My apologies for making the Railan-AG relationship look like it's showing bitterness to a real person, so I should clear things up- Railan is a totally made up character. She is not based off of anyone in real life or in game, and if anyone in SK is named Railan, it's only coincidental. I should have clarified that earlier, it never even crossed my mind that I might seem like I'm taking out 'troll victim anger' through this chapter! Sorry about that! Railan is only here to bring out AG's internal fury, which has been boiling for awhile, and also so you can know she can get provoked easily.

But, thank you for the critique! The bit about adding backstory is something I probably never would have thought of.

Well guys, new chapter. This chapter, as you probably noticed from the subject title, features the level which the majority of us hate the most- Candlestick Keep!
Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I hurriedly did an edit in a scene in this chapter...since I have to turn in for the night soon, and I need to get this up. It's longer than it should be, so that'll get fixed later... I'll fix it completely some other time...

~~~~~

My ponytail jerks up all of a sudden, and I nearly lose my balance as the elevator slams to a halt abruptly. Eyes widened, both my hands grabbing the thin metal railing, I feel my heart beating out of my chest. I take a moment to gather my wits before turning my head to the left to see Braveheart grip the railing tightly, so tightly that the rail might meld with his hands.

"Dasked rusty tech!" Spiderstorm growls and hits the console with his fist. The only noticeable reaction from the console is a tiny zap, like it’s replying “Nope, I’m not gonna move.”.

I inhale slowly as I continue trying to relieve the shock from the startling stop, except my stomach has jumped to my throat and is refusing to slink back down into my chest. After a couple deep breaths, I feel less shaken up. I release my grip on the elevator bars and relax. Just peering at the console, I conclude it looks like we may be here awhile.

I stare around at the mechanical mantle of Cradle, something I haven’t been able to do very often anymore. I used to just go down into an Aurora Isles environment, kill any intruders that might take a go at me and then settle down on a grassy ledge to watch the sunset. While it was always fake, it’s not very easy to see a pretty sunset inside of Haven, and outside the walls is strictly forbidden. Too many shifting plates, they said. So I settled for less than none. But who said those fake sunsets weren’t pretty anyway?

I sigh blissfully at the memory of the past years. They weren’t the best, but some of the moments were ones I wouldn’t trade for Isoran ice cream again. And trust me, we haven’t had that since...actually, since the Morai Wars. Wow. It’s really been that long? That was almost, what, 17 or so years ago? I pause before rethinking that thought.

...Ah, that’s right, I recall the fact I’d kept in my mind. It started the same year I was born. 19 years ago. I sigh a little more sadly this time. I stare at my hands, mainly the armguards I’m wearing. If I was still on Isora,right now, I wouldn’t even be wearing this. Well, maybe a different version, but we didn’t have the same materials on Isora that we have here on Cradle. Nothing would be as it is now.

...How much would be different if we hadn’t crashed? Or if the war had never happened? The thoughts I’ve had countless times before flare up again. I place my hands behind my head in a strange but comfortable position. Ugh, I hate my philosophical thoughts. Takes me places I’d rather not go.

"Come on! You crappy elevator!" Spiderstorm yells loudly, and kicks the bottom of the console.

The sound echoes around us and the Clockworks, then leaves an uncomfortable atmosphere in the air, startling me again. As if a coincidence from Spiderstorm's kick, the elevator jerks again and crawls downwards, groaning and clunking loudly as it went in protest. Spiderstorm mutters something unintelligible under his breath and crosses his arms impatiently. I sigh, slide my hands into my skirt's pockets, and plop my back against the railing with a thunk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No...not this place again! I give a groan under my breath, quietly enough so Spiderstorm wouldn't hear.

The gate of the elevator is open, waiting for us to exit, announcing the first level of Tier 3. Unfortunately for us three adventurers, it just HAS to be the dreaded Candlestick Keep. If you gather up a hundred knights and ask them which common Clockworks environment they hated the most, the majority is going to have Candlestick Keep on their list. Trust me.

I flip out my Argent Peacemaker, locked and loaded, and follow Spiderstorm through the No Return Gate, warily peering at the ghostly darkness. Braveheart, maybe in attempt to make a good impression on Spiderstorm, fake-confidently walks through the gate behind us and retrieves his Radiant Pulsar from its holster. I give a thumbs-up to Braveheart, and try to present him a not-fake-smile, but I have a feeling it looks more like a nervous side grin.

Braveheart clears his throat. "So, did HQ give you anymore information than they gave us? We didn't exactly get a boatload." he says to Spiderstorm.
Spiderstorm shakes his head as he disintegrates a few gray boxes with his sword, clearing a path for us. "Nope. Go on expedition, get to the coordinates, find the kidnapper. That's it."

I’m a little disappointed at that. Surely HQ would at least give the leader of the expedition a little more information than that! Before I or Braveheart could retort to Spiderstorm's answer, my ears catch sudden eerie noises, which sounds like groans and screaming meows. We all shut our mouths and quickly run over to a nearby blue, enchanted candle, which is barely shorter than me. The blue flame begins flickering gently as the wind from our speed passes over it.

I pocket my gun, whip my Avenger out with a flourish, and the noises cease. The silence is deafening, my eyes darting around to find the first sight of the enemy, sheer suspense hovering around us- it’s even worse than when there were actual screams. I brace myself for the enemies I was going to stab to pieces- And they hopefully won't do the same to me. I think with a grimace.

And then I see them.

About five ghostly Kats float towards us, their mouths open wide and their eyes ready to pop out of their tinted pink heads, if they even have eyeballs. Some of them just stand there, not blinking once and mewling in such a way that should’ve sounded cute, but it was almost petrifying. The rest dash towards us, and Kat shot out about five or so purple projectiles at Spiderstorm. He blocks a few easily and dodges the rest. He barely sidesteps the charge of the Kat, and slashes it through its middle with his Divine Avenger. It screams with shrill pitch and plops to the ground, dead.

I turn to see a Kat rush straight for me, opening its mouth even wider to bite.

“Woah!” I yelp, and I barely escape with a few nips, and within a moment I shoot it with my Argent Peacemaker the speed of...its bullets, you could say. It turns and flees back into the shadows, shrieking eerily in pain. I smirk at its reaction, but I snap out of it, seeing a Kat sneaking up stealthily on Braveheart, pure hatred swimming in its intense, dark violet eyes. I’m too far to help, and my gun’s projectiles can’t reach all the way over there.

"Braveheart! Behind you!" I yell urgently, waving my arm and pointing my Avenger at the sneaky little Kat.

Braveheart whirls around, just avoiding the Kat bite to his foot. Instead of his skin, the Kat gets a hold of the cloth on the coat of his armor, and tears the corner off like a rabid dog. Braveheart starts hacking at the ghostly Kat with his Avenger, stopping it from biting or spitting at him. It isn’t long before it screeches in pain and dies.

Within a few more minutes, we obliterate most of the Kats, and the rest have flown away, into the darkness, in a shrieking hurry.

"Ha ha! Scaredy-Kats!" I smirk, although it’s more in an attempt to shake off the battle aftermath.

Overdoing it, I raise my Avenger in the air victoriously. The glowing sword is extremely heavy, as if it’s designed for an extreme bodybuilder, and my arm struggles to keep it in the air. My arm fails to bring it down safely or quietly, the sword swings awkwardly and crashes to the ground, producing a loud BANG.

I blush and smile nervously as Spiderstorm gives me a stern look to stop acting like a recruit. Oops... I think, reddening and rubbing the back of my neck. Braveheart gives me a nervous look, but I notice a flash of twinkles behind his mask, encouraging glimmers.

I return the nice gesture with a smile, until Spiderstorm calls out "Stop your staring and catch up, newbies. We've got a few more levels to hit." He says sharply.

I turn towards Spiderstorm and dash to catch up with him, and so we continue along the dark halls of Candlestick Keep. But for some reason, the place gets darker with every step I take- as if not even beridding this place of all monsters could keep the darkness away.

~~~~~~~~~

We trudged on throughout the still darkened halls of Candlestick Keep, walking by what seems to be the same candle we’ve passed over and over and over... Spiderstorm looks ready to kill someone, or something, some not so-positive emotion. I’m totally not gonna point out the strange circle we'd been going in to him.

Is he ever in a good mood? I think randomly. I turn my head to look at Braveheart and whisper "Is it just me, or are all of these paths taking us nowhere?"

Braveheart peers at me wearily and nods after a moment. "You're not imagining it. We've passed that couch-" He pointed to a dark purple couch we were passing. "-For the umpteenth time. The Clockworks are being…” He pauses. “Weirder...today..." He chooses his words carefully.

I scan the area, maybe from sheer hope we just missed a passageway, or maybe find a hidden button, gear or whatever that might help us get out of this maze. IF only we could start this all over again, and for once, it wouldn't be a pain in the neck.

Five minutes or so pass by, and Braveheart suddenly stops and cranes his neck, looking to the far left, then walks away from us into the misty darkness. I halt abruptly and change my current direction to my left, side-stepping a little in order to catch a glimpse of my friend before he disappears completely.

“Uh-” I hastily cut myself off to keep Spiderstorm from looking my way. What does he think he’s DOING? We’d already gone that way, only to find a small area with dusty bookshelves, filled with indecipherable texts. Did he see something and just realized it might be useful, or what?

With a quick look over my shoulder to be sure Spiderstorm doesn’t see me sneaking away, I trace Braveheart’s steps into the foggy passage. Whatever Braveheart is doing, I’d better get him back in the party before Spiderstorm notices and starts ranting about that “Getting left behind” stuff.

The path is darker than I remembered, but thanks to all of the shiny, glowy features on my shield and armor, and my very faintly glowing necklace, I luminate the way decently. It isn’t long before I reach the looted treasure area, and the only traces of our previous arrival are the opened Treasure Boxes, and remnants of Luminite, Crimsonite and Valestone.

As expected, Braveheart is there, but what surprises me is that he’s rummaging through the bookshelves. I raise an eyebrow, observing Braveheart flipping through books, bringing them uncomfortably close to his face due to the dark, putting them back on the shelf, and repeating the process again.
What? What’s he even supposed to be doing reading those books? Nobody can even tell what they’re supposed to say….

“Ugh...just had to be hard…” He mumbles, and the end of his sentence I can’t catch well enough.

He bends over and picks up scattered scraps of paper, text that had been gathering dust for most likely centuries. My curiosity unbearably nagging me, I choose that moment to make my entrance.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I come closer to Braveheart, my arms crossed over my breastplate.

Braveheart jerks his head up, nearly dropping the bundle of papers. He just barely lets one flutter to the ground, dust particles following. He stares at me as if I had just turned into a Snipe mid-sentence, and doesn’t even open his mouth to reply.

“Why are you reading- er, analyzing those books? You know that we can’t understand...whatever language this is.” I trot over and pluck a book from the bookshelf, flipping through the yellowed, torn pages. Yep, complete gibberish to my eyes.

“Uh- I-” Braveheart stammers, and shakes his head to compose himself. “I...I noticed that these papers looked different from the others…”

I slam my book shut with both hands, a little loudly, and some dust settles on my face. “They all look strange to me, Braveheart!” I swipe the dirt off the book cover. “It’d be cool to see what they say, but being able to get enough knowledge to decipher them would take several generations. Not to mention,” I retort, carelessly shoving the text on top of the others in the bookshelf. “From their appearances, they’re just minor things, like cookbooks.”

Braveheart swallows slowly, preparing his reply. “But...these texts...they don’t glow like the others, and this one in particular had barely any dust on it. And-”

“Don’t only Ancient Page texts glow?” I interrupt, brushing my palms together, in order to keep dust from lurking on them. “Not to mention we only find those when the Black Kats invade…” I shudder at the thought of the Black Kats. They’re hideous versions of Kats, which eat the rare, yet virtually useless Ancient Pages when they come around.

“AG-”

“We really need to get back. This place is giving me the creeps, and a Grimalkin could spawn soon…” I grab Braveheart’s wrist, and begin to drag him back to the intersection.

“Angel-Girl!” Braveheart yells loudly, forcing me to start and snap my head back towards him. He rarely ever uses my full code name.

“I can read the text, okay?”

I stare at him, my mouth almost dropping open in surprise. “You...can read those?” I almost whisper, dropping my friend’s hand.
He shakes his head no. “It’s only this scrap…and it’s talking about-”

"Okay, what are you doing?" Spiderstorm's sharp voice interrupts our observation.

Braveheart and I both turn around at the same time, and I unexpectedly sneeze, blowing off all dust that had been gathered from the books. The action shatters all air of any soberness we had left.

"We-um-uh..." Braveheart loses his ability to speak full words and gains a stammer.

"I told you already-" Before Spiderstorm starts barking at us again, I swoop in and save Braveheart from total embarrassment.

"Braveheart found something...important!" I reply through clenched teeth, hoping that the statement will overlap the fact that I’ve interrupted.

This thing better be worth looking at, or we’re toast... I silently add. I sniffle, which doesn't help my case, and hastily brush the back of my hand against my nose.

Spiderstorm takes a step forward to approach us, when suddenly a creaking noise echoes through the air, rings in our ears and sends shivers down my spine. I whirl northward to see a Grimlikin growing out of the black void, groaning like a creaky door.

My eyes widen in surprise and fear, my hands clenched tightly on my Avenger and I screech "Guys, quick! Find a candle or something!"
We hastily dash for the intersection, stumbling through the murky dark, until I realize that we’ve completely overshot the joint. Even so, I search frantically for a candle and a fireball brazier, which will be our only way to destroy the dangerous Grimlikin, and keep more from spawning- otherwise get bitten to death.

“Over here!” I turn towards Spiderstorm’s loud call, just in time to see Spiderstorm point in a direction- and right where he directs my eyes, is an unlit candle! I sigh in relief and eagerly dash to light the candle, but Spiderstorm has already picked up a fireball with his DA. He throws it at the candle hastily, but it misses, hits the wall, and puffs out.

"Crap!" he yells in frustration, and the blackened area on the wall sizzles in reply.

Braveheart's running footsteps are approaching, and I glance behind me to see him, occupied with attracting the Grimlikin away from the candle station. He calls to us: "Try again! I'll distract this shadowy sheet!"

Spiderstorm waits impatiently for the fireball to pop back into it's place on the brazier, which resets every couple seconds, but just as it does I slide for it, and pick up the piece of fire- but with my gloved hands- and immediately realize that I had just been stupider than if I had jumped into a forest of Gremlins-which I have done before-and start yelping.

"Ouch! Ooh! Hot, hot!" I juggle it from hand to hand to keep it from burning my strong-but-not-strong-enough gloves off.

Spiderstorm slaps his forehead in aggravation, Braveheart starts to look a little queasy from running in circles, and the Grimlikin almost grins as he begins to catch up to Braveheart. My cheeks flushing, I finally stop lobbing the inferno ball and heave it into the air, and it goes in a large arch right before landing on the-

The room bursts with bright light, making all of us block the powerful rays, and the Grimlikin stops in its tracks. I hear it bite maliciously before melting into the carpeted ground, growling because it won’t get its snack. I uncover my eyes as the flame changes into a flickering wisp, and sigh in relief before plopping down, exhausted, by the white candle. Spiderstorm comes and stands against the candle while Braveheart tosses another fireball into it to keep its light from extinguishing, then sits down next to me.

"So, what now?" Braveheart mumbles to no one in particular.

I squirm uncomfortably at the question...because I don’t really have a good answer. Spiderstorm does not give any suggestions, as if he thought that we would be able to think of something just as well as he could- but what exactly are your options in a labyrinth? No one answers the question, letting it hang over our heads like bait.

"Wait, what about flares?" Braveheart perks up, contributing an idea again.

I check my pockets, and turn them inside out to find that I don’t have anything but dust in them. Very unusable dust. Spiderstorm rummages around in his bags, and so does Braveheart, but all they have combined is a couple VitaCapsules, a shock vial and a stun vial. I sigh for the third- Or is it the fourth? -time today.

But luckily the left-behind scrap of paper returns to my mind, and I voice the option immediately. "Braveheart...where's the paper thing you found?" I murmur.

Braveheart stares at me and then looks down at his empty bag, and I get the hint. I close my eyes in frustration and Spiderstorm rolls his eyes while I place my head in my hands. "You dropped it somewhere..." I guess, my voice muffled through my fingers.

"B-but we didn't go very far...I bet we could still recover our steps..." Braveheart replies quietly, although he sounds uncertain. "...D-didn’t I tell you that it’s Spiralian writing...?"

I slowly move my face from my hands and raise an eyebrow at him. "Seriously? A Candlestick Keep page with Spiralian writing?"

Braveheart nods, and somehow I find that hard to believe. “Spiralian text actually from the Clockworks?”

He nods again, more certain of himself this time.

That isn’t possible- we’ve only been here for three years, and that text looked REALLY yellowed. I think, and the thoughts sound bitter in my head- I should be grateful that he has a tool that might actually be able to help us, with either escaping this labyrinth or finally finding something worth this mission. Both, if we were THAT lucky.

"Then all that's left to do is go find the paper. Up, people." Spiderstorm says starkly, interrupting my thoughts.

I don't dare disobey the command. I get to my feet, and Braveheart moves out of the way of the candle just before Spiderstorm replenishes it. He removes the ribbon on the end of his sword and ties it to the candle, probably expecting to come back here when we’re finished.

We leave the room, and Braveheart turns out to be right. It takes less than two minutes to find our way back, although we do get a little confused. But the worst part wasn’t the walk...it was actually finding the scrap of paper. The STUPID scrap of paper. Braveheart just had to drop it in a huge mess of dusty tomes and sheets, didn’t he...

After a long and difficult search, all three of us gather around Braveheart and the paper. Spiderstorm and I hold up our shining swords up close to the paper, so the writing wouldn’t be too hard to see. Braveheart and Spiderstorm's breaths are hot on my neck, they’re so close next to me. Well, more of Braveheart's breath than Spiderstorm's...I get the feeling Spiderstorm doesn't like getting close to people.

“Um...can you guys move over…?” Braveheart asks, shooting both of us a pleading stare.

Spiderstorm makes a small grunt sound before shoving his Divine Avenger at Braveheart, and then walks off to lean against a wall. I give my friend a look of...well, just a look, I guess. I don’t join Spiderstorm, I just hang around nearby.

As I stare at the wall for no reason at all, the flickering light of a candle from the corner of my eyes goes out. I start in surprise, as that candle had only recently been relit. Weird. Must’ve been the wind or something.

"Relight that, will 'ya?" Spiderstorm says to me casually. “I don’t want more Grimalkins after us.”

I nod, and take no more than two steps when I gasp. The candle is completely smashed, the wick gone, and the brazier only smokes. I drop my Avenger without a thought, zoom over to the brazier and grasp it tightly in my hands, staring openmouthed at the inside, which has been doused several times in water.

"Uh, yeah, the candle can’t really be relit!" I say loudly, completely puzzled.

Braveheart and Spiderstorm are probably too busy doing...things...to hear me or see that there was no candlelight yet, because there’s no reply of any kind.

"It's almost like..." Braveheart says, his voice startlingly low. The frown in his voice is extremely obvious.

Suddenly a creak and a bam comes from the gloom, and even more eerie sounding noises fill the air than the previous ones we had heard. My heart increasing in beat, I whirl around, trying to locate the noises and decide what was making them.

"Guys...." I nearly whisper, turning my head quickly towards another direction where the sounds were coming from, my eyes bright with fright.

"Is that..." Spiderstorm says, almost in a whisper, like he’s reading along with Braveheart. But his voice indicates a sharp edge of alertness, not the tone of reading something intriguing.

Something that sounds like heartbeat develops from the west side of the room, too close to the drop-off, and I freeze. My hands start quivering and my heart beats so rapidly that it feel like a frightened Snipe is in my chest. Why am I so scared?! I shriek mentally. I shouldn't be scared of anything right now....and yet, something nagging at the back of my head is terrifying me…

Something is coming. Something dangerous.

"Guys...." I repeat, louder than before. They still pay no attention…

Or...or did they even hear me?

“GUYS!!!!" I scream, my fright now evolving into extreme panic, and I run back from behind the corner the smashed candle lays. Grimalkins? Please not again...

The sound of paper in the wind directs me to see the piece of text flutter to the floor, and both of my squadmates are nowhere to be seen. I scramble for the paper and clutch it tightly, jamming it into my pockets without bothering to glance at the words. “Where…?” I scan the area in complete confusion as my stomach drops to my feet.

Before I have a chance to call them again, or even open my mouth at all, something hard and alive collides with my body. It knocks me hard, flat to the ground.

“EEEEEEEK!!!” I scream loudly, more from releasing my bottled up horror than being instantly shocked.

“Hello.” It sneers in my ear, while something dangerously sharp digs itself against my neck.

~~~~~~

Well, there you go! Third chapter, hope you liked it. Now, I'm off to bed...I am SO TIRED.

EDIT: Little edits here and there, mainly dialogue.

~ Angel-Girl, the Exhausted Valkyrie

@Lordofnecromancers
Thanks for all of the compliments and the welcome! ^-^ But the reason I'm posting everyday is that I've already written the chapters. I have seven, I'm just posting one a day on here until I have to start writing full-time again. I just thought I should point that out.

@Everyone else!

Hey, it's that time again! Another chapter! *squeals randomly*

DISCLAIMER: A description of several people towards the end isn't finished...that's because their armor is completely custom, it does not exist in the canon Spiral Knights world. I have to design their armor myself, and until I'm finished, there isn't going to be a description/the description is outdated...

Chapter 4 - A Ruby Eyed Knight and an Aqua Revelation

~~~~~~

“Do me a favor,” the female forcing me down growls. “Shut up.”

I struggle to free myself, but the person is either ten times stronger than me, or I’m really tired. I turn my head as far to the side as I can to get a look at my new captor, but my neck feels like snapping from the attempt.

I can tell that she’s a Knight, though her eyes look unnaturally red and bloodshot. They’re narrowed in a fierce scowl of hatred and anger. The red tinted glow from her eyes illuminates her helmet, which looks exactly like a crimson-red Crown of the Fallen. Fur from her Snarbolax coat rubs against my arms and the bright red tipped spikes dig into my neck.

I desperately try to find words to get myself out of this mess, but the words I’d end up using would probably be a little too colorful for my own good. So words and brawn are out. Guess that leaves strategy… Gah, JUST THINK YOU IDIOT!

But on her own, the Knight picks herself up off the floor and dusts herself off carefully. I instinctively try to leap to my feet, but something pins my arms to the ground and sends burns throughout my wrists.
“GAHCK!” I yelp, my mouth open with the pain and surprise. I try to force my wrists up again but the only get the same result.

“I bonded you to the floor, I don’t think trying to get up is a good idea.” The Knight steadies the scythe in her hand- A SCYTHE?! Am I being attacked by a materialized phantom?!

I stare at my wrists, which are encased inside a half ring of purplish-red energy- made out of who knows what. My eyes widen as all sorts of morbid possibilities run through my head. Well, that theory seems much more likely now…

“Well, what are you waiting for?!” I spit. “If you’re trying to kill me, great. You win! Whoever you are! So get on with it!” Words tumble aimlessly out of my mouth, and I’m not sure where they came from. The energy must be affecting my brain.

“I’m not going to kill you.” She sticks her scythe on her back and approaches my side. She sounds like she made an unfinished sentence, like she wanted to add on ‘yet’. “But why would I tell you what’s going to happen to you? Life isn’t those books you read with the stupid people yapping on and on about their plans to their enemies.”

“And I,” she leans over and stares at me with a gaze that nearly pierces through my head. “Am definitely NOT stupid.”

And with that, she silences herself and straightens. She motions her hand in a strange and very quick way, and the bonds on my wrists lift, bringing my arms with them. What- she’s CONTROLLING them?! I strangle with all the emotions passing through my tightened chest. If I had to describe it, it would probably be something close to KOHADSIOFYHEAUISHGDFJKAFDHAHCKKKKKK.

I don’t resist as she telekinetically pushes me forward by my bonds, my trauma and fear is too great. I can’t even think anymore, everything is just a blur as I get prodded forward in directions that would confuse even Spiderstorm. I’m so dizzy that I feel like passing out any second.

“HEY!” A familiar voice calls out from the darkness.

The shadow Knight whirls around, too startled to make a sound. I’m already too scared to do anything but let my mouth open into a jubilant smile. I turn my head to see who’s stomping towards us.

“LET. HER. GO.” Braveheart growls ferociously, sounding like a much different version of himself. He holds both my Avenger and Spiderstorm’s Divine Avenger, probably the only other dual sword wielder on Cradle as of now. He crouches and holds out both heavy swords, trying not to let his arms shake.

The shadow Knight recovers her poise and her mouth curls into a snarl. “You IDIOT!” she sneers, dropping her guard to glare daggers at my best friend. “You don’t want to make me use this. Stand down NOW.” She readies her scythe and it glows with lines of red-purple energy, startlingly similar to ones seen in Unknown Passage floors.

Braveheart’s eyes flicker through several emotions, all too fast that I can’t catch any of them, but he doesn’t stand down. He doesn’t answer the Knight, he just darts his over to me, silently signaling me to act NOW while she’s distracted.

Isora, I could just kiss him right now. I think gleefully and gratefully, then take several deathly quiet steps towards my captor. I ball my fists and hold my wrists together, then with a mighty yell I swing my arms at the shadow Knight’s head with all my strength, anger, confusion and fear.

The Knight doesn’t see me coming in time, and I knock her out dead cold. She crumples to the floor and my cuffs evaporate into nothing, screaming whispers following their disappearance. I stare at my trembling wrists in horror, they have lines of burnt skin all around where the cuffs had touched them. I breathe in heavily and my knees give away as the pain begins to register.

“Oh crap, Angel, are you okay?” Braveheart zooms over and drops his swords to crouch down next to me. He tries to take my hands to look at them, but he hesitates. I oblige and raise my hands.

“Agh.” he winces as he examines the 2nd degree burn lines. “That looks bad. Can you walk?”

I breathe in shakily before replying. “Y-yeah.”

Then straight out of the shadows, about 10 dark-purple floating Grimlikin ghosts emerge and drool hungrily, as if they’re ready for their lunch. But these are no ordinary Kats- they have to be the big brothers and sisters of the Grimlikin we faced earlier. My eyes widen so much it’s a wonder they don’t pop out of their sockets.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I whisper from awe and fear without realizing it.

Braveheart looks confused and looks over at where I’m staring, and he leaps backwards. The dreaded shadow Knight slowly rises, but she isn’t standing up- gigantic, shadow infested wings are flapping in a menacing rhythm, transporting her off the ground. She looks angrier than ever, and without a word she shoots her hand out, palm facing down and her whole hand flat- a signal.

The Grimlikins slowly, but surely, creep towards us, drooling from the thought of dinner. I‘m stuck to the spot from immense fright, staring at the approaching Grimlikins, with no idea how we could ever survive this. Braveheart grabs my hand, forgetting that my wrists are in agony, and pulls me along the path, knocking me out of my daze. I regain control of my limbs, so scared that I squeeze Braveheart’s hand extremely tight, with no intention of letting go, unless I want to die.

We weave through the endless paths for what feels like an eternity to my legs, panting and trying to evade the Grimlikins, but we know deep down that it’s hopeless. As we round a corner, my best friend leading the whole way, the only sounds the groaning Grimlikins, the shouting now-winged Knight and our frantically running footsteps.

Braveheart and I run to the left, side-by-side together until we come to two paths- both so gloomy with fog that we have no idea what either one could lead to. We both skid to a halt at the division, and breathe heavily to catch our breath. I bend over, my elbows locked and my hands leaning on my knees. I exhale and inhale very quickly, trying to grab some air before we lose our fairly good lead.

"Are...you...okay?" Braveheart questions through gasps, his chest heaving back and forth, each time slowing down a little. I pause for a second, listening to my breathing and pondering the question, then nod.

"I...I think..." I finally catch enough breath to manage and stand upright. "Any ideas on how to get out of here? Also, where’s Spidersto-"
I stop in mid-sentence as the Grimlikins turn around the corner we’d just dashed through, and float viciously towards us. Braveheart looks at the Grimlikins, and then back at me, staring me directly in the face. “Serah,” he uses my real name without a second thought, making my heart stop. “Run. Don’t think. Just run.”

I stare at him in astonishment. “But...what are you doing?”

He claps his hand on my shoulder in a sort of 'good-luck' way, then heads down the right path. “Go! Find the exit! I’ll get Spiderstorm!”

I watch him go, with a large lump of emotion in my throat, and I stay stuck to the spot for who knows how long, until I notice how close the Grimlikins are getting.

Sweating, I fake a right and then sprint down the left path. The Grimlikins are fooled, and I smirk at them in spite of myself as I watch them swerve everywhere, looking for me. But they aren’t outfoxed for long, as one of them catches me in sight and groans to alert his friends.

All ten of them produce this spine-chilling creaky noise, then zoom straight for me. I lose my smirk and run even faster than I ever thought truly possible. Here goes nothing....I wish...I wish had said goodbye.... I think with regret, my eyes starting to sting with teardrops as I fear this could be the end.

Oh, no you don’t, AG. I think to myself, force the tears back and stand taller, keeping in mind that this will be for my comrades. I pull out my gun shakily, and shoot a few bullets at the Grimlikins, to keep them following me while I sprinted down the path-my deathpath. It’s pointless, since the bullets just pass straight through them like they were air- they’re ghosts after all.

“You call that stalking? COME ON, IDIOTS!” I yell, using a taunt to release some of my fear. I wonder how long until my impending doom arrives completely, but as if to answer that question-

BAM.

After a second, I unglue myself from the wall blocking my path, and rub my head. "Ow." I groan, dazed. Bumping into walls while being chased isn't the best thing- but what is worse is running straight into a dead end. Well, lucky me....

I whirl around in different directions, frantically looking for another hallway. I search around desperately for activation buttons on the floor, a gear that would open something- I even bang on the walls, secretly hoping that there’s a obscured passageway somewhere. But, of course wishing doesn't really help in these sorts of situations...especially if they're unrealistic.

The next few seconds happen too quickly. A woosh of air, like someone had swung a pole briskly and roughly, comes from behind me, and I don’t register it befo-

Something spears right through my arm.

I half gasp, half screech, my eyes widened in shock. I grunt as the pain crawls up to my shoulder, and stare at the wound. It isn’t incredibly big, only the smallest part of the blade has penetrated it, but that doesn’t stop it from making my arm sting and bleed like anything.

I focus painfully on the blade that is keeping my arm pinned to the wall. It’s big- too big. The blade is attached to a...a scythe...with lines of reddish energy running along the sides. It has a great air of darkness; one that reminds me of the Shadow Lair- the darkest and most dangerous place in all of the Clockworks.

It isn't long before the black breath of the shadow-knight reaches me, feeling condescendingly light on my neck.
"Don’t even try to scream," I turn my head slightly to be greeted with red eyes that are filled to the brim with all the things that are the opposite of light. Hate, treachery, evil, shadows- it’s endless. The villainous eyes send shivers down my spine, terrifying me beyond words, not helping my arm at all.

"Because it's over." The knight's voice transfers the hate from her eyes and even a bit of fury through the word ‘over’. But something else is hidden deep inside that tone...I can’t realize what it is, but I can’t think straight anyhow.

The shadow-knight rams her hand into my neck, pinning me to the wall completely, and I struggle to catch my breath. The death knight rips her scythe out of the wall, freeing my arm and forcing me to make a strangled sound, desperately trying not to let out guttural screams.

She turns her gaze to the base of my neck, and a twinge of confusion sparks in the fear. What is she doing…?

Then it hits me as she reaches down for my neck with her free hand, and I fight back the tears of desperation. “No! DON’T! It’s…” I claw to grasp the right words out of my scratchy throat as she pulls out my treasured crystal necklace from my breastplate. “It’s all I have left…!” is all I can manage to say. “Please…”

She looks from the crystal back at me, her eyes turning stone cold now, without expression. Not hate, not anger, nothing at all. “And I have absolutely nothing. You took it all from me.” And with that, she yanks the necklace from my neck, the snapping clasp pinching my skin.

I stare at her with the corner of my eyes in shock, disgust and sheer terror, groaning and inwardly screaming a telepathic 'help' message to anyone who might hear me. We sit there for a moment or two, those evil eyes taking only seconds to stare at the quartz-like pendant for unknown reasons, yet making the passing moments feel like eternities. Then she closes her shadow infested fist around my last physical memory, and sneers. "This will hurt."

She lifts her weapon up high, and whispers something that I can't hear at all. I'm too scared of that hideous scythe to think about what she says. Probably cursing me for some reason I honestly wouldn't know.

I have no idea what that could possibly mean, but I’m too scared of that hideous scythe to think about it. I clutch the wall I’m flattened against, trying to close my eyes but failing, whimpering softly, and bracing myself for an immensely painful stab wound.

Then out of nowhere, a bright light glows into existence, startling me even though I hadn’t thought that anything would ever take me by surprise again.
Then I realize that it’s not coming out of nowhere- it glowing right through my captor’s hand. She notices this, but we both have no time to react when it radiates streams of energy, and knocks both of us backwards with mixed waves of shadows and light. Me, being against the wall with the force of the blast, I crash right through the stone and bounce in complete agony before falling right over the...

...The edge.

My right arm only just grabs one out of the few jagged dips of the top of the wall, and I shriek in fright and surprise. Here I am, dangling from the drop-off of Candlestick Keep, one arm speared and the other one clinging onto the only thing keeping me from plummeting through almost-never-ending void. What a great way to die.

What- was that my...! I blink several times, my vision clouding with purplish black, and what I can barely see is doing 360's. My eyes ache terribly and I have to squint to make anything out, but there’s nothing to look at but inky black, artificial sky.

I shriek as I try to pull myself back onto the cliff, pain climbs slowly, agonizingly up my hurt arm. My feet scramble to find any sort of foothold and are failing. I eventually just give up and hang there for dear life, tears squeezing out of the corners of my eyes and sliding into the void beneath me.

The next second, and flash a light crosses my vision again, and someone screams (probably the Knight) VERY loudly. Thuds against the ground happen numerous times, then the Knight appears right on the edge with one last crash, unmoving and as floppy as a rag doll. Smoke curls off of her Snarbolax coat as if a fire had been blazing and had just been extinguished.

I stare at her in a cross of relief and horror, wondering what had just happened to her, but before my mind can process those thoughts completely, an orb of light rises from behind the Knight’s body. It flickers, and I can clearly see the silhouette of my own necklace inside the glowing light.

It hovers there, circling a little as if motioning me to grab it, but I don't have the strength to move. I stare at it, my eyes wide and unblinking, not making a single sound- it feels as if even my heart has stopped. The very thing I’d treasured for years, not ever letting go of, now terrifies me from head to toe.

The orb stays hovering over me for a bit, like a Snipe cocking its head playfully at me, waiting. It finally seems to see that I’m in a sticky situation, seeing that I would not be able to grab it without plummeting to death. It slowly moves through the gap between my two arms, and it sticks itself to the chinguard part of my breastplate, making a strange humming noise. Dread runs its cold fingers down my spine as this happens.

The result is an immense light blast, going out in a huge radius, with so much force that I my arms are unable to hold on to my only barrier from death.
“HELLLLP!” I scream, even though I thought so couldn't scream anymore, my arms flailing and my weapons lurching through the air alongside me.

The words turn only into echoes and unintelligible things- something besides wind has cut straight through me, putting such a large amount of pain on my shoulders that I scream once again- so loud that it echoes and should have destroyed my eardrums with the amount of decibels. Just the touch feels like I’m being run through a Roarmulus Twin's shock beam, a dangerous creation of the Gremlins. Trust me, you DON'T want to know what it feels like.

If I wasn't paralyzed and falling, I would curl into a ball, but I can still yell. So I do- I scream and scream for a good amount of time. But before too long, the scene around me changes to a strange place, and the pain and noises transform to pinpricks and whispers, which quiets me down.

And just as soon as the transformation takes place, something slows my fall down- to the point where I’m going the speed of an exhausted Lichen. Soon my descent stops completely, making me hover, and then places me on an invisible floor. Even though I have the gentlest landing possible, I crumble to the floor and lay on my side, breathing heavily and trying to keep my body from shivering constantly.

After a minute of composing myself, I raise my heavy head to examine the new enigmatic environment I’ve been plopped into. The only way I know how to describe is like this:

Take a hallway you've seen in your dreams, warped with strange, yellowish colors. Then expand it to an infinite size in both directions, and add floating, blindingly white orbs everywhere. There is no floor whatsoever, yet you can feel something solid beneath your feet, keeping you from tumbling through the air. There is no end to the yellow ceiling, it’s like an alien atmosphere. You could wander around for days, weeks, months, years- you would find nothing else in this heavenly nullity, nor get anywhere.

After a minute or so, the ability to move comes back to my limbs, and I painfully sit with my legs crossed. Making sure my bones aren’t broken, and confirming that they may just be severely bruised, or fractured at the most, I peer in all direction with huge eyes. I groan as I hold my bloody arm, the wonder of this place not being able to take my physical pain away.

I freeze and whip my head around when a loud voice flows out from behind me, almost filling the whole void with echoes.

"Valis! Come on, man, what are you doing?!"

The flash of light that had caused my fall comes again, and I try to shield my eyes, but I find it impossible to block the light. Fortunately, it slowly fades out to reveal an unexpected scene. It takes a moment for me to adjust to the strange change, but soon I can see.

A knight is standing in the room. He is wearing a celestial, yet carefree style of armor I've never seen on any knight before. Instead of a helm, he’s wearing a cross between a Magic Hood’s- well, hood- and those fur linings on the Winterfest hats that everyone wears. The hat has something tearing upwards through the part next to the lining. He has absolutely NO body armor whatsoever, only a large cloth that’s gathered around his neck and draping down his chest and back. He’s wearing a “male skirt” about the same length as mine, only this is one piece. It crosses over the front, covering the majority of his legs, and a leaf-like designs is imprinted on the sides of the skirt. On his hips is a piece of soft cloth gathered around his waist, like a belt.
On his back, to my complete surprise, are slightly lopsided, feathery wings, colored with dark teal and blended with leather brown- they look like an accessorizer strapped them on carelessly, matching the attitude of his entire outfit. Yet somehow...he looks graceful. But his face definitely isn’t graceful. His expression is annoyed, and he's facepalming.

"Dude! Minula SAID to stop touching her holif!"

Holif? I wheel around to see another knight, one of his legs pointed out while he is reaching across a small table, his hands hovering over something that looks like leaves in a bowl, his eyes wide and his whole body frozen in its position. My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when I fully register his appearance.

"But, Zero-"

"DON'T. TOUCH."

The knight puts his leg down and crosses his arms, frowning and almost pouting. He has ACTUAL HAIR falling over his face, he’s not even wearing a hat! The straight locks are messy, strands of dark, Gremlin-fur-colored hair cover parts of his red eyes. A cloth is tied around his head, and the tied part sticks out from the back, making him look like some kind of rebel. His only armor is the lightweight pads perched on his shoulders, flowing with red swirls on a white background. He’s wearing some kind of a cloak-dress thing, snow-white with a burgundy cloth belt. It’s almost too long for him to walk in, as if he ordered a size too large- but where can you get clothes like THAT?!?!

He has wings as well as Zero, but rather small ones in comparison. They’re a maroon red, fading into off white the farther down you looked- and they’re so feathery that one would think he stole them from luxurious Snipe-feather pillows.

"She doesn't like this stupid leaf THAT much!" He snaps. His voice has an accent to it, one that I haven't heard in a LONG time...it’s from the knights that lived in the aristocratic section of western Isora- Nobilia- before it had been seiged and taken by the Morai. I can hardly remember it, I was only 10 when I had visited the area for a field trip.

"That 'stupid leaf', is the last that we have on this ship, Valis. Eat it and I'll take the rest of your greas." A similar accented, female voice floats through the room like music. A beautifully dressed knight flies into the room - again, she has wings.

Her eyes are my favorite mix of blue and purple, just a little darker than periwinkle, and her wings are a very light purple, with feathered black tips. I swear that her armor is an old version of my own- a winged helm, an average sized, purple, feathered ponytail, layered skirt- everything. It makes me look at my own armor just to see how alike they could possibly be. The only major differences I notice are that she doesn’t have a breastplate, she does not have armor for her arms, she has draping sleeves instead, and her armor for her feet and legs is merely a thin, metal covering, just shoes. This strangely similar knight is probably the 'Minula' they were talking about.

The word 'ship' suddenly registers in my brain and I turn around to see that the whole wall that I'm standing against is complete, thick glass, stars rushing along so quickly, they're only streaks of light. I gasp and place my fingers up to the window slowly, as if it were hot to the touch.
"Oh- uh- hi, Minula. I thought you were on your bunk..."

I turn back around to watch the conversation, watching Zero rub his neck and blush. I roll my eyes and nearly laugh, if it weren’t for my injuries I would have. He is so TOTALLY crushing on her.

Valis doesn't go coo-coo like Zero, instead he just tries to hold back a smirk, his eyes darting back and forth Minula and Zero.

"What are you looking at?" Zero snaps.

"Nothing," Valis covers his mouth and muffles a chuckle. "I'm just picturing you and Minula sitting in a tr-" he starts going singsong at 'you', and Minula raises an eyebrow. Zero, well, he kinda explodes.

"SHUT UP!!!!" Zero holds his hands out and blasts an energy ball, something like the one that comes from the Super Blaster- huge, aqua-colored, and radiating immense amounts of energy. My mouth nearly drops open at the attack, and I don’t know what to think.

Valis completely falls over, smoking, but still cracking up to my surprise. Zero dives at him, half flying and half falling, and they start to wrestle. As they do, a strange gale starts to rush through the room, and I blink to make sure I’m not hallucinating. It starts to focus on Zero, as if….

As if Valis is the one controlling it.

The wind becomes so powerful that Zero has to keep his eyes closed, or he’ll be treated with a sandstorm style hit to his face.

“Valis, stop it!” Minula snaps, as if she were commanding a younger brother.

The two don’t respond, and soon they evolve into a huge mash of arms, legs and armor with every command Minula barks at them.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Everyone immediately closes their mouths, Zero stands up, and the wind stops completely. Valis scrambles to his knees and Minula turns sharply at the voice. As the knight comes into view, my eyes widen even more than they already have, taking in the amazing sight of the angelic person.

Another knight, probably the most beautiful in the whole room, hovers by the doorway, the sound of snow white wings flapping softly in the air. Her eyes are a deep blue, and her navy colored head is crowned with an alluring helm- with wings on the sides, like mine, and her chin is uncovered by the silver mouthguard, instead it protects her face. Her breastplate is a shiny gold, imprinted with swirls. Her deep blue skirt is nearly the same as mine- layered, with the front cut off to have a lengthy white piece of cloth flow in its place. A long, draping piece of fabric with equivalent colors, almost like a train, touches the floor behind her.

About 10 or 20 other people stand behind her, but I can’t make out their appearance- because at that moment a strong ringing and pounding comes into my ears, and I yelp and cover them, my head beginning to feel like a gong and the scene pixelates moderately, but the voices have not faltered.

"Can you stop behaving like Spiral Order recruits? Only Valkyrie fighters can belong on this ship." She crosses her arms and lands slowly and gracefully on the floor.

The three others in the room bow their heads in apology, and it almost seems like this knight is the leader on this spaceship- almost. Something tells me she’s more of maternal type than she is a commanding figure.

"The captain wants me to tell you that we've found a great planet to be our subject. So grab your bags, we have a long couple of years ahead of us." The knight continues, as if to confirm my thought.

The three knights let their mouths drop open, and I barely see Valis jump up and high five Zero before the sound of static fills my ears. The last thing I see is the leader knight staring right at me- or through me- and Minula say something, but all that reaches to my ears is 'Clarity, where-'.

I yell and bend over, slapping my hands to my head, eyes squinched closed, my mind only concentrating on getting rid of the pain. I feel something cold and vibrant touch my skirt, but I have too bad of a migraine to care.

My eyes open again only to see that I’m back in the dreary Candlestick Keep, which seems like a meadow compared to my enemy’s shadows now. I stop screaming, and my vision focuses to see Spiderstorm and Braveheart standing worriedly over me. Well, Braveheart looks worried. Spiderstorm doesn't exactly.

"AG?! What happened? What wrong?!" Braveheart nearly yelps. “Why were you screaming?”

"Ugh...my head..." I groan and sit up slightly.

I look around dazedly, relieved to see I am not dead, falling, or hanging over an abyss anymore. I cough, my body feeling like it had been melded together, smashed to pieces and then glued with not-so-effective glue. I open my mouth to say exactly how I feel, terrible, but then I touch something on my chest that feels like it's been there for years. I look down to see my white-yellow pendant on a silver chain around my neck.

I grasp at it, disoriented, and feel the cool, irregularly shaped stone, vibrating with a strange sensation. It matches exactly what I had been convulsing against my skirt just before waking up. I hold it to my face and notice that it looks much...smoother. Long silvery strokes form a spiky star on the surface, and strange white swirls inside of the stone dance like fire. I look up to see Braveheart become as pale as a sheet.

"What?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Um...you...uh...guh-" Braveheart stammers. Even Spiderstorm looks like he would stammer if he spoke.

I open my mouth to ask again, but...a sensation that can only be described as complete agony cuts straight through my back.

It’s all too much. I can’t bear it anymore. I croak, my eyes turn into tiny dots, and the howl I let loose nearly rips the vocal chords out of my throat. Braveheart jumps and covers his mouth in shock and worry, and Spiderstorm looks pained, for real this time.

I collapse into a complete ball, wailing and crying from response to the pain- and the confusion. The torments in my back are so terrible that I can’t even process them, yet I forget everything else. Everything spins, tinged with a feverish red, but through that red I can see something that really knocks my armor off.

White feathers.

My mind can no longer take any more information, it becomes overwhelmed. My eyes roll back into my head and everything goes black. There’s frantic calling of my name, and the shaking of my shoulder before nothing comes to greet me. But the image I had seen just before passing out is perfectly burned into my mind.

Wings.

There are wings on me.

~~~~~~~

Well, there you go. I hope that was enjoyable!
I'm off to eat dinner, I am HUNGRY!

EDIT: Some changes to scenes and dialogue, hopefully it's smoother and makes for better reading.

~ Angel-Girl, the Ravenous Valkyrie

@Lordofnecromancers - Yay! I'm glad I'm keeping things interesting!

@Midnight-Dj - Randomness from me, but that looks awesome!

@The Readers Another chapter for you guys, enjoy!

~~~~~~~

I watch the doctors work over the patient gloomily. The patient is lying quietly and unconsciously on the bed neighboring to mine, his glowing eyes only slits to tell the world that he is not awake.

I swing my feet back and forth over the ledge of my bed, hands clasped in the lap of my hospital gown. While I can’t forget the fact that this injured knight had attacked me last night, the look in his eyes and his last words before falling limp to the floor keep prodding me repeatedly. I feel sorry for him through it all.

It just doesn’t make any sense. I wrinkle my nose thoughtfully. Knights getting crazy like that is a rare sight. The only case I really know of is when I was dispatched to take down Arkus. Arkus had been a knight who’d gone completely insane after his entire team was murdered, while they had been on a rescue mission. I had been given the task to bring Arkus back to Haven, but he had refused and went wacko on me. I and my team had been forced to kill him in self-defense, which left me with sleepless nights for a straight week.

There’s gotta be something deeper than this guy becoming mentally ill. You don’t just snap out of those sorts of things. Even with my pondering, I still don’t really know what to think about all of this, all I know is that this poor knight needs some serious help- psychologically or not.

A sigh comes from one of the nurses by the patient, and I look up as she turns around to face me. She bites her lip before saying anything to me.

“He’s hurt pretty badly...I think he may have pushed himself too hard on a mission.” She murmurs quietly. I blink, noticing that the tone of her voice sounds like there’s more to her medical ‘report’- which can’t be good...

“But the mental readings...gee whiz, we can’t decide on what could have caused something like the fit he had.” She crosses her arms, sounding a little huffy at the fact that she hasn’t a conclusion on what could have happened.

My eyes widen in response, and I can’t help but ask “What- what do you mean by the mental readings? You don’t think he’s gone insane, do you?” I say with a low tone, wondering if my suspicions are being proven to be true. The nurse shakes her head, and darts her eyes behind her for a moment as a doctor accidentally drops a tool on the floor.

“Well, I wouldn’t think that,” She replies reassuringly. “Maybe he was hit by two separate monsters, and his body may have had some weird, psychological reaction to both status conditions the creatures caused. Something like that, perhaps.” The nurse shrugs, as if the suggestion isn’t really a very good one whatsoever.

“Anyway, he may be unconscious for a while. If he wakes up, and we’re not here, just press that button on the side of your bed.” She points to a green, circular button that is inbetween the space of my legs. I peer down at the button attached to the bed, which is meant to call my caretaker if I needed anything.

“Wait, but why is he even in my- er, here?” I question. I DON’T want to risk having this person come after me again. “Couldn’t he just...be moved to another room?” I shrug, knowing I’m sounding a little selfish, but I’m seriously scared of another attack. I don’t reveal my fear of this knight, but the nurse peers at me in such a way that I think she knows why I asked.

“I’m sorry, Angel-Girl,” the nurse leans against the wall that my bed’s headboard is touching. “But for days we’ve been receiving huge amounts of injured knights. We’re a very small building, and it’s been flooded over the max capacity. We have to start putting knights in occupied rooms now.” The nurse looks worried, and my face falls.

“Oh... I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…” I reply softly.

“I’m sorry too.” My nurse says with genuine concern written all over her face. “But, look on the bright side. You’re leaving this afternoon, and he may not even wake up until some time after that.”

And I’ll feel nervous the whole livelong day. I think bitterly, wanting to scowl at the floor. But I don’t. Instead I exhale a little annoyance and nod. “Alright...I can manage...at least, I hope so.”

The nurse smiles graciously at me. “Thanks for understanding.” After a moment she snaps her fingers and pushes herself off of the wall. “Oh, yes! Are you hungry? It’s getting kind of late.”

Almost on cue, my stomach growls like a Snarbolax cub, and I chuckle. “I guess you have your answer.” I reply.

The nurse giggles, and pats my back softly before strolling to the door. “Be back in a minute with some food. And, trust me,” She comments while opening the door, and the rest of the doctors leave the opposite bed and through the open door. “We don’t have those rumored, horrid hospital meals.” She laughs gaily and shuts the door, and I can’t keep the half-smile from my face.

After gazing after the door for a minute or so, I hop onto the floor for the first time since the day before yesterday- when I had waken up to go to the unexpectedly-canceled-training-session. My bare feet feel cold without my armor-like boots, and stiff from not having been used for at least 24 hours. I don’t mind too much, it just feels good not to lay in bed constantly.

It’s little strange to not have been wearing armor for so long, but somehow...it feels...great! The hospital gown that I’ve been put into is soft and comfy, and as I pull up a chair by the window, I feel much more relaxed than I have been in weeks- months, even. I almost want to take my helmet off, but I remind myself that I have only a very tiny amount of hair underneath the lightweight helm. I’d better not. I state in my mind.

I cup my chin in my hands, and place my elbows on the windowsill, staring out into the busy Town Square. People are bustling around with the morning rush- either to get to training, take a spin on some Clockworks depths, or get some battle equip blueprint- we call them recipes.

I sigh and lay my head sideways on the windowsill, wondering by how much time could slow down when you want to get out of this hospital. And when you’re hungry.

-------------------

The rest of the day is pretty much uneventful. The only slightly intriguing thing I hear comes from the Town Square, and it’s Railan yelling at her minions about something I couldn’t quite catch. Probably for some stupid thing they forgot to do for her. Just the usual noises.

Luckily for me, Adria- my nurse- is very kind. She found me alone and trying to pick patterns out of the ceiling sometime after lunch. It’s one of the most boring things you can do, but you still do it because there’s nothing else to occupy yourself with.

Adria offered to take me out to the balcony the hospital has to entertain recovering patients. It felt good to be outside in person, and not just stare out at it through a window.

I spotted a comrade of mine as well from up there, although we couldn’t really talk for long. He was busy trying to find a Graviton bomb recipe, a royal pain in the neck to accomplish. You can only find it if you’re lucky enough to get it from Basil- a Stranger roaming the Clockworks- or very seldomly in the Auction House.

Afterwards, I went to the showers for the first time in at least three days. It was relieving to get in the water, and I could almost see my newest fears and worries stream down the drain. I wasn’t sure whether or not to be cautious of getting the newest addition of my back wet, but I took the risk and made a discovery- feathers are water-resistant. Well then...

---------------------

Later...

I’m curled up on my bed, book in hand and a smuggled Jelly sandwich- that’s right, a capital-J Jelly. Those square gelatinous creatures I’ve fought countless times. It counts as meat too, and it actually tastes unexpectedly….good.

The door makes a creaking noise, and I jerk my head up at the sound. It slowly swings open, and a second passes before Braveheart pops his head through the crack.

In that moment I notice that his helmet is completely repaired, and it’s difficult to see the area where it had been destroyed. It’s also been cleaned of blood splatters, and even the scratches have been buffed.

“Hey, AG.” He gives me a small, timid smile, and I furiously wipe Jelly off of my chin before giving a combined greeting-wave and grin. Braveheart lets himself in and shuts the door softly behind him. He turns around, and I spot him hugging an awfully familiar bundle of cloth to his chest.

He walks timidly over to the edge of my bed, and plops the roll of cloth onto the bedspread wordlessly. I slap my book shut and lean over to examine the cloth, and as soon as I unwrap it, I realize that the clothing is my armor!

“Yes! I was wondering where those went!” I exclaim gratefully as I hold up my grass green skirt. “Thanks, Braveheart.” I thank my friend, and he just shrugs slowly, like it’s no big deal.

“Uh...so the nurse said that I could check you out as soon as you got dressed…” Braveheart mumbles, and stares at the floor.

I grin even wider than before. Finally, I can get back to normal life! And then the negative thought prods me, making me think that I may not even have a normal life anymore…

You’re not gonna be able to hide your not-accessory-wings forever...and since when do Knights have jewelry? Weird necklaces, to be exa-

Shut up, me. I think harshly, and try to push away the stupid thought.

“Okay, well then, I’ll go find the bathroom. Do you know where-” I’m interrupted by the sound of a groan, followed by a mumbled sentence.

I whirl to my left quickly to see my roommate, rubbing his fatigue-filled eyes and trying to sit up in bed. I nearly choke, and Braveheart looks up swiftly. “What? Did something-”

Braveheart’s eyes fall on the patient, and he just stares at him for a moment before peering at me in confusion. “What’s he doing here?” He questions.

I don’t find the words to answer, and even if I did, they would be too weak to climb out of my mouth. The injured knight turns his head to face me, and looks at my face with hazy, amber colored eyes. “I...I remember…” he struggles to whisper, and I force my mouth not to start gawking at him.

He groans, and I shake my head vigorously to whip the shakes from my senses. I slide out of bed and approach the knight cautiously, hoping he won’t leap out of bed again. “Hey...it’s okay…” I attempt lamely to say those words soothingly.

The knight bites his lip. “I-I’m sorry...about…” he breaks off to grimace, and it hits me that he knows what happened last night- and he’s apologizing. My fear begins to ebb away and I come closer, trying to decide how to calm him down.

“Sh-hadows...ev-v-verywhere….” He stammers, and sweat breaks out on his forehead. “T-h-he darkness...it w-w-ouldn-n’t st-t-” He squints his eyes shut to keep me from seeing how watery they are, and I crouch down next to his bedside.

“But it’s okay now. You’re in a hospital.” I clasp my fingers tightly on the sheets, feeling intrigued and saddened at the sight of this confused knight.

He shakes his head in reply, and wheezes a little. “Sh-h-he d-d-d-id something t-t-o m-m-e...it- it h-hurts!” He groans, and my heart leaps at the sound. He’s stammering even more badly than Braveheart does at his maximum word stumbling.

“She? Who’s she?” Braveheart walks up slowly behind me, crouching down by me as well. I glance at him for a moment until the terrified knight answers.

“Gr-r-iml-l-akins….so many...so m-m-much fear…” He gasps, and something inside of me churns. “Sh-h-e alm-m-most k-k-killed me…”

“He’s gotta be traumatized. I’m going to get the doctor.” Braveheart rises swiftly and turns to leave.

“No! Wait!” I yell to Braveheart, commanding him to stop. “What did you say? Grimlikins? Lots of them?” I whirl back to the bed and question the patient, wondering if a rising hunch is turning out to be true.

He nods slowly. “A-and….and…”

“And what?” I push.

The knight stares at me, his eyes dilating in immense fear. He pauses for a good ten seconds before answering, with a voice tinged in obvious terror, “A...a...a sc-c-c-c-ythe….she h-h-had a sc-c-cythe….”

My eyes widen, and Braveheart almost gasps.

“This cannot be a coincidence.” I state in a tremblingly low tone.

The knight looks at me in painful confusion, and replies in a restrained voice “I-i-t was e-early m-m-morni-” He stops, and he coughs with a huge amount of force. “H-h-elp...h-h-hot….” the words are almost inaudible, and MY eyes widen.

“Braveheart, get help! Now!” My voice breaks in my urgency. Braveheart doesn’t seem to notice and bobs his head quickly in reply. But he whirls around only to bump right into Spiderstorm, and Braveheart nearly stumbles backwards in shock.

“Wh-what-” He backs away from Spiderstorm in alarm, and Spiderstorm’s expression is nearly as startled as my friend’s is. The Skolver-helmed knight opens his mouth, and I’m afraid of what words may come out, to the point that I forget that we have a “burning” knight on our hands.

But Spiderstorm breathes in sharply, shuts his mouth, and crosses his arms. “Don’t bother. I got it already.” He says through narrowed eyes, and I realize that several doctors are behind him.

They rush forward to attend to the heavily breathing knight, and Adria appears in front of me. “You need to go, the bathroom is just down the hall.” She hastily shoves my skirt and armor at my chest, and doesn’t bother to at least give a gesture of farewell. She wheels away and begins to assist the laboring doctors.

I just stare at the bed, surrounded with working knights. Thoughts of all kinds are streaming throughout my brain, and none of them are good things whatsoever. What will- how did- I can’t- I rub my face with a free hand in confusion. My wings flap unhelpfully, adding a reminder to the huge mess of the words in my mind.

Braveheart has to tap my shoulder lightly to remind me that we have to go. I shake my head and follow Braveheart and Spiderstorm out, still watching the crowded bed and listening to the sound of ordering doctors.

“Okay, what was that all about?” Braveheart jabs his hands in his pockets and stares at me, waiting for an answer while we stroll through the hallway.
I don’t answer, I just make low toned nonsense with my mouth while trying to find the words. I thought...I thought that...none of the victims had been found...and then...and then one is rolled right into my room…

In the progress of my wheels turning, I start walking faster, getting ahead of Spiderstorm and Braveheart. Braveheart calls me, but instead of stopping or slowing down, I break into a jog and sprint for the girls’ restroom.

I burst into the soapy smelling room and slam the door behind me, only catching a glimpse of Braveheart appearing behind the shutting entrance. He looks super mystified, but I’m too overwhelmed to care much. I lock the door and lean against it, breathing heavily.

“AG? What’s wrong?! Come on, please open up!” Braveheart raps repeatedly on the door, and I slide to the floor against the smooth, wooden door. I feel so scared that I shiver every few seconds, and I squeeze my bundle of clothes tightly to my chest.

What does this all mean…? How...how am I even supposed to be involved in this? I ponder nervously. If that knight had the same mission as I did...and he’s like this...then...am...I… supposed to be...

I can’t even think the word, let alone say it. I can barely even register that someone wants me dead- for reasons I don’t want to know.

My stomach churns rapidly, and my fingers grasp my hospital gown so tightly that it’s a wonder that it doesn’t rip. Please, please, please let this all just be a bad dream… I plonk my head against the door, staring at the ceiling in despair. Let this be just a nightmare...let me wake up...don’t let this be reality….

“AG, please...just tell me what’s wrong….” My friend pleads quietly through the barrier between us.

I close my eyes and gulp, tears of desperation and fear starting to form in my eyes. But just before the teardrops spill out, in that instant, an infuriating thought speeds throughout my head. My eyes snap open and I lower my head. I burn hot with the anger of suspicion, and I slowly rise from the floor, the tiles beneath my feet no longer chilling the my soles.

I wipe my nose and rip my hospital clothes off, preparing to put on my armor. Throughout getting dressed, I’m seething with more and more fury. My accusation is starting to turn into certainty as I receive even more infuriating thoughts, and by the time I’m fully dressed, I can hardly think. I jam my newest jewelry piece inside my armor, wishing I could rip the stupid thing off of my neck. Trust me. I tried.

“Angel-Girl…” Braveheart says softly, but it does pretty much nothing to sooth my feelings and hot cheeks.

I march to the door, unlock it in one swift movement, and then swerve it open with a BANG. Braveheart jumps backward, shocked, and Spiderstorm blinks.

“Outta my way.” I growl, pushing past them both, not thinking about anyone’s reaction to my outburst. I stomp down the hallway and enter the lobby, thinking only about the one person who’s betrayed me...and all of us.

“AG?!?! What- where are you going?!” Braveheart yells, dashing swiftly after me.

As I thrust my hand on the door handle to the outside, I stop only to reply to Braveheart’s question. I hiss as I say the name of the one knight who was partially responsible for my death-

“We need to have a little chat with Kora.”

~~~~~~~~

*The dramatic music again*

Well, next chapter is a work in progress...I might rush it and finish it tonight if I'm lucky. I MIGHT finish it tomorrow...it depends.

~ Angel-Girl, the Maybe-Better-At-Composing-Music-Valkyrie

Heylo, fellow Knights!

I am now on summer break (I AM HOMESCHOOLED. DON'T ASK.), and since I'm required to be doing more "constructive things" for the summer besides playing Spiral Knights all day (NOOOO), I should be able to write lots more for Angel's Light! :D YAY!!! So hopefully I should be able to roll out another chapter soon. Just keep watching for it!

Okay, thanks for reading!

~Angel-Girl the Valkyrie

Okay, chapter 1 has FINALLY BEEN REWRITTEN! Please enjoy the semi-new chapter. :)

Thank you! I thought that Ara would be a great person to put in, because the story just needed some more happy people (Besides AG). I don't know if I'm keeping Bella and Swift on, they were originally intended to just fill in the spots for the Vanaduke-extermination squad. But I will definitely think about it...

Thank you for the compliment! :D And you were reading the original and liked it? Wow.
I don't plan on leaving this hanging anytime- the only way this would come down is if the game lost it's servers, and that isn't happening anytime soon (hopefully). I've got about three books in store for this adventure. ;)