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New Volume 3 Chapter(s) Weekly. Volumes 1 and 2 now complete!

Drim stared at the now empty living room of their apartment. It was the 17th of Bipriber, their moving day. They had gotten a call from their uncle yesterday that everything would be in order on the 20th. Since it would take a few days to get to their new location, they decided to leave today. They were mostly ready to go first thing in the morning, having packed over the past couple of days.

All that was left to pack was a few essentials they would need to get by such as toothbrushes and cooking utensils. There wasn’t much in the living room to begin with, but Kada had insisted on bringing the couch and TV along. They would have been too much of a pain to bring along normally or too expensive to ship, so she melted them down into the bucket she bought at the mall. It was on the verge of overflowing, so she secured it with plastic wrap and duct tape.

The other three Fiends had already headed outside with their things, and were now waiting on Drim to finish up his last check to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything. There were still a few things left such as the beds and appliances, but overall it just felt very empty, as if they’d never lived there. This made Drim feel a little sad that they were leaving it behind. Pointless sentiment, you’re better off without it.

Drim left the apartment to find it snowing, causing Pox who was on his head to hide deeper in his hood, away from the cold. The others had gotten impatient and were playing around in the apartment’s snow-covered parking lot. Phon and Xard were throwing snowballs at each other while Kada was building a Snow Pox.

It was strange seeing them mess around without using their curses. If anyone was to stumble across them, and ignore their weirdly colored hair, they would seem like just a regular bunch having fun on a winter day. It was moments like these that reminded Drim that they were still human at their core; which is something that wasn't vividly clear at times.

He wanted to join in on the merriment, but they were planning on walking to the train station normally, so they would be late if they didn’t leave soon. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have any fun. He slid a vine up to the roof, and used it to swipe all the snow off of it and down onto the three below.

“So, it’s probably a little late to ask this, but why don’t we have a car?” Kada inquired to the rest as they were digging their luggage out of the snow. “We could just drive there ourselves, and it would have been extremely useful all this time.” Neither Drim or Phon responded for a little bit while thinking about it. It was a valid point that they hadn’t really thought about in the past.

“Do any of us even know how to drive?” Phon asked the group. “I basically just teleport everywhere so I didn’t really see the need.”

“Essentially the same for me,” Xard responded. “Since I lived in a city which had decent public transportation, and I could walk most places, it didn’t seem too important.”

“Kind of hard to get a driver’s license when you’ve only ever been a dead person or a wanted criminal,” Drim noted.

“I can drive… Oi, knock those looks off your faces,” Kada bellowed as the other three looked at her in shock. “They taught it in my high school, so I got a license through that. I’ve never owned a car myself, but I’d borrow a friend’s car a lot when I lived on my own.”

“Yup, still surprising,” Phon shrugged. “Well, we may consider getting a vehicle you can drive in the future, but it wouldn’t have been good for this trip anyways. Where we’re going would be like a week long road trip, while the train is only a couple days. I don’t think we’d really want to be in even closer quarters for that long.”

“You have a point,” Xard agreed. “Though I do wish you would at least tell us where we’re going. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never lived anywhere else so this is exciting, but some indication would be nice.”

In response, Drim looked up at the sun, then pointed off in a direction that seemed to be to the East and said, “That way.” Xard looked displeased with that answer at first, but then seemed to accept it as definitely something Drim would say and moved on. They weren’t telling Xard and Kada where they were going in fear of spawning objection which could lead to a heated debate. They felt it would be better to just let them see for themselves first.

Just as they were about to head out, a massive rumbling could be heard. Dozens of heavy footsteps crunching through the snow were heading right for them. In mere moments, the parking lot of their apartment complex was surrounded by police. The officers formed up tightly, doing their best to not leave any gaps while drawing their guns and pointing them at the four Fiends.

Right behind them came several police cars, moving slowly along the roads because of the snow. When they stopped, even more officers flooded out to join the rest. None of them were wearing full swat gear like the time the Drazahs had been confronted at the museum. This led Drim to believe this had been a spur of the moment decision, or they would have come more prepared.

However, there was one among them dressed differently than the rest. He drew their eyes the moment he stepped out of one of the cars. He was wearing a trench coat and fedora, making him look like a detective straight out of a Film Noir. The sunglasses he wore clashed with the outfit a bit, but the snow was quite bright from reflecting the morning sun, so Drim assumed this was the reason.

The presumed detective pushed through the line of police and stood in front of them. He drew his trenchcoat back a bit, exposing the gun holstered to his side. He rested his hand on the grip and addressed the Fiends. “Hello Drazahs.It’s been a while. You too Ms. Susten. I have not met your red-headed friend before, but I assume he must be Xard Randex.”

The detective's gaze drifted towards Xard as he continued. “So, you really did kill that drug dealer. I knew it had to be you. A warrant for your arrest was being processed, and I couldn’t wait to bring you in for questioning. It’s a shame that our justice system is so frugal. Once it was revealed the victim was a criminal, not a single person could be bothered to continue.”

The voice of the detective was really starting to bother Drim, it seemed eerily familiar. Before he could question it though, Phon had blinked and announced, “Oh, you’re officer Tusmon. The one who has a huge crush on Kada after she saved you. Looks like you got a promotion.”

“I’m afraid to disappoint you, but I don’t have feelings for Susten,” Tusmon replied snidely. “I will admit, however, that I do have something of a bit of an obsession towards all of you.” That comment made Drim feel a little weirded out, and it appeared to have a similar effect on the rest of them.

Tusmon continued, ignoring their strange looks. “I appreciate what you all did for me that night. I can never repay the debt for saving my life. But I am first and foremost a police officer. I have seen what you all can do firsthand, and I am confident that what I saw was only a fraction of your full potential. Threats like that must be contained, especially since you are all wanted criminals.”

“After that night, I could not stop thinking about you all, and I begged my superior to put me on your case. No one in the Constead police force was very motivated to chase after you all because of the threat to our lives, so he made me the lead detective on it.”

“I recognize your aura,” Phon said when it seemed Tusmon was finished speaking. “I’ve seen it all over town. You’re the one behind all the fake jobs aren’t you.”

“Yes, that was me,” Tusmon replied. “The goal was to track the time it took from when the job was accepted, to when you arrived at the location, and then use that information to track your hideout. Your data was never very useful, since you’d always just teleport, but your brother was quite valuable. Instead of being there myself, I had a different officer each time wait nearby in civilian clothing to monitor. I always tried to make sure I was far enough away that I wouldn’t be noticed by you, but close by enough that I could respond if needed. I guess I underestimated how far you can see.”

“Fortunately, it appears that was the only thing you clued into. Once I had a general idea of your location, I made sure myself or another police officer was always nearby to monitor and follow any of you they saw.”

It was Kada who chimed in this time. “Wow, that’s really smart, but super creepy. Also, all those fake jobs were super annoying, y’know. I mean, not for me since I never got to respond to one, but the other two always seem really annoyed by them.”

“I admit that I have been becoming something I’d rather not,” Tusmon confessed. “I know this is not the example I should be setting to my other officers, but I will do whatever it takes to bring you all in, regardless of what that turns me into. I have done so much these past weeks I’m not proud of.”

“I tracked down every single person in the area who you did a job for. I questioned every thug in every back alley in the area who might know something. Even losing myself sometimes if they wouldn’t cooperate. When that kid from the school called to report you, it killed me to deny him any help, but I had to make sure that you all weren’t on to me. Thankfully, someone called in the gunshots as a separate incident, so we were eventually able to respond.”

“Hmph, guys like you are the reason I don’t want to be a cop anymore,” Xard hissed. “You wasted all this time and effort going after people who aren’t actively hurting the community, when there are so many genuine criminals out there you could be searching for. And all these cops here, how many crimes are going on right now that won’t be stopped since you drug them into your little crusade?”

“Judge me all you like. I know what I’m doing is right,” Tusmon said coldly. “All of these men are here because I called in every single favor I’ve ever accumulated in my career. A few days ago, I got a report from one of my scouts that you all were purchasing luggage, so I knew you’d either be moving or leaving for an extended period of time soon.”

“Then today, one called in that you all were seen here with said luggage accompanying you. So I knew I had to take this chance. I’m well aware that there is a very high probability that you Fiends will escape, but if I didn’t at least try, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.”

“Dude, it's been like two and a half weeks,” Phon ranted like she was annoyed to no end. “Don’t you think that’s a bit too fast to have gone full crazy… Well, I’ve had enough of this. Farewell officer Tusmon. I hope we never meet again.” As she finished speaking, she began to lift her hands to her eyes to teleport them away.

As if he had been expecting it, Tusmon reacted instantly. He whipped his gun out of its holster, and fired right at Phon. The bullet hit directly in the middle of her left hand as it was moving up her body. Phon let out a pained yell, but it was drowned out by Tusmon ordering his fellow officers, “Don’t let her cover her eyes!”

The officers who were already aiming at Phon took shots, and the rest began shifting their sights towards her. Xard had already begun sprinting towards Phon when the first shot was fired, and managed to get in front of her just in time to block the incoming hail of bullets with his spread out body, absorbing their impacts with his curse. One bullet had snuck by and hit Phon in her left elbow as she was collapsing towards the ground. Another went through Xard’s legs and hit her in the right thigh. Purple blood was splattered all around her as she writhed in agony.

“Kada, cover!” Drim, who hadn’t said a word yet during this altercation, shouted as he dashed towards Phon. He was still near the apartment, so he did his best to stay in line behind Xard’s cover. Without giving any confirmation, Kada did as she was told. She melted all of the snow in the area, save for a small circle around Phon.

While Kada hurried over to join the rest of the group, she drew the liquid white in a half-dome around them, facing towards the police, then resolidified it when she was firmly behind. To Drim’s dismay, when it resolidified it didn’t turn into solid ice as he had hoped, and the bullets kept coming through as if nothing was there. It seemed her curse did not work that way even when it was transmuting water. He then shouted the only idea he had which had a chance of working, “Keep rapidly melting and unmelting the snow, it should stop the bullets.”

Kada trusted what he said, and miraculously it worked. The bullets began getting caught in the snow, and slowly worked their way down to the ground as she rapidly fired her curse. It seemed to be causing a lot of strain on her though, so Drim didn’t know how long she could keep it up.

However, with the immediate threat out of the way, he could refocus. Xard was currently crouched down next to Phon, and seemed to be in just as much discomfort as the other two from holding in all the energy from the bullets. Drim wasn’t sure which of the three would give up first, and knew they were rapidly running out of time. Doing his best to stay calm, he grabbed the ribbon off of Phon’s hat, and began tying it around her eyes.

At the same time, several vines shot out of his back and flew all over the parking lot. They picked up the various pieces of scattered luggage. When someone was teleported with Phon’s curse, anything they wore, and anything they were holding went with them. Drim guessed that as long as the vines were still attached to him, they would count as an extension of himself, and their belongings would be teleported with him, even though he wasn’t holding them directly.

When he finished tying the ribbon and making sure it was on tight, he directed to the others. “When I give the word, Kada, leave the snow unmelted. Xard, use your built up energy to blast the snow at the police. Spread it out as much as you can to dampen it. Phon I know you’re in a lot of pain right now, but as soon as Xard explodes I’m going to need you to teleport us. It doesn’t matter where or how far, just anywhere but here. Can you do that?”

Phon, clearly struggling, just barely managed to stammer out, “Okay… I’ll do what I can.”

“Alright then,” Drim mumbled as he pulled their luggage as close to him as he could. “Get ready… Now!”

Immediately, Kada released her curse, and fell back on her butt from exhaustion. Xard jutted up and spread out his limbs again, then sent a full shockwave of energy from the entire front of his body. The snow and bullets that were still trapped inside were sent flying to the officers. Drim wanted the energy weakened and spread out so the bullets would only cause minor injuries to the police, and to as many of them as possible, in the hopes of slowing them down.

Phon yelled again, much louder than before. Her whole body started to shake, and her wounds began spouting even more blood than before. Drim was just about to tell her to stop, but the four of them were now suddenly on a rooftop, and with all their luggage. Drim did a quick survey. They were on top of a building, not even a half a block away from their apartment. “You did great,” Drim said to Phon who was now panting wildly.

Kada leaned back onto the roof and mumbled, “Oh Cosmos, that was too close. Your quick thinking really came through for us though Drim.”

“Yeha, if you hadn’t taken charge, I’m not sure all of us would have made it out of there,” Xard agreed as he followed Kada’s lead and slumped down on the roof.

“Really, it was you guys who did everything,” Drim rebutted. “I’m incredibly thankful, but I’m going to need to keep relying on you. I doubt we’re in the clear now. We need to get Phon’s injuries taken care of, and we also need to get to the station before the train leaves. If we don’t, there won’t be another until tomorrow, and we’ll be stuck here all day with the whole city on high alert. Kada, what time is it?”

Kada pulled out her phone, blinked a few times to focus, and read out, “Uhh, 372.”

“The train leaves at 400,” Drim commented in response. “Normally that would be plenty of time to get there, but we need to get Phon patched up first. I doubt they’d let us on the train with one of us bleeding everywhere.”

“Fir.. aid kit… my bag…” Phon whimpered.

“Great, that means we can do it here if we have to,” Drim said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. “I’m not sure how safe we are here, though. We’re out of sight for now, but I’m sure the police will start scouring the area soon. Phon, I hate to ask, but is there any chance you can move us further away?”

Phon’s body started shaking again, and she began screaming in pain. This time Drim was ready though, and had covered her mouth with his hand to muffle the sound. To his horror, two lines of purple blood began flowing from underneath Phon’s ribbon, following a path similar to Kada’s Curse mark. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he definitely would have compared them as twins to see the reaction. He felt Phon’s mouth start to move so he removed his hand.

“Sorry… Can’t…” Phon struggled to say. “Ph..science hurt too.”

“It’s okay Phon, I’m sorry I made you try,” Drim sincerely apologized. “No matter what happens from now on, don’t use your curse, and try to move as little as possible.”

“I saw though…” Phon added, leaving Drim surprised she could still talk at all. “Cops all over… city… Main roads… all blocked.” Drim figured that he would need to go ahead and treat her now. If he moved her in this condition, it could cause her tremendous amounts of pain, especially if they needed to dodge police. He began digging through Phon’s bag and pulled out the first aid kit. As long as they weren’t noticed, he should be able to get it done quickly.

As if his mind was being read, a boisterous voice rang out from nearby. “Don’t think you’ll be able to get away so easily, Fiends,” Tusmon proclaimed. On cue, a loud whirring noise could be heard, and a helicopter was flying right towards their apartment.

“Zjik! This is bad!” Drim exclaimed. It would likely only take the helicopter a few minutes to notice them. “We’re out of options. I’ll carry Phon to the train station, and administer treatment along the away.”

“Alrighty then!” Kada blurted with a surprising amount of energy. “I’ve rested enough. Xard and I are strong against bullets. So while you do that, I’ll go back to the apartment and do my best to keep them busy.”

Xard stood up as well and said, “Then I’ll go and make as much of a distraction as possible to try and keep as many as I can off of you.”

“Thank you both,” Drim said earnestly. “Normally I would scold you for doing something so dangerous and hasty, but I’m afraid I don’t have that luxury right now. Before you go, Kada, my bag is waterproof. Melt everything else we have and store it in there. We’ll deal with sorting it again later.” She did as instructed, and just before she and Xard were about to leave, Drim declared, “If you don’t make it to the train safely… Just be there, got it?!”

“Roger that.” Kada gave him a salute before she jumped off her side of the building.

“You got it.” Xard gave a nod before jumping off the opposite side.

◆◆◆

As soon as Kada’s feet hit the ground, she bolted back towards the apartment. Thankfully, most of the full might of the police force was still there. A few had clearly been injured and fellow officers were treating them. The door to their apartment was busted open, and she guessed a few must be searching inside. Tusmon was in the parking lot, crouched down on the circle of snow, examining Phon’s blood stains.

Kada ran up just a few feet away from the nearest officer. As soon as one of them noticed her, she hollered, “Hey guys, did you miss me?” The few policemen that were near her quickly scuttled away back to the main group. They reformed into a firing line, and began to unload their clips at her. Even Tusmon had moved to attention and joined the shooting from where he stood.

When the bullets were just a fraction of a hair away from her, they began to melt, and the new liquid splattered up against her. She was definitely using more energy than needed to radiate her curse than if she let them come in direct contact with her, but unlike Xard, she didn’t want her clothes to be tattered and full of holes.

Kada winced as some of the melted bullets hit her exposed skin. It didn’t hurt directly, but due to the short range, the goo was still quite hot from the bullets being fired, and it burned a bit, even with her natural temperature resistance. It wasn’t something she couldn’t tolerate, but she was afraid it could leave permanent marks on her skin. This was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, and decided it needed to stop as soon as possible.

Kada wiped some of the liquid off of her stomach and reformed it into a bullet. She held it up, and looked at the police with a smirk which was sure to be unsettling to them. As if they were an orchestra that had practiced endlessly, all at once, every one of their guns began to let out a harmony of clicks.

It was the same clicking noise that indicated the gun had run out of bullets, and the clip needed to be changed. This clearly took all the officers by surprise, since they had only let off a few rounds each. They all began to examine their guns, with a few ejecting their clips in preparation of putting in a new one.

The same goo which was now covering Kada, was leaking out of their guns. An officer pulled out a new clip, and panicked at the realization that they were filled with goo as well. Kada had used her curse to melt every bullet within the surrounding area that was made of the same material as the one she was holding.

The officers regrouped and began rambling at what to do next, with many different conversations going at once, all talking over each other. A few were still stunned in disbelief. Kada wasn’t going to let this panic go to waste. She began slowly radiating her curse from her foot, causing it to seep down slowly into the road, melting all of the asphalt around her as she went. She moved slowly, not wanting the officers to notice for as long as possible.

Everyone was about ankle deep when Tusmon shouted from the parking lot. “Men, get off the ground now!” he yelled as he jumped onto a nearby car. Kada immediately reacted and instantly solidified it all. Only a couple officers managed to move quick enough, hopping up on the nearby fencing, even one grabbing onto a service pole. The rest now had their feet definitively stuck. “She’s a distraction, go and find the rest!” Tusmon ordered the officers who could still move.

They darted off in various directions prompting Kada to shout, “Cosdammit, get back here you bastards,” as she chased after them.

◆◆◆

As Xard dropped from the roof, he just now realized how torn up his clothing was. Both main articles were riddled with bullet holes and had giant rips in the front from when he released the shockwave. His shirt was still intact enough that it stayed on his body but was now completely open in the front. His pants, however, weren’t so lucky. Only the waistline was still attached, the rest was now hanging behind him like tassels.

He was amazed that none of the others had ridiculed him for it, but guessed it was due to the severity of the situation, or perhaps they were just used to seeing his clothes destroyed now. Xard ripped off what remained of his pants since they would just get in the way.

Surprisingly, his boxers were almost completely undamaged. He must have subconsciously avoided releasing energy from there to avoid ruining them. There was one small bullet hole on the right side, but it did not reveal anything that could be considered compromising.

Xard knew he had a task he needed to complete, but the idea of running around in such a disheveled and exposed manner appalled him. He briefly thought about calling up to Drim to throw something down to him, but then remembered all of his clothes were in a big stew of their various personal belongings. I’m curious how the things Kada melts and mixes together manages to reform properly afterwards, Xard wondered. It’s definitely a mystery… Alright, well I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and do this. Maybe I can secure some clothes along the way.

Xard ran down the alley towards the nearest main street. Phon had gone through a lot of pain to describe where the police were, so he wasn’t going to let it be in vain. Ideally, he could run around to all the major streets between there and the train station and lure the cops away. This would hopefully also draw out any in nearby alleys as well and allow a straight shot for Drim. Thankfully, it seemed the snow had stopped, and was already melting, making this run a lot easier. The road ahead of him had been plowed as well.

When Xard sprang from the end of the alley onto the road, he immediately saw cops standing next to barricades near one of the cross sections. To his annoyance, they hadn’t immediately noticed him. There was also a good chance that even if they did, they wouldn’t pursue him. He believed it likely they had orders to prioritize Drim and Phon, especially since Phon was already injured. He needed to provoke them.

Xard had spent most of his life trying not to offend anyone, so shouting insults would definitely be a new experience. “Oi you mawhgsacks. I see you’re just as terrible at your job as ever. Don’t even notice when a criminal is right behind you. Pathetic!” A bit of his growing disdain for the police may have leaked in there.

“What did you say, you little Zjik?!” one of the officers roared in anger. She gestured to the others there. They all pulled their guns and aimed at Xard. “Get on the ground or we will fire.”

“Hmph, as if you collateral shooters could hit me. You’re welcome to give it your sad try if you like. I may even let you get close out of pity,” Xard taunted once more. He then turned around, and dashed in the opposite direction of the officers.

They had successfully taken the bait. Just as Xard began hopping over a barrier to head down a side street, a bullet which he hadn’t even noticed whizzed right past his head. It was too close for comfort. He would have to leave his curse on this entire time or he’d likely get popped unexpectedly. They definitely weren’t as poor of marksmen as he had made them out to be.

What Xard saw next stopped him in his tracks. This road was still populated. Having not been evacuated, a few civilians were out on the sidewalks, with a few more poking their heads out of their buildings to see what was the cause of the commotion. Xard began to panic a little. He now had three enraged cops chasing after him who had already proven they were willing to pull the trigger. If they had any sense of being proper police left in them, they wouldn’t fire when there was a chance of hitting civilians, but that was a risk he couldn’t take.

He needed them to get to cover, but knew human curiosity wasn’t easily swayed. He needed to make them afraid. His first thought was to fire energy from his finger and pretend it was a gun. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any left, having forgotten to collect some when he dropped off the building. This left plan B, act crazy.

“Damn humans, you’re in my way!” Xard shrieked, clutching his head and swaying to act as insane as possible. “Get out of my way, you’re always there! Always staring! Move it, or I’ll crush you all.” Xard lifted his right leg, and slammed hard against the ground. The road shattered into pieces, sending a small shockwave of cracks forward. Within seconds, the road was clear.

Xard heard the police approaching the corner, and resumed his death march down the road. While the street was now clear, he could still feel the occupant’s gazes and was filled with guilt, hoping that the incident hadn’t left any of them too traumatized. He was now also feeling the full force of the shame and embarrassment brought upon by his outfit.

If Xard was to see someone running down the road in their underwear, he would take it upon himself to stop the individual and lecture them. Now that the tables were turned, he wanted to curl up into a ball. He couldn’t think of any possible way that someone would garner excitement from this.

Xard knew there were security cameras littering the streets, so this would likely be shown all over. He shuddered at the idea of the expression his parents would make when they saw it. He was also slightly mortified and worried about his own ability for acting deranged.

After Xard made sure the police tailing him were close enough, he darted out onto the next main street. Thankfully, the police occupying this one were already looking his way due to the previous ruckus, so it didn’t take as much provocation as the last group. Xard repeated this pattern for a while, running down each main street, taunting the police, and getting them to chase after him. He now had a large group of at least a few dozen officers running after him in hot pursuit.

Xard felt though that this was getting tiresome, not from the running itself, but because he had to purposely slow himself down. The police needed to think they had a chance at catching him, and their aspirations would be instantly thwarted if he were to move at his full speed. He even went out of his way to make it appear he was desperate to escape them, knocking down trash cans and other objects that could get in their way.

Xard had even let a few bullets purposefully hit him. It allowed him to store a little bit of energy, but not significant enough for him to pull off a big move. He could use it to wound a few officers, but felt that they might stop pursuing him if they felt they were in an overbearing amount of danger. Thankfully, he was now nearing the end of his gauntlet, with only a couple main roads left to run.

He was currently running down a street full of businesses, and usually frequented by shoppers. One of the bullets fired at him had missed by such a wide margin, it had shot and broke the glass of a storefront display ahead of him. It was the display of a clothing shop, with mannequins sporting the latest fashion. Xard’s eyes widened at the opportunity. He hated himself for even considering stealing, but his embarrassment had reached its limits.

Xard veered towards the store, and grabbed the closest mannequin by the broken glass. As he resumed his trot with his entourage, he glanced down at his score and grimaced. The mannequin was donned with a baby blue polo shirt, and red and white diamond patterned golf pants. Is this seriously what people are into these days, Xard thought, disgusted. He had half a mind to go back and berate the shop owner over this crime of fashion.

This wasn’t the time though, and even these eyesores were better than the rags he currently had equipped. Xard took the clothes off the mannequin, and tossed the newly naked figure back at the police, even tripping up a few of them, causing him to snicker a bit. He held the clothes against his chest and covered them with his arms. If he were to change now his new clothes would likely be riddled with holes just like the last set.

Xard turned onto the last main street, which he had purposely planned to save for last, and had adjusted his route accordingly. It was the same street he had taken to school every day before his new life. He chose this area since he knew the layout well, having often spent time wandering the various alleyways with Warig. After Xard had gotten the attention of the last set of cops, he ran part way down the road and stopped.

He squatted down in the middle of the street, with his back still towards the police. They took this opportunity to unload as many bullets as possible into his back. Jeez, these idiots, don’t they know they’re just giving me ammo? Xard questioned and rolled his eyes at their incompetence. When the number of shots had decreased, most likely meaning many were beginning to reload, Xard decided he was stocked up enough. He held out his right hand to the side, and let off a blast of energy, propelling him into the alley to the left.

By the time the officers had begun funneling into the alley, Xard had already reached the end of it, and changed his shirt along the way. He was now trapped at a dead end and hastily looking around for an escape; or rather, that’s what he wanted the police to think. “Give it up, you’re trapped with nowhere to go. The only way back is through all of us, and even you can’t take us all on!” It was the same officer who had yelled at him on the first road giving this spiel.

Did she not just see me get shot 50 times without a scratch?! Is she actually that delusional or is she overly cocky and confident in the might of the police force? Xard wished he could hang around to have an intervention with this woman about expectations and how she sees herself compared to the rest of the world.

“Isn’t it annoyingly obvious that I lured you all here?” Xard asked the group, still a little dumbfounded. “Like, you guys did exactly what I wanted you to do, every step of the way. Do your orders of ‘stop the dirty Fiend at all costs’ make you act so blindly that you can’t even think and deduce the situation for yourself? This was a trap... Apparently, you think you’re the ones who trapped me, but that’s honestly laughable.” The officers didn’t respond. Instead, they tightened their grip on their guns and stared with ferocity.

“Oh Cosmos, it looks like I’m going to have to show you,” Xard sighed while placing one of his hands on his head in anguish. “I mean, it’s a little understandable, since my curse isn’t as well known as the Drazah’s yet, but at least have some sense of danger. In a way, it’s a bit admirable that you’ve chased me with such unyielding, and honestly annoying, tenacity. I can only hope that this blow to your pride will lead you to become better.”

Xard turned back towards the dead end. He tucked his stolen pants under his chin and did a handstand. He could just as easily pull off this maneuver with his feet, but did not want to damage his still perfectly functioning shoes. Xard leaned back a little, angling his feet just over the heads of the officers. A blast of energy shot out of his hands, sending him flying into the air, soaring over the officers. While still in flight, he grabbed the pants, slid them on while doing a rotation, and stuck the landing of a masterfully executed backflip near the entrance of the alley that would have filled professional gymnasts with envy.

Becoming a Fiend and training with the Drazahs had done wonders for his athleticism. While he knew he still had a long way to go, just this short amount of time allowed him to achieve something which if he had tried before when he was just a normal human, most likely would have ended with him snapping his neck. Xard stretched out his arms towards the officers and crossed them, making an X. He angled his wrists so that his palms were facing flat towards the police.

“I hope you have a good day officers,” Xard addressed them, feeling a little bad about what was going to happen. Though the feeling didn’t last too long. “When you’re able to move again, I suggest taking the rest of the day off, go home, take some painkillers, and have a nice long nap.” Xard swung both of his arms horizontally, returning them to their original outstretched positions. He emitted all the energy he had stored up left in him from his palms as he swung.

Two large waves of pressure soared down the alleyway, tearing up the sides as they went. It hit the first officers, sending them careening into the ones directly behind them. The wave carried all of them to the back of the alley where they smacked into one big pile against the wall. If Xard had focused that energy through his fingertips instead, the waves would have been closer to blades and would have sliced through them all effortlessly.

Xard stared at the result of his handiwork, thinking he may have slightly overdone it. He really needed to get better at gauging how much energy he had stored. Though, he had only used the energy that the police had inflicted on him themselves. It had been severely lessened as well, by the two moves he had pulled off earlier. Xard wasn’t exactly sure what to do now, so he gave the officers the same slight bow he normally would when saying goodbye to someone and sauntered off.

◆◆◆

Drim stared at Phon for a bit after the two others had departed. He knew they needed to leave soon, but knowing that it would hurt Phon was making him hesitate. Part of him was wishfully hoping she would miraculously recover enough that she could teleport them away, but even if she could, he couldn’t ask her to risk it after he saw the damage the last attempt had caused.

Phon’s injuries were almost certainly not life threatening, especially for a Fiend, but they did not yet know how extensive a Fiend’s resistances were. There was a chance her wounds could become infected if left untreated, especially with bullets still inside of her. Luckily, the shot to her elbow hadn’t embedded itself, but it had left a severe gash.

However, the bullet that had pierced through her hand had continued its trajectory and buried itself in her gut. The one in her thigh was still lodged as well. Drim knew he’d have to remove them, which he had done once before to save the life of an injured traveler who was robbed. From that experience, he learned just how painful it was for the opposite party, and this time he would have to do it while moving.

Drim heard the helicopter flying his way, and knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He lifted the first aid kit he was still holding up to his head and said, “Pox I need you to hold onto this for me.” The usual small furry hand poked out from his hood, grabbed onto the kit, and pulled it inside.

Drim was wearing his sling backpack as usual, which had his bracers and a few arrows, but decided against equipping them since there was a chance they could cut Phon while he was carrying her. Also, having them readily available would mean he would be more likely to use them against the police, which he wanted to avoid because it would likely lead to their death. Hopefully, he wouldn’t run into many because of Xard and Kada’s efforts, but if he did, he would have to rely on his thorns.

Drim picked up his duffle bag, which made an unsettling sloshing as he moved it since it was filled with everyone's combined melted possessions, with an equally disturbing noise to accompany it. He slung the bag’s strap over his left shoulder, and shifted it so the bag laid against his backside. He bent down next to Phon and hoisted her up into a princess carry. It was then that the whirring of the helicopter got exponentially louder.

Drim looked up and the helicopter was hovering just overhead. The door on the side slid open, and a heavily dressed officer, attached with a harness, dangled out. He aimed a fully automatic rifle right at Drim and began to fire. Drim dashed towards the edge of the roof and hopped down. He had hoped to be able to use his vines to lower them down slowly, but that was no longer an option. As he descended, he spread his legs and grinded his feet into each wall to slow them down. The height wasn’t enough that the fall would hurt him, but he wanted the landing to be as soft as possible for Phon’s sake.

Once on the ground, Drim took off and began weaving madly through the back alleys. Losing the helicopter was simple enough with enough random turns, but now he wasn’t exactly sure where he was. He also wasn’t entirely sure where they were in relation to the train station. He knew the station was near the city center, so as long as he could keep an eye on the sun he should be able to discern the general direction he had to go.

He briefly considered pulling out his tablet and using that map to guide him, but since his hands were full, he would have to use a vine to hold it. That was something he couldn’t afford to do. He had plenty of nature energy to do so, but controlling his vines required mental energy. Since he had to do something that was going to require a lot of focus and precision, he couldn’t warrant both holding and looking at his tablet.

Even running would be difficult, it would be like trying to perform surgery while on a treadmill. However, they had to keep moving or they’d miss the train. Drim began a slow run in what he hoped was the right direction, and did his best to let his legs operate on autopilot from then on. He took a deep breath and cleared his head as he summoned several vines.

Two of the vines wrapped around Phon’s arms and legs to keep her from fidgeting. A third wrapped around her mouth to muffle any potential screams. A fourth floated above her, the tip splitting into six ends, as small as Drim could make them. He decided to start with the thigh wound first, since extracting that bullet would likely be less painful. The tips of the vine slithered into the wound. He could only imagine what it must feel like with them wriggling around inside.

Phon was shaking wildly in Drim’s arms. Since she was restrained, it was more like a constant vibration, and he could see tears stream down from her ribbon. Thankfully, this time they were regular and not blood. Eventually, the vine tips managed to fully wrap around the bullet. After a few small tugs to confirm the grip was adequate, the vine retracted in one swift motion, pulling the bullet out of Phon’s leg. She let out a solid groan followed by a very relaxed sigh, which was just audible enough to be heard through her gag.

The vine flew behind Drim and deposited the bullet in his bag. He doubted Phon wanted to keep it, but felt it better to take it than dispose of it randomly for someone to find. Drim felt it was a good time to refocus on his movements, to make sure they were still on the right track. He glanced ahead and panicked. Two officers were further along down the alley he was currently running through and seemed to have just noticed him.

They began aiming at him while walking slowly in his direction. Fortunately, there was still a crossroads between them so Drim could alter course, but he knew this meant they would take their shot before he was out of their line of sight. Instead of diverting right when he got to the intersection, he charged forward, throwing the cops off for a moment. Just as Drim was about to cross the threshold into their alley, he spun hard on his right heel and slid his left foot along the ground covering the expanse of the alley’s entrance. Green light emitted from the area Drim had drug his foot, and a wall of thorns sprouted up, blocking the police off from him.

As he ran down the alleyway perpendicular to the officers, he repeatedly used his foot to set more thorns to block off any potential paths if they decided to go around and chase him. Once he was confident that he had enough of a buffer, he resumed his autorun and focused back on his amateur doctoring. He moved his hand-like vine over to the wound in Phon’s stomach. That was when he noticed just how stained her top had become.

There was a large irregularly shaped circle of blood around the hole. It was definitely noticeable enough that it could cause issues when they would try to board the train. He couldn’t change her clothes without Kada, and couldn’t take a bleeding person to a clothing store either. Maybe if I use her blood I can dye the rest of the shirt to match the stain, Drim pondered for a moment. There’s quite a lot of it to use. She's been bleeding even more from her leg since I removed the bullet… Ahh I should do something about that.

Drim had a bit of the vine wrapped around her legs slide upwards and tighten around the wound. This would slow the bleeding until he could properly bandage it. He looked back at the shirt, and berated himself for wasting time and thinking about something non-critical to the moment. He refocused the vine and dug in.

The extraction went similarly to the first. However, it seemed to cause Phon a great deal more pain this go round. When it came time for the pull, the pain seemed too much to bear, causing her to pass out. Drim thought it may be for the best so she could get a break. He used his vine to pull a bottle of water from his backpack and rinse out her wounds. As he put it away, he whispered, “Pox, bandages please.” He wasn’t sure Pox would even know what bandages were, but sure enough after a few seconds they were poking out of his hood.

Using his vine, he made sure to patch Phon up properly. He had a fair amount of experience with this as he would often help out anyone injured he came across; usually other monster hunters after they had lost a fight. After he passed the bandages back to Pox, he retracted all of his vines back into the usual green glow. He could focus on getting himself and Phon to the train station now that the immediate issue had been taken care of.

It didn’t take him long to get to the city center, but was instantly weirded out when he got there and stood in the middle. He looked at the clock on one of the buildings; [389]. He had made it with plenty of time, but the square was completely empty. There was no one, which was unheard of at this time of day. There were signs that people had been there previously, based on the tracks left in the few bits of remaining snow. Right now though, Drim couldn’t sense a single person in the vicinity, but that lasted only a moment.

Men in full gear began pouring into the center, from every possible entrance, even the one he had just come from. They quickly surrounded him in a circle, but none of them got too close. Drim noticed the insignia on their shoulders. CP was stitched into their uniforms. These were no ordinary police officers. This was the private elite force controlled by the Central Peace which he had heard of but never seen.

In a sense, he felt honored that they warranted such a response, but wondered how Tusmon had the ability to enlist them, as well as how they got here so quickly. He could guess why they had ambushed him here. The city square led to both the bus station and the train station, so the odds were quite high that they would come here regardless of which method they planned to use.

Drim surveyed the group around him. They were all armed, but each with a different weapon. It was very different from the usual military practice of giving their soldiers standard issue weapons. A few had shotguns, a few had automatic rifles, one was dual-wielding pistols, and one very burly figure was carrying a mini-gun. Even the ones with repeat types all had different models. Also, not all of the soldiers had guns. One was using a polearm, and another had a flail.

He was sure that each one of them was using the weapon they felt most comfortable with, and likely they were all masters with their choice of arms. They all also had varying degrees of uniform. They were all resembling something a soldier would wear, but they differed greatly in design and functionality. A few had heavy-looking armor on, but others had suits consisting mostly of lighter weaves that would be easier to move in. Some also had different colors and designs painted on. A few even had distinguishing accessories that would never be allowed in a traditional army.

Drim’s heart suddenly skipped a beat as an important thought raced through his head. There was no way the CP would only have fighters that specialized in short-to-mid range combat. His eyes began darting around the rooftops, and the moment he saw a small flicker of light he rapidly took a step back while swinging Phon in his arms to move her as far away as he could.

An instant later, there was a bullet hole in the ground. Drim who was typically quite cool-headed in these situations was now burning up. Based on trajectory, and where the bullet had hit, the sniper had been aiming right for Phon’s head. For a moment, Drim was stunned at how close that had been. If he had reacted any later, Phon would have died from his negligence. Drim had been upset and annoyed when Kada and Xard tried to kill the hexadillos, but for the first time in a long time, he was truly angry.

Drim bolted over to the nearby manhole cover. Like back in the alley, he swung his foot around, this time in a full circle. Large black thorned-vines shot from the ground all around him, going up high. Drim had made them as thick as possible, guessing the enemies wouldn’t just let him do what he wanted. He was right. They began to fire at the vines as soon as they sprung up. They most likely thought he was going to use the sewers to escape, but he had no intention of running.

Drim set Phon down next to him on the ground and then placed both of his hands flat on the manhole cover. The entire cover lit up green as he poured energy into it. It was the most energy he had used in a while, and he could feel a noticeable gap deplete from within him. The cover started to lift up, and a thick log, wide enough that it just barely fit through the hole, rose from the sewers. The log was made of the strongest wood possible, even an explosive would have a tough time damaging it.

Drim wasn’t sure if this type of wood existed naturally anywhere in the world, or if this was a plant of his own creation. He placed his hands on either side of the log and began to absorb some of it, hollowing it out about 80 percent of the way. He then slid his hands along the front, creating an opening in the log. He took off his duffle bag and placed it inside, then picked up Phon, and sat her on it.

“Pox, you too,” Drim whispered to his hood. Pox crawled out from his hiding spot, still carrying the first aid kit. He jumped off of Drim’s shoulder and into the log, set the kit off to the side, and then curled up in Phon’s lap. “Take care of her, okay,” Drim said to Pox who gave a slight nod in response. Drim placed his hands back on the log, and regenerated the missing part. He made sure to absorb enough all around it to create small holes for air.

The log began to sink back into the sewer as Drim mimicked pushing something down with his hands. When it was all the way in, the manhole cover clunked back into place as if nothing had happened. Excellent, now that the liabilities are out of the way, time to eliminate those nuisances. “No, I can’t do that,” Drim whispered as he looked down at his chest. That thought hadn’t originated from his head, but rather from his heart.

From time to time, Drim would have thoughts that did not feel like his own. They would say he was too soft, that he would need to be more ruthless. That he should crush, kill, dominate, subjugate, command, sway, terrorize, or tyrannize anyone or anything that stood in the way of his goals. These thoughts would gnaw at his impulses, and at times would be hard to resist. He knew though that if he ever gave into them, he would stop being himself, and ultimately become the demon’s successor the world expected him to be.

So you’re just going to let them off, the people who tried to kill your sister?! “No, even I have a limit to how nice I can be,” Drim murmured as he rubbed his eyes. They had been burning this whole time as anger swelled inside him, feeling like they were going to burst. If he kept it bottled up for too much longer, he might even give into one of the suggestions his heart had to offer. That’s good to know.

Drim looked at his cylinder of thorns around him. They were still holding up even with the constant assault. This was because he was absorbing any pieces that were blasted off, and constantly supplying energy to his thorns so they could regenerate. However, only bits that were still living could be reabsorbed. Some were killed when hit, so overall it was resulting in a net loss of nature energy. This meant that even though he had a vast amount stocked up, eventually he would be depleted. That and the time limit of the train leaving in approximately 10 minutes meant he couldn’t stall.

First, he had to deal with the sniper. Drim pulled his bracers out of his bag, equipped them, and shifted his blades into a bow. Just as he was about to reach for an arrow, a familiar whirring sound began to fill his ears. It appeared the helicopter from before had finally caught up. This was wonderful timing, since it would allow him to deal with both at the same time. He pulled out two arrows and wrapped a small amount of thorns around the first arrow’s shaft. With the second, he wrapped continuously until it was covered with an absurd amount of thorns, sporting a thickness similar to his arm.

Two holes briefly opened up in Drim’s defenses. Out of the first, he shot the smaller arrow towards the sniper, and out of the second he launched the fat arrow which his bow struggled a bit more to fire. Once both were soaring, the thorns closed up and resumed their form as an impenetrable barricade. The first arrow went directly into the sniper's scope causing the glass to shatter into the sniper’s face. As they were reeling from the attack, the thorns unraveled from the arrow and launched out of the scope, wrapping around the sniper and pinning them to the roof.

The second arrow pierced into the bottom of the helicopter. The thorns quickly wrapped around it all over, then many shot out to the nearby buildings and latched on. They pulled the helicopter until it was caught firmly between two buildings, then some went up and jammed the rotor. A few more opened the door and secured the passengers so that they couldn’t move.

It was finally time to face the forces surrounding him. Drim returned the bow to his bracers in their blade form. After a bit of back and forth, he decided he would not use them to attack. Instead he would just use them for defense if one of the melee users got too close. Even with how he was feeling, he still could not bring himself to kill the CP forces. They were just doing their jobs after all. However, this did not mean that he would go easy on them. They had tried to kill someone he loved.

The thorns around him shed their points, changing into normal black vines. The base of the vines trudged along the ground until they were as close to Drim as they could get. They began wrapping around his body, until he was fully covered like a mummy. The soldiers had stopped firing due to their uncertainty as the vine-mummy started to glow green.

With a flash, the original vines were gone. What replaced them was a cloak wrapped around Drim made of hundreds of small vines that draped down to his feet. The vines had also fused with the hood he was already wearing, giving it a unique texture. Drim didn’t feel right if he were to fight without wearing a cloak after all.

One at a time, four large green portals spawned behind Drim’s back, floating behind him. From each portal erupted a gigantic heavily-thorned vine. Unlike his usual ones which were rounded, these were more squared, with jagged edges and kinks. They also got smaller as they went on. At their base, they barely made it out of the portals, but at the ends they were fine points. All four of them were jerking about in place, as if all of Drim’s anger had flowed into them.

Drim closed his eyes, took a few breaths to try to calm himself, and lowered his hood, and with it, the area around the city center and the sky above seemed to dim. His hair was more intensely dark than usual, devouring the light around him. Normally, Drim would not expose his hair when fighting, but felt the situation warranted it. People’s eyes were naturally drawn to it, so the soldiers would instinctively try to look away. Drim hoped that this would worsen their aim, since they appeared to all be skilled marksmen. Also, the atmosphere it had created more accurately represented his current mood.

The sights of the soldier’s guns definitely seemed to waver slightly, and a few of their hands had started to shake. Drim’s presence was overbearing, and his thorns were likely quite unsettling. If this had taken place a bit further in the past, most men would have likely bowed to him as if he was a god. He opened his eyes, causing the shaking in the soldiers to increase by another level. The normal scary expression his face had by default was now amplified into one that would break anyone’s spirits.

He stared around at the soldiers for a few moments. They seemed to be calming down a bit, but were still hesitant to act. Drim spoke aloud to them, his voice several volumes higher than normal. “If you’re not going to act first, then I will!” His large thorns flew from his back, right towards the mini-gun operator since he could cause the most damage. They moved so fast that they had just about reached the enemy before any of the others could react. In response, they all began to resume firing at Drim.

Not a single bullet hit him. Several of the vines from his cloak moved up at blazing speed and knocked every incoming bullet away before returning to their spot on his cloak. Their movements were so rapid that they could not be fully seen by the naked human eye. Instead, it would appear to them as if he was surrounded by a shroud of black blur. To an observer who had the ability to slow down their viewing, he would likely look like a rampaging tentacle monster out of science fiction.

His large thorns wrapped around the mini-gun, and yanked it out of the soldier’s hands. They then proceeded to rip it to shreds before converging on its user and hammering him down onto the ground. The thorns then moved onto the next in the circle, repeating the process of destroying their weapon and then kindly making their body give a forceful hug to the pavement. This continued on for a few minutes as the thorns worked systematically around the circle, while his cloak continued to keep him from all harm.

One soldier had learned the pattern and threw his weapon up in the air as the thorns approached, predicting they would follow it. They all behaved like he expected, so he took this chance to charge towards Drim with his knife. One of the thorns then immediately diverted its path and wrapped around the man’s legs. It picked him up, and slammed him onto a nearby bench.

When Drim was working on attacking the opposing side of the circle to her position, the flail user tried to sneak up on Drim from behind. One of the thorns split off from the group and flew behind him, proceeding to viciously flick the woman in the head, disorienting her. The thorn then grabbed the flail out of her hands, flew behind her, and impaled her in the back of the knee with the spiked ball.

Eventually, all that was left was the polearm bearer. Drim had accurately guessed that this man would be the biggest foil to his thorn usage. He had sent a few smaller ones over to the soldier during the fight to keep him occupied, but the soldier had managed to block, dodge, or cut them all. The man took a running stance, with his polearm angled behind him, and began charging at Drim.

In retaliation, Drim sent his four large thorns directly at him. He mentally applauded the man’s bravery and ability to endure this long. However, time was almost up, and he was exhausted from using his curse to such a degree, so he wanted this to be over.

The four thorns closed in on the man but to Drim’s surprise, he managed to dodge all of them, and even cleany cut through one of the thorns with his weapon. The injured thorn began to writhe around wildly like it was a living creature due to Drim’s sudden frustration. He sent energy down the thorn for it to regenerate, and then all of them resumed attacking the man.

To Drim’s growing annoyance, the man kept dodging. This was likely due to how tired Drim was getting, causing the thorns to move slower. Even with the man’s vast talent, there would be no way he could out maneuver them if this was the start of the fight. Drim would have to remember this in the future when faced with agile opponents. Eventually, he gave up on the idea that his thorns would ever be able to land a hit, and retracted them back inside their portals, which promptly faded away.

Instead, Drim readied himself for the impending attack. As expected, the soldier didn’t let this opportunity go to waste and headed straight towards Drim, ready to strike. Drim stood there, not moving an inch, doing his best to refocus his mind as much as he could. As soon as the soldier twitched his weapon, Drim moved his own arms in response, and blocked the incoming attack with his blades. This knocked the polearm backwards, staggering its user with the recoil.

If Drim had not recalled his earlier thorns he would not have been able to pull this off, and was the same reason he had not used his vine cloak to defend. Using them together was extremely effective, but it required so much mental energy that Drim would struggle greatly to move his body even an inch. If he was attacked in an unexpected way when using them, he would be unable to react. His vine cloak alone likely would have been enough, but Drim didn’t take the risk that the soldier could somehow cut through them all. Instead he had opted to rely on his own skill and reflexes, which had paid off.

The bottom of Drim’s cloak split off into four bits and wrapped around the soldier's limbs, spreading them. The soldier seemed to struggle for a moment, before giving up after realizing it was hopeless. Perfect… Now show the world what happens to those who stand in your way… Eradicate him! Set an example! With this thought, the vines wrapped around the soldier seemed to squeeze tighter, causing him to groan in pain.

“No…” Drim whispered as the vine loosened a little. “No... I can’t do that... I am not YOU!” What started as a quiet mumble that only Drim could hear, ended in a deafening yell which silenced the area. All of a sudden his head felt clear, he wasn’t angry anymore. The gnawing anguish in his head was gone. He knew he had won and no longer had to fight. These soldiers were all prepared to die, but if he killed them, he would have lost to himself.

Drim raised his right hand, and placed it against the soldier's chest. He looked at him right in the eyes, and saw that there was no fear, only determination. “Sorry about that outburst… You’re very skilled,” Drim said to the man in his usual demeanor since his rage and frustration had been quelled. “If we were to meet again under different circumstances, I’d love to learn from you.”

The man gave a cheeky grin, and exhaled heavily from his nose as if he found Drim’s statement amusing. Drim pulled back his palm. Simultaneously, the vines vanished from around the man along with the rest of Drim’s cloak. Drim pushed his hand forward, holding back as much as he could, and hit the man square in the chest. Even with trying to be gentle, it was still enough force to send the man flying backwards and crashing into a building.

Drim took a survey of the scene. Every soldier was down on the ground, but a few were still struggling and trying to stand. “Give up. It’s over,” Drim’s voice boomed in the same commanding manner as the night at Prosper. Each soldier immediately stopped moving and collapsed with not a hint of fighting spirit left in them. Now that the fight was over, Drim put his hood back up causing the atmosphere to return to normal. He then clutched his head from strain and exhaustion and huddled over.

“Woah Drim, are you all right?” an approaching voice yelled. It was Kada running up to him. A few seconds later Xard also appeared on the scene. His bizarre appearance shocked Drim and rapidly snapped him out of his funk. Drim looked at the clock, [397], they had all made it on time.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Drim said to them, his voice noticeably tired. “I’m glad you both are okay too.” It seemed both of them hadn’t witnessed what had just transpired. He thought it was probably for the best, not knowing if it would have been inspiring or frightening for them to see.

“Where’s Phon at? Is she alright?” Xard asked with concern.

“I’m alright!” a voice echoed from beneath their feet. It seemed Phon had regained consciousness. “Hurry up and get me out of this thing!” Drim stepped off of the manhole cover he had not moved from since the start of the fight, and raised the log back up. He opened up a hole in it which prompted Phon to limp out on all fours and gasp for air. Pox immediately crawled out from under her and made a beeline right for Drim’s hood. “Man it was stuffy in there,” Phon said taking a few more big breaths before returning to normal breathing.

She looked up at the clock, quickly lifted her ribbon to take a peak, and said in a condescending tone, “You guys were cutting it pretty close, huh? Well, I should have just enough energy to be able to move us onto the train so…” She had turned her head to look at them all and stopped talking abruptly when she saw Xard. Phon began bursting out laughing when she saw how Xard was dressed. Now reassured since Phon was well enough to react in such a way, Drim went over to the log, picked up his duffle bag, then reabsorbed the wood.

Eventually, the outburst became so much that Phon couldn’t support herself anymore and rolled onto her back. “Oh Cosmos, laughing hurts so much,” she whined while doing her best to contain her laughter; a few chuckles still escaped. This prompted her to clutch her stomach wound with her bandaged hand. With her free hand she pulled her phone out of her pocket, swiftly snapped a picture of Xard, and put it back before he could react. “Damn, that made this all worth it. Thanks Xard. Alright, for real now, let’s get going.”

“Wait!” a nearby voice yelled. “Don’t move!” However it was too late. The four Fiends vanished from the square.

◆◆◆

Tusmon was running to the Constead city square, accompanied by a few fellow police officers, where he saw the four Fiends standing around. He called out to them but to no avail. They all vanished right in front of his eyes. Tusmon stopped running and let out a loud sigh. He put away his gun, and looked at the devastation around him. He moved over to one of the soldiers and checked to see that they were still alive.

After a few moments, one of the officers ran over to him. “We looked around both stations, but there was no sign of them. Do you want us to order that all travel be halted?” she asked.

“No… we can’t inconvenience these civilians more than we already have.” Tusmon stated. “We can afford to let them go for now. The night they saved my life, they told me they would kill me if I tried to arrest them again. I had a feeling they were bluffing. They’re definitely not as evil as they lead others to believe. I feel confident that I can say they will not go out of their way to cause trouble for others in the immediate future.”

“Then sir I must ask, what was all this for? Why did you go through all these lengths to try to capture them?” the officer questioned him.

“You saw what they did, the damage they left behind,” Tusmon lamented. “Even if they are not bad people, they are still monsters. They are walking weapons of mass destruction, and left unchecked they could bring this world to ruin… For that reason, I will not stop pursuing them, and I have a good idea where they’re going next. I’ll follow them to the end of the world if I have to.”

“Why does this burden have to fall on you, though?” the officer insisted. “Every police department across the continent is looking for them, and I’m sure the Central Peace is taking measures of their own to catch them.”

“Well you see, this mission has already turned me into a monster as well,” Tusmon said as he took off his sunglasses. “If I’m the one who goes after them, it may prevent others from sharing my fate.” The now stone-faced officer looked back at him as he stared at her with his blood-red eyes.

◆◆◆

The next few days aboard the train passed slowly. The Fiends had gotten a private cabin to accommodate the four of them. It wasn’t anything too fancy with two benches and a table between them, with four beds that fold out when they wanted to sleep. Phon’s injuries had completely healed within a few hours, and when she was feeling more up to it, she pulled up a video on her phone

It showed their apartment being searched by a team of police officers. Phon had set up small cameras around it before they left so they could watch a feed on their mobile devices. Based on the timestamp of the recording, it seemed they had infiltrated within minutes of their initial escape, which matched Kada’s earlier assumption.

Phon had also left them a cake that she had baked with ‘congratulations, you found this place too late’ written on it in icing. She seemed visibly annoyed that this wasn’t actually the case, and they had confronted them just in the knick of time. The highlight of the video, though, was definitely when one of them took a taste, and another slammed their face into the cake for acting stupid. Though, it looked like Phon wanted to berate them for wasting food.

With the remaining long duration, they spent various ways trying to pass the time; from playing cards to telling ghost stories, anything to make it go by faster. They would often take turns exploring the train, but Drim forced all of them to wear something to hide their hair in order to not cause a commotion when they were stuck with these people for a while. On the second night of the trip, the other three Fiends were all either watching or playing something on their phones.

However, Drim was mentally exhausted and didn’t really want to think anymore. So, he was instead just spacing out while looking out the window. Occasionally, he would focus in on the reflection of the window to see how the others were doing, and take a small comfort in their presence. He felt he would have gotten used to it by now, but having been alone for so long had left him more starved for company than he had previously realized.

One of the times when he glanced at the reflection, though, his own face wasn’t there. Instead, the reflection of someone else stared back. This startled him a bit just on reflex, but it wasn’t the first time it had happened, so he was used to it. When he glanced again, the reflection was back to normal, and he let it slip from his mind.

On the morning of the 20th, they had finally reached the end of their long journey by train, only to then be met with a several hour bus ride heading north a ways. Kada and Xard had been getting impatient and were now more persistently inquiring as to where they were going, to which Drim only replied ‘home’. This left them more confused than before, until they eventually passed a sign that said ‘Bisomote 20’ and they both seemed to have a grasp on the situation.

After that, the two of them sat in silence for the rest of the trip. Drim assumed it was because they didn’t want to cause a scene in front of the rest of the passengers. However, the moment they had gotten to their stop, and the bus had driven off, Kada yelled as loud as she possibly could, “What the hell are we doing here?!”

“I said we were going home, and this is our home…” Drim said diffidently.

“Yeah I get that, but your home was burned to the ground, remember?!” Kada disputed. “I’m pretty sure I read that it’s under constant guard now too. Plus, it’s in the middle of butt-mawhg nowhere!”

“Quit yapping and calm down,” Phon snapped at her. “The guards won’t be a problem, and I’ve heard the town has developed quite a bit since we’ve been gone.” The two girls butted heads for a while longer, before they got tired of it and the group moved out. They were now walking down the main street of the town, and it was true that it had developed quite a bit in the past twelve years.

There were several buildings that Drim didn’t recognize, and everything felt slightly more cramped than he remembered. Though, that could just be a result of him growing up and getting taller, changing his perspective on things. As the group walked on, more and more people began to stare, from onlookers on the streets to eventually everyone in the shops they passed.

Finally, someone yelled out, “Oh Cosmos, it’s them. The Drazah’s have returned!” There was a bit of screaming and everyone nearby dashed away. Shortly after, a siren blared, followed by an announcement over a loudspeaker. ‘Everyone, we're now in a state of emergency. This is a Calamity-1. I repeat, this is a Calamity-1. This is not a drill.’

Every remaining person out on the streets either ran into, or was dragged into a shop. Metal shutters then slid down in front of every door and every window on every building. Very quickly, the town felt like it had been abandoned, with no one around and almost complete silence. “Wow, these guys must really be afraid of you,” Kada teased. “I do think it’s a bit funny that they think those shutters would actually do anything to stop us if we really wanted to get in there.”

“Well, our family did wipe out a good chunk of the town’s population in a single day, so I can’t really blame them for being wary,” Drim lamented. “Though, I do hope someday they’ll see us as something besides just our parents. Even though we aren’t really doing the best job showing that to the world right now.”

They continued along the main street, heading north to the gates of the Drazah compound. On their way, they suddenly heard a soft and elderly voice. “Drim… that is you, Drim, isn’t it?” They looked around to find an old woman manning a small sweets shop with an outdoor counter and approached it. “It is you, I knew my old eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.”

“How come you’re not hiding from us like the rest of them?” Xard questioned her.

“Oh, I can’t move as fast as those young folks here. When I heard the announcement, I just didn’t have the energy to move so suddenly,” the old woman explained. “That, and Drim was always such a sweet boy. He would come to my shop all the time and stare at the pastries with such delight in his eyes. The maid would usually give in and buy something for him, but I always wanted to give in myself and give him something for free just to see his happiness… Oh, and your sister is here too… That’s… Nice…”

“I think she’s implying you were a rotten kid,” Kada whispered to Phon, who then took a swing at her in retaliation.

“I’m really happy that you’re doing well ma’am, and it’s nice that someone here isn’t completely afraid of us,” Drim said to the woman. “I was beginning to have doubts about coming here, so thank you.” The old woman happily gave them a bag of treats and waved them on their way. The others fought over who got which one as they walked. Drim was satisfied with the random one he got, enjoying the taste of nostalgia as he ate it.

Eventually, they reached the gates of the compound, but were immediately stopped by the armed guard posted there. “Halt, don’t come any closer! No one is allowed in under any circumstances.”

“See, I told you we’d have to deal with guards,” Kada rambled. “So what are you planning…”

She was cut off by a strong voice coming from the guard tower that Drim didn’t recognize, and must have been built while they were gone. “Stand down soldier,” the man with a strong build and graying hair said as he walked out of the tower and down the stairs. “These are the rightful owners of this land, you have no authority to stop them.”

“But sir, do you know who these people are?!” the guard blurted out. “There is no way that the Central Peace would be alright with letting them in.”

“The Central Peace has already signed off on it,” the man said as he pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to the guard. “You are now relieved of duty. Go tell the rest of the guards and head back to command for further orders.”

The guard opened the envelope and read the letter. He then gave the man a salute before running off to tell the others as ordered. “What the… Harth Boldur? What’s he doing here?” Kada asked the rest. “And how did you guys manage to get permission to be here?!”

“Well, I can answer that,” Harth interjected. “The Central Peace was initially against the idea. However, they were having such a hard time finding you that they were keen to the idea of knowing where you’d be living. As to why I’m here, I wanted to see my niece and nephew.”

“Wha, he’s your uncle?!” Kada gasped. “Wait, that means that one of the most well known higher ups of the CP is actually a sibling of one of the two demons?!”

“Yes, Eleen was actually my little sister,” Harth stated. “It’s a fact that the CP likes to keep quiet for obvious reasons. It is my greatest regret in life, that I was unable to stop her. I can’t deny that my selfishness got in the way. After Phon was born, I stopped trying to get Eleen to stop in fear that she wouldn’t let me see her children.”

“That’s why I joined the Reconstruction Division of the CP. I will devote the rest of my life to helping others. I know that it will never make up for it, and I don’t agree with everything that the CP does, but I do believe that is where I can do the most good. That leads me to another point. I know this won’t change anything by me saying it, but I have to anyways. Drim, Phon, it’s not too late. You could come work with me. I know it would be hard, but we could find some way to get your crimes erased, and you could start new lives helping others too.”

“I’m sorry uncle, but we have our own path,” Drim declared.

“I know, and I understand,” Harth sighed. “I don’t know what your plan is, and I can’t say that I approve of your methods. But what I do know is that the world will be better off for it, so I’m not going to try and stop you. That said, I’m still not going to leave without a hug from you both.”

“Sure thing, uncle,” Phon said as she went up to hug him. After she finished, it was Drim’s turn. However, that hug seemed to go on a bit too long, to the point where it was starting to get a bit awkward for the others watching.

“Hey Drim, don’t you think that hug has lasted long enough?” Xard asked, but his last words trailed off. The atmosphere had suddenly changed. Even though it was bright daylight out, the world felt dark, and it seemed like the air was getting thinner and stale.

“Oh Zjik!” Phon yelled. “Kada, Xard, run away and cover you ears! I don’t know what she’ll do!” The two of them looked at her like she was a crazy person, but they would soon understand the reason. Drim had moved her own arm back, and then struck at Harth’s jaw with a powerful uppercut; knocking him back against the gate.

Both Kada and Xard walked towards Drim to try to restrain her, but she raised her hand towards them and shouted. What came out was not just Drim’s voice, but another interlaced with it as well; a woman’s. “Don’t come any closer!”

Kada and Xard froze in their tracks. “What the? I can still move my body, but it feels like if I go forward at all, I’ll be killed instantly,” Xard panicked.

“Same for me. How come you’re not doing anything, Phon?” Kada asked the girl who was now just sitting on the ground, cradling her knees.

“Be quiet, and try not to piss her off,” Phon ordered. “That stuff doesn’t work on me, but she knows I’d never do anything to hurt Drim.”

“I still don’t get who ‘she’ is!” Xard cried out.

Coughing could be heard over by the gate. Harth was still conscious, and had spit up a bit of blood. He wiped his mouth, then said firmly, “I would recognize that punch anywhere. Hello Eleen.” Eleen Drazah now had full control over Drim’s body, all his actions, and his ability to speak.

“Hello, big brother,” Eleen said as a twisted grin stretched across Drim’s face, accompanied by wide, unyielding eyes. “You’ve gotten old, but you look better than I expected. I definitely would have guessed you’d become more of a fatty. Now I hear you’re trying to make the world a happy and friendly place for everyone. What a load. You could have used my name to get anything you want, but instead you're a government dog. Disgusting.”

“And you, Phon,” Eleen hissed as she whirled around and pointed at her. “You left your brother alone for twelve years. He was just a child!. Do you know how many times he almost died while I could only watch on helplessly... You should have been there! You’re a disgrace that doesn’t deserve to be called my daughter.”

“Now you two, Drim’s new ‘friends’” Eleen spat like she hated the word even being in her mouth. “Look at the fear in your eyes. You’re supposed to be there for Drim, but right now you’re looking at him like he’s a monster. He’s done so much for the both of you, but you’ve only taken advantage of his kindness. You will do nothing but hold him back. I should kill the lot of you… Starting with my brother over there!”

Even though Eleen could control Drim’s body, she wasn’t strong enough to control his curse. That made it impossible for her to use his plants or weapons, but she didn’t need them. She made a claw with Drim’s fingers, and that’s all she would need. She walked over to the still collapsed Harth and raised her claw in the air preparing to strike. She wasn’t sure if she was actually going to kill him or not. It would likely depend on her mood after a few swipes.

That first swipe never happened, though. Vines had crept out of Drim’s shirt, and wrapped around her neck, squeezing hard and cutting off all oxygen supply. Eleen grabbed at them, trying to rip them loose, but it was no use. She knew that Drim was trying to force her out, and he was even willing to threaten his life to do so. Heh, this stubborn son of mine. I can’t help but be a little pleased. With that last thought, Eleen’s consciousness faded and Drim’s full control returned as he fell to the ground coughing.

“Sorry about mother,” Drim said as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. “I think she just got too excited from seeing this place and uncle, so she just couldn’t contain herself.”

After confirming that everyone was okay, Harth gave Drim and Phon one last hug. Before he left for good, though, he pulled Xard and Kada aside. “Those two, are the last family I have left. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to them. So, if either of you ever do anything to hurt them… Well just remember, Eleen was my sister after all.” After that warning that left the two of them speechless, Harth headed over to his car he had parked nearby, and drove off.

◆◆◆

The gate to the compound had been rusted shut, making it clear that no one had actually been inside for a long time. A swift kick from Xard busted it open, and they headed inside. They made the long walk to the center where the Drazah mansion used to stand. “Wow, it really did burn down completely,” Drim said as he stared into the giant circle of ash that somehow hadn’t vanished after all this time. There were a few burnt beams, but otherwise, there was nothing left.

“So, uhh, since there’s nothing here, how exactly do you plan for us to live here?” Xard asked.

“We’re going to rebuild obviously,” Phon sneered. “And it won’t be just a house, there will be so much more!”

“Uhuh… that’s a great ambition and all, but can I ask with what money?” Xard questioned with a slight hint of skepticism. “You guys were so poor that you stayed in a crappy apartment and were frugal in every aspect of your lives. Are you planning for us to rob a bunch of banks or something?”

“Huh? We’re not poor. I’m not sure what gave you that idea.” Phon diverged. “We actually have quite a bit of money. We were the world's greatest bounty hunter and monster slayer after all. Both are quite lucrative when you’re at the top. All that time in Constead we were just being budget minded so we wouldn’t cut into our savings.”

“Wait… Just how much money are we talking?” Kada asked with just a slight hint of drool coming out of her mouth.

Phon pulled out her phone, pressed it a few times, then held out the screen for the rest to see. The next thing Drim knew, both of his hands had been grabbed. Kada and Xard were both down on one knee, each holding one of his hands, and in unison proclaimed, “Marry me!”

Phon delivered a swift blow to the back of both their heads with her gavel. She put it away while the two of them rubbed their heads and said, “Alright, we’ll come back to the living situation later. For now, let’s talk about your training. Drim and I will take turns training you personally over the coming weeks, but there is one task you both must overcome without our help.”

She pointed over to the mountain ridge to the west. “You see that mountain directly next to the west wall? Because of its placement, it always would get dark here way too early. So, it’s going to be your job to move it to the open space to the north.”

“Hmm, alright well that shouldn’t take too long,” Kada chimed.

“Oh, and you can’t use your curses,” Drim added. “It has to be done entirely by hand.”

“Wait, are you serious?!” Kada whined. “That will take forever!”

“Yup, dead serious,” Phon replied. “There is a valid reason for it, though. As I mentioned before, the enhancement that comes from being a Fiend stacks with your base strength. So, the stronger you are naturally, the more it will be improved. From what I can tell, you’re both still pretty weak. Now I know you’ll want to complain about that statement, but I’ll go ahead and give a comparison for example. Xard, take off your shirt.”

It looked like Xard wanted to argue, but he likely figured it was for the best to just go along with it. His skin was a little pale, but other than that he had an exceedingly average body. He was lean but not too skinny, and had a little muscle. He stood with a grimace on his face as the rest stared at him, before he finally got too self conscious and put his shirt back on.

“Yup, Xard is basically the most average person I’ve ever seen,” Phon snickered. “Okay, now for the comparison. Drim take off your shirt, and you two, try not to gawk too much.” Drim did as he was instructed but he was a little self conscious about it as well. This was the first time anyone in a long time would see him without a shirt. He mostly hid it because otherwise his curse mark would be in full view. This should be the first time anyone was seeing that as well.

Drim’s body eclipsed Xard’s in basically every possible way. He wasn’t pale at all, but also wasn’t bulging with muscles as one would expect. Instead he would be the definition of ‘toned’. His muscles were extremely defined, and he had abs so firm that someone could sharpen a blade on them. Which Drim may have done once or twice in an emergency.

His curse mark was now fully on display, right above where his actual heart would be; a heart wrapped in three black thorned vines. Two of the vines were diagonal, and one was horizontal, all of them crossing in the middle. He had made the clasp on his cloak have the same icon, minus the color, so they had all seen it before, but it still felt embarrassing having them look at the real thing.

Once again, Drim found himself with both of his hands grabbed, with Kada and Xard proposing at the ends of them. After they were done recovering from their now second smack of the day, Kada stared at her own exposed stomach and commented, “I really like how Drim looks, but I’m not sure I would like it if I ended up with a body that defined.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Phon reassured her. “I may not be great at cardio, but I’m almost as strong as Drim is. However, my body is still slender and smooth. I’d show you, but I don’t want to be stared at by your lewd eyes... I think it has something to do with being a Fiend, and that makes our physical bodies not stray too far from what we’d consider normal.”

They spent the next hour or so discussing plans they had, and were finally about ready to act on them. Just as they were starting to walk away, Xard stopped moving. “I have something that I have to ask,” he insisted. “You have more money than anyone could ever spend in a lifetime. So I have to ask, why? Why are you doing any of this? Why come out to the world and make everyone hate you? Why not go buy some private island and live out your lives in peace? Why form the Fiends For Hire?!”

Drim turned back to him with a gentle smile on his face and said with confidence, “It’s quite simple really. We’re going to change the world!”

 

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