"It's fine to move him, but he's obviously not going to be able to walk out by himself."

"Sala, can you handle carrying two people?"

"Sure. Neither of them are very big, and I can reduce their weight. I won't be able to do any more fighting, though."

"That's all right. The poison team said they reached this floor a few minutes ago, so the path out should be secured."

Thenio forced his eyes open a crack. He could hear voices around him, but he didn't recognize them.

Who were these people, and how had they gotten inside the research center? Melinei never let strangers in without telling him first, since she knew it was dangerous to surprise him.

"You're sure Sala's magic won't cause him any problems?"

"Not if she only uses a little. I increased the setting on his suppression bands. That's why he's not waking up, even though the barrier's gone. I'll need to watch him closely to make sure, but he should be all right."

Oh, Thenio knew that voice. That was Grandmaster Sephior. Was he working in the research center now? He must be. He was Thenio's doctor, wasn't he?

Something about that idea seemed a little off, but he couldn't think clearly enough to figure out what it was.

"It's a pity he's too sedated to really enjoy this. He seems to be quite a fan of combat wizards. Red, can you carry him over there? I don't think I'm up to it right now...."

That voice was...Ariom? Was he working for the research center, too?

No...this wasn't the research center. That's right. Thenio had fallen through that hole and gotten lost in the dark. Ariom and Grandmaster Sephior must have come looking for him.

But who were those other people?

"Of course. Leave it to me."

A figure leaned over Thenio, and he felt himself being lifted. He opened his eyes a little more and looked around blearily, trying to understand what was going on.

"Oh, are you awake?" the man carrying him asked. "Don't worry, everything's all right. We're from the Magic Corps. We came here to help you."

The Magic Corps? Thenio woke up a little more at those words.

The people around him did seem to be wearing combat suits in various colors. The man who was holding him had on a dark red suit and a matching helmet. Thenio couldn't see most of his face, but he could see that he had pale skin and vivid red eyes.

Red.... Hadn't Ariom called him that just now? Red. There was a famous combat medic whose call name was Red. He was a blood mage who was on the first squad of the Central Division. Thenio had heard stories about him.

This couldn't be the same person, though, right? There was no way a famous battlemage like that would be carrying him around.

He'd said they were from the Magic Corps, though....

Thenio frowned a little as he tried to puzzle through that apparent incongruity. But a moment later the man-who-was-maybe-Red turned, and Thenio was distracted from his muddled thoughts by the sight of a huge white tiger with silver stripes that was laying on its stomach on the floor in front of them. The tiger was wearing blue cloth armor, and a woman in a dark purple combat suit was sitting on its back.

"Mist tiger...?" Thenio murmured groggily. There were pictures of tigers like that in one of his books. He liked drawing them, though the stripes always took a long time.

"That's right," Red told him. "Her name is Sala. She looks fierce, but she won't hurt you. She's going to let you ride her until we get out to the transport vehicle. The woman on her back is Darkbolt. Her leg got hurt on the way here, so she's riding for a while, too." He turned and spoke to the woman. "He's pretty out of it, so I think you'll need to help him stay on."

"That's fine. Put him behind me. He can lean on my back."

Red put Thenio down behind her and helped him arrange his arms and legs. He could barely move them by himself. His whole body felt heavy and numb. He couldn't even hold his head up properly and was forced to rest it on the woman's shoulder. He had to slump forward a bit for that, since she was quite short. But he was too tired and fuzzy-headed to care much about the awkward position.

Once he was settled, Red stepped away. Thenio felt a strange lightness come over him, rather like being immersed in water. Then Sala rose smoothly to her feet.

"Back in formation, everyone," a female voice said. "We probably won't be attacked on the way out, but stay vigilant. These lunatics might have more tricks hidden around. Focilo, stick close to Red and Ariom. Sala will go ahead of you, behind the twins. The risk of traps is low if we retrace our path, so it shouldn't be a problem to move Darkbolt back a little. But Kino, let's put you up behind Rockbrawler to scout. You can move back if we run into anything dangerous."

Kino? As in the storm hound Kino? So he was here, too. Well, that made sense. Thenio had been lost down here in the dark, so they must have asked Kino to come find his scent.

Except...this place wasn't dark? Was this really the same place he'd fallen? It looked like they were inside some kind of building.

And where was the person...or creature...or whatever it had been...who had picked him up and comforted him when he was crying?

There were sounds of movement as everyone presumably followed the instructions to get into formation. A moment later, Sala started walking. Thenio felt her body sway gently with each step. It was quite a different sensation than riding Ariom's horse golem.

He tried to look around. They seemed to be moving along some kind of corridor. But there were openings on one side. They looked like some kind of alcoves. Or...cells? Were they cells? Was the place Thenio had just left also a cell?

Memories finally started coming back to him. That's right...a cell. He and Grandmaster Sephior had been trapped in a cell. With a barrier. That other doctor had brought them there somehow. And before that...before that.... Oh. Right. They'd been at the Royal Guard headquarters. Thenio had been helping Ariom with a job there.

So being at the research center and falling down into that dark place...had that all just been a dream? Strange. It had felt so real....

As Thenio tried to sort out his tangled memories, the group moved down the corridor and into another one. Then another. And another.

Thenio didn't bother keeping track of the turns they made. He was so tired he could barely even think, and the rhythmic motion of Sala's walk was lulling him back toward sleep. He was on the verge of drifting off when the movement suddenly stopped, and he heard voices again.

"Focilo! What a relief! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm ashamed to say that the teleportation took me by surprise, but I had a barrier pendant, and I managed to use it before they did anything else to us."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. What about the chaos boy? He looks a little...oh, his magic is suppressed, isn't it? Then no wonder."

With some difficulty, Thenio raised his head enough to see who was speaking. They were in a wider corridor now, and there was another group of people here. They were wearing matching green combat suits with some kind of crest on the front, and most of them seemed to be busy doing something or other.

But one of them had come over to their group and was talking to Grandmaster Sephior and a woman in a blue combat suit. He was quite tall, and his suit was a darker shade of green than the others, which made him stand out. Maybe he was the leader of the other group?

Thenio couldn't see the man's face because of his helmet, but he could see his hair, which was hanging down his back in a long ponytail. It was the color of green grass with streaks of gold running through it. A swamp mage with a strong life primary, maybe?

Thenio stared at the man dazedly. He was familiar...that long green and gold hair was so familiar.... Who did he know who had hair like that...?

"...Peqeran."

Thenio didn't even realize he'd said the word out loud until everyone turned to look at him. The man with green hair had also stopped talking and looked over at him.

"What did you just say, boy?" Grandmaster Sephior asked, sounding a little surprised.

"Peqeran," Thenio repeated. He blinked and shook his head a little. "I don't know.... That name just...came into my head.... I don't know why. I think it was something I dreamed.... I don't know. I'm sorry...."

The long-haired man chuckled a little and came over to him, pulling his helmet off as he walked. He had light brown skin and an elegant, angular face with high cheekbones. His eyes were a deep gold color.

"Don't worry about it. You're under heavy magic suppression right now. It's normal for your thoughts to be a little muddled. I'm Camei Rhesim. I'm the head of the Demon Poison Center. We've actually met before, when you were first admitted to the Stability Center. But you were heavily suppressed then, too, so you probably don't remember. Someday we should have a chat when you're actually awake...." He turned and looked back at the woman in the blue combat suit. "But right now you should be getting out of this place. That behemoth crystal is safe for the moment, but we want the building clear before we try to move it, to avoid any accidents or interference. The evacuation team was working on getting the lifts secured and operational, if you want to use them."

"That would help, since we have several people who aren't in the best shape." The woman glanced meaningfully at Thenio and Darkbolt.

"I can see why. It looks like your team had a rough time getting down here. Those golems must have been quite a hassle. I'm grateful you got them out of the way for us. And that you kept that guy from filling this place with miasma. Well...I realize you had a little help with that part...." He nodded toward something further down the corridor.

Thenio looked in that direction and saw what looked like a mass of tree branches in the center of the hallway. A man's head and shoulders were sticking up out of the middle of them. He was slumped to the side like he was asleep.

How strange. What were those branches doing there? And why was that man sleeping inside them? It didn't look very comfortable....

As he stared at the odd sight in bemusement, Thenio felt Sala start walking again. Their group filed along one side of the corridor while the people in green suits moved out of the way to let them pass.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Thenio watched the man in the branches as they went by. When they were a little closer, he realized that they were roots, not branches. The actual branches had green and gold leaves on them, and they were woven together in a ball in front of the sleeping man.

What a weird tree, growing in the middle of the building, and with its roots sticking up in the air like that. Thenio was quite sure he'd never seen a plant like that before.

But at the same time, he was sure he had seen it before....

He continued staring at the branches, trying to understand the strange feeling they gave him. When Sala passed close to them, Thenio could have sworn he saw the leaves stir a little, like a breeze had just blown through them. The air filled with a gentle, vanilla-like scent.

Thenio blinked a few times. Then he rested his head on Darkbolt's shoulder again and closed his eyes.

It was all right. It didn't matter if he didn't understand. That scent meant he was safe. Someone was watching over him. Everything would be all right.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of the movement of the tigress underneath him and the occasional sound of voices.

He didn't really wake up again until he felt a cold wind blowing on his back.

Thenio opened his eyes and sleepily looked around. Were they outside? He could still see walls around them, but they were further away, and instead of the even indoor lighting from before, everything looked shadowy and pale, like it was being lit by early morning sun. The cold breeze supported that idea. Kamari was often windy first thing in the morning.

There seemed to be quite a lot of activity going on around them. Thenio saw a group of people in black combat suits going past. And there were shouts and crashing sounds in the distance.

If there were people in combat suits, did those sounds mean someone was actually fighting close by? Why were so many people fighting? Where was this place, and what was going on?

And why was his magic not reacting? It didn't feel unsettled at all. That was strange.

Thenio tried to assess the current state of his magic power and realized he was a bit wrong. It wasn't that he couldn't feel it reacting. It was that he couldn't feel it at all. All he felt was a strange, suffocating numbness where his magic circuit ought to be.

What was that? What had happened to his magic?

He felt a bit panicky for a moment until another memory came back to him.

Thenio, hide!

That's right. That strange smoke started coming into Ariom's dream, and Ki'shiu had told him to hide.... No. He'd told Thenio's magic to hide. So it was hiding. That must be how it was.

Such a simple explanation probably wouldn't have satisfied him under normal circumstances, but in his current groggy state, it seemed reasonable enough. He just hoped Ki'shiu would let his magic come out of hiding soon. It was quite uncomfortable.

"Rescue team, here!"

Thenio raised his head a little at the sudden shout. While he'd been pondering the condition of his magic, the group had moved out into a more open area. Something that looked like a large magic car was parked there, and a man in a tan-colored combat suit was standing next to it, waving them over.

Was that one of the Stability Center's transport vehicles? It had their crest on the side, and it looked a lot like the one he'd ridden in when he'd been taken to the Center that first time. Though he'd slept through most of that trip and didn't remember much else about it.

Medical transports were among the few flying vehicles that were allowed inside the city limits. When he was small, Thenio had gotten excited whenever he saw one zooming by overhead. But he didn't like them nearly so much after he actually had to go to the hospital in one, when his magic had exploded for the first time.

They'd given him some kind of sedative then, too. But it wasn't enough to block out the sound of Lem crying....

They went toward the transport. When they got close to it, Red went ahead of the others and began discussing something with the man in the tan suit.

The woman in the blue suit looked around at the group. "The team mission ends here. Focilo and the boy are obviously going in the transport. Ariom and Darkbolt, too. You both look like you're about to fall over. Ice Queen, why don't you go with them? I know you're getting close to your limit, and I'll feel better if they have at least one uninjured battlemage escorting them."

Ice Queen? Was Namyis there too? Thenio raised his head and looked around.

"What, you didn't even notice I was here?" Namyis stepped forward, took her helmet off, and stuck her tongue out at him. "All this work to come save you, and this is the thanks I get?"

"I...I'm sorry..." Thenio mumbled awkwardly. "I just...you were being quiet...not like normal.... I haven't heard you picking on Ariom at all...."

He heard a snort behind him that sounded like it had come from Ariom.

Namyis stared at Thenio for a moment, looking a little taken aback. Then she burst out laughing.

"I kind of like you when you're sedated, you know? You're more honest than usual." She moved closer and reached up to pat his head. "I was just kidding. I know you can barely keep your eyes open right now. I'm not upset you didn't notice me. I'm just glad you're safe. Really."

Thenio blinked. "Oh."

He wasn't sure what else to say.

The other battlemages gave Namyis questioning looks, and the woman in the blue suit shook her head.

"Picking on Ariom, huh? I guess I should have realized it would be like that if the two of you were working together...." she said with a sigh. "Well, anyway. Back to the topic at hand. Sala and I are going to go back and help clear out the building. Anyone who's feeling up to it is welcome to come with us. But it's your call. You've all worked hard tonight, so I won't complain about anyone who wants to quit here."

"I'll go with you," said a large man in a brown combat suit.

Two men in black and silver suits looked at each other and then looked back at the woman and nodded. "We can keep going a little longer," they said in unison.

"Garem is coming to supervise the investigation. He wants me to stay here to help," Kino said in his usual soft voice. Then he looked at Ariom. "He said to tell you to just rest and take care of your assistant for now. He'll contact you soon to talk about compensation and what to do about what's left of the analysis information."

"Right. There was that, wasn't there?" Ariom sighed. "All right. I understand. Have you heard anything about how Mideis and Amisi are doing?"

Kino was silent for a moment, probably communicating with Garem. "The hospital says Mideis will be fine. His treatment is done, and he's resting. He can probably go home later today. Amisi is at the magic beast clinic, and they haven't sent any updates for a few hours. But they told us earlier that it wasn't life-threatening. Her burns were worse than Mideis', so her treatment is probably taking longer."

Thenio frowned. Burns? Hospital? Amisi had been fine when he saw her last, and she said Mideis wasn't hurt when the golem exploded. Had something happened to them after that?

Namyis seemed to notice his confusion. "A lot has been going on," she told him quietly. "Someone will explain it all to you later. But it sounds like those two will be all right, so don't worry about it for now."

Thenio nodded. The action made him feel a little dizzy, so he laid his head back down. Namyis gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his hair again.

"Will you bring those two over to the transport entrance, Sala?" Red said, coming back over to where the tigress was standing. "Darkbolt, since you weren't having any trouble with your magic use, they're going to drop the others off at the Stability Center and then take you over to the regular hospital. Ice Queen, can you go with her?"

"Sure. I just need to deliver Ariom safely back to his uncle first. I assume he'll be waiting for us at the Center."

"Knowing Bero, he'll probably be right outside the transport door when it opens...." Red said with a chuckle.

Sala moved closer to the transport, and Red lifted Thenio off her back and carried him into it. It was surprisingly spacious inside—big enough to have a row of seats on one side and several fold-down beds on the other. Red settled Thenio down on one of the beds while Namyis and the man in the tan combat suit helped Darkbolt limp in behind them and sit down on another one.

"You've been through a pretty scary experience tonight," Red said gently. "It might take a little while to really catch up to you because of the shock and magic suppression. Don't push yourself too much for a few days, okay? You need some time to rest and process things. Bero's staying with you and Ariom right now, isn't he? You can go to him if you need someone to talk to. He'll understand. Got it?"

Thenio nodded.

"Good. Take care, then." Red patted him on the shoulder and then turned and left the vehicle.

After he disappeared, Ariom and Grandmaster Sephior entered the transport, followed by another man in a tan combat suit. Ariom had taken his helmet off, revealing a pale, exhausted-looking face.

"There's another bed if you want to lie down," Grandmaster Sephior suggested, pointing at the bed next to Darkbolt's.

Ariom scowled at him. "I don't want to."

"You're sure?" Namyis asked, looking at him skeptically. "You really do look awful, you know. Though at least your eyes are back to their normal color."

Ariom snorted and started walking past her. Then he paused and glanced back. "What color were they anyway? Red said they'd changed, but he never said what color they changed to."

"They were gold. Like Tava's eyes, but darker." Namyis gave him a sweet smile. "I'm glad they changed back. Your normal color is prettier."

Ariom's scowl deepened. He turned away without replying, stalked over to one of the seats near Thenio's bed, and slumped down into it, not looking at anyone.

Grandmaster Sephior smiled wryly at the sight. Then he turned and reached out to fiddle with the bands on Thenio's wrists. "Now that we're not in the middle of a battleground, it should be fine to lower your suppression rate a little."

"Why did you turn it up?" Thenio asked sleepily. "My magic was already hiding.... Ki—"

Before he could say Ki'shiu's name, Grandmaster Sephior put a hand lightly over his mouth. The doctor shook his head a little and then looked meaningfully over at the other bed, where Namyis was helping Darkbolt remove her combat suit.

Oh. Right. He shouldn't talk about Ki'shiu when there were other people around. Namyis already knew about him, of course, but Darkbolt and the two medics presumably didn't.

Grandmaster Sephior leaned closer to him and whispered, "That's why. To cover up what he did."

He lifted his hand from Thenio's mouth and finished adjusting the suppression bands.

"There. That's still higher than your usual rate, but it should be enough to help you feel a little better. We can lower it the rest of the way after we get to the Center and do a thorough check on your magic circuit."

Thenio didn't feel the usual increase in magic power when the suppression was lowered. But his head cleared a little, and he felt more alert. It was enough that he stayed awake on the ride over to the Stability Center. And by the time they arrived, he was able to stand and walk out of the transport, albeit with help from Grandmaster Sephior and one of the medics.

But just outside the transport, he stopped, blinking dazedly at the strange welcoming party waiting there for them.

Bero was there, with Iggy's carry bag slung over his shoulder. There was a small dark shape visible inside that was presumably the little dragon, though he seemed to be asleep.

Next to Bero was an elderly woman with vivid green eyes and white hair pulled up into a bun. And standing behind her were two...what were those? Horses? No, they both had light gold horns on their foreheads.... Were they unicorns? They looked like it, but it was a little hard to be sure since their bodies were almost completely covered in some kind of dark green suits.

Distracted by the unicorns, Thenio didn't notice the man walking toward him until they were only a few feet apart.

"Eteon?" He stared blankly at the old woodcarver. "Why are you...?"

Eteon didn't wait for him to finish the question and didn't say anything. He simply reached out and pulled Thenio into a tight embrace.

Thenio's eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't as though Eteon had never hugged him before, but this was...different somehow. A piece of his dream from earlier suddenly came back to him—the part where his father had picked him up and given him a warm, welcoming hug.

His throat started to ache a little.

Eteon held him for a long moment and then released him with a sigh. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, placing his hands on the sides of Thenio's face and looking into his eyes.

"I...I think so? Just sleepy. The magic suppression.... I slept through most of...whatever happened. So I just had some strange dreams. That's all."

"Good." Eteon patted his shoulders and then stepped back. "Here, we have a wheelchair waiting for you. Sit down. We'll take you inside and deal with that magic suppression problem."

Thenio nodded and took a step toward the chair Eteon was pointing to. But then he stopped again.

He'd just caught sight of the fourth person who'd been standing outside the Stability Center waiting for them.

"Hello. You must be Thenio," the man said with a friendly smile. "I'm Brel. Good to meet you."

He was short—only around four feet tall. But he had a long, brown and white striped tail that curved up over his head. Furry brown and white ears stuck out of his curly brown hair, and he had matching brown markings around his gold-colored eyes.

Thenio knew what he was, of course. He'd seen plenty of pictures of them before.

But this was his first time meeting a Forest Person in real life.