Blinking in shock, Sora stared at the strange woman with only one question on her mind. "Excuse me, ma'am, but do I know you?" she asked, shifting on her feet. "It's just I've never seen you before in my life... like... at all." Well, as far as she could remember... besides, she'd realised what was bugging her in the far corner of her mind. Something had been niggling at her ever since she'd laid eyes on the woman. She was old. She'd aged far beyond her prime, and that could only mean one thing – she wasn't a dragon rider. So what was she doing in a city full of them? The forest they were in should've been well within the bounds of the gigantic city walls. The older generations of riders couldn't let anything happen to their successors.

The old woman only chuckled lowly, gesturing to the seat opposite the small table at which she sat. It was about the height of a coffee table, the seat being a cushion on the floor. The table was smooth, the surface varnished so that it shone in the gaslight of the strange room, the only object on it being a large spherical ball similar to that which Ethan had originally tested her magic with. "Relax, dearie, and get your toosh on that seat," she said, dry lips cracking into a grin. "I don't bite."

Sora narrowed her eyes, hesitantly doing as she was asked. It had to be part of the test after all...

"I mean you no harm... and even if I did, there's nothin' lil ol' me over here can do about it," she spoke, cackling like one of those desert animals from the south. "But to answer that question you're getting all worked up over – no. You don't know me... but I certainly know you."

She blinked. "How's that supposed to work?" she asked, leaning away from the woman as far as was polite. "Wait a minute... who even are you? You're not a dragon rider..."

"Nope." She popped her lips together, a wet smack sounding, and Sora shuddered. "Besides... are you really sure I'm the one you should be directing your question at?" she asked, tilting her head, staring at her with that little smile which said she knew better. She knew something Sora didn't... and it was going to irk her.

"You're the only other person here."

Her grin widened. "You sure about that?"

"What do you mean?" Sora glanced around, eyes wide as she searched for any sort of movement. Anything to indicate another's presence... but there wasn't anything. Not even a rustle of a purple curtain.

A loud cackle startled her, head swivelling back to fix on the old lady laughing like there was no tomorrow. "Never mind, dearie... seems it ain't time for that horrific business just yet."

"Then... what is it time for?" she asked. "I'm supposed to be doing some test, right?"

The old lady nodded. "Correctamento."

"So...?"

"You can call me Evangeline, dearie," she said, folding her withered arms. "As for your little test... that'll be coming up soon. There's just a few things I wanna go over before you get yourself stuck in that mess."

"OK..."

"Well then, let's see what you know about the set of cloaks inside this place..."

Sora stared at her blankly. "So... you mean like the speciality of it or something?" she questioned, shifting on her cushion. She didn't know a single thing about the cloaks. She didn't even know whereabouts in the forest they were.

"Ah." She chuckled lowly. "Seems you really don't know anything about this place... though I'm not all that surprised. People tend to be rather tight lipped about this place, not that it does the next generation any good... but if what I've seen is true... this might just be the last generation."

Ice shot through her veins. "Last generation? Last generation of what?" The words stumbled from her mouth, her head oddly fuzzy as she stared at the strange woman. Last. It sounded far too final to mean anything good. She'd never liked being last. It only made Tabitha look at her snootily. "I think you phrased that rather badly..."

"Who knows..." she murmured, milky white eyes staring down at the table. "But anyway, I think it's about time I brought you up to scratch on things, don't you?"

"On what?"

Her answering grin was terrifying. "The reason you're here... in this esteemed place."

Sora peered around the room. "It doesn't seem all too esteemed to me... I didn't even know this place existed until like half an hour ago or something," she said, staring at the rough, worn brickwork and the faded purple drapes. The place seemed lifeless, if she was completely honest with herself. Faded and cracked with age – falling into disrepair.

Evangeline's smile faded, old, gnarled fingers pulling at the purple material puddling around her. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" she hummed to herself. "You know, this place used to be rather important," she said, tapping her fingers against the ground, pulling Sora's attention onto the slight indents in the ground, painted over in black. They formed an odd pattern. A sigil, her mind supplied. "But after that idiot Rhydian died..." She shook her head while Sora squinted at her.

Rhydian? Where had she heard that name before?

"Welcome to the Palace of the Dragon, dearie," she said, casting her hands out wide. "The old home of the Dragon King..."

Sora blinked, pieces of the puzzle clicking together in her mind. Dragon King Rhydian. She froze, taking in the sight of the room once more. She was inside a palace, apparently... according to a woman who'd just called one of the greatest figures in history an idiot. "Why would some cloaks be in a palace?"

"Who knows?" She grinned, yellowing teeth on full display.

Sora stared at her flatly. "You do?"

Evangeline sniggered. "Got it in one... but am I going to tell you everything? No." She shook her head. "There are some things you need to figure out for yourself."

"My favourite thing to do," she muttered, folding her arms.

"But I will tell you a bit, don't you worry," she continued without a care in the world. "This little test to find your cloak... it's different to all the others... why do you think this place was sealed off?"

Sora froze. "Wait... you mean we weren't supposed to get in here?"

Her grin widened. "Well... to break through that barrier at the age of sixteen... you'd have to be a monster to do that... and this place needs a little monster to take one of its cloaks."

"OK... So, like... Where are my other teammates? I'll be meeting up with them, won't I?" she asked, shivers racing down her spine as the anticipation built. "This test isn't too dangerous is it? Everyone will be able to pass... or fail... without too many injuries, right?"

"Each path has its own dangers," she said, fingers curling around the crystal sphere on the table. "But they wouldn't have opened if your teammates were unsuited for the cloak at the end. Your teammates will all have a chance at passing their tests, don't you worry. Whether they pass or fail is all down to them... besides... there isn't a single thing you could do about it now, anyway!"

Sora pressed her lips together, glaring at the smiling woman. She was far too calm. Far too carefree... Possibly going senile, but apparently had enough sense to tell her exactly what was going on.

"Can I just take my test and get this over with?" she asked, eager to leave the room and the strange old woman behind. Evangeline unnerved her with those milky eyes of hers and that cackle she did instead of laughing like any ordinary person would. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots, the nauseous feeling only growing worse the longer she sat there. What if she couldn't do the test? What if she was a failure? Tabitha would laugh at her and smear it in her face, just like how she'd always smeared Tabitha's head in the dirt, only the roles would be reversed. Tabitha would probably like that.

"Don't you want to know more about the little cloakies you're all going after...?" Evangeline tilted her head, staring at her curiously. "You know... so you can sound all leader-y when you meet back up with them?"

Sora bit her lip. Now that sounded tempting, though the other part of her just wanted it all to be over. "Just tell me everything you were planning on saying."

"Aww... Don'tcha want to work some of it out for yourself? Give that big brain of yours a workout?" A smirk pulled at her lips. "I guess not..."

"I wonder what gave that away."

Evangeline cackled. "I knew I'd like you, dearie. Well, before you get your knickers in a twist, you should know that these cloaks you're going after are a wee bit different to all the other ones the members of your cohort will find." Her nails drummed against the surface of the table. "Those cloaks are safe... rather boring, I know, but the tests they go through are rather simple, unlike the trial you're about to go through."

Sora swallowed audibly. "Just my luck..."

"Thing of the bragging rights though," she purred, stiffening on her seat seconds later. "Actually, it'd probably be best not to talk about any of this... at all."

Shivers ran down her spine. Sora didn't like where the conversation was going. Something in her brain was blaring the warning signals, and Sora knew it was wisest to listen to them. She had a sixth sense for danger, though she probably owed it to the sheer amount of troublesome situations she'd been caught up in. "Why?"

The smile slipped from the old woman's face. "Because of why they stayed."

Sora blinked. What was that supposed to mean?

"But anyway, moving on." She clapped her hands together gently. "Each of the cloaks carries their own secrets and names. Should you all pass your little tests, and team up with your missing member, then you'll be known collectively as the Misfits."

"That doesn't sound... demeaning or insulting in the slightest..."

Evangeline grinned. "Monster. Ifrits. Salamander. Fox. Inugami. Titan. Shenlong... know what they make?"

"Nope."

"Hm... I guess you aren't as intelligent as I thought... or maybe I'm getting confused with the future version of you..."

"Huh?" Sora stuttered. She'd heard that correctly, hadn't she? But then again, there was a more pressing issue at hand which soon occupied most of her attention... "Hey! I'm not stupid!"

"Take the first letter of each of those titles... and you get the word Misfits," she explained, ignoring her complaints, pulling out a deck of seven thick cards and laying them out on the table in front of her. "You might recognise these symbols if you paid enough attention outside." The sides facing up were a faded beige colour, runic symbols lining the borders, a black-lined sigil situated in the centre of each and every one of them. A circle with a crude drawing of fire drew her eye, brain clicking into gear as she made the connection. It was the same symbol which had let Raelynn tumble down into the earth. Fire. Salamander. "I see you've already worked one out..."

"Raelynn is going for the Salamander Cloak... I'm guessing the twins are going for the Ifrits, seeing as that's the only one which is a plural... I'm obviously slated for the Monster Cloak... no idea about the other... three? Wait." Sora paused, staring down at the cards. "Are we missing someone?"

"I did mention it before, but I guess you weren't paying attention," she said, sighing softly, a wicked grin still plastered on her face. "The Titan passed his test a while back... You'll probably run into him later if you get your cloak."

"Oh goodie."

Evangeline chuckled. "It'll be... interesting, no doubt... but I suppose I'm reaching my time limit... I can't keep you for too long... Your hair is already starting to prepare itself..."

Sora blinked again, hands going to her head, eyes widening when instead of the dull brown she was accustomed to, bright golden locks alarmingly similar to Tabitha's greeted her. "What... the actual hell?" she hissed. Dull and boring brown her hair might've been – but she liked it the way it was. "Give me my hair colour back!"

Evangeline only stared at her, shrugging her bony shoulders all the while. "Why are you so sure brown is the colour its meant to be?" she questioned, seemingly oblivious as the floor started to shake underneath them. Cracks appeared under her feet, her legs like jelly as she tried to move away from the unstable ground.

"Because I was born with it!"

"Hmm..." Evangeline hummed, waving cheerfully as if it wasn't like the building was about to come down on them at any second. "Well, in any case... don't forget to follow the string, and good luck!"

"Damn it, woman!" she yelped, screeching as tile gave way underneath her feet, hands scrabbling for purchase as the broken flooring revealed a gaping maw of blackness. What was it with the ground breaking apart under her team? Dimly, Sora could only hope the rest of her teammates were having a better time as gravity took effect, yanking her down into the darkness below. "You have got to be kidding meeeee..."