What Vyykium said remained echoing in Noaah's head for the rest of the day.

     A siren? Really? I'm not a siren. No way. ...just a guy with freakish strength...and freakish speed. Not a siren, Noaah thought to himself.

     Noaah exhaled as he leaned his head against the bars of his cell. Vyykium's wrong. He doesn't know me.

     Noaah drummed his fingers against the bottom of the cell, trying to push the thoughts of sirens out of his head.

     His violet gaze wandered over to Fade who was trying to talk to Whisper.

      He doesn't know... Whisper doesn't know Fade is his mother, Noaah thought to himself. He may never know.

      "Fade?" Whisper began.

      "Hmm... Yes?" Fade responded to the young boy.

      "Why are you teaching me this stuff?" Whisper questioned. The 'stuff' in question being basic survival skills. "Why teach me any of this?"

       "Because I need to," Fade insisted.

        Whisper shook his head. "No... You don't owe me anything. You don't need-"

       Fade cut him off. "Yes, I do need to teach you these things. Trust me."

         Whisper inhaled deeply.

          "Snowy!" called a Devine entering the room. He called the name so loudly that even Fade jumped a little when it was said.

        Noaah's gaze cruised over to the Devine.
        "Scales!" yelled the Devine.

        Scales had been the nickname that Azeline had earned.

        Azeline looked over, a twinkle in her eyes. "Yes?"

        How does she stay so peppy while being here?, Noaah questioned.

        A few guards unlocked Noaah and Azeline's cells after being commanded to by the lead Devine guard.

        Noaah and Azeline exchanged glances with each other before Noaah spoke up.

       "Excuse me? Why did you free both of us?"

       Azeline's eyes grew wide. "Rarguun isn't making us fight each other, is he?"

        The lead Devine laughed. "No. No. He's not."

        Noaah raised a snow white eyebrow. "Then why are we both needed?"

       "Duel battle..." The lead Devine began.

        "So we're working together to fight others, then?" Azeline queried.

         The only response she got was a grunt.

         "Time to go," one guard said, ushering Noaah and Azeline toward the corridor.

         Whisper had pressed his face against the cell's bars. "Good luck! Don't die!"

        Noaah and Azeline silently passed through the corridors with the guards behind them, making sure they didn't try to run away.

        When the two finally reached the arena, the Devines were already screaming with delight.

       "Never have we done this before!" Rarguun began shouting. "But, now, it's finally time!"

      The cheering got louder.

       "May I present to you, Scales the Fire-Breathing Horror and Snowy the Slayer... Versus George and the undead!"

        Wait. What? George?, Noaah questioned.

         Sure enough, George--looking as dead as ever--entered the ring, limping. His face was blank. Dried blood illuminated the gapping hole in his chest.

        Behind George was a dozen people that all looked like him--dead.

        They had all been killed in prior battles.

        Necroanthrop, Noaah thought to himself.

        The zombies screeched blood curling sounds. They charged.

        "Okay, it's just you and me, Azeline, alright?" Noaah started.

         No response.

        "Azeline?" When he realized she was no longer standing right beside him, he shook his head. "Dammit."

      Zombie George approached Noaah, growling and foaming at the mouth.

      "I know I killed you before," Noaah began. He laughed nervously. "But no hard feelings, right?" Yet again, he let out a nervous laugh.

       The response he got was George trying to bite his head off.

       Noaah threw himself out of the way, because he wasn't sure what a necroanthrop's bite would do to him. He huffed as he stood once again, dusting off his clothes. "George!" He called out. "You know, I never thought about it before, but killing you, not once but twice, sounds rather appealing!"

     Undead George growled before lunging at Noaah.

       Noaah found it surprising that George seemed stronger than he was when he was alive. Struggling to fend of George, Noaah called out, "Azeline! I could really use your help right now!"

      Azeline was on the other side of the arena.

      A necroanthrop werewolf swung at Azeline, its claw grazing the side of Azeline's face.

       Small amounts of blood trickled from the cut on Azeline's cheek. She huffed, angrily. "Okay. You asked for this." She ducked underneath the necroanthrop, rushing in the opposite direction.

      "What are you doing?" Noaah exclaimed to her, completely and utterly confused.

        "Trust me!" Azeline shouted back, running up the staircase to the balcony--which made Rarguun chuckle.

       "Uhhh... It's kind of hard to do that!" Noaah responded.

       "Well, just do it anyway!" Azeline yelled.

        "If you insist!"

          Azeline took a deep breath as she walked backward on the platform. She closed her eyes for just the smallest sliver of a moment before opening them again. Her pupils thinned and elongated. She charged forward, jumping off the balcony in the arena with a snarl.

       As Noaah looked up, he could see a golden dragon soaring above him, cascading fire down upon the necroanthrops, killing them for a second time almost instantly.

     Azeline, Noaah laughed to himself.

     Azeline's dragon form had distracted almost everyone, including Noaah.

     Undead George lurched forward, biting down hard on Noaah's shoulder.

      The pain of the bite barreled through Noaah's body. "Son of a bitch!" He cursed before kicking George off of him. "I swear to the gods, George, if your bite makes me into..." He trailed off. He exhaled, in pain, while cradling his injured shoulder. Noaah looked George dead in the eyes. "You're a dead man... Again."

        Noaah charged forward, ramming George right into one of the arena's walls.

       George tried to fight back, but Noaah threw him yet again. And again. And again. And again.

       Finally, Noaah kicked George, sending the necroanthrop staggering backward--and as George went backward, Noaah kicked high.

      Noaah's leg went straight through George's neck, cutting his head clean off.

      Noaah grabbed George's hair, letting his head dangle. "Georgie, do us both a favor and don't come back for a third time, please."

      As Azeline disintegrated the last necroanthrop and returned back to a humanoid form, the Devines cheered, wildly.

      Noaah and Azeline took their bows before heading back to the corridors.

     "What you did there was really cool," Noaah told Azeline, trying to ignore the searing pain in his shoulder. "Y'know...the dragon thing."

     "Thanks," Azeline inhaled. "Your roundhouse kick decapitation thing was cool too."

       Azeline and Noaah took a moment to catch their breath, only to look up and see Rarguun, himself, approaching the two.

      Azeline gulped. "We're dead."