“Hey, just as a little heads up” Carlos begins “Cassius specifically told us not to say a bunch of shit. I’m assuming that shit’s gonna get asked eventually, so, do we just not tell you, and tell you that Cassius told us not to-“
“Whatever the fuck he said you can’t say, you’ll say.” Guillermo retorts
“Well, he threatened to kill us if-“
“Y’all really don’t seem to grasp that y’all are some dead men walking. You’re gonna die here anyways, only difference is if ya cooperate, it’s gonna be painless, don’t, and well...”
“Deep fried people?” Castro asks
“Sure. More grilled or smoked, but ya get the idea.” Guillermo says, matter of factly
“If we tell you this stuff, are you gonna not tell Cassius you know? Ya know, so he doesn’t make shit painful?”
“Why are you so dead set on us dying?” You yell at Castro

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because there’s a flamethrower aimed at my face. WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?! Vá à merda.”
“It’s not-“
“Shut the fuck up Felix. Do us a favor and-“ Carlos begins, to which Guillermo fires onto the ceiling, very briefly, just to get everyone’s attention. The heat of the fire is brief but causes you to sweat. Guillermo keeps the end burning, pulls a single cigar from the pocket of his shorts, puts it in his mouth, unsheathes Ludovicas’ knife, cuts the end off the cigar off, then puts the knife back in its sheath and drops it on the ground, before moving the end of the flame to the tip and lighting it.
“Now that we got the whole death sit-chee-ation down an’ outa the way, may I ask my first question? Or am I gonna have to use a lil bit more fuel?” Guillermo says before taking a good puff from the cigar
“Fire away-“ Carlos says then catches himself “I mean ask away.”
“Someone else needs to shut up.” You joke
“Yap yap yap. Y’all ain’t doin yourselves no favors here with ya bickerin’” Guillermo says with a sigh
“You don’t have to keep us here. I can tell you something and you can talk to Cassius and convince him-“ Ludovicas begins
“Look, ain’t Cassius who y’all need to talk with. He’s pretty sorry bout all this shit. He don’t wanna kill you, the Baroness does… and so do I.”
“Listen, if you betray Cassius-“
“Ain’t happening.”
“Well if-“
“Only bit of trust imma betray is his that imma keep y’all alive.”
“You could take him out and take power for your-“

“Cassius and I have a sorta understanding. I don’t question him, I do what he says, and then we’re all happy.”
“You’re not a slave Guillermo.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then why do you act like you are? Bend to his every will, dance around at his command.”
“Y’all’d’ve’f’i’d’ve cause of my needs and wants. Don’t get me wrong, I’m right where I wanna be. I ain’t want Cassius’ stress and responsibilities or any of that shit. I could have way more money, way more power- shit, I’m offered all the time. Coulda had my own forts, hell, he offered to let me take over the midlands, but I didn’t cause I simply don’t fuckin’ wanna. Look, I act way dumber than I am, I do this so less is asked of me. We got the understandin that he leads an I follow cause I don’t feel like leadin.”
“So the abuse he hurls at you-“
“People get pissed and most of the time he snaps at me is cause you fucked up and I had to go an stick ma neck out for ya, just for ya to fuck up again and again and again. But I’m done now. I got him to give you too many fucking chances, I got him to forgive your insolence again and again, and how do ya repay me? By tying him to a chair and joining up with a bunch of outlanders? Fuck you Ludovicas! You dirty, degenerate, waste of life!”
“Oh…” Ludovicas says with a quiver in his voice, holding back tears. Guillermo looks on, unfazed.

“Besides, he’s gotten worse over the years. Prolly just stress an all, cause of the fact that he took a whole ass kingdom, ya know. Pressure makin him lash out is all, it’s what ya expect, and my job is to alleviate some of that pressure. Anyways.” Guillermo begins again “what happened in that fort? I need to know what you did that got Cassius into a state of constant panic.”
“Stuff he told us-“ Castro begins
“Cassius is probably both the smartest and dumbest person I know at times. I don’t get why he thinks he can’t trust me with shit, but he doesn’t. So, it doesn’t matter what he says. Tell me.”
“And you want the full truth?”
“Yup”
“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or so help my black ass?” Castro says with a grin
“I… yeah? The fuck you on about?”

“Not important. So here’s what I know, I stormed into the main area of the fort, started removing limbs, heads, blood, everything, from everyone. Cutting everyone up like some carrots for a stew. All is going well, till I get to this main room type of thing, I burst in, expecting the deer bitch, but see a different deer bitch, the one with that ginger bee hive and diamond eyes. So I’m asking her what she’s doing there and she tells me to sit and wait for everyone else, so I do, and feel weird the whole time like she was using magic on me. You following?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok. So, eventually everyone else shows up and the Baroness begins talking to Cassius who’s shocked and a little nervous to see her. She reveals she knows he’s gonna fuck her over if he doesn’t get payment up front, and she isn’t happy so she makes him beg like a dog, like on his knees begging her, then she makes him say his payment-“
“She did fucking what?”
“Beg like a dog. But that ain’t the worst part, she makes him reveal that she turned him into a chick at the end of the last war, after he called her a bitch for stiffing him on payment-“
“Hold on hold on. Say that again. She turned Cassius into a woman?”
“Yeah.”
“So he’s not always been a she?”
“What?”
“Hold on… ok… so, he’s just- just… girly?”
“What do you mean by girly?” Carlos asks
“Girly. He’s ain’t quite manly. Like, he’s always been a little different. He’s slim, got dainty fingers, big thighs. He didn’t start wearing a shirt till he hit puberty, and after me askin about it multiple times, he said somethin about being self conscience about me having naturally chiseled pectorals, so then I started wearing a shirt after. Like, look at him, he walks around in revealing pants, and shit, like he forgot underwear like a year ago and I had to drop subtle hints about it cause ya could see the you know what poking out-“
“He says he’s been stuck like that for 3 years so-“
“3 years- well… yeah, I guess that makes some sense. Shit, that explains a lotta stuff. I always thought cause of the perfumes and the clothes and everything he’s just… so is he like a gay or something then?”
“No clue.”
“Well shit. Yeah, that makes sense as to why he’d… man, that is just fucked up. Shit.” Guillermo says, lowering the flame thrower and bracing himself against the wall. He releases one of the triggers, causing the flame to die out. “So he’s just been suffering this whole time… I coulda maybe helped or some-“ Guillermo continues, looking at Carlos as he does. But, in a split second, he gets charged by Ludovicas in a full sprint, going straight for the legs.

Guillermo is tackled by the much smaller fox and brought down to the floor, smashing his face on the stone foundation. He begins getting up, gripping his nose as blood pours out. As Guillermo rises, Ludovicas grabs the shotgun and aims it at his head.
“Open the fucking cages!” Ludovicas orders with a shaky voice
“You little shit!” Guillermo yells back as he stands up, gripping his snout. “You just killed your fucking friends!”
“You learned what happened to Cassius, go to him and try to help, he’s gonna need it soon! The Baroness threatened to expose him to everyone if we don’t die and I’m not fucking dying!”
“I ain’t letting him die either dipshit!”
“You don’t have to, you guys can just leave with us. We’re gonna leave and never come back and-“
“WE HAVE OBLIGATIONS HERE!” Guillermo yells, lighting the flamethrower again “PEOPLE TO PROTECT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF CASSIUS LEAVES?”
“None of us have to die!”
“I have people I care about who are gonna die if you don’t!”
“I’m sorry, but-“
“ you’re a dead fox!” Guillermo yells as he aims the flamethrower at Ludovicas, who begins creeping over to you and Carlos. Guillermo backs up a little, likely to put distance between him and the fire, but got too close to Castro with his back to the warrior.

In an instant, Castro grabs him by the legs and pulls them through, slamming Guillermo to the ground again. Guillermo tries to get up, but Castro grabs the tube attaching the tanks to the gun part of the flame thrower and twists it, jamming the fuel line. Guillermo tries to fire, but it doesn’t work, to which Ludovicas wasted no time in getting you out, by putting the barrel of his shotgun to the lock of the gate and firing. A slug rips through the lock as small bits of shrapnel fly off, to which the gate flings open. You get out, and try to drag out Carlos. You manage to, getting him to the gate, but hearing a scuffle as you do.
“Don’t fucking move!” Guillermo yells, to which you turn around. He got free from Castro and stole Ludovicas’ shotgun. He aims it at your head “NO ONE IS FUCKING LEAVING! YOU GET THE FUCK BACK IN THAT CAGE BEFORE I DRAG YOUR CORPSE IN THERE MYSELF!”
“Why didn’t you fucking shoot him?” Carlos yells at Ludovicas
“I fucking can’t!” Ludovicas yells back, lying on the ground, also bleeding from the mouth and nose “I just fucking can’t.”
“So fucking be it then.” Carlos mumbles
“Look, we don’t have to fight. If you let us go, I can get exterior help. I can get the military and we can fight the baroness-“
“Enough of your bullshit! No one fucking le-“ Guillermo begins, but is stopped by a knife being hurled directly into his chest, piercing deep to a point where only the handle remains out. He stumbles for a second, Then drops the shotgun and begins coughing profusely. Guillermo spits up blood and then falls to his knees, blood pooling from his mouth as he braces himself against the ground.

“Guillermo!” Ludovicas yells, as Guillermo falls to his side, staring at Ludovicas with pure hatred, mouthing words and making sputtering noises. He starts reaching for the shotgun again, so you walk over and pick it up. Guillermo then starts trying to grab you, just lightly pulling on your leg. You look to Ludovicas, who is pooling tears from his eyes, then look back at Guillermo. He has locked eyes with you, reaching out towards you, still mouthing things, before his hands drop and his eyes begin to unfocus and glaze over. You watch the light slowly pass from his eyes, and with a final sigh, he goes completely stiff. Without hesitation, you walk over to Castro’s cage and shoot the lock the same as Ludovicas did. He thanks you and opens the gate, then begins picking up Carlos. You then grab Ludovicas’ hat and walk over to the sobbing fox. You offer your hand and after a few seconds of him just staring at you, he takes it and you pull him up. The group now proceeds to the entrance to the dungeon. Leaving Guillermo in a pool of his own blood, knife still in chest.

PAGEBREAK

You try leading Ludovicas up the stairs but Castro seems to be struggling a little with hauling his brother up the stairs backwards. You can’t really blame him, Carlos is a big muscly dude and the stairs are fairly damp and dirty, so Castro keeps slipping in his worn out flip flops. You grab Carlos’s legs and the process starts going faster. You get to the top of the stairs and then begin to fiddle with the door. It’s locked. You don’t have any keys.

“Hey Ludovicas?” You ask, looking down at the fox, who follows at a distance behind you, staring down at nothing, hat pulled down to shield his face “did you see if Guillermo had the keys?” You ask and get no replies, just muffled sniffles
“Course he fucking does, how else would he lock the door?” Carlos replies, annoyed
“Yeah, you’re right, I’m just gonna-“ you say as you begin, walking by Ludovicas. You get to his side before he suddenly slams you into the wall, grabbing the collar of your jacket
“Why the fuck would you do this?” He yells, staring you in the eyes through a mix of sad and angry tears

“I’m sorry, we had to do kill him, he left us no other choice!”
“Then why not Cass?!” He says, releasing you, then slumping into the opposing wall and sliding down it until he’s slouched over and balled up on the stairs “is it cause I didn’t threaten to kill you if you tried? Is that it? Or do you just obey that shapeshifter’s every word?!”
“Cass never really tried to kill us. If I’m being honest, we could have maybe made peace, we told him about Christianity and he seemed to be getting into it. We could have maybe convinced him to be with God and rebel against the baroness. Guillermo kind of fucked that-“
“Nothing would have happened if- if you never came here!” He cuts you off, tears pouring down his face.
“Bullshit!” Carlos butts in “that dumb fuck pero didn’t get found out cause of us, that was all him, and he’d still be led around like a bitch. And fuck those assholes for assuming we ain’t got no one counting on us. My people down south probably outnumber this forest about 4 to 1 and the vatos waiting on my downfall will come in and kill, r*pe, and enslave everyone there, if not worse. So fuck the both of them. I could bring my crew up here and we could overthrow that stupid bitch and be eating people shaped venison by sundown, but none of you can reason with that shit.”

“Castro why did you lead with nukes if Carlos has the cartel?” You ask
“Cause his men aren’t warriors and are very superstitious so the magic would scare them too much to be useful.” Castro replies, getting a look from Carlos “he asked didn’t he. You can’t overthrow evil with an army of farmers.”
“Isn’t that exactly what’s happened with every revolution ever?” Carlos yells
“Small ones.”
“Fucking world war 2.”
“I… there was a lot more Soviets-“
“And a lot more Nazis. What’s your fucking point?”
“Who cares? What’s done is done and we gotta work on damage control and getting back to the group. We’re sitting ducks if we aren’t together.” you butt in
“Yeah yeah, just go searching for the keys.”
“Ok I will.” You say, then continue down the stairs. You roll Guillermo over, getting blood all over your hands as you do. He’s stiff and heavy, kind of a pain in the ass, but whatever.

You dig around in his pockets for a little. You find many things in there, including matches and pocket knife, and some fancy buttons. Then you finally find them. You don’t know what you expected, whether it being a some strange cartoony iron key or like regular house keys, but it’s actually just some old decorative iron key. You get it and begin walking up the stairs, this time going on guard as you pass Ludovicas, then you unlock the door. You look back at Ludovicas as Carlos is dragged out the door. He continues sitting on the steps.
“You coming?” You call down to him
“Are you coming? What’s the hold up? We’re gonna get jumped at any moment now?” Carlos yells back at you
“Just a minute!”
“Fucking leave him!”
“We’d be dead if not for him, we can’t just-“
“We will be dead soon anyways if we don’t leave now!”
“One fucking minute!” You whisper-yell before walking down the steps to greet Ludovicas.

“Hey. You ok?” You ask, to no reply. You then sit down next to him “I get it. Losing people is hard and-“
“You have people left to fucking lose.” Ludovicas mutters
“I’m sorry man. We didn’t have a choice. We… I don’t want to kill anyone, it was him or us. We couldn’t dissuade him.”
“Bullshit. We coulda-“
“No. We couldn’t have. We were beyond talking then and there. I work around a lot of soldiers, I’ve heard some of their stories and one way you can tell someone’s intentions is in their eyes. In his eyes you could see a switch had flipped after getting up. He couldn’t be talked down from killing us and we weren’t in a position to incapacitate him without death. There was no choice-“
“Then I… Which of you did it?”
“Huh?”
“Which of you killed him.”
“Carlos. I couldn’t- well I can’t really throw knives and-“
“I’m gonna kill him.” Ludovicas mutters as he gets up and grabs his shotgun. By instinct, you grab his tail as he starts walking up the stairs, and this stops him dead in his tracks. He slowly turns to you with a look of hate on his face.
“More bloodshed isn’t gonna solve anything.”
“Let go.” He says under his breath
“I’m not letting go until you calm down.”
“Guillermo was my only friend, the only person I had left, and you… you just”
“I’m sorry, I am!”
“Let me go!” He says, starting to cry again
“No!”
“I’ve got nothing left, let me go!”
“No one else has to die!” You reply, teering up a little
“Let me fucking go!” He yells, pointing the gun at your head. You stare down the barrel for a second, then look him in the eyes
“I’m not letting go until you stop.”
“Please! There’s nothing left for me! I have no one else!”
“You have me! You have us! You’re with us now. We can all leave this place!” You say

Ludovicas doesn’t say anything more, but you can see his anger begin to melt away into pure sadness, regret, pain. He lowers his gun from your face, and nearly drops it. You see that and take it from him as he begins sitting down again, staring down at the corpse of Guillermo, sprawled out on the floor, knife sticking high into the air. You put the safety back on the gun then push it to the side. You sit next to Ludovicas, putting your arm around him.
“I know it hurts. I know you don’t know what to do, how to feel, and all you want to do is make the pain stop, but it won’t. Not for a while.”
“Why?”
“It just doesn’t. It hurts longer the closer you were to that person. You won’t find much relief in fighting though. It may just make you feel empty.”
“How do you know?” He asks, looking at you, eyes watering
“Cause. I’ve talked with many men who’ve fought in wars. Many have seen conflicts you can’t imagine and had to do things you can’t fathom. But they never feel right when they have a connection to those they kill, whether it be someone they love or hate. You can’t go out on vengeance. It’ll take you and leave you with nothing.”
“I know that too well. That’s how I lost my brother. He went out with a sense to not return unless he’d avenged our family. He didn’t come back. He left me in a coma, but made sure that that bastard wouldn’t come after me either. We don’t really know what happened, but they never found Quintus and only found most of that sick bastard. I was 17 then. Just coming into adulthood and had no family left, so I clung to whomever. Guillermo was always nice to me, Cassius was at first, but changed quick when he went to war. I worked for him before that, when it was just me and Quintus, and it was better then. I kind of miss the old days. There was a sense of freedom with the pain of loss on the back burner, but now it’s just… I’m tired of change.”

“Aren’t we all. But change can be good.”
“It hasn’t been.”
“Yeah… I’ll do what I can to help things change for the better.”
“Thanks.” Ludovicas says “we gotta go, don’t we.”
“Yeah.”
“Alright. I’m ok now.”
“Ok.” You say as you get up and begin walking to the door “oh, do you want the knife-“
“Leave it. I’ll take responsibility for this.”
“I… ok.” You say and then proceed up the stairs. You find no one in the main hall, which is odd, so you starts walking to the main door and peak your head through. You can see people outside, but then feel a hand over your mouth that yanks you back. You turn around and see Cassius? But he’s in Aaron’s suit. He puts his finger to his lip, and you see Ludovicas has his gun pointed at him

“I’m so fucking sorry!” Ludovicas squeaks out with some timidity
“For fucking what?” Cassius asks in Aaron’s voice
“I… oh, you’re not.”
“Of course not. I’m just in camo, basically” says the Cassius disguised Aaron
“Ok. So-“
“Yeah I know, Carlos merced wolf boy and you’re distraught, whatever. Listen we gotta move, our next step is very time sensitive.”
“Did you-“ Ludovicas begins as Aaron shoves some clothes into his hands
“Get dressed you furry nudist. I got all our shit, so let’s go.”
“Aaron, give him a break-“ you begin
“A break? My brother in Christ, we are going to die if we do not hurry up and go!” Aaron says as Ludovicas begins getting dressed
“do you know-“
“Yes and I don’t fucking care. Time sensitive shit. We need to fucking leave, and we don’t have time for the cry baby right here to talk about his fucking feelings. Grow a pair and get moving. Aaron says, wandering down the room to the other side. Ludovicas finishes putting on his pants and hands you his hat as he starts putting on his shirt as he follows. You do as well and hand him the hat back as he finishes

“Pay him no mind, he’s-“ you begin whispering
“I know. Fuck him.”
“He’s a bit hard to deal with-“
“No, he’s really fucking hard to deal with.” He says, following along as Aaron leads you down a tunnel. You walk in silence for a while until Ludovicas breaks it “ I gotta ask. You never even flinched when I drew a gun on you. Why is that?”
“I know you can’t kill a friend.”
“Well… you’d be the only one now.”
“The rest will grow on you-“
“Do you even like them?” He asks, which you don’t know how to reply to. You stay silent for a little, thinking about it. Everyone is different, way different. You don’t know how to answer except with a maybe for Jung-Hee and Castro, so you don’t. Ludovicas speaks again after you dont reply “thought so.” He says and so you continue in more silence. Eventually you reach a grate at the end of the hallway, to which Aaron pulls it away and climbs through. You follow down this small tunnel, that led to some light source. You continue until you reach the end and pop out in a creak near the back of the fort. It’s covered by brush so you can’t be seen. Everyone is here, Wendy included.

“What’s up my party people?” Aaron asks “I know y’all prolly ain’t having much fun right now-“
“I got shot, what the fuck do you think?” Carlos yells
“Little cranky, are we?”
“Shut your preppy ass up!”
“Wow. What a sour puss.”
“I’m so tired of your bullshit! Fuck the voices in your head and fuck you!”
“Wow. Just wow. You know what, honestly Ludovicas, just shoot the guy.” Aaron jokes, to which you see Ludovicas take the safety off. You immediately grab the shotgun away from him “ok, damn.” Aaron says “I was kidding. I was just being silly. Don’t actually shoot him. Ya dweeb. But in all seriousness I’m glad you guys are doing ok.”
“I’m fucking no-“
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Aaron yells “fuck. Listen. I’ll give everyone a rest before I explain the plan then. Just, damn. My Middle East group weren’t this fucking pissy until we lost our favorite white boy. No one’s died yet so just chill out. Like fuck.” Aaron whines before walking into the tree line.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Carlos yells
“I have to return some video tapes.” Aaron replies as you watch him walk off, before patting Ludovicas on the shoulder and handing him his gun back.
“I gotta go do my business.” You say as you walk over to some trees to take a shit. What a fucked reunion.

PAGEBREAK

You walk in a different direction as Aaron, drop your pants, do your business, and thank the stars you didn’t have to use that sepsis ridden bucket. You wipe your ass with a maple leaf and then return to the group. Everyone looks just as pissy as before you left, and the only one to greet you is Jung-Hee who gives you hand sanitizer, which you gladly take. Wendy looks annoyed to be here, leaning against a tree and scouring off at nothing, Ludovicas still looks incredibly troubled, staring off into nothing. Carlos is bitching at Castro in Spanish, likely about the leg, and Aaron is still off doing whatever. You decide maybe it’s best to chat with someone who isn’t Ludovicas, as he may need some alone time. However you’re also used to soldiers and know what witnessing death can do to someone, so you walk over and take his shotgun, as a precaution. He doesn’t even flinch as you do this, which you find a little concerning. You tell him you’re gonna catch up with the rest of the group and he seems to acknowledge your words. You then begin walking over to Wendy, to maybe get a little insight on the werewolf situation or anything really.

You greet her and she looks at you, annoyed
“Hey, don’t take it out on me.” You joke
“I’m not, just… this went completely to shit. I expected us to come in here and see if the furry people were real then leave. Now we’re in the middle of a fucking war.” She groans, looking off at nothing, slouching over in the process
“Yeah, not my personal choice in vacation spots either.”
“Dude… like this shit is God awful. I’m sorry for bringing you guys here.”
“It’s not really something you could have predicted.”
“Do you think Aaron could have?” She asks you, straightening up as she does
“I don’t know?”
“You guys were besties though.”
“Like two decades ago.”
“Still.”
“None of us really talked and I think we just all assumed we could reconnect but now it’s this shit.”
“I expected everyone to be different but not like this. You’re just more mature, you’re about on par with my expectations. I expected Aaron to be normal, for some fucking reason-“
“We probably should have expected him to continue being a massive weirdo.”
“Sorta, like not schizophrenic shapeshifting seer though.”
“Yeah. He keeps mentioning Iraq, like did he serve?”
“Probably not. He doesn’t seem like the military type- neither did you.”
“I work for the military, I’m not enlisted.”

“Regardless.” Wendy says as she gets up “it’s fucking weird that you’re out here shooting people. Like I’m imagining these people as the 4 legged animals, but what are you doing to be actively killing people?”
“I don’t really flinch at the sight of blood anymore.”
“Heh, I remember when you passed out cause Jim Davison had that broken leg.”
“Yeah I was ten and his bone came out. Get off my back.”
“Still, I couldn’t imagine you just shooting something, especially not someone.”
“Well, you can only flinch at so many workplace accidents. I watched a new hire get flattened by a steel wall and my first thoughts weren’t ‘oh fuck I just watched a man die’ it was ‘oh fuck, if he wasn’t wearing a hard hat, his family is gonna get 0 insurance’ and after thinking on that like a day later, the death didn’t really haunt me, it was what that death could cause. So I gotta say, what got me through this was knowing that the people I’m shooting at were evil bastards that tended to a corrupt monarch’s every bidding. Guillermo though…”

“Aaron gave me some sort of a run down but he didn’t say what happened?”
“Well, Ludovicas got caught and threatened, we tried talking down Guillermo, but he was unreasonable and had a flame thrower. We tried to take him down non-lethally, but that failed, and in the end Carlos put a knife in his chest and he bled out in front of us. It’s sad, and up until that point I had nothing against Guillermo, and from the way Ludovicas talks about him, he was a stand up guy. So, that one is gonna stick with me, even though I’m not the one who did it.”
“Yeah… how is Ludovicas? Like he’s sorta stuck with us now, right?”
“Well, I talked him out of killing Carlos, killing me, surrendering and getting himself killed and well, now I’m sort of on suicide watch” you answer, waving around the shotgun
“I see, so not good.”
“Yeah, Guillermo was pretty much his only friend and was there for him when he lost the last remaining member of his family, so that’s gotta cut deep. We gotta give him some time, and I don’t think the brothers or Aaron give a shit about that.”
“Yeah, they’re a little… I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting Carlos to come back as a cartel leader with a fucking samurai, especially after being the sensitive kid.”
“It was a weird turn of events.”
“Weird? That’s a fucking understatement. My affliction is weird. Your… numbness? Or apathy to death, I guess, is weird. Carlos being a fucking drug lord is horrific.”
“Aaron said he’s like a good drug lord.”
“Name one good mobster. Any fucking good mobster.”
“John F Kennedy, Frank Costello, Sonny Black, need I continue?” Aaron answers, emerging from the bushes “and I never said he was good, I said he was loved. There’s a difference.”

“It’s our great leader, returning from his valiant-“ Carlos begins, bitching again
“Eat my ass!”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time! I’ll m*lest your bitch ass!” Carlos threatens, sarcastically
“Oh yes daddy!” Aaron replies, sarcastically? His tone is confusing
“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” Wendy butts in
“Dunno, and I’m not getting a diagnosis either. But it’s something.” Aaron replies “but I have something to share.”
“Is it medical supplies?” Carlos asks
“Wah, wah, wah, you got shot. Boo-hoo n****. I got fucking impaled and laughed it off.”
“Aaron!” Wendy yells
“What are you, the fucking joker?” You ask mockingly
“Joker? I hardly know her.”
“Kill yourself!” Carlos yells
“Kill me yourself, pussy!”
“What the fuck did you bring? No one has the time or patience for your bullshit, so get on with it.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, all so grouchy today, like you weren’t freely murdering people yesterday. Regardless, I made a deal.”
“Did you get Cassius off our asses, or did you strike one up with the deer bitch?” Carlos asks

“Neither, I made one with the nicer doe.” Aaron says, then whistles. About a minute after, Cailynn emerges from the same area Aaron did. She looks to everyone, who stare back at her.
“It seems a lot happened since we last met.” She says with no sense of emotion
“No shit, I got shot!” Carlos yells
“And won’t stop bitching about it either.” Aaron remarks
“So what deal did you make?” You ask
“So, remember when I offered to kill her dad? Yeah, we’re gonna do that and then once that happens, we’re gonna reconvene with Dylatt, or Deer Fabio, and ally with Cass to kill the rest of the deer.”
“And you’re just alright with us murdering your entire family?” Castro asks Cailynn
“It’s complicated, but yes.” She replies, shying away a little
“Enlighten me.”
“I have… a complicated history.”
“Complicated as in you’re a troubled youth and ostracized by the rest of the deer or complicated as in you’ve been wanting to murder these people since they first talked to you?” Carlos asks
“It’s a long explanation. But let me start at the very beginning.” She begins, sitting down on a nearby stump

“I was not always like this.” She says, looking away and twiddling with her thumbs “I used to be different, very different.”
“Did bowser fuck all that up for you?” Aaron jokes, causing Jung Hee to burst out laughing
“Bowser?” Cailynn asks, stopping the nervousness
“Your dress looks similar to that of a different princess, one which got kidnapped by- ya know what, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go bring in my old DS and I can show you all about Mario the next time I’m in the neighborhood.”
“When will that be?”
“Well it took me like 20 years to bring Elvis’ music for Cass, so… eventually I guess.”
“Elvis?”
“Ya know, I’d love to bring up a million pop culture references and shit, but the voices inside my head are telling me that your backstory is juicy, so imma crack like only one or two more jokes during this and that’s it.” Aaron says, which causes Wendy to call his bullshit under her breath
“Alright? Well, I wasn’t born into this family, hell if I know who my real parents were. Telestis probably had a hand in it, he always did-“
“But now that fucker is dead!” Ludovicas yells angrily, still not looking at anything in particular
“Yes, what a terrible loss.” She says sarcastically. To which you see Ludovicas tighten up and ball his fists, so you walk over to him, getting prepared for him to decide to do some more stupid shit, as she continues “regardless, he probably killed my parents, left me alone in the forest, and then Pitt found me-“
“Ya know, what ever happened to Pitt’s son?” Ludovicas asks, with hate in his breath, finally looking over, through you, towards Cailynn.
“I beg your-“

“You know, the little jester guy. Used to love when that dude came around and performed for the crowd. Do you remember him? Did Telestis get him? Is that why Pitt went mad? He did that shortly after you showed up, some bitch no one has ever heard of, just popped up and the whole kingdom fell apart! We were better before you came around-“
“Oh bullshit!” Cailynn yells “it always fucking sucked, it was just less obvious, with people getting kidnapped in their sleep, massacred, and nobody did shit about it! I realize that now. Do you not think I know everything is awful? Do you not think I feel shame in just existing? If I had just died out there, then maybe he wouldn’t have fucked around with the dark arts and let the devil in, maybe then the tyrant wouldn’t have turned her ire on these lands. Do you not think I care? I wish I didn’t, I’d be just as fucking useless but then I wouldn’t be aware of it!” Cailynn yells, beginning to tear up
“Oh boohoo”
“You know what, fuck it, I wished everyone could forget me, so I wouldn’t have to remember, but they won’t, so who cares. I fucking hate myself, cause I can’t see any reflection without her looking back at me!”
“Then why don’t you just-“
“Just what? End it all? Oh, I wish I could, but every time I try, I know that my useless existence prevents that beast from coming up north and keeps Pitt in the ruins that he built. You think I want any of this- this responsibility? No! I’m fucking cursed, and I can’t deal with it myself. So here I am, extending my hand out to the devil, asking for his help to finish something I caused.”
“You know, you reference the devil a lot, what do you think that is?” Castro asks

“The devil? The embodiment of evil, Lucifer, the fallen angel, the guy from the Bible, what the fuck are you asking me? I know your friend isn’t the devil if that’s it. He’s just some demon or whatever.”
“Just checking to make sure you know about the devil. Cassius referenced hell but thought it was on Earth-“
“Hell on Earth is Australia.” Carlos jokes
“One of My Iraqi buddies is friends with a guy who’s been to hell and he says the absolute worst place you can go is Detroit, Michigan.” Aaron interjects
“I highly- wh- why Detroit? The fuck is so bad about Detroit?”
“I don’t know, heard something about r*pe… lotta r*pe, but this may also have to do with the apocalypse that’s incoming, cause we got… a year maybe? It’s gonna be right after a big war that is right after the elections.”
“Uhuh.” Carlos nods
“Anyways, don’t mind me, continue.”
“Alright. So, I know of the Devil, but the ideas of God and the Devil aren’t widely taught, really only brought up around the monarchy. When I was younger I found it weird, now I believe that this place is too Godless for any sort of faith to catch on beyond faith in oneself or one’s friends and family.” Cailynn continues

“That’s a positive way to look at it.” You say
“Positive? No, there is no faith here, I know that may be hard to understand for you outlanders, but the idea of a higher power would threaten the tyrants reign. Her facade of creation would crumble and the people would riot… more so than usual.”
“How is it a facade?” Ludovicas asks
“We were never created, we were born.”
“No shit.”
“I mean our peoples. We were changed. There was never a creation of life, it’s just outlanders, brought in and changed. You outlanders will face the same consequences. I know she cannot change one’s mind through magic, but of the converts I’ve seen, they’re used as breeders, with a broken mind and an even more broken spirit. Used to incubate and then be exterminated. I stopped letting outlanders live after learning this, as a quick death is the best thing you can find in this kingdom of filth.”

“So were you just born out of an incubator?”
“No. My situation was different. I can only remember the stories the maids told me, but my mother let me know I was all but dead in the run off of a ditch. Bruised, beaten, bloody, but just an infant at that point. I miss her… why does loss have to hurt so bad?”
“The pain lets you know you’re alive.” Aaron jokes
“What a travesty that is. But, I was found. I was loved, and I was happy, or at least I think, as my second mother passed quickly. I hate to say it but she was too kind, always tried to do her best for everyone, and a bout of pneumonia paid her kindness to the world off, leaving me alone at 6. Time came to decide what to do with me after she was cremated, and Pitt decided I’d make a great servant, though as years passed, I was no longer some burden or tool, I was his kid, as he took the time to raise me, and everyone knew it. Well, not everyone. I learned of the tyrant’s lack of oversight from this. She didn’t know until I was an adult-“
“A servant? Aren’t like all the deers royalty?” You ask
“They are.”
“So why were you a servant.”
“Because she wasn’t always a deer!” Aaron exclaims like he’s on Jeopardy
“You would be correct.” Cailynn exclaims with a sigh “Fox, you asked what happened to the son of Pitt, the wolf, the court jester, he died the same day I was born. The day Pitt lost a son, gained a daughter, and shortly after, lost his mind.”

“Are you like made using his soul?” Ludovicas asks
“Am I- what? No. I was changed, painfully I was ripped apart by her magic and reassembled to her idea of a “perfect daughter” just to punish me for the heinous crime of existence. Though, I should be thankful, as it was Pitt’s anger and threats that made her do this. He swore if I were harmed, he would use the weapons held in the armory to topple her. This clearly meant something to her, whether there is something in there that could kill her, or something that could kill everyone else, I’m not sure, but it scared her into bargaining. So I was born, as a condition that I may continue to exist, I must formally join the monarchy.”
“So you got a few things switched around and got to be a noble. That sounds like an even-“ Aaron begins
“Fuck you!” Cailynn yells “fuck you and your remarks, Satan! I know not what twisted benefit you get from coming here, but it’s clear to me that you don’t give a shit about anything here or anyone, including those you came with! I was aware of the whole process, a process that should have been painless, but she didn’t just change me, she sought to condition me into obedience to fulfill her ideals of a perfect daughter. Not for Pitt but for herself, changing my face to be like hers, my voice, my everything, and letting me know this, not to be grateful, but to be hurt. I wish I were the jester again, as I had the jester’s privilege of saying whatever needed to be said, but not facing the consequences, because who will punish the fool? I wasn’t her biggest supporter, and she knew I took pride in my appearance, even if it were designed to be goofy. I was proud and hopeful, but as pride was a sin, I had to be punished. Now all that’s left is wrath. Hatred keeps me alive. I yearn for the day that I watch her burn, for what she did to me and what she did to others.”

“So what happened to Pitt? Why did he go mad all of a sudden?” Ludovicas asks, now with no anger in his voice
“It wasn’t all of a sudden. In my debut as… this thing, I was not pleased. The first attempt on my life was a failure. I drew too little blood, and when Pitt discovered me, I begged him to help me finish. I regretted it soon after, by the look in his eyes. He was never the most warm father, not the most affectionate, but as shut off as he was, he was always there to help, to support me, and would take pride in me, relishing in my growth with his friends and citizens. He was never one to say he loved me, whatever the reasons may have been, but he showed it every day. I cannot blame him when his lineage stems from the tyrant. But, in that moment, I could see this sense of loss in his eyes. This look of terror, like he had lost everything, like I was his everything, and that losing myself was the last straw. A switch was flicked then, one that led to this era of fear and war.”

“He took to the dark arts, scavenging anything he could get from the baroness.” Cailynn continues “but found nothing. The continued failures drove him into a pit of despair and I did nothing to help. The reality of what happened didn’t set in until later, and I had gone mad myself, wishing for death, not eating, shutting myself in. It was a miserable time. One which I regret deeply, as I maybe had a chance to change things then. But I didn’t.” She continues, tears dripping down her face, before wiping them in order to continue “but, with less and less results, Pitt became desperate, and made a deal. The tyrant still hated my father for his planned insurrection, but had to be cordial. Then, my father offered himself in exchange for helping me. This did not go well, as he was brought to the red hill. What happened there is beyond me, but it wasn’t good. When the baroness returned, Pitt did not, and she said she came bringing good news, bestowing the kingdom to me. Saying I’d be happy with the power, and leaving me with a ‘parting gift.’ That gift was my second curse. She left me unable to revolt, and believe me I have tried. I cannot kill her, I cannot kill Pitt, and I found out so after Pitt came back that same day. Deformed, like a wild mutated beast, he tore through our lands like a plague. I tried to shoot the baroness during this but couldn’t, not out of fear, but an innate inability to not fight. I was left to do nothing.”

“I took to the streets to guide the others to safety, to face my father,” Cailynn continues “and to make sure others couldn’t suffer my fate. This was my second public appearance, in the midst of the biggest bloodbath this land has ever seen, I fought back against Pitt there, couldn’t pull the trigger either, and whether that’s a curse, my feelings betraying me, or a combination of both, is irrelevant. Regardless, Pitt wasn’t taking much damage and remained unfazed by bullets, so my idea of if he could die is… unsure. Regardless, I fought and got as many out as I could, but it wasn’t enough, and many died, with Pitt staying behind in the city he built, left to rot.”
“Damn.” You say
“Yeah… I miss my father. I don’t want him dead, but as I was killed, so must he be. If there is anything left of him in that mutated shell, he too would want himself to be killed, if he could see what he had done.”
“Got it. So if we kill your dad, can we levy your military?” Aaron asks very bluntly.
“Sure.”
“Excellent! Let’s shake on it.” Aaron announces, outstretching a hand which Cailynn takes after some hesitation, sealing the deal for the rest of you. Your trail of blood seems to not end soon.