Out the forest and back along the edge of town, we pass by Sue-Zee’s house and briefly spy our pair of friends peering out their window, exhaustion plastered over their face. They give us a tired wave that I return with a smile. From then on, it’s back to sneaking through the streets as we work our way around town until we’re past any buildings between us and Monorise. We make a beeline for the city once it’s in sight.

As we get closer, we see what Yombroila meant: odd figures roam the sidewalks, poorly masquerading as normal people… and yet any person actually passing by them pays no heed. I’d say it’s safe to assume this is the work of the same magic Waywright uses to cloak the Radiant headquarters at night, but then again, Monorise is a weird place. Maybe the folks here are just used to seeing doll-like people. Then I see some small, odd creatures composed of a round body and a single eye each, stacked up in a trench coat like they’re about to sneak into an R-rated movie. Yup, gotta be magic.

It’s odd looking at the city through the lens of a scouting and rescue mission. The towering skyscrapers around each corner feel even more oppressive. Their giant forms are coated in a thick darkness, speckled with leering lights throughout. Each window feels like one of a thousand eyes staring down at us, watching. The darkness of each building slowly lightens to an eerie blue glow the further down each you go until they meet the burning gaze of the streetlamps below, painting the roads with fiery oranges and yellows.

These streets are no less ominous than the buildings, though. Thankfully Monorise is one of the few towns that really got on top of phasing out the use of cars, so we only have to worry about public transport. We have the schedules memorized by this point so we could even ride atop them if we needed to get somewhere fast…if we weren’t already faster than them in these forms. Still, as easily as we can traverse the city and despite how well we know its layout, the addition of patrolling enemies makes things even trickier.

“Honestly, I kinda wish Sue-Zee joined us for this one,” I mutter to Cat, the girl nodding in agreement.

“Of all the times eyes in the air would have been useful…” she adds with a sad face. 

Nevertheless, this mission might be our most important yet, so we set off right away, creeping in the shadows as always. My instincts tell me to keep a low profile, but I’m wondering if…

“Do you think we should pick each off while they’re alone or just keep an eye out for other Ascended in trouble?” I muse aloud, putting Cat deep in thought as well.

“If we can pick them off, we should, they’re teeming all over the city,” Cat answers, but continues to hum in contemplation. “That is the problem though: they’re everywhere… Do you think we’d be able to…?”

Cat trails off, most likely in response to the devilish grin on my face. 

“Do you even have to ask? We’re professionals. Let’s go.”

 

Taking them out should be no problem, it’s disposing of them that I’m worried about. The ethereal guards of Ares’ disappeared without a trace, but these two kinds of Radiant have totally different airs to them… I’d chalk that up to Ares being so insufferable that he had to make his own thralls, but who knows.

The human-sized doll Radiants move in an almost human-like manner and are made of all sorts of materials from what I can tell: porcelain, wooden puppets, plastic ball-jointed, plush, you name it. Something about them makes them feel non-threatening, but the fact that the Inkton Witch has them under her thumb says otherwise.

The small, orb-like Radiants each have a singular, giant eye that takes up the entirety of their front side, and they come in every colour of the rainbow. Just looking at them makes me want one of each colour, they’re like a collector’s dream. Sprouting out from their tiny, round bodies are a multitude of limbs. Are they arms? Legs? I honestly can’t tell. Some move around as if walking, others roll along the ground, or hop about. They’re all so weird…but kinda cute.

Cat taps a paw on my shoulder, gesturing ahead to an alleyway, which we swiftly round the corner into. There is a stuffed doll looking girl behind us and with no one else around this is our chance. Perched under the shadows, we wait, listening to the light footsteps of our plush adversary until they’re just close enough--

Crack!

With a flick of my arm, a windy whip wraps tightly around our prey before I quickly pull them into darkness, the doll landing square on their back while coiled in wind. They seem completely unphased, almost…excited as they look up at me? Their gaze lingers on me, staring deep into my eyes…

“...Just like me…?” are the words that rattle through the air in an eerily human voice. 

Cat summons what looks like a lava lamp and smashes it into the wall. Fire waterfalls out of it and over our foe, though they seem completely unreceptive to pain. All the same, I can sense fear in them, and just like that, poof. A cloud of purple smoke fades away where the doll once was, leaving behind only a giggle echoing through the air and the image of their smile slowly widening as their stare remains fixed upon me. My partner tosses away the remains of the lamp and they dissipate into stray light as she stamps out any remaining fire.

“Well, that answers that! At the very least, these ones disappear at the sign of danger,” Cat puts her hands on her hips with a satisfied look on her catty face, only to turn and fine me…shuddering. “...Are you okay, Fox?”

It takes a moment for me to even register she’s talking to me. I simply stare at where there was once a voice, until a nudge from Cat brings me back.

“A-ah, sorry. Yeah…” I shake my head, feeling as though my mind is rattling within its confines. “You didn’t…hear anything odd just now, did you?”

“Nyeh? I mean, there was that creepy giggling as they disappeared, sure.” 

Not the answer I was looking for. Hopefully these are just creepy dolls playing tricks on me…Cat gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, bringing a gentle smile to my face before we set out into the shadows once more. It’s not long before another opportunity arises as we spot a tower of the smaller Radiants shambling across the sidewalk ahead of us. With a leap, I pull myself and Cat up onto an awning, peering over and watching. Waiting. And there it is--!

Slipping under the awning, I throw myself down beside them onto the sidewalk. As soon as my feet hit the ground, the sproingy sound of a trampoline bouncing sends the stack of eyes flying up and away from me. Waaaay up and away, putting them in Cat’s sights. For a brief moment, they all appear to be pulling out weapons of sorts seemingly from nowhere. A spear, an ax, a bow…before direct laser hits to each eye leave them looking surprised as they…poof? It’s more like a mixture between a puff of smoke, and the shattering of glass. In their wake, swarms of bugs disperse from where their bodies used to be. Butterflies from one, fireflies from another, and bees from the last. What odd creatures… Cat swoops under and returns to my side, and I give her a smile and a thumbs up on a job well done.

 

We start to get into the rhythm of things, as the rhythm in our hearts only grows louder. Three down. Six down. Twelve. Twenty-four. The army might be ever growing, but I’d be hard pressed to believe we aren’t putting a dent in them as the number of enemies we take out rises higher and higher in no time. I can’t help but shake the feeling that something is amiss, however… Maybe it’s with each doll we defeat, another voice enters my head for but a moment. 

“...One of us?” 

“Sister of mind…!” 

“Mother will be pleased with you…” 

On and on, they say such ominous things, yet Cat hears not a word of it. It’s starting to unnerve me enough that I feel something should be done about it, but we have a job to do. Speaking of, our first real oddity of the night presents itself to us in the form of a hoard of Radiants. A massive group of the small… I’m going to start calling them ‘Borbs’, clamour around the storefront of a flower shop, all with weapons drawn. They attack and scramble about its entrance, the glass front looking quite damaged from their assault. That must mean only one thing could be on the other side of that glass…

First priority: Secure the area. Without Waywright’s usual magic, property damage would be best avoided here. I nudge Cat and make a swirling motion pointing up with my hand, to which she nods. Glad she gets me. Pulling out my trusty grappling hook, I leap into the fray, standing just before the hoard before I begin swinging my hook round and round, building up the sound of a raging wind… The little guys stand no chance as they quickly find themselves being swept off their feet, a winding tornado forming around my twirling tool as I point its opening directly at them, sucking them all up.

Upwards the tornado turns, the sheer amount of borbs proving to be more weight than I expected, but with the enemies all swirling around a storm high in the air, I won’t need to hold them up for long… Is that…a cloud around my wind…? Taking the rising storm as her cue, Cat clenches her fist, a small ember before her growing into the image of a sun the size of a yoga ball. Kicking it up, then butting her head against it, I watch as the sphere rises up and into the eye of the storm, and thus I let go, watching the tornado fly up and up and--

BOOM!

A giant swarm of bugs scatter off into the distance, leaving the air clean once more as all the magic we used fades away. I squint up at the sky...those clouds were helping to keep the borbs in the tornado… I shake my head. Magic is an odd and new thing, I must have gotten confused. Regardless, that was only part one of this scene. Part two is walking up to the flower shop and knocking on the cracked glass. It thankfully does not fall apart so easily and I see someone rise from behind the counter. A mantis man comes out of hiding and approaches the door, looking very tired and afraid.

“It’s safe now! At least, outside your store is,” I say, hoping I’m heard through the glass. 

He gives a sigh and opens the door.

“Thank god… Here I was, feeling ready to take control of my life, and suddenly an army of those…things attacks…” he explains, his voice deep and clear. “But that should be the last of them, yes? I am Hazar. Thank you for your help, though, I do not know where to go now, outside of this…nagging feeling pointing me somewhere…”

As if on cue, an Ascended bird, all fiery reds and oranges, zips past us, looking like they know exactly where they’re going. I turn back to see a soft, if weak smile on Hazar’s face.

“Never mind. I believe he knows where to go.” 

“You know that guy?” Cat asks in response, still watching the avian soar.

“Perhaps. I will take my leave then. I hope to see you both again, though, hopefully under better circumstances.” He gives us a polite bow before making his way in the direction of his bird friend.

“Think he’ll be alright?” I ask, watching him attempting to keep up with the bird.

“Oh, he’ll be alright,” Cat answers before nudging us off to scout further.

 

Deeper in the city, we find ourselves at one of its smaller public gardens. We almost stop to presumably save another from an oncoming mass of dolls, but as we approach we already see them being blown back and poofing into smoke. Within the crowd of Radiants, we see a single soul… What I can only describe as a small tree person, topped with hair that looks as though it’s…no, it is cherry blossoms. She’s fierce and aggressive, not giving her foes a second to attack before she’s already on them with what looks like a wooden sword, though it certainly does much more damage than a simple wooden sword seems it should.

On her is a belt with books hanging from them and I soon see why as she vaults her sword like a spear, then throws wide the pages of one of the books. From those pages, another weapon grows, this being an actual spear! And she’s just as adept with it as she is with a sword. Thrusting, slashing, leaping and landing atop whomever is in her path, until she lands right before us, a huge cloud of smoke in her wake.

“I am Bomba,” she says, looking up at us and nodding. 

And that’s all she says before dashing off. Good to see others are just as capable right off the bat. Odd to see we can also be plants. Cat and I look at one another and shrug. The job here is already done. Off we go.

We’ve rounded back around the city. We must have taken out hundreds of the Radiant Army by now and watched a few dozen Ascended making their way around and out of Monorise, heading wherever they might think is safe. I’ll have to ask Yombroila if she has a plan for that. That’s not our concern for now though. Right now, we’re making the last turn on our way to the train station, the final place we have to check. Around the corner we go, and the coast looks clear aside from the sweet mother of god what the absolute fucking hell is that?

We see an Ascended lizard, resembling the small kobold we had originally run from ourselves. However, this one was running from something much, much more frightening. A mass of writhing light and wings, none flapping, some even moving around the ‘body’ by their base, many folded over one another, as if to contain whatever shines within. It moves so unnaturally, as if it’s trying to walk as a human would. But it floats above us, with a body that resembles a human in no way at all. It’s… It’s terrifying… It’s…!

“Seraphim…” Cat mutters with dread oozing from her lips. I’m suddenly being dragged by the hand once again, unfortunately moving towards the unholy…actually, if that name is anything to go by, I’d imagine this is what holy looks like. “Please, please be careful, Fox. This is the highest ranking kind of angel in Christianity. If they’re as terrifying as I’m imagining and seeing, they might not be looking to capture us.”

Well, that’s absolutely horrifying. Still, we don’t have much of a choice in fending it off seeing as it’s pursuing one of us. “Take to the skies then, kitty! I’ll handle the ground.”

My partner nods and whips out a flashlight, leaping forward and pointing it down as a burst of light and fire sends them skyrocketing to the rooftops, blast after blast. Okay. Okay. It’s just a biblical angel. No big deal. Just…

“Trust yourself, Foxy~. Trust me, too~”

Who, what?! No. No more voices. Even if this one is different from the ones before and they’re right. Trust myself. Go for a big opener. I charge forward, running as fast as my foxy feet will take me before jumping and landing on a windy spring that sproings me up way high, just barely above the… Oh good fucking lord I can feel it staring at me with no eyes. It hasn’t turned at all, but it sees me. No! Trust myself! I push my weight forward, tail swinging up and over me as I spin.

My giant tail comes crashing down, wind pushing it and hitting my target as well, all of it bearing the weight and sound of a grand piano smashing down upon the winged monstrosity. At the same time, Cat descends from the skies, her foot coming down not just like a comet, but on a comet, and the blow from each of us feels like lightning-- No-- Wait-- That IS lightning?! I’m not sure how that’s happening, but goddammit, I’ll take it now. The wings seem to quiver and falter, halting its chase. The slight openings in their cocoon of wings shine with an unnerving light. Even a sound pushes through… 

Holy, holy, holy… A cold, droning voice within chanting ceaselessly.

Finally, it reacts, though, that might not be the best word. It’s more like it exists and simply is threatening us with that fact. Its wings whirl around the orb of feathers, crashing against us before we can even land. It burns. Hot coals searing my fur with righteous indignation, I feel as though this thing wants me to feel guilty for it hurting us. Thankfully Cat should be better off with her heat resistance, but… wait… I feel… fine?

Misty clouds of rain whip around me, soothing my body and lightening my landing after I’m sent flying into the side of a building. Again, don’t get it, but I’ll take it.

Leaping off the side of the building, I land on all fours and look up to see flurries of wings reaching out for each of us. Distance. We need distance. I throw myself back and watch Cat hop away with ease. Cat starts blasting, her lasers making the seraph flinch, but no more. We dash about, twisting and turning to keep this thing away from us, my partner throwing lantern bombs, fireworks, lasers… What can I do though!?

“Listen. Hear the rhythm. Feel it flow through you, Foxy~”

This voice is really starting to become irritating with how ominously helpful it’s being. But okay. Listen. I get as far away as I can from the droning chanting of the holy light, and listen. And it becomes more clear. I hear it, the calm strumming of an acoustic guitar within a storm of ominous harps and droning organs. I close my eyes and see it. Boy, if that doesn’t bring back memories. The strumming wind. My hand rises, and I point towards the angel, feeling wind building around my claw. This is it.

Bang!

My eyes shoot open, and there, in my palm, a whirling, windy pistol. Its bullet pierced straight through the seraph, and it’s mad now.

“I’ve got more than that to piss you off, buddy!” I jeer. 

My grip hardens and I disperse the wind in my hand before leaping back once again, getting to one knee and listening to the motions. Click. Clank. Ga-chunk. My hands practically move on their own as a sniper rifle manifests out of wind in my very hands. The center. Aim for the center.

“You’re about to get a lot more holey!” 

And with a single shot, a burst of feathers shoots out its other side where the windy bullet pierced. Cat keeps up her assault as the sundered angel shakes, winces, and grovels closer to the ground. She jumps high, points both fingers and even the tip of her tail at the seraph, and blasts all three lasers at it. It can’t take any more. The light within begins to implode, closing in on itself until there’s nothing left. The wings simply explode into a rain of feathers before turning to light and disappearing.

I rush over to Cat as she lands back on her feet, myself huffing and panting. “Guh… Okay… Wind guns? Cool, but god do they take a lot of energy…”

Cat chuckles and pats my back. “Energy well spent, I’d say. I wouldn’t want to know what else something like that could do if we let it stick around any longer.”

 

We laugh weakly together before realizing we fought that thing for a reason. Looking around, though, we don’t see…anybody. But we do hear something in the distance. Crying. The two of us follow the noise into a nearby alleyway where we find the navy blue kobold we’d just saved, huddled up and trying really hard not to sob. And failing miserably. They’re absolutely tiny, probably no less than a foot shorter than me even. Pointed scales flare out behind their cheeks and two little horns stick out the back of their head, all wrapped up in what amounts to just a towel.

“Hey, you,” I greet them, walking closer and getting on one knee. “The monster is gone, it’s safe to come out now.”

After a moment of heavy breathing, they finally look up at me, face going from afraid and helpless, to annoyed and confused.

“Wh-what are you-- It’s you sissies!” They say in a very high pitched and non-threatening voice. Wait… “You look like freaks! I-I don’t need your help, go away!”

“...”

“...”

“...ROSESTEIN?!” Cat and I exclaim at the same time. 

No way. Noooo way. They were just like Cat all along? That can’t be right. That’s too funny.

“SH-SHUT UP, I DON’T WANNA HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU TWO!!” they shout in their adorable little angry voice.

“C’mon, you, obviously we have a lot more in common than we all realized,” Cat says, trying to diffuse the situation. “We’re all in this together! Get up and we’ll take you home--”

“I CAN’T GO BACK, ARE YOU CRAZY?!” The kobold yelps. “I-I don’t wanna be like this, it’s you two that are weird!”

I look at Cat, and she looks at me. We both turn back to the small lizard and smile.

“So it doesn’t feel good to be in that new form?” Cat begins.

“Wh-- O-of… Course it… I…” They try to stammer out a rebuttal, but in the end, they end up a blushing mess. 

Cat looks back to me with a big wide smile on her face. “They’re one of us.”

“That they are.”

“I-I am not!”

The two of us giggle at the cute little lizard before panicked footsteps just outside of the alley take our attention.

“Honey?! It’s okay, I love you all the same!” The new voice shouts, a familiar sounding one, like someone from Railsent, but I just can’t put my claw on it.

“Berry?!” The kobold exclaims, sitting up suddenly, their tail wagging a mile a minute. With a sigh and a smile, I reach over to the distracted kobold and lift them up from under their arms. “H-hey, HEY PUT ME DOWN, WHAT’RE YOU--”

“Honey?! Is that you…?” The outside voice chimes in, her footsteps getting closer.

“Come on,” I start, standing up and beginning to walk out of the alley way. “Your caretaker is here.”

They struggle and squirm, but they simply cannot do a thing about how pick-up-able they are. Once out in the open, I see Mrs. Rosestein, for the first time in fact, with her hands over her mouth as she gasps. She doesn’t at all look like what I’d imagine a hard working baker would, but she looks hard working nonetheless. Her dark hair is up in a high ponytail and she is wearing a dress shirt tucked into her dress pants.

“Honey! And… Oh goodness, is that you, Fox?! And Cat too!” My partner emerges from the shadows as well and gives a slightly nervous wave. 

I walk straight up to her and hold her kobold up, the baker being quite a bit taller than me.

“I believe this is your’s, ma’am.” I give her a wink as she takes them from me, the lizard calming down almost instantly now that they’re in her arms. “I don’t believe we’ve actually had the pleasure of properly greeting you before so… Good evening, Mrs. Rosestein.”

She chuckles at me as she cradles the kobold in her arms. “I’m terribly sorry for that, I’ve only really seen you two while out. I’d note how odd I found you two, but my partner is now a small lizard person in my arms, so who am I to talk?”

I give her a grin and she offers a smile in return. 

“Well, they’re not too keen on returning home just yet, and honestly, I don’t blame them,” I tell the missus. “But I have seen a lot of, uhm, we’re called Ascended folk, heading in the same direction. Over yonder.” 

I point to the east, and she nods.

“I think I’ll have to walk that way in my partner’s stead then. It seems like they got you two into a whole heap of trouble along with themselves as well, so apologies and thank you on their behalf.” Mrs. Rosestein gives us a bow before turning and beginning to walk off. “I do hope to see you two again! Take care, please!”

My arms cross and my tail sways, while Cat puts her paws on her hips and smiles with me. 

“Who would’ve guessed it?” She says in a playful tone.

“Not me. Not in a million years.” 

We both laugh and sigh. It’s been a hell of a night. We’ve covered most of the city we could, and we’re ready for some rest. We begin to make our way out, finding ourselves just outside of town in a somewhat barren outskirts with nary a soul in sight.

“FIENDS. You’ve eluded my powerful grasp for TOO LONG. Your crimes against nature have judged you a fate no less than DAMNATION!!”

Except for that soul.