Thea's point of view

When Jim presses the crystal to his head, I can feel something is wrong. Before I can open my mouth to warn him, he activates it. His entire body tenses up as the crystal glows in his hand, then he starts to fall.

"Jim!" I scramble to catch him before he hits the ground. His body is heavy as it crashes into me, driving both of us to the ground. I hear Shiva cursing through the hole into the main chamber with Sarge barking wildly.

"The fuck is going on!?" Shiva sticks her head into the hole and sees Jim collapsed in my arms. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?"

"I don't know! He activated the crystal and then just collapsed!" I try and pull him into the main chamber. Shiva grabs his other arm and helps me drag him out. I toss his rifle onto the pile of our gear as I start to chant.

"Oh Goddess Ava, hear my prayers and grant me the gift of your healing light so I might save this mortal man!" My hands start to glow while I push as much mana into the framework of the spell as I can. Jim's mana fights me as I push wave after wave of healing energy into him. If it wasn't for the temporary bridge between our powers, I don't know if I would be having any effect.

"I'M GOING TO SHATTER THAT FUCKING CORE!" I look up to see Shiva starting to stalk towards the hole in the wall. The manticore seems to blur as it moves, setting itself between the hole and her. As Shiva tries to move around the monster, it swings its tail and knocks her back into the wall.

"Shiva!" Jacob runs to her side as I move my focus back to Jim. I want to know what's going on, but Jim's mana is arcing through his body wildly. A shadow covers Jim and my body. I glance up and see Vaunea standing above us. Her shield is held in her left hand, and her massive sword in her right.

"I'll protect you. You work on helping him." She sinks into a crouch as her eyes scan the room.

"FUCKING BITCH!" Shiva tries to scramble to her feet as Jacob tries to hold her back. The manticore is watching her closely as it walks back and forth in front of the opening to the core. Sarge starts barking at the main entrance to the room as I struggle to heal Jim.

"Something's coming!" Jacob pulls Shiva back towards our huddled corner of the room. Sarge back-pedals as Jacob passes to stay with them.

"Ughhhaaaaa!" The doors are flung open as a group of five orcs pile into the room.

"The fucking core betrayed us!" Shiva pulls free of Jacob's grip, and drops low with her blades out.

Jim's body starts to shake under my hands. My eyes blur as I push more power into the spell, praying it is enough. For a second, he goes still, then I feel his body stiffen again. I dive into the bridge between our mana. It feels like I am slipping under his skin as I chase the flow of power.

I'm breathless for a moment as his power rushes over me. I'm used to Jim's power, or I thought I was. This is more than I'm used to, more than he has ever shown me before. He shouldn't have been able to hide this from me. Not with the bridge between our two powers.

"Fuck Jim, what is this?" I feel Jim's mana rush past me and try to follow the flow. Everywhere his mana touches, it tears and rips apart. I'm barely able to heal the damage as it is happening before I have to move again.

I smell something that reminds me of meat cooking in a skillet. As I chase Jim's mana, I realise it's his vambrace overloading with mana. The metal becoming red hot and cooking the muscle of his arm. The damage is healed a split second later. The metal of the vambrace cools rapidly as Jim's mana shifts again.

"The fuck is wrong with him!?" Jacob's words pull me out of my trance, causing me to jump.

"His mana is running wild! I don't know what the fuck is going on! He wasn't this powerful before the crystal!" Jacob looks around the room which makes me do the same. At some point, the Arachne from above entered.

"I need to focus on Jim. If I don't, he is going to die!" Shiva looks back at me worriedly.

"Is he going to be ok!?" The ring of monsters around us is getting closer as she looks back.

"I don't fucking know! I don't know what the dungeon did to him!" While I'm screaming, the pixie, Vixi, flies out and lands on the manticore's shoulder.

"The dungeon didn't do anything! Whatever this is, it isn't anything she did!" Vixi flutters closer to us, landing on top of one of the orcs head.

"Bullshit!" Shiva throws one of her daggers at the pixie and barely misses her.

"It's not bullshit! It's the truth! Mistress Alexis needs him alive if she is going to escape this country! Why would she do something to harm him!?"

Shiva starts to reply, but I can't focus on them anymore. It's everything I can do to keep up with Jim's mana as it rampages through his body. I dive my senses back through the bridge between us. I feel his power rush past me again as I try and keep up.

I'm following his power as it moves through him when something crashes into me. Without looking to see what it is, I scramble to get back to Jim's side. Something grabs my leg for a second, holding me back. I try and kick it loose when I see Vaunea's blade arc downward.

"Whatever you are doing, you better hurry! This is getting thick real quick!" I don't even acknowledge her as I latch back onto Jim. I don't know if what I'm doing will be enough. It feels like I am just doing damage control at this point.

"No!" My voice is barely a whisper as I realize his mana has started to move towards his mind. I pour as much of my energy into him as I can. The damage is being healed as fast as it's happening. It has to be agony for Jim, if he can feel this at all.

Inside his skull, blood vessels rupture one after another, only to seal themselves in an instant. His mind is tearing itself apart, and I'm barely holding it together. I feel my reserves of magic starting to fade. I draw on the ambient mana in the air. With renewed vigor, I push my harvested power through his body.

With each passing second, I realize this is a losing battle I'm fighting. Yes, I'm healing the damage his mana is doing, but his mana reserves are just too much. I've already had to draw on the ambient mana while his reserves haven't even went down a noticeable amount.

Tears sting my eyes as I realize I'm not going to be able to save him. That whatever the crystal did to him is going to kill him. I push myself harder to try and keep him alive anyway. I don't want to give up if there is even a chance I can help him.

I realize too late my mistake. By the time I do, I can't stop. The bridge in our mana that formed when I first taught him to channel his has solidified. I can feel his power rushing into me as I force mine into him.

Someone is screaming as I continue to work to keep Jim alive. With a shock, I realize it's me. My throat feels raw as my voice echoes in the cavernous room. I can feel Jim in my head, his voice echoing mine. The bridge between us is solidifying more and more with each passing second. If Jim dies now, I'm not sure if I will survive.

I feel a stranger's mana brush against Jim and mine as I focus. It feels familiar, so similar to Jim's that for a split second, I think it's his. It's trying to bridge the distance between us, but it's obvious they don't know how. I split my focus for the briefest of seconds to latch onto the new thread of mana. My mental fingers work as fast as I can to weave the threads in beside mine. I tie it to Jim's power and feel the bridge split. Jim's power pours through the connection which gives me a much needed break.

Turning my focus back to Jim's mana coursing through his body, I nearly sob. While I was working on the mana reaching for us more damage was done. If I had taken longer, he might have died before I noticed. I'm lucky in the fact that I came back when I did. The damage is healed in a moment, but I am still chasing more damage as I heal him. Jim's voice is in my head now, screaming in pain and about choices. I push it aside as I feel more of his power flow into me. My limbs lock up, nearly making me fall. Somehow I remain upright, even as I feel my muscles spasm and pull my joints out of socket. The pain is nearly driving me mad. If it wasn't for the fact that I can feel Jim's and what he is enduring, I would give up. Jim is screaming again, not in my head as before, but out loud.

"Fucccckkkkkk!!" His pain slips away and I start to fall. Just before his face slips from my sight, I see his blue eyes snap open.

"Jim." My words are barely a whisper as I feel darkness covering my eyes. The combination of healing him and the assault from his mana is too much for me to handle.

Jacobs point of view

Shiva is going to get us killed! My blade comes up to block the orcs downward stroke. Using all my strength, I leverage it to the side and redirect it instead of stopping it outright. When Shiva had thrown her dagger at the pixie, all the monsters attacked at once. It had been a mess of limbs and blades in the beginning.

Sparing a second glance in Shiva's direction, I see her dancing away from the Arachne a shield from the orc in front of me crashes into my head, forcing me to pay attention. With a yell, it falls to the ground, Sarge runs away teeth stained red. On instinct, I reverse my blade and drive it onto the orcs neck to kill it.

Unfortunately for me, there are still three more in front of me. As I back away from them, they start to move, surrounding me with a loose semi-circle of blades and shields. My blade dances forward, skittering off the shield of the nearest orc. They start to speak back and forth in their guttural language as they stop their advancement.

I take half a second to check on the rest of our group. Shiva is still dancing around with the Arachne, neither managing to land a blow. Thea is still crouched next to Jim. Vaunea is standing in front of the two, shield raised sword poking out. Sarge seems to be running wild, splitting his focus between helping Shiva and me.

"Huaghhh!" The lead orc's cry pulls me back to my own fight. With a screech from steel on steel, I'm driven back. My sword is ripped from my grip by the orcs blade. I change hands with my dagger, flipping it and driving it home in the orcs eye.

I roll with the blow, avoiding another blade as I pass through the dust that was just an orc. The orcs are on me as my left hand wraps around my dropped sword. The two orcs start to stomp me into the ground. Their heavy boots breaking bone as they come down.

Letting out a yell, I try to roll out of the way. My blade dancing forward to bite into the nearest orc's leg. Sarge dives in, his teeth ripping out the tendons on the other orcs leg. With a yell of pain, it collapses to the ground. Sarge's teeth tears out its throat, an arc of gray blood splashes into my face.

Forcing myself to my feet, my blade deflects the last orcs slash. I'm nearly driven back to the ground by the force of the blow. Somehow, I manage to keep my footing and back away. The pain wracking my body is causing me to move slower. If not for Sarge's intervention, I wouldn't have made it off the ground.

The orc starts to limp forward slowly, its blade swinging wildly in front of it. All thought of protecting itself is gone. It's trying to brute force its way through. I curse as I catch its blade with my own, nearly falling as I struggle to retreat. I manage to turn my blade as I start to fall. The orcs eyes open wide as it starts to fall on top of me. My blade slides home between its ribs, not killing it outright.

The air is driven from my lungs as it lands on top of me. Its foul breath blowing into my face as it whimpers in pain. For a moment our eyes meet, and I see the barely constrained rage in them. Then without a sound, it's so much dust on top of me, finally dying.

I force my head to turn, trying to check on Shiva. I see her covered in small cuts as she continues to fight the Arachne. At some point, she managed to strike a heavy blow to it. The hand that had been holding her scythe is gone. Blood seeping slowly from the stump where it used to be. The Arachne's mouth is open, revealing long fangs dripping with venom. The manticore watches from near the hole into the core's room. She seems to not care what the outcome is between the two fighters.

My hand gropes blindly for my void bag, fighting to get the mouth of the bag open. I know there are still several high value healing potions inside. I hadn't expected to need them, but Thea has her hands full with Jim. My hand wraps around the neck of the potion inside the bag. With a groan, I manage to pull it from the depths of the bag.

I try and pull the stopper with my free hand, but my arm just flops to the side. I look down and let a moan slip as I see the bone sticking from my arm. Yeah, I'm fucked! Biting down on the cork, I manage to work it free. The bitter scent of the potion fills my mouth as I swallow.

I clench my teeth as I feel my bones popping back in place. I know they aren't set completely, but I should be able to move now. Somehow I manage to roll onto my stomach and force my knees beneath me. My right hand wraps around my blade as I stagger to my feet. I force myself to move forward, my legs barely staying under me.

Before I can reach Shiva's side, the arachne knocks her into the wall. Sarge darts in as it advances forward on Shiva. The big dog seems to blur as he drives his shoulders into the spider legs beneath the monster. With a screech and a crash, it falls to the ground. Black legs skitter wildly across the ground as it gets to its feet. When it finally rights itself, the legs Sarge hit don't seem to be moving right.

How fucking hard did he hit that thing!? I don't have time to worry about that as Shiva gets back to her feet and charges. I manage to force myself to move at my normal pace. My muscles scream as I push myself along. My previously broken bones threaten to collapse.

Sarge hits the Arachne's legs at the same time Shiva tackles its waist. I jump and land on the abdomen of the spider portion of its body. My blade drives into it's back. I rip it free and drive it back into her over and over. It lets out an inhuman shriek as Shiva and I continue to drive our blades home. With a pop the monster dies, Shiva and I crash to the ground as dust hangs in the air around us.

"You have to summon him now! We can't wait if they get through. Minevara, you are defenseless!" Vixi's voice drifts out from the hole in the wall. Something in her words has me worrying as I eye the manticore in front of us. Shiva pulls me to my feet, her hands steadying me as I sway.

"Can you still fight?" Her yellow eyes are glaring into mine. I realize if I say no, she is going to fight alone. I simply nod. Thea starts to scream as Shiva stiffens in front of me. I turn my head to check on her, keeping my body half turned to the manticore. Sarge is standing beside her, his eyes focused on her face.

As I'm turning back to face the manticore, the room starts to dim. It's like the light is being sucked out and darkness is creeping in. The ground starts to shake under our feet as Shiva and I stumble into each other.

"What the fuck is happening!?" I look into Shiva's eyes as I scream, seeing that she has no idea either.

"Mistress is summoning our guardian to protect us! Give up now, don't try to fight us anymore!" The damned pixie is fluttering around the entrance to the core's room as she yells at us.

"Dungeons can't summon monsters in the same room as adventurers!" Shiva is glaring at the pixie as she flies. Her hand clenching and unclenching around the handle of her dagger. I know she wants to throw it at the flying pixie. However since she missed last time, she is restraining herself, barely.

"Usually yes, but with the core being in danger the rules are different. If you want to calm down and talk like rational beings, that's fine. If you keep attacking us, we will kill you all." The pixie lands on top of the manticore's head just as another tremor shakes the room.

"I'm not stopping till the fucking core tells us what it did to Jim!" Shiva takes a half step forward then is forced to jump back. A giant stone club is buried into the floor where she just stood. My eyes trace along the length of the stone club and follow it back to the rough stonelike skin of the being holding it.

I have to tilt my head back as I look up at the massive body. The dark gray skin is covered in lumps of rough looking stone. Cloudy crystals grow out of it at the joints of its limbs. Its wearing a single piece of some giant hide around its waist like a loincloth, or maybe a diaper. A grayish green moss covers most of its body, making it look like a boulder that just stood up one day.

Its wide face is staring down at me with a slack jawed expression. Teeth made of diamond, stained a brownish almost black color peek out from behind its lips. Its wide nose has been broken several times and obviously never healed correctly. Its bald head covered in a thin layer of lichen sets above giant amber eyes. I feel all hope at surviving drain as I realize what we are facing.

"Fucking stone troll!" Before Shiva can move, I grab her and drag her away from the troll. Even if we were higher level adventurers, it would be suicide to attack that thing. Besides being insanely strong, it can actively leech mana from people as it fights. The crystals on its body pulls in mana from spells and contact. Its body cycles it through to heal and strengthen itself as it slowly drains its opponents. The last time I heard of one being killed it required a party of six high ranking adventurers to take down.

They also had the advantage of having the right weapons for the job. Our slim blades would be mostly useless against it. To fight one you need heavy warhammers or thick bladed axes. You need weapons made to smash and crush, not puncture and slice.

"Get the fuck off me, Jacob! I have to stop that fucking thing from doing any more harm to Jim!" Shiva is kicking me and cursing as I keep dragging her. I know if I let go she is going to charge regardless of what is in front of her. Goddess help us if she does. There is no way we are going to make it out of this dungeon alive.

"Shiva, stop dammit! Think for a second, it has kept saying that it didn't do anything. If it wanted us dead, we would be! We don't stand a chance against a manticore by ourselves, much less a dammed stone troll!" I feel her struggling weaken just the smallest amount. I think she is maybe starting to actually think about what's going on. My grip starts to loosen a fraction when I realize my mistake.

Shiva's elbow slams into my nose, my grip falters as the world explodes into stars. Before I can grab her again, I feel her knee slam into my legs. I'm falling, looking up, and seeing Shiva charge forward. My hand reaches out to grab her, just missing her tail as she runs.

She is in the air now, jumping over the club swung by the troll. Her feet kick off the stone as she propels herself forward. Completely silent, she arcs towards the manticore. Her blade slashes out in front of her as she flies through the air. I feel my guts clench as I realize the manticore is expecting her. Shiva can't see, but its wings are hiding its tail and is moving to impale her. I open my mouth to scream a warning, but I know it's going to be too late as she's already in the air.

Behind me, I hear Thea whimper Jim's name. Then the world disappears in a flash of bright light as I'm knocked onto my back. When I finally manage to force myself up, I can't believe what I see. Jim is standing in the center of the room, mana arcing off him like lightning in a thunderstorm. Shiva is held in his arms, and Sarge stands beside him. Somehow the dog has grown, seeming to have bulked up. The straps on his harness have split, leaving it hanging uselessly off his neck.

"What!?" Jim doesn't seem to hear me as he puts Shiva on the ground. He turns to the troll as it raises its club.

"Kill him!" Vixie is screaming from inside the hole in the wall, and whimpering after she speaks. Jim doesn't move as the club comes down. He pulls his sword and swings it once. The sword's strike forces the club to the side and it buries itself in the ground again. Sarge growls at the troll, seeming to get even bigger as he prepares to charge.

Jim's blade seems to glow in his hands as his feet shift. Without a sound, Jim and Sarge move forward as one. Sarge charges low as Jim flies through the air. I'm forced to close my eyes as Jim's blade connects with the troll. The flash of light is so bright it blinds me for a moment. When I force them back open, only Jim and Sarge are left standing. The troll is gone, only so much fallen dust left behind is proof it was ever there. Jim's sword is gone, just the broken hilt is left in his hand.

"Jim, are you ok?" Shiva's voice is quiet as she asks. I can hear the fear in it. As well as what I'm sure is more than a little excitement, not that she would admit it.

"Too much information." Jim's voice is calm, measured, and completely sure of himself. "I don't think I can hold onto all of it." He turns and smiles at Shiva.

"But I'm good now." He smiles at her, causing her to jump into his arms. She wraps her arms around him as she kisses him.

"What the fuck?" My voice is lost in the empty room, no one seems to care about my questions.

Jim's point of view, as he wakes up.

Have to move, my friends need help! I'm not sure how I know they need help, but I do. Thea is falling onto the ground next to me as my body rises. A quick glance tells me she is hurt, but she is ok for now. I feel her in my head, urging me to help the others. I trust her and feel my body move on instinct that I didn't know I had.

Vaunea is still standing over us, but I ignore her. My eyes take in Shiva's jump, seeing the manticore's tail arcing towards her. I don't know how I know, but I know I can reach her before the stinger does. So I trust the feeling and move with it, darting across the room like light.

My left arm wraps around Shiva, and I pull her close to me as my right comes up. As my hand wraps around the manticore's stinger, I squeeze and feel it rip free form the tail. In the same instant Sarge darts in, he is bigger than before. He looks like he would tip the scales somewhere over two fifty now, his shoulders higher than my waist.

He shoulder checks the manticore, driving it to the ground. Before it has a chance to move he is on it, ripping its throat out in an arc of golden blood. Sarge bounces back to my side, jumping ten feet into the air to land at my side just as the manticore's body turns to dust.

"Hey boss! Glad you're awake!" I look down into his brown eyes, knowing it's him speaking to me.

Can you hear me? At my thoughts, he simply nods. I feel myself smile as I stare down at him. Shiva is still held in my arms. There is no time to worry about this now. Not that I would, I would have traded anything back home to be able to talk to him like this. So as far as I'm concerned, this is just another good thing in this world. The world seems to flash, then Shiva is struggling in my arms. I hold her close, whispering in her ears.

"It's ok, I got you." She seems to realize it's me instantly, pulling herself to me. "I need to set you down now." I set her gently onto her feet, turning to face the monster still in the room. I don't know what it is, but it's big and ugly as hell.

"Kill him!" I hear Vixie's scream closely followed by Alexis.

"No! Vixie, no, you can't!" There is a wave of energy that blows from the core room, then Vixie begins to whimper. No time to think on that. I pull the nearly forgotten sword from my waist. I would prefer my rifle, but somehow I get the feeling it won't do me much good. As the monster's club comes down, I swing the blade, knocking it to the side. The force of the blow nearly makes my arm go numb from the impact. Fuck, this thing is strong!

"Big monster, boss. How do you want to handle this?" I can feel the power rolling off Sarge as he growls, his body seeming to bulk up even more.

I go high, you go low. Got it, boy? I know how to channel my mana into the sword's blade. It causes it to thrum with power in my hand, glowing brightly as it does.

"Got it, boss." We move as one, our steps in sync as if we have done it a thousand times before. Sarge hits the monster low, making its knee buckle as I jump. I'm soaring through the air, almost as if I'm flying. My mind is piecing everything together as I move. The skills that were forcibly unlocked meshes together to work as one by instinct.

My first blow comes down in a two handed strike, biting deep in the monsters shoulder. As my feet connect with its chest, I spring off of it. I feel myself fly through the air again as I race towards the wall. I twist and kick off the wall to dive back towards the monster.

Lightning step! The skill's name comes to my mind as I charge through the air. I push it aside and drive the blade back into the giant thing, kicking off again. My boots hit the sand, sliding on the loose floor as I charge in. Sarge dips under my blade as he races in beside me. Battle tempo! It's letting us work as one without getting in each other's way.

My next strike causes the blade in my hand to crack as it bites deep. Looking down, I see spiderweb cracks running along the length of the sword. One strike left, better make it count! I jump high as Sarge hits the monster's other leg, knocking it to the ground.

My strike hits the thing at the base of his neck as I twist in air above it. The blade strikes deep, barely pausing as it hits bone. Piercing blow! The blade in my hand shatters, and the mana escaping it blows me back. I twist in midair, kicking off the wall to spring back onto the floor next to Sarge.

I feel as if the world had been moving in slow motion as I fought. Now, it's starting to catch up and I feel my shoulders wanting to sag. Temporal grace! I don't know how I know, but I know it's the reason behind the burst of speed Sarge and I had. The skills that were forced open run through my mind, threatening to overwhelm me as they do.

"Jim, are you ok?" Shiva's voice pulls me from my thoughts.

"Too much information. I'm not sure I can hold onto all of it." I turn to her and smile as I do. "But I'm good now." I smile at Shiva, then she is in my arms. Her tongue slips between my lips, stealing what breath I had managed to catch. My hands come up to grab her waist as her tail wraps around my wrist. I can hear her purring as her hands work over my body. Her lips pull away from mine and I feel her head snuggle against my neck.

"I was so scared." Her voice is a whisper that I can barely hear. Her body starts to shake in my grip, and I realize she is crying.

"It's alright, Shiva." I kiss the top of her head as I set her on the ground gently. "I need to check on Thea now. Are you ok?" As I look into her eyes, I can literally see the moment she pushes everything down. She nods to me so I slip around her and make my way to Thea's side.

Vaunea is kneeling beside her as I get there. She doesn't manage to move before I am on the ground beside Thea. I lift the injured elf into my arms, hearing a soft gasp escape her lips. I can feel her pain echoing through my own body. It doesn't feel like anything is broken, just a deep ache at every joint. I tilt my head as I look down at Thea's face, my mind wondering how I can feel her pain.

"She did something with your magic boss, mine too. That's why we can feel her, and why she could feel you." I look down at Sarge as he noses Thea's ribs gently.

What do I do!? My thoughts are racing as I try and think of what to do. Looking around the room, I realize no one else seems to be moving. What the fuck?

"Temporal grace. We are moving to fast they can't keep up." Sarge nudges me with his nose as I look down at him.

When the fuck did you get so smart anyway? Sarge tilts his head, his mouth settling into his usual grin.

"As best I can tell, when we came here. Now boss, you need to do something with her."

Like what? Turning back to Thea I can feel my mind racing as I try and think.

"How the fuck should I know, boss. You are the one who figures everything out. What about all the shit you have been doing since you woke up?" Sarge leans in close to Thea, his tongue darting out to lick her face.

I realize Sarge is right, so I lean into the feelings coursing through my body. So far everything I have done has been instinctual. I go with it. I cup Thea's head gently and raise her head to rest against mine. I can feel her power, different from mine, but pulsing in time with my own. I'm dimly aware that my own mana is arcing wildly, coursing between Thea, Sarge, and me.

Thea's power reaches up towards me, passing through mine as it travels. One part of it seems to keep moving closer to me, almost like it's trying to tell me something. Going with the feeling, I let my power brush up against the tendril of Thea's. When the two connect, I feel her body stiffen in my grip. My lips move on their own as I feel my mana shift inside.

"Imitate spellwork" I feel my mana take a hit as I cast the spell. My mind gives a shudder as I realize I'm casting my first spell. When I realize what the spell does, I have to suppress a shudder. In that moment, I pull the information from Thea's mind. My tendrils of power slips inside her consciousness and invades her mind. My lips move on their own to chant the incantation to one of her spells.

A bright golden light pours from my hands, enveloping Thea's body. As I continue pouring power into the spell, I feel the pain from her lessening. As the pain fades away completely, the spell cuts off and I feel the knowledge of how to cast it slip away. I pull Thea's still form up into my arms, holding her close to my chest. She starts to stir in my arms, her eyes opening and staring into mine.

"Jim…." I can feel her confusion as she looks up at me.

"Hey there. You had me worried for a minute." I lean in and press my lips against hers gently. For a second she is still, then I feel her kissing me back. I pull away and smile down at her as she pulls herself closer to me.

"I fucked up." Her voice is quiet against my chest and I feel her confusion turn to fear.

"No you didn't, you kept me alive." I try and reassure her as I feel her start to cry. "Don't cry, I'm right here. You didn't fuck up." At my words, I feel her stiffen. She looks up at me with her tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

"Don't you realize what I did to you?" I can't help but laugh. I know the wrong thing to do, but I can't stop myself.

"You built a bridge between our mana, linking us together." Thea stiffens in my arms at my words her eyes going wide as she stares at me.

"How?" I give her a gentle kiss as she seems unsure of what question she wants to ask.

"The crystal the core gave me. It explained about bridges in power, amongst other things. So I know what you did, and I know what it means." I pause and smile down at her before I kiss her again. "This means you're not getting rid of me, huh?" I can't help but smile as I whisper the words with my lips almost touching hers. Thea blushes, her face turning a light red as my words register in her mind.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Her words make me laugh as I pull her in close.

"I know, I know." I kiss the top of her head, taking a deep breath through my nose as I do. "It can be tomorrow's problem. For now, I'm ok and so are you." Sarge forces his nose in between us, his tongue darting out to lick away Thea's tears.

"You two done yet? We still need to talk to the core again." I feel Thea stiffen against me again at Sarge's words.

"Jim, who the hell was that?" Her eyes dart around the room as she starts to pet Sarge. I feel myself starting to laugh again.

"Long story short, that's Sarge. Apparently he can talk to me now….. or well us I guess." Thea stares into Sarge's eyes as I explain, tilting her head slightly.

"Was that really you?" Her words are quiet, almost like she is confused.

"You can hear me too?" Sarge tilts his head, then proceeds to lick her face again. "The others can't, I already tried talking to them."

"Sarge, stop licking me!" Thea starts to laugh as she tries to push the big dog away. She looks him over for a second, tilting her head again. "Did you get…. Bigger?"

"When you built a bridge, I saw how to make myself stronger in boss's head." He sits back on his haunches, scratching his ear before looking into her eyes again. "I got bigger when I did. I think I'm going to stay like this, but I don't know." He seems to shrug his front shoulders then walk towards the hole into the core's chamber. "You coming, boss?" He pauses and looks over his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming." I laugh as I scramble to my feet, pulling Thea upright as I do.

"You two can hear him now?" Shiva wraps her arms around me from behind as I turn to follow Sarge.

"Yeah, looks like we can both hear him…. Wait, what do you mean now?" I try and turn to look at Shiva as she continues to stay directly behind me. She mumbles something against my back that I can't quite make out. With a growl, I grab her wrist and hold her still as I turn to face her.

"What was that?" Shiva drops her head, looking at the floor as she mumbles again. I'm not used to Shiva acting like this, it throws me for a second. I lift her chin gently to look into my eyes, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm just a human. There is no way I could have heard that and you know it."

"I said, I knew he could understand people. I assumed there was a way for him to talk to people." For a second I'm stunned, questions running through my mind.

"How did you know?" She blushes so hard her face nearly matches her hair for a second.

"Never mind! It's not important right now!" She tries to pull herself free from my grip, but I manage to keep ahold of her. "Please just drop it for now." Shiva's voice is quiet, seeing how embarrassed she is, I let out a low sigh.

"Ok. I'll drop it for now, but we will talk about this later." I feel Shiva relax in my arms, so I kiss the top of her head before I turn back towards the core's room. As I turn, I feel something jab into my right arm which makes me wince. Looking down, I see the edge of the status plate digging into my forearm, the metal twisted and warped.

"Well shit!" I tug gently on the plate, causing it come free from my arm. "What?" Looking at it, I see ripples in the metal with waves of colors like it had been superheated at some point.

"What did you do to that thing?" Shiva takes it from my grip, turning it over in her hands.

"Mana overload it looks like." The words are out of my mouth before I have the time to think about it. I tilt my head for a second at the words, my mind slowly catching up to the words I said.

"When did you learn about that?" Shiva holds the metal up above her head. The thin metal gleams then breaks apart in her hands. "Oops." She tosses the two pieces into a corner as she turns back towards me.

"Apparently, the crystal had a lot of information crammed into it."

"Would have been nice to see what skills you had unlocked before you fried it." Shiva sounds almost disappointed as she looks down at my bare forearm.

"I still remember most of them… I think I do at least. It's all kind of fuzzy, but I still think I could use them in a pinch." Sarge barks from across the room, reminding me of what I was supposed to be doing. "Alright, I'm coming!" I give Shiva a quick one armed squeeze before heading to the core's room.

As I step into the room, Sarge is sitting beside the core, his nose almost touching it. Collapsed on top is Vixi, her wings twitching gently as she takes shallow breaths. I take a quick look back into the main chamber. Thea is healing Jacob while Vaunea has taken up a position beside the door to the core room.

"She alright?" I motion to Vixi's barely moving form as I turn back towards the core.

"She will be fine, it will just take her a while to recover." Alexis's voice sounds nervous too me, but I push that thought away for now.

"What happened to her?" Alexis seems to sigh at my question, making me wonder how a living gem manages to sigh.

"She ordered my monsters to attack your friends after I said not too. I had to punish her. Dungeon core's only have one way to punish their pixies and it's not exactly gentle."

"Huh, that sucks for her. I think we have a lot to talk about. Especially if I'm going to be carrying you out of Dolus." I lean against the wall as I speak, bringing my arms up to rest on the stock of my rifle before I realize I'm not wearing it again. Shaking my head gently, I instead hook my thumbs into my belt loops, trying to relax.

"You still would carry me out of Dolus? Even after my monsters attacked you and your friends?" Alexis flashes a bright pink almost neon at my words. As I watch the flashes of color, I can't help but grin. Now that I've spoken to her a little more, I'm pretty sure her mood affects her color and brightness. If I'm right, the flashing and brightness of her means she's excited, maybe surprised.

"I said before we could talk about a deal when I got my rifle back. I have my rifle back, so let's talk about a deal." Alexis's core flashes colors faster than I can follow for a second. Finally settling in on a slightly duller pink than she was when I first walked in.

"Why would you still help me? The chains of your oath have shattered. You could just walk away if you wanted to with no risk to yourself." I'm surprised for a moment to find out the chains holding me to my oath are gone, but it doesn't really change anything.

"I didn't offer to help you escape Dolus because of some oath. I offered to help because it's the right thing to do. I know dungeons are not allies to humans or demi-humans. If I leave you here, the king will send more people after you. When he does, he will use you to arm his armies, supply food, and gold to pay them. I can't let that happen if I can help it. Now, let's make a deal, one where we both make it out of this alive and in better shape than we were."

Alexis seems to be deep in thought at my words. Her core turns a deep bluish color with only a few dim flashes from deep inside her core. The only sound in the small room is Vixi letting out a low groan as she shifts in her sleep. Just as I'm about to open my mouth to speak again, Alexis starts to talk.

"What would you want to take me out of here? I'm assuming ammo would be the big thing. I don't know how much you had when you came to this world, but it has to be running low with how much you went through in my dungeon." I feel my mouth pull itself into a grin as I look down at the pulsing dungeon core on the pedestal in front of me.

"Are you saying you can make more of my ammo?" There's no way around it, ammunition was going to be a problem soon. If Alexis can make ammo for me that would be one less thing to worry about right away.

"Anything I absorb I can copy, modify, and make. So yes, I can make you ammo, gunpowder, and lubricant for your guns. If you give me other caliber rounds, I can make those too. I would be willing to make you ammo for as long as you are traveling with me, assuming you can control your mana enough so that I don't have to hibernate that is."

I smile as I push off the wall, standing beside her I gently move Vixi. She starts to ask a question, when I lay my index finger on her gem. Digging into the well of energy inside me, I push the smallest tendril of mana through my finger into the core. As the energy disappears from my body, Alexis makes a sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan.

"Sttttooooooppppppppp! Please, I can't take it!" I cut the flow of mana off instantly. Alexis is quiet for a moment before she starts to speak.

"Yes…. You definitely can manipulate your mana now. Just don't do it while I'm still drawing it from the whole dungeon. That was too much at the same time."

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" I back up a half step to try and give her some space.

"No it didn't hurt. It felt… nevermind it didn't hurt. It was just a lot of energy pulsing through me all at once. As long as you don't do that while I'm still drawing from the whole dungeon, it will be fine." She pauses, her core flashing brightly as she thinks.

"How much power were you feeding me when you did that? It felt like a lot, can you maintain that amount for a long period of time? Or will it be too much of a strain on you?" I can't help but smile as she asks. Honestly, the amount I had been feeding her was the smallest I could manage.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to maintain that amount easily. Now we should talk about what you're going to trade for the trip out of Dolus, and maybe how we get out of the dungeon without being seen. I don't think the guild will be to happy about us removing you if what Shiva told me about dungeon cores is accurate." Vixi starts to stir as we begin to negotiate. She started to complain loudly until Alexis cut her off. By the end of our talk, I couldn't help but smile as I opened the lid to the giant chest that spawned in the room.