"Hell yea, we're in!" Vance said.

  "Fuck no we aren't." Liliana shot back.

  We stood in the empty gymnasium, next to the pull-out bleachers. Vance had rallied his group of Chosen to my cause, but there was some push back.

  I figured Liliana would oppose. She didn't like me for some weird reason. I couldn't tell if it was because I was an older man, or if it was because she was jealous that I had met that Chase Morgan guy.

  The others looked between Vance and Liliana awkwardly as they continued to bicker. I stood there awkwardly while the fight turned from wasting resources and time, to a more personal attack on me.

  "Why don't you just put it to a vote?" I suggested. Vance and Liliana both spun on me, glaring. I held up my hands defensively.

  "Actually, that's a better idea." Vance said smuggly. "All in favor of helping John and going on a little field trip?"

  Vance raised his hand. There was some hesitation as the others looked at Liliana who was still glaring at me.

  The big guy, Landon, raised his hand. Liliana shot him a look but he shrugged at her. Eager to please Vance, Ashlee's hand also raised. Vance smiled at the two of them and nodded at me.

  That just left Clinton, the quiet tattooed guy and Sky, the emo-vegan-femininst or whatever Vance had called her. Clint and Sky looked at each other and then back to Liliana.

  "Sorry Lili." Sky said, giving her a sheepish smile before raising her hand. Liliana rolled her eyes. Clint looked around from under his long hair hanging in front of his face and sighed, also raising his hand.

  "Well I guess that's settled." Vance said cheerfully. He flashed Liliana a shit-eating grin before turning to me and clasping my shoulder.

  "We gotchu old man. You lead the way and my team has your back." He told me. I smiled at him.

  I had never felt so supported before; so full of community. Which says something after being in the military and the police force.

  "Thank you. I appreciate all of your support." I told them. There was a small combined noise of 'you're welcomes' and then we stood there, awkwardly.

  "So what's the plan?" Sky asked, bouncing up and down. Watching her made me seasick.

  "Aside from getting to Partridge Island, I hadn't thought about it that far." I told her and she stopped bouncing, mouthing 'oh'.

  "He doesn't even have a plan!" Liliana exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and spinning on Vance, who crossed his arms but was still smiling.

  "All good. Could you get Guardian Kas to secure transportation?" He asked me, ignoring Liliana who had wandered further into the gym and was ranting to herself, her voice echoing into the rafters.

  "I could ask her, yea. Couldn't we just take the Old World trains?" I suggested. Ashlee shook her head.

  "Its one thing for Guardians and non-Order members to venture into Old World territory, but Chosen are generally disliked by monsters. Killing them is kind of our whole thing. That and stealing Artifacts that they've likely guarded for centuries." She told me.

  "We could see if the sleigh is available in The Vault?" Landon offered. Sky cocked her head and laughed at him, her multi-colored pigtails flopping around.

  "You know damn well it won't be. That Orion kid always has it." She chuckled. Landon hung his head and sighed.

  "Yea, you're right." He said, dejected. Vance smiled at the big guy. Apparently he had always wanted to use Santa's Sleigh on a mission, but it was never available to use. The concept itself was a bit ridiculous, but wasn't the most unbelievable thing I'd heard in the last few months.

  "Could we maybe get a magic boat?" Sky asked the group. Vance mulled it over.

  "It would have to be a damn fast boat if we wanted to get from here to Canada in a reasonable amount of time." He told her.

  I watched as the gears began turning amongst the group, as they all started shouting ideas at each other. I snuck out, having achieved my goal in recruiting them. Now I had to go tell Kas.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  ~*~

  "I'm surprised." Kas said, throwing together a travelling pack on her bed. Her room was mostly black and purple. She had covered the room with all manner of witchy paraphenalia. She definitely had an aesthetic she was going for.

  "Why? Vance has been helpful since I met him. A bit annoying, but helpful enough." I told her. She shook her head and stared at me.

  "Did you forget the conspiracy you were unravelling, so soon? We established we couldn't trust anyone else, and you plan to bring the Citadel's Chosen and Victor, who are likely people we can't trust. In case you forgot." She said, grimacing.

  "I didn't forget. I'm choosing to utilize the resources I have. Besides, if any of them are in on it, we'll find out when we get there, won't we?" I said, hoping that wouldn't be the case.

  I had grown to like Vance and his team. Victor, although strange, was also a great person. I had hoped that it wouldn't come down to having to face off against any of them. Especially since I didn't have any kind of magical weaponary. Yet.

  "Did you figure out about the 'other thing'?" I asked, looking around the room suspiciously. Kas nodded quickly, and finished packing her bag.

  "I don't know if it will work with you and me, but I think it'll be worth a shot." She told me. Kas slung her bag over her shoulder and picked her massive crossbow up off bed. She looked much the same now as when I first met her; imposingly tall black boots, her sleeveless duster and massive silver crossbow. She had her long white hair up in a ponytail, and her icy eyes looked at me with determination.

  "What are you staring at?" She chuckled nervously. Any kind of prolonged eye contact or even awkward silence made Kas uncomfortable. She always seemed to be anxious about something, watching people to see if they were watching her.

  "I gotta ask..." I started.

  "Please don't." She said softly, looking away from me. I was startled by her response. I frowned but she kept looking at the floor.

  "Are you sure? Something is very clearly up between you and the Order. Between you and Lancelot." I said, trying my best to sound fatherly and reassuring.

  "John, I don't want to do this now." She shifted back and forth on her feet, which suddenly made the tall, muscular woman seem very small.

  "I need to know what's going on." I told her. I needed to know I could trust her too, which meant no more secrets.

  "It's a long story..." Kas said, her voice becoming small. She sat on the corner of the bed and the crossbow suddenly looked very heavy in her hands. I sat next to her on the bed and put my hand on her shoulder, giving her a pat.

  "I've got time to listen." I said softly. Kas looked at me, and I could tell she was holding back tears. I felt bad pushing.

  "My family is very prestigious. We come from a long line of monster hunters. Everything we have ever had was passed down from father to son for centuries, keeping the family name and the honor that it held." Kas began to explain.

  "My family has always been part of the Order; even though my oldest ancestor and one of the Progenitors were enemies. We were often sought out to hunt and kill monsters and enemies of the Order that were particularly hard to find. I was meant to carry on my family's name. I was to be the glory of my bloodline, until I had a son of my own to pass it on to." Her voice was low, and filled with pain as she spoke. I could see the single tear that had brimmed over her eyelid and escaped down her cheek.

  "I never felt right growing up. I never felt at home, never felt comfortable. It was like my skin was wrong. Like I was wearing a suit of make-believe, pretending to be what my father wanted me to be. But no one would listen when I cried for help. So, I did what was expected of me; I studied and trained hard, became a Chosen, and carried my father's name. My mother used to try and play matchmaker; she wanted me to have the perfect partner. I never liked any of them."

  I could feel the emotion roiling in her voice; a desperate mixture of pain and anger. She was crying now, but only tears. She didn't sob or heave. Just a slow trickle of tears down her soft cheeks.

  "After I had worked enough missions and saved up enough money, I left. I went across the world, looking for someone to help me feel right in my body. I had a bunch surgeries..." She stopped, becoming rigid. She refused to look at me.

  "I had a bunch of surgeries, so I could try and feel like myself; like my body was mine. But they didn't go so well." Her voice was almost a whisper. She stared straight ahead as the stream of tears became a waterfall.

  "When I returned seeking help, my family disowned me. They said I had disgraced and dishonored our bloodline. That I had ruined the entire future of our clan. They made me drop my last name and cut ties with me entirely. The Order was still accepting of me, but my father pulled enough strings to have Lancelot strip me of my Artifact and my title of Chosen. It was actually Victor who helped me get the body that I wanted." She said, taking a deep breath.

  "He let me tell him exactly what I felt and how I wanted to look and he made me exactly like that. Fixed everything." She finished.

  Kas turned to face me, slowly and hesitantly. She was expecting to see disgust or rejection, but I had actually started crying myself.

  "Jesus Kas, I'm so sorry." I said. Kas shrugged.

  "It's been this way for a long time now. Lancelot won't let me live it down, that's why he still refers to me by my dead name." She told me.

  "Dead name?" I asked, having never heard the term before.

  "The name of the person I used to be." She stated simply. I nodded my understanding.

  I couldn't help but look over the woman in a new light. I knew she was carrying pain; like myself, she was a veteran of wars big and small. She had seen horrors, lost people. But the emotional and mental battlefield she had been on for so many years was scattered with people who were supposed to love her unconditionally. People who had failed her, not the other way around.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I gathered the woman up in a hug, pulling her head into my shoulder. Kas resisted at first, but when I held her there, she began sobbing heavily into my shoulder. I cried with her.

  We sat like that for a long time.