Twist and Tenacia soon found themselves in new waters, the glowing algae beneath became less numerous and darkness began to become more prominent. Tenacia looked around uneasily, flinching when she heard a loud noise... Then groaning when she realized it was just Delphine snoring. The hat had fallen asleep on top of Twist's head.

Soon it got so dark Tenacia stopped rowing and had to turn on the everlasting lantern, it was now the only light on top of an ocean of darkness.

“Keep rowing, I know where to go!” Twist said proudly.

Tenacia looked at the pitch black surrounding her and grew queasy, but began rowing again.

"So, how long until we reach Fatana?" Tenacia asked.

"Not Fatana! Minvaco! And we are so very close!" Twist laughed, almost manic.

Tenacia narrowed her eyes and gave Twist a concerned look.

"You okay there, Twist?"

"Never better! We are practically on top of Minvaco! I can hear the hustle and bustle of the city!"

Tenacia tried to hear what Twist heard. She knew that the noctav had better hearing at this point, but surely she could hear the city herself...

"Tenacia! 'Hoy!"

Tenacia's gasped and stared in the direction of the sound.

"H-Hubert?" she whispered.

"I'm over here sis!"

"Hubert!" Tenacia said, her frown widening into a smile, "I know that voice anywhere! Hubert, thank Elysia you are okay!"

Tenacia rowed faster than ever to reach the source of the voice.

Delphine snorted at the boat shook with its new speed.

"Rnrkn... Okay, where did all this energy come?" Delphine grumpily said, her eyes opening.

"We are almost to Minvaco!"

"My brother is over there!"

Twist and Tenacia answered at once, respectively.

"Well I guess that kills two birds with one sto... Okay, what in Gehenna is that awful noise?!" Delphine growled, fully waking up. Above the splashes of the oars, she could hear loud and clear an awful screeching sound, it was harsh and grating. It was someone was taking an iron shield and constantly scratching it against a stone wall.

"Don't worry Delphine, the sounds of the city are loud, but you get used to them" Twist chuckled, giving Delphine a wink.

"I've heard cities before Batty, but even they weren't as grating as whatever this is" Delphine responded, she looked around the darkness to try and she could get even a hint of Minvaco or Tenacia's brother. She couldn't see nor hear either of those, but she could certainly still hear the screeching.

And they were going right toward the source of it. The screeching got louder and louder.

"You two sure you hear what you think you hear?" Delphine asked, growing more worried.

"Oh relax you old hat, I'd know Hubert's voice anywhere!" Tenacia said, continuing her strong rowing.

Delphine was about to say something along the lines of "Wow, and I thought your gruff rasping was obnoxious", but held her tongue as she thought. When she had a body she had never been in Oshea much, but she had done her research in what dwells in Oshea, and this was tickling something in the back of her mind... Something terrible, something that could trick people... And make them crash into rocks.

"Stop! Stop it!" Delphine suddenly shrieked, trying to force herself over Twist's face. She only succeeded in falling off of his head, onto the bottom of the boat. Delphine's face wrinkled in rage.

"STOP ROWING!" Delphine shouted as loud as she could.

Her loud voice made both Twist and Tenacia jump.

"Holy crap, don't do that!" Tenacia snapped, grabbing the hat in anger.

"That was quite loud" Twist remarked, holding his ears down in pain.

"Its a siren!" Delphine quickly said, "It's a bird that lures sailors to their doom with a hypnotic song! It makes you hear what you want to hear so that you get close enough to crash!"

Twist listened too, all he could hear was the sound of Minvaco's streets.

Tenacia listened too.

"Tenacia! Hurry up me girl, let's get out of this place!"

"Uh-huh... Whatever you say, Hatty" Tenacia chuckled, putting Delphine back on the boat's floor.

"Idiots! Insolents! Ignoramuses!" Delphine shouted, making the two hold their hands over their ears, "Ignoring the fact that Minvaco is far below and we have no idea how the dwarf could have gotten out of the Behemoth: have neither of you noticed you can't hear what the other hears?!"

The two of them paused. It was true; Twist could hear Minvaco and Tenacia could hear Hubert, but Twist couldn't hear the shouts of the dwarf nor could Tenacia hear the bustling of a noctav city.

Twist then let out a high pitched shriek, utilizing echolocation to see what was around them. He could sense nearby huge stalagmites and islands, ominously craggy and spiked, any ship going at a remotely fast speed would be devastated by them. He could not see any dwarf here, let alone an entire city. What he did see was a tall crane-like beast with a hideous face that was a mixture of human and stork, with a long spear-like beak that was wide open revealing the numerous sharp teeth within. Twist realized the sounds of Minvaco were coming from the bird's beak.

"Delphine is right, its a siren!" Twist said, quickly trying to grab the oars to row away. Tencia though intercepted him.

"Hang on Twist, are you sure you didn't see Hubert?" Tenacia asked.

"I am sorry Tenacia, but he isn't there!" Twist desperately said.

"Tenacia, sis! I'm over here! Are you okay?" Hubert's voice called.

Tenacia gripped the oars tightly in frustration.

"Can we not just have a look?" she said, with a sad smile and pleading look.

"Tenacia, I am sorry, but I can't hear your brother at all, just as you can't hear my city" Twist said, "Delphine is right, the siren sings a song that makes us hear what we want to hear most"

"Sis! Where are you?" Hubert's voice grew more afraid, "Are you hurt? Say somethin'!"

Tenacia groaned, then began to row away from Hubert's voice.

"Tenacia! Sister! Come back!"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Tenacia ignored Hubert's voice as it grew quieter and quieter.

The Brass Behemoth marched through Lethes with a new purpose. Zelos had increased the speed of its movement, it now stomped closer towards Twist and Tencia faster than ever.

Inside his cell, Hubert sat in the corner with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He had not felt the Behemoth move this fast before. He grew concerned for his siter,, so he sat down and prayed.

“Chaelum, Father of All and Great Sovereign” Hubert said quietly “Please protect my sister and preserve the souls of the noctav trapped in that horrible bottle. Everything happens for a reason, so let me understand what you have store in us…”

Delphine listened closely to the siren's song, happy to hear it slowly get farther. Eventually, it could be heard no more.

"Okay good, we're safe" Delphine said, satisfied, "The siren is way behind us... But I'm stayin' awake in case we come across another one"

Twist took off Delphine and smiled at her, "Delphine, thank you! You saved us"

Delphine just snorted "Hmph. I had to do something, couldn't have you morons run us into rocks and sink us all down at once"

Twist chuckled, then he looked at Tenacia.

The half-dwarf had stopped rowing and had her face in her hands.

Twist leaned toward her.

"My friend, I am sorry" Twist said, his eyes wide in sympathy.

"I was so stupid, how could I think that was Hubert?" Tenacia mumbled, "Why would he conveniently be here in Oshea? I'm such an idiot..."

"Hey, at least him being here was plausible" Twist said, "I was the fool who thought Minvaco had suddenly risen to Oseha, unfrozen in time"

"The song of the siren is a powerful spell" Delphine said, with surprising empathy, "It is hard for anyone to resist it, neither of you should beat yourselves up for it"

Tenacia looked up at the hat, grateful, though also peeved about something.

"Hey, why is it you were immune?" Tenacia asked, "We fell for the siren's trick; hook, line, and sinker, but you weren't fooled for a moment. And don't say you are smarter than us, 'cause that sure as Gehenna ain't it"

"I am sure it has something to do with her hat-like nature" Twist said, "She doesn't technically have ears, so I think-"

"No, even as a hat I am not immune to spells like that" Delphine interrupted impatiently.

"Oh... So why do you think you were immune?" Twist asked, thoroughly confused.

"It's simple: the song of a siren makes you hear what you want to hear, it imitates something or someone you want to see"

"And?"

"I have nothing I want to see, nor anyone I want to see; as such, the siren song had nothing it could mimic"

Twist and Tenacia sat there in silence, looking at the hat.

Delphine waited for them to say something.

"Well? No snarky comments?"

Delphine realized Twist and Tenacia were giving her looks of pity.

"GET BACK TO ROWING!!" Delphine roared at the top of her voice, nearly making Twist and Tenacia fall out of the boat in shock.

Klamka fell to the ground, panting in exhaustion.

"Okay, we need to stop and rest Klamka" Lionel said sternly, helping Klamka stand, "We still got plenty of supplies, we can make camp here"

"No... We need... To complete..." Klamka wheezed.

"We need to rest is what we need Klamka" Lionel quickly interjected, "And I know a spell to force you to rest, so please just stop"

Klamka grunted angrily and tried to get out of Lionel's arms, Lionel put her down against a big rock. Then he unsheathed his sword.

"Water around in this damp cave, let me help my friend relax

Turn to mist and turn fog, help my friend slumber

If she doesn't rest she'll be in the grave, her masters are not the most lax

Keep her from her ceaseless slog, may she sleep like a log"

Lionel sang his incantation, his deep voice rolling with the words. His voice's calm rhythm alone made Klamka pause.

His sword glowed, though this time it alternated between colors: blue, green, and pink. The pools of water that surrounded them began to shiver and rise into a mist, the water that dripped down from the roof became clouds in midair. After a few minutes the whole cave was filled with mist and dog, then Lionel pointed his sword at Klamka. The heavy gathered and then slowly washed over the princess. Her fierce eyes grew heavy and her angered breathing began to slow.

"Lionel you... Jacka..." she said before yawning. Then her body laid against the rock and she fell asleep, just like that.

Lionel wiped his brow and exhaled, out of relief, though also out of tiredness from the spell. He had casted a spell that needed three elements: water to gather the water all around, air to turn it into mist, and mind to give it the sleeping enchantment. It was a difficult spell from elements he did not normally use, so it was especially straining to cast, to say nothing on how it took most of his mana to activate it.

The magi knight sat down and closed his own eyes, letting his spell hold sway over him too. It was time for a good rest.

They weren't the only ones resting, Tenacia's arms had long grown tried from rowing and she was still angered from the encounter with the siren, so she and her companions decided to stop and recover their strength.

The darkness of Oshea was still a frightening thing, so Tenacia kept her eyes on the floor of the boat. Twist too was uneasy stopping in the midst of the sea.

"So Delphine" Twist tentatively began to ask, wanting to keep his mind off of the waters, "How are you doing?"

"Why in Gehenna are you asking me that now?" Delphine growled, not really afraid of the dark surroundings as she watched them from Tenacia's head.

"Just wanted to make sure, I feel we may have offended you earlier"

"That hasn't bothered either of you dorks before"

Twist smiled, "Heh I suppose we haven't, I apologize for that. We essentially kidnapped you into coming with us, yet you saved us. Thank you Delphine"

"Indeed, thanks Delphine" Tenacia suddenly said.

Delphine herself just stayed quiet, with a grumpy expression.

Twist tapped his fingers on the side of the boat. Getting restless, he let out his echolocation; there wasn't much for miles around, but far away he the sound did bounce off. It was so far he could only see the vague outline, but it was clearly a wall of some greater structure.

"We are close to Fatana" Twist said, hopes rising, "We are almost to the destination we have long sought"

Tenacia simply nodded, thinking to herself.

Twist tried to lay back more in the boat, to try and make himself comfortable. He looked up into the pitch blackness above them.

"You know what I most look forward to on the surface?" he suddenly asked.

"What's that?" Tenacia replied.

"Seeing the stars" Twist answered, "There is no equivalent to them in the Underworld. The closest I can think of is seeing jewels in the roof of some caverns"

Tenacia looked up with Twist, frowning at the darkness above them.

"Never really thought of it, but a starry night is real pretty. If we're lucky, we may see one when we get to the surface"

That is right, Twist thought, once we retrieve Hubert, it is straight upwards. The time to reach the surface comes close. It is hard to believe.

Twist stayed quiet and so did Tenacia, they simply laid back and looked up at the shadowy sky above them. Their eyelids grew heavy, and both of them fell asleep.

Delphine rolled her eyes.

"Hmph... Wimps, getting sentimental and then goin' to sleep like that... Kids these days" she said, though not especially bitterly.

Delphine looked around the boat, deciding to be look out with the others asleep.

Then she scowled.

"I can feel you watching me. Who are you?" she said angrily, her eyes glaring.

She looked around suspiciously. The feeling of being watched had returned, and she was sick of it.

"You might as well reveal yourself, creep. I know you are there, I am pretty sure Twist knows you are here too"

Delphine looked at Twist, who was still sound asleep but his face was wrinkled in fear. He was groaning as if he was having a nightmare.

"I dunno how he can sense you, but I know how I can, bein' an oracle has its perks" Delphine growled.

"You are no longer an oracle"

A dark voice spoke in Delphine's head.

Oh yeah? And how do you know that? Delphine thought in response.

"Your sins were too grievous, Chaelum abandoned you long ago" the voice replied, "You have some lingering abilities, but you are no longer an oracle"

Good for you for doing research, jerk. Now get lost.

"You are still afraid"

Of course I am, but you ain't what I am afraid of. So leave.

"You should watch what you say, I am not one to be made an enemy of"

You, your, you, you... You lack originality too? Too afraid to start a sentence with a word that doesn't start with y, o, u?

The voice chuckled.

"Delphine Parnassu, even after all these years your spirit is as fiery as ever"

Thanks, now piss off!

"I will leave you alone, that is be sure, you are too willful and logically sound to manipulate at this time... The two others here though, I will be speaking with. Their tired and younger minds will be much easier to puppeteer"

And? Who said I wanted to protect them? Those two morons kidnapped me, I'm just trying to survive their stupidity!

"When did I imply you wanted to protect them?"

Delphine remained silent in and outside her mind.

"You cannot hide your feelings, despite everything that has happened: you want to protect them"

There is that you overuse of the word "you" again.

"You especially care for the noctav, he reminds you of-"

I'm sorry, when did I ask? Why do you I think I care? Delphine thought, furious, yet keeping her mind clear.

"Yourself. He has the same optimism and curiosity you once had when you were young. You don't want him to lose that, you don't want him-"

Is this leading up to some sort of threat? Even if I did care for Twist, WHICH I DON'T, I would not cave in whatever petty demand you want, spirit! I don't know what you are, whether you are infernal or not, but It does not matter: Don't even think of trying to speak to either of these kids, especially in their sleep! I can shriek loud enough to wake up the dead!

And let me just add you are ANNOYING! There are words that exist other than "you"! Get a freaking thesaurus or something! It'll make whatever future evil speeches you have better! And while you are out getting one, don't even think of coming back! IDIOT!

The dark presence stayed silent, then Delphine felt it depart. Twist's sleeping face calmed and his mouth became a happy grin.

Delphine sighed in relief.

I'm glad that worked... Delphine thought to herself tiredly. When these two wake up, I need to tell them there is some spirit on our tail... Ughh, why do I care for these dorks? Especially that lamebrain noctav, he is nothing like how I was as a kid... He is a lot nicer.