Sonic GeneX - The Series: Zodiac in Time
Episode 4 - Betrayals

Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.


Previously on Sonic GeneX - The Series...
Cancer's ally, Scorpio, took Tommy hostage as leverage against Ridley, who was investigating the Zodiac council in order to find Razor. When Razor/Sagittarius showed up, the chaos of the ensuing battle led Scorpio to take Razor instead, a hostage that could be used against Cancer's real enemies.
Rex's team has been battling the Doomlings in the past. After one member left, Carrie attempted to get close to the team and fill the void, but seeing the consequences of meddling too closely with the past, she backed off and rejoined Gemini's group. Now Rex's group has had to endure losing two members in a short time.
Mia the cat has been missing since Dr. Eggman's conquest of the world, presumed robotisized. Guard has been trying to search for her with the help of Heather, who promised to help him after staying by his side through his repairs after a seemingly fatal wound from Infinite.
Fred's loyalties are being tested. To show he has not forgotten his roots, he revealed his true form to Ophiuchus...that of a lion.
Amy is working on planning Punchy & Rainbow's wedding, with occasional help from Sonic & Tails.
Now, on to the next chapter!


Ophiuchus would take on human form any time he needed to appear in public. His serpent form was off-putting to many, and more difficult to trust for most people. None would have a harder time trusting his serpent form than Richard Gunner. The GUN General still looked at Ophi with distrust as he stepped into his office without an appointment. "Who are you supposed to be?" he asked. Spy stood nearby with his hand on a holstered gun. He was Gunner's bodyguard now, essentially. "Now now, no need for that, Riley Spizzweld." Ophi said in a calm voice. "Gah! He knows my name!" Spy stammered. Gunner tented his fingers as he sat at his desk. "Okay, and what the hell is your name?" he asked. "Ophiuchus." he said. Gunner got out a pen and glanced at him. "Wait, wait...how do you spell that?" he said in a tone that made it clear he wasn't taking him seriously. "You're always on watch for dangerous animals, Richard Gunner. Well, I know of a vulture who is literally named Cancer, and his schemes are synonymous with his name. Further...he's working with an old foe of yours...Experiment 2." Ophi stated before turning for the door. Gunner stood up frantically. "Wait!! How do you know this!?" he shouted. Ophi smirked. "You'll trust my words. If anyone questions you on it, just say...a concerned citizen brought it to your attention..." he said before walking out the door. Gunner raced to the door to chase after him, but saw no sign of Ophiuchus once he looked beyond the door. He turned and sat back in his chair. "Get me Guard, Spy." he grunted. After explaining the situation to the gargoyle and giving the inevitable order to find answers to the riddle of Cancer and what Copter would be doing with him, Gunner watched Guard leave his office with an uncharacteristic smile. "...He's too happy for someone that was denied time off... I'd better keep an eye on him..." Gunner mumbled. Outside the office, Guard took out a phone and called Heather. "Grrr... I finally have a mission... Perfect chance for us to meet and compare notes. We'll find Mia yet." he grinned.


Gemini's group was trying to follow Rex's group to their next destination in a more stealthy manner. After nearly killing half of the mirage tribe, it seemed best not to get too close to events as they were meant to unfold, but they needed to figure a plan if they were to change the one thing they'd come to change. As they walked, though, Fred suddenly reappeared before them, pushing any thoughts about what their plan should be to the side for now. "Teacher! You're back! I-is this about what we talked about last time?" Gemini asked. Fred shook his head. "Cancer's gotten a hostage. Sagittarius. You know him as Razor... We need to rescue him, and I could... I could use your help." he said quickly. Timothy blinked a bit. "Wow... So wait, what happened to Gemini being in danger?" he asked. Fred smirked. "If she helps the Divine Masters out, maybe they'll owe her one. There's no way that doesn't help her situation." he said. Gemini let out a sigh. "I'll go. I'll do it. Can you stay here though, Tim? Keep an eye on things?" she asked. Timothy nodded. "You can count on us, too." Carrie said. Silver shrugged. "Yeah... Be careful, though." he said warily. Gemini smiled. "Thanks, everyone. I have to go... Copter has a history with Razor... I have to make sure...that he doesn't end up doing something on Cancer's orders that he can't take back. Especially if this whole time travel thing should fail to work out like I'm hoping..." she stated. Fred nodded and led her to the time portal he'd used to get there. "This will give us time to chat more frankly, too... Because Gemini... This, what we're about to do now... This is how you help everyone. Not changing the past." he said to her. Gemini frowned. "I know you believe that, but some of the problems are so big... Wouldn't it just be better to erase those problems altogether?" she asked. Fred sighed. He felt he had to try to talk her down during this mission. He'd certainly do his best. "We'll have time to discuss it while we're tracking Cancer down. Who knows...maybe this mission will solve more than you think, and you'll realize you don't need to change the past..." he said, leading her through the time portal...


Guard and Heather met near Mia's house in Station Square, where her cab was parked for the time being. Katie had to occasionally move it so that it didn't end up getting towed in Mia's absence, she'd been gone so long now. She was there, standing outside the cab and heaving a heavy sigh. "Where are you, buddy?" she murmured. Guard greeted Heather at Mia's door. "I haven't been able to search much with my boss breathing down my neck. Rrrr..." Guard grumbled. Heather nodded. "You need to look for a better job. Anyway, I've been keeping an eye out, but there isn't much news on the Robian front. Eggman seems to have taken them and hid them away for a rainy day or something." she sighed, glancing at Katie. "She wants to help too, since Mia's her friend." she muttered. Katie glanced in their direction. "Guard! Is there any news? Have you found and Robians at all?" she called out, running over. He shook his head, and Katie frowned. "Oh well... GUN can't find them... My media connections are no help... I feel so helpless, but I guess there's nothing to do until Eggman shows his face again." she sighed. Guard shrugged. "I'll keep trying... Grrrr... I'm supposed to investigate this Cancer character now. Supposedly Copter-boy is working with him." he grumbled. Katie nodded. "Yeaaahh... Maybe you should try Sonic. I seem to recall hearing through the grapevine that Sonic got mixed up in something with some weird guys recently. Tommy was a bit distraught, apparently he was there." she muttered. "Oh, I hope he's alright." Heather said, looking a little worried, "Do you think I should go with you, Garen?" she asked. Guard chuckled softly. "No need. Rrrr... I can handle this. You and Katie do your best to locate Mia or the Robians. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll stumble across 'em myself..." he said, flapping his wings and starting to leave. Katie stood next to Heather as they watched him go. "So... Does Guard want to be Mia's boyfriend or yours?" Katie asked. Heather shrugged. "Mind your business, news-hound." she grumbled.


"Ladies and...ladies! I know everyone's been missing us, so good news, your fav rock band is back!" Sonic said into a microphone in...Tails' garage. "That's right, ladies!" Knuckles added, ready at his drums, "Dudeitude is back!" Tails was ready at the bass, and Sonic had his own guitar, too. The trio started riffing, trying out their hands at making up a song:

"Oh, yeah! It's your big, big day!
Gonna say 'I do!' Hey, hey hey!!
Punch & Rainbow, gonna get married tod-ay!!"

Amy and Rainbow held their ears listening to Sonic's singing. "Agh!! Enough! Cut it out, Sonic!!" Amy shouted, "We'll find a different band! Your style...really isn't romantic." she groaned. Tails sighed as he set down his bass. "Told ya..." he grumbled. The garage was open, so Guard walked right in. "Grrr... Anyone here know about Cancer and Copter?" he asked. "Copter has cancer? I knew living in Darkegg Fortress would be bad in the long run." Knuckles said. "No, Cancer's a vulture. He interrupted the wedding planning when I was just starting on it." Amy said. Rainbow frowned. "Don't hurt Two, Six. He's just mixed up." she said. Sonic scratched his head. "You might want to try Troblusk City. Razor was kidnapped outta there by Eddie, and Sally of all people turned up, callin' herself Virgo!" he said. Guard looked perplexed by all this. "I think they're all Zodiac signs. Eddie was wearing a scorpion helmet, as in Scorpio." Tails said. Guard grunted. "Why not? Birds, robotisization, time travel, what the heck..." he grumbled. Knuckles set down his drumsticks and joined Guard as he was leaving. "Mind if I tag along?" he said, clearing his throat, "The resistance owes you a great debt!" he said seriously, "...I mean, you almost died. I owe you one." he shrugged. Guard nodded. "Gr... Fine." he said.


Adam and Evelyn were pleased to have Gemini with them as they ventured into Cancer's lair in the present day: a cavernous fortress dug into the side of Troblusk Plateau. "Boy, we've missed you, Gemini. Lately Fred's been a real grump..." Adam mumbled, earning him a dirty look from Fred. "Watch it, Adam. We're not his precious students, he can zap us into being his pet Chao if he wants." Evelyn chuckled. Gemini smiled. It was nice to be among her friends again, too, despite the danger they were heading into. A few crabmeats soon scuttled in to greet them, Cancer's voice coming out of them. "Why are you here, children? ...Leo, have you reconsidered joining the winning team?" they spoke in eerie stereo. "You have Sagittarius. Release him." Fred stated. Scorpio's creepy cackling could be heard within the cavern. "Tell me, are you here on the council's orders, or are you here to convince your pupil of something?" Cancer mused. Gemini whipped out her wand. "Blastrotall!" she shouted, zapping one of the crabmeats to pieces! "You're gonna let Razor go...and you're gonna let Copter go!" Gemini huffed. "Who says your friend WANTS to go?" Cancer replied. Suddenly, a bolt was shot into the cavern and destroyed the second crabmeat! Turning around, Gemini and company saw the Deathbringer behind them. "Your time is up... I have orders to eliminate you all... Anyone in this cave!" she declared. Gemini stared, backing away slightly. "You...you'd hurt me, Libra??" she stammered. The Deathbringer sighed. "I...have no choice..." she said, hurling a bolt of death straight at...Adam! "Aaaaahh!! Not agaiiin!!" Adam wailed, only for Fred to block it with a spell. "Proplasmar!!" His shield was instantly shattered, and the Deathbringer was about to fire again when Aries stormed into the room and fired a beam from his staff, knocking her off-balance! "You won't kill anyone if I kill you first!" he growled, "By the way...do you plan to kill our hostage!?" he said, pulling Sagittarius out of the shadows behind him, his hands and feet bound. "Exterminate this punk, Deathbringer! It's about time Copter got what's coming to him!" he growled. "How can you say that!?" Gemini shouted, held back by Adam and Evelyn from doing something she might regret. "Calm down, Gem... More pressing issues!" Eve stated. Fred gulped. This was a difficult situation. "You can track my teleport... So that's not the safest option at the moment... Unless I give you something to contend with... But I can't use my full power if I'm using some on a spell..." he realized. "What are you talking about?" Gemini asked. Fred sighed. "Morphicadabra!!" he cried, shifting into his true form...that of a lion! He then pocketed his wand and let loose a strong beam from his hands as the Deathbringer fired a deadly bolt at him! The bolt tried to cut through his beam, but soon it overcame the bolt, and knocked the Deathbringer over! "To me, quick!" he shouted, taking hold of Gemini, Adam and Evelyn in order to warp them all out of the cavern while the Deathbringer was too busy recovering to track them!

Fred's beam shot right out of the cavern entrance. It was quite a sight, and Guard and Knuckles didn't miss it once they'd arrived at Troblusk City. Upon their arrival to the cavern, they found Aries and the Deathbringer busily firing blasts at one another, all while robots guarded Sagittarius. "Grrr... I can handle robots easy, but the Deathbringer's on a level similar to Infinite...and we saw how I handled Infinite." Knuckles nodded. "No comment on Copter? Maybe if we 'help' him he'll let us leave with Razor." he muttered, "But to fight the Deathbringer... I'll need more power, too." he realized, nervously taking out the Chaos Claws that he'd even refused to use for the good of the resistance. They could take over his mind...make him the enemy. Fortunately, if that happens here, the Deathbringer would likely take him out before he could hurt anybody, he reasoned. Aries suddenly zapped Guard with his staff, leaving the gargoyle vulnerable as the Deathbringer turned to the intruders. "How unfortunate for you... I'm on orders to kill everyone in this cave..." she told them. That did it. Knuckles slipped on the Chaos Claws, and as a deadly bolt came his way, he deflected it with the golden claws! "Ha!! Now who's so tough!? Come here and try me!" Knuckles warned. Guard stood up and swung his scythe as a warning, too. With a cackle, Scorpio emerged from the shadows, sending illusory scorpions into the room to attack everyone that wasn't Aries. "You're taking too long, Aries Prower! Eee hee! Figured I'd chase them off!" he sneered. As Knuckles started to slash at the suddenly giant scorpions and Guard used his scythe to support him, the Deathbringer shot some bolts to force Aries and Scorpio out of her way, heading straight for Sagittarius. "There is one other part of my mission... I am supposed to rescue you. Since it's getting hard to get you out safe while killing them, let's go!" she said, carrying him as she flew for the cave exit! Seeing that Razor was safe, Knuckles nodded to Guard and they both retreated as well, leaving Aries and Scorpio alone with the remaining robots controlled by Cancer. "...A change of scenery is in order, I think..." Cancer mused. Outside, as Guard and Knuckles stopped to rest, the echidna struggled to remove the Chaos Claws. "Just like I feared...stuck." he groaned. Guard nodded. "Grrr... Mia only got them un-stuck...when she was put in a coma." he told him. Knuckles started to sweat at that. "I...don't wanna go into a coma..." he whimpered.

Fred emerged in Troblusk City with Gemini, Adam and Evelyn. Gemini stomped away from Fred once they were safely away from danger. "Why exactly were you disguised as a fennec all this time?? I assume that's your true form. You're the Zodiac Council's Leo! Why didn't I see it; I feel so stupid!" she growled, pouting. Fred looked notably distressed, especially when Adam and Evelyn walked over to support Gemini. "We didn't know either, Gem..." Eve said. "Yeesh, I mean... This is over my head, I think..." Adam muttered. Fred sighed. "There isn't time for me to explain... It... it's a long story. No, I'm not exactly with the council... but I guess I'm not NOT either..." he babbled. Gemini turned to him. "You were like a father to me...but our entire relationship was a lie, wasn't it? Were you... ORDERED to train me? Is..." she started to choke back tears, "Is Gemini even my real name??" she snapped. "Whoa... Now that's... whoa." Adam gulped. Gemini started to stomp away from all of them. "It's just a form, Gemini. It doesn't change how I care for you." Fred called to her. She stopped short. "A lie is a lie, no matter what. How can I trust you if I know you've been keeping things from me...big things..." she sighed before taking out her wand. "Chronokadabra!" She opened a new time portal, ready to return to Timothy and the others. Fred stepped in her direction. "Gemini! I gave you that spell book! I trusted you with those spells! ...Don't use them selfishly and endanger the world in the process!" he warned. Gemini scoffed. "You should talk... All of you... You Zodiacs are selfish children in your own right, and my friends are suffering because of it!" she shouted, jumping into the portal. Adam rubbed his head. "She's right... 'cuz now I got a headache." he muttered. Evelyn groaned. "C'mon, Adam... let's leave Leo alone with his thoughts for a bit..." she grumbled, leading him away. Fred stood on his own, and turned his wand to himself. "Morphicadabra..." he sighed, returning to fennec form. "...If only the problem were that easy to fix..." he muttered.


While traveling, Rex's group had been ambushed by Doomlings. They were some goofy one-eyed, razor beaked... chickens? They were weird, and not too much trouble to dispatch. William was now running circles around foes with the Chaos Boots, and Aya had learned to conjure more than just shurikens with the Chaos Cards; Things like small explosives and smoke bombs. And of course, Monty and Rex remained powerhouses of the team. However, once the Doom-Chickens were dispatched, the group had to worry about the fact that they'd come directly for THEM, not a random village. "Wooo, the mindless monsters are organized!" Spiro teased as this was brought up. "What if they are?" Astra proffered. Bard nodded. "Truly, we've no way of knowing just how mindless the beasts really are." he stated. Brutus scoffed. "I've a better suggestion to put to the group!" he grunted. Red flapped above them with the Chaos Wing, scouting for any sign of danger. "Oh, pray, tell us, Brutus! This oughta be good!" he chortled. Brutus leaned against a tree with a smirk. "Quite simple. The monsters could be following orders from someone...maybe one from this very group!" he stated. The group looked around uncomfortably, and Rex frowned. "Nonsense. Who among us would try to kill the others? Why?" he snapped. Brutus laughed and mimicked him. "Why?!" he cackled, "Duh, one of us may want ALL the Chaos Relics for hisself. And what species in our group are notoriously untrustworthy?" he stated, casting a shifty glance right at Bard. "You jest! I don't even desire the relic I have!" he pointed out. Monty nodded. "You're way off base, Brutus!" he growled. The dragon shrugged. "Well, what about the other? We did accept an actual wolf among us..." he said, prompting everyone to look at Luna, who was cleaning the Chaos Claws at that moment. "What? ...Oh, come on. I thought you guys were different!" she snapped. "Everyone says never trust a lone wolf..." William noted. Bard stood beside her. "Friends, this is madness! We mustn't turn on one another now!" he insisted. "Maybe they're in cahoots..." Brutus mused, casting suspicion on both of them. "Don't rescue me, fox. I can handle myself." Luna huffed, "Are you all asking me to leave?" she questioned. Rex stood at the center of the group. "Enough of this! I suspect no one of such treachery... and hope no one leaves. We've suffered enough goodbyes already." he said insistently, "Let us press on!" he suggested...though no words could undo the veil of mistrust Brutus had cast upon the group...


Timothy had taken charge in Gemini's absence. "See, the thing to do is actually to find the source of those Doomling creatures! Following the old heroes is just a waste of time!" he'd said before casting a search spell. "If it was that simple why didn't Gemini do it?" Carrie asked. "I dunno, maybe spending time in the past has made her simple?" Timothy chuckled. "Hey!" Silver snapped. The trio followed the trail of the search spell, but as they traveled, quite a far distance at that, they soon stumbled over a hole in the floor. "Ooof!!" Tim grunted as he tripped, and caused Carrie and Silver to fall on top of him! As they groaned on the ground, an echidna poked her head out of the hole. "...Strange visitors... What are you doing way out here?" she asked. Silver and Carrie climbed off Timothy, groaning. "Don't mind us... We're, uhh... Looking for something." Silver said. "Yeah... Something very dangerous and very hidden." Carrie mumbled. Timothy sat up. "Gah, my search spell wore off! I better cast it again..." he babbled. The echidna crossed her arms. "Hmm... Maybe you three should come with me. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Radia the Echidna..." she said in greeting. The trio finally looked at her and Silver and Carrie gasped. "R-rainbow...?" Carrie babbled. "Rainbow's grandma?" Silver mumbled. Radia tilted her head. "Are you okay? I think you had a nastier fall than I thought. Please, come with me. Our doctors will check you out." she said, climbing back down through the hole. Timothy scratched his head. "Doctors? Where...is she taking us?" Heading down the hole, the trio found themselves at the Hidden Ruins where Rainbow grew up...only they weren't ruins in this distant past. They were a thriving underground city filled with echidnas, some of which were busy running a mine at the far end of the cavern, from what Silver could see. "Incredible... their whole society seems to be down here!" he murmured. Radia greeted them at the bottom of the ladder. "Welcome to the Hidden City of the Raisol Clan! ...You will tell no one you were here." she said seriously. Carrie chuckled softly. "Now you're reminding me of the Mirage people." she babbled. "People weren't very trusting of others back in these days, were they?" Timothy remarked.

How right he was. They didn't get very far before the Raisol elders caught up to them, and before they knew it, Timothy, Silver and Carrie were locked up in a cell. "Man, they're serious about keeping this place hidden..." Carrie groaned. Timothy touched the bars of the cell and got a jolt. "Ow! What in the...?" he babbled. A cell-mate of theirs, an unpleasant-looking echidna, spoke up. "Bars are charged with Chaos Crystal energy. We mine them crystals and use 'em to power our whole city." he told them. Silver glanced at him. "Uh, cool... And what're you in for?" he asked. The echidna got a crazed look in his eye. "Had a disagreement with the wife...so I killed her! Hehehehehe!!" he cackled. Tim, Carrie and Silver backed away from him nervously. "A-and they lock you in here with dangerous outsiders like us? What's this society coming to?" Carrie babbled. Timothy gulped. "Th-they took my wand...now what?" he asked. Silver looked at the bars and raised his hand, using his powers to bend them out and give them an opening to escape! "Sweet!" the echidna smirked, only for Silver to push him back to the wall of the cell. "Echidnas, stay put!" he said as Tim and Carrie made their exit, with him following quickly. Carrie then took the liberty of pulling the bars shut again with her own psychokinetic powers. "Jerks!" the echidna growled. As the trio started rushing to look for Timothy's wand before escaping, they found a major obstacle soon getting in their way. Aquarius stepped into their path, joined by Virgo and the newly freed Sagittarius. "Uhh... Hey, guys! Here to rescue us, by chance?" Silver asked. Aquarius scoffed. "Here's your wand." he said, tossing it to Timothy, "But in return, you must come with us. You will stand trial for your crime." he said. Carrie laughed. "That's rich. First jail, THEN a trial. Maybe we'll get around to the actual crime eventually, too!" she joked. Virgo glared at them. "It's a very serious crime! You three are charged with altering the natural course of time!" she told them. Silver squinted at her. "...Sally? You're alive!?" he stammered. "She is Virgo now, as I am Sagittarius." the porcupine formerly known as Razor stated, "But I'm still very much an enforcer of the law. The natural law. You three are coming with us." he said. Silver sighed. "We'd probably better go... If we resist here, we risk wrecking Rainbow's home and changing her history..." he warned them.

To avoid showing anyone magic they weren't supposed to see, Aquarius led Timothy and the others to the exit to the Hidden City. They weren't exactly inconspicuous though, and Radia soon caught sight of them. "Did those winged fellows bust them out? Hm... I really should apologize about them getting thrown in jail anyway. I just hope there isn't trouble..." she said to herself as she followed them. Reaching the outside, Aquarius looked around. "Open the way, Virgo." he said to Sally. However, a light stunned them as Gemini appeared on the scene! "Stop!! Leave my friends alone, you... you Zodiac... freaks!!" she shouted, hurtling a bolt from her wand right at Aquarius while a stunned Silver, Timothy and Radia watched. "You go, girl!" Carrie smirked, using her power to lift and toss Sagittarius aside! "Ooof!! You fools! Don't you realize what you're doing!?" he shouted. "I don't care...nobody's telling me what to do anymore!" Gemini declared, creating a shield around herself as Aquarius started to pummel her with blasts of water! "You've no idea of the wrath you're bringing upon yourself!" he warned, spreading his wings. Silver took this opportunity to appeal to Sally. "Wait! Sally... I get that you might not remember, but some of us were allies to you very recently... I had the Resistance, you had the Freedom Fighters, but we collaborated to fight Dr. Eggman! I have to believe that that Sally is in there... She'd want to help Gemini do the right thing, not punish her!" he told her. Sally blinked at him. "I don't think you know me as well as you believe. Now... STAND DOWN!" she commanded, a distortion in her voice as she spoke. Silver gasped, feeling compelled to obey. However, Radia was under no such spell. "Take your violence away from my city!" she cried, tackling Sally and knocking her over! Timothy and Carrie kept Sagittarius at a distance, the only thing he could do being to fire arrows at them which were fairly easily repelled. However, Aquarius was proving too much for Gemini. His watery attacks broke her shield and washed her back and forth until she warped to safety. "Ugh... G-guys?" she murmured. Silver nodded and hastened to her side, soon joined by Timothy and Carrie. "We can track your warping!" Aquarius warned. "Good luck... Galaporta!" Gemini cried, taking her friends away with her. Immediately upon emerging, she turned to Timothy. "You warp somewhere next. Maybe it'll throw them off..." she suggested. "R-right!" he said. "You don't think they'll hurt Rainbow's grammy, do you?" Carrie asked. Silver shook his head. "No... That'd affect the timeline too much." With that, Timothy warped them further away. They'd have to stay one step ahead of Zodiac, but Gemini was through letting her fate be controlled by the likes of them...


Rex's group was actually currently on their way back to the Hidden City themselves. They hoped to ask Radia for advice in helping some of their number to awaken the powers of their Chaos Relics. As they passed the raccoon village they'd rescued early in their journeys, though, they soon came across a most disturbing sight. They found a body in the road. To their grief, it was Paul the walrus, killed by the bite of a Doomling by the looks of it. "If he'd have just stayed with us... He'd still be alive..." Luna said sadly. "Would he, now?" Brutus asked her with a suspicious glance. "Stop it! None of us had any reason to do him in!" Monty snapped. Rex stood over Paul's body with a grim expression. "I know who did, though. The Doomlings... I can't ignore it anymore. Despite how monstrous and wild they seem, the beasts are clearly organized in some way." he stated. "Yeah, or we just missed one when we were here..." Spiro murmured. Rex crossed his arms, and Brutus scoffed. "I'd keep one eye on everyone. 'Specially those two!" he grunted, glancing at Bard and Luna. Rex shook his head. "I still don't buy the idea of a traitor. Paul was leaving. He'd be no threat to the traitor." he stated. Astra leaned beside the body. "...We should bury him..." she murmured. This was one point the team decided to agree upon. Once Paul's body was covered up by the side of the road, Bard began to play a mournful melody on his lute.

"As we say the great goodbye...
As we sob and wonder why...
We remember those passed, and know time drifts fast...
Soon enough, t'will be our great goodbye..."

With those sad words fresh in their minds, the group headed on their way, a solitary stone marking the spot where the first of their group fell. Tragically...he wouldn't be the last...

To be continued...