Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"I still can't believe that this is the same cave...I was shocked when I first saw it, and I'm still pretty amazed, it's completely unrecognizable to the dark, dank cave it used to be," Remarked Raven in awe, as he explored the hideout with Celia, Colt and Lexia.

"Yeah, Aster and Tacitus did a great job building it. It looks even better than our old hideout," Nodded Celia in agreement.

"And after spending about a year and a half up on those mountains, we really needed this," Sighed Lexia wistfully.

It had been around fifteen minutes since Raven and Celia returned to the hideout, before Colt and Lexia arrived about five minutes later.

While waiting for Aster and Tacitus to return, they decided to explore the hideout. They'd only been here for a few days after they completed their training up on the Pearl Mountains, and they'd spent most of that time resting and preparing for today, so they hadn't fully explored their new hideout yet.

"By the way, Colt, are you sure you don't want me to heal you?" Inquired Raven with a look of concern.

"Nah, I'm fine. Maybe in a few hours, I want to savor this pain for now," He replied with a shake of his head.

"I hate that I've gotten used to the way you are," Sighed Celia in exasperation.

"He was weirdly somber right before we left Sapphire City though, something about defeating the First Squad Captain in a way that left a bad taste in his mouth," Chimed in Lexia.

"Speaking of which, why did you two go to Sapphire City, anyway? I mean, the original plan was to only target towns this time around, wasn't it?" Recalled Raven curiously.

"There were a few reasons...one, I wanted a rematch against that Archer, which I got. Oh, and won, I might add. Two, the Cardinal in charge of the church in Sapphire City was corrupt, so he was a target. Third, the Knights have definitely figured out by now that we only target and kill individuals who oppress Commoners, so Sapphire City is one of the last places they'd expect us to attack, since it's under the First Squad's jurisdiction," Explained Lexia, as they roamed through the hideout.

"Guess that makes sense...sort of, at least. Whether they expected you to attack or not, it's still a city that's got a Knight Captain defending it, seems like a risk that wasn't worth taking."

"Whatever, it all worked out."

"Ahh, this is nice...after spending so much time up on the Pearl Mountains, it's nice to be back in a proper residence again," Sighed Celia contentedly, as she stood below a ceiling fan and closed her eyes.

Aster and Tacitus had worked hard while the others were training, and in-between their own training and surveillance of the Knights.

They'd carved out rooms for everyone throughout the cave, along with bathrooms and a kitchen. They'd tiled the entire cave and added plumbing, after covertly stealing the required materials from mansions belonging to corrupt Nobles, that were low on security.

Aster had carved boulders with his telekinesis to make beds and furniture, and they'd fitted ceiling fans and lighting after adding wiring all throughout the space.

The group then headed outside the cave, which was hidden behind rows of bushes, before heading around the back, to get a look at the power source fueling the electricity in the hideout.

"We sure lucked out with Tacitus being so handy, huh? We wouldn't be living anywhere near this comfortably if it wasn't for him," Remarked Colt with a wry smile.

There was a small river running behind the cave, with a large water wheel hooked up to a battery built over the water, which powered the entire hideout.

"Yeah, the old hideout itself was already much nicer than anywhere I've ever lived before, this new one feels genuinely luxurious to me. Now that I think about it, I've never even been inside a house that's even close to as nice as this hideout," Replied Raven, as a gentle breeze blew across.

"Huh? Seriously? Hm, right, you've never attacked a Noble's mansion," Realized Lexia in response.

"I haven't either," Spoke up Celia.

"If and when we ever rid the nation of the church and corrupt Nobility, we should take one of their mansions for ourselves," Suggested Raven wryly.

"Come on, you can think bigger than that...why not get mansions for each of us, instead of one for all of us?" Pointed out Lexia.

"Or take it a step further and claim the Royal castle itself," Chimed in Colt with a grin.

"I don't know, that seems a bit excessive...mansions are really big, they'd be a pain to clean," Remarked Celia with a sigh.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing, it's-...hm?" Raven trailed off and glanced up at the sky as he felt a drop of water hit his forehead.

"We should head inside, looks like it's going to rain soon," Mused Lexia, as dark clouds gathered overhead, a deep rumble echoing out from the sky.

The four of them then rushed back to the entrance of the cave, right as a drizzle began falling down, pittering across the leaves of the trees surrounding them as they entered the cave.

"Hey, I'm starting to get concerned about Aster and Tacitus...don't you think they're taking a bit too long? If anything, I'd have expected them to have arrived first," Frowned Celia worriedly, as they headed further into the hideout.

"Yeah, you have a point...maybe something went wrong in Malachite Town? Like, maybe they failed to take down the Teleporter and the Knights were able to get backup?" Suggested Lexia uncertainly.

"What should we do? Head there and see what happened?" Responded Raven with a grimace.

"No, that's too risky...whether they were defeated or not, the town is sure to be on high alert. And if there's someone there who's strong enough to take the two of them down, I doubt that we'll stand much of a chance," Responded Celia, her brows furrowed.

"Hm, I wonder if-...?" Began Colt.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Suddenly came Aster's voice from outside the entrance.

"Oh...never mind, then, guess that answers that," Shrugged Lexia in bemusement, before the four of them began heading for the entrance to the cave.

As they reached the entrance, they spotted Aster and Tacitus entering the cave, glancing up as they noticed the others.

"Ah, looks like everyone's here," Aster greeted them with a smile.

"Heh, you two are supposed to be the strongest members of our group, but you took the longest to get here," Smirked Colt tauntingly, right as Raven picked up a third scent, before noticing a figure hiding behind Aster as he recognized the scent, his eyes widening as his chest tightened.

The others noticed the figure too, who then nervously peered out and met Raven's gaze. He took a shaky step forward, opening his mouth but no sound came out, as he felt a lump in his throat and a slight sting behind his eyes.

"Um...hey, bro. It's...it's good to see you ag-...," Ravella began awkwardly, before she was cut off as Raven rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug, a choked sob escaping his lips as tears began streaming down his eyes.

"Th-thank goodness...thank goodness, you're okay! I'm...I'm so glad! I was so worried about you! I...I missed you so much! I-I...thought I'd...I'd never...never...!" Wailed Raven, unable to contain his emotions as he embraced his sister.

"H-hey, come on, this isn't like you...," She muttered, her voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes.

She had never seen her brother like this, he'd always been relatively reserved growing up, the sight of him expressing so much emotion a new one to her, which prodded at her own emotions.

"This is kinda awkward...," Mumbled Lexia, her gaze darting about slightly.

"What are you talking about? This is the most heartwarming sight I've ever seen," Responded Celia incredulously.

"Come on, you know she's bad at being honest with her feelings," Chuckled Colt as he glanced at Lexia teasingly.

"Sh-shut up, you don't know what you're talking about..."

"I-I'm...I'm so sorry, Raven! I...I injured you so badly, I'm sorry...I'm really sorry!" Cried Ravella, her guilt resurfacing as she recalled the memory.

"It's fine, I don't care about that...all that matters, is that you're okay. I...I missed you, sis."

"Yeah, I...I missed you too."

Meanwhile, back in Malachite Town...

"You okay over there, Vice-Captain?" Inquired Dox wearily, before wincing as he touched the side of his head, which had swollen up.

The three of them had been knocked out by Aster and Tacitus, about half an hour had passed since then, and they'd just regained consciousness, sore and bruised all over, along with their pride having taken a battering.

"Y-yeah, I-...actually, scratch that, I'm not okay. But I'll live, at least...," Replied Jacks, as he sat up with a pained grimace.

"Those guys were way too strong...even with them holding back, the three of us could barely hold our own against one of them. We were basically helpless once that other guy showed up again and they teamed up against us," Sighed Diar, laying sprawled on the ground and staring up at the sky.

"Do you think they're stronger than the Captains? Plus, there are six of them, including the Homunculus...are all of them as strong as those two were?" Frowned Dox warily.

"If nothing else, they were definitely stronger than our prior reports had indicated. No doubt how they were spending the year and a half or so prior to today...they must have been training like hell to get to this level, and their efforts have clearly paid off," Replied Jacks, befofe wincing as he felt a twinge of pain the right side of his ribcage.

"There were only two of them, and they both defeated us and destroyed the church...the other four, you think they hit one or two of the other cities or towns while these two attacked this place?" Suggested Diar with a grimace.

"Crap, I didn't even think of that. Yeah, they probably did."

"Let's get back to the hideout...we should report this to headquarters immediately," Remarked Jacks, as he got back onto his feet with a grunt.

"How do we contact them, though? The Irregulars cut the town's phone lines and destroyed all our Teleport Spell Cards," Dox reminded him.

"Oh, right...I completely forgot about that."