As promised, I met Guile outside of the bar at promptly 8 am. "Shall we?" He gave me a gracious smile and I decided to continue trusting him. Little by little, any perceived threat I thought he was seemed to vanish.

"You said the manor is in ruins, will we be able to see it?" I tried to match my steps to Guile's. He seemed to glide as he walked, making my task fruitless. For some reason he found my question humorous. 

"HAHA! I can tell you and the cohort are not the same. Before the manor was destroyed, generally we would have had to sneak in through the bluffs. Anyone can see the ruins but in order to infiltrate the manor we will take the secret passage through the sewer." 

"Wait, infiltrate? We are going inside?" I couldn't hide the nerves that cracked through my tone.

"Of course." Guile responded simply, without justification nor explanation. This also made me realize I knew little about the man that I was about to be incarcerated with. Assuming we got caught. Which was highly likely. The more I ruminated on this the more I felt a bubbling sensation disturb my stomach. 

Sensing my distress, Guile turned towards me, "Don't worry. I have not made you aware but I am quite the magician."

"So, you'll make us disappear before the guards arrest us?" This made him laugh once more. "Serge, I am well versed in the dark arts. We won't get caught. However," he gave a slight nod towards my swallow, "how do you fare with that?"

"I can defend myself if that's what you're asking."

"Good. The only foreseeable issue is if Glenn or Karsh... one of the dragoons stop us."

Suddenly we stood in front of an iron wrought gate. "Well, let's not borrow trouble. If you'll excuse me a moment." Guile went up to one of the guards standing at the gate.

PLOP

        PLOP

Within seconds both guards dropped to their knees. In awe, I walked up to Guile. "What did you do?"

"They're taking a little nap."

"Did you use some kind of magic? What will we do if there are more than two guards?"

"Heh, I told you I'm well versed in the dark arts, remember? The guards you see here are with the Porre army. Our men are currently working with Porre to form some type of treaty to prevent another atrocity like what occurred to ever take place again. I also wonder if perhaps they are both looking for Lynx together. As I mentioned earlier, the only real issue we would have, is if we encounter one of the dragoons. The secret sewer passage is going to be beyond this gate to our right."

"Don't we need a key to enter?" I followed Guile's lead and ducked behind one of the hedges. 

"No. Watch this."

I prepared my eyes to see some brilliant spell work at play but instead, he gently pushed the gate and it creaked open.

"They don't even lock it?"

Guile gave me a devious grin. "See now why I wasn't too worried? Follow my lead."

Remaining low, we snuck in the gate and ran behind another hedge. As Guile was on guard watch, I took the opportunity to take in that which was once the grandeur of Viper Manor.

It was obvious some repairs had been made since the destruction of the manor. From the rubble lie smooth concrete cylinders in a welcoming shade of salmon. Along with some of the hedges were some tropical palmetto trees scattered about the lawn. Despite the ruins among us it seemed the lawn was well procured. Glass shards glinted from different areas of the ground, and I realized they weren't just from broken windows. An octagonal dome of prismatic splendor was collapsed in amongst the top of the debris. Some of the tiled roofing that was dilapidated gave me the faintest hint of the manor's previous architecture, a renovation of colonial revival. My mind flitted over to Radius. I could picture him and Garai standing under those domes having lavish parties with their peers and the general. Perhaps the very goblet Garai drank from was destroyed or looted, much like Garai's own life. So much destruction and for what? How could I not have heard of the war that occurred here? Did Radius know? He had to. Sharp guilt began to bare its' ugly fangs at me. Somehow, I had caused this. Now I wondered if I was going to cause it again, maybe even far worse. I needed to find out more about Lynx and my evil twin.

"Serge, we must be on our toes if we are to do this." I turned to Guile expected to see a visibly annoyed face peering at me. Except, behind the mask all I could see was a trace of worry. "If you aren't up to it, we can always turn back."

"No, no it's just; I somehow feel responsible for all of this."

"A boy such as yourself could never cause such destruction. Not willingly." The conviction in his voice helped put me at ease. 

"What did Lynx and the cohort want?" It seemed cohort was the moniker for imposter me. What else could we call him? He certainly didn't deserve my name. 

"The frozen flame."

"I'm sorry, the what?"

The visibly annoyed glance I expected before finally shone in Guile's eyes. He let out a sigh of vexation before he answered. "Huh, how can I give you a short answer to this. The frozen flame is rumored to be a shard of volcanic rock which possesses the latent powers of Lavos in it. You have heard of the catastrophic eruption of Lavos in 65,000,000 BC? From my understanding Lynx corralled the general and his men to the dead sea as it was speculated to be there. In the same sense I think he corralled Porre with some idea of the frozen flame but said that the general already was in possession of it, which led to the invasion in Termina."

This was certainly turning into quite the rabbit hole. I mulled this over in my mind before asking another question. "Essentially Lynx was using both sides as pawns to get to the frozen flame himself. You used the word "rumored" so does it actually exist, and did they find if it does?"  I observed Guile's profile as he continued to keep watch. A distant expression seemed to spread throughout his face. 

"Who knows? It is true that the idea of the frozen flame was always deemed a myth. It's also worth mentioning that the dead sea is a perilous area in ruins. No one who is fortunate enough to return speaks of their time there."

Images of my father came to my forefront. I wasn't sure what made me disclose this out loud, but I had to say it. Because maybe, just maybe, if the general and his men returned, my father could too. " My father never returned." I could see Guile's eyes widen in the hollow slits of his mask. I knew he was waiting for me to say more. What was there to say?

"My father, he and a friend, my close friend's father- they were biologists. Together they sailed the El Nido Archipelago and together they never returned." I averted my gaze from Guile's. I wasn't sure why but perhaps it was something to do with the fact he could see the little boy in me, the little boy holding out hope his dad would come home. It's been years and still I haven't quite accepted that he'll never come home. I'm not sure I ever will. 

Suddenly a weird fit of giggles overtook me. "Hee hee mhmmm..." I tried to stifle the eruption hiding in my lungs. Guile was looking at me like I had gone mad. I was starting to think some part of me was. 

"Shh, what's so funny?!"

"Essentially all this grief and destruction was over... mhhmmmmm heeee, a r-rock."

With a bite of his lip Guile began to stifle a laugh alongside me. "Your humor is most peculiar. Yes, through it all, this is all over a rock." We both continued to share muffled laughter until we came to our senses. A small peep hole above me beckoned me to take a look around with Guile. I stiffly lifted my knees so as not to rustle any of the leaves of the hedge. As I peeked around I noticed patrol was nothing short of skimpy. This could only mean one thing; the inside would be treacherous. 

"Ok," Guile held three fingers midair, "on the count of three I want you to beeline for that well that is on the right."  He began to lower a finger, "1...2...3! Now!"

My foot work sounded loud and sloppy compared to Guile's stealth. We made it behind the well when Guile hissed, "Jump!"

"Wh-" A rough shove had me tumble over into the well and I managed to grab an iron run. I climbed my way down as fast as I could, with Guile anchoring himself not too far above me. As we hit the bottom of the ladder and stepped down, a squish beneath our cast our gazes downward. Clumpy mud the consistency of dry clay was encrusted on the ground. The smell of rotted earth and must lingered heavily in the air. I could faintly hear the sound of tinkling water water from afar, which told me hadn't quite hit the "sewage" part yet. Despite some minor brick spalling, the sewer was well sustained. It was actually pretty generous in space to travel through, and even had florescent lights that were installed which illuminated the path ahead. 

"White is not the superior choice for sewer trekking." Guile spun in front of me with his long sleeves and lapels, creating a mini whirlwind of air. 

"This is way more pristine than I credited a sewer for." 

We both slowly tip toed down forward the path ahead. "This was a Porre meeting location. One of their lead officers, I believe named Norris, used to hold council here."

"Pretty clever. I-" suddenly I heard a light squish step behind us. I spun fast quickly grabbing my swallow, expecting to see a guard behind us but there was no one there. 

"What is it, Serge?"

"It sounded like footsteps coming from behind us." I continued to dart my eyes around in anticipation of danger. 

"Well, despite the manor keeping up with maintenance in this sewer it is privy to rodents."

"Pretty loud rodent, I'd say." The rodent theory did little to reassure me, but I didn't want Guile to see me so easily rattled. I turned around and continued forward. The next half a mile was spent in complete silence. The sudden reserved nature of Guile made me wonder if he too felt the presence obviously looming behind us. The discomfort of eyes like lasers beaming into the back of our heads was highlighted by the meandering sloshes of footsteps out of line with our own. It wasn't easy having a masked companion although I knew the one really wearing a mask was myself. I remembered earlier how I wondered what Guile's motive was for helping me. What was behind the figurative mask of my newfound friend?

"Guile."

"Hm?"

"Why are you helping me?" 

The soggy patter of our feet did little to drown out the brashness of my question. 

"Why am I helping you?" He repeated the question again as if he was asking himself the same thing. "Why am I helping you?"

"Yes. What's in it for you?" Suddenly realizing how cross I sounded, I reformulated my question. "I mean, you seem to know so much about the manor so I assume you've been here before. Why come again for my sake? Not that it isn't appreciated." 

"Serge. Relax. I'm not offended by your question. " I glanced at Guile and could see a playful grin carved out on the uncovered part of his face. "Think about the things we've discussed and take an educated guess."

All we really discussed was me, Lynx, and the evil cohort. "Lynx and the cohort?"

"Warm." He said giving little reprieve to my guess. 

"The Porre army?"

"Cold."

"General Viper?"

"Warm, once again. Come on Serge, think harder." Our feet continued onward, and each splash seemed to drown out all of previous camaraderie. I could feel my wet socks mushed against the soles of my shoes. The amount of water down here could fill up an ocean.

Or a sea.

The dead sea.

The frozen flame! Was Guile after the frozen flame? Did he dupe me the same way Lynx had duped the Porre army and the general? Before I could announce my answer, two wisps of human figures lie enveloped in the shadows ahead. 

"Guile." I whispered, once again laying a firm and steady grip on my swallow. 

"I see them." With a swift clap of his hands a wand appeared in front of him. "Guess it's time to get our hands dirty along with our shoes." 

We both smiled at one another, a silent acknowledging of the timorous friction between us. The figures almost seemed frozen like statues. They weren't moving toward us, and they weren't moving away from us. They definitely weren't statues. I could make out the faint rise of their puffed-out chests in their armor. It wasn't possible they didn't see us and even if by chance they didn't; the heavy splashes from out footsteps were more than audible. From the distance we were at, the only features I could make out from the vast underground shadows was their builds. On the left was a pudgy silhouette which was starkly contrasted by the lanky one on the right. The closer we got the more discerning their features became. I could make out a receding hair line that pushed far back into a forehead of auburn tufts of hair, the heavier one. The thinner one chose to protect his head with a helmet but had a darkened mustache that curled like a pig's tail on the ends. They were audibly arguing.

"Solt, I told you to charge! For goodness' sake, get them you fool! They've come to close to the manor already!" 

"Peppor, I shake when you shake. We shake together!"

"Blithering coward."

Guile and I finally approached a mere few feet in front of them. Yet they paid us no mind and continued to bicker amongst themselves. 

"Did you at least bring the handcuffs so we can arrest them?"

"...I thought you did."

"Solt!"

Guile and I exchanged confused glances. This wasn't the confrontation we were anticipating. I confidently raised my hand in front of Guile, "I got this."

"Well then, work your magic." Guile threw his wand in the air, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. 

"One dash and slash coming right up!" I smirked as I got into position to lunge forward. Behind much of this journey I was clueless but never behind my swallow. My one knee was bent at a sharp ninety-degree angle, with my other leg propelling me forward, I ran towards our foes mercilessly. The goal wasn't to kill, it never was. I would; however, incapacitate. In an abrupt motion, I swung forward knocking both of their knees off kilter and wedging past them returning to my lunge position. All that could be heard was a heavy clank followed by a lighter clank as both of them collapsed in the murky, raw sewage. There was no point in even turning around to check, I could hear their bodies sputtering amuck in the water. 

"Peppor, did he really just-"

"Shake it to us? He sure did. Such a spicy warrior! We must report this insolence to the general at once!" 

They both latched onto each other trying to stand, their knees faltering as they tried to get them straight. "Don't pat yourselves on the back just yet. We will leave you with a parting gift." A grimace appeared on the stout one's face then it morphed into a diabolical grin. The inside of the sewer began to rumble, and Guile screamed with panic," Serge get back! He's using a summon!" This time I couldn't hear Guile clap his hands over the booming coming from inside the sewer tunnel. Jolts of electricity formed on the ceiling, and I ran out of direct contact with the water. I looked over to see Guile mirror me and do the same. Without another word, Peppor and Solt were limping vigorously down the sewer away from the source of the electricity. 

A large, slimy snake charged forward with the speed of a bullet train. Guile was shrouded in darkness and began to chant. I got into position with my swallow ready to attack and recited internally not to touch the water. The snake let out a vicious roar, but it was not as vicious as the roar that followed it. A flaming wolf charged toward the snack and in an instant latched onto its neck, puncturing it with its fangs. The snake erupted into a scream and disintegrated into a cloud of electricity. The wolf let out a piercing howl as the electricity encroached upon it. Guile and I ran as far away as we could readying ourselves for what would follow, an explosion. We ducked to the sides of the sewer avoiding the water once again and leaned as far back against the brick wall as we could. We heard the bang and ducked, covering our heads. The faint scent of an electrical fire made its way to our noses. It was over.

"That was a bit ugly, eh?"

A voice rose out of the darkness besides us. A feminine voice laced with a familiarly uncouth accent. We both gently lifted our hands from our ears and squinted through the smoke. Walking out of the ashes like a phoenix was a girl, enrobed in red with blonde hair so bright it could burn the sun itself. I caught sight of her midriff that was shown off by the cropped shirt and bolero she wore. I couldn't help but stare at her delicate curves as she sashayed toward us. Her tiny waist was accentuated by a holstered dagger. Before I could even glance at her face, a leather gloved hand was dangling in front of me. I gripped it surprised by the long, feminine fingers beneath the fabric.

"Up ya go. Come on, mate." 

She securely pulled me to my feet, grounding me where I stood. Then I saw her. My heart began to accelerate as I stared at an endless sky of blue eyes, wide and heavy they seemed to crush me beneath their gaze. Her lash line was dotted with thick, glossy lashes that she batted up at me curiously. Her Blonde bangs were taped to her forehead by heavy plummets of sweat. I don't know what made me look but I softly flitted my eyes over her lips. A plush, pink pout slightly agape caused me to linger a little longer than I should have. Something primal and exciting had surged through me. I watched as her lips moved up and down. Was she talking? I couldn't get past that blood vessels could paint lips such a luscious shade of pink. What was wrong with me?

"You seem a lil' rattled there. I don't blame ya. "

"Who are you?" Guile inquired from somewhere beside me. The exquisite creature in front of me seemed to have stolen my voice and I couldn't muster a single word.

"Yous haven't heard?" She stepped back a few inches allowing me to once again take in the curvaceous, womanly body she did little to hide. She was endowed with a waggish, naughty grin that made want to melt into the water beneath our feet.

"Me name's Kid. If yous are lookin' for the frozen flame...it ain't here."

"How do you know that?" Guile asked, undoubtedly with little trust in his voice. Even though Guile was doing the interrogating, her eyes never left mine. She gently licked her lips leaving a delicious sheen over them then gave me an enigmatic wink.

"Because I'm also lookin' for the frozen flame."

                                                                                        ...

A/N: So, I do think I will make the set up like "The radical dreamers." Where it had a party of Kid, Serge and Magil(in this case Guile.) This will be the main party throughout this fan fic with the other characters intertwining. I can't resist creating some tension between Serge and Kid. ;)