A Tale of Fire and Water

Escape and Capture

         Andy had no idea where she was. Everything was dark, she felt rough cloth against her face, but she felt movement all around her. She could just barely make out a muffled argument.

         “...lock-.... no one in.... out...”
         “But..got... Zar-...”
         “Order....straight fro...”
         She heard a loud grunt of frustration, possibly Lourne. Suddenly she remembered what had happened before she had been knocked out. Lourne had been telling her to turn Leon in, after finding out that he was wanted in Gand, but Andy insisted that that made him even more crucial to their cause. Then someone had hit her, probably bandits. Lourne had probably been gagged, if she was still alive, since she had most likely been spouting threats since the moment they were captured. The bandits must have heard them arguing, and figured out they worked for the Grantwoods, and decided to capture them, and turn them in for reward. Drifting away, Andy tried to touch Mana, to see if she could call Sid, or even Leon, to help them. Lourne was bound and gagged beside her, or at least someone was. Felt thin, like a woman. Whoever it was was still making noises behind their gag, and wiggling from side to side. Too uncomposed to be Lourne, her anger at being indignified like this would be to sit silently and stew. Andy wasn't sure if she should try to talk or not, having her captors think her unconscious would probably make it easier to escape, when the time came, but perhaps the person beside her would be able to help. Dammit. She needed to detach, it would make it even easier to escape if Leon or Sid helped them. She grasped it, and she felt the Mana flow through her veins, felt her heart rate slow as if her blood had become molasses, she felt every bulge from her heart pumping the blood through her body, pressure from within made her feel like she would explode. She remembered the first time she had been able to pull Mana within her, how much pain she had been in. It hurt for a long time, before your body became accustomed to the feeling of life within you. The limit to how much Mana you could hold within your body was relative only to how much pain you could take, at least for Earths. Some even trained their body by putting it through pain. She shook off her thoughts, and reconnected with the world again, detachment was only necessary to grasp hold of Mana to use, using it's simpler techniques did not require detachment, if you took within you enough mana to use the said technique.

         She could feel the earth beneath her, and she could feel the pain of the city's poor, screaming through the walls. She pitied them, Gand was truly an awful place to beg in, but to leave would be suicide, as Zaria took every citizen who fled the city as a personal insult, and anyone who left without good reason would suddenly find their face posted amidst the many wanted pictures throughout Anthere. Once again, she realized she was getting off track, and reached out to find Sid or Leon. She found the ship, but Sid was not in contact with the earth, and she could not reach him. She could feel Leon though, his pain was a mere paper cut compared to the gaping wound of Gand's unfortunate, but he was in pain. Strange. Why? She followed the trail of his howl, and found him far from the ship, but relatively nearby. He was not in contact with the ground either, but he was much closer to them, maybe half a mile. She decided she would wait for him to touch, and call to him. She hoped she didn't surprise him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
         Leon was embarrassed. Running away from a fight was not something he typically did, the many childhood scars on his face stood testament to that. He knew this was an exception, that Andy needed his help soon, and he didn't have time to fight Sid to the death, but he still felt like a coward. He gasped for air while his head broke surface for a moment. Quit thinking! Going through rapids is dangerous enough without multitasking. His shoulder really fucking hurt. Almost as bad as the day he had dislodged it in the first place, maybe he had done so again, but his survival instinct was numbing his pain, seeing as there were more important matters at hand. Like that rock. Oh, shi-
         He collided hard, the momentum jarring his left arm free of his right shoulder, which somehow found it's way onto the rock. Keep hold! He thought. Lose this, who knows if you'll even make it out of the rapids! Of course, it was his right arm that griped it, and the force of the current pushing his body was putting an awful lot of tension upon his already injured clavicle. He grunted through clenched teeth while he lifted his left arm out of the water, and searched with his fingers for another handhold. Not able to find any, he settled on grasping his right forearm, using right hand grip as the leverage, but using his left arm to actually pull his body out of the water. His right hand slipped, and he felt his nail tear off. “Ah!”
         He flung both of his arms forward, and found the other side of the rock, and pulled himself out of the water completely. He found himself realizing just how he may have gotten all these unrecognizable scars on his body, and also just how many pounds his soaked clothes suddenly weighed. His torn nail had water in it, which stung like hell, needless to say, but he didn't have time to stop and realize just how much torment his body had gone through. He could see a log that had fallen from the bank, and been lodged upon a rock maybe two feet away. He could reach it, but he didn't want to mess up his jump, and wind up in the river again. He looked at the gap for about half a minute, before leaping to the log easily. He choked on a laugh. He slid himself across the log, and reached the bank. He fell off, and sat with his back against it, breathing slowly, trying to get his pulse back to normal.

LEON!

         The voice startled him, and his jerk shook him out of catching his breath. What the hell was that!? He thought. His head felt like it was waterlogged, his neck was struggling to hold it up. Leon, listen to me! It's Andy.

         “Andy! Where are you? I heard about how Sid and Lourne betrayed you, and I fou-”
          I don't have time to explain how I'm doing this, and this is a one way conversation at the moment, so I'll tell you quick. Both Lourne and I have been captured by someone, I think it's bandits. We're about half a mile north of you, and I think we're heading toward Gand! You have to go get West, and tell him to come get us! I'd tell him directly, but I can't reach him. Andy's voice died quickly.
         Leon wondered if he had been going crazy, but frankly, everything about this place was completely nuts anyway, as far as he could tell. Andy obviously didn't know all about Sid and Lourne's betrayal, but Leon knew where she was now. They couldn't have entered the city yet, or else she would have said so. Leon knew he was the only one in a position to help her, but he was injured, wet, and heavily weighed down by his waterlogged clothes. Could he save her? He didn't know, but he knew something had happened with his necklace back there that had given him strength, cleared his head, and healed his mouth after Sid had knocked him around. He realized his bag had remained tied around him throughout his journey down the river, and he opened it to see what materials he had.
         A stick, about as tall as he was, had been looped to the bag, and Leon pulled it off. What was it called? A staff, he knew, but what kind had they called it? He couldn't remember, and set it aside. Opening his bag, he was surprised to find nothing inside was wet, must have been waterproofed somehow. Maybe... with “mana”? He still didn't really understand it, but that seemed a logical possibility. When he reached into the bag, his left fingernail, or at least where his nail used to be, rubbed against the side of the bag, leaving a trail of blood on the inside, and making his already painful injury sting even more. “Fucking ow!” He put his finger to his mouth, but that made it sting even more. “Shit! Uh...” He grabbed the area of his middle finger that was right in front of the nail, it felt hot, and was throbbing. He squeezed it, and blood oozed out through his nailbed, dripping off the end of his finger, and staining the grass in front of him. “Are there any bandages in here?” He rummaged through the bag, and produced some bits of cloth that looked like them, and wrapped them around his finger, tying it tight so it wouldn't fall off. Red quickly shown through, but at least now it was protected from contact.
         He dumped out the bag hurriedly, and examined it's contents upon the ground. There was a small, leather pouch. It felt heavy, and something jingled inside. A wallet. He set it aside, and picked up a tight package of cloth. He unfolded it, and saw it was a full outfit, similar to what he had seen the crew of the ship wear. His T-shirt and jeans were quickly losing their appeal, being waterlogged, and he quickly changed clothes. Looking down his body, he felt ridiculous, but it was noticeably lighter, and dryer, than his shirt and jeans. Putting on something that looked like a black church robe, he completed the outfit. His jeans and shirt were still soaking wet, but even so, he tucked them back into his bag, and looked at what else lay strewn upon the ground. A knife, complete with a sheath with a short belt around it, caught his eye. Useful, and it made him think of Rambo, so it was a win-win. He tied it around his belt, and pulled it out. It was strange, he'd grown so used to the idea of hunting knives, it hadn't occurred to him that daggers were a completely different kind of design. He turned it, so that it flashed in his eyes, before slamming it hurriedly back into it's sheath. He needed to get moving soon. It was then, his eyes caught a glimpse of Andy's book. He had completely forgotten that he had thrown it in, before leaving the ship. He flipped through it. It hadn't gotten wet, which was good. He didn't have time to read it now, though. He threw it back into the bag, along with everything else on the ground, there wasn't any more time, he had to get going now. He saw a compass amidst the junk he had thrown in the bag, and grabbed it. Opening it, he oriented himself, and started heading north.
---------------------------------------------------------------
         Dustin frowned from behind his tree. Something was afoot. Things being afoot did not making keeping a low cover any easier, and he still was only about a mile or two from Gand. He could see both of the bound girls being brought in, separated and thrown into separate wagons next to two other  people he couldn't make out. The camp wasn't very big, and the gang looked pretty disorganized. He could see a couple of ways in, and he thought he might be able to get away with letting them loose.

         His quietly snuck back to where he had left Emily to wait. She had sat, cross legged on the ground, remaining as quiet as she could. When she saw him emerge from behind a tree, she sat up, alert, but didn't say anything. “It's a no go...” he whispered. “There's a camp maybe 200 yards away, we aren't going to try to sneak past them.”

         Emily looked at him, and nodded.

         “However, there are several people being held by the bandits, and I think they will want to keep moving. So, we're going to camp here for a while. Don't make any noise, and we'll see if they've moved by tomorrow.”

         Once again, she nodded. Strange, she had stopped questioning everything he did. It was an improvement, for him. It made things easier, and he was beginning to think he might get a chance to see Maya, face to face, if luck was on his side. He grinned. That would be a day to remember. He slumped against a tree, unslung his pack, and pulled out one of the books he had stolen from Zaria.
          He liked to think of it as borrowing them indefinitely. He had promised to return them, and if he ever got a chance, he would, eagerly, but he doubted he would be able to while Z was trying to kill him. This particular one was a novelization of the time he had spent journeying with the other Four through the War. The FiveCompanions. Dustin grinned even more, looking at the cover page, rough sketch of the four Heroes took up most of it. Of course, he was the unkempt one, off to the side while Match, Theresa, Zaria, and Maya stood together in the middle, looking as heroic as possible. He didn't care, he found it kind of funny, actually. He had always been viewed as the “Fifth Wheel” of the group, Zaria was much stronger than Dustin had ever been when it came to using Mana, and Dustin accepted his uselessness at times. Why was Zaria stronger? Probably because he was cold, and calculating. Never surprised, and always had something ready, up his sleeve. Dustin? He'd be lucky if he made it though a day without doing something potentially dangerous, like starting a bar fight. Really, it was only thanks to Maya he'd survived that damn journey at all.
         “Here, you can read this while we wait. A little something I picked up,” Really, he'd just picked it up off Z's table while he wasn't looking. “You looked like the reading type.”
         Emily grinned, mouthed her thanks, and set it down beside her. Or you can just throw it aside, Dustin thought to himself. Story of my life. Literally. Dustin plucked out a piece of grass, and started to chew on it, to get his mind off of things. He finally did something bold, something no one expected him to do, and it really wasn't going according to plan. He frowned. That's why Z's always better than him, because he was prepared for everything. That's exactly why Zaria had always been the better manipulator. Again, Dustin adlibed far to much to actually master the Water style. Easiest to learn, hardest to master.
         He saw Emily pick up the book, and open to the front page. She was looking at him, though. Not at the book. He cocked his head, and motioned that she could keep reading. She tilted her head down, and became immediately absorbed. Well, at least he was right about that. She did like to read.
         He decided to try to take up some Mana, do some elemental “scouting”, checking with the nearby river for any signs of a squad following them. They had crossed it themselves only 30 minutes ago, and he hated himself for not checking sooner. That was an amateur move. He began opening his body to the River of Mana just a little bit. It stormed through, and, surprised, Dustin closed off his body to it just in time, as he had already reached his limit. That's strange. The mana had never been so forceful before. He guessed it was a good thing, but he didn't understand a lot of the rational behind it, not being the scholarly type. It really didn't matter at the moment, he supposed. He began to talk with the river. Have you been disturbed, since our blunt crossing? I apologize, but we needed to flow quickly, as we are being pursued.

         The river was roaring in his head. You. The coward, seek our assistance! Anger. You have not our respect, Vanguard. You serve the Pain, Clanslayer, and we deny you!

         Dustin was taken aback by it's forcefulness. It would explain why it's mana filled him so quickly, if the river was mad at him. Still, he had never heard of a river rejecting a Water manipulant before. Please, I seek redemption from my crimes, on my last great journey. Forgive a fool his errs, and tell me, are we pursued? The river roared, but said nothing.

         Had we no need of you, we would spurn you like poison from our midst! Yet, some insist that you speak the truth, you owe your thanks to them, but further promise is necessary. We need your assistance, Traitor, before we return to you the power you once held. One of your own, a faithful, has been injured, and is heading your way, in hopes of rescuing a companion. He reminds us of the young Pain-bringer, and we know he will fight  well, in time. Now, he is helpless, and you, Clanslayer, will assist him in this endeavor. Do this, and we will once again swear fealty to you. Teach him,if you can, as much of the Art of Manipulation as you can, and you will win further recognition amongst us. However, fail, and never again will you receive mana from us, forever cut off from Life, in retribution for the Life you have taken against the will of others.
         Dustin was shocked, this was unheard of. True, any manipulator knew that every river you draw mana from was connected to every other, every stream leads to a river, every river leads to the ocean, etc. But they had always given up their mana freely, and now, suddenly, he needed to earn it. Still, he knew he had best follow their wishes, if he hoped to ever manipulate Re'alin again. I hear, Council. And obey.
         See that you do.

         Dustin felt frustration boil within him. How the hell was he supposed to find this guy? He had though he was the last of the Water manipulants, until the Council of Asuara had told him otherwise! They had told him he was headed his way... and that meant toward the camp. Dustin lit up.

         The prisoners he had seen being taken in! One of them must be this guy's companion! Of course, they were under guard, and the river would probably bite his head off if he tried to use mana while rescuing this guy's friend. That meant it was up to his stealth, and luck, to get out of this mess alive. His face fell. Luck. Shit, he was screwed.

         “Emily, we have to move, quickly.”
         
         She looked up at him, confused. “Emily, please, I don't really have time to explain, let's just head back to the floodgates, and figure some things out. There is something we have to do, soon, or else we'll never make it back to Arden, you or me.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
         Emily just nodded as Dustin told her his plans. Not the plans he was thinking of, but plans none the less. In the short time she had spent with him, she already knew his body language, and he was definitely nervous right now. He wanted to use her, somehow.
         “Emily, I think I'll need your help...”
         Now that they were in a safe place, she decided to talk. “Does it involve personal danger to me?”
         “... Maybe.”
         She looked at Dustin, and a grin slowly burst from his shadowed face, as he chuckled and said. “Okay, yes. It is possible you may be injured by helping me, but I promise you, I'm not turning you in.”
         Emily stared.
         “Hey, you're pretty easy to read, yourself. Don't think that I don't have a poker face.” His face turned to stone, before grinning again.
         Emily sighed. “Okay, fine, what do you need? If I get hurt, I will take it out on you though, just a warning.”
         “Oh, I'm trembling in my boots.”
         Emily punched him in his right shoulder lightly, before she realized what she was doing. She looked at her hand, surprised for a moment, before returning it to her side, confused. Why had she done that? Dustin didn't come close to reminding her of Leon, yet Leon had been the only person for which that had become a reflex. Dustin was rubbing his arm, rapidly, where she had touched him. “Ow! Oh my, what an arm on this girl! Oh, the humanity!”
         “Shut up, Dust.”
         “Dust? What, is that my new nickname now?”
         Emily glared at him in frustration. Leon had made her feel like this too. That must be it.
         “Get to the damn point!”
         “Wow, feisty.” Emily stepped forward threateningly. “Okay okay, here's the plan. Those guys in a camp up there? I know who they are. Pretty famous family of bounty hunters, called the Relatives. Anyway, I overheard a conversation between two of them, and it seems that the guard at the gate won't let them turn in any of their prisoners until they find two escaped lunatics-” Dustin grinned, and took a bow. Guess that was them. “So, here's my plan...”

         Emily felt the knife up against the bottom of her wrist, it's cold surface threatened to accidentally slit her wrist at the slightest jolt, and tried to hold it as steady as she could. Difficult, given that she was slung over her captors shoulder, being jolted at every step, with a bag over her head. She reminded herself that Dustin was trustworthy, and no matter how much he regretted rescuing her, he was a friend, and would not leave her out to dry. At least, she hoped he wouldn't.
         She felt shade cross her back. Crap. We're in the camp now. She could feel her heart begin to race, and cursing, tried to calm down. Her captor might be able to feel it, with her slung over his shoulder, and become aware of the fact she was not unconscious. She felt his pace slow, and she knew that now was the crucial moment. Every branch of her concentration went toward making her body completely limp, which had suddenly become very difficult to accomplish.
         “Jake! Who the hell is this girl?”, a cool voice, calm, but not collected. A quiet rage burned inside the speaker.
         “I think she's the one the guards are looking for. The escaped rebel they quarantined the city for.”
         “What, this shrimp? There's no way!” Pause. “Is she a Manipulant?”
         “Don't know, found her in the woods, while I was on patrol. She was unconscious. Looked like the fellow who escaped with her had just left her to keep the guards off his back, to make a clean getaway.”
         Whoever her captor was speaking to spat. “Yeah, that'd be just like Vanguard. Okay, throw her in with the other prisoners, but get Lourne to block her. We left the Blond free, and she called for help. Had to knock  her around a bit. Throw them in together, so we can have the Manipulants under one shield.”
         “But if they bond-”
         “They can't, not so long as Lourne's bocking 'em from Mana. We caught a lucky break, getting a Manipulant of ourselves.”
         “Amen to that. Okay, give me the other one, I'll take em both down. Which one are we keeping em in?”
         “The one on the right.”
         Emily felt her captors weight shift, and felt someone's leg bump hers. Must be the other “Manipulant”. Obviously, they weren't afraid of her, now. Good. She just hoped Dustin was doing his part.
         Her captor turned around, but didn't walk. She heard footsteps approach from behind him.“Wait... she's awake you fool.” Shit. “First, check her for information about the other one.” The man her captor was talking with lifted her face up by her chin. “This pretty face won't take much effort to make talk.” Emily looked into the eyes of the man who was speaking. His face was wide, yet his eyes were sunk into his head, impassionatly staring at her. Examining her. She spat.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         Dustin had left Emily to handle herself for a while, if she couldn't be on her own five minutes, well, she could be on her own for five minutes. His head suddenly started to ring again. Fuck! He gritted his teeth, and pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth. His hand came up, involuntarily, to rub his temple. They had been growing more painful. They started when Z dug out his damn machine, the one they found near Hote. Dustin had always wondered what that damn thing did, Z treasured it so. Guess he wouldn't ever find out, now. He had a helpless girl to look after, and he needed to join up with Maya's rebels in Grantwood, hopefully in one piece.
         He often wondered what the expression on Maya's face would be, when he strutted through those great big oak doors in her parlor. She had usually been the sensible one, but judging from the messages he'd received from her messengers, that had all changed. He'd been surprised she even remembered the first time they had met, in the town square in Islia. He frowned. He'd been so different, and not for the better, back then. At least now he had the decency to recognize that he wasn't a good person, but then, he had honestly thought he had been on the side of justice, when he stole from those self righteous pigs. He had been in the stockade the entire day, and he had seen her walk by several times, while the public had their way with him. He still had the marks on his back, where this snot nosed brat had stood maybe five feet behind him and pegged rocks at him. But every time he saw her, she didn't do anything at all to him. Each time she walked by, she would look at him, and shake her head sadly. He had grinned at her, to show he wasn't embarrassed by his predicament. He had reveled in it, the humiliation for something he had thought vigilante justice. But, then, as he was released at the end of the day, she was standing there, alone in the square, near the fountain, looking at him, this time as though curious. He, naturally, had marched right up to her, rubbing his wrists where they had been bound, grinning like an idiot. She followed him with her eyes, that stupid umbrella she always carried settled on her shoulder casually. Her tattered leather rags clashed royally with her clear, pale face; reflecting the light of the half moon. He had stood face to face with her, silent, for about a minute, and then she slapped him. Hard, right across the face. And while he stood there bewildered, she grinned, cocked her head, and marched away. He hadn't seen her again until the next week, when he found himself in exactly the same situation, and she had, once again, walked by several times throughout the course of the day; and, once again, he had marched up to her. He stood still, anticipating her slap, but it never came. They stood, silent, as she looked appraisingly at him.
         Sudden movement drew Dustin's thoughts from his juvenile years back to the present, and he spun around looking for its source. The rustling grew louder, and he saw an unkempt man wearing a black cloak stagger out of the bushes. He had long, curly, blond hair, that seemed almost bleached white, and a ragged face. He had a Cundun spear in his right hand, but he was using it as a walking stick. The blade was still locked in its sheath, which meant he intended no harm to Dustin. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. “Hail, friend. Might I ask what you're dong out in this neck of the woods?”
         The man's eyebrows shot up, and the right side of his mouth curled in a grin. “I could ask the same of you friend.”
         Dustin stepped forward. “Lose something, perhaps?” Or someone.
         “No, I'm just out for a little exercise is all.” He stepped back.
         Dustin rolled his eyes and grinned. “So you're a useless one.”
         Leon shook his hair out of his eyes. “It depends on what you mean by usel-” Someone screeched from the Relatives camp.
         Dustin heard it. Shit, had Emily already set the prisoners loose? She was supposed to wait for his signal! “Quick, come with me!”, he stammered before he took off, stumbling over a tree root in the first couple of steps.
         Dustin hurried off through the wood, hoping to god that the new manipulant was following him. Really, that kid needed to find his friend, so he'd wind up at the camp eventually, whether he kept up with Dustin or not. He slowed down as he neared the camp's boundaries, and started to sneak through the trees.
         Really, not a very good plan. Emily had caused a ruckus already, though she hadn't freed anyone from the camp yet, from what he could see laying flat on the ground near the entrance. He should never have trusted her to do something like this, he had never seen her preform under stress. He was making too many stupid decisions, and if he kept them up sooner or later they'd all get killed. No time to worry about it now. He felt someone run up beside him. “Why are you-”
         Dustin looked up, and saw that his new friend was standing in plain sight of the entranceway through the tents. Anyone entering or leaving would be able to see him through the gaps between the tents. “Get down! Idiot!”

         Leon fell down as Dustin pulled his right leg out from under him; falling on his working arm, luckily. “Ow! Who the he-”

         “Shut up! Just wait here, and tell me which one is your friend.”
         “How do you-?”
         Dustin pulled a round, smooth rock from his knapsack. He had picked it up earlier, when he had been telling Emily the plan. “Just shut up and stay down!” Dustin started to move away, he needed to be able to see what cage Emily was in before he could throw. The kid started to follow him. “Stay here!”

         The kid froze, confused. “Okay.-” he spat the word in a harsh whisper.
         “I mean it!”
         The unshaven man nodded, and gave him a thumbs up.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         Emily licked the blood off of her lip. It was strange, she felt detached from the pain, somehow. like she was watching her pain rather than feeling it. Sure, she felt it some, but it was dull, as though an uncomfortable experience her body dealt with often. “There. Now that she's learned some humility-” Emily spat again, this time spewing blood. She'd always wanted to do that, except now she realized that, unlike in movies, it just made her cut sting worse. “-throw her in with the real unconscious one. That way she can learn to act the part better.” The unkempt, wide faced toad of a man sneered, displaying proudly at least two missing teeth. Emily stared impassionatly, really hoping to be done with Dustin's “flawless plan”. Yeah, his plans so far were oh for two.

         The man just dragged her, she supposed he was trying to make up for the fact that he had missed her feigning unconsciousness by showing brutality in taking her to the cage. She could still feel the knife, up against her wrist. It was hard, trying to hide the blood; it had cut her wrist every time that bastard had hit her, each jolt jostling the blade to cut her a little deeper. After hog-tying her a little tighter than necessary,  her guard threw her like a limp bag into a rather badly constructed metal cage.
         The cage was thin, not meant for long term storage, the bars flat strips of metal that still served their purpose. It had to be that way, she supposed, the Relatives had to carry it with them, after all. She lifted her head up, and saw the guard spit at her, gesture with his hand, and march away. She swore, after this “Great Escape” was over, she was out. Dustin had no effing idea what he was doing, and she was sick of getting the short end of the stick in his plans. She needed to get moving, soon. The Adepts would search the area surrounding the city for a long while, and the instant one of these bounty hunters saw a guard, she was as good as done. There was no way she could wait for his-
         She heard a small crack, and heard the guard bellow in over-dramatic agony. She heard two more quick cracks, and she saw him fall down. What a wimp. She searched the hills for Dustin, and saw him waving from a crest maybe 20 feet to the right of the guard. He gave her the thumbs up. She gave him a face. Okay, so now she had to cut this girl out of her bonds, as soon as she got her own off, of course. She wriggled, trying to jostle it free, but realized that the knot had been tied over her long sleeves. She sighed, and cut the fabric, dropping the small knife onto the ground. These guys were really inept, she had had a knife on her this entire time, and they hadn't ever checked her for weapons. Luck, it seemed, was on her side, today. It took her a few nicks with the blade before she found a grip on the handle, grasping blindly behind her back. As she was sawing through her bonds she heard a voice. “You're lucky they didn't kill you before you got here, if you had a knife on you.”
         Emily finished sawing through her bonds, before flipping onto her back, and sitting up so she could see her fellow captive. She had blond hair, bright blond, actually. It was short, extending only to the nape of her neck, but it was in complete disarray. “So, they would have just confiscated it. Maybe hit me some more, no big deal.”

         The girl grinned weakly, and shook her head. “No, they would have cut you from re'alin. Just to be safe.”

         “Re'alin?”

         The girl grinned still more, this time, it wasn't sad. It was frightening. “No, it looks like they burned you out instead. Just like Leon. Re'alin. Mana.”

         Emily had finished cutting her legs free, when she heard her last words, and her reaction spewed forth from instinct. “Leon? He's here too? Shit, I thought I'd-”
         She heard a fight going on near the entrance, and saw Dustin stand up, concerned, before running away, spewing a series of words whose content were easy enough to guess, from his expression. She started sawing through, quickly, and she was completely free. She immediately cut her friends leg bonds, before pulling her to her feet, “Quick! I don't have time to free your arms, you have to get out of here!” The girl looked at her, confused.
         “Go!!”
         Emily kicked her cage door open with a loud clang, which, following Murphy's law, fell to the ground silently, the grassy terrain absorbing most of the jolt, that no one noticed the clang of the door being kicked down. She saw the girl she had freed flee in the direction Dustin had been going, stumbling. Emily quickly darted to the other cage, snagging the keys from the guard  Dustin had knocked out, and saw two men gagged and bound, one of whom was wide awake, and the other that looked sickly, passed out on the ground, his skin pale.
         Hope he has good news. She heard thunder.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         “Ok, now you all are in real BIG trouble...”, Dustin put his hood up.
         Dustin started backing up. At least three Relatives stood in front of him, all with starvation etched upon their faces, salivating for a rich bounty, and he was screwed unless he could do something to make their numbers mean nothing, and quick. It's just like him, nothing could ever go right. Well guess that's karma for you. He put up his hands. “Okay, just don't touch my face, I want to look good while I'm arrested.” One of the idiots stepped slowly forward, reaching behind him with one hand to pull out some handcuffs from his pouch. Dustin waited until he was almost upon him, before he ran for the momentary break in their formation, sliding under the legs of the cautious one. One of the men grabbed at his cloak, and found a handhold, but Dustin rolled out of it, now staggering through the woods wearing his bright white Court shirt, a beacon for anyone who followed him.

         “There! Get after him!”

          Dustin started to tear off his shirt, before he tripped on an upturned root, and found himself rolling down a steep hill. When he was on his feet again, he looked around, and saw he was on the river bank, and that his pursuers were slowly making their way down, trying to keep their footing.

         Free of the canopy of the thick woods, Dustin saw the sky turning gray, and the flickers of light over the hulking mass of metal that was known as the city of Gand. Standing there for a second, he tried to guesstimate how long it would take for the storm to catch up with them. Maybe an hour to thirty minutes, if it held it's pace. He started running along the riverbank, leaving his pursuers in the thick mud of the terrain. He ran, naturally, away from the city, as to make his way back to the point in which Emily and he had agreed to meet. Of course, he hadn't the slightest idea where “Leon” was, they had broken apart. He had heard the commotion by the entrance, stood up to see what was going on, and one of the guards had spotted him. As they suited up to chase him, he had sprinted off into the woods, hoping Emily could handle herself for a little longer.
          He slipped in the soft mud, and fell to the ground. He pulled himself up, and started rubbing mud on his pure white shirt.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         Garant could not believe the predicament he had found himself in. Him, a Harmonist, had a bounty on his head, and he hadn't even known it. He saw it had been put out by Jolene, but he still couldn't figure out why. He had left her on good terms, and she knew he had to do this, why would she hinder his journey?
         He was gagged, and had his arms bound behind his back. Tom was next to him, motionless. They had killed him about an hour ago, he'd heard the scream from his cage. He must have talked, told them who they were. Garant was proud he had held his tongue as long as he had, and would have saluted him were he able to use his hands. The Relative who had brought him back had had a smirk on his face when he looked at Garant, and thrown Tom's body onto the ground in front of him. Tom had been a quiet Guardian, but he'd still been a friend, and as soon as Garant could, he'd make these bastards pay. He heard the clink of metal, and tried to turn his head toward the door, to see which person would come, today. Instead, he saw a girl, a brunette, a tiny thing really, fumbling with the keys. Her hands were shaking terribly. He thought he recognized her. “Aren't you the girl they brought in earlier?” he tried to ask. Well, it was just a series of groans, with the gag, but it was something. Unfortunately, all that that “something” did was force some of the nasty gag into his mouth, and he started gagging.
         “Shut up!” the girl whispered. “I'm getting you and your friend out!” She found the key, and opened the lock. She started making her way across the span of the cage, but stopped at Tom, and started to cut his bonds. “Ees-  ed!....” Garant groaned through the gag. The little girl rolled her eyes, and reached over to pull his gag down. “What!”
         “He's dead! Don't bother with him.”
         “He is?” The girl looked down, and jumped back a little, noticing for the first time that his throat had been slit. There wasn't any blood left in him, though. They hung him by his ankles in Garant's cell so he could watch the blood drain from his body. The huge red stain on the ground near him stood testament to that. “Cut me loose!”
         The girl had her left hand over her mouth, as she backed away toward Garant. She then turned around, and rolled him over. She cut the main bond tying his legs to his hands, and Garant felt his leg spasm as it was allowed to move for the first time in weeks. “Ohhh! Ow! The least they could have done is let me walk with them.” He reached for his toes, trying to stretch out his hamstrings. The girl put her finger to her lips, and shot him a glare, before motioning her head toward the entrance.
         “You want to go out the entrance?”
         She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Okay, but before we leave I have to get my bags.”, Garant insisted. Her eyes popped, and she shook her head rapidly. She really didn't like talking for some reason. “Come on, I know you need your supplies too.” She sighed, and nodded. Her hair fell in front of her eyes, the bangs unusually long for the local style. He supposed she must have been running, but to Gand? That didn't make any sense. It really didn't matter, he supposed, since she seemed to be on his side. They eventually made their way out of the camp. As they fled the border of Gand, they heard someone scream. Garant said a prayer for the poor soul, and wished him a painless death.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         Leon leaned back against the wooden bars of a hastily forged cage, and spat at Lourne. Then he felt her foot kick him in the face, and immediately regretted it. He slowly turned back to face her sneering face. “...Ow.” Lourne grinned.
         “Oh, I've been wanting to do this, and lucky me, I get a shot at you.” She drew back, and Leon closed his eyes as he felt her foot kick him in the gut. He felt the air whoosh out of him, and realized he had had the wind knocked out of him. Gasping as his diaphragm spasmed, he glared at Lourne. “You-...re- ....ch.” was all he could get out between erratic breaths.
         “What was that? Can't hear you?” Lourne's eyes lit up, and she leaned down to hear him.
         “You're a bit-” His face whipped back as her foot made contact again.
         She grabbed him by his hair, and dragged him into a corner. “You know, insulting your captor is really not a smart thing to do. Then again, you are a moron. God knows you proved it enough times on the ship.” He could feel his ears burning in rage and embarrassment. She stood right in front of him, towering over his limp body, and had that damn grin upon her face. The fake one. He knew exactly what she was going to do.
         Kneeling down on his crotch, not much pressure at first, she asked the question. “Where are you from?” Leon just glared at her. “Really. Don't play dumb with me. You acted well enough on the ship, I actually believed you, but there is no way you could have gotten so close to that entrance as the bumbling moron you're pretending to be right now.” She leaned forward, and Leon started to double up, before he forced himself to lower his legs to the ground. There was no way he'd let this little sadist have the pleasure of seeing him in pain. Leon glared. She stood up, letting the after-pain take hold, and leaned against the opposite wall, watching him. “You know, this could be so much easier.”
         Leon gritted his teeth. He felt his legs losing their strength, and groaned in pain. He couldn't feel his arms against his back. They must have fallen asleep. Leon struggled to his feet, using the rough wooden wall as a prop for his body, felt a prick, and choked a single laugh.
“I've got a splinter, again.”
         His bare torso was already littered with bruises from the last hour of interrogation, adding to his already impressive collection of body marks. He was glad they hadn't gone to knives yet, but he was trying to keep Lourne beating on him, since she wanted to keep him alive. He hoped that guy he had followed was not one of their members. If he wasn't, he'd rescue Leon. “Where did your friend take Andy?” Leon was suddenly on the ground, his concentration had lapsed from his legs for a split second, and he had fallen. “You know how much worse it is the second time. Exponential, from what I've heard.”
         She was trying to pass herself off as tough, but Leon could see it was growing harder for her to beat on him the longer he was taking to break. She was weak. Evil, but weak. She didn't like torture, she liked killing. There was still one thing he didn't get, though. “Why do you want Andy so much?”
         Leon's head whipped back, once again, his necklace following his body in it's rapid descent to the ground.
         Emily staggered through the woods, her new companion straggling behind. He'd insisted on getting his bags before leaving, insisting he'd make it up to her somehow. Really, the only reason she hadn't left him in the dust by now was that she didn't want to be traveling alone, and even an incompetent was better company than nobody at all. “Can we please slow down? I don't know if you realize, but I'm carrying an awful lot.”
         Emily didn't turn around. “Get over yourself, you wanted to pick up your bags, so now you deal with them.” He sighed dramatically, and she felt herself start to pity him. “Fine, five minutes.”
         Her friend heaved out a sigh, fell backwards where he stood, and lay on his back breathing heavily. Emily leaned against the tree, and pulled out the book Dustin had given her. She had grabbed it when her friend had insisted on grabbing his belongings, seeing as they were already there, she had grabbed her pack.
         Something about the past couple of hours had been bothering her, and it wasn't guilt at leaving Dustin. He could handle himself, and the last thing she needed was someone ready to turn her over in an instant, if circumstances changed. “What's your name? I didn't have time to ask back there.”
         The man was opening up his bags now, oblivious to the huge stain of mud on his back, where he had lain on the ground. He looked at her. “Garant. Garant Heathrow. The Harmonist.”
         Emily nodded. “Okay. What do you do, Garant?” Small talk with this guy was painful.
         He looked at her like she was a complete idiot. “I'm a Harmonist...” He dragged out the last word, as though it were too big for her to understand.
         “What does  a Harmonist do?”
         “You don't know what a Harmonist is?”
         “No.” Emily saw him start to look her over. “I was... um, what's it called. Burned out?”
         “...You're a Forsaken?”
         Emily saw him start to panic. “What's a Condemned?” He was now packing his things back up, hurriedly. “What is a Condemned, Garant?” She repeated.
         “Should have known. Who else could break out of a Relative Cam-”
         “Garant!! What is a Condemned?!”
         He looked at her, confused. “You are.”
         He picked up his bags, and started walking away, hastily. “Garant! Get back-” Emily trotted after him, and he tried to move faster. Unfortunately, the mountain of belongings on his back made this a little difficult, and he fell onto his back again. “You pledged yourself completely to Azria! You are a minion of the Court!”, he shouted from the ground.
         “No, Garant!  I'm not! I escaped Gand with the man who was guarding me. He turned against Zaria, and now... he's dead. I was captured by those bounty hunters, and I have to get to Arden!”
         “What was his name?” Garant was wobbling back and forth on the ground, snaking his arm out of one of his bag straps. “The guard who saved you?”
         Emily thought about answering him honestly, but so far, Dustin didn't seem very popular around here, and she needed Garant to trust her, until her memory came back completely. A grin came over her face, it was the perfect name. “...Justin Franklin.”
         Garant sat on his bag, and examined her carefully. He pulled out a pipe, and put it into his mouth for a moment, before pausing, and tearing it out. “Dammit! They got the tobacco wet!”
         He looked her over again, and after a minute or so, nodded. “Fine. You say you're headed to Arden? I know the way, and given my present status as a wanted man, I'd say my best hope for survival is to go there. I'll try to help you out with re-learning what you forgot.”
         Emily sighed with relief. “Thank you, Garant.”
         Garant waved it off. “It's nothing, but I tell you, I'll need to know your name eventually.”
         “Emily Davis.”
         Garant grinned. “Pleased to meet you, Emily. Now, do you need some music?” Garant reached into his bag, and pulled out a lute. “I may have to dump everything else out to move faster, but this thing stays.”
         “You're a bard?”
         “I told you, I'm a Harmonist. There's a huge difference.”
         “Like?”
         “Like I'm actually in the Guild.” Garant grinned, and started to tune it. He was a Harmonist, he wasn't lying to her, he had just edited some things. He couldn't trust her yet, but he knew she needed help, and he wasn't one to turn down people in need.
----------------------------------------------------------------
         “I've heard about Dustin's betrayal, Lord Azria. He has nowhere to run, having betrayed the trust of the rebels as well. He will be dealt with soon.”
         Zaria examined his hand, more to hide his worry than anything else. It had been a long time since he had felt fear. “Call upon the Manipulant Relative, send her after him. We can't risk him joining with Grantwood, even if he has betrayed them once, their fear  will overcome their hate. Gold is no object. Devote an entire Legion toward finding the Potential, and one for finding the new Match as well.” Zaria looked his servant in the face. “Sichar, I hope I will not have to intervene.”
         “No, Lord Azria. It shall be done.”
         Zaria looked closer into his servant's eyes, now trembling in fear. “It is important you remember that name, Sichar. Far too many have reverted toward my old.” Zaria leaned back into his chair, settling into the routine farewells. “I assume that Law still stands?”
         “Yes, Lord. Until the end of time.” Sichar left, his pace not too slow, not too fast, despite the panic in his eyes. The door at the end of the greeting chamber slammed shut, and Zaria stood up.
         He laughed. “Yes, my friend. Until the end of time.”