Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Friends

We went back to Flaze's place after a while, the monsters returning to the streets and being a bother. It was fine when it was just the wayward crow or gremlin that could be taken care of by a clone, but once orcs and groups of goblins began appearing, we made our way out.

The building's reception was predictably ruined, a drunk man in a trench coat slumped against the table. There was also a woman standing behind him, quiet, an automatic rifle slung over her shoulders, and a black mask over her face.

Her gaze followed us as we walked inside.

[Mage - Lvl 14]

[Rogue - Lvl 23]

I felt my attention snap towards them, the feeling of being watched. I realized that they identified me just as I did the same to them.

So that's why monsters always notice it when I identify them.

"Flaze!" the drunk man called, his speech slurred, "And... horse?" That's me. "Listen. I got to tell you. I was told to tell. You. Ralph wants to talk to you. About something... something about a red... man... demon...? Something. On the fifth floor. He's on second. Ralph is. There. Waiting."

"I don't care." Flaze replied simply, and strolled past him.

"Cool horse!" The drunkard said to our departing figures, passing right back out and taking no offense to Flaze's behavior. I laughed and neighed at the absurdity.

I wondered what that was about, and sent her a questioning look.

"There are people there. Mostly on the second to fifth floor. Survivors followed me down when I fought my way through. I came back once, just to take a rest, cover against the monsters outside. I easily noticed that there were more of them than before, more survivors rescued and brought in from outside by teams sent out to scout."

Survivors. A group of them. Would Flaze wish for su to help these people? I've lways played along with her invitations, but times are dire right now, and there are people I care about more. People that she cares about more. We can't be wasting time helping random assholes, but I also can't just leave her behind.

"I forgot something in my room," Flaze chuckled, pointing upstairs, "Don't worry. I won't be dragging you into helping people this time. I also wish to check on every else from the theater. And a few other people."

Oh! That's nice. I nodded my head. I'll also help you look for anyone else that strikes your fancy.

My own social circle is by no means small, but much of its size is honestly due to Flaze's influence. She probably has a lot more people she wishes to check up on and potentially rescue, we'd get held up, but it's at least better than staying in one place to help whatever thriving community they've got going here.

We reached the stairs, and Flaze ascended as I wondered how I would go about climbing it. I was hovering my foot over the first step, when I heard a sudden crackle. I looked up to see and hear an explosion, Flaze falling straight down the stairs. She landed on the ground head-first as my surprised finally faded.

I panicked.

Flaze! I cried out, into a worried neigh. I went over to her slumped body and found that she was already getting up. That gave me a medium of relief, only to see that her feet were entirely bloodied. I immediately slapped a Blessed Heal on them and watched as her flesh knitted themselves back together, good as new.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped myself from relaxing my shoulders, not allowing the tension to bleed out. There had just been an attack, and I doubt it'd end with just that single explosion. My head darted back and forth, the panoramic vision of a horse. I started scanning the entire area; from the wide hallway that stretched out behind us, benches and doors against the walls, to the top of the staircase we meant to traverse. I saw the smoking trail of the explosion on the ladder, but I spotted nothing that could have caused it. No shrapnel nor plastic, almost as if the air had just spontaneously exploded.

"Relax Jackal," Flaze said, getting back up and dusting herself off like she only had a humorous fall, not one that battered her legs, "There are traps here. I forgot. My bad."

She was back in her knight costume now, poised for a fight, but I got the sense that she didn't think it'd come to that. I followed her gaze that was trained up the stairs.

I heard descending steps right after.

I was ready to cast my Hellish Fireball and set this entire building ablaze, but what had arrived instead was a human man. He wore a single grey tank top, large bulging muscles showing, but not nearly as impressive as the musculature of a horse. He peered at us from above, both worry and surprise coloring his face. And then he unslung his rifle and started firing.

"Monster!" he shouted, looking straight at me. Flaze moved to block the gunshots, an audible struggle between her shield and the bullets. One particular gunshot sounded wrong, black smoke trailed out of the weapon. I had sent my Hellish Fireball at the same time, burning a portion of the stairs and a divider, but the man had unfortunately managed to dodge.

A hollow clicking sound, the man had his gun trained on us, crouching from behind the stair railings, but no bullets would come out when he pulled the trigger.

"Tsk." I heard him curse, grabbing for his pistol. His sights left us for but a second, a lethal lapse in concentration. I was about to incinerate him right then and there, before he could switch weapons, but Flaze raised a hand to hold me back. I didn't quite follow her logic, but I stood down regardless, though I didn't let my new fireball dissipate.

One move, motherfucker. And you're dead.

He was about to start shooting again when Flaze shouted. "Wait!"

There was a moment when he hesitated, the guy actually acquiesced. He stood up and pointed his firearm at us, but made no moves to actually shoot.

I examined him then, and got to see his level.

[Tank - Lvl 20]

"He's a friend." Flaze said simply, referring to myself. "A human, on the inside."

Allegedly.

"How do you know that?" He stood up, stepping away from the flames clinging to the floor. "Is it a monster that has fucked with your mind!?"

"He's a close friend of mine. One who came all the way here."

"I asked you how you know that!!" His gun was trained on us now. I was just as ready to cook him alive.

"I asked questions. He answered. Words were written on the ground with his hooves."

The man glowered at me, angry for no reason.

"It's a horse."

I think a horse killed his family.

"He's my friend." She stated, brokering no argument. Ready to fight and kill should it come to it.

I felt happy at that, and also a bit worried, but now's not the time to have that discussion. Not that I could actually manage a full conversation, horse hooves unadapted for literature, a single sentence would be a hassle.

Regardless, we're dealing with an entire settlement. I don't know what they're actually called, but they are at the very least armed. Their members suggest levels on the lower end, but it'd still be tough to take them all on at once. I'm confident that escaping would be easy, but Flaze has business upstairs, and I got the impression it was important to her. I don't want to be the one to fuck that up.

Peace would be for the best. Maybe don't kill the annoying prick.

"You could have been tricked," he argued, but relaxed his hand on the gun a little, "But I'll go talk to Ralph."

Flaze looked like she wanted to say something, her breath halting by her chest.

She said it anyway.

"Do I need your permission to pass? We only need to go to my apartment. Then I'll leave. Easy as that."

The man looked annoyed, but he tried to give a level-headed response. "There are plenty of people staying there. Even more since you last went on your last suicidal murder spree. And Ralph has something he needs to talk to you about--"

"I don't care. I don't need to deal with you, nor do you need to deal with me. I'm just passing through, your enclave or whatever is in the way. Leave me alone."

He clicked his tongue. "No, I won't. It's our territory you're passing through, you need to talk with our boss. And really, stop being so stubborn. Everyone's pitching in here, Flaze. Stop being such a fucking child."

"Stubborn?" She spat, "You're the ones who keep on trying over and over to recruit me to your stupid little groupie. I've already given my answer. Many times over."

She leaned in, a whisper-like tone despite the volume of her voice.

"No."

Man, I'd just end myself right there if I'm the one on the receiving end of that. Holy shit.

I do have to say though, it's strange seeing her so dismissive of their pleas. Of people in need. Hell, I would've thought she'd have taken over this entire operation by now.

That was when the anger the guy had been holding back finally exploded. "We keep trying to recruit you because you're strong! You have a clone, you don't even need to be putting yourself in danger. Do you know how much help you could be!? We've lost 3 people in the time you were gone, you know? THREE! Four if you count the woman fleeing here that we just barely weren't able to save. You could have made the difference!"

It was honestly quite moving, the delivery was top-notch. Too bad neither of us were really listening, and not out of disrespect. The masked woman from the reception had come running down the hallway just at that very moment, flanking our position.

She heard the noises I presume, and then came here only to find a tense standoff. She immediately pointed her gun at us and Flaze responded by summoning a clone to protect our rear.

Didn't even bother asking questions. What if we were right? Which we were.

One tense second passed. Two. I felt the magic within my form, a dam about to burst.

"WAIT!"

A sudden shout nearly made the entire situation erupt, but we were all able to miraculously understand in time that the noise came from neither of us four.

It was the voice of a man, someone rapidly descending down the stairs. His body came into view, a thin man wearing a business suit. His gaze almost frantically roamed around, yet it still felt precise, examining each of us in turn. His eyes widened when he saw me, but he didn't attack, realizing that Flaze was protecting the horse monster for whatever reason.

"I heard some commotion from upstairs, so I wondered what it was about, but then I find us fighting among ourselves?"

[Handler - Lvl 19]

"Ralph!" The man with a gun said, "Flaze arrived with a monster in tow. It attacked me! Now she's protecting it."

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"Him. You attacked him first," Flaze responded, icily, her sword still raised.

"He's a monster. Of course I attacked him first."

"And you're surprised he fought back?"

I felt the woman behind us stiffen, seeing that this Ralph person's arrival hadn't sufficed to break hostilities.

Ralph spoke. "Okay. Lestor, Mary. Drop your weapons. You too Flaze. And... horse?"

"His name is Jackal."

"Right, okay. Can he stop being so tense? I can feel the magic from here."

Flaze shifted underneath her armor. "I'm not looking for trouble Ralph. I just need to pass through. And Jackal is a friend. He's only attacking because Lestor attacked first."

There was a subtle glimmer in Ralph's eyes, "A friend? But he looks to be a monster...? I would love to hear about that."

"It's none of your business."

"What did you say!?" Lestor, not Ralph, said. He made a show of adjusting his gun that was already pointed at us. I growled in response, a horse growl. Another hellish fireball formed atop my form. It was far smaller and I had a hard time holding it together. Needs more intelligence. I'm too dumb.

"Okay, okay." Ralph quickly put up his hands, standing in between us before we could murder each other.

Brave guy. If only bravery makes you inflammable.

"We're all friends here." He said, and all of us winced, subtly. "Or if not friends, we're certainly not enemies. We're all just trying to survive, so can we please not harm each other?"

He turned to me and then Flaze, lowering his head. "Please. We've just been dealing with many monsters that are well... monstrous. I didn't know one could be tamed. I'm sure Lestor feels the same way."

Lestor flinched. He looked like he had something to say.

So did I.

I neighed, imbuing anger into the sound to express my disapproval of the notion of being tamed.

Flaze nodded and was about to interpret for the audience my sophisticated argument, but Lestor so rudely shouted over her, still so ready to explode. "What do you want horse!?"

I furrowed my brows and really looked at him. To begin with, I'm not the first one to get attacked. Everyone's just forgotten that. Including Flaze for some fucking reason.

I huffed, and tilted my head at Flaze.

I neighed, gesturing at the scorch mark left in the stairs.

Lestor clicked his tongue. "He's clearly not tamed properly. It's best that this horse is put down--"

The braggart's words were cut short by the voice of another, his life narrowly saved. The woman flanking our escape path spoke for the very first time. Not that we can't run her over if we wanted to. Nor is there a need for escape.

"I believe the horse... Jackal. Meant that it was one of our traps that first exploded on them."

Ralph's eyes widened at that proper interpretation of my gestures. He looked at where the trap had gone off, as if to examine it. I too wondered how it worked, because I see no mechanism for its trigger, nor any remnants of a bomb.

His gaze turned to myself, curious.

"You meant to say that?"

I nodded.

"You can understand me, Jackal?"

I nodded again.

Lestor scoffed. "A trick."

Ralph ignored him and instead turned to Flaze.

"He can." She confirmed.

"Amazing," he gasped, turning to his goons. "Lower your weapons. I want to talk."

"Not before she goes first!" He shouted at Flaze.

"Likewise," she responded.

"We're never going to get anywhere like this. Be the bigger person and let it go." Ralph was addressing his own people.

I felt my eye twitch at that, but I didn't say anything.

Rather, I couldn't say anything. But it's the thought that counts. You don't get to attack, and then be the bigger person for letting it go. Stupid.

They both reluctantly lowered their weapons, and I also relaxed my magic and dissipated my fireballs. Meanwhile Flaze and her clone lowered their shield and sword. She remained transformed.

"Okay." Ralph said. "I actually wanted to talk to you, Flaze. About a demonic imp monster upstairs, on the fifth floor. It's pushed us back to the third floor in precaution, so the only area we're able to occupy is from that floor down."

Flaze tilted her head, "I fail to see why that's my, or our problem."

"Why you--!" Lestor began, but Ralph cut him off with a hand.

"I expected that. This isn't a request. Take it as a warning. We lost three people to it, but it did come with info. Level 51. Mage. Be careful."

Flaze paused, thinking it over, before she nodded.

I too thought about it, a level 50 foe. I don't think I'm ready for that battle, but Flaze did just take on something just a few paltry levels below. And with two of us, it should be possible. Not that there's any reason why we should be doing these guys a favor, and while Flaze's shift in character is worrying me, I don't have any personal stake in whether they live or die.

Hope they survive though. Humanity and all that. Although I'm a horse now. Maybe I should be more focused on my own kind's survival.

"Ralph! Why do we have to warn them about what's in there if they don't even want to help us!?" Lestor asked, shouting.

Ralph sighed, "Flaze lives in the ninth floor. The monster is in her way. They'd have to take care of it regardless. Might as well raise their chances."

He smiled at us. A kindness and warmth that just made me all the more skeptical.

"Or they could flee from it." He continued. "Flaze and her... friend. Maybe they're not really our allies, but they need not be our enemies. They clearly don't mean us harm, unless we wish them the same. And they're strong, clearly. Even if we fight, and even if we somehow manage to win, it will be with great sacrifice."

Ralph then turned to Lestor, his gaze disappointed. "And for what? Would our bickering really have accomplished anything? Them, dead. Ourselves, severely injured. And that's if we win. We're the ones asking for their help, we could very easily instead lose. If not completely, they could still flee after already doing the damage."

"So, Flaze," he said, an apologetic tone, "Please don't take their actions the wrong way. Conflict is not what you seek, and neither is it something that we wish for."

Flaze shrugged. "Sure, that's fine. I just want to get to my apartment. Grab a few things. That's it."

"Okay," he smiled, and cleared the way for us to ascend. Lestor was dragged along, and Mary prepared to leave, but not before we were out of sight.

"There are more traps along the way, but they should actually be obvious. Maybe it's too subtle, but the runes do give a little glow."

Oh yeah, I think I might have seen something like that.

I thought it was just decoration.

I'm surprised Flaze thought it was just decoration.

Lestor and Ralph ascended the stairs, and we followed behind. I noticed that Flaze's clone trailed out front, while she herself took my flank. Both of her selves still in knight form.

It seems she also doesn't trust them.

I too made sure to remain extra vigilant, watching for any traps that might go off.

Once we were halfway towards the second floor, Ralph spoke to us about something. "Flaze, if you don't mind. I think we did give you some valuable information. But I would like to know what the deal with your horse... Jackal, is. We're really all in the dark here about what's happening."

Not hers. I'm my own person, horse.

She thought it over for a second. "That's fair. If Jackal is fine with it?"

The question was directed to me. I neighed, in the affirmative.

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