Cario was surprised to noticed how dumbfounded Astran looked. Only Minutes earlier, they had ran from a strange dark creature. Multiple times she had looked back, and Astran had followed her showing no emotion on his face.

When she looked past him, she saw it.

She had no correct way to describe the thing. There was no definite shape. It lacked any facial features, besides two looming holes that likely once held eyes. When she saw it, she thought it was something like a grimalkin. The only differences were its size, it's constantly shifting form, and it's red and black texture.

From experience, red and black in a graveyard usually meant phantoms.

"Where's Malkalack?" Astran said sounding stunned. She looked at his face again. It was
confused. Cario briefly wondered if it reflected her own expression. Then suddenly his words
registered. She look all around, and saw no sign of Malkalack.

"C-could the thing have caught him?"

"If by 'thing' you mean the giant monster of death that was hell-bent on chasing us, then yes, its's probably possible."

"Was that a yes?"

"Yes."

Astran was taking on a bitter and sarcastic tone. Cario could not honestly say that she relished the time they were going to spend together. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We're in the clockworks."

"Thanks."

"It was a stupid question, Cario. It deserved a stupid answer."

She sighed. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Whatever you want," he said with a shark grin. Cario scowled and turned from him to think.

What was she supposed to do now?

Malkalack was gone. No. He couldn't be.

How could someone be there on say, and be gone just like that? It was surreal. She half expected him to stroll around a corner saying, "Hey guys, don't worry about me! It was a false alarm."

But that was not going to happen, she had to accept it.

Cario felt Astran's gaze from behind her, and was reminded at how unfavorable her situation
was.

"We're going back up." she turned to face him.

A snarl formed on Astran's lips, and she thought she could hear a growl lodged in his throat.

"We can't go back up there. Not without Cole's gear!"

Cario hotly replied, "So THAT'S why you bothered coming! You're a disgusting person, Astran! How could you think so LITTLE of people? Cole had a whole LIFE behind him, and all YOU see is a way to sell loot!"

Her outburst had righteous intention, but she didn't have the bravery to back it up.

Astran smashed into Cario. All of the sudden she could smell his foul breath, feel his heat around her.

He pinned her against the wall and got in her face.

"You don't make the calls anymore, girlie."

He shoved her, and she crumpled to the ground.

"Malkalack is gone! It's just you and me. I call the shots now. I'm the one who will get credit for recovering Cole's body!"

Cario had the breath knocked out of her. When she sat up, she took a deep gulp.

"I-I could get you jailed, A-Astran! W-what are you doing? Y-you'll never be able to set foot in Haven a-again!"

She didn't think she sounded very threatening. Her stuttering occurred in every sentence now because Cario knew that she couldn't beat him. She was an excellent bomber, but no match for a swordsman of Astran's caliber.

Cario slowly started to get up from the floor. When she just got onto her legs, Astran
replied.

"No , I won't. Because if you ever decide to inform someone of my actions here, I'll kill
you." For effect, he took out his Valiance. Almost comically, the end of it caught a glare, looking all the more menacing.

"Now," he continued, "We are going to find Cole's body. You're going to let me take his gear. Then we will bring his corpse up to Haven, and you will give me all the credit for saving you, despite the unfortunate loss of Malkalack."

At that moment, he brought his Valiance forward and made a large cut along Cario's arm.

She gasped in pain and recoiled.

Blood started to pour out, and she tried stopping it with her arm.

"An unfortunate injury." he said with vicious enjoyment.

"But you'll explain how you would've died without me."

Astran was triumphant. Cario could be killed by him whenever he wanted. Reeling from shock
she tried to discourage him somehow. "B-but what if Cole is alive?"

Astran's grin grew wider. "Then he won't be alive for very much longer."

Cario realized what a menace Astran was. He didn't care about the knights, or gremlins, or anything.

He only cared about money.

It boggled her mind. How could he possibly kill another knight for his arsenal, when they were losing to gremlins everyday?

Cario didn't voice any of these opinions. She felt that she may be beyond speaking by now.

Astran's eerie grin turned into a frown. "We've wasted enough time here," he turned to the
pathway that likely lead to the elevator, all without removing his eyes from her.

He beckoned Cario to go in front of him. She was his prisoner now.

Astran didn't notice Cario's tears.

Astran didn't notice everything about her wilt.

He certainly didn't notice the pain and the guilt that weighed her every footstep.

@Colray
You'll see soon enough. :D

@Kanoka
The next chapter is sorta the same. Not as interesting as a normal chapter, but it is essential. Just saying that now.
Also, I'm not the best with character personalities. I needed to make him a scumbag, but besides taking Cario as 'hostage' I don't feel as if I made him how I intended to.

SILLY ME. For the past few days, I've done no writing. Sorry about that. .-.

I won't be able to do any writing now, NOT UNTIL I GET MOAR CHARACTERS!

That's right! Applications are open again! Check the OP for requirements!

EDIT: I will not be accepting applications from players who already have a character in the story! Also: if you've already posted an app that I have not accepted, post it again! Don't ask why.

A whoosh, and the landscape changed.

They went from a dark, dead graveyard to a dark, dead wolver den. The elevator had brought them down to where the incident began, it's wheels and machinery never groaning or complaining.

Cario stood silently in front of Astran. He grinned to himself when he remembered how he had took control, taking the loss of Malkalack to his advantage. Although it would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about what would happen when they got back to Haven.

He visualized everything he could do to save the situation. He'd be fooling himself to think that Cario wouldn't tell as soon as she was safe from him.

So he couldn't bring her back to Haven.

What else was there to do?

You could kill her.

That was a new thought. If he murdered Cario, no one would be able to know the full story.

But did he really need her now?

She was right there: it could be as simple as that.

But carrying two dead bodies to Haven didn't sound ideal to Astran. So many different choices to make, he cogitated.

As the elevator stopped at a charred depth, he decided that the best course of action would be to kill Cario and Cole, if he was alive, loot their gear, and dump the bodies over the edge of a level. If he brought the bodies back to Haven, the medics would probably decipher what had killed Cario and Cole. He obviously could not risk that.

"Move," he growled to Cario.

Slowly, she advanced forward. Her expression looked slightly shocked to see the charred remnants of what was once a wolver den. Only Astran and the elevator escaped the flames that followed after the explosive charges. Everything else was consumed by fire.

Charred lumps of what he assumed to be bones littered the area. He could imagine Cole and himself fighting off a pack of wolvers only the day before. For most people it may have seemed like years ago. But for Astran, every event seemed as unimportant as a footstep on a ten-mile track.

They waded through the remains for a while looking at dead plants and hollow dens, until Astran realized he had to make the next step. When he saw the ledge Cole had fallen from, he demanded, "Stand over there." He pointed to the ledge.

Cario seemed like she was going to refuse, but the energy had seemed to have escaped her.

She walked to it, cringing a little.

He could kill her now. It'd be very easy.

However, Astran wouldn't want to lose her gear, even though it wasn't as great as Cole's.

Besides, it wasn't wise to kill her now if he might need her later.

"Now look down there," he said, trying to sound threatening even though he was issuing nothing. "Tell me what you see."

"A-are you going to kill me?" She whispered.

Astran guffawed. "What do you think?"

She stared at Astran for a moment before looking below the platform.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

She was taking her sweet time, looking down. He pulled her back and walked forward, deciding to look for himself.

He saw trees. The tops of many many trees. Astran was hoping to see some sort of landmark that he could work his way towards.

Instead all he could see was a single tree, multiplied by one thousand.

This wolver den was bigger than he had thought.

After quickly pondering these thoughts, he realized a fatal mistake he had made.

He turned his back on an armed prisoner.

No sooner than he had the thought, he received an astonishingly strong push by Cario.

He violently shrieked as his momentum heaved him over the edge, and he fell.

For a few moments, he felt nothing below him, and then he felt his arm hook to the edge of the level Cario was standing on.

Astran looked up and saw her peeking over the ledge with a terrified look on her face, perhaps agonizing that she had just murdered one of her own kind. Her emotion doubled when she saw Astran still hanging there, cursing.

His arms were weak. He felt the tendons streching and revolting.

Dropping down would ease them, but why jeopardize his life?

He reached one hand above, trying to find a foothold.

Excruciating pain tore throughout his hand as Cario smashed his fingers with her feet, fracturing and mangling his bones.

There were tears in her eyes, which distracted Astran as they dropped on his face. He made a last attempt before his arms would fail him.

He would grab Cario's leg the next time it came down.

His nerves screamed at the action of tightening around something, and Astran momentarily
thought he would pass out. He grabbed her leg with both of his arms now and pulled,
but sorely wished he hadn't.

Cario collapsed to the ground, her head slamming on the frigid, rugged metal.

With nothing to keep either of them in place, an unconscious Cario started to slide off of the edge, plunging Astran down even more.

Then quick as a flash, Cario and Astran plummeted down below.

Dag Nabbit, Astran! Three characters falling AT THE SAME SPOT? This place really needs guardrails. Thank you all for waiting patiently for this chapter! Tell me what you think below!

Reminder, everyone! I can't start writing until I get a good gremlin application. Requirements are in the OP. Statistics apply the same way as anyone else. Speaking of which, cake. Only 40 stat points.

@Snowcracker.
Use whatever name you want, Snu. Although I think a female gremlin named Snow would be great for the story!

Name: Mephiles "The Robo Shadow Master"
Gender: Male
Armor: Lvl 10 Snarbolax Set with Lvl 10 Crest of Almire and 2 Dread Skelly Charms
Weapons: Lvl 10 Gran Faust, Lvl 10 Sentenza and Lvl 10 Graviton Vortex
Personality: Calm, can't stand when women's feelings are ruined or crushed, usually found battling Tortodrones or Ironwood Sentinels, sneaky, lonely and won't get distracted when in battle.
STATS:
Swordsmanship: 5
Gunning: 5
Bombing: 5
Stamina: 5
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 5
Cunning: 5
Agility: 5

I'm putting this app here for later. I might end up using it.

@Sono
Why not? You've already submitted two apps- (both I had to decline.)
Make another one!

I need characters, period.

Writing the next chapter right now! I'm not sure when I'll be able to release it, however. I'm taking the day off tomorrow as it is my birthday, so I have plans. I'll either release the chapter tonight, or on Saturday. Thank you for your patience!

Also, as far as apps go, I'll list each new character as I introduce them.

@Sonosuke
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make an app! PLEASE.