††† Hall †††

It took Hall some time to follow their traces, but he finally heard their steps in the sewer tunnels ahead. He had circled around the group and tried to anticipate where they were heading for hours. His chance came in the form of a rectangular room full of foul water flooding from several holes at the sides. Two long planks were bridging the water from one entrance to the other. It also sported several chains hanging from the ceiling for opening and closing the drainage and a massive floodgate that would ultimately seal the southern side.

It was perfect. Hall was shaking with excitement. The time for revenge and justice has come. His manoeuvrability would prove superior in this environment— even if he couldn't slay the changeling with the first strike. He positioned himself on the elevation that held the lever for the gates, ready to drop from above once the gate shut. With hatred in his heart and the blade in hand, he waited.

††† Siegfried †††

"That’s as far as we can escort you," Eurydike said. "Stick to the plan and don't take unnecessary risks."

"I know ya can do it, boy, and I'm damn proud of ya." Bolverk took Sieg into a last embrace. "We'll wait, and we'll make sure everything is set for when you come back with the power to change this shithole of a city." Bolverk quickly turned around, attempting to hide the shimmer of his watering eyes.

"Take care, Sieg," Eirik said as he grasped Siegfried's arm. "And take care of your beautiful teacher," he added with a wink.

Sieg snorted. "From what I've heard so far, it's more likely the other way around. But I'll make sure to catch up to Haylee in no time, don’t you worry."

Bolverk, Eirik and Eurydike said their goodbyes to Haylee, each whispering their own words to her, each eliciting a different reaction from the 'cat-girl', as Sieg started to call her. The sight of the expressive young woman going through several emotions, from thankful to embarrassed, brought a smirk to his face.

"Cmon, Haylee, let's go before they infect you with their vile, manipulative thoughts," Sieg laughed, and they finally bid their farewell.

Haylee shouldered their backpack, which Eurydike had prepared. The straps were too short for Sieg to fasten over his broad shoulders.

The long corridor leading to the underground border between the western and northern district felt both endlessly long and far too short for Siegfried as they walked away from his friends. It was a visible turning point in his mind, a final affirmation of their decision to leave behind everything he knew his whole life.

"What's up with that outfit anyway?" He tried to distract himself with conversation. "Not exactly what a young, confident girl like you would normally wear, is it?"

"Of course not!" Haylee stuck out her tongue at him. She tucked at the loose, armless shirt that looked at least three sizes too big. "I need to wear something that wouldn't rip instantly when I shift in case we get into trouble. The short skirt is the easiest solution to accommodate my tail if necessary." Siegfried noticed that her tone was a bit subdued when she mentioned her tail.

"On another note, how did your parents come up with such a name? Haylee sounds beautiful but foreign."

"They didn't," Haylee said with ice lacing her voice. "Eurydike gave me that name when she took me in, and it's the only name I care for," she said with finality. "Seems like we reached the district border."

Sieg let the matter drop as she obviously didn't want to talk about her parents. At the end of the tunnel, a spacious room with a floodgate opened up. He went in front as he could only see two long planks connecting the two entrances, and with his broad frame and weight, it would be better if they pass it one by one.

When he stepped through the threshold of the room, the screeching sound of metal scraping against metal gave him enough warning to quickly jump into the room before the gate crashed down where he just stood.

Haylee's enraged cry caused him to automatically turn his head back, but a black shadow filled his vision completely. Siegfried's reflexes let him jerk backwards immediately, but the blade still sliced through the leather and deep into his flesh, opening a gash from his left breast muscle down to the abdominals.

With a roar of pain and rage, he kicked the black-clad assailant back against the gate.

Hall coughed. "Of course, you wouldn't go down so easily with Siegfried's reflexes," he snarled. "But did you also inherit his battle sense?"

Hall left Siegfried no chance to reply, already charging again. Sieg grunted in pain as he drew the sword Bolverk gave him. Every movement sent fiery streaks of agony through his opened torso, weakening his block, slowing his legs.

Hall came in with a flurry of light strikes, forcing Sieg to parry as he was too slow to completely evade the quick blows.

The immense pain and the hopelessness of this absurd situation sent Siegfried into a frenzy. When Hall came in from the left side with a short swipe, Sieg let him cut into his upper arm while thrusting his own blade at his opponents' heart.

At the last instant, his consciousness broke through, and he veered off target, causing his own thrust to scrape along the black leather vest instead of piercing it. To not completely lose the opening he had paid for with his own blood, Sieg followed up by bursting forward to grapple Hall.

The athletic younger swordfighter ducked beneath Sieg's arm, burst out to the right side into a jump. He grabbed one of the chains to swing towards the wall, where he kicked off to drop behind Sieg onto the Planks.

Using the time to back up, Sieg finally had a chance to get a word in. "Hall, stop it! I'm not your enemy, I'm still—"

"Save your breath, changeling," Hall spat, "I'll not be fooled like my friends. Your kind has fooled me once, and my family died for it. There is no heart left in this body for you to taint with your lies." With every word, his voice got calmer, colder, resolute.

Siegfried's blood froze cold despite the searing pain lacing through his entire being. There was no way to sway Hall's iron determination with words. And he was too injured to subdue him without killing him. Even when fighting with lethal intent, it might not be enough.

Hall had used his wits and cunning to even out their difference in strength and skill. There was not a shred of hesitation in the boy's posture. All-clad in black leather, his eyes now utterly devoid of emotion, rage or otherwise, Siegfried registered that he was not about to face down a warrior like himself but rather an assassin. All of Halls training efforts were following a single goal. To kill.

Against his conscience, the heavily injured guard raised his sword in a middle guard and steeled his own resolve, drowned his emotions as he did so many times before. But today, it would be in a fight against a friend, not an enemy.

††† Hall †††

Hall took the invitation and sprinted forward on the narrow plank, opening with an obvious overhead swing. He knew the long gash on the changeling's torso would rip open farther if it raised its arm above the head to block. He counted on the extended pain to create an opening.

The changeling, occupying Siegfried's body, visibly gritted its teeth and took the bait. But it blocked with the left arm, using a white blade, jutting from it's palm. It roared as a squall of blood gushed from the vertical wound, coating Hall with the red substance, and simultaneously countered with his own straight thrust, aiming to kill this time.

Even with the surprise of brandishing this new weapon, Hall wasn't distracted. He reacted instantly by diverting the trajectory of his enemy's sword with the thick leather bracer on his wrist. It still opened a deep gash on his upper arm instead.

This time it was the changeling that didn't leave him any chance to breathe, following up with another thrust from its vile, organic blade. Hall turned sideways, letting the sharp, white edge scrape over his right breast. It only penetrated the leather superficially, and he countered with a kick against the bloody gash on the abomination's abdomen.

Another cry of anguish escaped the monster's lips as its body convulsed from the pain. But its eyes never left Hall's, and with a quick vertical swipe from below, it forced him back, ruining the follow-up attack.

Although he easily evaded the defensive swing, Hall had to acknowledge the changeling's tolerance to pain. Being able to still move that fast and deliberate was no small feat. He rushed in with a thrust from below, using the height difference and the fact his enemy couldn't bow from the waist without opening the gash further.

Instead of parrying, the bastard threw his sword from above at the low diving Hall. Ducking even further, Hall managed to save his head, but the sharp edge sliced open his back instead.

The change of posture, and his body spasm from the injury, was enough to let Hall's thrust go wide. He stemmed his left foot against his own momentum to jump back, but an iron knee, as thick as his own head connected with his chest. He was sent airborne, the air squeezed out of his lungs. Hall swung his blade in a wide arc in front of him by sheer instinct, keeping the monster from ending him with one strike.

He landed with his back on one of the two planks, using the bounce of the wood to jump back to his feet, despite still not being able to breathe. The towering creature had moved onto the other plank, which was one step apart.

There was no more hesitation in the changeling's eyes as Hall found, no weakness, no mercy as he brought his other foot down with the bulk of his considerable weight on the plank Hall was standing on. The tremor sent through the wood yanked Hall off his feet. His eyes went wide as the monster followed with the next kick to his chest while he was still falling.

The impact was like being hit by a sledgehammer. The world was spinning as Hall bounced along the planks. His ribs were definitely cracked, the first breath he took sending further jolts of pain through his body.

††† Siegfried †††

Sieg was panting heavily and wobbled on his feet. The massive blood loss and constant pain were wearing him down— he was hardly able to stand. His last kick connected with full force, and for a moment, he hoped.

But the boy just didn't stay down. Bleeding from his chest and arm, with cracked rips, Hall shakily rose to his feet once more. Sieg didn't have the energy left to cross the distance fast enough. His every movement was slow and sluggish by now, and it took all he had to stay on his feet.

This was going to be over soon, one way or another. There was no time for regret.

Hall charged as soon as his hands stopped shaking. No battle cry was drawn from his lips. Only cold determination guided his blade. Sieg tried to stab him with the sword in his right hand but was too slow. The wiry boy just sidestepped to the other plank while still in full run. Hall's sword came in as a swing, so Sieg parried with his left blade, but that move left him finally open.

Hall used his momentum to jump up, planting his left foot on Sieg's upper body and ramming his right knee into the former guard's face.

A new wave of pain and dizziness exploded in his head. Siegfried's body moved on pure instinct even before the blow connected, retracting his enamel blade in an instant and taking Hall's left foot in an iron grip. As Sieg fell backwards, he turned around and took the much lighter boy with him. Using what little strength he had left, combined with his own weight, he smashed his comrade into the stone ground behind the planks. The heavy thud was followed closely by a second one as Sieg collapsed next to Hall.

All strength had left him as he turned his head and eyed the smaller frame of his companion warily, but Hall was finally out cold.

Sieg was relieved and amazed in equal parts, seeing that the boy was still breathing. His muscles didn't respond to his will anymore, but his power did. He shut out the burning sensation from his wounds as good as possible and started regenerating the worst of it, so he wouldn't bleed out.