Some parts of this are M rating so... you’ve been warned.

“I think Lana is with someone,” Ruby said as she ate a sandwich she had with me as we sat at a bench with Indigo, while everyone else was busy and would come later.

“I believe so, too. Do you think it's Ed? Rockmond?” I asked openly to the two.

Indigo had just swallowed the bit of meat he chewed off his lunch before shrugging.

“I mean, we can't just assume she's into guys… maybe it's a woman,” Indigo guessed with yet another shrug of his arm. The two of us looked at each other before Ruby spoke.

“One of the twins?” she guessed.

“Or one of the other women, but maybe one of the twins,” I also guessed.

Ruby nodded as we ate some more. I noticed Indigo’s focus was somewhere else, his gaze was on Lana’s home before he shook his head and taking another large bite off the slab of prime meat. In doing so, it left small stains of grease on his cloth shirt, having ditched his normal dress shirt after the first week. He even decided to wear a pair of riot pants, which oddly looked fitting for him.

“Something up, Indigo?” I asked him, getting his attention.

“You two got me thinking and… when was the last time you've seen Rose?” he asked with suspicion in his tone before taking a quick swig of his canteen of water to wash down the food. Ruby looked at him for a moment.

“I… don’t know. What about you Viri?” Ruby asked, looking over to me as she spoke.

“I was with her when we saw that Overseer piece then the whole thing with Beta, then some time with Lana… oh… Ohhhh,” I looked over at Indigo. “You think Rose and Lana?”

“It's a complete guess, and a pretty odd one at that, but it's still a possibility,” Indigo was quick to say after my realization. He then shrugged and added, “Those two are always at each other's throat… it wouldn't be a surprise really if they were a couple by now, opposites attract and all that.”

He said with a wave of his hand. Ruby and I looked at each other before the both of us spoke.

“Be right back!” we both said as we got up and headed over to Lana’s place. When we got there I knocked on the door as we waited for someone to answer. The two of us looked at each other before looking back at the door. Soon enough Lana opened the door. We saw her wearing a cloth pants and a cloth wrapped around her chest. She smiled at the two of us.

“What can I help you two with?” she asked with her usual friendly smile.

“Hi, Lana, we were just nearby and were thought that we could just stop by and say hi and ask how you were today?” I asked her.

Ruby looked at me oddly, as well as Lana, but her smile didn’t go away. Lana blinked at this before giving me an odd look.

“I'm fine, I'm just enjoying my day off,” Lana answered my question with an arched brow as she leaned onto her open doorway.

“Is that all?” she asked. Before I spoke Ruby cut me off.

“I thought we were going to talk about her and Rose?” Ruby asked me loud enough for Lana to hear.

“I’m getting to that Ruby,” I told her. Just before I could say anything another person came up behind Lana.

“Hey, you two, what’s up?” Rose asked as she wore her armored pants but with the same cloth wrapping around her chest.

This was also the first time we saw her with less clothing, her pale blue skin made her stand out as she adjusted the wrapping.

“You know, this is oddly comfortable Princess,” Lana smiled at her before elbowing Rose.

“Why do you think I wear them?” Lana asked her with a chuckle. Rose chuckled at this before looking at the two of us.

“So… you two… together?” Ruby asked. Rose and Lana looked at each other for a few moments.

“I thought you said you told them,” Lana said to Rose with an arched brow and her arms crossed.

“I did with Ruby, but at the time we were working on something. I left a note for her.”

As Rose explained this, Ruby went wide eyed before blushing a bit.

“As for the others, they were busy. I tried again for the past two days but never had the time,” Rose looked at Lana sadly as she shook her head. “Sorry.”

“To answer your question; yes, we're together,” Lana said as she looked over to both me and Ruby, smiling as she did.

Ruby smiled at this before she pulled the two of them a hug. After she did she backed up to my side and took my hand in hers.

“So… you guys been like this for a while now, or…” I asked, wondering if they been a thing for longer than that. Rose looked over at Lana before speaking.

“Been a few days and so far we’re going slow,” she said with an odd look to Lana, as if she was mentally asking Lana if this was alright to say. Lana smiled at her and nodded, easing her worries a little.

“So far, I'm enjoying our time together. It feels… right,” Lana said to us with a brighter smile.

“What about you Rose?” I asked Rose. Rose smiled at me and pulled Lana closer.

“To be honest, I’m surprised Lana here would be with me. A pale blue immortal alien that laughs at face of danger. I sometimes thinks she’s insane,” Rose said with a smile. Lana laughed at the mention of insanity.

“Oh, please, I'm far from it,” she said, still chuckling as she spoke. Rose laughed at this.

“You just make me love you more, princess,” Rose said before adding. “And you can do anything you want to me, I’m still going to call you that.”

With a curious brow and mischievous smirk, Lana asked, “So you wouldn't mind if I asked Beta to dump your weapons into the lake?”

Rose’s eyes twitched a bit at the mention of her weapons, her smile was still there.

“That’s… debatable… but I can’t really talk to him…” Rose’s smile turned to a frown. “That Overseer is still in control of his shell and, knowing Beta, he’ll be pissed about this.”

Lana’s mischievous smirked was replaced with concern over Beta.

“I have an idea to bring Beta back that may or may not work… I just need some time,” Lana said to us, mostly to Rose. Rose smiled at Lana.

“Thank you, Princess,” she said before giving her a kiss on the cheek before adding. “Not the weapons or armor. Anything else but them.”

Lana smiled at this before looking back at me and Ruby.

“So is there anything else you two needed?” Lana asked the both of us. I looked over at Ruby for a moment.

“No… I don’t think there’s…” I thought came to mind before I continue. “Well, there’s something but we still need to talk about it.”

Ruby looked at me for a moment before eyes widen as she got what I meant.

“Yeah, also do you want us to tell the others about you two?” Ruby asked them.

Rose looked at Lana but didn’t say anything. Lana shrugged before saying.

“It'll help us save time,” Lana said before nodding at us and pushing herself off the doorway.

“We'll, see you later, I want to get back to my free time,” she said as she walked back to close door before smiling at us and finally closing the door, leaving me and Ruby smiling at one another. The two of us looked at each other before heading off.

“I’m happy for them,” Ruby said.

“Yeah, same here,” I replied to her as I brought Ruby close to kiss her. “So… about what I said about Lana helping us… you think you’re alright with it?”

Ruby looked at me before smiling.

“I think so. We need to talk to your father… or mother, whatever form they’re in, and your aunt to figure that oot. Just need to figure out who’s going to be carrying it,” Ruby said with a smirk.

“Oh, you think I’m going to do it?” I asked, brushing my tail up her leg, making her giggle.

“I’m just saying~,” With that, the two of us laughed and talked as we went back to the bench, where we enjoyed our day.

Six years have passed in the camp for everyone. Blake and Weiss were a little off-putting of being gone for so long but Ruby and I told that everything will be alright. The relationship between Rose and Lana spread throughout the camp and, sure there was talk about it, no one did say anything about it. Mostly not to incur the wrath of the leader of the camp or the pale blue woman that can make a rocket launcher appear out of nowhere. Some of them said maybe Rose was the second of command of the Camp which was quickly dashed by the word of Lana and a laugh from Rose, saying that she’s no leader of a camp.

The biggest thing for me was the when I watched Qo grow from a young girl to a beautiful woman. Now sixteen, she looked like she was a bit of a cross between me and Ruby; as tall as Ruby with long hair of reddish colour that turns silver at the end. She had her own set of leather clothing of her own, died red and gray. I was both happy and sad, seeing that my baby girl was now grown up. Ruby and I cried a bit one night about it.

Both Qo and Lilah asked the two of us, as well as Indigo and Blake, about training to become Huntresses. So for the next few months, the four of us helped train the two of them, mostly Indigo and Blake since Ruby and I don’t really know how, though we did help them forge weapons, that was fun. Qo wanted two kusarigamas, handheld sickle like weapons that turn into revolvers, and Lilah wanted two large longswords that turn into one dual bladed staff. I kinda wonder what she was thinking about this, but I didn’t judge her.

Lilah, now seventeen, is a little taller than Qo but looks a bit like a younger Blake but with some silver streaks in her hair, and her dark blue eyes had a bit of indigo in them. It was odd that she looks a lot like a mix between Indigo and Blake, but I didn’t say anything. Lilah wore some black short shorts and a leather tank top that showed off her mid-draft and a dark blue scarf.

At the moment I watched Qo and Lilah train with Indigo, working with their weapons. Even though they are young, Indigo put them through their paces. Even with age going against him, Indigo was still as fit as he was when we got here, now being in his thirties. He blocked a flurry of attacks from Qo and Lilah with ease before using his shadow hand to push them back before delivering attacks of his own. Qo was fast and was able to dodge out of the way but Lilah had quick reflexes and was able to block and even parry Indigo, which was no easy feat for anyone he has taught before.

“How can you be this tough!?” Lilah asked with a yell at Indigo.

The latter laughed at this question before hooking Lilah’s twin blade with his scythe and tossing her aside just before hooking Qo, who had attempted to surprise him with a powerful kick, around her legs and tossing her onto Lilah, earning groans from both girls.

“Training… lots and lots of training?” Indigo finally said before laughing a little at the sight of Qo and Lilah dazed and confused.

Qo was quick to stand up, but Lilah laid herself back down on the ground with a groan before saying.

“This is the fifteenth time you beat the both of us…” Lilah complained with a pout on her face.

Indigo walked up to her before sitting beside her, a small smile on his face as he did this before speaking up.

“You can't rush progress, dear. It takes time to improve. You just have to be patient,” he said to her in a wise tone. Liliah frowned a bit as he said that.

“That’s what you said that last forty-five times, dad…” Lilah grumbled.

During the last three years, Lilah started calling Indigo and Blake mom and dad, since for the longest time they been taking care of her. I was also reminded that when we get back I should give Yang, the short haired Yang, fifty gold pieces having lost a bet we made. Though, the first time she said it, it was slip of the tongue and, oh boy, was she embarrassed. The reaction she gained from Indigo and Blake weren't the ones she said she expected. She once said if she had ever called them by mom and dad, or mother and father, that they'd laugh at her, but… they didn't. Indigo said that he felt honored to be the man she could call dad, and Blake was too. She was very happy to have been called mom.

Indigo chuckled at Lilah’s response before helping her sit up. Lilah smiled at this and was soon helped up. Qo still laid on the ground for a bit before pushing up to be sitting.

“Did we get better?” she asked Indigo.

He nodded with a smile before explaining how she and Qo have definitely been improving in both combat and coordination. Lilah smiled proudly at this before Indigo ruffled her hair.

“Proud of you, kiddo,” Indigo said to her before giving her a one-armed hug. Lilah smiled at this as she gave Indigo a hug, as well.

“What about me?! I did good too!” Qo said with a bit of a pout.

Before anyone could say something, I tossed a cookie over at Qo, who caught it without looking.

“Thank you!” she called out as she happily started eating the cookie. The two of us laughed until I blinked a few times before sniffing the air a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.

“Don’t know… just smells a bit…” I was cut off when I saw both Qo and Lilah doing the same thing before seeing our answer.

“Oh, Indigo~,” Blake’s voice rang out in a seductive tone.

Indigo blinked at this before looking towards where she spoke, seeing Blake looking at Indigo with bedroom eyes. Indigo looked at her with an arched brow before asking.

“Yes, hun?” he asked her as he stood up before helping Lilah up, as well.

Qo walked up to the two of them confused on what’s going on. Blake went over to them, mostly at Indigo, swaying her hips as she did before standing in front of him. I could see her slightly shake as she stood there. Lilah’s eyes widen as she took Qo away from the two, as Blake talked to Indigo… and getting a bit more closer to him to whisper something in his ear. She pulled away as she gave him a pleading look and biting her lower lip.

Indigo blinked and looked at Qo and Lilah before saying.

“U-um… c-class dismissed,” he said as his shadowy arm formed before he picked up Blake bridal style, surprising her a little before he said. “And... uhh, don't come looking for us for next few hours.”

With that he hurried towards their home, a medium sized house built by Indigo with the help of Tak and Theodore. Blake was simply giggling between kisses that she was giving Indigo.

“I believe I’m getting a brother or sister…” Lilah said simply as Qo nodded.

“Yeah…” Qo said. The two of them walked over to the two of us before sitting down.

“What was all that about?” Ruby asked, truly confused with Blake’s behaviour.

“Remember the whole suit thing? Something like that,” I answered her, making Ruby blush at this.

“Oh my… looks like Blake finally broke down after so long of holding back,” Axycia said as she came up near us with Theodore next to her… with a young half-Dovah girl riding on Theodore’s shoulders.

The little girl’s name was Nyvu, Theodore and Axycia’s little girl. She was currently five years old, about to turn six soon, and by the sound of her giggles, she couldn't be any happier.

“Perhaps you should proof the house?” Theodore suggested to Axycia.

Axycia laughs at this as she had one of her hand on her large belly, the second child of Axycia and Theodore.

“In truth, I would’ve loved to see their face after they found out that the whole camp could hear them, but… I’m not that mean,” she said before sighing. “I already did a week ago.

Theodore chuckled before giving her short but passionate kiss which Axycia was all too happy to return.

“What would the other four kids that you have to think when they find out they have two more siblings?” Ruby asked, to which Axycia simply shrugged.

“I believe that they’ll be happy with me and enjoy having a bigger family. Though, I wonder when they will meet them since they are old enough to go off on their own. The two little ones are at my siblings homeworld looking around and…” we watch Axycia started to tear up out of nowhere. “They are growing up so fast!”

She cried before burying her head into Theodores shoulder.

“Dad, mom’s crying out of nowhere… again.” Nyvu said as she watched this.

Theodore whispered at Axycia sweetly, wrapping an arm around her while keeping Nyvu safely on his shoulders. Before long Axycia stopped crying, simply sniffling here and there.

“I’m okay… I’m okay,” my aunt said with a small smile.

Nyvu cheered at this, happy to see her mother smiling. Theodore smiled at Axycia as she straightened up to recompose herself.

“Mommy's fine,” Theo finally said to Nyvu. Nyvu smiled at this as she looks around.

“Is Blake going to be okay?” Ruby asked Axycia.

“I think she’s going to be more than okay,” Lilah commented as she drank some water. This made Axycia laugh a bit.

“Yeah, she will me alright,” she said before looking at Theodore. “Holding back her heat cycles for so long was incredibly taxing on her.”

Theodore nodded in acknowledgement before looking at me.

“Just ask Viri,” he said with a little smirk.

Ruby, Qo, and Lilah turned to look at me. I looked at the three of them before sighing.

“Yeah, I’ve been repressing my urges,” I said before drinking some water. “I become really needy when I’m on my cycle, so I’ve been repressing them.”

“For a long time…” Axycia added. Ruby looked at me worriedly.

“Isn’t that...bad?” Ruby asked me. I simply smiled at her.

“It’s fine, I’m fine. I been doing this so I don’t simply… well, jump you out of nowhere,” I told her with a loving smile. Ruby smiled at this but didn’t say anything.

“Alright. Hey, Theodore, Axycia, can I talk to you for a moment?” Ruby asked the two of them.

The two nodded and Theodore gently put Nyvu down before Ruby stood up and headed a fair distance away from us with Theodore and Axycia in tow. I watched the three of them talk but was too far to hear them.

“I wonder what their talking about?” I asked myself though Lilah was able to hear me.

“Don’t know,” Lilah said as she laid down on the ground.

Whatever Ruby was talking to them about had her blushing. Her cheeks were almost the same shade of red as her cape. Theodore and Axycia looked at her seriously, explaining something to her, and whatever it was, Ruby listened. After a while, Ruby skipped her way back me with a big smile on her face while Axycia and Theodore walked behind her. Nyvu was quick to ask her father to pick her back up and Theodore wasn't one to deny his little girl.

“Is… everything okay?” I asked Ruby worriedly. Ruby sat next with her smile on her face.

“Yup, everything is great,” Ruby answered, which Axycia giggled a bit. Ruby looked at her then at Qo.

“Honey, do you want to spend time with your aunt? Your parents need some time alone to… talk.”

“Okay!” Qo said happily as she got up and went over to the two of them, waving at the little girl on Theodore. I looked at this before looking at Ruby as she spoke.

“We need to talk… now,” Ruby said as she grabbed me and pulled me away.

“Have fun~,” Axycia called at us as I looked back at them.

Ruby quickly pulled me to our home, a two-story building like Indigo’s and Blakes. Ruby pulled me inside and up to our room. She let me go in first as I was frowning.

“Okay, Ruby, what’s going-” I stopped when I heard the sound of the door locking. I turned and saw Ruby look at me with bedroom eyes. “Ruby?”

“How long have you been repressing your urges?” Ruby asked as she pulled her cloak off and hung it up. I stared at her and felt like I couldn’t talk myself out.

“Umm, a bit over twenty years, give or take,” I said as I looked at her.

She walked up to me and gave me a passionate kiss. I kissed her back as she pushed me down to the bed before backing away.

“This isn’t healthy for you Viri. You’re hurting yourself if you continue,” Ruby explained as she blushed. “So… I’m going to help you relieve you of that pressure.”

“Ruby… I’m fine really. You don’t have to-” I stopped as I watched Ruby move back and forth a bit, blushing a bit as she unhooked something which made her pants fall down.

I saw her wearing a dark red pair of panties that showed… wow. My whole body felt warm at this. “R-Ruby.”

“Shhh, Just… let it happen.” Ruby said as she continued her strip tease.

She slowly pulled the leather shirt over her head and walked over to me. I stared at her as I felt the same urges long ago, ones that I repressed.

“B-b-b-b-but… I’ll be… would… hurt you,” I panted as Ruby sat on my lap.

Feeling her body close to me made me whimper a bit. She smiled and gave me some kisses.

“You’ll never hurt me. I’m your mate, after all,” Ruby said slowly.

I was close, already it took my willpower to hold it back, but it was crumbling. The room felt warm… really warm...was it me or Ruby… she smells so good, though… like roses, funny enough. She pulled away and smiled at me, seeing me so close to breaking.

“Let it go, Viri. I want you to be happy. I want to be your wife and be happy with you.”

“A-Always?” I asked her needingly. Ruby smiled as she kissed me again.

“Always,” was the last thing I heard before something within me snapped and I blacked out.

I awoke in my bed naked and exhausted. I blinked a few times as I tried to get my bearings a bit more, I saw Ruby was behind me with her arms wrapped around me as she continue to sleep. I smiled at this as I looked at the state of our room. Lots of things were knocked over and thrown about. The odd part was there were burn marks on the walls and ceiling.

I also notice I felt… better, better than I have even been before. I turned to face Ruby and notice some scratch and bite marks on her, making me look at her scared. She soon awoke from her sleep and saw me. She smiled before she spoke.

“Morning…” she greeted softly.

“Oh my… Ruby, are-are you okay? What have I…” I started to tear up a bit. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to… oh, Ruby, I’m-I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Viri,” Ruby said, sitting up and letting me see that she too was naked. “I knew you were going to go wild and… well, I took the risk.”

“I-I didn’t hurt you, did-did I?” I asked her, looking at her some more to make sure. Ruby chuckled at this.

“I’m fine. The fire was something I didn’t think would happen, but over all, last night was… wow,” Ruby said as she moved closer to cuddle.

This calmed my nerves a bit as I laid back down. We laid there until a question came to mind.

“So… that… part I saw on you…” I asked her which made her blush.

“That was temporary, but you’re aunt said it would help and… I guess it did,” she said with a giggle. “Also, she asked me to tell you that you need to see her after you relaxed for a bit.”

I nodded at this before the two of us laid there. After an hour I got up as Ruby fell back to sleep. I put on a leather shirt and pants and headed out to find Axycia. I found the place she was staying and knocked on the door. It opened thanks to Theodore before he smiled at me.

“Ah, good morning, Viri. What can I help you with?” he said with a bright smile.

It was odd seeing that it was early in the morning and almost everyone here really aren't morning people.

“Hey, uhh, ai was told I should come over to talk to my aunt after I woke up. Is she here?” I asked him.

Theodore nodded as soon I finished my sentence. He stepped out of the way and let me in. I found her sitting on the couch resting until she saw me walk in and smiled.

“Morning, dear,” she greeted with a tired tone, having woken up from her rest.

“Morning. How are you?” I asked her, earning an arched brow from her as she looked at the large belly she had. “Right, right, never mind.”

“So how was it?” she soon asked me with a teasing smirk. I gave her a look before I sat down beside her.

“Well, I’m guessing wild, but I don’t really know. I blacked out when we started,” I told her a little ashamed over the fact that I had blacked out. “But… I feel lighter then I have ever did before.”

“You see, that's why you should never hold back your urges for so long,” Axycia said with a matter of factly tone.

“You black out before you even start,” she said, crossing her arms over her belly. I chuckled at this as I stared off into space.

“Ruby is going to be my wife…” I said out loud. “She’s the most amazing woman I have ever met and would go so far just to make me happy. I would do anything for her… I love her so much.”

Axycia smiled at this before sitting up and bringing closer for a hug.

“I'm happy to hear that, Viri,” my aunt said as she hugged me closer.

“I still can't believe you're getting married, my little niece is all grown up,” she said teary eyed. I smiled at her as I gave her another hug.

“Love you, Axycia.” I said to her, nearing a smile from her.

We sat there for a few moments before I spoke. “One question… did you have anything to do with why Ruby had a… male part on her?”

This made my aunt giggle a bit.

“Maybe~,” she said with a giggle as she wiped her eyes from the tears.

“Didn't seem like you were against it, judging by all the screaming and loud moans, she added. My eyes widen.

“Oh-oh, my lords my house wasn’t sound proofed,” I said as I went from happy to freaked out in a second. Axycia laughed at my reaction before shaking her head and saying.

“No no, it was. Though, I had to listen in… in case things would've gotten out of hand,” she said to me. I let out a breath after hearing that.

“That’s good. If anyone had heard, I would’ve locked myself in my room for the rest of this trip,” I said with look of relief accompanied by a sigh. Axycia chuckled before saying.

“You're welcome. Oh, and before I forget, Lana was looking for you yesterday,” she said, remembering this just now.

“Oh, well I better go find her then,” I said as I stood up. “Also, thanks for everything.”

“Oh, you have no idea~,” Axycia said with a chuckle.

I looked at her oddly before I headed out. I made my way around the camp just to find Lana at her home… with her door off. I looked at this oddly before I walked in and found Lana and Rose standing by the table thinking.

“Well… the reinforced steel door was turned into tissue paper by your strength. What if we find something to reinforce the hinges?” Rose asked Lana.

The latter had one of the door’s hinges in hand. The hinge was made of pure metal and reinforced, too. Lana squeezed it in her hand and saw that it had bent horribly. Just how strong was she?

Rose stared at this before saying, “Damn~ that’s scary… and oddly arousing.”

“Maybe you're right… perhaps maybe we should make Tek doors, Lana said with a little frown after discarding the bent hinge.

“Hmm… I think I know how to design it,” she added with a snap of her fingers.

“Well, if you need to test if they can take a beating, I have a few rocket launchers we can shoot at one,” Rose offered before adding. “Plus, it gives us an excuse to shoot rockets at something.”

“Do you by any chance have some sort of man cannon?” Lana was quick to ask Rose after the mention of rocket launchers. Rose thought about it for a few moments.

“I have a few dosen hand cannons, but a cannon that shoots someone. I could do that with a Sparrow going at high speeds, or I could build one,” Rose said with a head tilt as Lana stared at her.

“We need to build one,” Lana decided with an excited smile.

“Way ahead of you, just need the stuff,” Rose said with the same smile.

I let out a loud cough to get their attention, they jumped a bit and blushed before they looked towards me.

“Um, hi… you asked for me?” I asked Lana. She blinked and shook her head to be rid of the blush before answering.

“Yes, yes, I have a task to offer for you and some of your friends. Rockmond had picked up the distinct signature of an intact Artifact, he'll need help retrieving it,” Lana said to me an informative tone.

“Oh, okay,” I said before adding. “So… we all head off to find this Artifact?”

“I'm afraid I can't go, someone needs to look after the village,” Lana said sadly but it was true. Without her, the whole village could simply collapse.

“Rose will go with you all for extra fire support,” she said, glancing at Rose.

“Daww, I love it when you say that,” Rose said happily before looking at me. “But she’s right, I have a lot of fire power.”

I nodded as Rose looked at me some more. “You know… you look like you’re glowing a bit.”

I blushed a little.

“Oh, well, me and Ruby… had some fun yesterday,” I said with a sheepish smile. The two of them blinked at me.

“Wow…” was all Rose said.

“And like that, I lose a Railgun.” Lana said, grabbing a hold said weapon before handing it to a grinning Rose. Rose looked at the gun before looking at me.

“Hope you two used protection,” Rose said. I simply gave her an odd look.

“Rose, don’t be silly that’s…” I stopped as I thought about it. My eyes widen before I spoke.

“I’ll be right back,” was what I said before I bolted out of the door. I soon ran up to my aunt's house and banged on the door loudly.

The door opened but I saw no one there until I heard a child clearing their throat. I looked down to see Nyvu in her pajamas holding a plushie Shinehorn. It was extremely adorable but I was close to freaking out.

“Hi, Nyvu, is your mommy here?”

Nyvu looked up at me and nodded as she pointed at the living room. I thanked her as I made my way to the living room, where I found my aunt in her own pajamas eating something from a small tub. Ice cream? She looked over and smiled.

“Viri, back so soon?” she said questioningly. I looked at her in a panicked looked before walking over to her.

“I need you to check me,” I asked her as I sat down on the couch.

She blinked at me and was about to say something but I cut her off. “Please! Rose said something and I really need to know, so just check me!”

She blinked at me oddly before looking at her tub of ice cream and grumbled a bit. She waved her hand around as it emitted an ominous dark aura that soon made its way over to me and encompassed me in it. I simply sat there, shifting ever so slightly as this happened before suddenly hearing a ding.

“Yup… just as I thought,” Aunty said with a look of seriousness, but not towards me. No, she was looking down at her half emptied tub of ice cream.

“Theo, can you bring me some more Ice cream?” Axycia asked out loud.

“In a moment, dear!” Came Theodore’s reply from the adjacent room. I looked at her with a shocked looked as she looked back at me.

“Well? What did you find or was that some kind of odd magic show?” I asked her before frowning. “Because this tension is killing me.”

Axycia blinked before taking another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“You got a bun in the oven,” she simply said before taking yet another spoonful.

The news hit me hard as I stared at her. I tried to speak but couldn’t for a few moments before putting my hand to my stomach.

“I’m… pregnant?” I asked out loud. My aunt simply nodded with another spoonful.

“Yup. Oh, this is so good.” Axycia said with a goofy grin.

I looked away from her as I thought on what was going to happen. I was going to have a baby, going to be a mom to a child that… before I knew it, I felt tears running down my face.

“Oh sweetie, what's the matter?” Axycia said before sitting up and placing the tub aside, now giving me her full attention.

“I’m… having a child… a baby…” I said as I looked over at her. “I… I don’t know what to think about this…”

She helped sat me down beside her before wrapping a comforting arm around me.

“I don't understand… isn't that what you've wanted?” Axycia asked me, confused over my confliction. I shook my head that she was wrong.

“No, no, I…” I stopped to look down at myself. “Just the shock of it is still going. Like… oh my lords I'm having a baby!”

Axycia smiled at this before pulling me closer to her as I said those words over and over again, excitement overwhelming my entire being. After a few minutes I pulled away from her.

“I… I have to tell Ruby and Qo. This is amazing!”

“Well, then don't let me stop you. Go, go,” Axycia said while she shooed me away.

As she did that, I got up and ran out of the door with a smile on my face. I ran until I got back to my house and went inside.

“Ruby!!” I yelled for her. “Where are you?!”

“Don’t need to yell,” Ruby said, walking out of a doorway. “What’s going-”

“I’m pregnant.” I told her, cutting her off. She stared at me in shock.

“You’re… it worked?” she asked me.

I nodded. We stared at each other before Ruby squealed in happiness as she ran up to give me a hug. I laughed as I hugged her back and kissed her.

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I know, big shock to me but… I love you Ruby,” I told her.

“And I love you, Viri,” Ruby said as we kissed again. The two of us pulled away and smiled in silence before I spoke up.

“A round for happiness?” I asked.

“Yup,” she said as we both went upstairs for our fun.

After going off and telling everyone else about the big news, we all had a group lunch together before we had to head out for a mission. I had Ruby next to me and smiling as if this was the most happiest day of my life.

“Look, I was just kidding around about the protection bit,” Rose said before looking at Lana. “Really, I was just joking.”

Lana rolled her eyes as she and Rose finished packing hazmat suits into large backpacks.

“Next time think before you joke around, please,” Lana said before giving the awoken huntress a peck on the lips, thanking for helping her pack the suits.

Rose stared off for a moment before nodding as she continue helping. I chuckled at this as I saw Blake leaning against Indigo happily.

“I guess I’m not the only one who’s becoming a mother,” I said with a smile.

“Hey!” Both Qo and Lilah said as the same time, frowning at me.

“Not what I meant. I meant giving birth to a baby,” I told the two.

Qo and Lilah looked at each other before Qo simply shrugs. When the bags were packed, everyone was free to pick theirs bags up, which included Qo and Lilah. I wasn't fond of the idea of Qo coming with us to what is very much likely a dangerous place but… I couldn't resist the begging eyes she had perfected over the years. Blake had initially refused to allow Lilah to come with, but Indigo assured many times that if push comes to shove, he won't let anything put even a single scratch on Lilah. It was a shame that Weiss and Tak couldn't come with… well, technically it was only Tak that couldn't come with us on account that if he were to out on the boots, it would blind him completely. Weiss on the other hand refused to come with, saying that if Tak couldn't go she wouldn't go.

“So… you never really explained why we need these suits,” Indigo spoke up, gesturing the bag in his hands before strapping over his shoulder. Lana nodded before clearing her throat.

“The Artifact is located deep within what is believed to an old vault containing Element. I've requested you all specifically for your skills and prowess in fighting, as the Vault entrance is near one of the most deadliest territories in within the irradiated zone.

“The Hall of the Reaper, pray to whatever god you believe in, to never encounter such beasts,” Lana said before taking a deep breath and adding. “If we get this Artifact, we can finally end that wretched man’s reign,” she said with a look that could strike fear in a brave man's heart.

“That’s sounds… lovely,” I said as I swallowed. Lana looked at me before saying.

“Rockmond will meet you by the gates, and when you see him, give him this,” Lana said as she handed me what looked like a battery, emitting a purple light.

It was an Element Battery, no doubt for Rockmond’s legs. I nodded and took the battery and marveled on how such a small thing can power the legs of a badass.

“Don’t worry, princess, we’ll be in and out in no time,” Rose said with a grin as some sort of laser rifle appeared in her hands. “If something does come, well… it’s going to have a bad time.”

Lana smiled at this before bringing Rose close for a goodbye hug, but when she pulled back, Lana whispered into Rose’s ear and I was able to catch it… did my hearing get better?

“Make it back without a scratch and I'll reward you with real good time,” Lana whispered before caressing the blue skinned guardian's cheek as she stepped back.

“I’ll take that bet, princess,” she said as she reached up and held Lana’s hand for a moment before pulling away.

The Purple glow of the Overseer appeared over Rose’s shoulder before saying, “I’m getting used to this form, I can make a map of the place if that will help.”

Rose smiled at her.

“Thanks, Overy.” she said, earning a look from the Overseer.

“That’s not my name,” she said, making the Guardian chuckle as she rolled her eyes. Lana chuckled as well.

“We're still going through the list, you're bound to pick one you like,” Lana said with yet another chuckle.

“The list is long,” Rose said with a laugh as she turned to the rest of us. “Alright, everyone’s ready?”

Everyone nodded and it was clear that we were all ready to go at any moment. With that Rose led the way to the village gates, which wasn't much of a walk there just a few twists and turns around the many buildings. When we arrived at the gates, Rose yelled up at the gatekeeper to open the doors. She received a loud and annoyed groan as response before the doors opened, revealing the long pathway down. We stepped outside the gates and looked for any sign of Rockmond.

“Psst, down here,” came Rockmond’s voice nearby.

We looked at the direction we heard him from, only to see a bush.

“Mind handing me the battery?” he asked me, reaching a hand out for said item.

I didn't question why he was in a bush and simply gave him the battery, his hand retracted into the bush before the sound of a tek device activating emitted from within the bush before it stood up… Wait, what?

As it turned out, Rockmond wasn't in a bush, he literally was the bush. He was completely decked out in camouflage ghillie suit, it was a lot more effective than the standard suits that's for sure.

“Ugh, finally. I've been like that for almost an hour,” Rockmond said as he stretched his arms a bit.

Rose handed him a bag containing his hazmat suit, to which he nodded his thanks.

“Woah...” Both Ruby and Qo said as I simply stared at him in silence. Rose chuckled at this before saying.

“Well, come on, Rock man, we have an artifact to find,” Rose said in a happy tone.

While Rose was happy to take charge and lead us to our destination, she didn't rightfully know how to get there which is where Rockmond came in. He mentioned how we scale a few walls to avoid the riverside. It wasn't something to look forward to, but if it kept far away from the Karkinos, I would gladly scale a mountain. It was a long walk down the dirt train to the bottom and, before we began our journey, we stopped by the lake to fill up our canteens for the road. As we did this, Blake took some time to check to see how Lilah is doing.

“I’m fine, mom,” Lilah said with a frown.

Blake frowned a little but didn’t say anything before Lilah spoke again.

“Sorry… didn’t mean to snap.”

“It’s fine, I’m still sorta getting use to being a mom,” she said before her eyes widen. “Oh Oum, I have to deal with another kid only younger and stuff.”

This made Lilah laugh. Indigo wrapped his arm around his loving wife before saying.

“WE have to deal with another kid,” Indigo said to Blake with a smile.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Lilah said before walking away from them. I chuckled at this before looking over at Ruby.

“So, you were saying about Weiss and her husband?” I asked.

Ruby smiled as she continued. after a year being here, both Weiss and Tak decided to get married. Almost like Yang’s, it was a small gathering to watch this happen. Weiss seemed to be on cloud nine all the time if she’s with Tak. We continued to talk until we had to get going. We traveled for a few hours until Rockmond told us to stop. It was then we saw some Karkinos wandering about the area, meaning we were close to the river.

Like Rockmond said, we had to climb some walls to get up to higher ground and avoid the annoying spider crabs. It wasn't all that bad, reaching the top we had a good view over most of the fungal forest which was a pretty neat sight.

“Wish I could take a picture,” I said as we all got up to the top.

And as we got there I was questioning how Indigo got up there before us. Without questioning it, Rockmond continued on and eventually led us back to the busted bridge. It looked the same as the day we got here; rusted, old ,and ready to collapse at any moment. Rockmond said how the rings inside the overgrown building are some sort of ancient device built by the survivors that had caused the destruction of the Overseer’s platform. I frowned a bit as I looked back at the others.

“Hey, didn’t we see some sort of rings when we first came here?”

“Yeah, they were colored, as well,” Indigo said with a frown.

He too didn't like hearing that the people that caused such a catastrophic event have also built a device that does Father knows what. Qo and Lilah were a little confused, having never been told of the Ark's past. Rockmond shook his head, muttering how he questioned the survivors actions.

We continued our trek, following behind Rockmond before finally stopping by a cliff edge. I looked over the edge and felt my stomach do flips, seeing the very long way down. I took a step away from the edge before finally noticing a campsite nearby.

“Someone else is up here?” I asked, nodding to the campsite.

Rockmond walked up and tossed some junk aside, said junk were consisted of depleted batteries and torn hazmat suits. I also found a busted up crossbow.

“Honestly, I'd think you of all people would know who would live here,” Rockmond said as he picked up an odd looking and large device before strapping onto his back.

It was the same device he had on him when he rescued us from the ravagers, I never did ask what it was. Rockmond’s words made me think before the realization struck me, Rockmond was never one to stay in the village for the night.

“This is your camp?” Blake asked as she looked around, seeing the tent, a smithy and even a stone refining forge. Rockmond nodded at Blake.

“I've been living out here for a good seven, six and a half years.” Rockmond said before walking up a large bush and pushing it aside, revealing a zipline down to the dark below.

Rockmond then place his bag down and opened it before proceeding to take out and put on the hazmat suit.

“You should all be doing the same, we're heading into a dangerously irradiated zone. The water is pink and not even water, it's liquid element so don't even think of drinking it or touching it. Your mask stays on for as long as we are down there, so drink up cause you won't be doing that for a while,” he said as he finished putting on the boots, hiding away his tek legs.

The rest of us did the same, drinking up and putting on hazmat suits, even Rose was.

“I thought your armor did the same thing?” I asked her.

“No, that’s a different kind…” she said before frowning. “It got blown up… damn space turtles…”

As we finished up, I noticed her looking at herself, as if she was making sure she didn’t get a scratch on her. I rolled my eyes as I looked over at the others and waited. Indigo noted how his didn't have the right sleeve like the rest of us.

“How nice,” he said mostly to himself.

I noticed a smile on his face as he said this. Soon enough everyone was geared up, and to be honest, we looked like a group of scientist entering a Quarantine zone from a movie.

“Alright, this ziplane will take us all the way to the bottom…” he said, pointing down at the purple river.

“That river will lead us down to the Hall of the Reapers which in turn will be where the vault is located,” Rockmond explained before hooking up to the zipline.

I looked down at my bag, seeing a hook for the zipline.

“I'll go down to first and clear the area of any danger. See all down in hell!” Rockmond yelled before ziplining down, laughing maniacally as he did.

Everyone watched as Rockmond became distant by the second. We all stood there waiting for close to five minutes before starting to hook up the zipline. One by one we ziplined down until we made it to the bottom. Everyone got down safely enough but Lilah.

“Ugh… never again…” she said as she looks a little green. “Hurp! Not throwing up, not throwing up!!”

Indigo looked at her worryingly along with Blake. Lilah took a moment, breathing steadily and composing herself. Soon enough the green faded away, giving her back her normal pale skin tone.

“I’m okay… I’m okay.”

“Yeah, throwing up inside a suit is not fun…” Rose said in a way she knew what that was like.

“Anyway, lead on Rockman,” she said as she turned to look at Rockmond, who in turn was as still as a statue.

“Uhh, Rockmond?” Blake called out to him questioningly. Rockmond raised a finger, before shushing us as he stared off onto the upper wall.

“Yeah, you know I see you…” Rockmond said in a hushed tone. “You lot can't hide from me.”

I was about to question what he was talking about but a hiss grabbed my attention. The hiss was followed by a growl and a snap of something’s jaws before finally… my eyes widen at the sight of dirt being kicked up at the sound of whoosh, and soon after hearing that, we all heard the roar of an angered beast.

“I win again,” declared Rockmond as he finally straightened up.

“Cool,” Rose said.

“What was that?” she paused before making a sort of jumping motion, as if she got spooked. “Ah! Too much talking, Sybil…” she paused again before adding. “No, not that one?”

“Did you lose your marbles already?” Indigo asked Rose an arched brow under his hazard mask.

Lilah stifled a giggle and Blake let out a chuckle. Rose looked at him before saying.

“How about getting an in depth definition and knowledge of what a Rock Drake is, what can it do, and some other things in less time then you can say ‘Bob's your uncle’ right inside your head,” Rose said with a straight face. Indigo blinked at this before shaking his head.

“Right, you got that thing in your head,” Indigo muttered under his breath before looking at Rockmond, who was looking down the purple river with narrowed eyes. He blinked and noticed us staring at him.

“Just making a mental route,” Rockmond was quick to say before leading onwards with the large device in hand. As we followed him Blake spoke up.

“I never asked. How or why do you have Beta in the first place?” Blake asked. Rose turned her head a bit.

“What? Beta? Oh, uhh well, he’s my ghost,” Rose explained. Blake looked at Indigo confusedly before speaking.

“That… doesn’t answer my question,” Blake said. Rose chuckled at this.

“Well, for a shorter explanation: I am a Guardian, a being that fights off the creatures of Darkness with anything I can get my hands on. A Guardian’s Ghost, what Beta is, is something that was made from a being known as the Traveler. With the Ghost and the light of the Traveler we are Immortal beings that, well, fights monsters.”

“Wait, immortal?” Lilah asked, looking at Rose.

“Yup, I’ve died so many times from getting shot, to getting blown up… to falling in some Vex brain goo,” Rose said, earning an ‘Eww’ from Qo and Ruby. “As long as a Guardian has his or her Ghost and the Light, we’ll come right back.”

“So was there a time where you didn't have the power?” Indigo asked Rose as we walked by a jagged purple crystal and up a hill.

Rose stopped walking as we went past her. We turned and saw a look of fear wash over her for a moment before shaking her head.

“That’s… don’t ask me that just yet…” she said softly before quickly walking forward.

Indigo blinked and was quick to look guilty for reminding Rose of a memory she would be glad to forget about. Rose didn't get far ahead, being stopped by Rockmond as he held the large device ready.

“Don't,” Rockmond said, stopping Rose in her tracks.

Rockmond proceeded to grab a large rock and toss a few feet away. As soon as the rock fell onto the ground the ground erupted and creatures started attacking the spot where the rock fell. I took a few steps back as I saw Rockmond had his arm out, lowing a gun that Rose made appear.

“Allow me,” Rockmond said as he flipped a few switched on the device in his hands. It hummed to life, loud enough for the goblin like creatures to hear. They hissed and got on all fours before breaking a full sprint towards him. Before they could get close, however, the device shone a bright green light that made them stop in their tracks as they screeched in pain and attempted to block the light with their clawed hands. Their hides began to glow a bright orange color. The light must've been burning them.

“Come on, you don't want this to get ugly,” Rockmond growled as the device went into overdrive and shot out continuous bolts of green lightning that struck the creatures.

This made them screech again before struggling to enter back into the holes they came from, and once they did, they whimpered before no doubt digging away.

“Listen, Rose, I'm sorry if brought out bad memories… I didn't mean to be an ass,” Indigo said, finding it to be a perfect opportunity to apologize to Rose.

The latter didn't say anything and it didn't help to make Indigo feel better, he simply muttered how he felt like an ass again. Rockmond then deactivated his weapon before looking at Rose.

“Those things don't like charged light and are very resistant to any means of attack,” Rockmond informed her.

Rose looked at the large device and back at Rockmond.

“What?” he finally asked.

“That thing looks like a bigger version of a Prometheus Lens,” Rose said. Rockmond nodded slowly though confused.

“Right,” was all he said.

Rose simply stared at him before looking over at where the monsters were.

“Those things look like Thralls,” Rose muttered with a shiver. “The Hive are creepy…”

After Rose said this we continued forward but weary of the holes in the ground. With every moment we spend down here, the more I begin to regret letting Qo coming along. This place is a complete nightmare with danger in every corner.

After almost an hour of carefully manoeuvring around the many dangers this place had to offer, we finally arrived at our destination, or at least I think we did. Rockmond had halted the group in front of a large cave opening.

“This should lead us into the Vault,” Rockmond said before looking back at us and gesturing at the cave.

“One step closer to sweet victory,” he said with a chuckle and entering the cave.

We followed behind him and immediately noted how dark it was the deeper we went. It got to the point where it was nearly pitch black save for the faint purple glow.

When we got to the other side, we were greeted with the sight of many purple crystals both on the walls and ceiling. The pathway we needed to walk down had dangerous drop on either side, both of them leading down to pools of liquid element. Various creatures scurried about the walls of the cave, some of them looking at us questiongly.

“Well… aren’t they lovely,” Rose said as she looked up.

Rockmond chuckled at Rose’s remark. Lilah and Qo were intrigued by the creature’s appearance.

“What are they?” Blake asked as she looked up to the creatures.

Indigo watched as more and more of them scurried up the walls with growls and hisses, some were even salivating.

“I don't think I want to find out,” Indigo said as we hurried along the narrowing pathway.

“So, Rockman, what are we looking for?” Rose asked as we continue walking. Rockmond took a deep breath, annoyed over the name Rose gave him before sighing.

“An Artifact… like the ones we found before,” Rockmond said, informing Rose of our goal.

“Cool… so…” Rose looked around at the place before continuing. “Where would that be?”

“My guess…” Rockmond said pointing over to ominous dark purple light, which seemed to guarded with more of the tentacle mouthed creatures. “Over there.”

“Lovely,” Rose said with a little annoyance.

Her eyes twitched at the sight of a sleeping megalosaurus and some giant centipedes crawling about. Her right eye twitched at the added danger before noticing a Featherlight, a small bird with the ability to emit charged light. The Featherlight ruffled its feathers and emitted the green light. As soon as the light began to shine, the winged creatures that crawled up the walls let out horrid screeches that echoed throughout the cave before leaping off the walls and swarming the Featherlight.

“W-what's happening?” Qo asked with fear in her tone as she backed up a bit.

Her answer came in the form of the swarming creatures attacked the Featherlight, tearing it apart and devouring whatever they could get. The swarm blocked off the carnage but when the light vanished. We knew what was going on.

“Dear Oum…” Indigo said with wide eyes at the scene. Qo simply stared at the sight.

“That poor bird…” Qo said sadly. Rose simply stared at this before speaking.

“Okay… these things don’t like light… lovely,” she said.

“They were calm just before the light…” Rockmond noted before looking at the device strapped to his back.

He dropped the device down before saying, “This won't do us any good here.”

The feasting creatures, dubbed the Seekers by Lilah, flew up back to the walls no doubt to rest after their feast.

“Keep away from the Megalosaurus, and if a centipede gets too close, rip it to shreds. I don't want things to get ugly so let's try to do this smart.”

“So… stay away from the giant lizard, and kill the large bugs. Got it,” Lilah said quickly.

Indigo glanced at Lilah but said nothing and shook his head. We walked as close as we could get before seeing that the area in which Megalosaurus’ were sleeping were on a different stone platform separated by crevice that had more liquid element at the bottom. Rockmond scanned the area before seeing a pathway up to ledge that led to another opening. Rockmond took point and shimmied his way over to opening. We waited for the a sign that it was okay to proceed. Rockmond’s arm poked out from the opening and gave us a thumbs up. Going one by one we sneaked over to where Rockmond was at and followed him on.

We traversed the cave with relative ease, it was unlike the time in the desert and I wouldn't have it any other way. The thought of fighting in these conditions were… quite terrifying, and it didn't help that these suits could be torn open. I shivered as we climbed a few natural steps, gaining both Ruby’s and Qo’s attention.

“You okay?” Ruby asked with a worried tone.

“Kinda…” I said as I looked around. “Just… don’t like being here.”

“We’ll be fine, mom,” Qo said with a smile.

I smiled back but the thought lingered in the back of my mind before I shook my head and cleared my mind. I felt a hand move into mine and saw Ruby smiling at me. I smiled back as we both followed the others.

When we exited the tunnel, we found the Artifact hovering above a few skeletal remains. The way they were positioned made them look like as if they were reaching for it. Their old and torn attire were an outdated version of our current Hazmat suits and a few feet away from them were two rusted Tek rifles. Rose frowned at this before speaking.

“So the expression ‘This is too easy’ is now an understatement from this point of view,” Rose said in a sarcastic tone.

Rockmond nodded at this before kicking a rock over to the Artifact, the rock rolled and landed on its side like normal, only for the rock begin sizzling and glowing a hot magma orange as it melted.

“Alright, we found it but how are we going to take it?” Lilah asked.

Indigo gave her the answer in the form of a shadowy hand raising up from the ground beneath the Artifact.

“Oh…” she added as the hand lifted up the Artifact from its original position, but as soon as he did this, the hand shadowy hand soon glowed purple and Indigo yelled in pain before the hand dissipated.

“Gah!” Indigi yelled, collapsing onto his knees and panting. Both Lilah and Blake were at his side.

“What happened?!” Lilah yelled as she looked at her dad.

“If I’m getting this right, whatever is protecting the artifact is too much for Indi’s shadow hand to carry over. The pain is the feedback from it,” Rose explained. I looked over at it for a few moments before speaking.

“Then what do we do?” I asked.

Rose looked over at the artifact for a few moments before speaking.

“I… may know a way… but…” Rose stopped talking as she looked down the floor.

“But… what?” Ruby asked.

“But if I do l, I’ll lose the bet!” Rose whined and crossed her arms.

Rockmond simply stared at her for a moment before Rose looked at him.

“Ugh, fine, hold this,” she handed him her backpack before walking a bit forward.

“What are you-” Blake started before Rose bolted forward toward the artifact. “Rose!”

We watched her run over to the pedestal, turning and kicking the two Rusted Tek rifles over to us and grab the artifact.

“OW OW OW OW OW!” Rose yelled as she started to glow purple. “NOVA, DO THAT THING WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO DO!! I DON’T CARE IF THAT’S NOT IT, JUST DO IT!”

As she ran back to us she was now glowing purple, but there was another glow inside the suit. Soon as she came over to us she started to dim down a bit and Rose was panting a bit.

“One… artifact… ready to go.”

We all stared at her for a few moments in silence. Rockmond looked as if he wanted to say something but his attention was brought back to the area in which the Artifact was. The ground started to rumble as the rocks scattered around rose up and form a large golem like creature with glowing crystals and glowed purple.

“Oh come on!” Rose yelled as the rock creature looked over at us.

It clashed its rocky fists together at the sight of the Artifact before roaring and smashed the ground, causing it to shake violently and for our only way out to close up.

“Yeah… I was going to say,” Rockmond said as he looked at the angered Golem.

Rockmond was quick to pick a rusted Tek rifle before shaking it violently, and as a result, causing it light up and hum to life. The Golem rocketed it fist towards Rockmond was too slow to react, sending him back flying onto the cave wall. Though Rockmond may have been sent flying back, he held onto the rifle with dear life and fired at the golem once he landed on the floor. The Golem blocked each shot with its arm and Qo was quick to wrap one of her kusarigamas around its other arm only for her to be flung around and smacked back onto the ground, the Golem unwrapping the kusarigama from its arm.

“What made you think that would work!?” Lilah yelled at the groaning Qo.

Ruby quickly ran over to Qo as I pulled out a rifle of my own and fired at the large golem, same with Blake.

Rose panted a bit as she fell to one knee near me.

“You okay?!” I yelled as I fired.

“Somewhat… just need… a few moments,” she said in deep breaths.

Rockmond hopped back to his feet before firing the rifle again a few times before it shut off, no doubt due to rusted parts. He discarded the weapon and ran at the Golem with a battlecry before jumping up onto the arm of the golem as it swung to strike Blake. Indigo had pulled Blake away from the Golems reach with a shadowy hand from the ground. When the arm was swung, Rockmond leaped onto it before moving it onto the golem’s back. The Golem was attempting to get Rockmond off its back and regain its arm, it even tried bashing Rockmond against the cave wall only for Lilah to striking it away from the wall with her twinblade.

Qo got up and shook her head before turning her weapons to revolvers and aimed at the Golem, but didn’t fire as she saw Rockmond on the golem. Looking down at the rock golems feet, she turned them back to the weapon form and ran forward.

“Lilah!” she yelled as she shot the rope part out near Iilah. Seeing this she caught it and looked at it.

“What am I supposed to- oh wait,” she said as she saw Qo running around the golem.

Quickly dodging the stomps of the feet of the golem she tied it to one of her twin blades and plunged it into the leg. I saw Qo ran around and around the golem, wrapping the legs up before it was tight around the golems legs. The Golem tripped thanks to the rope and fell onto the ground with a monstrous grunt. It growled and turned its head all the way around and glared at Rockmond before it did the same with its free arm and hand before grabbing a firm hold of Rockmond's legs before he could react. Rockmond yelled as it forcefully ripped him off of its back by the legs before smashing not once but twice on either side before tossing him back to us like a rag doll.

“Fucking… ow,” he said before struggling to stand up.

The golem, now rid of Rockmond, turned its gaze towards Lilah as it stood up after snapping the rope off its legs and standing up. Lilah was frozen in fear as the Golem stood up.

“Lilah move!” Blake yelled to Lilah.

She didn't move a muscle and shook in fear at the larger beast as it raised its fist up to smash her. Indigo, with scythe in hand, dashed over to the Golem before slicing off its legs and making it fall back onto the ground. Indigo looked back at the Golem, his usual indigo colored eyes were now pitch black. He dashed back towards the golem before slicing of its left arm and then its right arm. Indigo let out an animalistic roar before planting his Scythe onto the Golem’s stony head before dragging the scythe downward, effectively cutting the golem in half as it were made of paper. Both parts of the Golem fell dead on ground, bleeding what was most likely element. When everything was settled Qo ran over to Lilah and shook her a bit to see if she’s okay.

“I’m okay… I’m okay…” Lilah said as she looked at the golem, as Qo looked like she was so worried about her friend she was close to tears.

I looked over to Indigo as he picked up his scythe only cut the Golem more with guttural roar of rage. It was until Blake came over and grabbed him that stopped him.

“Indigo! Stop!” Blake yelled at him as she held him close.

He was breathing hard through his mask, his eyes still pitch black. He slowly calmed down, his eyes returning back to their indigo colored selves.

“No one… fucks with… my little girl,” Indigo said through ragged breaths.

Lilah looked over at the two of them for a moment before looking down at the ground. Rose slowly sat up as she was still taking breaths.

“Ugh… sorry for not helping,” she panted as she was still catching her breath. I didn’t say anything to her as I went over to Rockmond to see how he’s doing.

“I'm fine…” he said with a groan as he sat up. I saw his legs were still somewhat in one piece but there was some sort of liquid leaking out of them.

“Rockmond, your legs,” I told him with a scared look. He saw this and taking a deep breath and standing up, the whirring of his legs catching Rose’s attention as well.

“I'm fine, it's nothing,” he said, dismissing the leaking.

He took the Artifact before taking his bag, which I noticed to be larger than everyone else's, and putting the Artifact inside it. He closed the bag before looking onto everyone else.

“Is everyone alright? Check for tears,” he said in an exhausted tone. We all did and saw that we didn’t have any rips or tears in our suits.

“I’m also fine… just a little warm…” Rose said as I saw her eyes glowing… a bit more than what they use to

She cleared her throat before adding, “Now let’s get out of here, I'm really excited to breath without this suit on me.”

“I bet you're just excited to get back to Lana,” Qo said with smirk.

Indigo let out a weak chuckle at that as Blake held to him while he recomposed himself. Lilah, after hearing Indigo chuckle, hugged the man that saved her. The two of them stayed like that until Rockmond said we had to get going. With the door opened we followed it back through in hopes we can get out of here.

While we ran through the tunnel, an earthquake began to violently shake the ground just as we exited the tunnel. The Earthquake was unlike any other and it was getting worse by the second. We quickly shimmied back to where Rockmond left the large device, but we all ignored it, wanting to leave the cave before things get worse. At the narrow pathway, Rockmond began to slow down for some reason and it as if he couldn't move.

“Rockmond?! What’s wrong?!” Ruby yelled as she slowed down to run back.

“My legs! I can't move!” he yelled back just as a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down on the ground behind him, breaking the connection between the stone platform. Cracks began to form over the pathway and quickly. Both Ruby and I ran over to help him move but it was like moving a solid box of metal.

“Come on guys!” Rose yelled as she stopped as well.

Qo turned as was going to run back after us before some more chunks fell in front of her. She screamed as she took a few steps back. Seeing no possible way to move, Rockmond handed me his bag.

“Take it, you two. Go!” he yelled at the both of us.

I looked at him if he was nuts. I heard yelling from the others as I looked back at them and then back at Rockmond.

“W-we’re not leaving you!” Ruby said as she was trying to pull.

“And I don't want you two to kill yourselves over me, now go!” he yelled before looking up and suddenly shoving us back right before a chunk of the ceiling crashing down onto him, taking him and a large portion of the pathway with it.

“Rockmond!” Both Ruby and I screamed as we watched got up and looked down. We watched the pathway and rubble fell into a large lake of element down below as the two of us stared.

“Hey! This place is coming down! We have to-” Rose stopped as she got to us and looked down at the hole.

Looking around for a few moments she yelled as she grabbed us and pulled us back. We didn’t say anything as we turned and ran after the others. We ran out through the cave, faster than we could ever think of being and exited the cave just as it collapsed. We all panted as we looked back at the cave as Ruby fell down to her knees crying.

“We can't grieve… not yet,” Indigo said with ragged breaths, breaking the silence between the group. “We have to get out of here… fast.”

We all looked at each other before I helped Ruby up and followed the others. Keeping silent we made our way back where we came from. I noticed that Rose was completely quiet as she walked, she even looked like she was angry.

The creatures we encountered earlier, the very same that feared the green light, popped up from beneath the ground only to be gunned down by Rose in a fit of anger. None of us dared to utter a word even when she was done. After she took a few deep breaths, we arrived back at the zipline and Indigo was quick to make an entire motorized lift with simply his shadows, a feat he has only done once before when he saved Lilah from a cave in when she was twelve. We all stood on it before he willed the lift to take us back up and on the way, I could tell everyone was still shocked and saddened at the sudden loss.

When we all got up to the surface, Rose was the first one off as she walked away from us and looked around for a bit. We stood there before she spoke up.

“You all think you can find your way back to the camp?” We were all too busy taking off our suits and breathing the fresh air.

“Yeah, I know the way,” Indigo was the first to speak up. Ruby was silent as Qo stood by here.

“Good,” Rose said as she ripped the hazmat suit off and we saw her armor appear on her, as well as her helmet. Soon her Sparrow appeared as well near her.

“Rose… what are you doing?” I asked her.

“There’s one person here that caused this Ark to go completely unstable and he was the one that also caused Rockmonds death. So what I’m doing is pretty clear,” Rose truened to us with the same hawkish helmet from before. “I’m going to hunt down and kill Rockwell.”

With that she got on her Sparrow and she took off away from us. We all stood there as Rose slowly became smaller and smaller before disappearing. I looked at everyone but from the sight of it, we didn’t want to talk about it.

We simply turned and headed back to the Camp… to tell Lana the news.

Author's Notes:

Well... that was something

(Edit: This is now edited)