When he heard no sounds of pursuit within fifteen minutes, Adair moved himself to a window that overlooked the front of the Great Hall.  Master Guilford was still standing out there, as were Natalia and Hyuga.  They weren’t planning to pursue?  No, they looked like they were just waiting around, but for what?  They must not have found Lethe and the others yet.  No doubt that Guilford would have bee-lined for her if he’d known where she was and what she was surrounded by.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Eight pairs of eyes stared at the ice chest in varying degrees of horror and shock.  Three boxes sat inside the chest and from each box, the eye of Sin stared at them from within Lillith’s symbol.  Someone finally summarized the entire situation: “Oh… Shit.”</span><br/><br/>If the Captain hadn’t ordered him out,<span style="font-style: italic">he</span>wouldn’t have left Lethe alone with those three boxes.  Maybe this was a good thing, Adair mused.  While Captain would undoubtedly be upset that Master Guilford had learned that the place was tainted, she’d be safer if the other Seraph knew to keep an eye for her.  He might even drop a hint or two that would let them move slower, or faster if need be, than normal since the other Seraph would have his eye on Lethe as well.<br/><br/>Eventually, Brynhildr and Alfrei returned from whatever task they’d been on.  Frustration was evident on the two Knights’ faces.  A wave of holy magic (<span style="font-style: italic">Absolve</span>? Was the taint of Sin what had tipped Master Guilford off?) drifted down from above and then the triple tank/rear guard squad appeared.  Team Prissy had re-assembled.  Unhappiness was evident among the other Knight squad, their actions and body language implying distrust.  If only he was close enough to read their lips but with this light and angle, he could only make out some words.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">”I don’t like it.” A scoff from the speaker. </span>Of course Brynhildr wouldn’t.  He felt a flash of irritation for the other Knight.  How was that girl a Vice Captain of a Seraph squad, or any squad for that matter?  She was so simple: Master Guilford good, anyone trying to take his attention away from her (and maybe her squad) bad.  Knighthood was about<span style="font-style: italic">duty</span>, not romance.<br/><span style="font-style: italic"> “I would under—Palaugrim—dangers”<br/>“point of teaming up? … another squad instead”</span><br/><br/>He couldn’t make out any more words from here, but Team Prissy’s displeasure was evident and, truth be told, it matched his own.  They didn’t know anything about Lethe and were disparaging her.  The Captain was going to subject herself to three purifications in less than twelve hours on top of most likely researching the entire night all for the sake of giving these ingrates a bit of fun because<span style="font-style: italic">they</span>had abandoned Squad Lethe at the gates of Jenault like leftover trash.  Was it any surprise his squad had wandered off?<br/><br/>Master Guilford also appeared upset, if the sudden shout of<span style="color: blue">“ENOUGH! All of you!”</span>, audible even from here, was any indication.  Whatever the purple haired Seraph said seemed to placate his squad and they quickly dispersed into a basic patrol format.  He’d have to decide what to do next.  But first, he needed to re-gather his own squadmates.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/>It was an hour before dawn and Seraphim was angrily pacing the length of her room.  Six steps one way, pivot, six steps back the other.  Her gloves creaked with stress as she flexed her hands.  Despite Adair’s orders, she had hidden herself close enough to Master Guilford’s squad to hear their… ‘discussion.’  While it was nice to have confirmed Lethe’s reason for hiding the boxes from Master Guilford, she still couldn’t get over what Team<span style="font-style: italic">Pain in the Ass</span>had said.  She clenched her hands into fists, wishing she had a good reason to punch one of them in the face.  (Ah, but then Lethe would be upset.  She’d have to do it discreetly.. or maybe ‘accidentally!’)<br/><br/>They knew nothing about Lethe or her squad and Team<span style="font-style: italic">P.I.T.A.</span>still disparaged the squad like… like<span style="font-style: italic">they</span>were any better.  She had heard Brynhildr’s report.  Maybe they knew about the existence of Sin here, but they definitely didn’t know about Akito’s covert operations.  It didn’t take a genius to guess why there were sin crystals here.  It was only a few hours from an abandoned but still usable dock. Ding ding ding!<br/><br/>Seraphim took up her pacing once more, resisting the urge to stomp around in frustration.  It would just get her unnecessary attention.  She couldn’t stay here any longer!  She crept to her window and closed her eyes to sense for any holy presences.  No Team<span style="font-style: italic">P.I.T.A</span>in range.  A visual scan confirmed her first assessment.  The pink-haired Knight slipped out of her window and started making her way to Akito’s house.  No reason she couldn’t be early.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>The rest of his squad members were milling around the multi-use room by the time Valiar walked in.  They were all holding cups of coffee and Cricket pointed blearily to a mug on the table by him.  The cleric took the offered cup and relished the first sip of coffee.  It was already loaded with sugar and cream.  “How’s everything?”  He asked as his eyes roved over the room.<br/><br/>YunQiao and Cricket looked the worse for wear of the group, at least until the Captain walked in.  She had taken the time to tidy her appearance, but no amount of makeup could hide the bags under her eyes from his eyes.  Six years with a woman and one started to pick these things up.<br/><br/>“Good.  We got both of them sealed.  Only one’s left, which you guys will be doing.  This barrier is suppressing magic, probably why it was so hard to find you guys originally, so it’ll probably take about two to three times more mental effort than you were anticipating.”  The lack of joking was another confirmation that their squad’s third tank was tired.  This entire debacle was tiring.<br/><br/>As the light of dawn started creeping through the windows, everyone got into their assigned positions.  Valiar, Adair, Seraphim, and Lethe—the last of the first Team Lethe—took up the cardinal points while the other four members flanked them at the intercardinal points.  Since everyone was present, the team had decided that keeping the other four at the edges to contain any taint or redirect wandering holy magic would be the best way to try to hurry the process along.  The last box was the largest of the three and it didn’t take a Hyuga to figure out the crystal inside was probably larger than the others as well.<br/><br/>Lethe crouched down by the box and carefully opened it, face turning away from the wave of taint it released.  Her cloak of<span style="font-style: italic">Prayer</span>flowed with the currents but kept any of the taint from reaching her.  She was about to call out her swords when she paused and stepped back in confusion.  With her body out of the way, the rest of her squad could see the crystal.<br/><br/>“Why’s it a flower..?”  Leon voiced the question in everyone’s minds.<br/>“Hydrangea.” Cricket clarified off handedly, his attention still on the crystallized flower like everyone else’s.  The hydrangea was dark red in color and either tinted or heavily flecked with black.  Evil radiated from the otherwise pretty crystal, even with the wall of<span style="font-style: italic">Radiance</span>around them.<br/><br/>A young voice suddenly spoke up from behind them: “Lily!”  They all turned to see a drowsy looking Momiji rubbing his eyes and staring at Lethe in glee.  “Lily! Lily!”  He cheered, running towards the woman.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>YunQiao looked at the happy boy running towards the Captain.  Lily?  Why lily?  The hydrangea looked nothing like a lily and with how plentiful lilies were in Jenault, how could Momiji mistake the other flower for a lily?  His gaze darted between the crystal, Lethe, and the stampeding young boy, trying to understand.  They’d never named Lethe in front of Momiji.  There was no way that flower could be mistaken for a lily.  The image of Lilith’s symbol flashed in his mind.  Lilith.<span style="text-decoration: underline">Lil</span>ith.  “Stop him!” He shouted, scrambling forward to try to catch the young boy.  He was on the opposite side of the circle from Momiji.  Leon startled at the sound and reached out as well but the kid evaded the Knight’s grasp with apparent ease.<br/><br/>Momiji slammed into a startled Lethe and knocked her onto the crystal.  A scream of pain filled the room as the crystal suddenly started crackling with black and red lightning.  Team Blonde only stared at the scene in frozen horror.<br/><br/>“Lily! Lily!”  The boy repeated happily, his shouts of joy barely audible over Lethe’s scream.  The boy shoved at the collapsed Knight with surprising ferocity, pushing her thigh in contact with the crystal.  The lightning only grew stronger as did their Captain’s scream.  By now, the crystal and Lethe were both covered in the bi-colored lightning which reached outwards, forming a sphere that forced the other Pristine Knights back.  Momiji’s little arms were raised in joy at the floating crystal, their captain apparently adhered to it at the places she’d been forced to touch it.<br/><br/>The lightning, and the aura of Sin, grew stronger and then burst outward.  The unconscious pressure of the barrier shattered under the strain only for the heavy presence of Sin to take its place.  Even under his mantle of<span style="font-style: italic">Prayer</span>and the remnants of the blown away<span style="font-style: italic">Repent</span>, YunQiao struggled to breathe through all the negativity.  The lightning coalesced into a pillar of black light that encompassed the crystal, Lethe, and the still delighted Momiji.  After about thirty seconds, the black light parted like curtains to reveal a barely-clad grinning redhead floating in the air.<br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://redjuice999.deviantart.com/art/CRIMSON-HARDCORE-ZERO-122245977"></a><a class="postlink" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/EvanescentBreeze/CreativeFreedom/sinLethe/Lillith_zps6963855c.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/>Lillith’s symbol was carved on her stomach like a tattoo. One hand was ringed with magic runes and the other cruelly grasped a seemingly unconscious Lethe, claws cutting into the captive’s flesh.  Her grin only grew wider as she looked down at the shocked Knights below her.  They were too far away to grab their Captain from the creature’s hand.  The manifestation raised her free hand and Sin’s eye stared down at them from among Lillith’s symbol before it was covered by a growing ball of red and black magic.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">“Seven Light infested ‘Pures.’”</span>Lilith mocked,<span style="color: red">“What a nice welcome back to the world present.”</span><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~</div><br/><br/>YunQiao stared at the rejoicing Sinner in front of him.  At any other time, the sight of a miniature Sinner about the height of his knee prancing ridiculously would have prompted a smile from even him.  Right now however, there was a battle raging on behind him with his Captain caught in Lilith’s grasp.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: silver">” you guys are the <span style="text-decoration: underline">best</span> squad I know.”</span> His Captain praised sincerely with a face lightened by laughter.<br/>A face full of mischief and triumph grinned at him.  <span style="color: silver"> “Three weeks!”</span> She crowed.<br/><span style="color: Blue">“I missed you guys too! Maurice, Pete,”</span>  A voice unfamiliar in its joy shouted out as the man knelt to hug the stampede of children.<br/><span style="color: silver"> “These havens that we can find in the world.. they’re something worth protecting.”   </span> A face cast in shadows, haunted blue eyes, and a smile full of sorrow.<br/>A scream of pain.  His captain dangling from Lillith’s claws like a broken doll as the miniature Sinner rejoiced far below.</span><br/><br/>YunQiao clenched his fists at the memories, eyes not seeing the prancing Sinner in front of him.  Horror and shame filled him even as fury burned within.  He couldn’t absolve it.  He couldn’t forgive Momiji for knowingly, purposefully pushing his Captain onto the crystal to release Lilith into the world.  With a snarl, the caster bound the miscreant in<span style="font-style: italic">Penance</span>and physically knocked the Sinner out with the flat of his blade.  He’d deal with it later.  More importantly for now, they needed to get their Captain out of Lillith’s hands.