Joseph grabbed Alexander by his shoulder. He shouted, "Alexander, what's going on?!"

Alexander's crooked smile was still strewn across his face. "Our friends. They're what's going on."

And with Anastasia's exhale... Pale blue light burst upward, crackling and crashing into the night sky. The lightning branched off into jagged lines, bringing forth the sight of dark storm clouds that hovered above them.

She spat out another breath, already panting to herself. "Why was that so difficult?" she mumbled to herself.

"You really gotta learn efficient energy usage. It's an important-"

"It's not that simple," she muttered. Anastasia took in a deep breath and stood upright. "I'm now considering the possibility that what we saw was a random signal and we just gave away our location."

Alexander stared at her and nonchalantly muttered, "Eh." And just like that, he disregarded the entire prospect of danger.

"I'm serious," she told him. "The Golden Dawn's commander lady had light magic."

"It wasn't that color, though. Remember how she caressed your face and everything? Right before she tried to kill us? That was weird."

"Yep." Anastasia spat out a sigh and slowly shook her head. "Why are you-"

"Because fate's weird," Alexander immediately interrupted. He already knew what she was going to ask. If he truly believed Lumiel and the others were just a bit away, why was he still standing there?

He smiled to himself and repeated, "Fate's weird. And I wanna see just how weird it can be."

And just as he muttered that, a bit further in the hillside, closer to the town, a pillar of flames shot out into the sky. The glowing crimson column quickly faded in just seconds. But those seconds were enough. The source... was just a couple hundred meters away.

Alexander's smile widened. "And that's Leonard!" Alexander said amidst his laughter. He immediately turned back to Anastasia. "We have to go," he told her.

Anastasia stared at him and nodded.

"Joseph..." Alexander said, turning to him and the Hunters. "Just, uh... Stay here for a bit. Things are starting to get good," he said, still smiling.

The Hunter swallowed his dry saliva. Alexander and Anastasia were only kids. And yet, everything had become crazier the instant they joined with the group. "But, wait-"

And before he could say anything else, Alexander and Anastasia burst into the forest and into the night. In seconds, they had disappeared from view, dashing towards the other Virtues.

It was only a matter of seconds of them speeding through the forest that Alexander nearly crashed into a man. Well, he did crash.

His eyes met Liam's as they collided. Liam was pushed back into a tree as Alexander's feet simply skidded across the ground.

He slowly rubbed his forehead, wincing as he touched the point of impact and letting out a sigh. Once again, his eyes met Liam's.

He quickly got up and walked towards them, practically shrugging off the fact that Alexander had knocked him back.

"Well..." he said, staring at Anastasia and Alexander. "What's up, guys?"

Alexander grinned. At the same time, Anastasia silently waved at him. "Doesn't matter, does it? Where are the others?" she asked. "We saw Leonard's fire just a minute ago."

Pointing with his thumb, Liam gestured to the side. "I ended up with him and Giovanna. I'm just faster than them," he said with a smile. "They should be here in a second or two."

Alexander and Anastasia turned to their left. And from there, Leonard and Giovanna ran through.

"Yo, what?!" Leonard mumbled, his face lighting up as his eyes met Alexander's.

"Leonard?!" Alexander shouted, already smiling at him. Leonard sprinted at him and wrapped his arms around him.

"Holy crap, man! Dude, we- Well, I thought you died!"

"I almost did!" Alexander laughed. "Like five different times! It was insane."

Leonard spat out a sigh as he let go of Alexander. He turned to Anastasia. "I'm glad you're okay, too," he told her. Anastasia simply gave him a thumbs up and nodded.

Giovanna smiled and spat out a sigh of relief. "Seriously, though... We were worried about you guys."

Still smiling, Alexander spoke, "It has been a rough two days, to be honest. But-"

His words were interrupted at the blurring sight of swaying blonde hair. With complete disregard to the others, Lumiel forced her way through them and tackled Anastasia on sight.

"Get off of me," Anastasia immediately groaned, her voice dull and stale, nothing like one would expect from someone who had finally found their friend.

"I was worried about you," Lumiel told her as she got up.

"I can't really say the same."

Lumiel shook her head at her. "I know you're joking, but that's still cruel."

Anastasia finally smiled. "Uh-huh," she muttered.

"You guys are already so loud," Gabriel spat out, along with a sigh. He turned to Alexander, their eyes quickly meeting.

"Told you we'd be fine," Alexander said, grinning as he raised his hand.

Gabriel's palm collided with Alexander. "Shut up, Demon-Born," Gabriel responded, a thin smile cracking through his lips.

The seven Virtues already found each other just minutes after Lumiel's first signal. All of them happened to be less than a kilometer away from each other.

That is how weird fate can be.

"I've been sending signals like that for practically every hour of the past two days," Lumiel told the others. "Well... every hour I've been awake. But still, it's a good thing you both responded quickly."

Leonard smiled. "Y'know, Liam actually told me not to send a signal immediately. Something about not trusting it. But as soon as Anastasia's lightning lit up the sky, I decided to do it anyway."

Alexander's face spread with a smug smile. "Told you to send a signal."

"Yeah, I get it," Anastasia said, letting out a sigh and smiling at him. "You were right."

It was then that Hjálmarr finally caught up to them. "My liege..." he began, panting heavily between his words. "I take it that... these are the friends you started this journey with."

Alexander nodded.

Hjálmarr smiled and faced them, still taking in labored breaths. "I recognize them, for the most part. Hello, all," he said, raising a hand as a wave.

Some of the Virtues waved back, while the others simply stared at him.

"This elf guy's still with you?" Gabriel asked Alexander.

Alexander swallowed his saliva and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. But he's alright. He's a good kid."

"...My liege, I'm older than you."

"Not the point, Hjálmarr. Y'know?"

Hjálmarr steadily nodded. "I don't know. But, I agree." He gave Alexander a thumbs up and took a single step back. Hjálmarr was an awkward elf and decided it was best if he didn't join a conversation with seven humans.

Instead of running like Hjálmarr, the large group of Hunters simply walked through the forest, steadily reaching the Virtues. They still stood from a bit away, watching the Virtues through the trees, waiting for Alexander.

Leonard quickly pointed out the dozens of humans that stood in the distance. "What's with the group of people?"

"Yeah, who are they?" Gabriel asked, swallowing his saliva in preparation.

"They're..." Alexander paused. "They're allies."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Hunters from Midgard," Anastasia explained. "We met them a solid thirteen, fourteen hours ago. It's been a long day."

Gabriel still stared at them. "But they're allies, right?"

Alexander nodded in response.

"Seriously?"

He continued nodding.

"Nice work. Allies are something we need. There's a lot of people from the Golden Dawn on this realm."

Alexander nodded in agreement. "Yeah, actually. We had to fight like 150 of them. It was insane."

It was then that Thiago rushed over to Alexander's side. "No one likes standing around doing nothing, so... We're just gonna head into town. You guys can talk on the way or whatever."

"Y'know what? We'll just catch up with you later." Alexander quickly noticed that Morgana was now standing behind him. She stood in silence, staring at the other Virtues, still gripping the side of Alexander's hoodie. He smiled at her but didn't speak, only nodding to Thiago.

And with that, Thiago stepped back and joined the other Hunters as they began the hillside descent into Krattor.

He turned back to the others and Giovanna, who was already speaking about what she and the others experienced on their end of the separation.

"Actually, things were pretty easy for us. We were dropped just a few miles from this town. We just had to walk in one direction and ended up finding the city. So that was cool. But being Leonard the whole time was annoying."

Leonard let out a dejected sigh. "...Fair enough."

Giovanna continued. "What about you guys?" she asked Anastasia. "You were transported safely, right?"

"Nope!" Anastasia giggled maniacally. Her laughter was nervous and frustrated. "We were dropped hundreds of feet from the ground!

"...Aren't you afraid of heights?"

"Yep!" She laughed even louder. Not of amusement, though. Alexander decided to interrupt her for the sake of the others. "So like I said... It's been a rough couple of days," he muttered.

The Virtues nodded in understanding. "Not for us, though," Lumiel said. "We kinda sorta met this guy... He was a god. He had god friends, and we met them, too. It was... enlightening."

"Wait, the Vanir are still on this realm?" Liam asked.

"No, they weren't the Vanir. Just... basically gods."

Alexander paused. 'Wait, was Grisha a god, too?'

"I think we actually met a god, too," Anastasia said.

The Virtues' attention turned to her.

"His name was Grisha. He was weird. Lived in the forest, knew random things, et cetera," she explained. What she had described didn't really indicate that he was a god, but alas.

And even though they were on the subject of Grisha, Alexander made the choice not to tell them about the magic he had seen. The magic that had burst through Alexander's body with just a touch from Grisha.

Meanwhile, Anastasia's thoughts weren't as plain. The others hadn't gone through much just to get there. The only reason Alexander and Anastasia had struggled for the past two days was Alexander himself.

Well... 'Can't really blame him for being cursed,' she thought to herself. Nonetheless, the Demon-Born was the root cause. The less that know of the Demon-Borns' Curse, the better. That was what she had decided.

Giovanna looked at the ground and mumbled to herself. "Wait," she finally said aloud. "Do you guys remember how long this quest was supposed to take?"

Leonard responded immediately. "Four to five days, according to King Yulius. Archibald said three and a half, though. All for a solid 1,782 miles."

"Is that number even right?"

"I don't even know," Leonard shrugged. "I just guesstimated based on the map."

"...Guesstimated?"

Giovanna interrupted once again. "Wait, guys... Technically... We got here faster than we were supposed to. Right?"

The Virtues stood in silence and processed what she had just said.

"Wait..." Alexander muttered.

Gabriel burst into laughter. "That's what you get, Golden Dawn!" he shouted into the night sky. "You can't hold me down, you bastards!"

"Okay, Gabriel, calm down."

Morgana tugged on the side of Alexander's sleeve. "Isn't 'bastard' a bad word?" Morgana asked.

"Yep," Alexander nodded. "So..."

"Don't say it?" Morgana asked.

Alexander continually nodded as he turned to her. "Exactly right. Don't say it," he said with a smile.

Silence once again fell onto the Virtues.

"...Wait, how'd you even know that word in the first place?" Alexander asked her.

The Virtues turned to Morgana in the same instant, their eyes widened with confusion. None of them had even noticed her presence nor her energy. Not until she spoke. She was somewhat hidden, almost shielded by Alexander, after all. She still gripped the side of Alexander's hoodie with both hands for support.

But for not a single of the Virtues to sense her...

Gabriel swallowed his dry saliva. Who even was this child?

"Uh..." Leonard began. His eyes were twisted with confusion as he pointed and stared at the white-haired girl. "Um..."

Giovanna interrupted Leonard. "Alexander, why is there a child next to you?!"

Alexander looked down at Morgana, before looking back up at the other Virtues. "Well..." He spat out a sigh as Morgana gently took a single step forward. "This is Morgana."

The Virtues stared at the Asgardian girl in silence. Still, Alexander continued, "She's a Demon-Born, just like me. And I'm taking her to Midgard."

"Alexander, did you kidnap a whole child?"

Alexander spat out a sigh. "I didn't kidnap her. I just... She needs our help, so I'm helping her. Does that make sense?"

Leonaed and Giovanna stared at Morgana. Almost in unison, they turned to Alexander, their eyes still twisted in perplexion. Giovanna began to mumble, "Why..."

"Why does she look like you?"

Still, they had the same dark skin. And the same near pitch-black eyes. Had it not been for Morgana's Asgardian hair, anyone could've guessed she was Alexander's sister. Alexander paused at that prospect. If Morgana had dark brown hair, she would've looked eerily similar to Emilia when she was Morgana's age. That single thought made Alexander turn to her and smile.

"So, anyway," Alexander finally said. "We're gonna need a plan for when we reach the God Crystal."

Gabriel spat out a sigh. "I genuinely hate to admit it, but... Alexander's right. Even if these Hunters are our allies, they're temporary. We have to figure out the best course of action."

Alexander stared at Gabriel and his lousy remark. "Shut up, dude."

"You shut up."

Leonard sat down onto a rock and sighed. As he stared at the others, he paused. "Wait..." Leonard muttered. The Virtues turned to him and his distressed face.

Liam quickly unsheathed a bronze blade. "What's going on?" he asked, already scanning their surroundings and taking in a sharp breath of the forest night.

"Something's different about Anastasia. I just can't tell what."

The Virtues let out a collective sigh. They all spent the last two seconds in an unnecessary panic, all for Leonard to point out the mundane. Still, they stood in silence until Lumiel gasped. "You're not wearing your hoodie!" she pointed out, her eyes wide.

Their chatter quickly overlapped as Alexander and Anastasia stood in silence. Lumiel sped towards Anastasia and tracing her fingers across Anastasia's pale arms.

"Oh, God, your arms are so slender! It's weird!" Lumiel laughed, rubbing her hands against the smooth skin.

Anastasia quickly stepped back and avoided Lumiel. "Dude, what are you doing?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Her voice was tinged with slight disgust and not-so-slight confusion.

Lumiel's only response was laughter as she chased after Anastasia, once again grazing her fingertips against her arms. Of course, Anastasia fought back.

"Lumiel's right," Liam said, staring at Anastasia's arms. "Can you even do a push-up?"

"I can do multiple push-ups!" Anastasia loudly interjected, still slapping down Lumiel's hands, before letting out a sigh. "Can we move on?"

They spat out a collective sigh before turning to Alexander Lane in unison, staring at him in momentary silence. Lumiel swallowed her saliva and pointed at him.

Alexander lowered his crossed arms and stared back. "...What?" In the silence, he looked down at the hoodie he was wearing. "...Oh," he finally said.

Lumiel cackled once again.

"Stop," Anastasia ordered.

She continued laughing.

"Shut up."

The laughter ensued.

And the other Virtues simply stared at them in confusion. Including Alexander who stood in silence as Morgana now held his hand.

Anastasia spat out a sigh. "He's only wearing it because he has to. I gave to it him after he... Essentially, he got set on fire."

Alexander nodded. "It's kind of complicated, but that's pretty much it."

"So that's why it smells like smoke, huh?" Giovanna mumbled.

Lumiel continued to make jokes about Anastasia, to Anastasia.

At that same moment, Hjálmarr finally mumbled something. "My liege..." he said.

Alexander turned to him. "Oh, that's actually a good idea," he interrupted. He didn't have to wait for Hjálmarr to mumble his way through the sentence and simply believed they had the same thought. "You should head to town and regroup with the Hunters. Take Morgana with you, too."

Hjálmarr smiled and nodded, swallowing his saliva in preparation. Alexander's "orders" were never a big deal, but Hjálmarr always treated them as such.

Alexander looked down at Morgana. She still gripped the sleeve of his hoodie as she looked up at him at the same second.

He smiled at her. "So, uh..." he muttered. "You should probably head towards the Hunters with Hjálmarr," he told her. "I'll... We'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Morgana stared at him and paused.

"It's just the best course of action," Alexander told her. "There's probably a restaurant or something down there, so we'll get something to eat," he said, smiling and patting her head.

She continued to stare at him. After just a few seconds of staring at each other, she began to walk away. All it took was the mention of food.

"Make sure she doesn't get lost, Hjálmarr," Alexander told him. "We'll be there in a couple of minutes."

Hjálmarr nodded. "My liege, should I hold her hand? That's customary, yes?"

Pausing, Alexander sighed. "Just... Leave that to her, I guess?"

Again, Hjálmarr nodded before speed-walking away to catch up with the Asgardian child.

"She does look a lot like you," Leonard said as Alexander turned back. His hands were wrapped around the back of his head as he stared at the sky.

"She does," Gabriel agreed.

"...I thought she was your daughter or something," Liam said.

Alexander stared at the other Virtues in confused silence. "...Dude, what?" And with that, he spat out a sigh. "Can we focus on the plan?"

"There's a plan?"

"I'm trying to come up with one," Alexander responded. Maybe a group of teenagers wasn't the best idea for a quest of this caliber. There were just a few hours of the day left. Just a few hours of the second day on Vanaheim.

And Alexander already wanted to go home.

He spoke again. "Essentially... We're teaming up with the Hunters until we get the God Crystal. From there, we're on our own."

Leonard stood up from his rock. "Wait, so like... Once we get the crystal, we'll have to fight them for it?"

"Yeah, probably," Alexander nodded. "Just hoping we can come up with an agreement. After all, we'd be in the clear as long as the crystal doesn't get into the wrong hands."

Gabriel paused at that and stood up. "Nope. We have our mission and they have theirs. No compromises. If we have to fight, we fight. All we can do is keep moving forward, y'know."

Giovanna shook her head. "Gabriel, I don't know how your brain works, but unfortunately for you, violence isn't always the answer."

"Violence isn't an answer, to begin with. It's a question," Liam remarked, staring at his still-unsheathed blade, marveling at his own reflection in the bronze metal. "The answer depends on the situation."

She stared at Liam. "...Wait, what?"

Gabriel continued to spout out nonsense, as he does. Giovanna continued to express her confusion, just as Alexander and Anastasia stood quietly. The chatter of the seven Virtues continued. All until Liam shushed them.

"Wait, wait, wait," Liam said, silencing them and raising a single finger to his lips. "Do you guys hear that?" he whispered.

Leonard swallowed his dry saliva. "Liam..." he mumbled. "You really gotta get with the program. Saying 'You guys hear that?' never leads to anything good."

"Shut up," Gabriel ordered, standing up once again. The Virtues all stared around in silence, pausing, waiting for what may come next.

And at that moment...

Three brothers crashed down from the trees. Their robes and clothing flowing as they landed. Kafka slowly looked up, his eyes peering through his flowing hood. And Alonso stretched out his hand without hesitation.

Gabriel gripped Excalibur's sheath and stepped forth. He grit his teeth. "Son of a bitch-"

"It hasn't even been ten minutes!" Leonard complained.

"Do it, Alonso!" Kafka barked. "Now!"

And with that, a flash of light and magic energy burst into the air and onto the Virtues.