Note: Poseidon (mentioned) and Stormy (mentioned) belongs to GeekyCookie1

~~~~~

Closing the back door, Jaxon then made their way to Aliya, who was currently at the table rubbing her head. It was clearly going to be a long night for the two. While Jax felt they would be able to get some sleep, it was Aliya they feared for. They didn't think she wasn't going to sleep at all after this and that's what worried them.

"How do you feel?" Jaxon asked as Aliya weakly laughed. "Me? How do you feel?" she countered back. "You're the one who almost had a dagger go in your face," she later mumbled before frowning. "I'm still really sorry about that," she sincerely apologize, realizing she now sounded like Jesse.

Now she wondered how many apologizes it was going to take before she outdid Jesse at his own game? Right now, she was currently at three apologizes, none of which would take the moment back.

"Perhaps, I'm the one who almost had a dagger to my face, but you stopped, which said a lot. Besides, you're the one who nearly fainted and got possessed by someone in the same night. I don't know, but it seems like you got the worst end of it too," Jaxon insisted as Aliya groaned.

"Aw, man... I always thought I was immune to this kind of stuff. I mean, I survived Iris just fine," she insisted. "You also didn't have an Avalonian necklace on," Jaxon pointed out, gesturing to the golden gemstone on her neck. "Right," she mumbled, fidgeting with the lace.

At first, Aliya wanted nothing more than to have her own Avalonian necklace, but now? No, thanks. If it meant not being possessed by Erebus again, she would gladly forgo her desire to have her own necklace.

"I'm so stupid," she mumbled, laughing quietly to herself. "I can't believe I thought I could actually make it on my own. With everything going on, I'm glad you and Lillian tagged along," she truthfully stated as Jaxon smiled.

"This is all very sweet things to say, but stalling isn't going to stop me from wanting to know about you," Jaxon chimed in, seeing through the girl's tactics (even if the words were true). "Fine, I feel terrible and I can still feel Erebus's grip on me," she admitted as Jaxon blinked.

"Erebus? Wait, the guy that possessed you?" they asked as she nodded. "Wait, but who is he?" they followed up as Aliya patiently waited. It took a few seconds before their eyes widened. "You can't possibly mean—" they continued, now lowering their voice as she nodded.

"Yes, that Erebus. The one everyone initially thought was a cautionary tale on power corrupting people. The one who killed his three brothers to become a god of darkness and despair," Aliya finished as Jaxon eyed her more closely now.

"Aliya—"

"I don't know when I'll get possess again, or what I'm going to do to everyone. So, I just I would just keep your distance from me if I was you," she softly warned as Jaxon shook their head. "Aliya, stop it. You, me and Libby are a team, remember?" they reminded her as she sighed.

"That's what Erebus told his brothers before slaughtering them to pieces," Aliya pointed out, which made Jax look at her in disgust. "What? That's how the story went," she plainly pointed out. "I'm just saying to be careful around me, that's all," she added, rubbing her head once more.

"You really need to sleep," Jaxon insisted as Aliya stubbornly shook her head. "If I fall asleep, I have a higher chance of seeing Erebus in my mind and unlike everyone else, he'll actually communicate to me," she insisted, rubbing her wrist.

"Before Erebus got control over me, I had dreamt of Shiron nearly killing me in his fire force field while trying to use his fire sword to fasten the process," she continued, the words coming out faster than she would have liked. "I think I would have actually died, had you not called my name," she softly added.

"So thanks for saving my life."

"Aliya—"

"Jax, my brain has been wired this way ever since those Avalonians ripped my wings off and threw me over the cliff and into the lake. I tried ignoring the nightmares, but at night, everything just becomes so much louder, you know?" she insisted as Jaxon stood their head.

"I don't understand, but I really do think sleep will help," Jax softly said as Aliya slowly nodded. "Okay, I'll try but sleep won't help me," she insisted, realizing that arguing with Jaxon was pointless as they wouldn't see it from her side. Not really, but still. It was nice just having it off her chest.

"Thank you," Jaxon sincerely said, finally relieved to know she was seeing things from their perspective. "Aliya?" they asked when she didn't answer. However when Jaxon glanced over their shoulder, they found Aliya asleep on the table, using her arms as a headrest.

"Hey, you don't want to sleep on a bed?" they asked, but Aliya didn't budge. In fact, she didn't even move, not once. "For someone who fought against sleep, you sure are tired," they mumbled before frowning afterwards.

"Why you end up doing this to yourself, I will never understand," they continued, using their magic to remove part of the blanket and grabbed a pillow before lifting Aliya to the edge of the bed their sister preoccupied. Once she was secured, they placed the blanket over her.

"Thanks. Goodnight, sib," Aliya sleepily told them as they smiled softly, finishing their task of tugging the girl in. It was the first time Jaxon actually heard Aliya refer to them as her sibling and honestly, they were pretty excited, considering they were already part of the family, much like their sister, Lillian.

"Goodnight, sister."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mind Sequence

"So, we meet again."

"No, this is going to be goodbye," she countered back, only to be spun around by Erebus as Aliya released a slight squeak. "You see, I control you now," he insisted as Aliya brushed him off.

"Uh-huh, sure," she mumbled, once again trying to leave when Erebus grabbed the doll, pulling the figurine to him as Aliya found herself practically bumping to Erebus as the god glanced below her and smirked, much to her despair as he spun her to him.

"I told you, champion. I control you now. You're never going to be safe from me," he insisted, flickering her mind over to a sleeping Jesse next to Jax, who was also asleep.

"Speaking of which, let's discuss your first move," he continued as Aliya shook her head, stepping back. "No. Erebus, I'm not going to hurt my friend," she insisted as Erebus smirked.

"You will soon enough,"  the god spoke as she began running. "Oh, I love a good hunt," he added, smirking as Aliya saw the shadows surrounding her. She tried out-running the darkness, but when one of the shadow ghosts grabbed her leg, Aliya fell.

"Now come back to me, champion," Erebus calmly ordered as the shadow threw Aliya back in his eyesight. With the shadows wrapped themselves around her, she struggled to move, much less speak.

"Now hold still...."

~~~~~~~

As her eyes opened, Aliya covered her mouth to refrain from screaming, afraid to wake the others up as she tried closing her eyes to blink the images out of her head, burying herself in her head as she pulled her knees close to her.

"I just want you out of my head," she mumbled to herself, hearing a chuckle. Aliya had only lift her head up briefly before spotting a pair of glowing purple eyes. That was all it took for her head to ache as she forced herself to choke back her screams, refusing to wake anyone up.

"Champion, I'm not going anywhere," she heard Erebus tell her as Aliya tried fighting back, only for her eyes and the gemstone to turn black. "Good, now stab the boy while he's asleep," Erebus ordered as Aliya quietly hopped off the bed, clenching the shadow dagger as she approached Jesse.

Aliya hovered over Jesse as she held the dagger over his sleeping state. "Atta girl. Now finish him off," Erebus encouraged her as Aliya lowered the dagger before catching her shadow. In a split-second move, she brushed the dagger against her skin, hearing a high-pitch scream before the girl started stumbling.

Although she barely managed to catch herself, Aliya ran to the restroom as she stared at her reflection. Holding her eyes, she saw her light brown returning back to normal, but she could have sworn she saw a tint of black. "This is so stupid," she mumbled, shaking her head before staring closer just to spite herself to determine whether the black tint in her eyes was actually there.

"You can defy me all you want, but you can't escape me, champion," Erebus's voice spoke as Aliya resisted the urge to scream, stepping back as the girl's reflection soon took the form of the god making Aliya and her friends' quest much more complicated than it needed to be.

She and her friends just needed to take Jesse back to Avalon. That was it, but no! It just couldn't be that simple! Now, the four were currently trying to avoid detection from an assassin dedicated to killing Jesse while Aliya was stuck dealing with a god who wanted to use her as a way of getting vengeance.

She quietly huffed to herself, wondering why Erebus couldn't be like Poseidon? At least the water god helped Aliya out in the aftermath of the near-death experience she had as a changeling. But Aliya knew when someone wanted to use her for their agendas and Erebus made that part explicitly clear to her.

"I'm trying to fix you. Why won't you just take it?" Erebus stubbornly insisted as Aliya rolled her eyes. "Because I don't need fixing," she coldly shot back, her eyes narrow on the god. "Especially from you," she added, crossing her arms afterwards. "Now get out of my head and stay out of my life," she firmly told him, preparing to leave when she heard the god's laughter and stopped, facing the mirror once more.

"Champion, you and I are connected now. Besides, I'm the only one who sees your true potential. Everyone else doubts you, but you are so much more. You just need to give into the darkness. I know you believe me, so just give in and everything will become so much easier from there."

With those words, the lights flickered before leaving Aliya in complete darkness. When the lights came back on, Erebus's image disappeared and she was back to staring at her own reflection; a shaky shell of whom she once was. Turning off the lights and closing the restroom door from behind her, Aliya solemnly sighed.

She could barely brush off the words of Iris as it was. Yet Aliya knew Iris didn't stand a chance as the girl's attempts of controlling her were furtive. However, Erebus was a different case.

For starters, Aliya had an Avalonian necklace now (if only temporary) and Erebus was a literal god [he wasn't the first god she met, but he was the first to control her]. Aliya couldn't brush his words off, no matter how much she tried.

If anything, Erebus's words only grew louder and she couldn't bring herself to tell what was worse: The idea of the faerie enduring a endless cycle of pain just to maintain her honor (and everything that made up the components of Aliya) or accepting Erebus's words and giving herself into the darkness where her monsters roamed.

Was it easier being underestimated by everyone around her or was it easier to be feared, knowing she would be respected? Aliya clearly remembered the way Jaxon had stared at her, a hint of hesitation. Jax never take her seriously in the past but in the moment they has tried helping her recover, she could see fear lingering in their eyes. Their view of her had changed and she knew that.

Aliya felt guilty for what she did, sure, but she found herself mainly surprised by the ounce of glee she felt in the midst of navigating her feelings towards nearly hurting her friend. But with that power.... Aliya knew she could get Avalon to respect her. Maybe, she could even get payback on those who had hurt her.

In spite of the perfect image Avalon prided itself on, Aliya knew her home was known to break certain Avalonians. After all, she had plenty of reasons to snap and burn Avalon to the ground, but....

If she was ever given the chance, would she bring herself to do it? She always laughed and told herself "no," believing her home was capable of change, but as she reflected on Erebus's words, Aliya found herself unable to confidently answer her own question like before.

Aliya didn't want to hurt her friends and she specifically had no intention on hurting Jesse [despite the pain he put her in], but if she was able to successfully complete Erebus's task, kill Jesse and rise to her role as champion, would she cling onto the chance to get the respect she desperately wanted?

Would she be willing to let Avalon burn, or better yet, would she allow herself to treat Avalon the same way its people treated her? Even if that meant abandoning her morals and the lessons taught to her by Stormy, Poseidon, Félix and her parents? Aliya wasn't sure she wanted to answer and for her....

That was the scary part.

~~~~~~

As the group ate breakfast the next morning, Aliya and Lillian were talking amongst themselves as Jax noticed Jesse's solemn look, which led them to frown.

"You know, you've been pretty quiet," they briefly noted as Jesse gestured to his neck, raising his hand upward to indicate that his voice was stolen from him before making wave motions with his hands.

However, Jesse nearly lost his balance on the chair began to tip. "Jesse!" Jax exclaimed, on the verge of catching the boy when Aliya beat them in time, leaning the chair upright while holding Jesse with her free arm. It was a skill Jaxon found themselves envying in the moment.

"Gotcha," Aliya softly said, catching Jesse in time, who looked at her in awe. "Gee, you must have really been through something, huh?" she asked as she helped him regain his balance while Jesse softly smiled in her direction, his eyes lingering on her longer than necessary.

"Jax, you got him from here, right?" Aliya asked as Jaxon nodded, helping Jesse to his seat as the boy frowned, noticing the way she barely made eye contact with him. As she sat next to Lillian, the group stared at Jesse and back at each other. When all eyes went to Aliya, the girl stood up.

"Alright, we got to address how we're getting home," she began as Jesse furiously shook his head. "Counter-point, we need to address why Jesse can't talk," Jaxon pointed out as Jesse painfully tried gesturing to his neck again. "He's saying his voice was taken from him by the sea witch?" Lillian answered, though she was confused.

"I thought sea witches didn't exist," Lillian insisted as Jesse furiously shook his head as Aliya gave him a notebook and a pencil as the two siblings looked. "I went to the store, got stuff for breakfast and found us a way to communicate with Jesse," she plainly said with a shrug, unsure on why Jaxon and their sister, Lillian, were surprised.

"I thought so too until I met Narcissa and her daughter," Jaxon read at once from the notebook. "She told me I could permanently become human if I helped her collect four relics before the sun sets on the third day," they continued as Lillian looked up to see Jesse nodding.

"Relics?" Jaxon curiously asked as Aliya slowly looked up. Jesse scribbled on the paper before holding the notebook towards the group again. "There's four I need to collect. I need the dagger of Atlas, Avalonian's heart of purity, and—" By here, Jaxon stopped reading as Jesse furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's the last two relics you need to collect?" Jaxon asked as Jesse shook his head, writing inside the notebook again. "I don't remember," they read as Jesse sheepishly nodded, leading Lillian to stare at him in disbelief.

"You made a deal with the sea witch and you don't even remember what she wants you to do?" Lillian asked as she laughed. "How much of an idiot can you be?" she added as Jesse frowned, looking away as Jaxon held his hand. "Hey, you don't need to be that rude, Libby," Jaxon gently told their sister as Lillian glared at him.

"I think he deserves it, considering he can't even remember the last two—" Lillian began before Aliya interrupted the two. "He needs Erebus's scepter and gemstone made from eternal darkness as his last two relics," she finished, her tone cold and hollow as Jesse frantically nodded, writing inside his notebook.

"It is Erebus's scepter and gemstone! I'm supposed to find the two items together so they can fuse into something but I can't recall," Jaxon read, trying to capture Jesse's energy to the best of their abilities.

"If you get the scepter and the gemstone, you'll be able to melt the scepter down into a indestructible lace, which can be used to hold the gemstone in place, essentially creating the necklace of darkness. It's not so much the scepter, but the unique metal used in the scepter to create the necklace," Aliya answered, which caught the attention of the group as she tried not to notice their eyes on her.

"I knew the history of Erebus's prized possessions," Aliya meekly answered, hoping that would be enough as she brushed off their stares. In truth, being possessed by Erebus meant she knew a thing or two about him more extensively.

Yes, the god told her about his scepter and the gemstone already, but she knew the two items would form the necklace of darkness but aside from that, he didn't know how to create it, so he just kept the items safe till then.

"You must really have time on your hands," Lillian teased, unaware of her sibling had looked at the faerie with some sort of uneasiness. She did, however, note Jesse frowning as he looked at Aliya, who seemed to be avoiding him more than usual.

"Anyways if this is true, then you can't leave at all without completing Narcissa's deal, huh?" Aliya asked, ignoring Lillian's response as Jesse wrote in his notebook. "Yes. If I don't complete the deal by the third sunset, then...." Jaxon trailed off, unable to read more.

"What? What happened?" Lillian and Aliya asked as Jaxon shook their head. "I'm not saying it," Jaxon protested as Lillian and Aliya looked at each other before shaking their heads in a playful manner, assuming this was Jax's way of building suspense and simply dismissed their response as them being dramatic.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Lillian insisted as she held the notebook and began reading, briefly pausing. "You weren't lying," she said, looking at Jaxon, who had solemnly shook their head. "It is that bad," she added, tossing the notebook to Aliya, who scanned the words before looking back at Jesse.

"If you fail, she'll really collect your soul as payment?" Aliya slowly acquired as Jesse's eyes swelled before bursting into tears. "Hey, hey, I'm sure we can figure something out," she gently insisted, her calm voice soothing Jesse who looked at her with some kind of hope.

"We can't take him home now," Jaxon protested as Lillian shrugged. "You know, maybe we should just leave him here," she said as Jaxon glared at her. "Kidding! Kidding!" she playfully exclaimed with a laugh. "I'm not that crazy," she added, though this did little to change their minds.

"Well, if we can't bring Jesse back, then we can't leave either," Aliya firmly stated as the three stared at Jesse. "So, what are we going to do?" Lillian and Jaxon asked as Jesse lift his head, looking on.

With Jesse, Lillian and Jaxon looking at Aliya for answers, it became clear to the girl that in the moment, she was the one calling the shots here. Everything came down to this moment and her answer would define how the four would approach the situation moving forward.

Her eyes flicker onto Lillian and Jaxon who looked concern before lingering her eyes on Jesse, who stared at her with the same hopeful look as earlier. She saw the look a few times, but now it became clear to her in the moment. He was depending on them to help him.

Aliya shoved down the inner resentment she felt towards him, telling herself that her anger wouldn't change the situation or make things any better. Saving Jesse was more important than bragging to his parents that she was right, so Aliya took a deep breath, realizing she couldn't abandon him.

Not like this.

"We stay and we help Jesse with his quest," Aliya answered as Jesse jumped, running to hug Aliya, who gently stepped back from him, much to his dismay. "I thought Aliya was the reckless one, but now Jesse is really going to get us killed," Lillian insisted as Aliya and Jaxon laughed.

"Well, as long as we avoid the assassin tracking down Jesse or anyone else trying to kill him, we should be fine," Aliya pitched in as Lillian chuckled. "So, we're basically signing ourselves up to die," Lillian dryly states as Aliya rolled her eyes while Jaxon laughed.

"I thought Jax was meant to be the dramatic one," Aliya lightly teased as Jaxon playfully punched her shoulder. "No one is going to die, Libby," they insisted as Jesse nodded, agreeing with Jaxon. "Anyways, where are we starting?" Lillian asked, finishing up the last of her chuckles.

"I guess in order since the first thing on the list is the dagger of Atlas," Jaxon chimed in as the three looked at Jesse. "By chance, did you see who had the dagger?" they asked as Jesse solemnly shook his head. "Do you really not know or did you forget?" Lillian countered back as Jesse wrote in his notebook.

"Sadly, it's neither. In truth, I wasn't paying attention when Narcissa showed me the person with the dagger," Jaxon slowly read as they slowly looked up to see Lillian's eyes glowing. In response, Jax protectively held onto Jesse while Aliya blocked Lillian from going after him.

"He's such an idiot! It's incredible that we found him alive!" Lillian angrily exclaimed as Aliya rolled her eyes while Jesse looked away with Jaxon comforting him. "Being angry at Jesse won't solve anything. Yes, he should have paid attention but it's too late for that," she insisted as Lillian groaned.

"So, we got nothing," Lillian said as Aliya shook her head. "I didn't say that now," she said, which caught the attention of the group. "What..." Lillian and Jaxon asked as Aliya smugly grinned. "I might know who has our dagger of Atlas," she said as the siblings gasped while Jesse looked in her direction.

"Who?" The siblings curiously asked her as Jesse nodded, sharing the same energy as Lillian and Jaxon. "Granted, I didn't catch his name but he looked like Jesse's advisor," she said, much to Jesse's surprise as his eyes widened.

"No, it's not Atticus, Jesse. Our suspect wasn't even Avalonian. He is just a human with a interest in dark magic," she added, noticing the way Jesse relaxed. "I tried seeing if he was Avalonian just in case, because I thought it was Atticus too," she continued, sensing their question.

"Well, we got a lead and that's great, but how are we going to find him?" Jaxon inquired at once. "Especially since we don't have a name to him. Plus there are lots of humans here! We wouldn't even know where to start," Lillian rambled as Aliya smirked.

"I'm already two steps ahead of you," she said, holding up a tracker as the group stared at her. "Before I left, I had grabbed some tracking devices in case we were unable to find Jesse, but as I was talking to our potential suspect, I felt something was off about him, so I casually slipped a tracker into his bag," she explained, shrugging afterwards.

"I didn't really know why until now. If he has the dagger, then the Atticus lookalike is our best chance," Aliya followed up as Jesse's eyes lit up, excitedly fist-bumping the air as Jaxon laughed.

"Someone's really excited," Jaxon lightly said as Lillian nodded. "Yeah, he just realized how lucky he was," Lillian promptly deadpanned, glaring at Jesse as she shook her head in disappointment. "I still don't understand what you see in him, Jax," she said as Jaxon shrugged. "He's cute," they softly said as Lillian playfully shook her head.

"Right, we should get a move on," Aliya insisted, pointing to the sky as the sun shined brightly above the city. "The sun won't stay up forever," Aliya added as Jesse left their hideout first with Lillian following, presumably trying not to get him killed. As she watched, Aliya playfully shook her head.

"Lead them on and when the time comes, you'll strike," Erebus whispered in her ear as Aliya sighed, jumping when she felt Jaxon's lightly tap on her shoulder. She glared at them, perhaps assuming it was Erebus again, but relaxed when she realized it was only Jaxon.

"Oh, it's just you," Aliya said in relief, sighing afterwards as Jaxon frowned. "When are you going to tell them about Erebus?" Jaxon softly asked as Aliya awkwardly rubbed her wrists, never quite answering their question. "Aliya—" Jaxon sternly began, much to the girl's dismay.

"I'm going to tell them, Jax," Aliya softly assured Jaxon but in truth, she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Lillian and Jesse. It was already bad enough the four had an assassin on their path, trying to hunt down Jesse, he didn't need to know about a literal god was trying to stop him too.

Besides if she told Lillian and Jesse about Erebus, then Aliya had to bring up the fact of the god choosing her as his "champion." If she brought that up, then she had to break the news that Jesse couldn't get to Erebus's scepter and gemstone because if he did, then that meant she had to kill him.

Last night, she got lucky with Jaxon snapping her out of Erebus's control the first time and the second time when Aliya had snapped herself out by gazing her wrist with the shadow-like dagger, recalling the way she heard Erebus scream in the aftermath of her decision.

Knowing Erebus wasn't fond of pain as a potential weakness was nice, but Aliya knew she was going to run out of chances soon. After all, Erebus was allowing these things to happen, she knew that much. He was a god, why would he let her go willingly if not for a bigger purpose?

At some point, Aliya knew she had to tell Lillian and Jesse about everything related to Erebus before the group made their way to collecting the scepter and the gemstone. But she also knew she had come clean to Jaxon too.

She might have been honest with Jaxon up to now, but even they didn't know she might potentially kill Jesse or somehow serve as a foil in their plans soon to collect the last two relics. If she failed to tell her friends and Erebus got full control of her by then....

"You'll serve as their downfall and become my greatest champion," Erebus softly told her, stroking her hair. "No, I won't," Aliya stubbornly answered as the god laughed at her response. "Oh, champion. You have a lot to learn," he finished in a mocking tone as he stroked her chin before disappearing.

"Aliya!" Jaxon loudly exclaimed, shaking the girl as she tightly held onto their arms, her grip stronger than normal. "What?" she coldly asked as Jaxon winced. "Ow! You can let go!" Jaxon exclaimed as Aliya obeyed, trying to come to her senses as she shook her head.

"I will start slapping you if you continue to space out on me," Jaxon threatened as Aliya blinked, realizing Jaxon was here all along. Aliya tried not to panic, realizing she had just imagined her conversation with Erebus or hallucinated their whole exchange, which only made her more worried.

"Aliya—" Jaxon began as Aliya held onto their arm. "I heard you," she stated, her tone hollow before she let go, presumably trying to pull herself together. "Sorry. Yeah, I'll tell them soon. In fact, I'll tell them after we find the heart of purity," she plainly answered, rubbing onto her arms as Jason's face shift from fear to concern.

"Aliya, what happened?" Jaxon softly asked, using a gentle tone as they tried reaching out to the girl who backed away. "Nothing, I'm fine," she dismissively answered, taking a deep breath as she smiled. "Let's go catch up to the others before Lillian and Jesse get lost," she followed up as Jaxon caught her hand.

"Aliya—"

"Jaxon, I'm fine," Aliya repeated with a smile as she hoped repeating the words would help lessen her worries. "Now come on," she added, taking advantage of Jaxon holding her hand by leading the two out of their hideout, which vanished once the two made it out of the building.

"There you two are!" Lillian sharply exclaimed as Jaxon and Aliya sheepishly smiled at her. "Sorry, something came up," Aliya casually explained as Jaxon nodded, not liking how she had roped them into this. Lillian raised her eyebrow, lingering on the two longer before shrugging afterwards.

"Someday, historians will know of our heroic story," Jaxon heroically said in an attempt to change the subject. "Like some kind of storyteller?" she softly teased as Jaxon's eyes widened. "Yeah! Like a storyteller!" they happily exclaimed as Lillian chuckled, playfully shaking her head.

"Jax, the storyteller. The title has a nice ring to it, actually," Aliya briefly interjected as Jaxon grinned while Lillian eyed her. "Don't encourage them!" Lillian playfully whined as Jaxon laughed. "It's too late! From now on, I shall be addressed as the Storyteller," they confidently stated as Lillian laughed with Jesse smiling.

"Right, so what does our Storyteller say?"

"Storyteller says it's time for our quest to begin!" Jaxon happily answered as the group smiled, playfully shaking their heads as Lillian and Jesse began following them. When Aliya tried doing the same, she froze.

"Remember, champion. Lead the group on and when the time is right, you will strike," Erebus spoke, eyeing her closely. "Do not disappoint me," he sternly added before disappearing.

When Aliya opened her eyes, she realized her body had tensed up as she tried to make herself appear relax. After successfully, Aliya donned on a smile before easily catching up with the group, making herself appear as if nothing was amiss.

"We thought we lost you," Lillian teased as Aliya laughed. "Nonsense, Jax is just a really slow walker," she teased as Jaxon glared at the faerie. "I am not a slow walker!" Jaxon protested as Lillian and Aliya began laughing, even Jesse was trying to show signs of his usual playfulness.

Aliya was eventually going to come clean about Erebus and everything associated with him, but for now, she wanted to enjoy this moment with her friends. After all, who knew how long it would be before Jesse ever chose to hang out with them again?

"Alright, let's go on a quest!"