“Let’s all get acquainted first. My name is Pain, and this here is Drake.” Pain pointed at himself and then gestured towards Drake.

“O-oh… I’m, I’m Fira, and this is Lunara,” Fira awkwardly gripped her dress with one hand and then pointed to Lunara with the other.

“Now that we all know each other’s names, It’d be a good time to tell you that it’s not safe here anymore, at least for right now,” Pain said, looking to the two Maidens of Battle.

“Where should we go then?” Drake asked, still gripping his left arm.

“We could always go to Elaine’s place, since it’s free from Demon Hunters.” Pain took a flip phone out from his belt and flipped it open.

He pressed a few buttons on it and a button that had a circle with horns on it. He turned the phone away, and a light shot out of the screen. A door took shape and materialized, black in color and with a silver rose painted on its surface. The light faded, and he flipped the phone closed and put it back onto his belt.

This type of magic is one that can transport anyone from one dimension to another. He was originally from where the door lead to, but he came over to help Skyler and hold the throne for him. He felt that Elaine’s hideout in Lyserge city was the safest place, he feared that Demon Hunters would try to kill the two ladies that found him, since Demon Hunters kill anyone with even trace amounts of magic on them, regardless of what side they are on.

“If we go there, what will happen when we wake up? Why not take us back to our side?” Fira asked, stepping closer to Pain.

“There’s a problem with you going there as well, I will make the necessary accommodations to make sure you wake up safely, but you can’t go back there, it’s too dangerous.” Pain looked at Fira, and even though they just met, he was already feeling his hopeless romantic side kick in, making him feel overprotective of her.

“What? Why?” Fira said as she gripped the skirt of her dress.

“We found out that some of the people in your Parliament are colluding with someone very dangerous. We need to make sure they are removed from their positions before you can return.” Pain warned as he walked up to the door that he summoned.

“How do you plan on doing that? You don’t have any connection to our side to be able to do anything about it, and we have no way to talk to anyone at the castle either!” Fira shouted and folded her arms tightly over her chest and started to rub her arms in small quick motions.

“We do have a few connections, but it will take a day or two for things to be resolved, so we are taking you to a safer place for now.” Pain walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Okay, Lunara knows the spell we need to set a new dream starting point anyways, so we should be fine.” Fira looked to Lunara and nodded.

“Yeah, I do. I’m glad I asked Shai how to do it.” Lunara had folded her arms too, but the goosebumps on the bare skin of her arms signified it was more out of cold than anger or stress.

“Great, follow me then.” Pain motioned all three of them, including Drake, to come over.

Drake nodded and walked up behind him. Lunara and Fira looked at each other, then broke the stare and walked up behind Drake. Pain opened the door, the hum of a generator coming from the other end. It opened up into a hallway that was painted completely black, with a thin metal roof being the only thing that kept it from the elements. Pain walked through, and Drake quickly followed behind. Fira and Lunara linked hands and reluctantly stepped through.

Greek pillars that blended into the surroundings because of the coat of black paint on them loomed above the four. There were pedestals between each that had a bouquet of red roses. The door in front of them was classic looking and made out of mahogany, it was the only thing that, besides the roses, was not painted black.

A female’s shouting voice could be heard from behind the door, which made Pain worried. He recognized that voice, it was Elaine. She should still be in the hospital, he thought to himself, she wasn’t even awake the last time he saw her. He had even visited her when he was still recovering from his injuries after he was beaten by that pitch black colored centaur. They had to wheel him in on a wheelchair just for him to be able to visit her.

Without thinking, he ran towards the door. He quickly grabbed the ornate doorknob and swung the door open. Elaine was there, looking like she did before the curse ever touched her. She was gripping the black dress she was wearing that went down to the middle of her shin, the claws on her feet unable to angrily dig into the black ground because of the black shoe socks she had on, so her toes curled inwards. She adjusted her blonde hair from under the thin black veil she was wearing. Her completely red eyes with no iris, pupil or whites seemed to glow brighter than usual because of her anger. She slammed her hands onto the black desk, a muted boom rang out because her hands were covered up to the elbow with black gloves.

“Kalan, for the last time, give me the list! I command you!” Elaine shouted, leaning over the desk to try and loom over the man named Kalan sitting at it.

Kalan looked silly sitting in a small chair, like a full grown adult sitting in a child’s chair. He brushed away his long wavy black locks, and adjusted the tie of his butler outfit. He looked up at her with a blank and distant stare, his dark green eyes showed no ounce of emotion.

“Wow, he’s huge,” Fira said after she slipped through the door’s opening, commenting on Kalan’s large and muscular frame.

“I was told by your nephew to not give the list to you, and the family of my master’s command coupled with my own thoughts on the matter override your command.” Kalan clasped his hands together, intertwining his fingers.

“I don’t believe this, you’ve never disobeyed me before! Why now?!” Elaine threw her arms up in anger.

“How are you… I can’t believe you recovered so fast!” Pain smiled, his teeth showing since he has no lower lip with his current prosthetic.

Elaine turned around, putting her hands to her sides, “Thank goodness you are here Pain. Kalan isn’t doing what I tell him to! I don’t know what to do, this has never happened before!” she gestured towards Kalan with both her arms. Kalan shook his head and then brought his index finger to his lips, signaling that he should be quiet as well.

“He and I both know what you would do with such a list, we can’t let you do such a thing. Think about what would happen to Skyler if you slaughtered Parliament members.” Pain put his hands in front of himself and shook his head.

“Oh, so I was right about there being Parliament names in that list. All the more reason to give it to me.” She grinned and put a hand to her face haughtily, a scheming look in her eyes.

“All the more reason to not give it to you, you mean.” Pain let his arms flop in front of himself as he lowered his head, she didn’t get it.

He used to always hate the vigilante side of her, there seemed to be no end to her righteous indignation. Nobody was safe from her wrath if she got enough incriminating evidence on someone, even a politician could be slapped on the wrist in court and wind up dead the next day, that was her modus operandi. He knew that quirk was dangerous, but the revelations that came out of the golem they captured could spell doom for the peace that he and Skyler are so desperately fighting for, if the information he and Kalan gained got into Elaine’s hands.

“You won’t comply either? You know what will happen if you don’t give it to me, the king will let them off easy, and what then? They would cause as much of a ruckus as I would by killing them. I’m trying to help you.” Elaine held up her hand, gesturing for him to relent and give her the names the golem told him.

“You don’t trust the assembly that has your own grandmother on it to do the right thing?” Pain looked up at her, but still slouched.

“Cara is too soft, she’d never excommunicate people, she always sees the best in even the worst people, that’s how I was born, remember?” Elaine stretched out her hand even further, furrowing her brow and clenching her jaw tightly.

“I know that, but there’s one member in the Veil of Light that has lost all his patience. If I give the list to him, he has enough power to excommunicate all of the people on the list. He even works directly with Parliament,” Pain retorted, holding up an index finger.

“Even if that person exists, I doubt he’ll believe you.” Elaine folded her arms and turned her head away from him in a huff.

“If you can’t trust them, at least trust me. I would hope you would give me that much.” Pain lowered his hand and grasped a bottle on his belt.

“Fine, but I will say I told you so if something bad happens,” Elaine said and turned to face Kalan, who was still looking up at her with a face devoid of emotion.

“Get out of my chair already, Kalan, you’ve been commandeering it for about an hour, and I’m getting tired of standing already,” Elaine said as she gestured for Kalan to get up.

“Yes, my lady.” Kalan stood up and walked over to the side of the desk. He loomed over her because of how tall he was.

“We have a problem, by the way. We have a few guests who are to stay here until this whole thing blows over.” Pain pointed behind him to Fira, and Lunara as well, although she was peeking her head through the door’s opening.

“You don’t have to ask me for something like that, Pain. You already know where the free guest rooms are.” Elaine went over and sat down and crossed her legs.

“I thought I’d run it by you first. Come on, you two, let’s get you to your rooms, then you can explore a bit.” Pain turned around and gestured for both Fira and Lunara to follow him.

Fira and Lunara looked at each other silently then followed Pain out of the room. Drake was leaning against a wall in the middle of the hallway. He looked to the others and walked up to them, silently joining the group. Pain walked with them down the hallway, then gestured for them to turn left down another hallway. He led them down that hallway until it opened up to another hallway with several doors.

“Pick any one you like.” Pain held up his hand and made a sweeping motion with it.

“I-I pick you!” Fira pointed at Pain, gripping her dress with the other hand again. Her cheeks went red as soon as the words escaped her mouth.

That completely threw him off guard. It was then that the hopeless romantic side of him that overpowered him in that moment. His heart almost jumped out of his chest when she said it. He felt his own face get hot. He was going to correct her but he couldn’t find the words as to how, his mind went blank. He could only put his hand up to his heart in response. His heart was pounding so hard and fast that it made him feel dizzy for a short time.

“I wouldn’t say that if you don’t mean it, he’s very fragile.” Drake walks up to Fira with his hands in his pockets.

“I think he meant the rooms, not people, Fira,” Lunara said, pointing towards the doors.

“I… I am not,” Pain said as he continued to try to calm himself down.

“Sure, sure,” Drake said with a chuckle.

“Don’t patronize me please,” Pain said with a huff.

“Quit it, you two,” Lunara said as she folded her arms aggressively.

“You guys, please. Here, I’ll choose this one.” Fira walked up to the middle right door and opened it.

“Wait for me, I’ll make it your new designated bed,” Lunara said, unfolded her arms and quickly followed her.

The two went inside, leaving Drake and Pain behind. Pain leaned against the corner of the hallway and took his hand off his chest to fold his arms. He had a lot of memories of this place, he remembered the first time Elaine showed him around after she had her friend make him his prosthetic jaw, and after Dr. Gage found a way to close up the Y incision on his chest.

He remembered how she tried to act like nothing was wrong, but he could tell she was shaken. Having to go through losing someone she loved, even though she brought him back, it hit her hard. Not to mention her losing a piece of her soul twice. First by the forbidden book she had in her possession, and second by using a spell to merge with her past self, which involved transferring body, mind and soul. That was something he unfortunately couldn’t do himself, the curse that she used to bring him back made it so his soul could never leave his body again, and since the merging spell involves transposing the soul, it was impossible for him to do.

She felt extremely guilty about it, and did whatever she could to rectify the situation. She let him stay in one of the guest rooms he was currently near until he could get a place of his own. She did a lot for him, not just to try and make him feel comfortable, but because she saw him as the person he used to be before he died. He and Elaine even dated for a time, because she thought that he didn’t change too much after dying and going to heaven, but he was too different now. He had become almost a completely different person. She loved Hex, not him.

Fira and Lunara came back into the hallway, Lunara as usual was silent, and Fira was awkwardly gripping her dress again. Lunara turned around and waved, then went into the room to the right of them without saying a word. Fira stood there for a short time, exchanging awkward giggles with Pain. He didn’t want it to be completely silent, but the awkward giggling made things worse. He did it without thinking, and once he realized he was doing it, he turned away from her. He just didn’t know what to say, she was the only girl who had even the slightest bit of interest in him. The feelings he was getting made him nervous, what if he messed it all up and she lost interest?

The silence broke as Lunara walked back out, she walked up to Drake who still had his hands in his pockets. Drake was looking the other direction, so Lunara tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly and made a surprised vocalization, then turned his head towards her.

“What is it?” Drake asked, then turned his body to face her direction.

“When can we go exploring?” Lunara said, and used her right hand to rub her left arm.

“Oh yeah, there’s something you two should see,” Drake said, walking back into the other hallway and gesturing for her and the others to follow.

“Is he going to take us where I think he’s going to take us?” Pain asked, a small smile showing a little bit of his teeth.

“Yeah, just follow me,” Drake said as he continued to walk down the hallway.

Drake led them through the building and out the large doors made of thin metal that had ridges in them. Outside it looked just like a normal, albeit large storage facility. The clouds above obscured the sunlight, casting a shadow over the city. Cars rode on by, and the brick and mortar buildings next to the building they were in seemed out of place next to a large metal structure that seemed to be a wall that spanned such a distance that looked like it continued even out of sight. There was a roof and a walkway in the structure, so there must have been a way to get up onto the wall. He led the three to the entrance of the wall, which was a large double door made of metal. He pressed the button on the side and the doors opened, revealing an elevator.

“We’re too far away from the stairs anyways, so let’s use this.” Drake gestured for them to follow him into the elevator.

They all got in, and he pressed the button with the arrow pointing upward. The elevator closed its doors and dinged, and Pain grabbed the railing. Lunara just stood there, while Fira grabbed the railing with both hands. Drake however put his hands in his pockets and stood there next to Lunara. The elevator jostled a bit, making Lunara bump into Drake.

“S-sorry,” Lunara said, taking her hand off his arm.

“It’s fine,” Drake said and smiled warmly at her, making Lunara’s face turn red as she looked away.

The elevator stopped with a ding, its doors slid open, they were on the walkway. Lunara quickly ran out, followed by Pain and Fira. Drake slowly walked out and the doors closed behind him. Lunara ran over to the railing, she gasped, her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. Fira walked up to the railing as well.

“What is it, Lunara?” Fira asked, leaning in to make sure Lunara was ok.

“I… I can’t believe this!” Lunara said as she looked from side to side and even straight down.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Drake said with a grin.

“There’s no ground out there!” Lunara shouted as she looked back at Drake.

“Let me explain,” Pain said, holding up his left index finger

“Go ahead.” Drake took a hand out his pocket and brushed away a strand of hair that got in his face.

“This isn’t Earth, this is Cluster. It’s called that because it is a bunch of floating continents. The planet that this ground came from collapsed in on itself. There was warning though, that’s why these giant floating cities exist. The atmosphere, the gravity, the ozone layer, it’s all man-made. Anti-gravity technology is the only thing keeping these big floating rocks afloat. Don’t worry though, if something breaks, there are backups, as well as one for the barrier that keeps the vortex from sucking everything into it.” Pain put down his hand, and went to the railing himself.

He looked down at the barrier, the city casting its reflection on the water below. He hadn’t looked at it in a while. He thought about one of the few things that didn’t change, when he was depressed he would always come up to the wall and stare down at the sea below. A hand touched his shoulder, he looked up, and it was Fira. She smiled at him and patted him. He realized that he had a sad brow, and his face relaxed.

He sighed, and nodded at her, saying nothing. He appreciated that she was trying to cheer him up. He thought he was already over what happened to him, but looking down at that clear blue water reminded him about right after he was able to after he came back to life. That crushing depression he felt when he found out he had to separate himself from his previous life. Elaine told him not to get too attached to his old friends and Hex’s girlfriend, who used to be his. He couldn’t look his old friends in the face anymore because he felt like a different person, a stranger. He had to make new friends, Elaine, Drake and Skyler were there for him, but every once and awhile he thinks about his old life. But he knows those moments will pass, and that he needs to enjoy the present.