"Noooo!!!" Stanley screamed desperately. "Nooo!! You can't…" He sat up abruptly. "Caff!"

Stanley looked around in a panic. "Where is Caffeine!" He was on a soft bed in a spacious and furnished bedroom. White sheets were smooth on his bare legs and cream colored walls adorned with random abstract art surrounded him. A large window let in grey daylight and looked out over a city far below. In a recliner on the other side of the room a man was staring wide eyed at him.

Oh and everything was on fire.

Stanley lashed out, attempting to push the fire away. "Where… Caff! What is…"

"Wait!" The man in the chair yelped. "You're safe! Don't…"

Stanley floated above the bed as it crumpled beneath him. The fire swirled around the room and towards the other man. "It's just…" He yelled before a loud boom shook the building. The man looked towards the door at the same time as Stanley.

"That's…" Stanley thought before another boom shook the bedroom as the door exploded inward in a cloud of splinters. "Caff!" Stanley gasped as the little black and gray missile collided with him. "You're okay… I was so…" He squeezed the squirming pug tight against his chest as Caffeine licked frantically at his face. "I'm so glad… I thought… I love you."

Someone was saying something and Stanley pulled his gaze up to find the other man. "...healing fire! I have to put it back!" The man was holding a roiling ball of fire cupped between his hands, as he spoke it poured out and spread out across the floor and then up the walls until the fire crawled across the ceiling and encircled the room once again.

Stanley noticed something happening as it went. A quieting of a cacophonous noise, a softening of incoming...

"You're safe here!" The man said in a strained voice. "Please try to relax." He was still holding a swirling fire between his hands but Stanley finally noticed his Soul. It wasn't threatening, it was threatened, in pain and afraid, of Stanley.

Stanley buried his face in Caffeine’s fur, breathing in the smell that most would just call dog. But to Stanley it was the smell of Caffeine, a smell that meant home, comfort, happiness.

"We're okay." He thought. "Caff is here. We're safe." He took deep breaths and tried to slow his racing heartbeat. Caffeine whined and sighed as he gave up on the face licking and settled down in the desperate hug.

Stanley slowly calmed as the nightmare faded and the smell of Caffeine in his arms grounded him. "Caff is okay, everything is okay…"

Then another Soul appeared in the room.

His gaze leapt to the doorway, now sans door and the curtain of fire that covered the opening. A fox was peeking through. Stanley blinked as a memory popped into his head. A flaming three tailed fox… attacking the… Pain! Panic! Fear! Rage!

Stanley buried his face back in Caffeine. "We're safe… we won!" He screamed into his mind. "Caff is safe…" He could feel Caffeine’s Soul and he could feel the bond that bound them. It was still there. Caffeine hadn't been taken away. He never would be. Ever!

Slowly, with deep breaths of Caffeine scented air, Stanley calmed down. When he felt stable enough, he finally looked back up at the Souls he could feel inside the room. He could feel other Souls further away and below but they were muted… underwater… or maybe more like voices from behind a wall, diffused and unintelligible.

Inside the room the fox was staring at him and when he met its eyes it bristled, fire sprouting around its head like a lion's mane and on all three tails that waved agitatedly behind it.

Stanley looked away and met the gaze of the man crouched next to the fox. He must have come in behind it. His Soul was wary and nervous but still mostly calm. He had one hand on the fox and was stroking its back.

"Easy girl." He murmured. "He's a good guy, remember?" His eyes dropped to Caffeine. "You like Caffeine, right? Well, Caffeine likes him." The fox's tails slowed their waving as it glanced between him and Caffeine. The fire dimmed and died until the fox was no longer on fire. "That's right…" The man crooned with a big smile, his white teeth contrasting brightly against his dark skin.

Stanley settled slowly down until he was sitting on the broken bed beneath him. He gingerly reached a hand out to the fire covering the floor. It was warm… but it never got hot even as his fingers dipped into the flames. It felt… nice. He looked up again and met the eyes of the two strange men watching him.

"Hi..." Stanley said weakly into the quiet room, the fire making no sound as it flickered. Both men smiled at him and Stanley tried to smile but his face twitched and he quickly quelled his rioting emotions, fingers brushing through the fur under his hands.

"Hi." The man petting the fox said. "I'm Daryl." He spoke with a bit of a British accent. Daryl nodded to the other man, who was still holding a ball of fire. "That's Adrian. Don't mind the fire in his hands, that's just Cheesesteak's egg."

Stanley blinked.

Daryl smiled. "He's a Phoenix. The bird, that is."

Stanley started to respond, remembering a flaming bird, but his throat tightened and he just nodded slightly and glanced at the fox.

"This is Princess!" Daryl grinned. "She won't ever let you forget that, either." He glanced at Caffeine. "Is his name Caffeine?"

Stanley nodded slowly. "How…" He choked on something and tasted a faint flavor of blood on his tongue. "How did you know?" He finally asked.

Daryl's smile dimmed. "You umm… yelled it a few times." He smiled brightly at the pug. "He's a good pup. Wouldn't leave your side at all for that first day."

Stanley smiled and hugged Caffeine tighter as he blinked away something in his eye. "Yes…" He managed to get out. "He is the… wait… first day?"

Daryl cleared his throat. "You've been here for about two days." He looked back at the pug. "We finally convinced him you were okay and between the food and Princess here, we got him to calm down." He pet the fox fondly. "She can communicate with him much better than either of us."

"You can talk to Caff?" Stanley asked, excited. "Is he okay?"

Daryl frowned slightly. "You can't?" He waved his hands at something he saw on Stanley’s face. "Sorry, I just assumed you were a Beast Bonded… like us…" He glanced at Adrian and back.

Stanley shook his head slowly. "I'm a Psionic…" He paused. "Oh… My name is Stanley." He said belatedly.

Daryl smiled wider. "Nice to meet you, Stanley. Guess we can stop calling you Dearest Human now."

Stanley froze. "Is… is that…"

Daryl nodded gently. "Princess told me that all he would say was 'Help Dearest Human' and 'Save Dearest Human' for the first day."

Stanley lost his composure and crumpled down around Caffeine. "Caff…" Stanley shook as tears ran freely. Caffeine whined sadly at him.

"He started saying 'breakfast' and 'dinner' once we got him to eat." Daryl continued after Stanley settled down. "He calls Princess 'Fire Dog', she hates it and tries to bite him every time he calls her that." Daryl laughed loudly. "Caffeine loves that! Starts barking and sprinting around while she chases him."

Stanley laughed through his tears. "That does sound like him." He dried his face with the sheet and looked up. "Thank you." He said seriously. "Thank you for… everything."

"You're welcome. It's the least we could do after… that." Daryl replied. "Do you remember the fight?" He asked cautiously. "You went down pretty hard at the end there."

Stanley twitched and nodded, his eyes locked onto Caffeine. "I… yeah, I remember."

"That was a right monster, that one." Daryl said casually. "I want to thank you for putting it down. As well as rescuing the others from the bats."

Stanley nodded slowly, not meeting the man's eyes. He had abandoned them at the end there, or tried to, but… well, he had still gotten them out of the Lair.

"Caffeine went on a tear after you dropped." Daryl smiled at the pug but the smile slipped. "It was good that he did because that attack took most of us down with you… whatever that thing hit you with… I'm glad it wasn't me."

Stanley met his eyes for a moment before looking away. He could feel all of them flinching, just slightly, away from him. "It wasn't the Leader. Not at… the end." Stanley whispered. "I did that… I had too… it was the… only way… that spell..." He curled up around Caffeine as his throat closed off. The pug licked his face gently and softly as his body spasmed from the memory of that pain.

"I didn't know that..." Daryl said quietly. "I don't know if it helps, but you saved a lot of lives. Not just ours, but everyone that thing would have killed later." He was silent for a moment. "Maybe thousands or tens of thousands. We still don't know how many people are still out there…"

"I only wanted to survive… to escape… to protect Caff." Stanley whispered. "I don't need to save…" He trailed off. "I do need other people… I've been saved by others more than once now." He thought. "That thing was so much stronger than I expected… how are we supposed to survive here?" It was ridiculous.

"There's…" Stanley cleared his throat and swallowed before continuing. "There's tens of thousands at least. I… I saw them, spread out in groups… miles away." He waved a hand vaguely around.

"That's wonderful news!" Daryl exclaimed. "Well… mostly wonderful…" His voice became subdued. "The lack of survivors in the immediate area made me worried about how many of us were left."

Stanley felt someone approaching the room and looked to the doorway in time to see a man step through. He was an older man wearing a… a tuxedo... and carrying a large ornate silver tray covered by a domed lid.

"I have brought lunch for the Lord and Lady, sir." He said in a thick British accent. Daryl sighed. "We have a guest, Walter. Is this show really necessary?"

"Astute as ever, sir." 'Walter replied in a dry monotone.

He stepped up to Stanley and set the tray on the floor, removing the lid with a flourish. A massive fish was steaming on the tray, cut in half but otherwise intact, head, eyes, everything.

"You're lunch, my Lord." Walter bowed low as he looked at the pug and Caffeine leapt to the tray, tail wagging as he stared at the fish that had to be four times bigger than him.

Caffeine suddenly ballooned up in size and swallowed the fish in one bite before shrinking back down.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Very good, my Lord." The man said to the pug, completely unfazed by the display. He scooped up the tray and it seemed to vanish as he turned until he stepped to Princess and another tray was set before her, complete with a much fancier spread of fileted fish.

"My Lady." He bowed as the fox stepped daintily up and started nibbling on her meal.

Caffeine sprinted towards her until she growled, fire blooming around her neck and tails. The pug slid to a halt and lay flat on the floor with a terribly sad whine.

Walter walked around the animals to approach Stanley. He reached behind his back and brought out a stack of folded fabric. "Your previous attire was tragically destroyed, sir." He said in the same monotone. "I have acquired replacements. I sincerely hope you find them to your satisfaction."

Stanley blinked at him. "How did you…"

"He is insufferable, that's how." Daryl said, rolling his eyes. "Don't encourage him."

"Quite right, sir." Walter said, with no change of expression or tone.

"How were my clothes destroyed?" Stanley wondered aloud. He couldn’t remember if they had been damaged in the fight.

"Terribly sorry, sir." Walter said. "It seems someone mistook them for garbage and they were thrown into a fire." He bowed deeply, his face the perfect picture of regret.

Stanley looked at him, confused. His Soul was telling a different story than his face. There was no regret, only disgust when he mentioned Stanley’s clothes. "They weren't that dirty…" Stanley thought. Though on second thought, he had spent hours inside the ventilation ducts, and had likely been splattered with little bits of exploded bats. "It's fine." He didn't really care after all.

Stanley held up one of the clothing items. "Um… what is this?" It looked like a formal suit and tie.

"You made him a suit, Walter?" Daryl sounded surprised.

"Of course, sir." Walter replied, his Soul resounding with certainty.

Stanley watched and felt the emotions playing across Daryl's face. Surprise, confusion, curiosity, and finally happiness.

"Aren't we a bit past the suit and tie era here?" Stanley asked as he pulled the various pieces from the stack.

"The end of the world is no excuse for improper attire." Walter said stiffly.

"Don't knock it yet." Daryl laughed. "Walter creates some special stuff. Try it on first."

Stanley was doubtful but noticed that both Daryl and Adrian were wearing their own suits, minus the jackets. Stanley decided to play along.

He saw Caffeine sliding on his belly, inch by inch towards the fish as he floated up to his feet and Stanley finally noticed something. "Am I wearing a diaper?"

Daryl laughed again. "Hey, it was necessary after the first mess."

Stanley felt his face heating and Daryl rushed to explain. "You were a bit dangerous to approach for awhile there." He gestured around the room with a nervous chuckle.

Stanley didn’t understand at first but on closer examination he realized that what he had thought was abstract art was actually random holes and damage in the walls, and here and there some pieces of furniture were still embedded.

"Oh…" Stanley grimaced. "Sorry about…"

"We all have nightmares." Daryl cut him off. "Don't worry about it." He grinned at Stanley. "New problems for a new age. Instead of tossing and turning 'in' your bed, now people can toss the whole bed." His smile faded and Stanley felt his Soul bouncing around a multitude of different emotions, most of them unpleasant.

"If you would like to change, sir." Walter spoke up into the silence as he reached through the flames on one of the walls. "The facilities are just here." He opened a door that Stanley hadn't noticed under the flickering fire. "I took the liberty of drawing up a bath for you."

Princess was growling softly as Caffeine, stretched out on his belly, tail wagging, inched his way closer and closer.

Before Stanley could go through the doorway, Daryl suddenly leapt to his feet. "Hold up." He called. "Gotta put the fire in there."

"If it's to block the Miasma, don't bother." Stanley said. "It doesn't affect me."

Daryl stuck a hand into the flames and pulled it back out. The fire seemed to flow to his hand until a swirling ball surrounded it and he stepped up to the door. "Actually…" He said hesitantly. "It's to block your… um…" He gestured vaguely at Stanley. "...Aura?"

Stanley blinked, suddenly seeing the pained looks and grimacing in a new light. "My Soul…" He murmured.

"That's what we assumed." Daryl nodded apologetically. "Everyone in the battle down there unlocked the Soul Attribute when you... killed that thing."

Stanley shuddered. "Sorry about…"

"Enough of that." Daryl snapped. "We all needed that wake up call." He said softly. "We didn't know things were that bad… plus everyone made it back." He smiled briefly before glancing at Adrian who was still sitting and concentrating intently on the fire between his hands. Daryl's Soul was tinged with worry and sorrow as he looked at the other man but the strongest underlying feeling was a steady, loving affection.

Stanley redirected his focus onto the fire in Adrian's hands. "It's there." He said quietly to Daryl. "I can feel the Soul inside the egg." He clarified when Daryl looked confused. "It's aware and… eager." He continued.

Daryl smiled wider and stood a little straighter. "That is good news." He looked fondly yet sadly towards the other man. "We never had to test the Phoenix's rebirth before." He whispered. "We don't know if it will be the same… Cheesesteak."

Stanley listened closer to his [Soul Awareness], tuning out the fear and worry spilling from Adrian.

"I didn't get a good look… the other day." He clenched his trembling fists. "But it is feeling… Affection? Love?" He shook his head. "Still learning this Skill…"

"It's almost finished." Daryl said and pushed the fire in his hands through the doorway. The curtain of flame rolled back and expanded until it outlined a rather fancy looking bathroom. "Go ahead."

Princess burst into raging flames and charged Caffeine. The pug bounced away and started sprinting excitedly around the room while the fox spun in place, trying to protect her meal.

"Caff!" Stanley said loudly.

Caffeine slid to a halt, his tail slowly drooping at the expected reprimand.

"Get the fish!" Stanley said with a grin and went into the bathroom as the sprinting resumed.

He heard Walter clear his throat. "If the Lord would like another snack…" There was a woosh and a boom. "Ahem. I see that the Lord is still peckish."

"He is never not hungry!" Stanley called, then he looked into the mirror and froze. "Oh no…" He gasped.

"What did you do to my beard!" He yelled. "My glorious beard…"

"You're welcome!" Daryl shouted through the doorway. "You looked like a hobo! A rabid, cannibal hobo that just stabbed someone and took a few bites!"

Stanley sighed. "It wasn't that bad…" His carefully and meticulously cultivated, wild man living in the woods, beard, was mutilated, ruined. Now it was short and squared off. It looked disgustingly professional. "All those years… wasted."

His face was still old and wrinkled. Not death's door old but not that far away. He'd been hoping for the wise and distinguished look but it didn’t seem to be working.

The rest of his body was surprisingly not bad. He had muscles, small ones but still visible and his small gut gained from sitting all day and snacking, was gone. "Must be the Attributes, or the fighting for survival… maybe both."

He removed his thankfully clean diaper and floated himself into the steaming bath. "How did Walter get… nope, not gonna even worry about it." He was stalling. He really didn’t want to think about what had happened earlier today… well, two days ago. But he wasn't likely to get a more comfortable and luxurious opportunity than this. He took a deep breath of the steamy air and sank low into the wonderfully hot water. "Here we go."

Combat Log

Debuff Gained. [Circle of Binding Chains]

Debuff Removed. [Circle of Binding Chains]

Psionic Energy Depleted. Regenerating.

Debuff Gained. [Circle of Binding Chains]

"Guess that's what those magic chains were called…" He kept going.

Class Level Up. [Psionic] No Evolutions Available. Upgrade to Apprentice Available. Proceed? Yes/No

Your Twin-Soul has been Breached. You have been forced into your Soul Space. Defend yourself!

Debuff Gained. [Soul Wound] -5 Twin-Soul Attribute per Minute.

He flinched slightly at the memory of that magic cutting his Soul open. "Keep going."

-5 Twin-Soul Attribute.

+1 Willpower

Debuff Upgraded. [Major Soul Wound] -10 Twin-Soul Attribute per Minute.

New Class Evolution Available. Proceed? Yes/No

-10 Twin-Soul Attribute.

+1 Willpower

Debuff Upgraded. [Critical Soul Wound] -20 Twin-Soul Attribute per Minute.

Stanley clenched his fists under the water and took slow deep breaths as he listened to Caffeine in the other room. He was still trying to get Princess's fish by the sounds of it.

"It was worth every bloody, screaming second of agony." Stanley thought. "I would do it again in a heartbeat!" He was almost surprised by how easily that realization settled on him and somehow, the thought of going through all of it again to save Caffeine, made the memory easier to bear.

He continued through the Notifications.

Trait: [I Made My Choice] Upgraded and Activated.

Class Evolution Chosen. [Soul Psionic]

-20 Twin-Soul Attribute.

+1 Willpower

Debuff Upgraded. [Deadly Soul Wound] -60 Twin-Soul Attribute per Minute.

Congratulations! You have Defeated an Enemy Raid Leader! Contributions Earned. Class and Skill Experience Earned.

Class [Soul Psionic] Level Up.

New Trait acquired. [Ruthless Soul]

-1 Twin-Soul

-1 Twin-Soul

Buff Gained. [Soul Support Tether] All Soul Damage Spread Evenly between all Tethered Members.

Debuff Downgraded. [Deadly Soul Wound(Patched)] -1 Twin-Soul Attributes per 48 Hours.

"I'm leaking…" Stanley thought with a grimace. "Actually, we're leaking…" He really hoped Lee had someone helping him those last two days. "Fuck." Though that [Soul Support Tether]... that sounded like someone else had joined the fight. Stanley hadn't noticed anything during the fight, he 'was' a bit distracted, to be fair, but maybe Lee had found some allies. "Thank you. Whoever you are." He thought. "I owe you."

There was a message repeating over and over.

You have Gained Effect. [Cleansing Phoenix Fire] +Regeneration

And the last one.

Attribute Twin-Soul(Unique) Analysis Completed. Values Assigned.

"I guess that's good?" There was no notification about losing more Twin-Soul Attributes and Stanley wasn't sure if it simply hadn't been forty-eight hours yet or if the Tether was slowing down the losses.

Either way… he looked at his Status.

Status

Name: Stanley Cascade

Race: [Psionic Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [I Made My Choice] [Ruthless Soul]

Titles: [Solo Hunter]

Class: [Soul Psionic(Initiate II)](Rare)

Class Skills:

[Mind Over Matter(Initiate IX)](Epic)

Attributes:

Strength: 20

Vitality: 20

Dexterity 20

Perception 20

Intelligence 20

Willpower 22

Twin-Soul 198

Non Class Skills:

[Soul Awareness(Initiate II)](Rare)

[Source Regeneration]

Buffs: [Soul Support Tether]

Debuffs: [Deadly Soul Wound(Patched)]

"My Class Evolution bumped me back down to Initiate…" Stanley didn’t know if that mattered or how much. He focused on his new Class.

[Soul Psionic](Rare)

A rare Class that focuses on the power of the mind. Practitioners eschew the use of Mana, instead Converting all extra Energy into their Psionic Energy Pool. Strong minds can use this Energy to force the world around them to bend to their will. Masters of this Class can alter reality on a whim and a thought.

Variant(Soul) Infuses their Soul Energy into their Will. Increases the strength of all abilities at the risk of damaging the user's Soul.

[Class Level Effects(Initiate)]

+5% Psionic Energy Pool(Scales with Willpower and Soul)

+5% Psionic Energy Regeneration(Scales with Willpower, Ambient Energy and Soul)

+5% Psionic Power(Scales with Willpower and Soul)

"Huh… I guess more power is good?" Stanley thought. The only thing that worried him was the risk of damaging his Soul. He hadn't gained any new knowledge about how to use his Soul to boost his attacks and he really hoped it wasn't going to rip his Soul apart if he hit something.

Granted, his now visible Twin-Soul Attribute was very high… but he had taken some hefty bites out of it to kill the Leader. Also there was a new trait…

Trait: [Ruthless Soul]

You are willing to do whatever it takes to win, including destroying your own Soul.

Effects:

+20% of Twin-Soul Attribute added to Effectiveness of All Mind Attributes

(Risk of damaging or destroying your Soul increases with the power used.)

"I'll need to test it." He decided after seeing that. "Test it very carefully…" He was extra worried now, thinking about whether the trait effect would stack with his class… Soul damage wise. Obviously he could still use his power, since he'd been floating around a few moments before.

Stanley was also thinking about the Soul Tether and whether that meant that he would kill everyone that had helped them, as well as himself if he fucked up. "Really cheering myself up…" He thought.