I woke in my bed. Bird song trickled through the open window and I sat up, the world's worse headache from crying trying to tear my head in half. I sniffled, threw the blankets off me and stumbled to the cupboard.

The others were downstairs, clattering away. It had to be mid morning so I must have slept through the night. Force of habit had me changing out of the clothes I slept in and rifling through the piles still stacked in the closet. I withdrew a pair of dark cargo pants and a lime-green cropped singlet with inbuilt support. I decided against wearing my sword even though my waist felt empty without it yet I kept on the choker Leraj had gifted me and I laced up a pair of ankle-high boots I discovered in the back of the closet.

Afraid to look, I stepped in front of the mirror. Bruises peppered my skin but they were faded to yellow blotches now. My hair was a mess; I ran my fingers through it and got snagged too many times to continue that disastrous effort. I let it hang down, framing my thin face. I'd lost a bit of weight, but it wasn't all for naught.

Seemed my time with the Holy Knights, no matter how little, hadn't totally been harmful to me. I'd developed a bit more muscle over the weeks. I gave my abdominals a poke – they were just shy of rock hard.

My face was still haggard but a smile at the muscle gains I'd made brightened my complexion. I flexed and posed in the mirror some more before my stomach grumbled and forced me out of my room.

I flounced down the stairs, in considerably higher spirits than I had been yesterday. The memories were all there, raw and fresh, yet they didn't haunt me like they had before. I feel like me again.

"Hello."

I skidded to a stop on the last step, arms flailing to right myself. Standing before me was a pink haired man with golden eyes. He was wearing a white top with purple sleeves, plain pants and overall had girlish features.

"Do I know you?" I questioned.

He adjusted the glasses on his face, the eye contact he was making with me becoming exceedingly uncomfortable. Did he ever blink?

"I am Gowther, the Goat's Sin of Lust." He struck a pose and the collar of his shirt slipped slightly to reveal the maroon tattoo on the right side of his chest.

"Huh, so Meliodas managed to find some more. You, Meliodas, Diane and now King and Ban makes five so you guys must be close to finding the others."

"Correct. Although our search was also to look for you. You're Estra, the original sin of Greed."

"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet y-" A blue light shot from his finger and hit my forehead. It was warm but not overly so. After a second, he dropped his hand and I stood there, confused and speechless.

"So you really were a fox. And you lived with your family, who were also foxes. Your mother, father and three siblings. But strange, there's another story there. You had a human family."

I made to grab for his shirt but thought better of it. The others might still be touchy and I didn't want to provoke another attack. My hand hovered between the two of us until I jabbed a finger in his direction. "I'm warning you now, Gowther. Unless you want me to rip off your head, get out."

"You are quite volatile. I understand, I will leave now." And just like that, he walked away to hang near the bar counter. I took the final step off the staircase and noticed that the others were watching us.

The nerves bubbled away inside of me as Meliodas made his way over. I wasn't sure how he'd react; he had been calm and cool after welcoming me back home but I had a feeling that there was always something more to the Captain's thinking. Just because his eyes looked cheerful and unsuspecting didn't mean his mind was silent; it was probably churning away with so much information and plans and whatnot.

"Guess you've met Gowther so no need for introductions there," he said. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the others." He led me over to one of the tables.

Elizabeth greeted me and handed me a jug of what was surprisingly good quality ale. Vanya ale had to be my guess; it was the only one that tasted this nice. Hawk was eating scraps under the table, Diane was peering in through the open window, Gowther drifted over like a ghost and King bobbed up and down just beside the table on a giant, green pillow. Ban - my descendant would you say? – was reclined in his chair, rocking it on two legs.

"I've actually met them all, remember?" I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. I could feel the heat creeping up my neck. "I just... want to apologise for Vaizel...Sorry, King, for trying to maim you, and Ban, sorry for kicking you across the town and thank you for your help after..." I drifted off, not sure if I could say the words aloud.

My eyes flicked to Meliodas but he was oblivious as ever to side glances. Ban caught my eye and gave a simple shrug. "Couldn't just leave you there."

An awkward silence brewed and for all my Holy Knight knowledge, I didn't know what to say to break it. So I slid into the chair across from Ban and guzzled my ale. My friends were all looking at each other, waiting for someone else to speak first.

"I might as well start from the start, right?" I said, staring down into the empty cup. "After we got Meliodas to the doctor, I couldn't sit around and wait. I was too anxious, so I went out into the town. I didn't get the sense of any immediate danger which left me to my own devices. And then I found the piece of paper in my pocket, the one with the fox drawing you did for me, Elizabeth. There was a tattoo shop so I went and got a tattoo. I thought it was safe but I guess I was growing complacent, travelling in a group and expecting someone to always have my back."

I proceeded to explain everything. I kept out certain 'moments' with Leraj but I didn't hide the scorn and disgust at his betrayal. I made sure to tell them everything I knew on Hendrickson's plans and ideals. My head ached the longer I talked, anger and distress fizzling under my skin. One finger tapped frantically on the side of the tankard and I could feel their eyes drawn to it. Probably wondering if I was about to explode.

When I finished, I looked up to see them all staring at me. Elizabeth had tears running down her cheeks.

"So that's my tale," I finished lamely, if that could simply sum up the turn my life had taken.

"Hendrickson's amassing an army," muttered Meliodas.

I strained hard to remember anything on that. Leraj had said I had all his history so maybe there were memories in here that I could see. Didn't matter if I couldn't delve into them but if I got a little flash of things to help...

"The new generation," I said then looked up at Meliodas. "Something to do with the new generation."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know," I confessed, wracking my brain. "That's the only three words I have. It was something Leraj was discussing with Hendrickson but there's little else to go on."

"Maybe he's been training up an elite group of fighters. That Guila chick mentioned something about him reviving the Demon Clan," Ban said. "They could be linked."

"Either way, I don't think we can do much about it from here," Meliodas replied. Even so, I saw the surreptitious glance Meliodas shot Ban. They obviously knew about this but I wasn't in the mood to push them for information.

"And what about your 'acquaintance', Leraj? Should we be wary of him?" questioned Ban.

"He's... he's complicated." I spun the tankard in my hands.

"He betrayed you, Estra. How can you not be sure if he's an enemy or not? He could be working with Hendrickson still, this could be a part of their plan, and you've fallen right into it."

Like a burst pipe, the anger rose, and I slammed a fist onto the table. Everyone jumped. My jug toppled over, the only sound in the room. I calmed my shaking breath and retracted my hand under the table. "It's like there's two of me now. The real me and the one crafted by him. When I think about him, there are so many emotions. The Holy Knight in me wants to hold him close because she has deep feelings for him. The fox in me wants to rip his throat out, to tear him limb from limb, and I know I'll find both repulsion and glee whichever path I choose. So the answer to your question, Ban, is I don't know. What I do know is that he helped me escape Liones. That, at least, seemed genuine. He was willing to risk his life for me just so I could get back to you guys."

I righted the fallen jug, and steepled my fingers to hold my chin up. "If he was still working with Hendrickson, he wouldn't have let me keep his powers or my weapons and armour. Pretty sure he has the means and the strength to drag me back to Liones kicking and screaming. I think he's done playing games too." My fingers strayed to my neck and I fingered the little bead in the centre of the choker.

"All that must have done a real number on you," Diane said, not unkindly.

I gave a small smile. "Yeah, it did. But don't worry, I already had my mental breakdown on the way here." My smile grew wider as I looked at them all. "I'm just glad to be home."

"If you want, I can get rid of it," Gowther said. For a moment, I was confused on what he meant. When he walked towards me with a hand raised, I jumped up out of the chair.

'No! No more people in my head." I held a hand out to him and that was when I felt it, the magic. It danced along my arms and before I could stop it, sparks fluttered across my skin with a soft hiss.

"Did you see that?" King asked, floating closer. "I thought your powers would have disappeared when you got back your memories."

I rubbed my arms. "They weren't pseudo-powers or anything like that. Leraj rewrote pretty much everything with his own history and he managed to input his abilities so I might have something to go off. Because I somehow possess high levels of Mana, I'm able to wield them all with relative ease."

Ban groaned, threw his head back then righted his chair. "Great. So now not only do you have Holy Knight powers but you still have mine too."

With a sneer, I leant my hands on the table and cocked my head. I just couldn't resist. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were taking Diane's place as Envy."

"They were my powers first."

"They could have been mine for all we know. Are you really that tickled that I'm the Fox of Greed and you're just the Fox's Sin of Greed?"

Meliodas stood between us before we could get into a good old-fashioned tousle.

"Alrighty, I think this calls for a party! No point being sullen anymore." He clapped his hands together. "Our team is back together and now we are stronger than ever. Gowther, prepare the decorations."

"You just want to get drunk again," snorted Hawk.

"What decorations?" Gowther blinked at the rest of us, seemingly confused with the notion of decorations.

I sucked air in through my teeth and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, do you mind if I leave you guys to the party-planning? I need another nap."

"Already?" Hawk snorted. "You slept for more than ten hours."

"Come again, pig?"

"Oh, you didn't realise. You fell asleep at the table and King carried you to your bed on his pillow."

"Excuse me, it's Chastiefol," King said; Ban piped up with, "My bed you mean."

I held up a finger to silence them. "Okay, that explains why I'm hungry enough to eat a whole cow. Why did no one wake me?"

"Maybe because you were a blubbering mess when you came in. No one wanted to hurt your sensitive feelings."

I prickled and swung my gaze onto Ban but he had a teasing smile on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him. 

"I'm pretty sure we still have some barrels left with the alcohol. Ban, how 'bout you cook us up some lunch and the rest of us will get the party sorted?" The other game a hoorah and split up. I stayed at the table, watching them move about.

The sense of familiarity that came over me made me feel like I'd never even left. Our group might be bigger but it still felt like... a family. I grinned at that. One, giant chaotic family that was for sure.

"Hey, Estra, what did you want to do about your horse?"

I blinked up at King. "My horse?" I gasped. "My horse! Myra!" I rushed outside to see her tied to the porch railing cropping grass. I pressed a hand to my chest in relief then remembered myself.

Myra wasn't actually my horse. She no doubt had been gifted to the Holy Knight Estra like so many other things to make everything seem real. I gnawed on a thumbnail, staring at the mare who raised her head and nickered when she noticed me.

"I don't actually know," I told King when I headed back inside. "She's not even my horse when I think about it. Is it even right for me to keep her?"

"Do you even know how to look after a horse?" he questioned.

I pulled a grimace. "Not a single thing. Guess Leraj didn't cover that in his history." I looked out the window, to the rolling farms in the distance. "Do you think, maybe, we should give her away? Not only do I not know a thing about horses but it might be dangerous for her to be with us. I wouldn't want her to get hurt and she might be happier with a farming family."

"I'll get Diane and we can come with you." King floated out the door and I went to follow suit; I changed my mind and headed upstairs quickly, retrieving my sword and strapping it to my waist. If we encountered trouble, I didn't want to be totally caught off-guard.

"Ready," I said to the two sins, who were waitingbeside Myra. The mare didn't even seem fazed standing beside a giant. She wasstill saddled so I clambered up and asked Diane, "Which farm's the closest?"

Thoughts appreciated!