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"When you start seeing your worth, you'll find it harder to stay around people who don't."
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Pain was normal for him. He was use to it after the last two years. Whenever he went against his father or the Squid King, he would wake up in the same situation...just more needles were added each time. His hands tied behind his back, laying on his side with the cold floor providing at least some numbness to his limbs and providing a place for his blood to puddle and stain. Thick needles were stuck into his flesh in no particular order all around his body, causing sharp pain with each movement he made, with each breath he took. He never knew how long he laid there, he didn't really care.

But this time, it was different, usually, when Seto comes to, his father is nowhere to be found, but this time, he was waiting for him to wake up. Klyen put the heel of his boot into Harvey's side making Harvey grit his teeth as pain electrified through him.

"Attacking the Squid Kingdom, freeing prisoners of war...all while under the influence of the shackles..." Klyen said not looking at Harvey. Klyen stared down at Harvey as an idea popped into his head. He took his foot off Harvey's side, bring some relief to the injured sorcerer. But the relief was short-lived when Klyen put his boot down onto Seto's throat. "I'm impressed with how much pain you can endure. " Klyen put his boot down on Seto's throat making Seto wince.

"You know how long it takes for vocal cords to heal? About six or eight weeks...It is one painful process too, eating and drinking, even breathing, become painful." Klyen shifted his weight forward, stepping down on Seto's throat. "Either I kill you by breaking your neck or you can't speak ever again." Seto gritted his teeth, feeling pain coursing through him. "Clearly I haven't beaten the concept of a slave into you enough. You do as I tell you to and if you go against me or the Squid King again, that will be the last mistake you make." Klyen put his hand up, hovering over Harvey, the needles in Seto's flesh glowed, some digging deeper in making Harvey gasp and whimper. "I have no doubt that you told them information about the Squid King and me..." The needles lost its glow, Klyen kneeled down, he put his hand hovering over Seto's neck. Seto's eyes widen a bit.

"N-No--" Klyen smirked a bit.

"Convince me to not seal your voice away right now..." Klyen said. Seto stared at him for a moment, he looked away, looking down at the floor. He knew that trying to convince him would just be pointless since he would do it anyway. Seto gritted his teeth as Klyen nods a bit. "You're learning...Good. You will only be allowed to say spells. Nothing else. So anything you want to say before I take your ability to speak awa--"

"Y-You won't w-win," Seto mumbled to him. Klyen chuckled before his eyes glowed a faint aura as he muttered under his breath.

"Sigillum eius vox auferetur--" Seto stiffened up, his eyes widen as pain shot up his arms, spreading up to the throat, the gems on his shackles glowing a red aura as Klyen continued. "--Quia quod peccatorum--" Seto flinched when his throat started feeling raw, a wave of dizziness washing over him making him lightheaded, black spots decorating his vision, growing larger as his vision blurred.

'I don't want to die here...'

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"So...Seto is working for the squids?" Ian questioned. Dan shakes his head at Ian.

"N-No, he has no choice. Yes, on the surface it does look like he is...but he isn't." Dan said making them confused.

"What do you mean?" Quentin asked Dan. Dan let out a breath, he looked down at the floor, trying to pull his thoughts together in order to explain everything but he was having trouble trying to pull something together that doesn't make Seto look like the bad guy. But with the recent things Dan knows of that Seto has done...Seto does look like the bad guy.

Once the three returned to Ian's HQ, Jordan wanted to talk about what happened immediately. So Ian, Quentin, Jordan, Ant, Michael, and Elise all came into the war room, Sonja as well who wanted to stay by Jordan. Dan's hands balled into fists before Ant spoke up.

"Oh come on, Dan. General Azdel stormed the Squid Kingdom and freed all of their prisoners by himself! He saved the three of us! He wouldn't do that if he was working for the squids." Ant said making Dan look at him. Ant letting out a sigh. "He saved us all and that fact he stayed behind--"

"He didn't tell you...didn't he?" Dan questioned making them look at him, confused. Dan crossed his arms, hesitating for a few moments before speaking. "He was an ally..."

"Right he is--"

"I said was, Captain Ant," Dan said looking at Ant. Ant closed his mouth, listening. "He's not an ally to us, anymore. And before you scold me and such, let me explain. He has obedience shackles on him." Elise flinched, looking away from him. Dan's eyes looked at her. "I know this is hard, Elise. But he is not our ally anymore, after this stunt of his, there's no way that they let him be able to do something like that again." Elise put her hand on the table, processing as Dan spoke more. 'Obedience Shackles...but the Magic Council said that all of them were destroyed. Now they are on Harvey?' Elise thought as she felt her emotions flooding in. Her hand balled softly into a fist against the table. 'I can't lose both of them. Ty might not make it and now that Harvey has been found, it might be already too late to save him...' She thought to herself. Elise gritted her teeth together. 'No...I can't give up on him...Harvey has always been there to save me in the past, not it is my turn to save him.' She was going to speak until the door opened, a recruit looking at Ian.

"S-Sorry for the interruption, Commander! But General Probst is gone! He disappeared!" They exclaimed making Ian look at them, shocked. Ant scoffed.

"How can that be possible?! He is in the infirmary ward! Surrounded by tons of people!" Ant said. Jordan smiled a bit to himself. 'Never doubt Jason's skills of disappearing when he wants to leave...' Jordan thought to himself. Ian sighed.

"I kinda expected him to leave sooner or later. Colonel." Ian said looking over to Jordan. Jordan meets his eyes as Ian spoke. "--I know I said the one mission...but we do need your skills, you are good at tracking--" Jordan's lips curved into a slight smile.

"Sonja is actually better than I am," Jordan said. Ian looked at Sonja as she looked dumbfounded.

"Wha?" She mumbled at Jordan.

"She's a civilian--" Jordan nods.

"True, true...but she knows how to fight. She can take care of herself...besides, if she were to leave, I'm coming with her." Jordan said. Ian looked over at Quentin.

"Well, Quentin? Jordan cleared for leaving?" Ian asked. Quentin nods, smiling a bit.

"Of course he is--" Ant looked at Quentin.

"So I must be--" Quentin's eyes shifted to Ant.

"--Trapped in this HQ until I say otherwise." Quentin finished for Ant making Ant's hands ball into fists as he turned to Quentin.

"OH COME ON! That's so not fair!" Ant shouted. Quentin smirked at Ant.

"You got a concussion, technically, you shouldn't even be on your feet right now. But I'm overlooking that because all you would do is complain." Quentin said before Sonja gently touched Jordan's arm.

"Are you sure about this?" She whispered to him. Jordan's eyes looked at her, he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be going with it," Jordan said before looking over at Michael. "And so will Michael." Michael nods at him.

"I'd be honored to join you, Colonel," Michael said making Ian smile.

"Alright, head out, I'm assuming that Jason is heading to the Iron Crew's hideout. Make sure to send us updates. And while you are there, get Mitch back here." Ian said. The three leave, Ian looked at Ant. "Captain! Shut up!" Ant turned to Ian, about to argue back but Quentin cut him off.

"Captain, you are cleared to leave, you don't have a concussion," Quentin said.

"No sh*t sherlock." Ant said. Ant leaned against the table. "But why the lies?"

"Because Jordan is slowly getting back to his old self," Ian said. Ian crossed his arms. "And I will not have you screwing that up. Besides...I need you to investigate something for me." Ian looked at Elise. "Elise...I know that you want to stay here for Ty, but--" Her eyes softened at him.

"Is it about Harvey?" She asked. Ian nods. She looked down at the map, thinking. Ant looked at her. 'This must be hard for her...' Ant thought before he sighed.

"Look, I can't enter Laendur without a mage accompanying me. And you are the only mage here. And we can look for answers for General Ellis while we looked for General Azdel's friends. Maybe we could find something that could save both of them." Ant said. Elise looked at him, she smiled a bit making Ant smile back at her.

"That would be great, Captain. Thanks." She said. Ian's eyes narrowed a bit at Ant before he looked at Quentin.

"Are you sure that Ant doesn't have a concussion?" Ian asked him. Ant loses his smile, he looked at Ian.

"What? I can't be nice?!" Ant exclaimed making Ian look at him.

"You can...it's just...weird when you are," Ian said. Ant's hands balled into fists, irritated as Quentin chuckled.

"Ant has a soft spot for girls," Quentin said. Ant's face reddened slightly, he turned to Quentin.

"Shut up!" Ant shouted. Ian smiled, his eyes glanced at Elise.

"Make sure he behaves, Elise. His temper can get the best of him." Ian said. Elise nods.

"You can count on me...Just...take care of Ty. And can you keep me updated on his condition?" Elise asked. Ian nods.

"Of course, I'll send you a message if anything happens," Ian said. Elise smiles.

"Thanks." She said. She stepped back, looking at Ant as he continued arguing with Quentin...or talking at him. 'I better talk to Ty before I leave.' She thought before she left. She went to the infirmary ward, seeing panic since Jason escaped. She went to Ty's room, seeing him still sleeping. She went up to his bedside, her hand touched his, taking in a shaky breath. "Don't wake up until I get back...I won't be gone long. I promise." The curtain was pushed back, Dr. Alister coming in. He glances at Elise.

"Hi, Elise." He said. She looked at Alister.

"Hi, how is he?" She asked him. Alister looked up from his papers, he gives her a slight smile.

"He's stable. But he is getting weaker as time goes on. It is only a matter of time until he..." Alister trailed off as he lost his smile. Elise looked down at Ty, she bit her bottom lip. Her hand squeezed Ty's. Alister smiled a bit. "So, are you two together?" Blush crept up her neck and to her cheeks, she let go of Ty's hand as her eyes looked at Alister.

"W-What?! N-No, he and I-I are just..." Elise stammered. She looked down at the floor, Alister chuckled lightly. Elise looked at Ty. "I think dating someone is the last thing on his mind." Alister loses his smile.

"Elise, people who have to put up with behavior like you described that General Ellis displayed don't stick around...and you stuck around for three years...why?" Alister asked. Elise hesitated, she looked at Alister, her emotions flooding up.

"I know he treated me badly...but it isn't his fault. People only see the bad things people do...They never see beyond it." She said before she looked at Ty. She wiped a tear from her cheek, resting her hand on top of Ty's. "He may not have wanted me there...but he needed me to be there. He told me plenty of times to run and has run away from me plenty of times..." She looked at Alister. "Yes. I had a crush on him and I still do...b-but that's not important. I'm not giving up on him like so many already have. He's a good person, Dr. Alister...He just needs help..." Alister smiled at her.

"I know he does...and usually I'm the only one who sticks around to help these Generals," Alister said making her confused and stunned as well.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"Do you think that a doctor would deal with General Probst always escaping the infirmary ward? Do you think that a doctor would like to deal with their stubborn attitudes, their lies, and their escapes?" He asked her. She looked at Ty and nodded.

"Yeah, it is your job too." She looked at the doctor. Alister shakes his head.

"That's the reason I'm their main doctor, Elise. Sure, it is nice to say that any doctor would stick around to treat them...but that's not the truth. Plenty of doctors have walked out because of their stubbornness and successful escapes in the past. I'm the only one who stays." He said making her look at him.

"Why do you stay? It must be irritating to deal with them." She said. Alister nods, agreeing.

"It is...but working for them as long as I have...you learn their backstories...you learn where they came from and why they do what they do," Alister said. He looked at Ty. "They deserve to have someone there that can patch them back up whenever they need. And they may not want me...but they need me. They're heroes...broken heroes." He looked at Elise. "I'll always be there when they need me..." She smiled at him.

"So then you are gonna find General Probst?" Elise asked making Alister roll his eyes.

"Oh please, that's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. General Probst is worse than Commander Skylen, at least when the Commander escapes, he could be found again. General Probst either comes back on his own terms or not at all." Alister said making her smile at him. She looked at Ty, she put her hand on top of his, squeezing gently.

"I'll be back soon, I promise." She said before looking at Alister. "Take care of him." He smiles and nods at her.

"Of course."