Urgent knocking woke Pearl up. She drowsily made her way across the room to open the door. The floor under her feet was beyond freezing. But she ignored it, she was a Thawed.
Pearl grabbed the knob and gently twisted it, then opened the door. The second it flung open, a shocked Decka fell into the room.
He cried tears of anger and sadness onto the frigid floor.
"Decka? Decka, what's going on?" Pearl tried to ask him.
But he continued to cry. While he was emptying his eyes, the sounds attracted Ether. He ran out of his room and into the living room.
"Woah! Decka, are you alright?" Ether frantically asked.
"M - m... Q... they..." he tried his best to speak. "They... THEY ATTACKED THE FARM AND TOOK QUINN!"
Decka showed them his arm, the blacks of the armor were covered in red. But that arm was also shaking.
It was something completely new to Pearl and Ether, seeing a once-fabled elite weep like a child and shake out of fear was an odd sight.
Ether helped him inside while Pearl ran to get some water from the Thawed-ritual powered tap.
Decka followed Ether through the room, then sat down in front of the fireplace. Ether started a fire using flammable powder and two burnt sticks from the night before.
Pearl grabbed a wooden cup from the shelves overhead, then knelt down to a bucket with a wooden lid over it. She whispered two words, then placed the cup under the tap that was attached.
Seconds after, cold water rushed through the tap. It filled the cup almost completely before the stream stopped.
"Here, drink it," Pearl told Decka.
The ruined Zegus grabbed the cup and brought it up to his lips. He gulped down the splintering-cold water, then took in a couple breathes.
But after drinking, he kept sobbing. Decka couldn't stop himself from it.
"Listen, Decka, please tell us what happened. We will get Quinn back, I promise," Ether asked him.
"Just a few days ago... the defenders said the Light Legion was going to send an elite to watch over the farm..." Decka's throat tightened, forcing him to clear it. "So we decided to wait for the elite and capture them."
Ether frowned. Seeing Decka's position reminded him of the day after they Sunset. He cried out for Demon until he was by his side, but Decka was in a worst spot.
While he had his brother, Decka lost his lover.
"We were sleeping until... until we heard those fuckers killing our people! We - we got up and prepared to fight them, but they were too many. Too. Damn. Many!"
Pearl felt Decka's words cut deep into the morning air. She never had this feeling before. She couldn't understand it. But she still thought of a plan.
"Okay, (Quinn) do you know(nearing) where we(death) can find Quinn?" Pearl asked Decka.
He tried his best to think of where she could be.
"Those fucking bloodthirsty savages(Chained) probably took her(farm) back into the Light Legion's walls!" Decka continued to sob.
Ether sat there, confused. He heard whispers speak to him through the voices of Decka and Pearl.
"Quinn... nearing... death... chained... farm..." he repeated. "Quinn is chained up and being punished at the farm. We need to attack it right now."
Decka threw the cup across the room and tackled Ether. "How do you know?!"
Pearl forced Decka off the much smaller Zesher. "I know you love Quinn but it also doesn't mean you can do these sorts of things to much smaller and weaker figures!"
Ether struggled to crawl away from Decka's beastly hands. "A faint whisper. It spoke while both of you spoke."
Decka didn't question Ether's response. He wiped away the tears and made his way outside. Pearl and Ether followed him.
He walked out the door and turned around to face them. His shield rested against the wall. The black hook waited inside for its wielder to attach it to his back.
And Decka did. The shield snapped into place on his armor plates, then Decka turned around. The ruined face became lively with bloodlust.
"We will not rally a force behind us. We will go there, and get Quinn out of their hands," Decka ordered.
Ether ran to the closet. The door swung open, and he went inside. He searched for his armor and Tellendor.
Not long after, he walked out wearing the withered Infinus elite armor. The paint from the plates was nothing but the original silver color of the metals. Only small specs of blue scattered around the whole armor remained.
Pearl went into the closet next to put on her own armor. Like Ether, she came out minutes later with her own set. But like Ether's, her's was more intact and still had the original paint.
"Are you two sure we want to go without reinforcements?" Pearl asked.
Both Decka and Ether nodded with confidence. While Decka was going to fight his way back to Quinn, Ether was going to fight alongside his ally.
Without anymore questions, Pearl picked up a weapon that Ether requested for her. It was an executioner's sword, but with a silver handle to match Tellendor's silver handle.
The rest of the blade was a freshly painted black to hide the weapon when it's attached to the tiny black claws that go down her back.
***
Now in the skies, the trio made their way back to the farm. By now, they were unsure if Quinn was still alive. But they all had hope.
Especially Decka. He knew her long enough to understand she didn't crumble easily.
After all those years, Decka was going to repay Quinn for saving his life by saving hers. Even if it meant leading a team of three through a hostile environment.
Decka was guiding the Sky Beast, while Pearl and Ether sat behind him. Unlike Decka, the two weren't looking forward to the bloody battle.
They were holding each other close. Ether held her because she was uncertain if they would be able to come out of it alive. And Pearl held him because she noticed the shivering.
When the Sky Beast began dipping its head down, the trio embraced for a rude landing.
Seconds passed, and the farm was in sight. It increased in size as they got closer. Which helped them see the massacre below.
Former Infinus warriors laid dead across the farm floor, while Light warriors tore off armor plates. They would carry the plates to a large empty crate, where the metals would wait until they were melted into new equipment.
This sickened Ether. He remembered the time Jakery waved at them, and they waved back. It was his first time seeing the brutal and heartless warriors as normal Variants like him.
Decka made the Sky Beast circle around the farm to look for where Quinn could be. Ether took the time to think of a plan to break in and get her out of there.
"Okay, okay. We will dive down to the farm, then give control to Pearl. Me and Decka will jump off and fight our way to Quinn. We will meet Pearl at the food crates and rush out of there with Quinn," Ether explained.
Pearl tightened her grip on Ether, not wanting to let him go into a dangerous place without her by his side.
"It's going to take grit from me and you, Decka, I know we both are capable of this mission," he finished.
The three agreed.
Decka continued to look for the place where Quinn could be in. That's when he noticed one of the nearby homes was heavily guarded.
What appeared to be six Thawed stood outside the door with their weapons hot in their hands. They were ready in case of an attack.
The theory was proven after an important looking Variant walked out of the home. Whoever they were didn't wear the usual Light Legion armor. It looked like a modified version.
From where they were, the trio couldn't tell who it was. But Decka knew this was the elite that was supposed to take control of the farm.
"There they are..." he spoke through gritting teeth. "The fucker who is in charge of this farm."
Ether removed one of his hands from around Pearl's body, then places it on Decka's shoulder. "Hey, ca - hold on... do not calm down. Hold it all in, trust me."
Decka smirked, then let go of the Sky Beast. Ether let go of Pearl, then she took Decka's seat on the Sky Beast.
The trio began making their descent. Decka attached the shield onto his arm. The black and gold weapon patiently waited for its wielder to feed it.
And so did Tellendor. The sword grew hungry on Ether's back, despite the slaughter from the day before. It wanted more, but it didn't feast on blood. It feasted on Ether's strength.
The stronger he got, the stronger Tellendor got. This fight was Tellendor's turn to repay Ether for the feast he gave it.
"THIS IS IT! GO!" Pearl ordered.