Archive of Our Own

When he opened his eyes and the world slowly spun back into view, the control panel before him was dark. His hands slowly unfurled from around the throttles and he shook them, the tingling of numbness warning him he’d been out like a light for a while. He tried to gather his thoughts and remember what had happened to lead him to this position. He took a few deep breaths to steady and recollect his thoughts.

They’d been fighting some kind of Robeast while trying to locate the planet of Deruta, to forge an alliance with them. It was a zippy thing, darting from here and there, with a whip-like tail composed of lightening. They’d been struck by it once, while forming Voltron, and the force of it had split them all apart. The next time, it had been targeting him in Black. Pidge had tried to thrust him out of the way, but instead the Robeast had catapulted Green into Black, sending them spinning like mad.

He didn’t remember crashing, nor when he passed out. He reached out and pressed one hand against the control panel, peering out through what he could see. The sun was low and casting large, imposing shadows across the surrounding thicket of trees he’d crashed into. There was an additional dark tinting that he realized quickly was Black’s particle barrier. He let his hand stroke along the console gently. “You hanging in there, Black?” He croaked out, his voice cracking a bit from the strain. He rubbed his neck with his other hand to try and soothe the ache a bit.

A low, tired rumble answered him. “I am still here, my Paladin. I have been focusing on keeping the shield up, just in case any potential threat presented itself while you were unconscious,”

“Good, good,” He mumbled, patting the console once more. He leaned back in his pilot’s seat and looked up at the ceiling of the cockpit. “Do you know if Pidge and Green are nearby?”

There was a brief pause before another quietly rumbling. “I saw that they did crash on this planet as well, but they are some distance away. And Green is unresponsive, so I am unable to get an exact reading on the exact distance,”

“How long do you think you’ll need to charge back up?”

“At least another two vargas before I should be able to properly use my scanners and tracking mechanisms; closer to four before I’ll be ready to fly as per usual,”

“Damn. That thing must have done something more than just shocking you to have your systems this screwy,” He growled lowly.

“I apologize, my Paladin,” She mewed softly.

He blinked then let a small smile turn up his lips, leaning forward to again gently pat the control panel. “It’s not your fault, Black. Did you happen to see which direction Green crashed down at?”

“Yes. I’d say they went south, southeast of here. They seemed to be quite a ways out from us, though. Surely you don’t intend to try and track them by foot,” She said, concern starting to creep into her tone. It didn’t surprise him how hesitant she was to letting him go, given all she’d encountered with her Paladins; especially as of late.

“I’m not planning to try to get to them; just try to get an idea of our surroundings. Maybe see if I can find any of the locals, determine if they’re friendly and willing to help us out,” He explained, adjusting himself carefully to slip out of the pilot’s seat. He made sure that he had his Bayard, just in case he encountered something unfriendly out there, then made his way out.

He stepped out just beyond the reach of Black’s maw and was greeted by the quiet crunch of what he could only call snow under his boots. He stopped and stooped down, scooping up a handful of the snow-like substance beneath his feet. Even through the under suit of his Paladin armor, he could feel the chill of the substance. Though, in the admittedly dull glow, it seemed to be a more soot-like color than the powder white. He dusted his hands off before looking up and around, outside Black’s shield, and was a bit struck by the expansive forest around them. The last time they’d seen a planet with a forest this large they’d be on Olkarion. “Maybe the environment here will help Green hurry up with recuperating from the blast, since she did take the brunt of it,” He mumbled thoughtfully. He then paused and gave Black’s nose a small pat. “Okay, Black Lion, I’ll do my best to be back soon. Hopefully with help.”

“Stay safe, my Paladin,” She mused back.

The shield parted just enough for him to slip out into the surrounding wilderness, resisting the urge to shiver at the brief flash of cold that hit him as his under suit kicked into gear. He hadn’t realized that Black’s shield had also been keeping the temperature around him so much higher than it actually was. Once there, he reached up and activated the small headlight in his helmet to help guide him and give him a better idea of his surroundings. Sadly, with how tall and abundant with leaves the trees were, he couldn’t see anything specific. Well, aside from the huge, gaping hole in the tree line from where Black had crashed, but it only offered a view of the night sky and the vague shape of mountains off in the distance. He let out a small sigh and turned in the direction Black had indicated seeing Pidge and Green plummet and started to walk.

He made sure to keep his Bayard in his hand, his grip firm but not actually conjuring it to its proper form. If he did encounter any locals, he didn’t want them to mistake him as being a hostile intruder, what with a weapon at the ready and how he was sneaking in their forests. While he wasn’t the best with people, his diplomacy skills and insight about such areas had certainly grown since his time as not only the Black Paladin, but as a member of Voltron as a whole.

A wind cut through the trees, actually causing him to shudder. The under suits of their Paladin armor did good at keeping their temperatures adjusted to their environment at any given time, but he couldn’t recall a time they’d visited a planet quite as chilled as this. He supposed that it made sense that the suits could only do so much to help them. “Hopefully Pidge has found a way to stay warm,” He grumbled to himself, aware of how poorly the other Paladin tended to retain heat.

He walked what he was sure was quite a few miles, looking for any kind of cliff ledge or dip into a valley to help give him a better view of his surrounding, or some kind of inkling to where he might encounter some kind of intelligent life. It seemed that as he kept going, as opposed to maintaining a semblance of heat, he only seemed to get colder, the winds starting to whip up more frequently. The cold was starting to make his limbs feel heavy and his skin sting, a voice in the back of his mind that sounded like an odd fusion of both Shiro and Black Lion chiding him over how he was pushing himself too hard. He ignored it, though; he couldn’t stop until he either found Pidge or found someone who could help them. Thankfully enough, he could see a small split in the trees ahead of him, implying there may be some kind of path leading somewhere. He picked up his pace, promising himself that he would take time to rest once he had accomplished at least one of his two goals.

Once he reached the break in the trees, he skid to a stop and stared at the grand chateau before him, surrounded by a large brick wall. The building was speckled with greys, browns, and a copper-ish tints from the bricks used to construct it, with two large towers connected on either side. They twined upwards, topped with triangular peaks that were a solid, uniform dark grey. There was foliage beyond the wall, in small squares along the cobblestone path leading up to the front door. The doors at the front end of the brick fence were left wide open, seeming to be made of a steel-like material. Through small slivers in the curtains, he could see lights blazing, meaning there had to be someone awake and alert.

He darted down the slope, being carefully to not slip on the icy ground, but an ominous feeling coursed through him. He glanced behind him, tightening his grip on his bayard, unable to shake the feeling of eyes on him. As he slowly made his way down, he could hear fast approaching steps in the snow. He lifted his head and looked around, feeling like he was just losing his mind, but saw nothing.

He darted past the gates, taking in the snow-covered scenery before him, hoping that perhaps that would help put him at ease. The shrubs and trees seemed to be well-tended, snipped and adjusted to take on shapes and symbols that he assumed held some kind of significance to the inhabitants. One of them, in specific, gave him pause due to it being a bit of an oddity; an image what he could only deem to be a rabbit-humanoid crossover, bowed gracefully with closed eyes, their ears dipped back and tied with actual pieces of ribbon on the leaves at either end. “I wonder if that’s what the inhabitants look like, or if this is maybe just an embodiment of one of their deities,” He mumbled to himself, reaching out and carefully touching one of the leaves on the nose.

There was another crunch of snow behind him, just beyond the gate, and he whirled around, calling up his shield as well. At the other end of the gate stood a silhouetted figure, draped in a dark pelt of some sort. He couldn’t make out anything of their physical attributes. He swallowed hard and stepped forward, trying to scare the figure off with basic intimidation tactics.

But then, in the blink of an eye, the figure was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

With a quick shake of his head, he stepped back and resumed his trek up to the doors, though he did walk a bit quicker. The doors were painted a burgundy shade, with silver embellishments of the same symbols he’d seen in the front garden. Then, there on the front of either side of the door, were matching gold knockers. There was also a delicate-looking golden rope beside the doors. He took hold of the rope and gave a sharp tug, waiting for any sound of a chime inside. There was a brief moment of delay before a deep gonging resounded behind the brick walls. There was more silence, though he swore he could hear shuffling on the other end of the door. “Uh, hello? Is there somebody there?” He did his best to keep the tremble from his voice as another frigid blast cut into him.

A small sliver of wood just above the right knocker shifted, allowing a bright black eye to peer out. It watched him for a moment before it slid shut with a quick click. More muffled noises followed, but they sounded as if they were getting further away.

A quick flash of panic rushed through Keith and he reached up, beginning to clang the right knocker repeatedly. “Please, I’m not from this planet and I need some help!” He called, hoping that this information would be enough to give them pause.

“What kind of nonsense are you spewing, child? Not from this planet and the like? You words make absolutely no sense!” The figure on the other side of the door snapped, curt and straightforward. The voice didn’t tell him much but he could tell the speaker was an older gentleman, by the timber and pitch of their tone.

He pounded with his fist on the door instead, giving up any semblance of niceties at that point. “If you’ll just give me a minute to explain myself, I promise it will!”

“How dare you try to sneak your way into this place on a most sacred of eves! Leave here, child!” The voice called back before he heard another hard click of something being slipped into place.

Keith growled, leaving his fists to rest against the door. His only option, if they had no help to offer him, would be to try to find another residence that would be more eager to assist. Well, that or try to track his way back to Black, or just outright try to find Pidge and Green. Another gust that left him taking in a shuddering breath, though, served to only remind him of what faced him out there.

But, then, there was the sound of a quiet scuffle on the other side of the door. He couldn’t make out much of what was being said, but it seemed that the older individual was bickering with someone. He cocked his head as, just inside the door, he heard a much more delicate voice snap, “There is an expectation that we carry ourselves in a hospitable way; regardless of who is before us!”

“If that is truly what you think is best, My Lady,” He heard the other sigh, sounding defeated and displeased. A second later, he heard the same clacking noise as before. After a few much quieter clicks, the doors were tossed open, a gust of warm winds careening into him from inside.

“Hurry on inside, now, before you freeze you ears off,” The voice of the newcomer called, taking hold of Keith’s arm and pulling him in. He carefully stumbled along, looking from the plush carpeting beneath him to the small, lightly furred limb of his host. “I apologize about that, my dear. Deotuw tends to be a bit hyper cautious.” He glanced up to see them better, realizing that this figure looked much like the strange shrub in the yard, though she was draped in an extravagant yellow and pink evening gown. She was like a human-sized rabbit, with the primary features of a rabbit, including powder white fur with little speckles of a sort of browning-orange here and there. Her hand-like paws, though, were pure black all the way up to her elbows. Her eyes were mostly black, much like the older rabbit-like man beside her, but unlike he, she had a pupil in the center that reminded him of a goat’s eye, that gleamed a bright orange.

“It’s okay,” He said as he moved to yank off his helmet and shake his hair out a bit, “it’s happened before and I’m sure it’ll happen again.”

She stared at him for a moment, her nose twitching in thought, before she seemed to be done sizing him up. "Oh, my! You truly are from a completely different world, aren’t you?” She giggled, pressing one hand to her mouth in a gesture he was sure was meant to be demure. She then inclined her head and extended that hand towards him, a long serpent like tail swaying behind her. “Welcome to my abode. I am Ale-Trix, Lady of Fhoruta.”

Taking a shot as to how he should react given other instances such as this, he took her offered hand and pressed a small kiss to the top. She released a little gasp of delight while the other beside her let out a displeased huff. “Keith Kogane, Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron,” He explained as he stood upright.

“Vol… Tron? I’m afraid that does not sound familiar, though I am sure it is a prestigious title to hold,” She said thoughtfully, carefully retracting her hand from him. “Either way, I should also introduce you to Deotuw, my personal assistant.”

He dipped his head, his own ears perked up and alert. Taking in his appearance, his fur was a pale cream color, with pronounced clumps of grey intermingled to signify his age. Additionally, it was strange to Keith how this one appeared much more rabbit-like in physicality than the Lady of the estate. Where she had human-like hands, his hands were paws and he didn’t seem to have a tail at all. Then again, that could simply be something involving differences between their respective sexes, as had been the case more times than he could count. "I… Apologize for my behavior. It has been quite some time since we have had visitors from beyond our stars here, and things have been tense in our lands,”

“I understand. There are other planets that have been left in similar states of disarray,” He said. Ale-Trix motioned for them to follow her along. “May I ask what planet this is?”

“Our planet is known as Remutalo, though we are broken down into several subcategories based upon the territory parameters; hence my title as the Lady of Fhoruta,” She mused lightly.

“I see. Has anyone else that looks like me come by? A female, in green armor, with amber eyes and a sort of sandy-blonde hair color?”

“You are the only stranger to come stumbling on to my land this eve. Though, I am sure if your associate landed here, she will be safe. Tonight is The Evening of Ascension, and the holy spirits come out to assure the peace and safety of all on our planet,” She mused happily.

“The Eve of Ascension?”

“It is a night in which the most holy of each burrow is taken into the arms of our great God, Pa’ut, to the blessed lands, to become spiritual advisors to the chancellors of our dedicated temples,” Deotuw explained. A small, smug grin was turned up on his lips, his nose twitching and his ears perking up. “My Lady is the only remaining purist whom still maintains a connection to Pa’ut, which allows this ceremony to be completed.”

Ale-Trix giggled, her ears tipping back a bit in a bashful way, and stopped before a set of double doors. “I would not say that is the only reason; I just try to maintain and uphold the virtues our divine deities’ expect of us,” She said, before setting one hand on the door. “For now, though, we’d be honored to have you join us for our sacred meal.”

With that, she pushed open the door and ushered him into the chandelier-lit dining area, to a large, long table with many other Remutaloans settled in. All eyes swiveled towards them and a silence of awe overtook them.

“My dear guests, allow me to introduce Keith Kogane, Paladin of Voltron. He has fallen here from a far-off world, beyond our stars, and shall join us for the meal this evening,” Ale-Trix said warmly, ushering him forward with a hand on his shoulder. They all bowed their heads and uttered quiet greetings to him as he settled into the tall, plush chair he was offered. They all, also, appeared more like Deotuw in regards to appearance. He decided that it might have more to do with the concept of her being a ‘purist’, as the older man had mentioned before. “Deotuw and I just have a few final preparations to make. Please, feel free to make yourself comfortable and enjoy some of our delight cider.” Ale-Trix plucked up what looked to be a wine glass, a leather-skin sack with a cork in it. She poured it full of a deep, rich blue liquid and then handed it to him. She then took another second to walk around the table and refill the glasses of the others before she and Deotuw disappeared behind another set of double doors across the room.

“So you’re from another world, Sir?” The young one beside him asked excitedly. He looked at her in surprise. Judging by her size and the inflection of her voice, he reasoned that she had to be their species’ equivalent of preteen. He didn’t think she could be any older than eleven or twelve, and while a part of him wanted to ask about it, he opted against it. He’d learned that it was better to avoid applying Earth logic to certain aspects of alien cultures.

“Yes, I am. And you can just call me Keith,” He said with a small smile, taking a quick sip of his drink. He smacked his lips and scrunched his nose up at the sour flavor followed by a bitter after taste that seemed to linger on the back of his tongue.

“Keith, then! You may address me as Fio, so long as we are given the kindness to interact!” She beamed, her black eyes bright. Her grey ears twitched up, two little golden rings on the end of the left ear clinking together softly, before taking a quick sip from her own glass. He noted that a few of the others at the table also had the rings in their ears; judging by their appearances, they seemed to be females as well. Most likely something to do with their religion, if he had to reason a guess. “Will you be staying to observe the ceremony?”

“I’m not sure. I really need to try to find my fellow Paladin, Pidge, wherever it is she landed,” He said with a small sigh, taking another sip of his drink. Upon the second sip, the flavor seemed a bit less off-putting with the second gulp. Another one of the guests at the table chimed in to ask him a question about Earth – something about religious significance, maybe? – and turned his attention to them. “I’m sorry, what was that?” He asked.

“I was asking about how your society is run,” An elderly male Remutaloan asked politely, his black eyes seeming somehow brighter thanks to the silver tattoos that reminded him of a diamond along both his eyes. Keith blinked a bit when he noticed a trend at the table; females bore the earrings in their left ears, males had the tattoos along their eyes, and then there were two other guests that sported both the earrings and tattoos.

“Oh, well, it’s controlled by two governmental bodies that are determined by the people voting on who they think is best,” He said, trying to abridge it to a general point that was easier to understand.

The one who had inquired wrinkled his nose in displeasure. “You select yourselves? Why don’t your holy deities’ do it for you?”

“Well,” Keith trailed uneasily, “on Earth, there are several different religions, each of them with their own interpretation of what the deity, or deities’, are like. Some people worship one way, some people worship another, and some people don’t worship at all.”

There was a scandalized gasp at the table. “Preposterous! How can such a society even work?” One of the older female’s proclaimed.

“It certainly does seem rather… Hard to believe,” Fio agreed meekly, “Especially given how peaceful things are here. Then again, if it works for them, we are not to cast judgment. Pa’ut and Lady Ale-Trix expect better of us, after all. “

“Well said, Fio!” A younger male said, holding his glass up in toast before guzzling down another mouthful.

“So Lady Ale-Trix… She’s like a spiritual head of your society?” Keith asked, taking another sip of his drink. This time, the unpleasantness of the flavor was even more subdued. He smiled a bit, glad to have acquired a bit of a taste for it.

“Oh, she is so much more! She is a ward through which the Gods’ themselves speak!”

“It is because of her that our burrows, once fractured and scattered, came to unity! She opened our eyes to how we should be living our best lives, how to properly follow the virtues the Gods have set before us!”

“She is the bright light that has led us all to our truest selves, to the path of salvation!”

Their declarations of adoration were surprising, but he also couldn’t help but feel that she certainly did seem like a sweet and compassionate person. After all, Deotuw had been more than willing to leave him out in the cold, to befall whatever fate would have wrought on him. It was only because of her insistence that they help him, as was expected by the religious teachings that they were governed by, that the other had yielded. Even still, she’d not only insisted on letting him in, offering him protection from whatever he was sure had been tracking him, but offered him warm food, too. They’d been to worlds where such kindness weren’t offered to them at all. “She certainly seems like a phenomenal leader, from what little I know of her,” He chimed in, glad at how the others at the table regarded him warmly at his words.

He perked up when he spotted the door leading to the kitchen slowly pushing open. Deotuw was pushing a large wheeled cart, stacked with plates and silverware, and Lady Ale-Trix right behind with one of her own, covered in silver domes on three separate tiers. She offered Keith a smile that caused a strange spark of heat to bloom in his chest, one that he normally only felt in softer moments with another certain someone. He inclined his head and took another sip of his drink, humming a bit at the flavor.

This time, it only tasted sweet.

————————————————————————————————–

Pidge awoke with a start in the cockpit, her whole body aching from the blast of electricity that had coursed through Green and rocked her whole frame. At first, she was terrified that she was paralyzed as a result, as her body refused to move right away. After a full moment of consciousness and trying, though, the adrenaline seemed to kick in and grant her motion again. She sighed then squinted around the darkened cockpit, peering out through Green’s eyes. The poor girl was so worn out that she couldn’t even properly form her shield.

“Hey, girl, you there?” She called quietly, concern clear in her tone.

“Tired,” Green whined back, her voice incredibly quiet and weak, but just a response was enough to warrant a relieved sigh from her Paladin.

She carefully shuffled out of the pilot’s seat and pressed a hand to the main console. “That electricity really took it out of you, huh? Here, see if you can’t take a little something from me to at least put up your shield,” She offered, pressing her palm more firmly against the surface of the console.

It took a moment before she felt the gentle tug of the Green Lion’s presence in her mind, slowly taking a bit of her quintessence. She didn’t take a whole lot – certainly not as much as she could have, as far as Pidge was concerned – but after a moment the presence faded and the familiar glow of the particle barrier was visible outside. “Thank you,” Green purred softly, sounding slightly more alert now.

“Hey, it’s the least I can do for all you do for me, Green,” She said, giving the console an affectionate pat before making her way outside. She tried to pull up one of the trackers all the Paladin’s could access with their Paladin armor, but it flickered and faded out too fast. With a small scowl, she called out her bayard and gave her wrist plate a quick jolt to kick start it. She grinned widely when the screen flickered back to life, showing a small black dot in an area north, northwest to her own. She was relieved to see that the tracker in Keith’s Paladin suit hadn’t been damaged or short-circuited during their crash landing. “Okay, so Black and Keith did crash down with us. Good to know we have some kind of back up here.”

“Are you leaving?” Green asked, her tone weary.

Pidge paused as she hopped over Green’s jaw and into a soft patch of snow. “Well, I want to go check on them. Make sure they aren’t hurt, you know?”

“You should stay with me, until I am well enough to battle again. We know nothing of this planet or its denizens,” She fretted.

A small smile turned up on the young woman’s lips as she reached over to gently pat the mechanical feline’s snout. “I’ll be careful, Green. Promise,” She tried to sound as reassuring as possible. She could tell it didn’t work by how the presence of Green in the back of her mind didn’t waver. “I promise to come back if it seems to be too long a trek, okay?”

“Very well. Just… Keep your bayard close and be aware, My Paladin,” She said before a small huff, a small opening appearing in the shield.

“Thank you, Green. And I will,” She said, giving her another quick pat before darting out through the hole.

She peered up and around, seeing the sky full of stars, and sighed. She’d been hoping to get some kind of implication to how long she’d been out, or that maybe there would be a hint that day was starting again, but it seemed she’d be relying on the headlight in her helmet. She flicked it on and then began her trek, looking at the small screen uploaded and starting off in the direction it signified. She paused briefly as a gust of wind plowed into her, causing her steps to hesitate and make her shudder. “Geez… Is it possible my under suit is busted from the electrical discharge?” She mumbled.

She paused for a moment to wait, noting that the suit was, in fact, adjusting to warm her up a bit, but she could still feel a chill lingering along her spine. Then again, she supposed, perhaps this planet was going through an extreme shift in climate. The galaxy as a whole was one that Coran and Allura had little to no knowledge of, explaining that, from their records, this galaxy had always been relatively peaceful and low on the tier of technological or social developments. Coran had said to think of it as something akin to Earth, whom the two Alteans’ had also only gained information on from the Paladin’s themselves and their eventual arrival there.

“Okay, back on track,” She mumbled to herself, forcing herself to continue on. The farther she went, the worse the chill around her got. There were a few points where she had nearly lost her footing, due to slick icy patches being hidden under the snow-like substance around her. She looked around and, upon finding a relatively thick and sturdy tree branch, cut it free and began using it as a makeshift walking stick. And, even worse, it seemed that the farther into the forest she went, the worse the wind whipped around her.

She wasn’t sure how far or long she’d travelled for before the black bot on the screen was ridiculously close, but she was grateful for it. She could see just the top of what she assumed to be a castle or grand estate of some sort, surrounded by a large brick wall with two wide open iron gates. “Great, an actual shelter. Keith must have made himself some friends,” She said with a small laugh, moving to jog over to the open entrance.

She was stopped, however, when something wrapped around her right ankle and tugged hard.

Pidge gasped in surprise at the sudden attack, but her reflexes kicked in easily enough. Using her walking stick, she dislodged the curved wood from her ankle and instead caught it with the stick. She adjusted her body, narrowly managing to catch herself in a crouching position, and took hold of both ends of the stick and tugged, trying to dislodged the opposing staff from the grip of whoever held it.

Instead, she ended up dragging the hooded figure out. “Who are you and wh-!” She started to yell, but was cut off when her assailant launched at her, scrambling at her helmet and tearing it off her head, sending them toppling over into the snow. Once her helmet was gone, a fluffy paw was pressed over her mouth to silence any further protests she had to offer.

She tried to squirm and forcefully dislodge the other form, but to no avail. There was a shift in the grip, turning her to look at the fluffy face of her attacker, their jagged little nails digging into her cheek in warning. They stared at her with large black eyes, titling their head a bit as they looked her over. They slackened their grip just the slightest bit once they seemed to either realize that Pidge was not of their species or that she wasn’t a threat. “You will be silent or you will call the contemptuous witch upon us, do you hear?” They asked, their voice a bit warbling and worn with age.

Pidge did her best to nod in understanding. They lifted their paw from her mouth then shifted off of her, though they still kept their body poised low to the ground. While Pidge sat up, they slipped aside and picked her helmet up, offering it back to her. “Who are you,” Pidge hissed quietly, swiping the helmet from them with more force than necessary and setting to scrapping cold flakes from the inside and surface, “and why did you attack me like that?”

They blinked, puzzled, and carefully couched in front of her as they tipped back their hood, allowing a set of dark brown rabbit ears to poke out. Pidge took the second to scan them over better, noting two gauge marks in their left ear, as if there had been something there that was torn out. Additionally, over their right eye was a large scar, starting about an inch below where their ear started and going down to their nose. It was wide and looked worn, adding even more age then the speckles of white fur along their muzzle did. Their left eye, meanwhile, was sporting some kind of silvery mark. Pidge couldn’t tell if it was just some kind of face paint, an natural mark, or some kind of tattooed mark in the low light from the planet’s moon, though. ”Attack you? If I had been doing that, your life would be forfeit right now,“ They scoffed lightly, shaking their head. They moved away and picked their staff back up, twirling it carefully before sliding it into some kind of large bag on their back. "No, not attacking; simply preventing. Any further and the contemptuous witch may have sensed your presence. Which would have been most unfortunate for you.”

“Uh huh,” Pidge mused, dragging the words out and making sure to fill them with as much skepticism as she could.

The other glared at her, ears tipping back. “It is your decision to believe or not, outsider. But if I was in your place, I would believe local prophets more than my own naïve assumptions,”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, yanking her helmet back on and moving to stand up. ”Well, you’re not me, so save your advice. Now answer my other question,“

“Such an impudent child you are,” They said with an exasperated sigh, but a wistful smile appeared on their face, “but very well. I am called Lei-Tuou. I was a proud chancellor of Remutalo long ago, but now I am only one of few left with the gall to preach the truth.“

She huffed and pulled the tracker back up, confirming again that Keith was certainly inside. "I take it this has to do with whoever this ‘contemptuous witch’ you’ve mentioned is?” She looked at them with a raised eyebrow and air-quoted the phrase with her free hand.

They nodded. “She owns the chateau you were about to enter. A rather impressive mistake to make on a night such as this, though I suppose it is fair that an outsider would not know of the Eve of Ascension,”

Pidge clicked the little map away, figuring she could just go ask them to see him once she got inside. “Look, I’m not really interested in any of your cultural ceremonies right now. My friend is in there and I need to go and get him. We crashed down here and I want to-!”

“Ah, the one I tried to stop earlier, I assume? Yes, he is there, but trying to retrieve him would be fruitless of you now. I am sure that contemptuous witch was eager to make a meal out of one she’s never tasted before,” Lei-Tuou cut in, calmly moving to rummage through one of the small sacks looped around their belt.

She tensed and turned to look at the other, her eyes wide in horror. Surely, she must have misheard them. “What do you mean by that?”

They scoffed, pulling out a small vial of some kind of clear liquid. “You said you had no in-!”

“I’ll scream as loud as I can and get this witch of yours and all her little minions out here so fast it’ll make your ears twist if you don’t tell me!” She snapped, raising her octave a bit and advancing on the other with her bayard at the ready.

Lei-Tuou paused in popping the top off the vial to stare at the stranger threatening her. Judging by her stance and the fire sparking in her bright eyes, they had no doubt that the outsider meant what they said. Well, they supposed this may work to their favor; if this one was willing to perhaps help them free the unsuspecting chancellors inside in exchange for the retrieval of their friend, things could go much easier. “We are of a spiritual sort, where we are guided by prophets, commonly known as chancellors. Ale-Trix, the witch of the chateau, uses this to her advantages. Once every deca-phoeb, she has the burrows send their most devout of chancellors to her home, claiming that on this night she will guide them to the hands of our ruling Gods, where they become spiritual guides to the remaining chancellors of their burrows,” They explained. Their own stomach roiled at the memories of their fateful encounter with the witch all those deca-phoebs ago, at how excited they had been over being selected for an honor such as ascension. “This is a farce, though. Instead, she intoxicates them on spiked hepra berry cider and then harvests them, or turns them into temporary playthings. Once she is bored of the ones she keeps as toys, though, she harvests them, too. It is inevitable with her.”

“When… When you say harvest, you don’t mean…?” Pidge stammered out, swallowing thickly. Another gust hit them and Pidge shuddered, but it had nothing to do with that.

“Unless 'harvest’ has a different context in your society, then it is as you fear. She kills them and, over time, gorges herself on their remains. I should know,” They said, reaching up and tapping their right eye, the light clink of glass rousing up from it, “seeing as she took a taste of me many seasons ago.”

“What… How did she do that to you?”

They popped the vial open to reveal a small dropper inside. They carefully squeezed it, getting it full of the liquid, and then lifted it to drip a few drops over their fake eye. “She took it because I was able to see through her. I am allergic to hepra berries, you see. Thus, this left me unable to partake in the drinking, as well as leaving me immune to her drugs. She took my eye from me in my struggle to escape, though, as a sample so that she would never forget me,”

“No one believed you? Even with the injuries you were suffering from?”

“They took the word of that vile monster over my own! She claimed my faith was weak and the injuries from Pa’ul herself, meant to reveal me as a heretic and an outlier!” They laughed, gesturing with one paw to the chateau. Slowly their eyes narrowed and their ears perked up, alert and aware. “I’ve been trying for deca-phoebs to find a way to defeat her. I have tried to preach the truth, but it has only ended in getting me exiled from our society as a whole. So, I started to do research into where her powers came from, to see if I could pinpoint a specific entity she must call upon. I trained myself to hunt and fight and now, so many seasons later, I come to avenge myself and all others she has had a hand in leading astray for her own horrific gains.”

Pidge stared at Lei-Tuou for a moment, before looking back down at the large residence beneath. She didn’t believe for two seconds that Keith was already dead. Even if this Ale-Trix wanted to eat him because of how strange he was, she didn’t want to think he’d be so easily taken over. Everything about the situation left her feeling as if she’d be ill, but she forced herself to strengthen her resolve. She needed to get in there to help not only Keith, but the natives as well; it was her duty as a Paladin.

“How can I help?”

Lei-Tuou looked at her for a moment before indicating. “I’ve been monitoring this place for some time, since I knew the first of the chancellors would begin to arrive. I tried to halt your friend, but he came in from the slope over there,” They said, pointing with one digit. Keith most likely had the same idea of either finding the other or locating locals for help that she did. “I didn’t notice him until he was starting down the slope, and he got beyond the gate before I could catch up. If I went any closer, the witch may have sensed me, as I had not yet dusted myself with blessed powder, and the element of surprise would have been ruined.”

“Do you know how long ago that was?”

“Some time. If I had to reason a guess, she has selected which she will feast upon first, and which she shall play with a little longer at this point. If we can get in, we should be able to stop her before any fatal damage can be done to your friend,”

The specification of the extent of the damage made Pidge want to snap at them, tell them that they were ignorant to Keith’s assured triumph, but decided against it. If the two of them were going to work together, she needed to keep things at least agreeable between them. Lei-Tuou pulled one of the little pouches from their belt off, pouring some kind of powder into their palm, then sprinkled it along Pidge, speckling it in a way that reminded Pidge of how she’d seen people apply make-up before. “What’s the best way to get in?”

“There is a back window that she leaves slightly ajar; I believe it is to air out the smoke from the candles she uses during her selection ceremony. I have noticed it the last few deca-phoebs that I’ve come to try and stop the ones that mean to enter,”

“I take it you didn’t use the window to escape when you did, then?”

“I left through the front door, same as I entered. I had a point to make to that foul beast. And tonight I intend to drive that point right through to their heart. With the help of an enchanted blade, of course,” They sneered, a gleam of malicious satisfaction in their good eye. Pidge had to admit that something about the other’s constitution made her admire them. “Now then, I want you to stay close to me. The whole place will most likely be very dimly lit and hard to navigate, due to the ceremony and what it entails, and light would more than likely just attract the attention of she and her minions.”

Pidge nodded. “What exactly do we need to do?”

“First, we’re going to try to get the ones that are still alive out. Here,” They helped out a small sack to her, “take this. Inside are a few little gulta pellets. They have an incredibly sour flavor that can shake off the effects of any intoxicating substance. Simply shove it into ones mouth and it should dissolve relatively quick, snapping them free of the haze after less than a tick.” Pidge nodded again. “She holds the ones she intends to harvest in the cellar of the residence. Your friend should be kept down there with the others. We’ll get them all out and then I just need to pierce that witch in the heart with my dagger. That should sever the bond she forged to gain her powers, killing her as an effect of the contract terminating.”

“Once we assure they’re all out, I’ll go back to help you fight her,” She promised.

This seemed to catch Lei-Tuou by surprise but they nodded. “The help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,” It had been deca-phoebs since the last time someone else had been willing to work with them, all the way back to when they were a part of the brainwashed masses worshipping the false prophet. They had figured that, once the other outsider was saved, this one would bail out as well. Which would have been fine. All this time they’d been planning to go it alone, anyway. But having an extra set of hands on deck would be vastly helpful. “I shall do my best to help keep you safe in exchange for your assistance.”

“Likewise,” Pidge said before looking back over at the deceptively stunning estate below, quietly swearing to bring Keith out in one piece. Lei-Tuou adjusted their hood and then motioned, leading her down the slope and to the far back wall of the brick gate. They shifted a few of the lower bricks around to reveal a decently sized hole. The two of them carefully shimmied through, Pidge having to squirm an extra bit because of how her Paladin armor caught.

Once they got through the fence, they crept along the side of the house to the window that they’d made mention of before. Pidge followed Lei-Tuou’s every step perfectly, afraid that two crunches in the snow would attract the attention of their opponent. Which, she realized, her associate hadn’t elaborated too terribly far about what to expect in regards to Ale-Trix’ abilities were or how many followers she had. It was obvious that the attendees of her feast that she didn’t plan to make into soup immediately, but other than that, what kind of forces were they looking at? Just by judging the size and grandiose appearance of the place, it had to have a decently sized staff to maintain its appearance and cleanliness, right? But were they trained in combat? Or were they just mindless drones that could only move with specific instructions in specific circumstances?

It wasn’t something that they’d discussed, but Pidge figured they’d simply have to find out once they were inside.

Lei-Tuou pushed the window open, clamored up and in, then turned to help Pidge scamper in after them. Inside, the place was lit with small candle-lit lamps nailed into the walls, flickering in their little glass orbs. The carpet was a deep crimson color, with intricate symbols stitched in silver, and incredibly plush, judging from how it gave under her weight. She then turned to the other, whom nodded their head towards the other end of the hallway where a door was poised. The handle of the door reminded Pidge of the sort typically used on most fridge doors, which felt morbidly comical, given what it contained. There was also a small grip beside the door, which the handle was chained to, with a small lock keeping it wedged shut. Judging by the flicker of pride that came to the other’s eye at the sight of it, Pidge assumed it was a precautious implemented because of their time in the house of horrors. As they made their way to the door, they could hear the quiet creak of the floorboards above them, indicating that something was happening above. “She’s most likely feasting on her first meal from the latest crop. The rest of the ones for her harvest should be alone, then,” They mumbled quietly.

Pidge shuddered at the thought of the poor soul used to make Ale-Trix’ meal, praying to whatever holy forces ruled Remutalo that it wasn’t Keith.

It took Lei-Tuou a moment to pick the little lock and they flashed Pidge a grin at the task completed. They carefully slid the lock free and began to work on detangling the carefully adjusted chains when they heard the distinct creak of a door being opened up above. “Blow out that candle then hit the wall!” Pidge hissed, grabbing them by their arm and pushing them back. She then clacked away quickly at the little projector in her gear, producing a fabricated image of the door being locked still, and quickly adjusted the chains again so they looked as close to their prior image as she could get. She moved to join Lei-Tuou in the small shadowy corner they’d made, but then her heart leapt into her throat as she saw the curtains of the window they’d come in through gently billowing in a breeze, the creak from above beginning to descend down the staircase.

She called out her bayard, sending the hook shot into the very corner of the window, and tugged it down to the point it was nearly closed. She then carefully yanked it free, causing it to collapse to the ground just as a silhouetted figure appeared at the end of the stairs. Calling it back all the way would be too loud, though. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she crept down to kneel. She shut down the tasing featuring, causing the hooked end to go dark, and hoping it’d be enough to keep it hidden from view for her new plan.

A petite, grey little Remutaloan was approaching them slowly, ears perked up and alert. Judging their stature against that of Lei-Tuou, Pidge reasoned this one had to be pre-teen; no more than a child, intended to be eaten by the monstrous mistress of the castle. This only worked to strengthen her resolve, watching as the other moved closer to the door, seeming completely goal-oriented in double checking the locks. Upon getting closer, a mere arm’s length away from Pidge in her position, the young one shifted too far off to the side, the little claws at the end of their back foot tapping the edge of the hook shot on Pidge’s bayard. Their nose twitched and they looked down, pausing to kneel and pick it up for examination.

When they did, Pidge lunged out, tackling them to the ground and clamping a hand to their mouth, using her full weight to keep them pinned. They shifted and squirmed a bit, but their movements were weak and more just minor brushes. This little thing clearly didn’t live a life that caused them to do anything too terribly physically taxing. “What are you doing, outsider?” Lei-Tuou hissed quietly.

“Can they talk like this?” Pidge growled back lowly. They blinked then shook their head. “Good. Can you get one of those gulta pellets out?”

Understand flickered in their eye and they nodded, pulling the pouch from their belt. She rummaged around before pulling out a small, square-shaped pellet in a pale pink tint. Once they were closer, Pidge adjusted her grip to pry the smaller creature’s mouth open. “Push their tongue down; this has to dissolve on the back of their tongue in order to work right,” Pidge adjusted her hold, moving her hand to press their tongue down as far as she could with her thumb.

It took a moment of awkward, jerky motions from the Remutaloan trying to yank their head free, but finally Lei-Tuou reached back and pressed the item down. They waited a moment before yanking their hand back and nodding at Pidge. Pidge removed her hand from their mouth and instead pressed it shut tight, to avoid them potentially spitting it out.

Slowly, the struggling stopped and the other blinked, squeezing their eyes shut tight as their chest spasmed in an attempt to cough. Lei-Tuou motioned with one paw for Pidge to slacken her grip, which she did slowly. As she did, the smaller figure set their own paws on the ground to help keep themselves propped up as they took in quiet gulps of breath, flicking their tongue out as if that would scrub the flavor off their tongue. Lei-Tuou leaned forward, gently patting the other’s shoulder as Pidge scuffled aside to grant them better access. “How are you feeling, young one?” They asked, keeping their voice delicate as they spoke.

Slowly they lifted their head, little grey ears tipping back, and cocked their head at the sight before them. “You… You were the heretic that tried to speak to me before,” They said quietly.

They nodded their head. “Indeed I am. What is your name and title, young one?”

“I-I am Fio, chancellor to the burrow of Ywtea. I was only recently promoted, however, and served as the primary maiden of hymns prior this,” Fio said quietly, her ears tipping back a bit further in discomfort.

“I see. Tell me, Fio, how much do you remember of what has occurred since you’ve been here?”

“W-We had the feast and were introduced to one another… We drank and dined and partook in other general merriment with one another and Lady Ale-Trix,” She said, wincing a bit. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a quiet whine, pressing one paw against the side of her head.

Lei-Tuou gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Don’t force yourself now. The gulta pellet has helped to focus your mind back on the present, but there will still be some lingering discomfort due to how much of the intoxicated cider you ingested,” It took everything in Pidge to not start pestering Fio with questions about Keith, but she hoped the information would come forward naturally as her mind cleared up.

“I didn’t drink very much, though. Only about half a glass. The taste was unpleasant,” She whimpered, eyes screwed shut. Suddenly, Fio’s eyes shot open in horror. “L-Lady Ale-Trix! S-She started the ce-ce-ceremony and- and-! C-Chancellor Wulton-!” She cut herself off, clamping one hand to her muzzle and beginning to shake. She looked like she wanted to curl in on herself, to shut down and let herself fall apart after whatever it was she’d witnessed. She took another deep, hiccupping breath and seemed to compose herself just a bit. “Chancellor Wulton was… Was the-the first. L-L-Lad-Lady Ale-Trix called h-him up… To sta-stand before her on the a-a-al-alt-ltar. Sh-She pu-pulled out a ha-ha-hatchet!” She choked off to curl into herself again, clearly doing her best to muffle her noises.

“Take your time, okay?” Pidge chimed in, trying to infuse some amount of warm reassurance into her tone.

The other turned to look at her, seeming to realize for the first time that she was here. “You… You are Pidge, aren’t you?”

“How do you know my name?”

“Keith… The other outsider. He spoke of you to me,” She said, sniffling a bit. She offered a watery smile as she wiped at her eyes with one of her paws. “H-He told me how smart and brave you are, of all the g-good you do for other people.”

Pidge smiled and nodded before they all froze, the sounds of steps along the wooden boards coming from above them. “They must have noticed how long you’ve been gone,” Lei-Tuou said quietly, scowling. She looked over at Pidge questioningly. “This one is too young and delicate… We can’t send her back up there.”

Fio blinked then looked between them, ears twitching up a bit as she caught on to what they were saying. “I-I wanna help! If you’re here to help the others, I want to, too!”

Lei-Tuou and Pidge exchanged glanced before nodding. “Can you pretend to be drugged still?” Fio nodded. “Good. If we can get everyone downstairs gathered, we can go up and dispatch this Ale-Tric easily enough.”

“Easier said than done, outsider. There is one she keeps as an servant at all times, who helps her in harvesting in exchange for eternal life,”

“You speak of Deotuw, correct? He bears no power other than whatever protection Lady Ale-Trix grants him. I can dispatch of him easily enough,” Fio whispered. They all paused as the door above opened and they heard footsteps.

“It’ll have to work. Dispatch of him and then come see if you can help us, okay?” Lei-Tuou said quickly. With one final nod, Fio took another breath and got to her feet shakily. Pidge and Lei-Tuou crept back into the shadows as a figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Sending the mindless drones to tend to tasks… My Lady is too kind. These pathetic creatures are good for nothing more than meals to rejuvenate her great powers,” The voice of an older male groused as he descended. Moving purposefully slow, Fio turned to face him as he made his way down. “Well then, what seems to be the problem down here?” He barked as he stepped off the final step.

Fio pointed at the snuffed out candle with one paw, making sure her moves were gradual but not too much so.

Deotuw huffed and shook his head. “Well, come along, you useless little drone. You may as well learn where things are so muscle memory will keep you from being completely useless next time around,” He called, turning and trotting away.

Fio followed him at a respectable, convincing pace. Once they were out of sight, Pidge and Lei-Tuou slipped back out of the shadows. Pidge let out a small sigh as she finally recalled her bayard and dropped the illusion on the door. “That strange magic of yours certainly does well in a tricky situation,” They commented, eying her bayard as it disappeared into her armor again.

“It’s less magic and more technology. But also kind of some sort of magic that helps the technology? It’s complicated to explain. Remind me to go into full detail once we get through with all of this,” She said before heading over to remove the chain on the door. Once it was off, she carefully pulled it open, surprised at how silent it was. “She must keep it in decent repair.”

“Probably doesn’t want those she harvests to hear her coming. I’m not sure if she keeps them drugged all the time, but I do know she doesn’t kill them until she’s decided to feast on them,” The elderly Remutaloan said with a small huff. Inside, it was pitch black and they could barely make out the shape of a set of stairs. Pidge reach up and flicked on the headlight of her Paladin armor, moving to take the lead and offering one hand to them. They took her hand, letting her lead them down.

As they descended, it steadily grew colder, causing alarm bells to start ringing in Pidge’s head. She tightened her grip on Lei-Tuou’s paw. In response, the other gently squeezed back, as if to try and reassure her. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, she lifted her head to look around and flinched back a step at what laid before her.

Hanging from hooks that were pierced through their paws were two rows with six Remutoloans in each, all of them completely bare. It reminded Pidge of the scene from Rocky where he practiced his boxing on big, frozen slabs of meat. Her stomach roiled in disgust and she had to swallow the bile threatening to come up. She peered around as Lei-Tuou released her hand and pushed forward, approaching the nearest form. Pidge followed a few paces behind her, looking from body to body, her heart plummeting from both what she saw as well as what she didn’t see. “He isn’t here,” She breathed out quietly.

Lei-Tuou paused in setting a small crate beside the nearest hanging form to look at the outsider, their ears tipping back a bit. They then glanced back up at the ceiling of the room. “He could be up there, with the ones she means to play with first,”

“Do you think so?”

“It is a possibility. We have not had outsiders on our planet in many more deca-phoebs than I can recount, probably not since before I was even born. This adds an element of mystery to him that could appeal to her more than her gluttonous appetite,” They then turned back to step on the crate, trying to tug the hook free from its chain without disrupting the one hanging from it too much. Even if he couldn’t feel the pain in their paws now, he would once the gulta pellet worked its magic.

“Here, get a grip around them and hold tight,” Pidge advised, calling her bayard up and taking a step back to better access what angle she’d need to hit it from. Lei-Tuou did as instructed, wrapping them arms tight around the other’s midriff, and Pidge sent her hook shot flying. It pierced right through the chain in one clean cut, thankfully enough. She rushed forward to help her companion in keeping their body propped up to allow them to slowly move them down. “Have they been responsive at all when you were trying to move them?” She asked as they slid the other into a sitting position, bringing their hands to rest before them.

“He hasn’t. Whatever the cider contains is meant to keep them subdued for as long as possible. I presume that, so long as it is in their system, they won’t be easily awakened, simply for that contemptuous witch’s ease,” They said, shifting to shrug off their bag. They pulled their staff out and set it aside before starting to rummage through the bag itself. “Remove the hook from his paws carefully. We will treat his wounds before we call him back to his right mind again.”

Pidge did as she was told, lightly tossing the hook aside and resisting the urge to shudder at the steady flow of blood coming from the twin wounds. This one seemed to be a younger one, much like Fio, but older than her. The silver gleaming marks she’d noticed on Lei-Tuou earlier were on his eyes, but he lacked the jewelry in his ear. She presumed it had something to do with rank within the clergy or something like that. It took a quick second before Lei-Tuou handed her a cloth and she carefully pressed it to the wounds, trying to stop some of the bleeding. She peered over and saw that the bag the other had brought was packed to the brim with towels, gauze, and two medium sized clay pots with what she could only surmise was some kind of medicine.

“You’ve been planning this thoroughly for some time, haven’t you?”

The other’s ears twitched and they hummed quietly. “Ever since I escaped myself. It’s taken me many years to get to this point, but I knew that going in with only a fraction of an idea as to what I was facing would be the death of myself and many more countless souls. I just… I wish that I’d come across this information sooner, before so many other’s became subjected to all this,” They gestured with one paw at the suspended figures all around them, her voice tight with guilt and frustration. They then shifted their attention back down to their bag, pulling one of the jars out and two more cloths. “But, at the very least, I can help these ones now.”

“You’ve done all you could. No one believed you when you tried to warn them, and it was better that you work to make sure you’d be successful,”

Lei-Tuou glanced at her, little nose twitching, before their dark eyes softened. They carefully tugged up the cork on the jar. The pale orange ointment was inside carried a strange scent that reminded Pidge of aloe vera. “You are a strange one, outsider. One moment you are ready to battle me as if I were a rampaging vultdrage and the next you offer me assistance and reassurance,”

“If you can believe it, I hear stuff like that all the time. Especially from other people on my own home planet,” She said teasingly.

That awarded her with a genuine laugh, quiet but still a bit light, and small shake of their head. “That is reassuring,” They then turned their attention back to the wounded form before them. Pidge carefully removed the cloth as they took a decent amount of the ointment into their palm. They carefully pressed it into the holes from where the hook had been, wiped their paw on one of the two other cloths, then pulled out the second jar. This one was a completely transparent and scentless gel that they applied to the top and bottom of the wounds, which seemed to work as some kind of sealant for the thicker ointment she’d used before. After applying that and wiping their hand on the other cloth, they pulled out some of the gauze and did a quick wrap-and-tie job on both wounds. “There. This should work well at keeping them from losing use of their paws and reduce some of the pain, at the very least.”

“Should we give them one of the pellets now?”

“Yes, that would be wise,” They rummaged the little pouch and pulling one out. Yet again, Pidge propped the mouth open so that they could slip the pellet in, and held their mouth shut much more gently than before. With Fio, she’d been physically conscious and trying to get away. This time, she figured it’d be easier to fight back an instinctive reaction as opposed to an active attempt at dislodging.

It took a moment, just as it had with Fio, before his eyes slowly pried open, a low groan rising up from his throat. Pidge immediately released her grip on his mouth, hoping that would help him relax slightly more. He blinked a few times and then stared from Pidge in front of him to Lei-Tuou beside him. “Wha-? W-Who are you?” He asked.

“There is not enough time to explain everything, but just know that we are here to help you,” Lei-Tuou said evenly, carefully moving to hoist him up.

His legs were a little shaky under him but he managed to stand with support from them. He reached up to touch his head, grimacing from pain, then froze when he saw his paw. “What happened?” He wheezed, looking at his paws and then slowly looking around.

Both of his saviors’ moved to cover his mouth when he went to scream in horror at what laid before him. His eyes flickered from here to there frantically, trying to take it all in but flinching away. He only seemed to be staying upright thanks to the grip the older had on him. She assumed it was from a mix of what he was currently seeing and what his mind was replaying for him, considering what had happened when they’d given the pellet to Fio. Footsteps could be heard from above, along with a small light, before Fio’s voice echoed down, “Are you two there? How are things?”

He tensed up at the sound of her voice and looked up, squirming himself loose while the others were distracted. “D-Don’t come down here! Stay where you are!”

“Dude, keep it down! If you start shouting, that woman and her zombie minions will hear you!”

“We understand that you are frightened and horror-stricken,” Lei-Tuou stated, gently setting a paw on his shoulder to get him to look at her, “but you must regain some semblance of calm. If not for yourself, then for the others that we still have to help. We all must work together if we all intend to make it through this evening in one piece.”

He gulped and then nodded shakily. He didn’t speak again, but it was probably for the better. If all he was going to do was scream ad panic, he’d be a better asset to them staying quiet.

“We need to get them all out of here as quickly as we can, to avoid piquing her curiosity,” They said with a small sigh, looking back over at the rest of the room, then looking back at the male she was helping to support. “We should also see if there are any items down here he can use to cover up.”

Pidge hummed and looked around, carefully moving past the living bodies hanging from the ceiling to investigate the room further, forcing herself to not focus on their presence. In the far corner, she found a couple of large wooden crates, a long table in the corner, and a small tray with various types of cutlery and butchery tools. They were all clearly well looked after, but in a small bin beside the tray she spotted severally bloodied towels, recently used. She quickly turned her attention to the crates in the corner and popped one open with her bayard.

Inside she found an assortment of what seemed to be large, burlap sacks. She shifted that box aside and began rummaging through the other one. In this, she found a bunch of old clothes, a bit of dust and a musky scent lingering on them. She was a bit surprised they seemed to be mostly intact, but she supposed this planet may not have creatures like moths to eat their old fabrics. She stacked the two on top of each other, tied them up with her bayard, and then dragged them over to where Lei-Tuou was waiting with the first captive they’d freed. Fio had some down to join them, holding a small lantern with a lit candle, and staring at the ones strung up, mouth left agape. The lantern offered a decent amount of additional light, making things a bit easier to see. “There’s some old clothes in the top one. They aren’t the cleanest but I’m sure they’ll do well enough for the short term. In the other box is some old sacks. I can cut them with my bayard to turn them into makeshift cloaks or ponchos, though, to help keep them warm once they’re outside,” She suggested.

They nodded their head and joined her, helping to untangle and lift the crate back up. Their ears shot up as they reached inside, carefully extracting the long sleeved coat on the top. “This outfit,” They breathed quietly. They ran their little digits over the material, carefully sweeping some more of the dust from it. “These were the uniforms that the chancellors in my burrow used to wear. They changed the color some time ago.”

Pidge figured it made a bit of sense. She recalled reading a long time ago that serial killers tended to like to keep small tokens to remember their victims by. While Remutaloans weren’t exactly human, she supposed that their mental make-up might be similar enough to cause similar mental patterns to be present. She opted against saying it out loud, though, due to the look of remorse and agony on Lei-Tuou’s face.

After a moment they seemed to compose themselves and began rummaging through, finding some slacks and a shirt to go with it and shoving them at the male. “Here, Tolis, put this on. Once you’re dressed, you and Fio can start sorting through for clothes for the others while Pidge and I get them down,” They instructed.

He slowly before nodding and hastily setting to getting clothed. While he did that, Fio glanced at the next figure in the line and rushed back over to the clothing crate. She started setting out several different outfits, getting them ready for each of the remaining captives. Lei-Tuou grabbed the smaller crate she’d used before and Pidge followed after her.

They had freed three more before they heard steps above again, this time heavier. “She’s sent more to look for the ones missing,” Lei-Tuou growled quietly.

“W-What shall we do?” The second freed chancellor, a middle-aged female, asked uneasily as Fio helped her finish tying up the back of her dress.

“Wait, this can work,” Pidge said quietly, motioning they all surround her. “If we can pull the same trick we did with Fio, we can get them pelleted and back in their right mind. We might be able to get most or all of them free before she comes looking herself. How many of you came here tonight, all together?”

“Twenty of us,” Tolis said, “but she took a hatchet to Chancellor Wulton’s head at the start of the ceremony.”

“Meaning there should only be nineteen,” Lei-Tuou’s nose twitched though as a thought occurred to them. “Are you including the outsider who showed up at dinner in your count?”

“Ah, no. I forgot about him,”

“So it’s still twenty. Okay, that’s fine. If she sends Keith down,” Pidge explained, pulling out the small pouch of gulta pellets she’d been given earlier, “call out for me. He’s a ferocious fighter but I should be able to take care of him. I don’t want any of you taking any unnecessary risks here. Tolis, you and Peorf go and see who it is. If it is Keith, call for me.”

The two males nodded and dashed for the staircase. “We need to get the rest down immediately. Here, Fio, you’ve been watching how I’ve been tending their wounds, yes?” Lei-Tuou asked the younger. She nodded. “Good. Here, take two of these cleaning clothes and help me tend the rest. Ruqed and Yolulu, you’ll be helping Fio and I. Pidge, get those sacks ready. We’re going to need to rush them out as soon as we can.”

They all did their best, making sure to remain diligent with getting the ones that were strung up free and their wounds clean, while also being aware that they were fighting an invisible timer now. The first two checks of who was sent down ended up just being more Remutaloans – one more the first time and two more the second time – that were quick to jumping into helping however they could. They all started working together, tending the wounds and helping the still-weak captives get dressed as their mind whirled with the weight of what had almost happened to them.

There were six left up with Ale-Trix as they finished getting the last hung body’d wounds tended. There was a creak from upstairs and Pidge perked up, the sound deeper, as if carrying a heavier weight. A twisting feeling grew in her belly and she swallowed hard. It had to be Keith, she surmised, and turned towards the stairs. “I’m going up there. An outsider causing trouble will be a good distraction. If you can get to the rest that she still has, try to. I’ll buy you as much time as I can. If I’m lucky, I can get Keith to snap out of it,” With that, she steeled herself and took off for the stairs.

She took them two at a time, frantic to beat him before he made it to the door. If he reached the door before her, there’d be no escape for any of them, she was sure. She threw the door open with no regard for if there was or wasn’t anyone on the other side. She then paused to hack away at the hinges of the damned thing, until the door came crashing to the floor just in front of the room. This would guarantee that the rest of them wouldn’t be able to be trapped in the cellar, at the very least.

Pidge scanned the hallway beside her to see no one. The footfalls had grown silent the minute she’d thrown open the door. Every one of her senses was on high alert, adrenaline coursing through her like a river. She rushed forward to the other end. She made sure to be loud as she did, launching out her bayard to shatter a vase on one of the end tables. She stepped in front of the stairs leading up to the next floor and glared up, planting her feet with the intent of standing her ground. “Ale-Trix! Come out and face me!” She yelled.

There was a small creak right above her head. A quick glance up revealed a familiar silhouette poised on top of a grand, circular chandelier above her, blade slicing through the golden chain keeping it up.

Pidge barely had enough time to duck and dodge roll away as it came crashing into the center of the floor. She pushed herself upright and turned just in time to duck as Keith to swipe at her head. She growled and smacked him in the stomach with the blunt end of her bayard, hoping for it to hurt just enough to leave him winded.

He tensed for no more than a second but that was enough time for Pidge to scramble a few feet away and take a better stance. She could hear dark, amused laughter echoing all around them.

“Not gonna come fight your own battle? You must be a new breed of coward!” She goaded, raising her voice but keeping her eyes trained on Keith. She knew first hand that how ridiculously fast he was.

“Coward, pet? Nonsense. Why should I dirty my hands when there are always those willing to do it for you?” Lady Ale-Trix’ voice was melodic and sultry, something that whispered of unsavory delights.

“You call this willing?” She snapped back as Keith charged again. She pivoted quickly and swiped at his legs, but instead he took hold of her shoulders and flipped himself over her. The laugher resumed but Pidge chose not to pay her any mind. Instead, she tore off for the entryway across from her, skirting around the remains of the chandelier.

By the crunch of glass a few paces behind her she knew Keith was hot on her heels.

She needed to access. She was on her own in a fight with a possessed Keith. Keith, she realized, also wasn’t wearing his helmet, so she’d have to be careful with where she landed her blows. She didn’t know where, exactly, Ale-Trix was hiding. She did know that Ale-Trix was observing somehow, but that detail offer any further clarity about everything else. She didn’t know if the other members of the possessed army were scattered around or if Keith was the only one she needed to be worried about.

She turned the corner to find herself in a sitting room of sorts, filled with extravagant lounging furniture and such. She noticed a bookcase in the corner. It took a quick calculation to determine before she launched her hook into it as she approached and yanked hard as she darted past it, sending it tumbling into the entryway behind her at an angle. It wouldn’t do much but it should slow him down for just a split second; whether he went around another way or he simply hacked it apart with his blade.

She whirled around and was immediately hit with the lingering smell of cooked meat. She had turned her way into the kitchen. There, stretched out on the table and cut open like a middle school dissection project, was a Remutaloan male. Pidge felt herself starting to wretch and she turned away, squeezing her eyes shut and darted past, clipping the corner of the table as she did. She had to swallow down a mouthful of bile as her mind chimed in to point out that the top of his head had been nothing but an empty, gory hole. She threw the double doors at the other end of the room open just as Keith made his way past the bookcase with a low, animalistic snarl.

Pidge slammed the doors behind her, knelt against the wall, and sent her bayard hook across the room, keeping it taut. The minute he came charging through, he tumbled on the cord and hit the ground. Pidge took the chance to strike, seizing his hands up and pressing them to her chest, doing her best to keep him pinned as she went to grab for the little pouch of gulta pellets Lei-Tuou had given her.

As her fingers caught her empty side, she realized that she’d given them to the others. To use on the guards earlier.

Keith took the chance of her distraction to wretch one of his hands completely free from her bayard, take hold of Pidge by her forearms, and send them charging into a large cabinet filled with glassware across the room. He held her upwards a bit so that she took the brunt of the damage, then threw her at the dining room table, still covered in the leftover dishes from the meal. Pidge growled and moved to push herself upright but ended up slamming her left hand down into a decently sized shard of glass. She looked down to see her bayard still gripped in her right, the other end wrapped loosely around Keith’s right wrist as he took menacing steps towards her.

She didn’t want to hurt Keith. She didn’t want Keith to hurt her.

“I’m sorry,” She gasped before sending a jolt of electricity down the line. She used just enough that it should leave him stunned for her to get away, but not do any serious damage.

He screamed out in pain before his body swayed. His head slumped forward and he moved to advance on her again. Looking away, she sent another jolt down with a slightly higher setting. This time, he slumped to his knees and then hit the ground. She swallowed hard, yanked the shard from her hand, and then took off for the other set of double doors at the end of the room.

When she walked out, she found a large foyer lit with candles. The smell in the air was poignant, something musky and heady, and a large alter sat against the opposite wall. There was blood splattered all along the carpet and walls, most likely from when she’d taken her first victim that night. And, sitting upon the altar in a silver robe with golden trimming, was what she could only assume was Ale-Trix. “Oh, you were so rough with that one. Need you be so?” She giggled, the voice matching perfectly with the one Pidge had heard before, rapping her long, jagged black talons along the top of the altar.

“You’re a monster,”

“A monster? That seems rude, don’t you think?” I mean, I’m simply offering these poor, pathetic saps something to live for, something to believe in. Is there really something wicked in that?”

“You lead them here so you can eat them!”

“Sacrifices must be made to appease the Gods! And the God I am aligned with, well,” Ale-Trix mused, shifting to lower the robe and reveal scorch marks resembling the symbols that had been tattooed to the eyes of the chancellors and in the carpeting. She lightly dragged her claws along them, drawing just a few beads of blood before they resealed again. “In exchange for great beauty and power, I must consume of the same flash as He. And, in exchange, I let these fools believe that the powers that be care about their measly lives.”

“You’re disgusting for manipulating them like this. They’re innocent!” Pidge snapped back.

This seemed to cause something in Ale-Trix’ façade to crack, the haughty smirk she wore disappearing to a disgusted sneer. “Innocent? Is that what you think? Was I not innocent when all that befell me occurred? I did this out of desperation! You have no idea what pains I suffered so many generations ago! I’m simply seeing to it that I am paid what I am owed in full!” She bellowed, pushing off the altar and taking steady steps towards Pidge. One of her claws was raised, poised to attack, and her muzzle seemed to begin shifting, starting to elongate as her fur became peppered with more orange-tan spots. She shifted, her eyes going up, before gasping in shock and horror. “You-!”

Pidge wheeled around with a smug smirk, preparing to congratulate Lei-Tuou on finally joining the party, only for a blade to pierce clean through her in the weak spot in her armor. She froze, mouth falling open slowly, looking from the blade up to the vacant eyes of her fellow Paladin.

“Oh, my mistake. For a moment I thought it was one of your friends,” Ale-Trix chirped as she carefully moved around Pidge, draping herself along Keith’s shoulders, “but it turns out it was actually one of mine.”

Pidge couldn’t react, too stunned, as her brain threw every option she’d missed out on jumped before her eyes. She shouldn’t have engaged with Ale-Trix alone. She should have found a way to snap Keith out of it. She should have gone back to find Lei-Tuou and the others. She should have found a way to trap Keith so this wouldn’t happen.

“Nothing to say, pet? Well, I’m not surprised. Sometimes accepting defeat can be rather difficult,” Ale-Trix said, tapping the blade right beside where it was piercing through Pidge. The vibrations sparked the pain to finally catch up to her and she let out a small whimper. “Poor little pet. My dear, why don’t you let her have a moment?” She walked her fingers up the blade as she spoke, turning her attention to Keith at the end.

The minute he tore his blade free of Pidge’s body, her shaking knees gave out and she slumped, kneeling before the two. The blade disappeared but he still held his bayard as he observed her, his eyes seeming foggy with his lack of control. One of her hands pressed to the wound, already seeing the dark, wet spot steadily heading down her hip towards her thigh. The world seemed to be roaring around her, her own heart beating like mad in her ears, but she faintly heard another voice from the other side of the room - Lei-Tuou, it had to be Lei-Tuou – screaming her name. She forced her head up as her vision started to get spotty, her eyes locking on Keith. It seemed strange, but as his vacant eyes looked down at her, all she could think about was the training session they’d had before they’d gone on the mission that caused all this.

Her lips pushed up into a smile, eyes starting to water a bit, and she wheezed out, “You finally got me.” She saw his eyebrows shift, raising slightly, and slowly the vacancy left his eyes. The last thing she saw before her body hit the ground was Keith wheeling around to sucker punch Ale-Trix in her smug face with his deactivated bayard.

Ale-Trix stumbled back from the blow, reaching up and tapping her nose where blood was beginning to slow. Her lower jaw creaked, seeming to drop and jut out, revealing a long set of dagger-like teeth. “How dare you!” She shrieked, her pupil dilating so that they seemed to only be the glowing orange of the center.

Keith, however, was paying her no mind. He’d crumbled to his knees and pulled Pidge to him, one arm keeping her close while his other hand hovered over wound in shaky uncertainty. “Oh God… P-Pidge… P-Please answer me, Pidge,” He gasped out, trying to keep his cool but struggling.

This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening! This couldn’t be happening!

Suddenly, there was a paw on the top of his head. He perked up to look at the grey and white Remutaloan moving to stand in front of him. “Outsider… Keith, is it?” They asked calmly, moving their hand from his head to go for what could only be a dagger hooked to their belt. In there other hand was a staff with a curved end, which they were pointing at Ale-Trix. Something about the curved edge seemed to distress Ale-Trix, as she took a step back and released an unholy screech of protest.

“Y-Yeah,” He choked out.

“The others that were here are outside. Find Fio, the youngest of them. She has some supplies to seal that wound up. We owe your friend much for what she has done here tonight. But you need to make haste, or she won’t last,” They advised him, setting their paws on the hilt of the blade. “Oh, and be sure to take the front door. It’s much faster.”

He stared at their back before retracting his bayard completely and carefully scooping Pidge up. She slumped against him, as limp as a ragdoll, and let out an involuntary cry at her wound being jostled. He mumbled a quiet, frantic apology and made a mad dash for the door.

He hoped that, whatever benevolent spirit actually looked over this planet, would be kind to them.