It's dark......I feel like I'm going to hurl.

There's voices muttering somewhere nearby. They quiet down for a few seconds, then start up again. I can't make out anything they're saying, but I guess I don't have to because the darkness, like a persistent child, tugs me, lulling me back to sleep.



* * * * *



I woke up a few times after that, but it wasn't until about the sixth time (I had stopped counting), that I was able to open my eyes.

The first thing that greets me is a flash of white, black spots dotting my vision as the pain in my shoulder flares to life. It's slightly duller than what I was expecting, maybe due to medication I'm most likely on. If this is what it feels like now, I'd hate to experience what it'd feel like without the pain relievers.

I blink, staring at the white ceiling above me and not daring to move a muscle as my vision adjusts. Now that I think about it, my entire body feels numb besides the discomfort in my shoulder, and I wonder how long I've been in that comatose state.

How much blood did I lose? But more importantly, what happened after I blacked out?

I roll my head to the right, my chin hitting my right shoulder, the injured one,and making me yelp in pain.

Ack! Ouch that hurts. This brings me back to old times, when I had that deadly migraine that was so painful it caused me to black out a time or two, but hey, at least there wasn't any blood involved. I can't say the same for my situation now, based on the red color I see out of the corner of my eye.

Okay, take two.

I roll my head to the left, my shoulder still protesting, but not as bad.

Wait a second.

A fireplace is in my direct line of sight, except where there should be fire, there's lava. A little ways from that is a familiar black lounge set, complete with a coffee table.

Hold on. I must be still asleep or dreaming, cause this looks exactly like my room back at Highclere.

No, I decide as I see the towel still laying on the floor in front of the bathroom door where I had lazily left it. This is my room.

Did Lager teleport me immediately here after I got hurt? That can be the only reason as to why I'm here and still alive. Does that mean Lager and Zero didn't end up killing each other?

Suddenly the door opens, and my eyes immediately dart to it, hoping with all hope that it's Lager in one piece, but instead I'm quite surprised to see a familiar head of blonde curls walk in.

"Max?" I croak out, cringing when my voice comes out sounding like dying Mongoose.

His electric blue eyes flash to me in surprise and he stops in his tracks, face turning pale.

I give him what I hope can pass off as a smile, although it's most likely a week one, lifting the hand attached to my unhurt shoulder. "I'm alive." I say in a still rough but slightly clearer voice.

Max swallows loudly, before there's a bright white flash that almost blinds me since there was no warning, and in the next second a little blue monkey is throwing themselves towards the bed landing on top of me in an adorable monkey hug. He msot likely changed forms so that he wouldn't crush me in his human form, but even as a monkey it almost knocked the wind out of me.

I chuckle, ignoring the pain flaring in my shoulder and lifting my good arm to pat his small, blue back, hearing little monkey noises that sound like whines coming from his shaking frame.

"It's okay, Max. I'm fine, see? Nothing to worry about anymore." I say as gently as I can, touched that he seemed so worried for me.

I let a few more seconds pass, before I nudge him, gesturing for him to get off.

"Max, where's everyone else? Why are we at Highclere? Where's Lager?"

Max lets out a little screech, before covering his mouth with both hands. He jumps off me onto the ground and looks back up at me, before covering his eyes with his hands.

I nod, understanding his signal and close my eyes, squeezing them shut tightly as a flash of light goes off and I hear some scuffling.

"Alright, I'm decent." Max says and I open my eyes to see his pants are back on, but sadly not his t-shirt. He going to catch a cold if he keeps walking around shirtless all the time.

Max rubs at his eyes, which appear slightly red, but I pretend to not notice as he breathes in a deep breath before looking at me.

"You don't know how worried everyone's been, Ashley." He says, and I swallow, nodding for him to continue.

"You'd disappeared from the face of Mount Lux without a trace, only to show up with Lager that night bleeding to death. Luckily there was a very trained Lightling Healer at the Villa who managed to stop the bleeding, but by then you had already lost consciousness. What on Dalton happened to you?" He rambles, eyes focusing on me at the last part, demanding an answer.

"I promise to explain my side of the story, Max, but first can I hear what happened after I passed out?" I plead, and he sighs, nodding while taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Her Lightling High Commander heard of what was going on and ordered for you to be moved immediately to a room to be looked after by the Lightling healers, but Lager adamantly refused, saying it was too dangerous or something at the Villa. Not gonna lie, Ashley, Lager wasn't looking all too pretty. He had this strange look in his eyes, I would almost call it desperation except he's the Darkling High Commander which means he doesn't get desperate. Malia allowed Lager to take you back to Highclere, on the condition he would take a Lightling healer with him, which is why I'm here. I may not be the best healer, but I'm the only one Lager would entrust you to at the time."

Wow.....that's a lot to take in, but first and foremost, "Thank you for helping me, Max." I say gratefully, and he smiles, scratching the back of his head.

"It was nothing, but there's more to the story."

"There's more? And where's Becky?" I question, wondering why she hasn't appeared yet.

"I was getting to that. My father didn't think I would return to Mount Lux and thought I'd stay at Highclere like I did after my punishment ended, so he's keeping Becky back at the Villa as a kind of hostage." Max clenches his fist and sighs. "But enough about me. Now, it's time for the freaky part."

I want to ask what could get more freaky than a secret, unknown island in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle where three different races of people live, but by now it's become common knowledge to me.

"Before you had showed up all bloody with Lager at the Villa, a huge earthquake rocked the entire island. It was dangerous for Lightlings because of a few rock slides that occurred, but it had come out of nowhere. Malia made an official statement saying not to panic, and that it was a natural occurrence, but something doesn't feel right. Her expression at the time was not exactly calm. The higher-up people are hiding something from us, I just know it!"

Hmm, an earthquake? And if it isn't a natural phenomenon like Max thinks, what could have caused it?

A pair of orange, glowing eyes flash into my head, and I inhale sharply.

"Max, where is Lager?" I ask hurriedly.

Max doesn't seem all too surprised by my question, even a little solemn.

"Don't worry, Ashley. Lager's safe, and so is the Kinling High Commander as far as I'm aware of. I overheard Lager telling Malia what had happened while you were receiving treatment. Now it's your turn to explain. What in the name of the Core were you thinking by going off with them?"His voice rises at the end, taking me by surprise since I've never heard him raise his voice in anger, even if it is only slightly.

I exhale, debating inside my head. Should I tell him? Finally, I make my decision and look Max in the eyes.

"What I'm about to say is extremely confidential, and can not leave this room no matter what."

Max's eyes widen, but he vigorously nods.

I start from the beginning, explaining the mission Core had assigned me and why I had to go to Mount Lux in the first place. Max's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head when he heard about High Commander Malia being poisoned, but he continued to listen. Then I got to the recent part, telling him about how I had confronted the culprit face to face, and the very dangerous and deadly game-of-tag I played with them that ended up with me going down the garbage chute and right into Zero's hands. I conveniently leave out just who I think the murderer is, in case Max tells someone and they try to take care of it. core wanted me to apprehend them for some reason, and I doubt he'd like it if everyone got involved with this deadly, little mission of his.

When I'm finished, Max sits for a moment, and all is quiet.

"You mean to tell me...." He finally speaks up "That Becky is back at Lucem Villa with a murderer on the loose?!?"

I mean, sure, if you ignore all the other people, but instead of saying that out loud I just nod.

"Yes, this is why I need to get back to Lucem Villa as quickly as possible and to do that we need Lager to do his shadowy-transport thing."

Max falls quiet again, and I have a bad feeling.

"Max? What's wrong? We need to go and stop them before it's too late. I know it's a bit sudden, but-"

"Ashley." Max cuts me off. "Look at yourself. You're in no condition to travel."

I wave my good hand in the air. "Nothing to worry about. We can just find an actual healer there and fix me right up.Now, where's Lager?"

"Even a talented healer would have trouble healing your shoulder completely, and it would take a bit of time. You think the murderer isn't going to strike when you're drunk on pain killers and being treated by a healer? Absolutely not. IT's like walking into a den of lions with meat-scented perfume on."

My stomach rumbles when I hear the word 'meat' and Max's eyes widen.

"I need to get you some food." He mumbles to himself and stands. Luckily he's on the side of my good-shoulder, and I reach out and grab his arm as he takes a step away.

"Wait, Max. I don't need food, I need to see Lager. You know how urgent this is. We have to go before it's too late."

Max stays still for a moment, before reaching down and gently, but also firmly removing my hand from his arm, not turning to face me as he speaks.

"I'm sorry, Ashley, but after you got injured.....Lager isn't taking any risks. He made an official statement that you and I are banned from leaving Highclere."

"What? You know how Lager gets, he's probably just worried as a friend. It'll be okay, we'll just get harshly scolded afterwards."

"You don't understand, Ashley." Max shakes his head. "An official statement made by a High Commander is absolute. Failure to comply is taken as direct disobedience and the consequence is execution."

My mouth almost drops open, I'm so surprised. "Wait, you're not serious, are you, Max? Lager would never think about executing us. We're his friends. Let me talk to him."

"I'm sorry, Ashley." Max says again, and my chest is starting to tighten, heart starting to beat a little faster. "Lager isn't seeing anyone......I'll go get you some food."

"Max, wait a second. Max!" I call, but he doesn't turn back, and exits the room.

I huff, looking up at the ceiling. An official statement? I can't take one foot out of Highclere? And what? The Jerk won't even come visit me?

Well he did save me from bleeding to death at the spot, but still, what's gotten into Lager and Max's heads? I'm still alive, aren't I?

Yep, I'm still alive, and that means, I can still save Malia.

I turn my head and glare at my injured shoulder. This little scrape isn't going to stop me. I'm a woman on a mission, and that in itself is a very dangerous thing.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I prop myself up using my good arm. The pain is excruciating, and I feel really dizzy, but soon enough I'm sitting up, albeit sweating and panting.

I slowly rotate, careful not to jostle my arm, which I just noticed is conveniently cradled in a sling, since I didn't want to look at it before.

I stretch a leg out until my toe brushes the ground, and then lean slightly forward until both my feet touch the ground. Okay, one, two...three!

I push myself up to stand, and almost topple over. My legs feel incredibly weak from laying in bed so long, and the room is spinning because I'm so dizzy. First, things first, I need to get some strength back, but I have to leave before Max gets here.

I look at the bathroom, and sigh. I'll have to make due with some water.

I walk over to the bathroom, walking very stiffly so my shoulder does not move at all, and go to one of the sinks. I turn it on, and use one hand to cup some water into it and lift it up to my mouth, drinking the small amount of water I'm able to hold only using one hand.

The water is surprisingly a life-saver, making me feel way more refreshed and better than I was a few seconds ago, and I hurriedly drink some more until my stomach feels half-way full with the liquid.

And that's when i look up.

I nearly start crying at my appearance.

I'm in black shorts, and a black button down tank, top, which means someone must have changed me, hopefully a female. My hair is surprisingly in a braid, most likely done by the female attendant who changed me, but the braid already almost completely undone and the loose tendrils are a mess. My eyes are swollen and face pale and sickly looking, and the only reason I'm holding back the tears is to not make them even more swollen.

It's okay Ashley. You can still do this, even if you are hideous-looking. Not all heroes are super models.......but dang it if that doesn't sound really nice right now.

okay, let's focus now. I need to find Lager. He'd understand if I tell him everything I told Max, and then we can go to Highclere, get my arm healed, and save Malia. Lager made the official statement, which means he can revoke it easily too, right?

I cross my fingers with my good hand for luck and slowly and stiffly make my way out of the bathroom, and towards the door.

I'm nearly to the door when it suddenly opens, scaring the living life out of me.

No, no, no, no, no! Max can't be back already! Never has Max ever been able to get food so quickly before. He usually spends at least a good half-hour in the kitchen.

What surprises me though, is it's not Max's tan, lithe frame standing in the doorway, but a tall, cloaked one.

My eyes widen.

".....You." I utter under my breath.

"Hello, Ashley."



Dear readers, ah I'm too embarrassed to show my face to you all, I guess it's a good thing I don't have to. I'm so so so sooooo sorry for the extremely late update. Writer's block is not as easy an obstacle to overcome as it seems. So yeah there's a cliff-hanger, obviously it wouldn't be a Dangerosutoken novel without one, lol,and this was mostly a plot-filler, but I promise to all those Lager-fans you'll be seeing him next chapter, along with gaining some very surprising information about Dalton and the reason as to why there as an earthquake. We're reaching the climax of the book, so things are about to go downnnnnnnnnnnnn. I hope all of you are safe, healthy, and cuddled up in your beds reading all day cause you can during this quarantine. Vote, comment, and eat your vitamins! I'm serious 0_0, you better do it, lol. Cheers to great Immune Systems! Lots of Love,

Dangerosutoken

P.S. I'm thinking about doing a bonus chapter before the next one where the corona virus has reached Dalton and all the characters must cope with it. What do y'all think? Of course it won't affect the original story line at all, it's jut a bonus, but if it keeps you all entertained during these lock down times I'm more than happy to get to work on it. If you just want the next chapter that's fine too. It's also fine if you just want me to stop writing period, because you're tired of my antics.J.K. No one's stopping meh XD.