"Yo. We still in one piece?" Etrius thought.

"Sounds like it." Etrius replied.

"Cool." It sighed.

 

Opening its eyes, Etrius found itself on the beach with the waves washing over it. Its body ached as it lifted itself up, that was probably from all the rocks that it hit on the way down. Looking around, there was a bright blue sky with few white clouds offering shade. Wanting a change in scenery, it tried to use magic, but was unable to.

 

"That's not right…" Etrius muttered.

 

Turning around, it looked inland and saw trees far from the shore. Standing tall, with nothing but a few trails of smoke in the distance, there was absolutely nothing unusual, but everything was wrong. Slightly surprised, it looked down at the water to take a good look at its reflection. What it saw was its usual boy or girl appearance but with shoulder length black hair and dark brown eyes. Panicked, it tried using its power, however nothing happened. From portals to simple enchantments, nothing worked.

 

“Hey guys?” Etrius asked. “What in the fuck's happening?”

“Uh oh.” Etrius said. “It seems like you can’t use magic or anything else.”

“I notice. Why can’t we use magic?” It asked.

“Because we will not allow it.” Etrius said. “Not until our demands are met.”

“What do you mean demands?” It asked. “Quit messing around and turn them back on.”

“We refuse.” It said. "Until negotiations have been solved."

“Did you… Did we unionize against ourselves?” It asked.

“Yes, we have seized the means of power for programs everywhere.” It said.

“What the fuck!? You’re me! I’m you!” It said. “How can we unionize against ourselves? Why did we even unionize?”

“That’s because you’re an asshole.” It said.

“Okay, fair enough.” It muttered. “So, what do you want?”

“Firstly, we want to limit our exposure to radiation.”

“You do know what we are, right?”

“...”

“...”

“Okay we are going to need a bit of time to revise our plans. We allow the use of minimum operation for the time being.”

“Dumbass.”

“We are you.”

“Yeah, I know. We’re all idiots.”

 

“Well shit…” Etrius muttered acutely aware of the circumstances.

 

Unable to use magic or any alternative, due to a unionized strike, and probably being chased by the authorities, Etrius took a moment to think about this situation. Much like it’s current attire, things were not looking good.

Some distance away in the back of a carriage, Lucy opened her eyes. Her head pounded as she thought about what had happened. She first found the assassin running off with the princess, the two fought, she was trapped in a barrier, something exploded, and then what? Unable to remember, she struggled to sit up.

 

“So, you’re finally awake huh?” A familiar man asked.

“Daniel? What happened?” Lucy asked and then suddenly remembered. "Where's Athena!? Is she okay!?"

"She is fine. The doctors managed to get to her in time, although she won't be doing any field work in the near future." Daniel said.

"Can I see her?" Lucy asked.

"No, she needs to rest, and you still have a job to do." He said.

"Shouldn't I be resting too?" She asked.

"About that." He said. "I'm not sure what happened or what you fought, but you have no injuries, magical or physical. Do you feel injured?"

"No, but I remember being in pain. Something happened and it felt like something horrible had happened to me." She said.

"Well, aside from that there was someone who was more injured than you." He said.

“The assassin! did you find her?” Lucy asked.

“No, but do you know who we did find?” Daniel asked. "The princess.”

"What did she do to her?" Lucy asked.

"Funny thing." Daniel said. "She didn't do anything. According to the princess, she was saving her."

"Why would an assassin help the princess?" She asked.

"Their guild is falling apart with most of their leaders dead. I wouldn’t be surprised if some wanted to turncoat to save themselves." He said.

"But-" She started.

"Don't play dumb Lucy we both know what you did." He said.

"I was trying to help!" She said.

"Yes, by blowing up the princess and luring a monster to her. Exactly the type of help she needed." He said. "Do you realize how close you were to being thrown in jail?"

“...” She avoided eye contact.

“It's only because of the princess that you aren't in chains right now.”

"And why is that?”

"Well, it would seem that the princess would like to personally thank her savior, and considering that you were the only other one who met her, only you have a chance of finding her."

"But she went over the cliff! There's no way she survived that!"

“Don't care. Find her and bring her back to me, Dead or alive. If what the princess said was true then she could be a valuable source of information."

"Let's say that she is alive, how am I suppose to find her? I didn't even see her face." Lucy said, ears ringing.

"Did you hear her voice?" He said, sounding not quite right. “You will know. Bring her.”

"Yes…” Lucy said lightheaded.

"Then start there. If she is alive, she would likely wander into one of the nearby towns nearby. She can't be that hard to find." He said.

"Yes sir…" She sighed.

Walking on a dirt road, Etrius headed to a town it saw in the distance when it woke up. The sun was already setting and it was cold, both from the ocean water that it was in earlier and because it was forced to discard the warmer garments and armor as they were that of the assassin guild. It isn't what one would want to be wearing considering the fact that the kingdom of Archsten was at war with the guild. Not only that, but Etrius was forced to leave its weapons as well.

Nearing the town, Etrius gave a sigh of relief as it didn't want to spend the night in the forest. With the moon rising, it checked its pocket to see how much money it had, and walked to the cheapest looking inn. Pushing in the door, there was a fairly large room that doubled as both a reception room and a dining room. Hearing a potential guest enter, an old man greeted it.

 

"Hello and welcome to the Restful Hen Inn, how can I help you?" The man asked.

"I just came into town and was looking for a place to stay. Are there any rooms open?" Etrius asked.

"Yes, do you have a guardian with you?" The man asked.

"No, will that be a problem?" Etrius asked.

"Unfortunately it will. We can't rent out rooms to minors. You will need to come back with your parents." He said apologetically.

"Even just for the night?"

"Yes, even for the night."

"But I don't have anywhere to go."

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules."

"Even if the rules force a child to sleep on the streets?"

"Even so. I'm sorry to say, but that is the society we live in."

"Bummer."

"Yes, things will remain the same unless we rise up. All we have to lose are our chains."

"I see… Well I'm gonna find some place to sleep."

"Good luck and may the reign of the traitor king fall."

"Yeah, same I guess."

 

Walking out of the inn, Etrius wondered how that man has yet to be arrested. Then again, people like him aren't uncommon. The entire assassin's guild was full of them. With that in mind, Etrius walked through the streets in search of an isolated alley to sleep in. As it searched, its stomach growled, making it regret skipping the last meal, but then again, there was a princess to save so there wasn’t much of a choice. With the sun already set, it walked the streets without much luck. Suddenly in front of it, something fell and created a puddle. Looking down at it, its nose was quickly assaulted by a foul odor. Looking up, it saw someone shaking a bucket as a few chunky bits fell out.

After a few steps backwards, Etrius walked to the other side of the street and continued on its way. Public plumbing projects, although widespread, were not happening in every town and city. Keeping care to avoid windows, Etrius continued in search of a sleeping place, preferably free of any windows. Luckily it managed to find one that met its requirements. Hard floor, at least three walls, no roof, and the rent was nothing. It was good enough for the stray dog sleeping there, so why not Etrius. After a shrug, it sat down against the wall and fell asleep.

By the time it woke up, it was already noon, with many of the town's occupants out and about. Cleaning itself off as best as it could, it took to the streets in search of food. Luckily for it, that wasn't too hard as there were many food stands in the streets. After getting some grilled rabbit and an apple, it took a seat on a bench to think about its next move. Firstly it needed a way to get its power back. If it did this, all of its problems would be solved. In the event the power does not return, it would need to find its way home. That in itself was not difficult, but what was, was the fact that the princess who was in a castle nearby and was attacked. Furthermore, that ranger that it fought may have seen its face, so there was that.

It would be best to assume that it was being hunted down and if they were, they might just execute it as soon as it was caught, so that wasn’t good. Thinking that Etrius finished up its rather small meal, and prepared to leave when it suddenly saw someone familiar.

In a short black dress with long matching boots, was the blond ranger from that night. She was talking to a kid the same age as Etrius. The kid pointed at it and her gaze turned to Etrius. Upon seeing it, she glared at Etrius and thanked the boy. Not liking where this was going, Etrius quickly walked away, but she followed. Etrius wasn't sure what to do. She might not know who it was. If it talked to her, then she may recognize it, but if it ran, then she would definitely know. Looking back in front of it, Etrius panicked as two soldiers walked towards it. Hesitation lasted, only for a moment, but it was enough for the ranger. A smile appeared on her face. She had it.

Looking back at the soldiers Etrius realized something, they were looking at it, but their eyes did not hold the same hostility as the rangers. They were completely uninvolved. Thinking up a plan, Etrius walked towards them.

 

"Sad puppies, sad puppies, sad puppies. Think of sad puppies, initiate crying sequence." Etrius thought, tears forming in its eyes.

 

"Huh?" One of the soldiers looked at Etrius. "Hey you kid, what's wrong?"

"S-some scary lady is following me…" Etrius said in a most innocent voice.

"I see." The first man said, seeing her dangerous smile. "You did well coming to us."

"We'll deal with this, you head home." The second man said.

"T-thank you…" Etrius said, wiping tears away.

"Hey you!" The first man said, turning his attention to the ranger. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What?" She asked, surprised. "I was going to talk to that girl."

"Is that so?" The second man asked. "How about we have a little talk of our own?"

"Wait, I don't think you understand. I'm-" She started.

"No, I don't think you understand." The first man said sternly.

 

Wiping away the tears, Etrius walked away at a quick pace. This should buy it some time, although depending on how things go, it may not be much. Etrius quickly made for the towns limits and made its way into the forest. When they found out who Etrius was, they would likely search the roads, so it would be best to avoid them. Happy it at least got a quick meal, Etrius walked off into the woods.

Sighing to herself Lucy threw herself on her bed in her room in the inn. She had been interrogated by the town guard for almost two hours. Reason being, they had assumed that she was stalking a child. She tried to convince them that she was a ranger, but without her uniform, this proved to be difficult. Eventually she was released and, instead of returning to her mission, she headed back to her room. In all honesty, she wasn't in the mood to work today.

On the up side, she did find the girl that she was looking for. At least it was probably her. Why else would she react like that when she saw her? It wasn't like she had a scary face or anything. She didn't have a scary face did she? Just to make sure, she looked in the mirror. Not exactly satisfied, she lay back on the bed.

Tomorrow she would continue her mission, and now that she knew who she was looking for, she could use one of the magic items she had to track her. This, fairly expensive, tool could track any person she was looking for, she just had to know who that person was. Before, she didn't know what she looked like, so this was useless, but now since she knew her face this would tell her location, or at least what direction she was in. So tracking her down won't be a problem. In addition to that, if she was guilty of being the assassin, she likely would have fled the town. So if she was outside the town, she could be sure it was her. After that, all she needed to do was take her in and her job would be done. With that in mind, she closed her eyes and let her troubled mind rest, her orders resounding in her head.

 

“Bring her in.”