Noaah, the remaining sirens, and their supporters tore through the corridors of Terra del Diavolo, knowing that the Devines were not too far behind them.

     Must find a way out, Noaah's mind echoed.

     As the group continued to try to flee, the Devines continued to shoot at them and strike them down.

    By the time they even found an exit, all that was left was Noaah, Altaïr, Vyykium, Azeline, Jayaatu, Evangelos, Zephyria, Fade, Whisper, Arii, Wanda, and the one everyone called 'Wales'.

     "Open it!" Jayaatu shouted to Arii, who was closest to the door.

     Arii grabbed onto the handle and tried to twist it—-it wouldn't budge. "It's locked!" Arii exclaimed.

     "Oh, stop being such a wuss," Wanda began, pushing her twin brother out of the way. "Let me try." She tried to twist the door knob but she got the same result as her brother. "Fuck!" Wanda cursed. "It's useless!"

     "May I be of service?" A demon man stepped into view. His hair was a bright blond and his eyes were burning, red fires. Bits of stubble lit up his face.

    "Who the hell are you?" Wales asked, defensively. "Are you one of the Devines?"

      The man shook his head. "No. I'm not… I'm um Drokonik…" The man looked down the corridor to see the demons racing down it. He looked back at the door and conjured up a portal. "Go, go!" He insisted before the whole group lunged through.

     After going through the rift, Noaah stumbled through snow.

     "Come on!" Evangelos shouted. "We have to get out of here now! Drokonik might have bought us some time, but Rarguun and his men won't be preoccupied for long!"

     "Right you are, Kythira," Rarguun laughed as he super-strength punched Evangelos, sending the siren back quite a few feet.

    Evangelos struggled to his feet.

    "What do we do?" Whisper asked, upset as he hid behind Fade's leg.

      Noaah inhaled. "We fight."

     "Oh no," Wanda responded as the group slowly matched toward Rarguun—-Rarguun's side did the same.

     Soon, the groups were running full force at each other.

     A Devine swung at Noaah, but he ducked—-in response, Noaah kicked the demon's leg off.

     Out of the corner of Noaah's eye, he saw Drokonik charge at the Devines, with two other demons behind him.

      The group continued to tear through the Devines—-slaughtering each and everyone of them.

      Finally, all that was left was Rarguun; all of the other Devines were either dead or had fled the scene.

     Drokonik and his lackeys had left once they saw only Rarguun remained.

      Jayaatu hacked at Rarguun with a blade, only for the demon to jump out of the way, grab Jayaatu's arm and dislocate it.

     Jayaatu fell to the ground, cradling his shoulder and screaming in agony.

      Rarguun reached for dagger, which had been laced in essence of Xuviphas. He flicked his hand, sending the blade flying through the air.

      "Watch out!" Evangelos screamed as he pushed Azeline out of the way—-the knife burying itself right below his rib cage.

     Evangelos collapsed to his knees, blood trickling from his lips.

     Azeline rubbed her head and stared in horror and Evangelos collapsed to the ground, instantly falling still.

     Azeline rushed over to Evangelos. She shook him. "Evan? Evan? Evan?" She began, tears in her eyes.

    Vyykium placed a hand on Azeline's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Azeline. He's gone."

    Azeline stood, immediately buring her head in Vyykium's chest and sobbing. "Y-You know… He was always so nice to me before battles… He t-taught me how to fight."

     Noaah looked away from Azeline and toward Rarguun. "I'm gonna make you pay for that," he snarled, tears dancing in his violet eyes.

     After all of that time that Noaah had spent in Terra del Diavolo, he had come to see Evangelos as a honorary older brother.

     "Oh? Am I?" Rarguun sounded amused before he chuckled faintly to himself.

      Noaah charged forward, completely bulldozing Rarguun.

       Noaah slammed his boot down hard against Rarguun's right leg and began to yank on it until Rarguun screamed bloody murder—-until he had ripped that leg off. Noaah swiftly moved to Rarguun's left side.

     Inside, Noaah felt this unbridled, primal rage. He lurched forward, biting down onto the lower part of Rarguun's left leg—-he let his fangs sink it. He kept tugging and tugging until he had ripped off a portion of Rarguun's leg with just his teeth.

     Rarguun swung upward, his fist colliding with the bottom of Noaah's jaw, sending him flying backward.

     Noaah scrambled to his feet, watching Rarguun trying to drag himself away—-staining the once white snow red. Noaah so desperately wanted to finish the job off and slaughter Rarguun where he lay.

     Noaah's gaze drifted over to Fade and Whisper.

     Then it dawned on him.

     Fade never wanted to speak about who Whisper's other parent was.

      Whisper had some demon like abilities.

      Rarguun always seemed to make unwanted verbal advances on to Fade.

        Rarguun is Whisper's father, Noaah thought to himself. He yelled, "Fade! He's all yours!"

     Fade pulled a knife from her belt. "Oh! I've waited so long for this." She darted toward Rarguun.

      Rarguun looked up at Fade right as she flipped the blade through the air to hold it from a different angle and buried it deep within his neck.

    ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

    Once Rarguun had died, Fade burned the body.

     Noaah hadn't honestly seen Fade happier than now with that son of a bitch dead.

      The group continued on, taking Evangelos's body with them.

     They stopped by a lake, fashioning a raft and laying Evangelos upon it.

     When asked why he made that choice, Vyykium answered, "A siren's body should be committed to the sea… Seeing as though there's nothing like that around here, a lake will have to do."

     "Anyone wanna say a few words?" Jayaatu asked.

      Azeline nodded, crying. She made a long, elaborate speech, but Noaah could barely make out any of it because how much the French girl was sobbing.

     Azeline held a finger out, signifying she needed a moment. She sniffled and then took a deep breath. "And for everything you've done… I'll remember it…" She sniffled again. "I'm gonna name my first born child after you… That's a promise Evangelos…"

     Fade rubbed Azeline's back in an attempt to comfort her. "It's okay… It's okay. He's in a better place now," She told the younger girl, softly.

     "Yeah. He is," Whisper chipped in.

      After Azeline finished what she had to say, Jayaatu spoke, followed by Whisper and Fade. Next, Vyykium and Wales. Then, Arii and Wanda. Afterwards, Altaïr said a few brief words—-so did Zephyria.

    Finally, it was Noaah's turn to say a few works. Noaah's hands trembled. "Evangelos…" He began. "What can I say about Evangelos?" He exhaled. "Evangelos was a friend. He always lended a hand for those in need… Whether it was to teach someone to fight… To share the culture of the sirens… Or to help treat someone's wound. What was Evangelos to me? Someone I could talk to… Someone I could depend on… Someone I could go to for help. A brother… He was like a brother to me—-I think the feeling was mutual."

     Noaah wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Evangelos was always so positive." His lip trembled. "Evangelos… Wherever you are… I hope you're helping people."

     Silence fell upon the group.

    Vyykium nodded to Arii before Arii pushed the raft into the water and stood afterward.

     The group watched as the raft glided away, across the water.

     "What's your name anyway, Wales?" Arii asked, his eyes still on the raft.

    "Eoinyrwyr Bevan," he responded.

    "And you, Fade?" Jayaatu asked.

     "Caomai," Fade responded. "Though, I think I like Fade better. It just feels right."

     "Fade it is then."

     Tears continued to stream down Noaah's cheeks as he watched the raft sail away.

   Altaïr leaned in, placing a kiss on Noaah's lips. After a few moments, he pulled back.

     Noaah sniffled. "What was that for?"

     Altaïr smiled softly at him. "You looked like you needed it."

    Noaah's gaze drifted off toward Azeline who was still sobbing. He put an arm around her, comfortingly.

      The group continued to watch the raft in silence until the raft was no longer visible.

    "So," Jayaatu said. "What now?"

     Zephyria inhaled. "Well, I have matters I have to attend to in Calerikon."

    "I was planning to take Whisper to a nice, quiet village," Fade said. "I think it'll be good for him."

    Vyykium was the next to speak up. "I've got a throne to sit on back in Kaluvkar."

    Noaah eyed Vyykium. "And if they don't take you back?"

     Vyykium sucked in a breath before shrugging. "I'm sure bounty hunting jobs have a high pay."

     Eoinyrwyr nodded. "I'm with you on that… Prior to even being taken to Terra del Diavolo, I was training to become a bounty hunter… So, that's what I'm going back to."

     Azeline exhaled. "And uh…" She trailed off. "I've gotta get back to my people… the Drakolanc. My mother is probably worried sick about me." She wetted her lips. "But, I'll miss you… I'll miss all of you." She fell silent for a few moments before lurching forward and pulling Noaah into an embrace.

     Noaah welcomed the embrace.

     The two continued to hug before pulling away a couple of moments later.

      Noaah exhaled. "I plan to head out… In search for adventure. I don't know where I'm going yet… But I know there's going to be singing… and bar fights."

     Jayaatu wrapped his uninjured arm around Noaah. "Then I believe I'm with you. Conquests around the world sound great… especially when there's fighting involved."

     Altaïr spoke up, "I'm with you too, Noaah."

     Wanda interjected, "Same… Arii and I will accompany you."

      Arii raised an eyebrow. "Do I have a choice in the matter?"

     "No," Wanda responded. "No you don't."

     "Jayaatu," Altaïr began, approaching the other vampire.

     "Right," Jayaatu said, seemingly knowing what Altaïr was going to say. "Just get it done quickly."

    Altaïr nodded, grabbing Jayaatu's arm in one hand and resting the other on his deformed shoulder. "Now, I'm going to be honest with you… This is going to be really quick… But really painful." He jerked Jayaatu's arm back and place which earned him a scream.

    Jayaatu rubbed his shoulder, trying to catch his breath. Finally, he asked, "So. Should we make camp?"

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

     By the time that Noaah awoke, Zephyria, Fade, Whisper, Azeline, Vyykium, and Eoinyrwyr had already left.

     Noaah brushed his bangs out of his face before stretching and yawning.

    Jayaatu called out, "What do you say, boss? Time to hit the trail?"

    Noaah nodded, standing up and approaching Jayaatu, Wanda, Arii, and Altaïr. "Let's do this."

     The group pushed on through the forest—-they stopped when they heard the sound of rustling bushes.

     The whole group stiffened.

     Suddenly, three figures emerged from the bushes—-two adults… One was an elf, the other had a distinct werewolf smell to him.

      The third figure was a young girl who looked somewhat sickly.

      "Who are you?" Arii asked the group.

      The man began to speak, "I'm Cedozar Slavogost…" He gestured to the elvhen woman. "This is my friend Hyun Eonjeok…" He tilted his head in the direction of the little girl. "This is Adruidialla Ausonius…" He wetted his lips. "We're kind of on the run."

     "On the run, you say?" Jayaatu began. "We're sort of on the run from demons… Who are you running from?"

     "Emperor Tiberius's men," Cedozar answered.

     "Well," Eonjeok began. "We wouldn't have to run if you hadn't smuggled a Druid girl onto my ship… Matter of fact, I would've still had my ship."

     Cedozar responded with, "You're a part of this now whether you like it or not, Eonjeok."

     Eonjeok blew out air. "Fine."

     "You wanna join our group of outlaws?" Wanda asked the three. "We're Noaah's merry men… and women."

    "That would be appreciated greatly," Cedozar said.

     Noaah smiled to them. "Welcome aboard."

    Eonjeok, Cedozar, and Adruidialla joined the group's ranks.

     The group continued on through the snow covered forest.

    "So," Noaah began, falling into sync with Altaïr. "Could I get a prosthetic… You know, for my arm?"

     Altaïr nodded. "Of course. I'll get around to that as soon as possible."

     "And I don't know…" Noaah trailed off as he swayed side to side. "Since you do that whole woodworking thing…I was wondering if you could…" Noaah sucked in a breath. "...I don't know… Make me a…lute?"

     "A lute?" Altaïr asked, an amused tone in his voice.

     "Yeah! A lute…" Noaah pushed forward, turned, and started walking backwards so he could face Altaïr. "How else am I to express myself? I mean… I've been to hell and back… Literally. They don't call it Terra del Diavolo for nothing. So, I think at the very least I deserve a chance to vent my grievances through song."

    Altaïr exhaled, still with an amused look on his face. "Okay. I'll make you a lute."

     "Yes!" Noaah exclaimed as he turned around once again to face the direction the rest of the group was facing in.

     "Only after I make your prosthetic first," Altaïr clarified.

     Jayaatu pushed forward, wedging himself between the two. "So… Where to?"

     Noaah thought for a moment about what he knew about the world outside Terra del Diavolo. He smirked. "I've heard Cyeollaria is enchanting this time of year."