In the next, and what Xard had to assume was the last changing room, was his combat outfit. At least it looked like his. With Valen’s now known history of set designs and artistic talent, it was entirely possible she could stitch it together—the look at least. The man doubted she could install the same functionality his suit had, but he didn’t know the extent that she could use Nathym’s blood.

To be certain, he gave it a whiff. Yup, that’s mine. Xard had unfortunately not been able to give it a deep cleaning upon his most recent return since they’d rushed back out due to the blood crisis. A wave of comfort washed over him as soon as put the suit back on. He’d almost felt naked this whole time without it.

To his surprise, he was first into the next room again, but that was probably because Drim had more accessories to put on—also back in his combat gear. The room itself was just a black cube, dimly lit and empty.

“So what are we doing here?” Xard asked when the two men were back together, ready to get it over with since it felt like there couldn’t be much more.

“Oh, it’s already started,” Valen snickered. “Just your normal everyday life as members of the Fiends For Hire; Monster hunting! Better find it quick before it hunts you.” Both men started glancing around the room with expedience, desperately trying to find whatever monster she was talking about. But they couldn’t see anything, and the only noise was their own breathing.

That’s when Xard was hit by something over the head, knocking him down to the ground. He desperately pushed at the weight on his face, ripping the creature off of him and holding it in the air. At first it looked like a fat lizard, but then it opened its giant mouth. Before he could do anything else, countless rows of teeth started chomping towards his face.

The terror didn’t last long before the monster was ripped out of his arms and flung across the room. It looked like its belly had been sliced open, but fortunately blood didn’t start spilling until it was far from Xard’s head. Drim had killed it in a single cut, as to be expected, and then reached down an arm to help up his friend.

From start to finish, that had made Xard’s heart race, but at least it was over now. “Never seen that one before,” he glanced at the corpse once he’d had a moment to steady his nerves.

“It’s a Chameleech,” Drim shared. “And it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one. I thought they’d been hunted to extinction. You can see why humans would be eager to get rid of them. On top of being able to turn invisible, they try to suck out all your blood. Where’d you find one, Valen? And more importantly, how’d you even manage to trap it and drag it here. That’s something even I’d struggle with.”

“Oh, I was just out in the swamp one day, doing Fiend things as we do,” her story already felt unreal. “Got attacked by one of those mawhgers and managed to wrestle it away. It scampered off, but since I was able to track the blood it took from me, I followed it back to its home. And since it’s got more blood in it than the average everyday living creature, it was rather simple to make it dance its way into a cage.”

“Well, at least we can move on now,” Xard was eager to leave the decaying wretch to decompose and finish things up. He wasn’t quite sure what this was all supposed to accomplish. Had she wanted to see one of them actively save the other? It felt both like too much effort had been put in and anticlimactic for the result.

“Who said you were done,” Valen could only laugh to herself. “And who said there was only one?” Three of the walls around them collapsed. Though it wasn’t the most obvious thing at first besides the noise, since it just opened up to an even bigger dimly lit room—several times bigger.

The walls they’d been boxed in must have been quite soundproof as well. Because while the one Chameleech had been quiet and biding its time, they could now hear endless skittering around them that sent a chill down Xard’s spine.

“Turns out, there was a whole marsh of the things that those hunters missed. But unless there’s more, this should be every last Chameleech in existence. Won’t the two strong men of the Fiends For Hire help a poor girl and humanity itself by purging these vicious monsters from the face of Rathe?!”

It was true that they had to be dealt with. Some monsters could be left alone or cordoned off into certain areas, but the Chameleech was better off in extinction. They were aggressive and dangerous, and while a single one wasn’t the toughest monster in the world, their ability to camouflage made them difficult to kill for even the most experienced hunters.

Drim held out his hand, opening a green portal that sprayed glowing spores around the room. They attached to all the Chameleeches in front of them, and for a brief moment, the two men could see them all—several dozen at least. It didn’t last long, though, before the monsters adapted to the spores, refreshing their camouflage so they were invisible again.

“Well, I didn’t expect that to work, really, but now we know how many we’re up against,” he justified his actions. “They’re all on the walls and the ceiling, only a few on the floor. So I have an idea how to end this quickly.” Drim held out his hand to Xard, prompting him to take it.

Then, he started walking to the center, pulling the redhead along with him. He was careful with his steps, clearly trying to remember the locations of those on the floor so they didn’t step on any. To be certain at a few spots, Drim sent out thorns to check that the monsters were still there, piercing them if he could, but usually just scared them away.

During their walk, another fell from the ceiling to attack them, but Xard was ready this time. He aimed a finger above their heads and sent out a laser of energy, spinning it around like a lasso to cover the area. It sliced the beast into a few pieces before it could hit them.

Once they were in the center of the room, Drim pulled Xard close again, snuggling right up until they were touching and clutching to the front of his torso. “Alright, blast from your back so you won’t hurt me. As high as you can from the floor to the ceiling. I’ll take care of the rest.”

The sudden closeness had caused a variety of emotions and jitters to well up in Xard again, but at least he had a way to redirect it this time. Stored kinetic energy blasted out his entire backside as instructed. Countless squeals echoed behind him, but Xard quickly tuned it out, focused on what was ahead.

Drim started to move the two of them, shuffling their feet around so they were meticulously rotating around the entire room in a circle, taking care not to go too fast and miss any Chameleeches. Even though it was raining death around them, Xard barely even noticed it, too absorbed by their movements. It was clunky and awkward, but in a way it felt like slow-dancing.

Their full revolution probably only took about a minute in total, and then they did a second quicker one to pick off any stragglers that had been left behind and dodged the first wall of death. Drim then did another spray of spores to check for any survivors. There was only one which he quickly dispatched himself.

“Gahh! You ruined all my cameras!” Valen sobbed—a bit gargled since the speaker was damaged as well. “Oh well, what I got to see of it was amazing! Since I can’t see in there anymore, let’s move on to the final scene! Just in time too, the lighting should be perfect!”

So it really was the final scene at last. This craziness would come to an end. And instead of two changing rooms appearing, a single set of double doors opened, creaking a bit since they’d been clearly damaged as well. The two boys entered and ascended the steps that were just beyond.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the top, and together they pushed open the next set of doors. Light flooded their eyes, taking a moment to adjust while they breathed in the fresh, salty air. They were back outside, on top of a balcony that overlooked the sea, above a rocky alcove.

That, and the tropical foliage around them, was enough to give them a good idea of where they were: somewhere along the south-western coastline of the continent. Valen really had transported them quite a ways, which raised the question of how she’d moved them that far and so inconspicuously.

The villa they were at seemed to be the nicest around, certainly in the best condition. Most of the surrounding town looked deserted from what they could see. It was a good place for Valen to set up her insanity playhouse without drawing much attention. They of course wondered if she had any connections to the place, but that could be asked another time.

Nothing else seemed out of order from their glances except a small vial of purple blood sitting on a pedestal. By the color, it had to be Phon’s, so they could only make an educated guess as to how it could be used. But it had been placed out of the way, likely to not draw attention to it, so they left it alone for now.

“And what are we doing here?” Drim asked. “Are we just done? We’re clearly outside and there’s no traps or restraints left, so we could just leave.”

“Yes, you could,” Valen admitted. “But the two of you just fought a hard battle, completed the mission successfully, so why don’t you just take a moment to relax. Go stand by the railing and enjoy the scenery.”

The Fiends did as instructed, even leaning over the edge a bit to get a better view. It really was a beautiful place, and the sun setting over the water just enhanced it that much more. A lovely end to a crazy day.

“There’s no real need to do anything. You’ve both been through a lot today, but you got through it together. I hope it brought you closer, let you have some bonding time that would be hard to find otherwise. Maybe it even strengthened your relationship, let you see each other in a new light.”

The two of them couldn’t help but let their eyes drift towards each other because of Valen's narration, locking their gaze and staring deeply at each other. “And is there anyone else you’d rather be with right now? Someone else you rather would have gone through this day with? The two of you handled it just so perfectly. A perfect pair to take on anything. You’re just so great together. Maybe, you should seal that bond with just a little kiss…”

Drim couldn’t stop himself from smirking and huffing a little laugh. “So that’s your endgame, is it? You want us to kiss?”

“I mean, is that so crazy?” Valen desperately tried to play it off casually. “Look at where you are. The mood is perfect, the time is right. It wouldn’t hurt to show each other just how much he means to you. Even if it’s just as friends, an expression of undying commitment and loyalty.”

This was simply too crazy. Xard couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did she seriously think that they’d go along with it? He wouldn’t exactly turn it down if Drim offered any other time, but this situation was just too forced and chaotic. The mood was nice, and they had been through a lot like she said. But there was just too much craziness to the circumstances.

“Yeah, I don’t think—” Xard started but he got cut off.

“And then we’ll be done, right?” Drim asked for confirmation. “You’ll let us go, let Ahvra go. And you’ll come with us, no resistance, no more demands, and you pledge to help us complete all of our goals.”

“I solemnly swear!” their captor made their oath.

“No, Drim. This is crazy. We don’t have to do this. We’re outside now, and we have a good idea where she is. We can just go find her, or you could—” Xard’s words were cut off again, but not by anyone saying anything.

Drim took a quick step forward and grabbed Xard’s shoulders, pushing their lips together. It was warm, and wet and… Xard wasn’t really sure after that. His mind went hazy a little bit, so focused on the contact, the moment shared between them.

He didn’t even hear the sound of vial breaking nearby—only processing what had happened later. He didn’t see the purple blood swirl into a portal and Valen stepping out of it. Only when she was scampering around them, taking nonstop pictures, did he finally snap back to reality.

The kiss had only lasted a few seconds, but it could have been hours for all he knew. Drim was the one who eventually broke it off and took a step back, giving him another smile and a quick pat on the shoulder before turning his attention to Valen.

She had stopped looking at both of them too, losing interest once the kiss ended. Instead, she was crouched down over by the doors and flipping through the photos with a disturbing look on her face.

“What the mawhg was that?!” an unexpected visitor with a familiar voice dropped down from the roof above them. Kada had Phon slung over her shoulder, who she then set down against the railing. The unmoving girl’s head seemed to be spinning, struggling to process what she’d just seen.

“What the zjik, Xard? I thought we made a pact to not… you know!” Kada was less confused and more agitated. “Totally not cool and not fair! Phon and I were so worried about you, so we rushed to find you, but then we see this!” She then turned to Drim. “If he gets a kiss, I want one too! There should be no special treatment, and—”

Before the rant could continue, Drim stepped over to Kada, pulled her in close by her vest, and kissed her too. When he broke away, the man said nonchalantly, “Don’t let it ever be said that I don’t treat all my employees equally.”

This led to a crazy spectrum of reactions around them. Phon, who had just been on the verge of getting her head back on straight, was hit with another punch right to her psyche. Kada slid her back down against the railing and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I have very mixed and confused feelings about this.”

Xard, who was still reeling from his own kiss, caught off guard by Kada and Phon showing up, and now watching her get kissed too, decided to just turn and stare out at the sea. And Valen, who had been in a state of bliss looked the most distraught of them all and started to bluster.

“What? No that can’t be. I refuse to believe that just happened! This goes against everything… Wait, no, I can work with this. Drim is lured away by the evil temptress and then Xard… yup, got it, I’m good.”

As the only one still thinking clearly, Drim went back over to Valen and demanded, “You’re going to let Ahvra go now, right?”

“Oh, uhh, sure,” she set down her camera and notepad and then reached into her handbag, pulling out a vial of what looked like grease-colored blood. The blood, which had to be Roque’s, swirled into a portal and showed what looked to be like a small room that existed outside of their dimension.

Inside was a ruby colored chest, likely a creation of Rishaki’s blood. Once taken out of the portal, the chest expanded in size to roughly the size of a small child and then melted back into goop before returning to Valen. Ahvra was left on the floor, still asleep.

“She seems unharmed, and still looks like she’s under the effect of the plant,” Drim surmised.

“Yes, anything stored in Rishaki’s blood is frozen in time, stuck in the same state in perpetuity,” Valen clarified. “And then I can store them into Roque’s blood and retrieve them from anywhere. It seems three items is my limit, fortunately. That’s how I got you all here.”

“Ah, Useful One, we’re under attack and… and… where are we?” Ahvra suddenly sprung awake but then got confused by her surroundings.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Ahvra,” Drim attempted to placate her. “This is Valen. She’ll be joining our science department today under your command. She’s a Fiend who can control blood, and more importantly, stimulate the use of Fiend blood to exploit their powers.”

“You don’t say?!” Ahvra gasped with excitement, sprouting into her adult form. She then rushed over to Valen and began inspecting her body. Only after a thorough examination did she finally notice the others. “What happened to them?” She asked about the three who looked like they’d just lost a devastating battle.

“It’s been a long day,” Drim played it off. “Why don’t the three go find somewhere to discuss things while they take some time to work through their own dilemmas?” He then hopped over the railing to the street below and started walking away. “You’re coming, aren’t you Valen?” He stared back at her with a demanding gaze.

“Uhh, right!” But instead of attempting to jump over in her dress, she floated some of Phon’s blood down towards the ground. Two portals then opened, one at the street, and one up on the balcony, and she walked right through. It was an impressive display of how that worked, and Drim would get more ideas for the future from it.

Xard looked turned his head back around just in time to see Ahvra hoist her small body over the railing and flop down to the street. She landed on top of Valen, smooshing them both to the ground. “You’re already doing a great job as my fourth assistant, Blood Bag.”

He watched them start to walk away, and then glanced back over to the two distraught girls. Not wanting to stick around and mope any longer, he decided to jump over the railing and join the others.