"Is everyone here?"
"Brought everybody I could, sir."
"Hopper, why did you bring us all….shhh!! All will be revealed. Bring in the cup of water."
"Right away."
"Son, you don't need to revisit this topic. We already….I said shh! Set it down on the table there please."
"What is this?"
"Dad, can you not. Just let me speak and don't interrupt again. In fact I'll be talking of you first since you seem to be so chirpy this morning. You are angry at me for getting you out of bed so early today, and I'm angry that you love to consistently interrupt me. Aaron is mad at you for leaving all those years ago and you are mad at him because he found something that you couldn't have yourself. Croak is mad at me for putting him on this journey and I am sad that he could not pull through but guys listen. We share a common enemy here. We're not mad at each other but at one thing in particular; the church!! Aaron is a strong believer in the church but my dad no matter how hard he tries can't seem to grasp the same faith so he takes his anger out not on Aaron specifically but on what he believes in. Aaron, you are taking anger out on your brother not for what he is or what he has done but the fact that despite all your attempts of leading him to the Truth, he still has anger against it. Why? That is a question you do not know so instead of asking your brother why he is angry, you instead just exerted your anger out on him for no apparent reason.
Croak, my dude. I thought you were finally ready and capable of walking the straight and narrow but after you couldn't succeed you decided to point all your anger at the one who wanted you to go on this journey in the first place."
"Hop, what are you trying to get at here? God already has said that no one can be perfect except him so what good is it to show us all of our flaws?"
"Aaron, I like that you're an avid thinker but God also says be angry but do not sin. Something as little as two brothers being angry with each other is still considered sin in God's eyes."
"Okay, so Christianity is hard and you want to change it because that is where all of our anger should go instead of on each other. If this is your form of a pep rally then why are you firing us up?"
"Sources have told me that my sister is one piece away from freeing us but a new challenger approaches."
"Does this new challenger happen to be 5'5, 120 pounds, eyes that sparkle like jewels and a kick stronger than a kangaroo?"
"That would be the one. She's tough but if we combine forces then we'll be even tougher. Makes sense that the only reason Sixth is letting us free is to join forces with us because she can't take down mother on her own."
"Haa. Work with you!! Your sister is the strongest warrior I know. Mother may be a Faith warrior but in all the areas that she lacks Sixth makes up for. We may have two sorcerers on our side but when you have faith that can move a mountain like hers then you don't need fancy magic to show your strength."
"My sister. My sister. My sister!! Do you know what her faith is? Her faith is old just like mother. She grew up in the church like all of us but after she went out; she has stayed true to the principles of what she believes. That right there is a cause for concern because she is basing her faith off of something she grew up in and not something that she personally experienced through life. If she looked from an outside perspective inwards then she too would see all the cracks, crevices, leaks, damages, and things that need to be changed. Pit her against the real world and she wouldn't even last a day."
"Umm Hopper. I was there when you talked to Shadow and Sixth has never deterred from what she believes. Everything that has come against her she has defeated and stomped on. Maybe she is who this world really needs."
"Croak, you're being misguided. Her faith will not save her forever."
"Her faith has gotten her this far so I want to ask the counsel this one question. God has given each of us different levels of faith and different levels of skill but what makes her faith so great that she has never once waivered?"
"I...umm. I.."
"Her faith is rooted. That is the one thing none of us have is roots. From the most powerful of us to the least of us none of us know what's true. Yes, the church needs changing and yes it needs to be changed from within instead of outwardly influences but I don't think we need to go through Sixth in order to get to the church. She is your sister after all."
"Mhmm, mhmm, mhhhm. If I may speak then let me say a few words."
"Swift!!! Should've known it was you who has been putting these lies in Hopper's head. What do you want?"
"Hopper is right and so is Croak."
"What!!!"
"Change….is inevitable but we need not go through Sixth in order to get to our true goal. If we can show her that what she stands on is faulty then that might give us the edge we need for her to turn."
"Swift, haven't you been listening? She will...not….turn!! Her roots are too deep."
"Then we have no choice. We must uproot her."
"How? She's stuck down there and we're stuck up here."
"Ahh, we may be stuck but that doesn't mean we are inmobile. Right now Sixth is in Nowhere where everything is not as it seems. If we create a few hallucinations, times where her faith was tested and she was on the rocks, and then scatter some monsters here and there then surely we will see where her faith truly lies. If we find that she cannot stand on her own two feet then we will kill her. If she indeed does prove that she is capable of handling anything then…...we'll let her live."
"I don't like this Hopper. You wanted to see if the church really needs changing and using me; a wanderer to test it out. If I could stand then so could the church but if I couldn't then the church can't. I understand that, but Sixth is not some wanderer. Her roots grow deeper than most of the people here so I don't see her caving like I did."
"Croak, you caved cause you had no roots but if Sixth caves even with roots then we will know the truth. I don't care if she stumbles, trips, second guesses, third guesses, doubts, or does anything of that sort. If I find doubt in her then we'll be going in guns blazing. Aaron, you're with me. I want to hit this girl harder than she's ever been hit before.