A few hours later, it was time for them to part ways once more.
"Let's not wait another three months to see each other again this time, yeah?" Tom said slapping Nikolas on the back.
"No promises," the pale man replied. "I'm probably going to be working for the Moonlit Daggers for the next few months. They pay great, and I can say I'm doing something positive."
"I'm more worried about Cait and Fate," Maya said. "The Advanced always have some underhanded trick or new abomination ready to spring on us."
"Have more faith in us," Fate said as he passed her, heading toward his ship with Cait in tow. "We've never lost against the Advanced before, and that won't end now."
"We lost Gavyn," Maya snapped. "The worst thing we ever could've lost."
Fate stopped in his tracks, turning to find Maya about to spill tears. Her face was red, her mouth set in a thin line. Fate suddenly felt guilty, making her relive that experience. She took Gavyn's death the hardest of any of them.
"And we've been making them pay for it ever since," Fate said reassuringly. "I promise, I won't let either of us get killed over there."
Maya wiped the unshed tears off of her face with her sleeve. "You better not. Or I'll force this necromancer Nikolas is taking us to kill to revive you just so I can beat the shit out of you."
Nikolas piped up, trying to break the depressing atmosphere. "I'd like to see that. Fate here has been getting too big for his britches for a while now. He could use a good strangling."
That got a laugh out of Maya. "If he does as he's supposed to, I won't have to resort to that."
"A shame," Nikolas replied, sipping a box of apple juice. "Anyway, we're already running late. Let's get going, shall we?" He headed to his ship, tossing his now-empty juice box into the trash can behind him.
Judging by the way it veered slightly in the air, he used his Divine Reach to aid the feat. Autumn followed behind, thumping her fists together and glaring at Fate with mock anger. "Maya won't be the only one beating your ass if you die," she said. "I'm sure Tom will want some quality time as well."
Maya looked from Fate to Nikolas, then back again. "Don't get too cocky, Fate," she told him. "Caution keeps us alive." After speaking her mind, she hurried after Nikolas and Autumn.
Fate watched them go, Tom and Vennasina stepping next to him and Cait as they watched the three take off. When their ship was nothing more but a distant dot, Fate turned to Tom.
"So why can't you two go with us?" he asked them.
"Wish I could, but I promised Vennasina that I'd find a way to exterminate those Integrens. Plus, the EPF and PPK are gonna pay us a boatload of money for finding a new way to stop world-ending monsters. It turns out it's a real problem in a lot of places."
"Sounds noble," Fate said with only a little sarcasm.
"Heh. We never do anything for good-boy points," Tom replied. "See you later." He went with Vennasina to his ship, wrapping Fate and Cait in a hug before he left.
"Guess that's our cue," Fate said as Tom took off. "Your ship or mine?'
"Mine is already stocked with a few years' worth of food and water," Cait told him. "What about yours?"
"Only a few weeks. I haven't had the chance to restock yet."
"Then let's put your food in the stasis chest so they don't spoil and take my ship."
Fate nodded, and they went to work moving the perishable food into the chest, which was down in the hangar where they were. It was set into the eastern wall, a few feet from the stairs leading into the house, and was visibly just an alcove with a screen above it.
When they placed the food in the nook and entered into the screen what kind of food it was, the screen flashed as the food vanished, being stored in a sterilized pocket dimension that froze anything inside in time. The screen allowed one to take things out.
Having moved all the perishable food and drinks into the stasis chest, the two boarded Cait's ship. Fate gave her his Ex-Ear so she knew where to go, and sat in the passenger seat, watching the world outside turn into a blur of light as Cait switched on her warp drive. It wasn't a Kozmos Drive, but instead an Embodiment-made version that worked differently and infinitely better.
Instead of jetting the ship forward at lightspeed, it instead warped space around it, allowing the ship to travel hundreds of lightyears a minute. All of them had upgraded their ships as soon as they could afford it.
Fate leaned back in his seat, staring out at the dazzling display of lights. "Let me know if you want me to pilot for a little while," he said, closing his eyes.
He opened his eyes, finding the same dirty cell he previously saw through Samnul's body. He was lying on the ground in a fetal position, his eyes roaming the lines between the brick that made up the stone wall.
"I won't last much longer here," Samnul whispered, his voice devoid of strength. He broke into a hacking cough, raising a bloody hand to cover his mouth. "If you are coming, you better do it quickly."
'We're on our way now,' Fate thought. 'We should be on your planet within the next four days.'
"Four days? I don't think I can last that long," Samnul rasped.
'We're a few dozen galaxies away from you, so this is as fast as we can make it. Teleportation pads don't go where you are. While I'm here, mind telling me where exactly on the planet you are?'
"In Ythmun's castle dungeon, the lowest level. You can see it from space. It'll be the big pointy black mass of stone that goes on for an unnecessary amount of miles."
'Alright. Hang in there,' Fate thought, feeling himself wake up.