After meeting at Zack's house and parting ways with the rest of the group, Parker and Abrianna left the kingdom of Leviere to search for a side quest to improve their financial situation. Abrianna had spent all of her money repaying the three stooges for their help in finding the princess and was left with no funds. Despite her royal background, she didn't have much money to her name.

Parker, on the other hand, was financially stable. The side quests were more of a way for him to gain experience, as they did not offer as much reward as defeating Hydra or ending the war. However, they provided enough to fulfill his desire to improve. Additionally, there was always the chance of coming across an item that could be useful in the future, such as the flower that weakened the crimson dragon.

Due to the battles against the demon lord's armies, the entire kingdom was in lockdown, preventing merchants and adventurers from entering. Civilians who feared for their safety had the option to leave, and most traveled to Jime and Aveay, while others moved south.

Parker and Abrianna used their war titles to join a group of merchants heading to Jime and arrived at the capital city in under an hour. Once they were dropped off in the adventurer's district, they went to the nearest quest board to find a new job.

Abri: [So kind of those guys to let us tag along.]

Parker chuckled in response, garnering a level of surprise from the elf.

Abri: [What’s funny?]

Parker: [They only let us go because of who we are. If we were just anybody, there’s no chance we would’ve been allowed on that cart.]

Abri: [Even so, we need to appreciate what they did for us.]

Parker rolled his eyes.

Abri: [You need to learn to appreciate the little things in life.]

Along the way, they noticed an abundant amount of soldiers walking about with no clear intentions.

Parker: [It’s whatever, man.]

The two of them walked into a shabby, rundown guild hall and approached a silver-haired butler by the reception desk in the center of the small room.

Butler: [How may I help you?]

An inventory popped up in front of Parker, giving him several options to choose from.

I want to join the guild! >

I need some help around the city. >

It’s a bountiful day, isn’t it? >

I’m looking for a quick job. >

Without paying any mind to it, Parker selected the last option and waited for the butler’s next response. It has nearly been a week since he last interacted with an NPC of this level, though nothing seemed to have fazed him.

Butler: [Take a look at the quest board to your left!]

Parker and Abri turned simultaneously.

Butler: [The quests without a star print are available to those outside the guild.]

Parker nodded and walked towards the shabby bulletin board. Abri walked beside him and looked at the offers the guild had. One look at the offered rewards was enough to make the elf cross her arms and pout in frustration.

Abri: [At this rate, I’ll never get back on my feet!]

Parker let out a chuckle.

Abri: [These job offers are Stu’s in a cradle!]

Parker: [I’m not sure what that means.]

Abri: [It’s a saying that basically means they’re pointless.]

She pointed at one on the board while the doors to the empty guild hall opened.

Abri: [This one only gives three silver!]

Parker: [Thirty bucks for fixing an old man’s Tlinda?]

He squinted his eyes.

Parker: [What’s that?]

Abri: [It's similar to those Ultra-repellent barriers you see outside cities and villages.]

From afar, the butler spoke to the people that entered.

Butler: [How may I help you?]

????: [It’s a bountiful day, isn’t it?]

Butler: [Right this way, sir.]

Parker slightly turned to see who could’ve entered the guild hall as Abrianna complained about the quest rates. His curiosity got the best of him while Abri continued to silently growl at the board in front of her.

Upon laying eyes on the butler, he caught a glimpse of the group of four in front of him and couldn’t believe his eyes. With a gasp, he tapped Abri’s shoulder. Her frustrated, yet confused glare was immediately flipped the moment she saw the group of people speaking with the butler.

The tallest member of the group felt like they were being watched, so with a turn of their head, they saw the back of Abri and Parker’s heads as they looked around the bulletin board. The guy grew suspicious, but before he could say anything, the shortest turned to him and asked,

???: [What are you waiting for?]

??: [… Nothing.]

They both walked further into the guild hall, leaving Abri and Parker with sweat beads rolling down their faces. As soon as they knew the group had gone, Parker turned to Abrianna, whose eyes were in utter panic.

Parker whispering: [Wha–?!Why is he here?! Shouldn’t he be in prison?]

Abri: [Your guess is as good as mine! He’s here with those two, so they must have a reason, right?! Wait, if they’re with him–!]

Parker: [We need to warn the others!]

Abri: [By the time we get there, they might leave!]

Parker: [As long as we get there before the next wave, their knowing of his escape would be good.]

Abri: [Then we should get going!]

They both ran out of the guildhall and spent the next hour running towards the kingdom of Leviere. As they approached the capital city, they noticed the sky slowly waning and turning red. Its shade seemed to have been darker than earlier, more closely resembling the color of dried blood over pastel it used to be. The holographic timer hovering over the castle was frozen at midnight and instilled fear in the two.

While they made their way, Sean sat beside Ruby’s unconscious body in the living room of Zack’s home. She peacefully rested on the long couch while Sean was on the ground, eating away some food he found in Zack’s cabinet. The small star-shaped balls that tasted like sweet cereal, kept Sean enough company to stay awake.

As he was eating, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind him. Since the chair was obstructing his vision, he made an assumption as to who it was and called for them.

Sean: [You finally woke up.]

The footsteps came to a halt.

Sean: [I was worried about you, y’know?]

Faith: [Glad to hear it.]

She walked up to the side of the couch where she saw Sean staring into his bowl of star flakes.

Faith: [What you got there?]

Sean: [Just a little something I found in the kitchen.]

As Faith walked towards the single couch, she noticed Ruby lying behind Sean.

Sean: [They kinda tastes like Lucky Charms, remove the marshmallows, and replace them with oatmeal raisin cookies.]

Faith: [That sounds awful.]

Sean laughed hysterically and spit the bit he had in his mouth back in the bowl.

Sean: [It is. It tastes like shit.]

He gently placed the bowl on the table in front of him. A moment passed of the two sitting in silence, waiting for the other to spark conversation. Sean’s earlier conversation with Ruby somehow made him tense up in front of Faith. Looking at her blank stare into the bowl brought back Sean’s memories of their time at the school cafeteria. Though he looked different, there was still a part of Faisal that hadn’t changed.

Sean: [I always took you for the sensitive type.]

He caught Faith’s attention.

Sean: [You never took kindly to roasts or insults. I didn’t expect that to transfer over to this world, too.]

Faith: [Different body, same mind.]

She reached for his bowl and dragged it over to her side.

Faith: [I guess I’ll always be a coward.]

Sean: [That isn’t entirely true, y’know.]

He took a moment to think of his next word.

Sean: [There isn’t a person in this world or the other that can take a genuine insult and pass it off as nothing.]

Faith diverted her eyes from the bowl and looked towards Sean. The reflection from the bowl tinted a bit of green into his iris, making his eyes look rather hazel.

Faith: [You seem to do it fairly easily.]

Sean lowered his head and narrowed his eyes.

Sean: [That’s because… well, you see,]

He took a large breath and pinched his thumb.

Sean: [I’m not like everyone else.]

Faith: [I figured.]

Sean let out a sorrowful breath and averted his gaze.

Faith: [The great Sean Soukone, capable of fighting off a horde of high schoolers while only in the 7th grade. Leader of the Breakfast Club, and the funniest guy at school. Of course you aren't like everyone else.]

Sean closed his eyes as Faith praised his titles.

Faith tightly gripped the bowl and pressed her lips together.

Faith: [Anyway, I feel like what Heirloom said didn’t really offend me, or hurt me in any way. Instead, I agreed with everything he had to say and hated myself for it.]

Sean turned back to her and noticed her trembling hands holding onto the clay bowl. Her tight grip on it was nearly about to tear it apart.

Sean: [What did he say exactly? I didn’t get the whole story from Ruby.]

The sorceress loosened her grip and looked up at the wizard staring back at her. As if a flame had suddenly ignited inside her, she stared at Sean brimming with dedication and perseverance.

Faith: [We’ve been here for nearly an entire month now. In that time we got jobs, a place to live, leveled up enough to use a Maxina more than once, and helped an entire kingdom in a war. Not a single thing we did brought us a step closer to finding where our best friends are. Heirloom reminded me of that.]

Sean: [Now that you mention it…]

Faith: [An entire month, and not a single day was dedicated to searching for them. So that leads me to this; when is a better time to go searching for them, than right now?]

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Sean: [We’re too preoccupied to go now.]

He turned to the unconscious princess behind him.

Sean: [There are too many things to worry about–]

Faith: [Those aren’t our problem, Sean!]

He flinched.

Faith: [Right now, all we have to do is make sure our friends are healthy and alive.]

Sean: [But the campaign–]

Faith: [Forget about it for now!]

Sean: [It might be our only way back home.]

Faith: [I’m not going back to a world without Ismail or Andy. I don’t care how long I have to stay here.]

Sean fearfully stared into the bright blue eyes of the sorceress before him. Her sudden explosion of confidence surprised him and completely changed the mood of the conversation. Speechless, Sean couldn’t take his eyes off Faith, almost admiring her like he did once before.

Faith: [Will you be coming with me, or not?]

Sean: [You don’t even know where to start.]

Faith: [I’m willing to search around the globe.]

The wizard slammed the table and gritted his teeth.

Sean: [You’re lying to yourself! You know damn well that once you step out the kingdom, you’ll come walking back over here!]

Faith flinched back, surprised by Sean’s sudden change.

Sean: [You never had it in you to do anything by yourself!]

Faith: [… what are you-?]

Sean: [Don’t you understand what you're saying?! The one thing you don’t have is a drive to get anything done! Even if you were to set out to find them, you’ll either get yourself killed, or crawl back here begging for help!]

Faith: [If you don’t think I can do it alone, come with me!]

Sean: [No, Felix! You aren’t Ruby! Our only way back home is by finishing this stupid story! If we don’t get this thing done as soon as possible, we’ll never see our families again!]

Faith: [We’re not the only ones that want to go back.]

Sean: [There’s nothing that says they won’t come back with us.]

Faith: [There’s also nothing saying they will. It’s better to be safe than sorry.]

Sean stared into her confident sapphire eyes and the hand she had reaching towards him.

Faith: [Like you said, I can't do this on my own. I don’t know what this world has in store, and need someone around to get anything done!]

Sean: [You’ve gotta be shitting me.]

When suddenly,

Ruby: [Heirloom!]

She jolted up from the couch and began panting and sweating like she ran a marathon. She frightened Sean, causing him to jump back with his eyes wide open.

Ruby looked at the two in the living room in confusion.

Ruby confused: [What happened?!]

Sean: [Ali said he had an important job to do, and that you were in the way.]

Ruby: [Shit!]

She slammed the couch and clenched her teeth.

Ruby: [How long has it been?!]

Sean: [No longer than an hour.]

Ruby moved off the couch and opened her inventory.

Ruby: [They’re probably done by now! Why didn’t you wake me up?!]

Sean: [If they had to put you to sleep to keep you away, there’s no way I was going to interfere.]

Ruby: [God damn it!]

She ferociously swiped her inventory away and turned to Faith.

Ruby: [You don’t have teleport magic, do you?]

Faith: [Only to places I’ve been.]

Ruby closed her eyes and sighed.

Faith: [What happened to you? Did Heirloom do something?]

Ruby: [Sophia knocked me out and disabled my powers. They said they’re going to kill Heirloom.]

Sean: [Isn’t he one of us? They can’t do that!]

Ruby: [Didus doesn’t care. This whole situation is hard for most people to understand, so all he sees is a dragon tamer that has gone mad.]

She sat back down and rested her head on her palms.

Ruby: [He caused too much trouble to be left alive.]

Sean: [We have to stop them before they do!]

Ruby: [It’s too late now. The wave probably ended.]

Faith: [Don’t lose hope. I doubt that Zack would let them kill Heirloom. As long as someone told him he is one of us, I can guarantee he’s still alive.]

Ruby: [What makes you say that? Heirloom has done nothing but cause problems.]

Faith: [Trust Zack.]

Ruby looked into Faith’s eyes.

Faith: [He wouldn’t kill him.]

The doors to the house busted open with Parker and Abrianna on the other side while in total panic. Their hair turned into a jumble of knots as sweat quickly caressed their cheeks.

Parker: [Bad news!]

The three in the living room could immediately see the fear in Parker’s trembling eyes. Hoping he wasn’t going to bring up Heirloom’s name, Ruby made a fist by her waist and waited for him to catch his breath.

Parker: [Vijan escaped!]

Collectively, their eyes widened as their jaws dropped with a gasp.

----------------------------------------

The two of them joined the group around the living room table and told them everything they knew. Ruby tried putting together what she knew along with what she was told and almost came to the conclusion that Vijan’s escape was linked with the start of the third round. Had it not been for Sean’s correction, stating that the wave started an hour ago and the walk to Jime from the castle is no longer than three, Ruby would’ve put the blame on Heirloom. The last thing she needed on her conscious was that Heirloom freed the others.

As soon as Abri finished telling her side of the story, Faith turned to see Sean’s expression. How they act on their conversation from earlier solely depended on Sean’s next action, and he knew that. Though it had slipped his mind, making contact with Faith’s sapphire eyes reminded him of the decision she made. It was clear, just from the look of her eyes, that she was going to move forward on her goal regardless of the Wizard’s inclusion.

Parker: [What do we do about this?]

Parker looked towards Sean with worried eyes.

Sean’s hero complex was beginning to bite at him the moment Parker asked the question. Every fiber of his being was calling him to get Vijan back, but he knew that there were more important matters at hand. With his fists by his waist trembling in stress, Ruby noticed and chose to speak up for him.

Ruby: [We leave that to Jime.]

Abri: [But isn’t he Leviere’s issue?]

Ruby: [Every kingdom in the Northeast has a problem with Hydra. Once any of them get on their territory, Leviere no longer can handle the situation. Knowing the king of Jime, he’ll be more than happy to take matters into his own hands.]

Parker: [Isn’t he one of us? They’ll kill him if we don’t do something.]

Ruby: [I’ll try to convince him through text but for now, he’s out of our hands.]

A simple glance from Sean was enough for Ruby to count as a “Thanks”

Parker: [Then what do we do? We’re not allowed to help with the waves, and any form of work is too far away from here.]

Faith: [We do what we originally wanted to do.]

The sorceress stood up and slipped her hands into her robe’s pockets.

Faith: [We still don’t know where Andy and Ismail are.]

Parker: [I thought we all agreed to get through the campaign first.]

Faith: [You said it yourself, we can’t help with the waves. Our only option from here is to find them.]

Parker: [It’s not that I attest the idea. Honestly, it’s about time we went to look for them, but–]

Faith: [No! We’re going today!]

Parker stared back into her eyes.

Faith: [No more putting this aside.]

From a single glance at Sean, Parker knew whose side he was on. He had no real argument against finding them, as it was his idea in the first place, but he didn’t like the idea of ignoring their only path out of there.

Faith: [We’ve procrastinated for too long. We have enough money to go on our own, and strength isn’t an issue. If we’re geared up to fight against a demon lord, there’s no excuse to stay put.]

Abri: [I’ll go with you.]

The elf added with a raise of her hand. Her sudden response surprised everyone.

Abri: [I don’t know who these people we’re looking for are, but I don’t think Ruby can tag along to show you around. I’m willing to take her place as your guide around the world.]

Ruby: [You aren’t wrong. I have a kingdom to rebuild and a devil to protect. These next few months don’t look too easy on me.]

Sean smiling: [Just try not to overwork yourself, okay?]

Ruby looked at his smile and smiled back with a giggle.

Ruby: [No promises.]

Parker: [Hold on! What about teaching us Elliot’s method?]

Using every last excuse to remain in the capital, Parker brought up something he had completely forgotten about. Hearing Bengt’s name surprised Ruby out of her smile.

Parker: [You said you’d teach us, didn’t you?]

Ruby: [Od isn’t anything a book and training can’t teach you. I’ll write up everything I learned from years of practice, and have it sent to you guys when it’s done. Until then, I do recommend you pick up a book or two on your own.]

Faith: [I can guarantee you, I won’t be reading your book… or anyone else’s.]

Abri: [I’ll do the reading, then.]

She looked at Ruby with a smile.

Abri: [We look forward to it.]

Ruby thanked her and then turned to Parker who seemed to be bummed out.

Sean: [Get your fat ass over here, Parker. We got idiots to find.]

Faith: [Coming from an idiot, that line isn’t as cool as it should be.]

Ruby laughing: [An idiot calling idiots, idiots, then being called an idiot by an idiot, really cancels everything out.]

Faith embarrassed: [I’d rather not be called an idiot by a genius.]

Abri: [If everyone’s an idiot, doesn’t that make everyone smart?]

Everyone turned to Abri with confusion riddled on their faces, while Ruby nodded in agreement.

Parker: [We’re fucking idiots, through and through. There’s no debating that. But, if I were to say, you’re the biggest idiot of us all, Faith.]

Faith: [Why is it that I’m always singled out?! Parker is the one that has been saying we shouldn’t go looking for them!]

Ruby: [That just brings into question the idiots calling idiots thing again, doesn’t it?]

Sean: [How about we stop having this stupid conversation and get out of here?]

Faith: [As much as I want to commend you for ending this stupid conversation, that would mean I’m calling you smart.]

The five of them got up and made their way out of the wooden cottage. Standing on the patterned brick road, the four that were about to leave, turned around and faced Ruby for her last message.

Ruby: [Let’s just call you all idiots, and get on with our lives, okay?]

Faith turned her head with a pout. As Ruby somberly smiled at Faith, she looked at the group that was about to leave with waning hope.

Ruby: [Our future depends on you four finding the others, and hopefully everyone else that was teleported. Our school was small, so try to rack the names of everyone you meet through your brains. Maybe you will recognize them. For now, though, I wish you all the best of luck.]

Parker: [I’m not sure if I should feel motivated or offended.]

Faith: [I’m feeling a little bit of both.]

Ruby with a chuckle: [You’re missing the entire point.]

Sean: [Nah, we understand entirely.]

He smiled her way.

Sean: [We’ll send any extras over your way. Who knows, maybe they can help restore Penn!]

Ruby: [I’m looking forward to it.]

The four of them turned back around and started walking away from the kingdom, lined up like a squad of superheroes, and walking towards the setting suns over the horizon. Watching them walk away put a hopeful smile on Ruby’s face. Somehow, she felt a sense of tranquility in the colorful bunch heading to make a change. After everything she’d been through with them, she had no reason to put her hope in them, yet their bright smiles and cheerful attitudes blurred their helplessness.

Ruby: [Wait!]

A sudden thought came to her as the black, blue, brown, and yellow hairs on their heads shimmered in the sunlight. The four of them stopped in their steps and looked over their shoulders.

Ruby: [Whatever you do, avoid the island of Galaxia! You may not make it out alive if you go there!]

The second half of her warning didn’t reach them. They felt as if they got the memo regardless and nodded with a thumbs up. Once they escaped Ruby’s view, she turned back to the castle where she saw the rising blue moon with her eyes narrowed. Without wasting another second, she darted to the castle jumping from the rooftops.

Faith, Parker, Sean, and Abrianna continued their walk down the brick road with a single goal in mind, and no plan on how to execute it. For a solid ten minutes, they aimlessly followed the path ahead of them and had no idea where it was taking them. It wasn’t until Sean eventually noticed and stopped in his tracks.

The others noticed his sudden pause and questioned him about it. As he looked at the three of them, which were not in the slightest bit confused, he sighed and shook his head.

Sean: [Where the fuck are we going?]

Faith: [To find Andy and Ismail…]

She raised a brow.

Faith: [How did you already forget?]

Sean: [No, I remember that! We have no plan on how to do that.]

Faith: [We go south and ask around.]

Sean: [We aren’t going south!]

Faith: [Are you high?! Look at your map! Our arrows are going down. Unless you forgot how a compass works, down is south, up is north!]

Sean: [Felix, are you some kind of special case or what? We’ve been going east for the last ten minutes!]

Parker: [We’re clearly going south, Sean. Our maps even indicate that–]

Abri: [Actually, we’ve been going East this entire time.]

Sean: [Thank you! Someone with a bit of common sense! Y’know, Abri, before now I only thought of you as a filler character.]

Abri confused: [Thanks…?]

Both Faith and Parker looked at Abrianna in pure shock and confusion.

Abri: [Maybe it was different in your world, but our directional coordinates say that East is the bottom of the map, and south is the left.]

Faith: [What?! That makes no sense! You’re telling me we’ve been living in the bottom right of the map this entire time?]

Parker: [That’s trippy as fuck. I’m gonna have to relearn my directions.]

Faith: [Wait,]

She opened her map and took a look at the compass. Everything they were talking about was true and they’d been going in the wrong direction the entire time, however, one small detail caught her eye.

Faith: [What’s too… too al?]

Abri: [You mean Toal?]

Faith nodded.

Abri: [It’s the coordinate plane for creatures that can travel through dimensions. I don’t remember what it stands for, though.]

Faith: [This world is doing the most.]

Sean: [So, are we turning directions now, or what?]

Abri: [Actually, I live in the east. If we don’t know where to start, I would like to visit my family. Maybe we’ll find someone you recognize.]

Parker: [If we have nowhere else to go, I don’t see why not.]

The sorceress turned to Parker’s enthusiasm with narrow eyes.

Faith: [Don’t you think it’s a little early to meet the parents? Just because you’re together doesn’t mean you have to move so fast.]

Parker: [HUH?!]

Abrianna exploded with a blush.

Sean: [Listen,]

Sean rested a hand on Parker’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Sean: [don’t let us get in the way of your love life. It’s perfectly normal for people to fall in love.]

Parker: [It isn’t like that! Why do you two keep–!]

Taking a look at Abrianna’s cherry-red cheeks and sporadic eye movements surprised him. Suddenly his face started doing the same and his body grew weak.

Parker: [You aren’t helping here…]

The wizard and sorceress laughed simultaneously with their hands against their waists. Their weird “Ha! Ha! Ha!” was close in line with the generic confident laugh.

Sean: [Go easy on her, Parker. She’s only fifteen hundred years old!]

Faith: [I wonder what her parents would think of this strange uprising! She’s fallen for a human boy!]

Parker: [Can you two shut up, PLEASE!]

Sean: [Fine then! We start with your village, Abri. Introduce your parents to your new love whilst we search for any clues.]

Faith: [Sounds like a plan! Eastward we go!]

With bright smiles, they continued walking toward the horizon where the suns had completely set and left no room for light. Their adventure to find the people they called friends had finally begun, and they had never felt more prepared.