It was pitched black as the party wandered through the forest, barely seeing two steps ahead.

"I can't see a thing," Allisa said as she trampled through the darkness.

"Same here," Melvin said.

"Hey, big guy! We going the right way?" Yuki called out.

"Don't worry. We're on course." Cliff said, holding up the crystal, which glowed a soft yellow color. "And It's Cliff, not 'big guy.'"

"Whatever." Yuki then walked into a tree. "Argh!! I can barely see anything!" he cursed as he rubbed his face.

"Too bad you don't have eyes like mine," Max said in a mocking voice. "I can see much better in the dark thanks to my super sharp senses." Max then tripped on a root and fell over.

"Yeah, I can see that," Yuki said, walking past, trying not to laugh at the irony.

"S-Shut up! I can see what's in front, not down!"

"Same thing."

"You're about to walk into another tree," Nel said as she passed.

Yuki stopped and walked around and tripped on a root. "AARGH! What's with this Forest?!"

"Never been into this part of the woods at night. It's pretty creepy." Allisa said as she walked past slowly. She then looked at Nel ahead. "You don't seem to be doing too bad."

"I'm used to moving through darkness. It's useful for when you have to kill someone in their sleep." she replied.

"The more I hear about your past, the less I want to know," Melvin commented as he fumbled through the forest like a blind man.

"Keep up," Cliff called back, feeling his way through the forest.

"Don't you have some kind of spell for this?" Max said to Melvin.

"Oh yeah I-" Melvin then went silent out of embarrassment. I didn't think of that. Melvin took out his wand and raised it. His wand then glowed, illuminating the area around them. "There, problem solved."

Everyone then looked at Melvin with annoyed looks. "Couldn't you have done that from the start?" Allisa asked.

"We all make mistakes," Melvin said trying to preserve his dignity.

"We're nearly there anyway," Cliff said as the group continued through the forest.

"How'd you know?" Allisa asked.

"This?" Cliff held out the crystal for Allisa to see. As he did, the crystal grew brighter. "The brighter it gets the closer we are."

"It's similar to the crystal I used to find you," Nel said to Allisa.

"Oh. Thought I recognized it from somewhere." Allisa said.

"So we're nearly there right," Max said as he lifted one of his arms and clenched his fists. "That means I can finish things with Exploding guy."

"Sword arm guy's mine," Yuki said as he gripped his sword.

"We're after the Alchemist, remember," Cliff said to them. "He's the main priority, the homunculi are secondary objectives at this point."

"I'm pretty sure that he is a she," Nel said.

"You mean it's a chick?" Yuki asked.

"If you recall, the Homunculi referred to the Alchemist as 'Mother.' This means it's likely a woman we're dealing with."

"Oh yeah," Melvin said thinking back. "That regenerating kid mentioned a mother."

"Mother...?" Allisa muttered.

"To mother."

Allisa's head then started hurting as something flowed into her mind. In response, she grabbed her head.

"What's wrong?" Max asked her.

"N-nothing," Allisa said, rubbing her head.

The group then arrived at a wide opening in the forest. As they walked on Cliff stopped all of a sudden.

"I think we're here." He said as he held out the crystal.

"There's nothing here," Yuki said. Cliff then kneeled to the ground and felt the grass around him.

"Wait." He then grabbed something and pulled up. "Check it out." The others approached and saw that Cliff was holding a small rope.

Nel then knelt near him and felt the grass around the rope. "A door." She and Cliff stood up and stepped aside.

Cliff then tugged the rope. The ground then opened up revealing a small flight of stairs beneath. Cliff ducked down and lifted the crystal to the entrance.

"This is it," Cliff said, putting the crystal in his pocket. He then stood "From here on, we'll be in enemy territory. Are you ready." Everyone returned silent nodes to him. "Ok. Let's do this."

Cliff then turned and walked down first. Everyone then followed.

Underground mansion

"Whoa," Allisa muttered as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Never expected something like this."

"You can say that again," Max said.

After descending down the stairs, the group arrived in a large, well-decorated lobby like area. A large candela hung above, with red velvet curtains draped over three passageway. The entire area was lit by the same kind of light crystals that could be found in Avalon.

"Kinda like home," Cliff said as he rubbed a part of the wall. "Though much fancier."

"I just wonder who built this," Melvin said looking at the chandelier. "I doubt the Alchemist has been here long enough to create this. It looks like it's been here for a while."

"We should stay focused on our goal." Cliff looked around. "Doesn't look like they know we're here. We should keep it that way. Don't make too much noise until we encounter them."

"Hey! Exploding Guy! Come out and fight!" Max yelled at the top of his voice.

"Where are ya, Sword Armed bastard?!" Yuki yelled as loud as he could.

"Didn't you hear me?!" Cliff snapped at the two of them.

"We'll run into them eventually," Max replied.

"That doesn't mean you have to announce yourselves!"

"Why not? It makes things easier for us." Yuki said.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!"

"You may as well give up on these muscle heads. When they're like this, there's no reasoning with them." Melvin said to Cliff, his eyebrow twitching.

"Regardless," Nel interrupted, inspecting the passageways before them. "We have three ways to go. We should split up."

"Split up?" Allisa said.

"We can cover more ground that way."

"That's a good point. By the looks of it, this place is bigger than it seems. It could take all night to explore this place." Cliff said as his eyes darted around the room.

"W-Wait!" Melvin interrupted. "What if we encounter a Homunculus on our own? I don't think I can take them all by myself!"

"Stop whining," Yuki said to him. "You can use magic right? You'll be fine."

"These guys are strong, and I'm not like you and Max!"

Cliff took a look at the group, then again at the passages. "Well, we have three ways to go and there are six of us, so we go in teams of two."

Max then stepped to the entrance of the middle passage. "Alright! I'll go this way!" He then ran through it before anyone could stop him. "Here I Come Exploding Guy!!"

"I'll go with him," Melvin said with a sigh. "Someone has to keep that idiot out of trouble." He then ran after him.

"Ok." Nel then turned to Allisa. "You're with me," she said to her.

"O-Ok." Allisa nodded.

"That leaves you two." Nel pointed at Yuki and Cliff, who then looked at each other with despair. "I don't wanna be stuck with him!!" Both men yelled pointing at each other.

"You're the one who suggested that we should split up," Nel said to Cliff. "And my original mission is to watch Allisa, so she's with me."

"Who made you boss!" Yuki yelled.

"I don't want to be stuck with this suicidal maniac!" Cliff protested.

"Why don't you ask her opinion?!" Yuki pointed at Allisa. "You just decided this on your own!"

"I'd pick her over you any day," Allisa replied bluntly.

"See," Nel said. The girls then headed down the passage to the left, leaving Cliff and Yuki alone. The two cringed as they looked at each other.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you," Cliff said.

"Lead the way," Yuki said to him. The two then headed down the passage to the right.

****

No matter how hard she tried, Diane couldn't take her eyes off the creature hovering above her. It had been hours since she had awoken. She wore some new clothes from the cloth rag she wore and spent hours on an operating table letting Sharly modify her. She knew little of where she was but got the sense that it was some kind of common room with the other Homunculi, with the exception of Gamba and Rubrik. The only one she could properly see was Weedree, who hung up above her, supported by his wire.

"All done," Sharly said as the creature dispersed. Diane leaned up, lifting her hands up. Besides a metal plate on her forehand, there was little else to look at. "I'd wait a bit before you use that ability."

"I see." Diane nodded. "Thanks." She inspected the stitching around her hands. "I didn't feel anything. Was that because of that thing?"

"Yep." Sharly nodded. "I call it Dr. Jakle. It allows me to operate on anything. Each instrument it has is infused with my mana and acts as an anesthetic. I can do open heart surgery on someone who's wide awake and they won't feel a thing."

"That's amazing. But it's quite grotesque."

"That's the general consensus," Frosh said, sitting on a chair near the operating table. "You seem more lively now."

Diane nodded. "Although..." she then lifted her hand to her head. "I keep getting these images. It seems familiar but... I was just born, so..."

"Don't worry about those," Sharly said. "Those are just memories of your past life. We all have them."

"Past life?"

"Yep." Frosh nodded. "You know, from when you were still human."

"When I was still human?" She took another look at herself. "What does that mean?"

"Means we died once." Thatch answered. He sat on a couch away from the operating table.

"Died?"

"Didn't have to put it like that," Sharly said to Thatch.

"It's the truth though. We're basically just puppets of the dead, byproducts from mother's experiments."

"Thatch!" Edasa bellowed. He then stomped up to Thatch and gazed at him intensely. "Do not speak ill of mother."

Thatch turned to face him with a grin on his face. "Sorry if I'm a bit more open-minded then you and Rubrik."

Edasa then swung a fist down at Thatch, who leaped out of the way as the couch was destroyed.

"Ha, that was close." Thatch then stretched out both his arms as Edasa unearthed his fist. "Wanna dance. I got a lotta steam to blow off so I'm itching for some action."

"Knock it off before you destroy the place!" Sharly snapped.

Thatch giggled. "Aw, were just having a bit of fun. Right big guy."

Edasa snarled before turning round. "You're not worth it."

Thatch snarled back as he relaxed his arms. "Whatever." He then stormed to a side of the room and slouched in a corner.

"Don't mind him," Frosh said to Diane. "He's been a bit more pissed than usual cause some fire kid kicked his ass today."

Diane looked at Frosh with a confused look. "Fire kid?"

"Don't worry about it," Sharly said to her. "Thatch's always had a temper problem."

"Yeah," Frosh nodded. "One wrong word and he blows your head off, literally."

"That's because you piss him off so much," Sharly said to Frosh.

"Just being brotherly."

Diane took another look at her hands. "What he said though, we're.... puppets?"

"Don't take it seriously," Sharly said to her. "Mother does care about us."

"But, he called us byproducts. What did he mean?"

"Mother's main goal," Frosh said. "Nothing bad. She's trying to-"

"Intruders!" All eyes turned to Weedree as he descended from the ceiling.

"What did you say?!" Shaly asked.

"Intruders. Six of them."

"Six?!" Edasa walked to Weedree. "Are you certain?"

"It's them." Thatch approached them with a large grin on his face. "I had a feeling they'd be coming for us."

"The guys you fought this morning?" Sharly said.

"Guess so. No one else would be dumb enough to come here." Frosh said.

Thatch then turned to the door. "Finally, a chance to cut loose!" He said with his arms in the air.

"Hold it." Edasa stopped him. "Weedree, intercept them."

"Yes." Weedree then ascended the ceiling before disappearing into an air vent. Edasa then turned to Sharly.

"Sharly. Prepare the dolls and send them after the intruders."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Thatch muttered in annoyance. "What about me? I can take these guys on!"

"No. You take Frosh and inform Rubrik and Mother."

"Huh?!"

"No arguments here," Frosh said.

"Shut up!!" Thatch then punched Frosh into the wall. "Why do I have to tell mother while gas mask and bunny ears get to play with the intruders?!"

"I'd rather not have you destroy the labyrinth with your power," Edasa said.

"What, you're saying you don't trust me?" Thatch snarled. "Why don't you just come out and say it!"

Edasa glared at Thatch, taking two steps towards him. "Need I remade you who's in charge." He loomed over Thatch, overshadowing him with his massive bulk. "I am the second. You're the fourth."

Thatch gritted his teeth hard.

"I may not have your power of explosions, but you know I am far stronger than you."

Thatch glared back. He then turned. "Fine." He walked away to the door on the opposite side of the room.

"Take Diane too," Edasa added. He then turned to face her. She nodded and ran after Thatch. Frosh then followed after them. When they were gone, Edasa turned to walk to the exit close to him.

"What are you going to do?" Sharly asked, walking with him.

"To get Gamba. I have a feeling we're going to need him."

Sharly took in a deep sigh. "Better get the dolls ready. Got a feeling we'll be needing them."

A deal

Nel and Allisa walked through the dimly lit corridors that seemed to stretch on endlessly, coupled with the occasional stairway and forks in the path. "How big is this place?" Allisa complained. "Feels like we've been walking for hours."

"Have to agree with you there," Nel replied. "It's like a labyrinth." They then came across a door which when opened led to an empty room.

"Again." Allisa moaned.

Nel shut the door and the two began to walk once more. As they did, Allisa raised her hand to her head. "Something wrong?" Nel asked.

"No. My head just hurts."

"Is that all?"

"Huh?"

Nel turned to face her. "I can tell there's something bugging you."

"Well," Allisa looked down at the ground. "I just feel like I forgot something."

"Forgot what?"

"Something about earlier. At the baseball pitch."

"What do you mean?"

"Not sure really. I can't remember anything from when I woke up after that sound to when I fought that white guy."

Nel turned to face the front. In front of the girls was a large door in front of them.

"What do you think it is?" Allisa pressed as they walked towards the door.

"Don't think I can say much. I was knocked out by that sound as well, remember. You were the only one that got back up." The girls then reached the door. "It's best you don't dwell too much."

"Ok." Allisa nodded. Still, I'm getting a bad feeling.

****

Max kicked down the wall to an empty room. He then turned and kicked down the wall opposite.

"Come out exploding guy!" he yelled as he moved up ahead, kicking down the walls there, still yelling as he did.

Melvin stood behind, watching Max's rampage. "Why did I go with him again?"

****

Cliff and Yuki arrived in an empty room on their way through the labyrinth.

"Another one. How many rooms does this place need?" Cliff said to himself as he looked at his surroundings. "Wasn't expecting it to be this big. This is starting to get ridiculous." He then looked back to Yuki, who was leaning against the wall, gripping his chest hard. Cliff gave out a sigh and approached him. "You should have stayed back."

Yuki stared at him. "Shut up." He then righted himself and continued to walk on.

"Just what are you trying to prove?"

"Not trying to prove anything." Yuki tried to walk past but Cliff stopped him by putting his hand on Yuki's shoulder.

"Look, I know the kind of guy you are," Cliff said in a serious tone as he glared at Yuki. "And take it from me, in this line of work, that tough-guy attitude is only good for one thing. Getting you, or someone else killed."

Yuki glared back as he shrugged off Cliff's hand. "You know, you've been on my case for some time now. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Cliff looked at Yuki with a very serious expression."Unlike the others, you've acted like you had no intention of coming here." He said as he folded his arms. "On top of that, you keep to yourself and none of the others know even the slightest detail about you."

Yuki clicked his tongue in irritation. "It's not their business, or yours."

"That's where you're wrong. Unlike the others, I prefer to know exactly who's got my back. And I'm getting the impression that you don't even care about them."

Yuki grunted and pushed past Cliff. "I don't have to take this crap from you."

"At least tell me your reason for coming here!"

Yuki turned to face him. "And if I don't tell you?"

Cliff changed his stance. "Then I force it out of you!"

Yuki reached for his sword and pushed the blade up with his thumb. Both stood there in silence, facing each other, ready to kill one another if need be. Eventually, Yuki released his grip on his sword. "I made a deal."

Cliff then relaxed his guard too. "What kind of deal?"

****

"Oh, Rowin." Yuki opened the door wide to see Rowin standing before him, just as he was about to leave the house back in Riser

"Good day." Rowin greeted with a bow.

"Others aren't in. They're getting ready for their trip." Yuki said.

"I know. Mira's helping them get ready. And I hear you're not going."

Yuki placed his hand on his hip. "I guess you're here to convince me."

Rowin smiled and held out a void ring. "I'm sure the others would appreciate your participation. And it would mean the world to Allisa to see all her friends again."

"Well forget it." Yuki then walked out of the door. "I've got no intention to go off into some other world to babysit that girl. As far as I'm concerned, that's no longer my job. And besides, I've got my own goal here in this world." Yuki brushed past Rowin and walked down the pathway through the front yard.

"You mean Gai Tsukiyo?"

Yuki halted instantly as Rowin uttered that name.

"One of the most elusive people in all of Avalon as well as renowned far and wide as one of the most dangerous swordsmen of our time. No one who has ever faced his blade has lived." Rowin continued, stroking the tip of his beard.

Yuki slowly turned his head back, narrowing his eyes on the old man. "What do you know?" He asked cautiously.

"Nothing at the moment." Rowin then turned around and held out his hand with the void ring. "However, if you were to give me some time, I should be able to get some information on him."

Yuki turned around and stared at the ring in Rowin's palm. He then gave out a big sigh. "You're a pretty sly old bastard." He said as he snatched the ring.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Rowin chuckled.

****

"Gai Tsukiyo?" Cliff leaned against the wall. "Who's that?"

"A man I have to kill," Yuki replied bluntly. "That's all I'm saying."

"Fair enough. But why haven't you told the others?" Cliff pressed. "They trust you. You can at least tell them who this 'Gai' is."

"What about what happened nine years ago?"

Cliff was taken back by surprise. "Wh-What?"

"I saw your reaction when Dale mentioned that."

Cliff eyes darted down to the ground. "Wh-Well...."

"I'm not sure what happened, but I think you can at least understand why I don't talk about my thing."

Cliff took in a deep sigh. "Ok. I see your point."

Yuki then turned and took two steps before stopping again. "About back then, I know I don't really act like it, but I do consider those guys important to me."

Cliff got up from the wall and turned to face Yuki. "Really?"

"I know they've put their trust in me. I may not tell them my story, but if it comes to it, I will lay my life on the line to protect them." Yuki clenched his hand hard. "I don't ever want to lose something important to me ever again."

Cliff smiled to himself. "Guess I misjudged you."

Yuki resumed walking. "Don't tell any of them I said that stuff. That Pyro won't let me live it down."

Cliff walked behind to catch up. "My lips are sealed."

****

The door leads the girls into a library. It was massive, two floors big with a large lobby in the center with the bookcases at the sides. Two staircases were located in the center leading up to the second floor. The two had split up and were looking through the mountain of books around them. Nel checked the books on the high shelf books on the second floor while Allisa went through the ones on the bottom floor. As they rummaged through, something was approaching them, from the holes in the ceiling.

****

Nel took out a thick book and rummaged through it. "Another medical book." She put the book back, looking over the bookcase she was in front of.

All of these books seem to relate to medical practices, both physical and magical. She walked back to the balcony and looked down on the ground floor. There, Allisa skimmed through several books before dumping them on the ground.

"Find anything?" Nel called out.

"Not sure! It's all gibberish to me!" Allisa replied.

"You're supposed to be looking for anything out of the ordinary!"

"I don't know what's out of the ordinary!" Allisa flailed a book about. "I can't understand any of this!"

Nel rubbed her head. "I guess I shouldn't have relied on her for this." She muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." Nel turned back to the case she was investigating. "Keep looking!"

Allisa walked off from the bookcase she was at. "Not gonna find anything reading through books I don't understand the half of. Better look around." She walked to her left, navigating through the large bookcases. "Seriously, who built this place?" As she walked, she came across a large portrait hanging on the wall nearby. The portrait contained two people. The very center of the picture sat a woman with long blond hair. Sitting on her lap was a little girl, looking to be the woman's daughter. That must be the Alchemist.

"Nel! I think I found something!"

Nel dropped what she was reading and made her way over to Allisa's location, where on arrival Allisa turned and pointed at the woman in the portrait. "I think this is the Alchemist."

Nel approached the picture and looked hard at the name engraved on the base. "Luvia and Vina Roswell." She read. "I think you're right."

Allisa tilted her head slightly on instinct as she stared at the woman. She looks... kinda familiar.

"Allisa?" Nel's voice snapped her back. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no." Allisa shook her head and looked at the picture. "I was just thinking she doesn't look like someone who could do these horrible things."

"Appearance can be deceiving. In my experience, it's always those types of people that hide dark secrets."

"Guess that makes sense." Allisa's head then suddenly started to throb. It started as a small headache, but then quickly became painful, as though someone was sending electric shocks straight to her brain. Allisa grabbed her head in response and gritted her teeth and grunted as the pain in her head intensified.

"Allisa? What's wrong?"

The pain then subsided and Allisa slowly looked up at Nel, her eyes wide. "I remember." She breathed. "Nel, they-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Nel suddenly forced Allisa to the ground. Overhead, the portrait was cut into several pieces, leaving deep clear-cuts on the wall. Around them, bookcases and books alike were also sliced up.

"Wh-"

Nel then picked her up and dragged her towards the staircase. She then forced Allisa on her back and quickstepped to the upper balcony as the stairs were sliced to pieces. As they landed, Allisa rolled across the ground impacting the bookcase close by hard enough for some of the books to fall on her. As she looked up again, she saw Nel staring up at the ceiling. "We meet again."

Allisa looked up and saw a strange, stick-like man in a gas mask hanging in the air. "Wh- is that a, Homunculus?"

"Weedree remembers you." The man said twitching his fingers on his free right hand. "This time, Weedree will kill you."

Nel vs. Weedree

"Damn it!!" Thatch kicked the wall hard enough to crack it. "Who does that overgrown bastard think he is?!"

"Probably doesn't want you bringing the whole place down," Frosh commented.

"Shut up!!" Thatch yelled back.

"Are there really intruders?" Diane asked. "I didn't hear anything?"

"Don't underestimate Weedree," Frosh said. "He may be blind, but he has other senses that put all of ours to shame."

"Really?"

Frosh nodded. "He's also the best person to send after intruders."

"Is he strong?"

"Nope." Thatch interrupted. "He's the weakest. In fact, even Sharly could break his bones." Thatch turned to face Diane with a serious face. "That said though, he is the one person I would not like to face, next to Rubrik."

Diane looked confused by Thatch's words.

"May not be strong," Frosh said to her. "But his ability, 'Wire hell', is more deadly than any of our abilities."

"I just hope fire kid doesn't run into him." Thatch turned his back to the others and continued walking. "Not even he would survive a fight against Weedree."

****

Allisa slowly picked herself up, not taking her eyes of Weedree. She then slowly walked to the balcony to look down. She saw the ruined staircase that he sliced through. I didn't see that coming. If it weren't for Nel I'd be in pieces.

Nel didn't take her eyes off Weedree. "Allisa!" She pointed to a passageway close by the two, with her eyes still fixed too. "Go."

"Huh?" Allisa looked at the passage.

"Trust me on this, I'm the only one who could survive someone like him."

Allisa couldn't argue since she realized she could have died without even knowing what happened. "Ok." Allisa turned around. "Be careful."

"You too."

Allisa broke into a run to the passageway that Nel pointed out.

"One is running," Weedree muttered to himself. He twitched his right ring finger, moving wires around Allisa. As she reached the entrance, Weedree raised his ring finger while moving his middle and index finger down. "Die."

Unaware, Allisa continued to run as the razor thin wire started to contract, moving in to slice Allisa into bloody chunks. Then all of a sudden, the wire formation fell apart, allowing Allisa to run through unscathed.

"What?"

"Your fights with me." Nel freed her dagger from the wall. She had thrown it to her right to sever the main wires that held the formation together to allow Allisa to escape. She then stared at Weedree with her Piercer eyes.

"Those eye's again. You look at Weedree with those eyes. You can see Weedree's wires."

Nel drew out her short blade, her eyes darting about, picking up the movements of the wires. Those wires come from that spool on his hand and go through those rings on his fingers. Making a total of 8 wires that I'm dealing with. He can harden them at certain points, like how he created that shield. Nel's eyes fell once again on Weedree's gas mask. There's still something that bugs me. He's definitely blind, but he's somehow able to pinpoint my location.

Weedree unraveled the wires beneath him and swung down before catching himself with tires from his right hand hanging upside down. He then extended his left hand out and pulled in his fingers. Sensing the danger, Nel used quickstep to escape as a mass of strings sliced through the section of the balcony she was on, leaving a big chunk there while the pieces fell to the ground. Nel appeared on the opposite balcony and pushed off, from there towards Weedree, who had his back turned. Her plan was to cut the threads supporting him and then catch him off guard. However as she swung at the threads, they unraveled on its own.

What! Nel turned to face Weedree, who swung down, catching himself with his left hand while moving his right middle, ring and pinky down. A single horizontal wire then headed for Nel, who was still suspended in mid-air.

Not good! Unable to dodge, Nel quickly brought her short blade forwards to block the wire. As they collided, the wire forced her down, smashing through a bookcase on the ground floor.

Nel struggled back up, taking a look at her short blade. He hardened the wire just before I blocked it. Nel got back to her feet and looked up at Weedree who lifted himself higher, suspending himself in the air once again by his wires.

Nel slowly picked herself up and walked waddled to one of the bookcases next to the one that was destroyed, darting her eyes around to check where the next attack was coming from. She then looked back at Weedree and saw him flex his right pinky. Startled, Nel used quickstep to escape as the bookcase she was near was sliced up by the wires. I'm not getting anywhere like this.

Nel charged forwards and leaped onto the higher part of the ruined staircase. I need to go on the offensive. Nel leaped up again to her right and jumped again until she was right on the bookcase. I strike in one place, he's just gonna block.

Nel then threw her dagger at Weedree. In response, Weedree tilted his right hand and pulled his fingers together, creating a shield that blocked the dagger. Nel then appeared above him, landed on some of his thread behind him and swung out her short blade at him.

Even he can't block two attacks at once. Even if he senses me now he can't dodge at this range. The blade came within an inch of his flesh when Nel suddenly stopped completely. What! I-I can't move! Nel tried struggling but for some reason, her body couldn't move at all. As she struggled small cuts started to form on her body. Nel then realized that she was caught in the wire.

"Weedree knows your plan." Weedree unraveled some of the thread below him and lowered himself. Nel remained suspended helplessly in the air. "Weedree arranged wires when you threw your dagger, waiting for you to launch." On Weedree's right hand, He had only his pinky extended. "Weedree flexes pinky. You die."

Desperately Nel examined her body, taking in the direction of the thread, seeing where she should cut. This is gonna hurt. She quickly inverted the grip of her short blade and moved it down, cutting into one of the wires on her arm. As it unraveled, she quickly slashed the wire that held the wire formation together. She then dropped back down to the ground, close to her dagger. She quickly retrieved it and sprinted to the area of the library to her left, hunkering down behind a bookcase, huffing and puffing.

That was too close. She then inspected her left arm where she had cut. She realized that the cut she made was deeper than she thought. Blood was trickling down her arm.

He hasn't attacked yet. Looks like he hasn't detected me yet. She looked around to make sure none of his wires were traveling around her gripping her wound hard to slow the bleeding. Somehow he was able to sense where I was. Not only that, the way he moved his wires was fast. There must be something I'm missing, something about his ability.

Her eyes turned towards a nearby light crystal, and in the light she saw something. Wait, what's that?

****

Along with his wires, Weedree had another ability. Being blind, he needs something to assist him. His other senses weren't that much better. His hearing was poor, bordering being completely deaf. His body was very fragile, so much so that a small trip could break a bone, making touch a poor decision.

On his hand, 8 individual wires were sown through his fingers. On his thumbs, sewed through a very thin thread. It was so thin that it could be completely undetectable, yet fragile that a small touch could wreak it, and that was the point. Weedree had a very special sensor ability that told him more than his senses could. Yet on his own, he couldn't detect what's beyond two meters from his body.

The threads spring from a special ring his thumbs allowing him to sense things from up to 5 miles. In a room it can tell him the exact layout, such as height, width, length and information about the contents of the room, making him the perfect entry for the labyrinth When someone comes into contact with these threads, information such as height, movement, sound, clothing, gender, cosmetic details, mana level, and most importantly, location is feed through the thread directly to his brain, an ability that could outmatch an average human's normal senses tenfold.

Weedree hung from his vantage point in the room, suspended with his right hand, sending wires to the left section of the library where the woman was hiding. Weedree waited till he felt her presence once again, intending to collapse the entire section, burying her completely. As he positioned his wires, he finally picked her up.

"Now."

Weedree pulled in all his fingers on his left hand and his middle and index finger on his right. Wires then snapped through the entire section in less than a section. As planned, the section collapsed leaving a massive heap of rubble where the left-wing was. After that, there was nothing, no sound, no movement, and no woman.

"One down."

Weedree then raised himself-back to the grate in the ceiling.

"Weedree must find the others."

****

In the containment cells, Tristan jiggled the lock, sticking in a nail file he got from Francesca and a small nail he found nearby.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Francesca asked nervously.

"Shut up," Tristan said. "This is harder than it looks." After some more jiggling, a clock sound came from the look. "Sweet!" Tristan let go of the tools and swung the door open.

"You did it!" A wave of relief came over her.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Tristan slowly walked out of the cell and approached the door. Francesca got up and helped Bill to his feet.

"You ok?" She asked him. Bill, still unable to talk, nodded his head. She then turned to Tristan, who had walked towards the exit of the room. When he was there, he slowly opened the door and peeked around. "Are they there?"

"No. Looks like we're good." Tristan looked back to Francesca and Bill. "Follow me."

****

Luvia sat in her bed chambers, sitting at a desk. Also in the room was Rubrik, standing close to her king-sized bed. On the desk was a crystal ball, supported by a strange iron sculpture looking like a tormented soul. Besides her were three vials containing a small amount of blood. Each vial was labeled. She drew some blood out of the vile labeled Black haired girl and dropped it into the mouth of the sculpture and placed both hands on the ball. Shortly after, a purple glow came from the ball. After a short time, tears started to fall onto the crystal surface.

"I've found you at last." Luvia sobbed. "Vina."

The door then slammed open with Thatch, Frosh and Diane walking though. "Mother!" Thatch called. "We got intruders!"

Luvia turned in shock. "What!"

"What do you mean?" Rubrik asked.

"Six of them. We think it's the guys from before." Frosh said.

"Yeah. The very ones you said to let live." Thatch said to him in a mocking tone.

"That's impossible," Rubrik said to him. "They shouldn't have found us so quickly."

"Hunters." Everyone then turned to Luvia, who was wiping the tears from her eyes. "A group of mana users that work for the Arch Sage's. They've probably been looking for us for some time now."

"Hunters?" Frosh rubbed his head. "So it's not those guys from earlier."

Rubrik remained quiet as he thought. "Now that I think about it, before we encountered these people three days ago, there were some instances where we lost some dolls. It's possible that they encountered these Hunters." He then turned to Frosh. "Where are the others?"

"Weedree's gone to intercept them, Sharly's readying the dolls and Edasa's probably going to get Gamba."

"Ok. You three go and guard the sacrifices."

"What?!" Thatch yelled in outrage. "Why are we bodyguards! We should go and kill those bastards."

"The sacrifices are vital to mother's goal. Guard them."

"No way! I'm tired of you and Edasa ordering me about!"

"Thatch!" Luvia got up from her seat. "Please. For me."

Thatch was silenced for a second before sticking a finger at Rubrik. "Because she asked. Not you!" He then walked back to the door, followed by the others. Rubrik turned to Luvia, who had taken a seat once again, rubbing the crystal ball.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I found her," Luvia said softly, picking up the vial of blood she had used. "I finally found her. And now this of all times." She placed the vial back on the desk and got up. "Take me to her."

"As you wish, mother."

****

Sharly looked over a manifest as she walked through a dark workshop.

"This can't be right?" she moaned. "I didn't realize I had so few left."

She then came across some steps to a control box in the center of the room. In the room, she flipped a switch and took a speaker. "Find and eliminate the intruders!" She spoke into it. Below her, a horde of deformed monsters walked on into the passageways in front of them.

"Only twenty won't be much help. Mostly thanks to that idiot Frosh."

She turned to enter another passageway with led into another room. There were four strange creatures, all male bodies, different from the others. One wore an iron mask that obscured its face, and besides, it was a massive cleaver. The second was a massive hulking creature fixed with metal plates all over its body. The third was notably smaller than the others and wore a strange carnival mask attached to its wrist were long blades. The fourth was the same bulk as the first and had Iron gauntlets attached to its hands.

"Looks like I'll have to rely on my remaining masterpieces for this one."

She then walked on into another room, which was far bigger than the previous one. Inside it housed something enormous.

"And just in case, I may have to get in on this myself."

She then heard a sound coming from the outside of the lab. Sharly ran to a nearby monitor and saw two men in the image.

"Oh, crap! They're here!"

She took another look out at the room.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to use this."