curse and instantly cause a human to hollow, should they get stabbed by it. Even if the blade is damaged or lost, it usually carries a multitude of other weapons in a sack on its back.

In some cases, the Abyss will send out more than one Pursuer to hunt down a threat.

However, very few Shades can withstand the strain of devouring so much Humanity, or even find any, so the actual amount of existing Pursuers is minimalistic. What is definite is that there are less than five.'

Louise bit her lip. According to what Colbert said prince Wales saw, she fired off black orbs of energy with white outlines that eventually gained an almost humanoid shape. Was that spell actually firing off Shades? Or was it some sort of pseudo-Pursuer?

Regardless, she discarded the thought before reading on.

And she froze at the next Guardian.

Abysswalker.

'The Abysswalker is a title thought to be held by a select few who could travel through the Abyss.

In reality, that is a mere exaggeration.

There is only ONE Abysswalker.

The Father of the Abyss sought to create a being that would have the power of a Darkwraith and a Pursuer. The perfect warrior of the Abyss. But to do that, he needed to find a suitable host for that power.

And he found it.

In an age where dragons ruled and Gods rallied to protect humanity from them, there was a man. A knight. He was strong, he was fast, he was brave, and he was kind. He was the perfect example of the ideal knight. In the land known as Lordran, where time and space convolute occasionally, he was heralded as a hero. A legend.

His name was Artorias.

And five thousand years ago, he became the Abysswalker for a good three decades, until one day he vanished, the Father of the Abyss being split into fragments on the very same day.

"Louis-"

"WHAT!?" the pinkette yelled out in response before quickly covering her mouth in shock. Tabitha's eyes were wide before she lowered her head a bit.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you Louise..."

"No no no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you! I-I didn't know what came over me!" Louise quickly said, trying to placate the bluenette. Tabitha's face remained downcast.

"It's just... you were staring at the book really intensely... you had a scary look in your eyes... they looked like..." Tabitha trailed off as she bit her lip.

"...like what?"

"...like...my mother's..." Tabitha says quietly. Louise's face adopts a look of confusion before Tabitha continues.

"My mother... she used to be very kind... very loving... but... she was poisoned... and went mad."

The pinkette's eyes widen at this. Tabitha raises her head to look at Louise in the eyes, watering blue meeting with shocked red.

"She... she can't even recognize me... she talks to my old doll, thinking that it's me. She... she screeches and screams at me, as if I'm a monster... I... I don't want you to fall into madness... that book is doing something... its evil..."

"Oh Tabitha..." Louise murmurs as she closes the book and places it on the floor, causing it to let out an unnoticed shudder, and wraps her arms around the bluenette's shoulders, burying Tabitha's head in the crook of her neck. She strokes Tabitha's hair softly as the bluenette goes on.

"You... you have been pushing yourself too hard... I've seen you train... I've seen what it does to you... it scares me... I don't... I don't want to lose you to it... I can't bear losing another loved one..." Tabitha says quietly as tears begin to leak from her eyes.

"...you won't..." the pinkette says before lifting Tabitha's head up and cupping each side of her cheek. "You won't lose me."

"H-how can you be sure..? That darkness... that... Abyss... it's unpredictable..."

"I just won't. I have too much to lose. I refuse to let the Abyss take me. I will master it. I WILL control it. When I'm done, the Abyss will bow to ME." Louise said, her eyes beginning to glow.

"L-Louise... your eyes are glowing..."

"I know. My powers are acting up because I'm feeling powerful emotions."

"Like?"

Louise doesn't answer and instead trails her hands down Tabitha's cheeks and down her neck, causing the girl to blush and shiver.

"L-Louise?"

"...I'm sorry I never noticed."

"H-huh?"

"All this time... you've been so worried about me... every day and night since Albion, you have been with me, caring for me, keeping me as safe and comfortable as possible..." Louise says quietly, her eyes looking into Tabitha's.

"Not just me... Artorias, Kirche, Professor Colbert, even Guiche did too..."

"I know." The pinkette said, closing her eyes. "But your reasons were a bit different. You always had that look in your eyes whenever you looked at me... that small smile you never give to anyone else but me..."

Tabitha blushes. "U-uh... t-that is... I..."

"...I'm ready now."

"Huh?"

Louise opens up her eyes. "I have thought about it... and have decided that I am ready to try it."

"Try what?" Tabitha asked, confused. Louise began to grin toothily, her slightly sharper than normal canines glinting in the candlelight.

"For someone so sharp, you sure get duller when flustered, don't you, Tabitha? Here then, let me give you a clue." Louise said as she drew her face closer to Tabitha's. Whatever the bluenette was about to say died in her mouth as Louise's lips pressed against hers.

Tabitha's eyes widened as her face lit up like a cherry. Her body locked up as Louise pushed her lips against the bluenette's softly.

Louise saw a strange emotion as she looked into Tabitha's shocked eyes.

Fear?

Surprise?

Or maybe... excitement?

Either way, she was initially doing this to put Tabitha at ease and to pay her back for all her support.

Now...

Well, might as well indulge in the delicious feeling she got from it.

Tabitha's face went redder as she felt Louise press harder against her, hugging her body close with an iron grip, preventing the bespectacled girl from moving. The chaste kiss lasted for a few more seconds before Louise separated their lips for air.

"Well... that was better than I thought." Louise said nonchalantly, as if channeling Kirche.

"A-awawawa..." Tabitha muttered as she reeled from the kiss. "W-why did you do that?"

"I told you, didn't I? I'm ready to try it."

"Y-you mean-"

"That's right, I am ready to try dating you. I don't know if this is me or the Abyss influencing me but you are making me feel very warm inside... you make me feel strange sensations in my chest... among other places... and I like it. You make me feel safer, happier, saner..." Louise trails off. "The old me would have fidgeted and fumbled around embarrassedly. Not this me though. I know what I want now."

"L-Louise..."

"Tabitha... you meant it right? What you said in that dream we shared?" Louise asked, her determined face slipping away into the fragile expression she wore in that dream. Tabitha's eyes softened. Louise was still insecure. Still worried.

"Yes. I meant every bit of it. I will stay with you, until the end. I-I... I love you, Louise."

For the old tsundere Louise, she would have blushed brightly and stuttered at such a declaration.

For this new, slightly tsundere/slightly yandere Louise though...

A switch was flipped.

Without warning, Louise mashed her lips against Tabitha's again, only more passionately, as she began to kiss Tabitha deeply, in an almost predatory hunger. The bluenette's eyes widened before slowly closing and she began to kiss Louise back.

Louise trailed her right hand down Tabitha's back, rubbing it slowly as her left hand snaked up her blouse and began to fondle the bluenette's diminutive breasts.

The megane clad kuudere herself had her arms wrapped around Louise's neck, her right hand stroking Louise's hair and the left just gripping her back tightly.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise when she felt something wet and soft slither into her mouth.

Louise's tongue.

The kiss began getting deeper as they both began to use their tongues to caress each other's. Louise had Tabitha pushed against the wall as they fell deeper into long pent up love and lust.

Then the door suddenly opened.

"Hey Tabby, Artorias sent me to... to..." Kirche trailed off as she took in the two girl's current appearance.

Bodies pressed against each other's.

Disheveled clothes.

Arms around each other.

Sweating.

Blushing.

Tabitha's glasses were askew and the first three buttons on her blouse were undone.

And most importantly...

The thin line of saliva hanging between Tabitha and Louise's lips, their tongues still slightly jutting out.

Kirche stared blankly at them for a moment.

And then her eyes glittered and a huge grin broke out on her face and blood leaked from her nose.

"I KNEW IT!" Kirche exclaimed happily, practically loud enough for people within the next five rooms to hear. "MY LITTLE TABBY IS SHACKING UP WITH LOUISE! AND THEY'VE EVEN GOTTEN TO SECOND BASE!"

"K-KIRCHE! DON'T JUST BARGE IN HERE! WE WERE ABOUT TO-"Louise cut herself off by clamping a hand over her own mouth, Tabitha's face lighting up in alarm.

"O-oh sweet Brimir... you were about to go even further!? I AM SO PROUD OF YOU TWO!" Kirche exclaimed as she leapt at them to embrace them.

"OUT!" Louise shrieked as she all but hurled Kirche out of the room, though the redhead managed to roll and land on her feet safely. Louise then shut the door and locked it, Tabitha helping by locking it with magic.

Both girls were silent as they stood there.

"...That was..." Louise began. Tabitha looked up and stared at the pinkette's blushing face. "...fun... we should do that again... sometime."

"Yes..." Tabitha agreed, lightly placing her fingers on her lips, were Louise's were. 'This... isn't a dream... right?'

Suddenly Louise takes Tabitha's hand away from the bluenette's lips before claiming them with her own. It was different from before though. Softer. More soothing. And shorter too, as she soon separated them.

"I think... this might work out well." Louise said with a smile.

"...Yes... me too." Tabitha replied with her own smile.

#minutes later#

Artorias stood there with Guiche, their mouths agape as they absorb the information that Kirche relayed to them. Louise and Tabitha both were blushing and holding hands, as Kirche stood next to them with an impish grin.

"Well... congratulations!" Artorias exclaimed.

"Y-you don't think this is weird?" Louise asked.

"Not really, no. Remember that I lived in a world where monsters and dragons ruled and was corrupted by a monkey beast from the Abyss. If I can handle that, I am pretty sure I can handle my master being attracted to the same sex."

"I'm not." Louise said, surprising everyone present. Tabitha looked confused before Louise squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm not attracted to girls... I'm attracted to Tabitha. She just happens to be a girl. Even if she were a boy in disguise, I would still be attracted to her." Louise said before lifting her hand, still entwined with Tabitha's and kiss the back of the bluenette's hand, causing her to blush brighter.

Artorias smiled warmly at the display of affection. Guiche was nodding sagely (as sagely as one could as he imagined all the perverted things the two girls would do) with crossed arms. "Yes, truly love exceeds all limits. A pink rose and a blue rose. I can see this working out." He said before punching a fist into his palm. "Right, then I must double my efforts to get Montmorency to love me! I will be her golden rose!"

"Again with the roses..." Artorias shakes his head with amusement. "If master and Miss Tabitha are flowers then what am I?"

"Ah, you are a mighty tree, lieutenant!" Guiche said with a salute, prompting Artorias to laugh.

"Now then master, since you asked me to train you like Guiche, it is safe for Miss Tabitha to be here with you. After all, the first thing we are going to do is physical exercise. Jogging, push-ups, sit ups, squats, jumping jacks, swordplay, log tossing-"

"Log tossing!?"

"Ah, wait... I am thinking of the Anor Londo Fitness tournaments. But log tossing is a good exercise... I need to incorporate it into Guiche's training..." Artorias trailed off, prompting the blonde ex-fop to gulp.

"Look on the bright side, I'm sure Montmorency will be impressed when she finds out that you can throw logs with your bare hands." Louise said to Guiche.

"You do realize that if he is going to train me like that, he is going to do the same to you?" Guiche deadpanned.

"Ah... Balls."

#three hours later#

"BRIMIR'S FLAMING BALLS!" Louise screamed as she dodged a large log. "HOW IS THIS SUPPOSED TO HELP ME!?"

"You need to work on your speed and stamina master, what better way to do that by making you dodge projectiles repeatedly?" Artorias asked as he lifted another log from the large pile behind him.

"DO YOU HAVE TO USE THRICE DAMNED LOGS!?"

"Fear of getting clotheslined by a log is a great motivator master, that is what I learnt when I went through my training trip when I first became a knight of Gwyn, except instead of logs, they were flaming great arrows and the ones firing them at me were other silver knights."

'GAHAHAHA! RUN MIDGET, RUN!'

Louise just swore again in extremely colorful language, which caused the Inner Manus to laugh even louder as she continued to leap over and duck under the sailing logs. The adrenalin and fear made her unknowingly tap into the Abyss' power a bit to fuel her muscles and increase her physical strength drastically, which she soon realized as a log sailed right at her and she leaped into the air, doing a backflip in the process before landing on a tree.

"H-how did I-KYAAA!" she cut herself off as she had to leap over another log that smashed into the tree she was on.

"That's the spirit! Keep it up master! Guiche, how many logs are there left?"

"Two hundred and fifteen sir!" Guiche replied with a salute.

"Only two hundred and fifteen more logs left master! Keep up the good work!"

"GIVE ME A BREAK!"

#time skip, a week#

Louise's training from Hell was intense, but it came with its rewards. She found that while she still could not cast a single Abyssal spell, she was adept in channeling the Abyss into her body to grant her more physical strength. Not on the level of Artorias who could lift fifty foot trees with the Abyss channeled into his muscles but it was a start.

Other than the Abyssal steroids, she found that she could also let out small bursts of Abyssal smoke from her body by channeling a lot of the dark pit's energy into her body and then discharging it all at once. Doing so causes a moderately large blast of darkness from her to envelope the area around her in a meter radius, crystalizing the plant life and petrifying the earth around her as she did so. She hasn't tested it on a living human and would rather not have to.

Yet.

Channeling the energy like that helped her with her spell work but not enough as to make spells, she had to channel it in a specific pattern inside her soul and then out into her catalyst. It was like tracing a rune with your magic before discharging all the energy stored up in said rune. Which wouldn't be a problem if the run didn't have so many complex sigils.

Other than the physical training regimen, she took swordplay lessons from Artorias and Guiche. The sword she used was Derflinger, who was extremely pleased to FINALLY be used for an actual swordfight.

Speaking of which, a curious incident happened when Artorias trained with his serrated great sword. Apparently, he didn't know that Mathilda forgot to change the metal of the blade back into its heavy steel, so it was still a light and weak metal when he trained with it.

Which resulted in the blade snapping in half when he attempted to cleave one of Guiche's training Valkyries in half.

That event caused Louise and Artorias many headaches as it made the Inner Manus laugh practically all day in amusement.

While Louise was rather adequate in skill using Derflinger, she still had a long way to go before she could stand against trained professionals. Though her physical boost should give her an edge, raw power is not always superior to trained skill.

Outside of her training, she had taken to reading the Apocrypha every few nights. The book held a lot of interesting details and controversies against Brimir, saying that the man was a naïve and power hungry fool who thought he could conquer the Abyss, like most other individuals described who attempted to do so.

She found herself curious when she read the section about the Pursuer and Darkwraiths. Theoretically, she SHOULD be able to make one, as it requires someone in control of the Abyss to be able to forge one of the creatures or bend them to one's will. Her control was probably not good enough yet though and Artorias would never want to create one of those things. Especially since it involves corpses.

Which left the Inner Manus, who would probably make a few just for kicks.

Other than that, she found that the book itself was incredibly hostile to Artorias. The knight himself found the book disturbing as its eye reminded him too much of the great black dragon that caused him a lot of grief back in Lordran.

Any attempt at communicating with the apparently sentient book was met with failure. Either it couldn't communicate with her at all or it refused to.

She didn't read the book as much as she wanted to though due to the promise she made with her girlfriend not to delve too deeply into it for too long.

Ah yes, her girlfriend.

News about Louise's romantic (and partially sexual) relationship with Tabitha spread like wildfire thanks to Kirche, leading to even more whispers and strange looks from classmates. A few teachers were disapproving of it due to how it was apparently against modern Founderism to be romantically involved with the same sex and would have confronted them about it, were it not for the fact that her familiar was seen several times by wandering students, ripping trees out of the ground and chucking them at her, who dodged with the kind of speed only triangle class wind mages could do.

Louise was surprisingly not embarrassed in the least. In fact, she wasn't very secretive about her relationship with Tabitha at all. They held hands, they shared short kisses when they thought nobody was looking, she kissed Tabitha on the cheek or nose in public and they hugged.

In contrast, Tabitha was the one blushing and stuttering in public.

When Colbert saw them kissing under a tree, far from other students, he smiled and walked away, glad that now Louise had even more reasons not to lose to the Abyss' influence.

Old Osmond on the other hand fainted with a splurt of blood erupting from his nose the moment he saw the scene, as would nearly every other male at the academy had they been lucky enough to stumble upon them.

All in all, life continued as normally as it could in the school.

#one particular evening#

"You need a vacation!" Kirche declared loudly, her salamander familiar chirping in agreement, to a sleepy Louise, who was leaning against a tree, Tabitha sitting right to her, reading a book. Sylphid was sleeping on the ground next to them and Artorias and his blonde apprentice were nearby doing pushups.

"A vacation..?" Louise replied, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes! You have been training yourselves silly for more than a week! You, sir Artorias, Guiche, the whole lot of you! The only one who hasn't been exhausting themselves are Tabby and Sylphid, though Tabby might be exhausting herself in a different way with you..." Kirche trailed off with a smirk, which widened as Tabitha blushed and hid her face behind her book while Louise just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I have decided that you all need a break. So for the next few days or so, you are all coming with me on a little excursion!" the busty redhead declared.

"Aren't the holidays not for a while?" Guiche asked with a tilt of his head.

"No problem, I asked Professor Colbert, he says we can leave immediately!" Kirche exclaimed with a smile. Convincing the bald scholar was easy, saying that Louise required a rest from all the training.

"Exactly what kind of trip do you have planned?" Artorias asked with curiosity.

"A treasure hunt!"

"Pardon?" he blinked.

"A treasure hunt! I recently got a few maps from a few merchants that will lead us to treasures! This will be a great way to spend a vacation!"

"By searching for treasure that may or may not exist?" Artorias questioned.

"Yes!"

"By using dodgy looking maps which have a large chance of being mere hoaxes?"

"Yep!"

"...I'm not sure how to feel about this. Master, what do you think?" the cyan eyed knight asked to the pinkette, who slowly sat up straighter and stretched her back.

"Well... it does sound a bit interesting. And a change of pace might be nice. What about transportation?"

"We can use Sylphid and sir Artorias can jog after us!"

"And food?"

"I prepared some rations of soup, so we can set up a campfire at night and just heat it up!"

"What if we run out?"

"We can cook wild animals!"

"Can any of us cook?"

Everybody present shook their heads, Artorias shaking his quickly, remembering the time me tried cooking for his fellow knights. Indigestion ensued.

"So we need someone who can cook... hmmm..."Kirche muttered before beginning to think, until Artorias perked up a bit and remembered something.

"I think I know someone."

#kitchens#

Siesta was happily sweeping the floor of the kitchen, humming a tune while she did it, when suddenly the door slammed open. She snapped her head to the doorway, seeing Kirche, Louise, Tabitha, Guiche and Artorias standing outside. Before she could say anything, Kirche rushed up to her and gripped both her hands.

"Maid. I need you."

...

"E-EEEHHH!?" Siesta exclaimed, her face lighting up like a cherry.

"Umm, why is she acting like that?" Kirche asked behind her as she turned her head to the others.

"Uh... Miss Zerbst, I think you should have worded that a bit more carefully." Artorias said before palming his face.

"Eh? Oh right." Kirche said before turning her head to Siesta again, who was muttering and stuttering about marriage, children, and for some reason; belts, whips and spiked leather heels.

"Maid, we need your help for something."

"-nd you'll tie me up and-wait, what?" the raven haired servant said as she blinked in confusion.

"We are going on an adventure for a few days and we need a chef. We need you to be that chef."

"So you're not here to drag me into your sex dungeon where you will drug me and dominate me with whips and enchanted chains in a leather bondage suit until I scream your name in ecstasy over and over again?"

The silence that ensued was VERY awkward.

Artorias', Louise's and Guiche's jaw dropped at the descriptive question, while Tabitha just widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"...hold that thought." Kirche said before turning her head to Artorias. "Can I?"

"YOU'RE CONSIDERING IT!?" Louise and Artorias exclaimed at the same time as Guiche just stood there with a trickle of blood coming from his nose.

"She's just so damn cute! I've never really had a sex slave before either."

"Miss Zerbst, that is quite an inappropriate thing to even desire." Artorias said with a frown.

"Ah right, slaves are non-consent. She seems to want it."

"That's not the point!" the cyan eyed knight exclaimed.

"It would be just like that book I read; 'The Duchess Dominatrix and her Masochist Maid, a story about a Germanian noble who buys a servant maid and shows her a life of pleasure as her personal submissive toy..." Siesta says with dreamy eyes as she fans herself with one hand, a blush covering her face.

"...you read that book too?" Kirche asked.

"I've read all of the author's novels."

"That's it, I'm keeping her!" Kirche exclaimed as she enveloped Siesta in a one armed hug, pushing the girl's head between her cleavage. "Now then, we have our chef, let's get going!"

Ignoring everything else, Kirche walks out of the kitchen, dragging a blushing and stuttering Siesta behind. Louise and Tabitha just watch her go before shrugging and following after her. Guiche was still immobile as he fantasized about various scenarios concerning Kirche and Siesta, while Artorias just palmed his face again.

'This group just gets stranger and stranger.'

'Welcome to the daily life of the Abysswalker and friends...'

"Lesbians... lesbians everywhere..." Guiche mumbled dreamily.

#Albion#

In the outskirts of the capital of Albion, a two hundred meter or so warship was being repaired and modified. The entire thing was covered by a tarp that protected it from the rain.

Nearby, observing the construction, was Oliver Cromwell, the madman of a leader that controlled Reconquista. Standing beside him was his personal Darkwraith bodyguard, AKA; what remained of Viscount Wardes.

"The construction seems to be going splendidly. Just look at those cannons!" Cromwell exclaimed with glee.

"Thank you sir, we try our best." A man dressed in high ranking military garb said curtly.

"Ah Bowood, I need to thank you for your hard work someday."

"It is an honor to simply serve you milord." Bowood said. 'You maniacal half-wit.'

In truth, Bowood felt no such honor serving for the insane leader. Cromwell was once a rather pleasant man to follow but ever since he discovered some kind of dark magic, he went a bit... unhinged. Not to mention the fact that he has some kind of wraith standing next to him with all the intimidating presence of a demon from one's deepest nightmares.

"Though wouldn't showing up at the wedding ceremony with this ship end up being seen as a vulgar demonstration of power? I doubt Tristain and Germania would appreciate that."

"Ah yes, I have not informed you of the scheme behind bringing this ship."

"Scheme?" the military man grimaced. 'Not another one... what's he got hidden in his wig THIS time?'

"Oh yes." Cromwell smiled evilly. "You see, it appears that prince Wales managed to survive and escape into Tristain. By my guess, he is probably hiding at Tristain's capital, with Princess Henrietta."

"What!?" Bowood exclaimed. This information was not known to him.

"Indeed, so the princess may be trying to find a way to break off the marriage with Germania as we speak. Whether she succeeds or not matters little though, as I doubt Germania will jump to defend Tristain when we attack it."

"Attack it? But we already signed a peace treaty with them!" Bowood exclaimed in astonishment.

"Peace between lands is a mere illusion my dear friend. There can only be peace when all is united under one ruler. In this bright and shining world, the only true peace can come from the darkness..." Cromwell trailed off disturbingly as he began to chuckle.

"Are you mad!? Albion has never broken a treaty before, doing so now is just... disgraceful! You would soil the honor of Albion just to conquer Tristain!?"

"Not just Tristain my dear Bowood. I plan to conquer the world. Under the flag of Reconquista, the world will be united under the peace and sanctuary that is the Abyss." Cromwell said as he lifted his arms in a grand manner.

"What abyss!? Have you gone mad!?"

"Wardes."

Within a flash, the Darkwraith had unsheathed its obsidian rapier and held it up to Bowood's neck. His empty eye sockets bore into Bowood's fearful ones as Cromwell began to speak again.

"Bowood, do understand. I am trying my best to refrain from having my pet here kill you for your insolence. You need to remember which one of us has a monster from a realm that is beyond your understanding. One more insubordinate quip and I'll have him remove your head from your shoulders."

Bowood shakily nodded, petrified in fear from the mere feeling of darkness and despair emanating from the blade pressed against his throat. Normal steel is cold but the blade on that sword was like ice.

Slowly, Wardes moved away and sheathed his sword before standing stoically next to Cromwell again.

"Try not to be too afraid of him though Bowood, he will after all be with you on the attack on Tristain."

"H-he will?"

"Oh yes. Along with a few others..." Cromwell said as he let out an insane chuckle at how pale Bowood's face turned as several figures with skeletal armor stepped out of the darkness behind them.

It was hilarious.

#a forest somewhere in Tristain#

"UGYIIIII!"

With an animalistic shriek, an orc fell victim to Derflinger as Louise swiftly swerved between the large and sweaty monsters almost effortlessly, cutting them across various obvious weak spots such as the throat, kneecaps and even the genital area.

"And here I thought it was going to be relaxing..." Louise muttered as she whipped the blood of the last orc off of the sentient sword with a flick of her wrist and sheathed him on her back. "Had fun Derflinger?"

"Hell yeah I did pinkie! That was awesome! It feel so damn good being able to actually cut something living! You have no idea satisfying it is to just slice into their bodies and feel their blood all over yo-"

"I asked if you had fun, not if you had any fetishes." Louise cut him off with an annoyed tone.

"I'm a talking magical sword, my only fetish is cutting things up and absorbing magic!"

"Thank you for that obvious bit of-wait, did you say you can absorb magic?"

"Ah... didn't I tell you that?" Derflinger asked sheepishly.

"Do you have any bloody idea how convenient it would have been to know that a few weeks ago!?"

"Eh, all's well that ends well."

"Don't you pull that crap with-"

"Master, are you done already?"

Louise turned to see Artorias walk towards her, Guiche and Kirche in tow. The two students looked a bit ruffled from obvious fighting and Artorias had a wooden chest under his arm.

"The orcs were ridiculously slow. As slow as I would imagine Kirche should be with those fat breasts of hers. I'm actually kind of glad that mine are small." Louise said with a smirk to the Germanian redhead, who just smirked back and crossed her arms haughtily.

"Small? More like nonexistent."

"That's not what you said when you molested me a few weeks ago."

Kirche's jaw dropped at Louise's crude words. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that. Well played."

"I try."

"Mammary glands aside, let us return to camp and see if this treasure is legitimate or not." Artorias said with an embarrassed cough, not wanting the conversation to delve any deeper.

They made their way to the small campfire with several tents around it. Standing in front of the fire, which had a steaming pot over it was Siesta, who was stirring whatever meal was inside it. Tabitha sat nearby on a log with Sylphid and Flame, her wand out as she kept watch. Upon noticing Louise's arrival, a small smile grew on her face as she waved at the pinkette.

"Had fun?"

"Hardly, they were no match against me. Despite how rusty he is, Derflinger cleaved through them like a knife through hot butter." Louise said with a sigh as she sat next to her girlfriend.

"Aww shucks, you're making me blush!" the rusty broadsword said with a chuckle, making Louise shake her head in bemusement and Tabitha giggle slightly.

As the two girls began talking, Derflinger couldn't help but admire how Louise was holding up. Before the trip to Albion, her soul was a tiny insignificant speck of white. Now, it was a pitch black sphere the size of a baseball, with dark writhing tendrils branching out. A black, spiked chain protruded from it and was extended all the way to Artorias' soul, where it wrapped around it and then branched off to coil around the neck of the Inner Manus.

At the core of her soul though, was that tiny insignificant speck of white. Despite all the darkness around the soul, it remained glowing brightly like a sun.

'It's amazing how much control she has over the Abyss like that... and she's so brave about it too. If it weren't for Artorias' existence, I would have thought she was a Gandalfr. She certainly looks a lot like Sasha. Actually, now that I think about it...'

Derflinger focused on Louise's features and compared them to his late former wielder. Same eye shape, same jawline, same tiny nose, same proud behavior... if it weren't for her ears, eyes and the fact that she was a lesbian, she would have been an almost perfect carbon copy of Sasha... only much shorter, paler, with darker hair and a much flatter chest.

"Dinner's ready!" Siesta called out, snapping Derflinger out of his observation.

Everybody gathered around the fire as Siesta served some sort of stew to each of them (sans Derflinger).

"Wow, this is really good. Why aren't you a chef instead of a maid?" Guiche said after taking a few spoonfuls."

"Ehehe, I'm good at cooking but I'm way better at cleaning. Besides, I do actually help cook in the kitchen."

"What is in this anyway?" Louise inquired as she chewed the meat.

"Orc meat!" Siesta exclaimed with an all too sweet smile.

Almost in synchronization, Louise, Guiche and Kirche gagged and choked on their food as they began to cough, causing the raven haired maid to panic. "A-ahh, I was joking! It's just rabbit meat!"

The group visibly sighed in relief at this.

"Hmm, you're a good cook, a good maid and you read my kind of books. You'd make a good wife." Kirche said sultrily as she ate the stew.

"That kind of praise loses its effect when it comes from somebody of the same gender you know." Louise deadpanned as she ate.

"Well isn't she lucky that I'm bisexual."

Siesta blushed brightly as Kirche winked at her and made a whipping motion along with the noise.

"Whatever happened to that "treasure" you found?" Louise asked as she tried to change the subject.

"It was full of garbage. Just an old copper necklace and a few old coins that hold no value anymore." Kirche said offhandedly.

"They could hold historic value you know." Artorias chided.

"We're looking for monetary value here sir knight. If we wanted to find treasure with historic value we would have asked Professor Colbert to point out a place on the map." The tanned girl said as she finished off her food.

"Then that makes seven hoaxes. Yep, what a great way to relax." Louise muttered.

"Boring." Tabitha added her opinion without even looking up from her food.

"Oh come on Louise, it hasn't been that bad. You've been killing orcs left and right!" Kirche exclaimed.

"They are weak and slow and at this point, I could kill a group with my eyes closed!"

"You know what that means?"

"What?"

"You are definitely not a zero anymore. The old you wouldn't have been able to do that." Kirche said with a smirk, which widened as Louise blushed and turned away.

"I-I still can't cast a spell though."

"Who cares? You kick ass, that's all that matters!" Derflinger declared from his sheath.

"The sword has it right, you're plenty strong without the spells, imagine how powerful a mage you will be once you actually manage to cast them!" Kirche says with a beaming grin.

"She's right master, you would be a force to reckon with. You would probably be able to give me a run for my money when I was still a Silver Knight." Artorias said with a smile. Louise began to fidget under the smiles of her circle of friends, unused to such praise, even as Tabitha squeezed her hand comfortingly with a smile.

"A-anyway, where does the next map lead us?" the red eyed teen asked, trying to steer the subject away from her.

"Ah, one moment." Kirche said before she rummaged around her bag. "Let me see... ah, here we are. Last map. It's much more straightforward than the others. The treasure is called... 'The Rock Reagent'?"

"What?" Siesta exclaimed in surprise.

"The Rock Reagent? What kind of a corny name is that?" Guiche asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently it's some sort of statue that supposedly guards a secret door that leads to treasure beyond imagination. It's located in a cave near a village called Tarbes. Tarbes... where on earth is that?"

"It's a farm village located in the same direction as La Rochelle... It's my hometown." Siesta said.

"Really?"

"Yes, in fact the Rock Reagent is a family heirloom."

"A statue in a cave is your heirloom?" Louise asked with confusion.

"Well... it's not exactly a statue. It's a large suit of armor that belonged to my grandfather."

"Armor?" Artorias repeated. Something sounded very familiar about this.

"Many decades ago, Tarbes was attacked by wild dragons. They were untamed dragons that somehow migrated from Albion and were searching for food. Our village had a lot of livestock so they attacked us and when the cows weren't enough, they started going after people. One day, a large man wearing a suit of armor that looked like it was carved straight from stone came lumbering into the village, a gigantic curved hammer in his right hand and a massive shield of spiky rock in his left." Siesta said, garnering a look of shock from Artorias.

'No way...'

'First Ornstein, now this!?'

"According to the other senior citizens that were alive to witness it, he just waltzed right up to the dragons and crushed their heads under his hammer. They clawed and attacked him with their talons and tails but he took it all without flinching and crushed them all, one by one. He said he came from a land full of monstrous dragons but he somehow made it here on one of his journeys. Since then, he has lived there in Tarbes as a protector and eventually found a wife and had a child, whom was my father. The Rock Reagent is the armor that belonged to my late grandfather, Havel."

"HAVEL THE ROCK!?" Artorias exclaimed in shock. The others stared at him in confusion and surprise.

"Artorias, what did you just say?" Louise asked in confusion.

"That man was Havel the Rock... he was a cleric knight from Anor Londo! He's from the same kingdom as me!"

Shock was visible on all their faces.

"G-grandfather came from the same land as sir Artorias?" Siesta asked in surprise.

"Yes, he was a great warrior. One of the very finest and strongest of knights. He was not just a knight though, he was also called a bishop, a priest who gave blessings to humans and used miracles to heal civilians. Despite his heavy armor and equipment, he was a medic. The reason he wore such powerful armor was so he could take as much damage as possible while healing those with severe injuries. His other title was the Boulder Bishop, because when he wasn't healing you, he was flattening dragons with his hammer which he fashioned out of a dragon's tooth."

"T-that thing was really a tooth?" Siesta exclaimed in horror. "B-but that means the dragon was enormous! I thought he was just exaggerating when he told me of that story when I was very little, of the dragon he slew to make that hammer..." the raven haired girl trailed off as she felt surprise and a great swell of pride at hearing this.

"How big was the hammer exactly?" Guiche asked with a quizzical tilt of his head. His eyes widened when Siesta just pointed at Artorias. "T-that's a big tooth."

"So grandfather was telling the truth after all... he really did fight a giant dragon..." Siesta said quietly.

"Siesta."

The maid lifted her head to see Artorias staring at her with an unreadable expression. "You said he was your 'late' grandfather... when did he pass away?"

"It was ten years ago. He was suffering from some sort of disease that we couldn't find a cure for, no matter how much we tried. No healer would help us either. But he just smiled through it all and numbed the pain with some sort of strange magic he used. Instead of a wand, he used a small pouch full of Brimir knows what. He passed away with a smile after he said to remember that..." Siesta trailed off.

"That?" Artorias said, encouraging her to continue.

"...that miracles happen for those who have faith. Till this day, I still don't understand why he said that."

Artorias paused for a moment before a look of understanding crossed his face. "It was the magic he used. In Lordran, we call them miracles. Miracles can be cast by those who have faith in the gods and themselves. He was trying to tell you that if you have faith, you could use the magic as well."

"I-I can use magic?" Siesta squeaked.

"If you have faith. And since you have Bishop Havel's blood in you, the potency of your miracles should be much stronger."

"I can do miracles..." Siesta muttered with awe as she began to imagine casting warm spheres of light like her grandfather showed her once.

"Well, this is all surprising and nice to know but what about the treasure that your gramps' armor is supposed to guard?" Kirche asked as she stretched a bit.

"A-ah, well... sometimes he would go to this cave and bring his armor with him. He seemed to always bring it there every month or so. He might have something hidden in there but I don't know."

"Well we might as well get some rest. First thing in the morning, we are all heading straight to Tarbes."

#the next day#

Tarbes was the perfect farming village. The weather was right, the grass was fresh and green, the livestock were plenty, the crops were soon ready to be harvested and the people were friendly.

When they arrived at Siesta's home, they were greeted by her family, both the parents and a rather sizable number of little siblings. All of which immediately took a shine to Artorias due to his height.

After explaining things to her father, the aged farmer agreed to let her show the group to the cave in which they entombed Havel.

The cave was a rather intimidating place. Dark, cold and uninviting. The very air inside reeked of the word 'morbid' in every sense of the word.

"My parents cremated grandfather and placed his ashes inside a small box that we keep in front of his suit of armor. Apparently there is a small formation of stone in this cave that he carved to be shaped like a seat, or even a throne. The armor was bulky enough that when we connected all of the pieces, it sat up like there was actually a person still inside." Siesta said as she led the way, a lantern held in her hand.

"Creepy..." Guiche muttered as he flinched from a drop of cold water that landed on his head. "I've never been in a cave before... it's so dark..."

"Oh believe me Guiche, you haven't seen anything yet. I have traversed a pit that is the very epitome of the word 'Dark'. Steep cliffs, strange creatures, abominations that were once humans and chasms so deep that you could gather a mile length of rope to climb down and you wouldn't even make it half way there." Artorias said darkly as he shuddered. Louise grimaced as she knew he was talking about the Abyss. Though despite how Artorias absolutely loathed the place, Louise found the Abyss rather soothing and calming when she saw it in her dreams. Then again, those were just dreams.

Eventually, they made it into a circular chamber. And at the end of that chamber was a natural stone seat with a large suit of spiky stone armor, a tower shield made of the same stone settled on the floor next to it and a hammer fashioned from an eternal dragon's tooth leaning against the wall.

"Havel..." Artorias muttered as he stepped forward. He walked until he stood right in front of the armor. Slowly, he reached out and touched the visor of the helm. "I had always wondered what became of you on your journey out of Anor Londo before I left. At least you had a good life. I'm sorry my friend. I failed my duty. May you forgive me for not being able to defeat Manus and save Oolacile."

The others had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, other than Louise and Tabitha (though she did not know as much as her lover did). All the others could tell was that Artorias was talking about his homeland and some sort of city in it.

"But rest easy. Though I could not slay the foul monstrosity, someone else did. A mysterious warrior who controlled the flames of chaos and the miracle of our lord's own sunlight spear. He, along with Gough, Sif and... Ciaran... they slayed the abomination. Oolacile is dead but at least the threat is gone. Ornstein is apparently in this land as well. I do wonder how many more relics of Lordran I can find here... but I digress. I hope you can rest in peace, my old friend." Artorias said quietly with finality as he closed his eyes and knelt down in a prayer to Gwyn.

The others could not help but feel pity towards Artorias right now. He looked very upset and lost. Until Guiche noticed something under the knight's foot.

"L-lieutenant?"

"A moment Guiche, I am praying."

"I-I know but there is something glowing under your foot."

Pausing, Artorias moved his feet and looked.

And what he found made him widen his eyes.

There, on the floor, was a long set of runic inscriptions, written in many symbols that glowed a hot golden white.

"I-I can't believe it!"

"What is it?" Louise asked.

"I-It's a summoning sign!"

The students and maid widened their eyes at this.

"You mean like something to summon familiars?" Kirche asked.

"Not exactly. You see, in Lordran there are times when these symbols can be found scattered around the land. Interacting with them allows us to summon the person who placed it. All we know is that this summons transcends time and space, allowing us to summon people from other worlds... or even people that no longer or haven't existed yet."

"Y-you can summon the dead?" Siesta asked, realizing what this could mean.

"And if I can guess correctly, the person who put this down..." Artorias trailed off as he touched the summon sign. Suddenly, it glowed brighter as the symbols reassembled themselves and began to form words in English.

'Havel the Rock'.

With a hum, the words began to warp and form an archaic circle that glowed brighter as a luminous golden figure began to rise out of it. Stone armor adorned his body, yet no weapons rested in his hands.

Standing up straight, Havel the Rock cracked his neck to loosen it up before turning to look at the people in front of him.

He came face to face with a torso that was much taller than him, making him look up.

"Well... fancy seeing you here lad." The rock covered sentinel said with an incredibly deep voice.

"H-Havel!"

"Grandfather!" Siesta exclaimed as she dropped the lantern (thankfully it didn't break) and tackled Havel in a hug.

Only for her to stagger back with a squeak of pain after she collided with the rock solid armor before falling back on her rump.

"Bloody hell girl, why on earth did you do that!? I'm wearing armor carved from stone for Gwyn's sake!" Havel exclaimed in astonishment as he kneeled down to her eye level.

"I-I was just so happy to see you again grandfather!" Siesta laughed out painfully as she held her nose. 'I think I nearly broke it..."

"...Hang on... Siesta?"

"Yes?"

"Gwyn's flaming beard, you sure grew up into a fine young woman now didn't you? I'm sure you must be trying to ward off boys with a pretty face like that."

"G-grandfather! I-I don't need to ward off any boys!" Siesta said in embarrassment.

"Oh, so you're warding off girls then?"

"Good luck with that Siesta, you'll never ward me off." Kirche said as she wrapped Siesta in a hug from behind, pushing her breasts into the back of the maid's head, causing the raven haired girl to blush.

"Haha! My little munchkin is growing up!" Havel said with a jolly laugh before standing up and facing Artorias. "...It has been a long time Artorias."

"Far too long."

"I heard everything you said. Is this why you have so much dark energy in that left arm of yours?"

"Yes. Manus corrupted me and made me into a raging monster. If it were not for my master, I would have caused great harm."

"Master?" Havel repeated in confusion before he trailed his sight from the tall knight to the diminutive pinkette standing nearby. "Oh... oh my..."

"What?" Louise asked, not liking that tone.

"You poor girl..."

"Pardon?"

Havel walked to her and knelt down to her level. "I can sense the dark power inside you... you are so young and yet you have been given such a great burden... it amazes me how stable you are despite all the darkness inside you... you are a very brave little girl." Havel said softly.

"Y-you can sense the Abyss' power?"

"Havel has the ability to sense the light and the dark. He can tell where Lord Gwyn is anytime and he can sense the power of the Abyss from miles away. It was thanks to him that we even knew that Oolacile was being contaminated by the Abyss." Artorias explained.

"What I fail to understand is how someone who is not even a teenager can be affected by the Abyss so greatly and not lose their sanity?" Havel pondered loudly, eliciting a growl from Louise.

"I am sixteen years old damn it!"

"Gwynevere's tits, you need to drink more milk! How can anyone that age be this short?" Havel exclaimed in shock.

"Ciaran." Artorias said bluntly.

"Ah. You have a point there."

The next few minutes were spent with Artorias and Siesta catching up with the technical 'ghost' of Havel. He even told brief tales of his exploits to them, with Artorias filling in any missing details on the ones where he was present.

Eventually though, he began to flicker and the glow from him started to dim.

"Oh... it seems my time is up."

"B-but there is still so much I want to say and ask!" Siesta exclaimed with teary eyes as she held onto Havel.

"I know my little munchkin but the dead should remain dead. Besides, I'm sure your grandmother must be very bored up there in heaven."

"B-but..."

Havel sighed deeply and patted Siesta's head. "Sweetheart, you must know that even though I must leave again, I will always watch over you. Do not cry, for you should be happy. I get to rest, and you get to go with the knowledge that I am a very happy grandfather to have been able to spend time with his beautiful granddaughter."

Siesta stared at him with misty eyes before sniffing and wiping the tears away. "Okay."

"Atta girl." Havel said with an unseen grin. "By the way, do you remember that pouch I always used?"

"Your miracle pouch?"

"Yes, that one. Is it still around?"

"Of course, mother and father never had the heart to get rid of it, nor even open it!" the raven haired girl said.

"Good... it's yours now." The stony knight said as he slowly stood up straighter before looking at Artorias. "Remember, as long as you have faith, miracles will heed your call."

Siesta brightened up at this, smiling sweetly as she hugged her grandfather.

The other students watched on with happy smiles at the scene while Artorias smiled a bit more bitterly as his friend was about to leave again.

Slowly, Siesta released Havel from the hug as he began to fade away, the summon sign beneath him beginning to disappear as well.

"Oh, and one more thing. Artorias."

"Yes?"

"Keep up the good work soldier. As a reward for all of your hard work, feel free to go nuts with whatever you find behind my chair." Havel said with a salute.

"Yes sir!" Artorias exclaimed with a salute of his own, Guiche following his example.

"Hah, good man! And you, blonde boy. You have the fine makings of a Silver Knight. Red head, take care of my granddaughter. Bluey and pinkie, keep going steady. Take good care of yourself Siesta. Good luck to all of you and..." Havel trailed off as he faded away completely.

"PRAISE THE SUN!"

#Lordran, Lonely Wolf Inn#

Solaire suddenly stiffened and snapped his head up as he sat on the stool in front of the bar.

"Something wrong?" Siegmeyer asked as he cleaned one of the ale mugs.

"My sun brother senses are tingling. Someone was praising the sun with as much faith as me." The blue eyed knight said in awe.

Siegmeyer stared at him for a few more seconds before shrugging and continuing his work.

That's it for now, I'll try and update it again soon. I'm still trying to finish up my Final Paper and other highschool shit so it may be a while but here's a little something to keep you peeled on.

Also, I think I need to change this fic into an M rated one. It's just gonna happen, if the scene with Tabby and Louise is any indication.

Yes, Siesta's ancecstor is Havel the Rock. What kind of treasure was he guarding though?

Why does the Apocrypha have an eye?

Will Kirche and Siesta actually become a pairing?

Find out next... sometime in the future.

Also, just a little omake just as a what-if situation here.

Enjoy.

OMAKE: It's a TRAP!

"Tabitha... you meant it right? What you said in that dream we shared?" Louise asked, her determined face slipping away into the fragile expression she wore in that dream. Tabitha's eyes softened. Louise was still insecure. Still worried.

"Yes. I meant every bit of it. I will stay with you, until the end. I-I... I love you, Louise."

For the old tsundere Louise, she would have blushed brightly and stuttered at such a declaration.

For this new, slightly tsundere/slightly yandere Louise though...

A switch was flipped.

Without warning, Louise mashed her lips against Tabitha's again, only more passionately, as she began to kiss Tabitha deeply, in an almost predatory hunger. The bluenette's eyes widened before slowly closing and she began to kiss Louise back.

Louise trailed her right hand down Tabitha's back, rubbing it slowly as her left hand snaked up her blouse and began to fondle the bluenette's diminutive breasts.

The megane clad kuudere herself had her arms wrapped around Louise's neck, her right hand stroking Louise's hair and the left just gripping her back tightly.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise when she felt something wet and soft slither into her mouth.

Louise's tongue.

The kiss began getting deeper as they both began to use their tongues to caress each other's. Louise had Tabitha pushed against the wall as they fell deeper into long pent up love and lust.

And then Louise's eyes widened as she felt something harden under her crotch.

She broke the kiss with Tabitha as she looked down and moved a bit to see a bulge sticking out from under the bluenette's skirt.

"...Uh..." Louise muttered as she stared at the bulge and then at Tabitha, whose face was practically glowing red.

"I-I, th-that is, y-you see..." the apparent blue haired BOY stuttered as he fidgeted under Louise's confused gaze.

Louise simply continued to stare at Tabitha and then at the bulge.

And then she leaned in closer to Tabitha, a devilish smirk on her face as her left hand cupped the bluenette's chin and the other trailed down under Tabitha's skirt.

"L-Louise?"

"Ufufufu... a trap is fine too." The pinkette said before grabbing something under the bluenette's skirt, causing Tabitha to moan loudly in surprise.

This was the scene that Kirche walked into as Louise continued to molest Tabitha, with the acts of sexuality escalating until Kirche couldn't take much more and she promptly and quietly closed the door and then proceeded to walk back to Artorias and Guiche with blood gushing out of her nose.

#a few minutes later#

"Miss Zerbst? Did you find master and Miss Tabitha?" Artorias asked as he swung his weighted practice weapon around.

"L-let's just say they are indisposed for the next few hours." Kirche said as she covered her nose with her hand.

With that, the two young lovers enjoyed their night of lust all the way until the morning, while the tall familiar and blonde apprentice were none the wiser. Kirche made a silent vow that somehow, someday, she was going to get in on that hot action.

One way or another.

Remember when I said I'm never gonna write a lemon?

I may have to take that back sometime in the future.

Either way, await the next chapter. Sorry that it took so long.