This was the third week that the group had been on the island of Talaz Lagaar; Yuurei had done his best to pillage the machinery that was known as Zero. It was interesting and unique, and it looked like it had materials that he wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else in the world. It was a fascinating thing and it was one that he, of course, was taking full advantage of. His friends were doing the same thing it would seem, which was a good thing. They were in the clear for two weeks, which was a good thing; he was glad that nobody had bothered them so far.

He was sure that their luck would run out soon enough. The hunter wore his mask to make sure that he didn’t somehow get sick. Renji would walk by his friend’s side, and the two of them moved around the place as nonchalantly as they could. The Exceed covered his face as he didn’t want to get sick either. He was hoping that Revy was better. The last time he had seen her it had hurt him emotionally, and he hoped that everything would be okay.

Yuurei looked over to his friend, the day was as beautiful as it could be, but sucked they were spending it on this island. He could see that something was bothering him and figured he would ask, and guess what was on his mind.

“What’s wrong Renji? You got Revy on your mind?” He asked his friend as he waited for an answer.

Renji would snap out of his thoughts as he looked over to Yuurei. He would have a slight smile as he looked down in front of him.

“It’s that obvious huh? Yeah, I’m worried about her, I just can’t do anything for her, but hope that she gets better.” He said to Yuurei.

The hunter would hear this and he would pat Renji on the head as he kept moving.

“I understand Renji. We can only hope that she gets better, and I’m pretty sure that Kaito is doing everything he could to make sure that she recovers. He will make sure that she pulls through no matter what.” He said Renji.

Renji heard this and he would nod as he was hoping that was the case. He knew that the person who loved Revy as much as he was Kaito. He knew he would do his best.

“You’re right, I should just be working hard for the both of us. I know she wished she was helping out right now.” He said to Yuurei.

Yuurei would smile at him as he was glad to hear his words. They would approach the site of Zero and there they wouldn’t see anybody around for the time being. Once they got to the area, Yuurei would look around Zero before deciding what he wanted to take from it. Once he had decided where he was going to be working today, he would start taking things apart. Renji would see what Yuurei was doing and figured he would do the same thing as he was going to help.

524

Kaito comes to the island with a heavy heart as Revy had taken off leaving him with a note stating that she was only holding him back and that she needed to get better but it only hurt her more to have to hold him back more by being nearly unable to help with things as of late so she was going to go now and maybe return when she is better and can really be of some help to him and she signed it with a small good bye for now. Kaito's heart was heavy in his chest as he had started looking for her in most of her favorite spots but he had come up empty handed so he thought that he should check the island and see if she might be here somewhere first he was going to check out zero where Yuurei had invited him once more to look for artifacts and things to collect.

Kaito Hopes they don't ask about Revy but he has a feeling they will, and if they do he will need to decide if he is going to lie to his friends to protect Revy and himself or if he just tells the truth and he ends up probably being treated different or blamed for how he let her run away and that she may be in some bigger bind and trouble than she had already been in. Kaito figures he needs to be honest as yes Renji will probably yell at him for going on a request to heal sick people but not being able to treat the sickness that Revy has but he might also be able to understand that Revy is a bit hard headed and a she likes to solve her own problems kind of woman so Kaito really couldn't have stopped her even if he had known she would take off on him.

Kaito makes it to zero and he looks around for any sign of the Dwarf or the golden boy and is new exceed as they should probably have beaten him here as he had gotten lost in his search of Revy that he had shown up a little later than the meeting time that was on the invite from Yuurei so maybe they had already headed into zero with out him as they figured he can be nearly anywhere so how can he be late if he was going to show up and so they figured he wasn't coming but he still went closer and he saw Yuurei and Renji and his heart sank again as he thinks that he can see Renji looking around for Revy near him and he knows now that this is going to be a hard thing to do today to admit that he is a bad partner to Revy and that she took off as he seemed to expect to much of her so she felt unworthy.

He walked up to them and he tried to steel himself as he can feel it is about to be asked and that he was going to be the one that is front and center the spot light shining right on his head and making him shine for the true piece of crap that he is and was going to get what he deserved as Revy had left him and he was not sure if she would ever come back and be his partner again and he was out of places to look for her.
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"Why do you care about the copper pipes so much?"Gnicholas asked as he ridden on the dwarf's shoulder as they made their way towards Zero; Benimaru floating beside them, not out of interest but curiosity.

"Copper doesn't rust so easily, so it'll be perfect to transport water from the falls around the guild hall to the Great Forge Yuurei and I are building near the magma chamber" Brone said happily. The recent trips to the hospital have been tasking to him spiritually, so a trip to work his muscles and gain reward for the guild was the right pick-me-up he needed and the gnome noticed this, and truthfully, he was happy about it, though he never was the type of person to show his emotion or concern for someone else.

"Why didn't you grab them when were on our way out the last time we were here?" Benimaru asked, the mouth of his mask never moving.

"My hands were full, and besides, we had spent too much time there already, the job that we're doing is risky and we shouldn't dilly dally" the dwarf gave the floating sword and shield a stern look; he was already upset with himself for leaving the copper pipes, hoping that no one else salvaged the material, "Gnich, could you hop on the moving picture thing and do what you did last time?"

"Sure, Brone, I want to learn more about it" the gnome chuckled. It was enjoyable that the dwarf was comfortable with relaying on him to guide him. Gnicholas was actually thinking about the interface since they had left Zero last. His experience with the archive mage had peeked his interest in such devices, so he began to wonder whether or not he could salvage the entire system, though what worried him was his lack of knowledge of it and feared destroying it in the process.

And there they were; Kaito, Yuurei and Renji standing by the base of the humanoid structure that was Zero. Brone waved at them as they approached.

"I wonder where the other cat is" Benimaru asked.

"Maybe taking a vacation" Gnicholas replied, though he then realized he hadn't seen the exceed recently, she had not been with them during their last encounter with Kaito. Brone, on the other hand, dismissed the question, not concerned, knowing that Kaito would have shown some concern if there was something serious going on.

"Let's get this started, because I need those pipes I left behind" Brone said as he walked right passed them, heading directly to the cut he had made in the side of the structure. Easy to find, easy to enter, though he began noticing the 'aisles' within the metallic structure seem to be somewhat wider; he wondered whether or not other people were also salvaging from the same sight or not.

"We should be on our guard if there might be others" Gnicholas was aware of Brone was thinking since it seemed obvious.

"Then I suppose their bodies will never be found, buried within the deepest parts of Zero" Benimaru's ominous voice plus the dim lighting against his oni mask made him drastically creepy.

536

Yuurei and Renji were doing their best to get what they needed around Zero. It was a nice thing to do and it was something different from the usual. The two of them had never done this, but they were always going through a fight of some sort. He wasn’t sure, but he felt like it would happen soon enough. Somebody would approach them, which he would find interesting to see what would happen.

The Seraphim was collecting the things that he had pillaged from the area, and it was then he would feel the vibration of someone approaching him. He would turn to look at who it was, and he could see that it was Kaito. There was a presence of one unless Revy wasn’t completely moving, which he doubted. He could see Kaito’s face and it would show signs of concern.

Renji would see Yuurei pulling away and he would look over to see Kaito had arrived. That was good because he wanted to see how Revy was doing. Still, he would look at the man and he wouldn’t see Revy. He would approach Kaito and he would stare at him waiting for something to be said. When he got nothing he figured he would be the one to break the silence.

“So, how’s Revy doing Kaito? Is she feeling better to come out and help us today?” He asked waiting for him to answer him.

While Renji was waiting for an answer, Yuurei wouldn’t say anything. Instead, he would look over in the direction where he senses the trio's arrival. He could see that they were having their usual conversation r that was what he had assumed from what was happening. Renji wouldn’t look over at them as he was looking at Kaito waiting for an answer.

When they got there, it would seem like they were also commenting on the fact that Revy was not around. He would scratch the back of his head as he knew this was going to end well. That was when Brone had done his best to change the subject, and Yuurei with a smile clapped his hands together.

“Yes, let’s go get those pip… Wait you left materials on the floor somewhere?” He asked Brone.

If he had done that, and somebody came around, then they would know somebody was truly coming here often and taking things from this place. He would start walking in the direction that Brone had gone in as he was ready to bring in more supplies to Paradise Dawn. He heard Brone and Gnicholas’s conversation and he would think about the possibilities of others lurking in the shadow.

“That would be interesting if there were others here right now, and they didn’t leave us be. I’m sure they couldn’t be stupid to appear to us.” He said to Gnicholas.

He had agreed with Brone’s words as they would never be found again. Renji was waiting for Kaito to make his move and he would follow him. He wanted an answer from him and it better be a good one.

514|1038

Kaito pulled his hood up onto his head to hide his face in the shadows of it. Kaito hadn't even finished thinking how he would explain this. "She the last time I saw her was not doing well at all." He stopped himself at that and took a deep breath and he tried to think how to put this so he doesn't sound like a horrible person or a bad partner though he feels like he is a horrible partner and that he should be treated as such. "I had gotten a request to help heal the sick... and she told me to go on my own and help them. So I did that and I left someone to watch over her in case she needed some one but when I got back she had left and had left me a note telling me she... that she couldn't keep holding me back... that she was sorry but she wasn't going to hold me back any longer... That she was going for now and that she may never come back... but not to blame myself she is the one that was falling behind not me..." The words almost sounded like Kaito was choking them out to say them but he was staying still and not shaking. "I have looked for her but I have not found any trace of her..."

Kaito took a deep breath and he ran past them and into Zero as he couldn't just keep standing their and he turned himself invisible as he wished not to be seen and he found a corner and started collecting on his own as he didn't feel much like being around others or feel like he needed to be with them as he was not like them and happy with their partners and joking around he is alone and that is how he feels in that moment like he did something wrong and drove Revy away even though he knows he never asked anything of Revy and never pushed her to be something she wasn't but all that mattered was that he felt he had done something wrong to her his closest friend the one that has had his back through nearly all of his adventures and through nearly all of his milestones as he grew.

Kaito kept wiping his eyes as he worked but it wouldn't stop the tears kept coming he was the one that was wrong he was as he said a plight on anyone that got closer to him, it had to be his fault that Revy got sick, it was his fault for missing the signs that she was truly unhappy and that he was the cause. He never thought that she would just leave him like that. He keeps working being invisible and wiping his face but he was starting to just feel hallow like he knew there was nothing left for him at this point he had ruined it all. Renji will blame him, everyone will hate him cause he was so blind that his exceed was struggling and she felt like she wasn't worthy of being with him and help him on requests and things. He not fully paying attention and his glove being wet from rubbing his face he grabbed something that was live and it threw him backward with a slight noise and Kaito hit the wall with back his invisibility fading and him but he was fine because of his belt but that had still hurt he would need to be more careful going forward as he collected more pieces.
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(1,191)

Brone had nearly toppled over as Kaito had ran passed him, "Oi, Kaito! Careful-" but as he looked up after gaining his balance, the dragon slayer was already gone. The dwarf suspected he must have used his dimensional magic to vanish, and was probably in a rush to acquire items he had left too. Brone and Gnicholas were too far in front to have heard Kaito's explanation of what happened with Revy, but Benimaru was trailing behind close to where Yuurei and Renji were, but he showed no expression as Kaito ran pass them and faded into nothingness... he remained silence, either in respect of staying out of someone's else's business, or lack of respect with lack of caring, it was hard to tell when the mask on the shield never moved.

The dwarf turned to look at Yuurei and simply shrugged, "I mean, if there are enemies, we can deal with them with a warm up" he brushed off the concern that the half-elf brought up, but as the dwarf faced forward, he hid his expression, obviously he realized it was a bad move; he had always been terrible with the concept of stealth, for he has always been a warrior who preferred to draw the attention to him in order to meet the problem head on.

Eventually, they reached the area where the monitor and keyboard were; to which Gnicholas hopped off the dwarf's shoulder and began booting up the server.

"Want me to cut this thing out the wall so you can have it?" Brone asked as he summoned forth his black axe, Dhuraindarin.

"No don't!" The gnome turned to face the dwarf, his hands waving in the air in order to catch Brone's attention before he began swinging his blade, "I'll check the wiring and have it ready to salvage by the time you get back" with that, the dwarf lowered his axe and shrugged his shoulders before he walked off; Gnicholas sighed in relief as he went back to the monitor to examine the camera feed.

Brone walked down the nearby hall and found the spot where he had left the pipes and luckily they were still there, "Bingo" he then continued measuring the pipes and removing them by hand if possible, but for those pipes that were difficult to remove, he would use his axe to sever them.

At one point, he had ran into a set of titanium pipes and wondered what they were used for. When he cut into them, a stream of oil escaped and ran down the hall, "Mind yer feet!" he called back. A series of beeps sounded on the computer screen.

"Brone, you just caused a leak in the oil system" Gnicholas called out with a hint of annoyance.

"Awesome" the dwarf called back with little to no expression of caring which annoyed the gnome further.

Gnicholas deactivated the security warning system so the beeping stopped. With how complicated the hardware was, he needed to pull up the schematics so that he'll be able to dismantle it all if he would be to take it home.

527 | 1,063

Renji would wait for an answer, and he would get exactly what he wanted. His eyes widen when he heard this and a part of him wanted to yell at Kaito. He had allowed Revy to disappear on him. How the hell did he do that? Wasn’t his nose great enough to be able to track her down without anything else? Still, he understood why she had left because it was how he felt with Yuurei not too long ago. He would shake his head because he figured that Kaito would have to do better to find Revy than this.

“Well, after today you better continue to look for her. She is your partner in crime, and she knows this. If you don’t find her, I won’t forgive you alright.” He said to him.

It was then he would see Kaito run away from him and into the place where Yuurei and Brone had gone into. He would shake his head and he would go in after them. While Yuurei was walking, it would seem like Kaito had rushed straight past him and Brone. He was confused about what happened, and he was going to say something, but he would see that Kaito would keep going as if he wanted to be alone.

He would shake his head as he wondered what Renji had said to him. His attention would turn to Brone as he had spoken to him.

“Yeah that is true, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem I think.” He said to Brone as he continued walking.

It wouldn’t take them long to come to a stop, which would give Renji time to catch up to them and when he saw them it would seem like he would catch Yuurei looking at him. He would look at his friend and wonder what he had done wrong.

“What did I do?” He asked Yuurei.

“What did you say to Kaito that he ran off like that?” He asked him waiting for an answer.

Renji would shake his head when he heard this because he didn’t do anything.

“I just told him he better not give up on finding Revy or I wouldn’t forgive him.” He said to Yuurei.

Yuurei would hear him and he would shake his head. That wasn’t good to hear and it would seem like Revy wasn’t here with him. It would seem like something happened between the two of them, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“If Kaito wants to talk to me he can. I will be around, but for now, let’s continue taking things that we could use for ourselves and the guild.” He said to Renji.

Renji would nod as he would agree with that. He would go off in his own direction as he was looking for wiring and anything that had that wires connecting to it. He would move around as he was looking and things that were shut down. He didn’t want to electrocute himself either. While doing this, he would hear an alarm sound that was quickly disabled and he would shake his head as Brone probably had something to do with it.

Still, with the noise canceled, Yuurei would go back to looking for his items.

542|1580

Kaito was hearing nothing but his own thoughts as he keeps collecting things was he filling a void in his life in his soul or was he just collecting now to collect, was it to give Revy something to do if she came back or if he found her? Kaito didn't know anymore as he was lost in the dread he felt in his chest and his mind was racing was it a side effect of the mistake he made and it super charged his brain? Was it something else that this place was giving off, was it corrupting his very soul or was he lost in the darkness of it all or had he died somewhere along the line and he hadn't noticed Kaito was slowly but steadily going crazy and he wasn't realizing it or maybe it was he didn't care only time would be able to tell if he was the problem or if it was something else that needed to be put forth to the light.

Kaito starts laughing as he walked the halls of this place tearing things out of the walls and he looks like he had lost his mind in it  all. Kaito recklessly takes chunks out of the walls and the things that were inside of them. He was not okay but that was okay he was going to let his magic do the talking as he can feel the gnawing voice and feelings inside of him stir as he keeps following the paths and avoiding the other two as he takes things from the walls and picking up random things that were left laying around in the paths rather they had fallen out them selves or if someone else had the misfortune of coming here and losing their lives to someone else it mattered not to Kaito as he was going forward to collect all that he can collect he needed to find something, something that would fix this all.

There has to be something some where here that can fix this all make it all better, rather Kaito was blinded to the fact of the matter or not that he was not in his right mind was to be judged by others and not himself. He keeps stalking the halls his eyes slightly crowded so if he did peer upon anyone it would look more as if he was looking through them and not at them. He runs his hand along the wall as he walks and he can feel a want to tear something out of someone that is living to just see how it feels. He doesn't understand this want for blood but he was so close to it. He can feel it like it was covering him in a thin cold veil was he really like this or was it something else. Kaito starts hearing whispers in the halls like they are alive, was there something there, was zero talking to him it was hard to tell as Kaito wasn't even sure who he was really.
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As Brone was removing the pipes within the walls and separating them into stacks, copper and titanium, he heard Yuurei and Renji mention Kaito, though since he had only a bit of the conversation, he couldn't tell what it was about, but since it didn't involve him, he didn't care to ask; as for Gnicholas, he heard them as well and was more concerned, wondering what was going on regarding the two, but to be considerate, he chose to focus on his work.

After a bit of time, working in silence, the dwarf and the gnome looked down the hall that lead deeper into Zero as Kaito was making a ruckus. It didn't sound like combat, which didn't prompt either of them into action, but they were concern, wondering if the dragon slayer was alright or not. "Ye think he needs my axe to help salvage things better?" Brone asked as he was hesitating to go meet with Kaito.

"I think he may want to be alone" Benimaru said as he floated in the dwarf's way. The spirit knew of the reason the dragon slayer was acting up, he was emotional, but he reframed from getting the dwarf into his business.

"Well, alright then" Brone shrugged before looking down the hall one last time before returning back to his work on removing the pipes.

"Brone, how much of the pipes are you removing?" Gnicholas asked as he inspected the pipe system that ran throughout the entire structure on the interface.

"As much as possible" The dwarf called back as he continued to stack the copper pipes.

"The pipes were designed to circulate water and oil throughout the entirety of Zero, I don't think you'll be able to salvage the entire thing" The gnome wanted to just tell the dwarf 'no', simple as that, but Brone was so stubborn, a simple 'no' wouldn't suffice.

"Do ye know how far down the magma chamber is from the guild hall?" Brone asked. Gnicholas didn't answer, figuring it was a rhetorical question and because he didn't want to get into an argument about the damn pipes; once the dwarf was adamant about something, he wouldn't budge on the matter, literally and figuratively.

"Fine, have your damn pipes" the gnome muttered under his breath as he returned to his own work on trying to remove the computer system, but it was proving rather difficult; the entire hardware seemed to be embedded into the lower level of Zero and it required a large amount of power that the guild hall couldn't provide in it's entirety; the gnome event thought of a possible power system fueled by the waterfalls, but as he thought further on this, he realized Zero was a structure that was far more powerful than even the waterfalls, so the computer system may have to stay.

480 | 1,543

Yuurei was thinking about using the pieces that he found here as a way to use for an armor idea that he was thinking about. His thoughts were endless and ever since Brone had taught him how to make things, the Seraphim was working on improving himself daily. He would move around the corridor as he found more interesting parts that were attached to Zero. He didn’t understand why this wasn’t salvaged a long time ago. He would have taken the things that were on this machine and used them for something else.

It could be that or was their technology more advanced than this now? These were some of the stuff that he was thinking about as he kept walking around. He stopped a bit as he thought he heard someone laughing. He would rub the back of his head because it confused him for a second. He figured he must have heard things or it was one of the guys that had found something funny.

Renji wasn’t saying anything and he was ignoring everything around him. The only thing he did was make sure that he was near Yuurei. His problem was that he was thinking about Revy right now. He was taking things apart out of frustration and he was hoping that she was okay. His heart hurt, and she left without telling him anything. She only told Kaito, but he figured that she knew he would find out. This was annoying and he was wondering if there was something he could have done to prevent that. Could there have been a way to share his powers with her?

He was lost in his thoughts and he was just carrying everything that he took a part in.

Yuurei would look over at his friend, and he would smile at him. He had come a long way and he would move over to Renji. He would take the pieces that he was taking from Zero. When he did he would put them all into his dimension for his equipment. He would pat his friend on his head, and Renji would enjoy it for a bit before he would go back to work.

He had to focus and needed something to take his mind off Revy. That was impossible, but he was trying. The hunter would go back to salvaging the place as he was planning on getting something unique from this place. It wouldn’t take long, but Yuurei would put his helmet on and he would communicate with the two of them through telepathy. He told them that he was going to be heading out and that he would see them later.

444|2024

[exit]

There was a lost look on his face as he kept following the walls and thinking about what he can do and how he can do it. He was unsure what or how he would be able to do such things and how they can be done but Kaito was lost in the halls and is still just taking pieces as he keeps walking and he knows nothing of what they had needed or wanted from all of the pipes and pieces of metal and other scraps. Kaito knows nothing of the monstrous task they are trying to under take at their guild Kaito keeps walking around and taking chunks of the walls and pieces and he isn't destroying the pieces or the wall so much as he is still getting the pieces to use if he finds a use for them and the other things that he had taken from the place that they had been working on getting things from for projects.

Kaito figures he is never going to find Revy, that she is probably dead by now... Kaito knows he shouldn't think that way but he had a bad feeling that he was right that Revy had died. Kaito starts picking up a few more things and he started to walk back to head of of the place as he doesn't even know what he could say to any of them as he wasn't in the mood to talk or joke around or be funny he was too tired and his heart is far too heavy to be able to even do that and make it make sense. The pieces in his head like a puzzle that was missing it's pieces didn't connect to the others and this means that he is so far behind of the rest of them Yuurei was happy and gets along with Renji and Brone has an army of companions that he calls his friends but Kaito he was a screw up and his partner had ditched him claiming that she would return when she was worthy of the spot.
(348) (Exit)
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After some time, Brone was coming to the end of his salving of the pipes, though he figured he may need to return since he didn’t measure the distance between the magma chamber and the waterfalls surrounding the guild hall. The copper pipes were obviously going to be the ones to transport the water and to be used to cool the metal that would be forged at the Great Forge they were going to create, but as for the titanium pipes, the dwarf wasn’t sure at the moment what he’ll use them for since he wasn’t use to using oil, finding it to be a resource that wasn’t common, therefore not worth the hassle.

When Benimaru suggested to use the titanium pipes for the cooking material, the dwarf dismissed the idea, stating that old fashion coals were good enough; but then he got an idea, wondering if there was some kind of way to transport the intense heat from the magma chamber all the way to the surface and use that to fuel the kitchen. Gnicholas, who was listening to the conversation over the intercom, had pointed out that it was possible, but that he’ll need to look further into it, but the titanium would need to be salvaged just in case, so the dwarf agreed and continued to stack the pipes as he had been doing.

Eventually Yuurei had announced telepathically that he’ll be leaving, so Brone quickly picked up the stack of pipes using all four of his arms and his great strength to transport his salvaged items to Yuurei so that he could place them in his dimensional portal before he left.

After the pipes were securely transported, he would returned to where Gnicholas was and asked if he needed any help. Unfortunately, the gnome wasn’t able to remove the computer system since it was too integrated into Zero to be removed safely; and even if they did somehow found a way to do so, the power needed to keep the system running was too great and the guild wasn’t technologically advanced enough to do so. Brone felt bad about not being able to help and barely able to understand what the gnome said, but he still asked if the heat from the magma chamber could possibly help out in any way. Gnicholas, stressed out, was about to lash out at the dwarf, but realized that Brone was simply being sincere, had held his tongue and just said it wouldn’t be possible, and thanked him for trying.

With that, Brone, Benimaru, and Gnicholas departed from Zero with their haul of stuff, though Gnicholas ddin’t salvage the computer he wanted, he still enjoy it.

457 | 2,000

[Exit]