"One hundred and sixty-three enchanters of various specialties and schools were rescued. We can only assume that this branch is not the only instance of such practices." – Jay making a report to Thalla Stormwatch.

Kurt and the girls were sitting in the large work room that they had first seen when entering the underground portion of the guild building. Most of the central area had been cleared of the debris that was left from fighting the ogres. He wasn't sure what happened to the bodies of those giants but also wasn't exactly too interested, given his current predicament.

Kristi stood up after having leaned over his hand for several minutes, poking and prodding at it. "I have no idea how she has attached herself to you. It's like a spell or something. I know it isn't her natural strength or anything since she is currently unconscious."

Kurt sighed and rubbed his face with his other hand. "Then I guess I am stuck here." He looked around at the several cots that had been set up with wounded on them and the several medics hovering around. Naturally he was here because he had been injured, though only his clothes showed the evidence. The small woman attached to his wrist was also still being treated.

"I don't know, this is awful close to some uncensored hand holding." Val said while poking at the small hand wrapped around his wrist. The smirk on her face told him she was more amused than jealous. "So, are you going to just be stuck here or…?"

"I don't know." Kurt admitted. "There isn't anything else to clear out and it sounds like the other three squads handled the upper floors just fine."

While Kurt hadn't been able to move much, he was still able to listen and communicate on the radio. He had found out that the lower level he was currently on was actually the lowest of the building. Above them was a warehouse and the ground floor lobby with its shops above that.

The forces with Kurt had cleared out the two work rooms, a small set of support rooms and storage, the guard quarters and even the prison cells almost immediately when the raid started. The rest of the building had taken the rest of the forces going floor to floor to pacify them. There wasn't any fighting on those floors but there were a lot of confused and panicking people up there.

Kurt looked over to the benches that had been set up for the survivors to rest on while they finished cleaning up and figuring out who was who. One of Jade's people had the bright idea to grab several of the former prisoners and have them help look for others, while pointing out any lingering guild staff that were trying to blend in. He had asked them if they knew about the woman he had found in the cell but none of them recognized her and didn't even know about the other holding area.

Despite them not knowing about the other cells, the former prisoners did share why they were there. Almost every single one of them had been abducted or captured by the guild in some way. There were a few who had been normal guild employees who were 'troublesome' and thus condemned to this place as punishment.

The guild was essentially forcing them to make enchanted items of various types but of decent quality. Their apparent goal was to use this slave labor to stockpile items and control all the markets for enchanted goods. Several of the people shared that they frequently were assigned to the warehouse above to transport product and prepare shipments.

From the sounds of it, many of them had done exactly what Kurt did and refused the guild membership. The problem was, they weren't able to muscle their way out of problems like he could. Most of the people down here were humans, elves and a few of the other races not known for personal strength. Only a couple were dwarves or the various types of beast-kin. Kurt's little introspection was interrupted by the elevator doors dinging open, revealing a very familiar demon.

Jay stepped out with Penny hot on his heels. Behind her was Kevin, Jay's assistant who seemed to shadow him everywhere. They paused to take in the scene, looking over the masses of wounded and other prisoners. A moment later, Jay spotted Kurt, and they hustled over.

"What happened to you?" Jay asked after approaching the cot he was sitting on.

Val answered before Kurt could even begin to form words. "He learned that it's time to get some body armor." Her tone was light and joking but the look she aimed at Kurt was anything but humorous.

Jay looked Kurt over, noting the shredded and bloody parts of his uniform. "I see." He then looked down to his other hand. "And what is happening here?"

"Can't get her off." Kurt said and instantly regretted his choice of words.

"It's not a problem he normally has with women." Kristi immediately blurted.

Val piled on a split second later. "Normally he had a one hundred percent success rate with getting girls off."

Kurt groaned and face palmed as they bantered back and forth a bit, throwing out corny puns and one liners. He got a sympathetic look from Penny and a moment later he just decided to ignore them and talk over their increasing volume.

"Anyway, we found her in a cell. She was the only survivor of five people that a guard was executing before we got to them." Kurt explained. "I managed to save her but in the brief time she was conscious, she somehow attached herself to me."

He lifted his arm to show the hand wrapped around his wrist. Jay leaned in and took a look, poking where their skin met with his finger. "Hmm. I have seen this before. Can you see magic at all?"

Shaking his head, Kurt answered that he did not. Jay continued to explain regardless. "Too bad, it would help you see the spell structure she used."

"What kind of spell is it?" Kurt asked, hoping there was a solution.

"It's a spell that binds the caster to something. Think of it like how some people handcuff a briefcase to themselves to prevent it being lost or stolen." Jay explained. "Normally this type is used for bonding one's weapon or tool to them, but it can also be used to ensure good grip on a slippery surface."

While the information was nice to know, Kurt was looking for more practical solutions. "How do we turn it off?"

"That's the neat part, you don't." Jay said with a smirk.

Groaning, Kurt hung his head. "So, I am stuck with her on me until she wakes up and casts the counter spell?"

"Oh, I didn't say that. I can get you out of there, but it won't be the most pleasant experience." He elaborated after seeing the grimace on Kurt's face. "Don't worry, it will heal quickly, and you won't be left with any major scars."

"Just do it." Kurt sighed and held up his arm.

He watched as Jay curled his fingers into a 'C' shape and swiped his hand over the arm, stopping after butting up against the unconscious woman's hand. He felt a dull ache, followed immediately by a prickling and burning sensation under where the hand gripped his wrist.

"Yowch! FUCK!." Kurt roared and yanked his arm away out of reflex. The pain ceased a moment later and he looked down to see the skin of his wrist beginning to regenerate. "What the hell was that?"

Jay picked up the woman's hand and turned it over, inspecting her palm while he answered. "She bonded her hand to you via the skin of your arm. I just spatially separated the skin under her hand from the rest of you. Aaaaaannnnnnnddd… here we go."

Jay reached into the still semi closed fist of the fey and pulled out what looked like a rolled-up bit of rawhide. He then set it on a tray that was next to the cot before using a bottle of hand sanitizer. "After you were removed from the bond, the magic overloaded what was left before petering out. That is all that remains of what she bonded too."

As if his words were the magical life water needed to resurrect the dead, the tiny fey woman sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Naturally the first thing she saw was Jay, still hovering over her with a bottle of hand sanitizer. She panicked, head whipping back and forth until she spotted Kurt with Val and Kristi standing right behind him.

When her eyes fell upon Kurt, the pupils suddenly dilated and both her ears swiveled to point right at him. He knew he should say something, anything would be good to help break the tension.

"Uhhhh… Hi." Turns out saying anything was probably not a hundred percent guaranteed to work, and he could hear Val face palm so Kurt quickly followed up. "My name is Kurt. We are shutting down the Enchanters Guild. What is your name?"

He was very careful not to say he was there to rescue her as he still had no idea why she was locked in a cell to begin with. Also, the fact that a guard tried to kill her rather than let her free still made him wonder about her history with the guild.

The woman looked around a little, her ears rotating slightly and she flinched at every sudden or loud noise before she answered. "M-my n-n-name is Eal' Vitanna." She said, taking great care not to stutter while slowly annunciating her name. That made Kurt think it held some importance to her.

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Her answer also confirmed Kurt's previous suspicion that she was some sort of fey, though of a variety he had never seen. Her accent was hard to place, and he would have to hear her talk more to learn anything else. "It is nice to meet you. Can you tell me why you were kept separate from the others and why they tried to kill you?" He didn't like pushing for this information but in the end, it had to be done.

"Because…" She glanced around her, looking at the nearby people as if they would suddenly try to murder her. "Because I am a half breed and a poor duplication enchanter." She answered in a whispering tone, hanging her head and closing her eyes, wincing away like she was about to be struck.

Kurt appreciated the honesty and candid answer. He unfortunately had no idea how to respond to that and how the woman was acting. Thankfully Val came to the rescue.

"Well then you are in good hands." She said in a soft voice while kneeling in front of the cot. "We are also hybrids and Kurt there is an enchanter. Why don't we find somewhere nice and quiet to talk." Val held out her hand and the fey woman took it, seemingly on reflex, allowing herself to be pulled upright.

The transition from sit to stand apparently made the wound in her stomach flare up because Eal' Vitanna stopped suddenly and winced. She glanced down and seemed to notice for the first time that there was a massive hole in her dress.

With a frightened squeak, she covered herself as best she could with her hands. She flushed all the way up to where her ears met the side of her head, the coloring showing clearly through the fuzz that covered most of her skin.

Kurt summoned one of the large, hooded surf towels out of his ring and draped it over her shoulders, easily covering the petite woman. Val then continued to lead her off to one of the side rooms that still had its door attached. Jay and Penny followed along behind them. The demon had a curious look about him while their handler wore a more concerned expression.

Once inside, Kristi helped her into a chair and produced a bottle of water for her. This time, unlike when Kurt summoned the towel, Eal' Vitanna's eyes widened at the motion, and she seemed to look for how the 'trick' was being performed.

"Y-you are also half-breeds?" She asked when Kristi and Val settled into their seats in front of her.

"You betcha." Val said. "I am dark-elf and kitsune. I get the fox from my mother." She summoned her ears and tail along with showing her more fox-like feet, taking off her boot.

"My mother is a dragon-newt and my sire was an angel." Kristi said while allowing her scales to ripple out over her skin. "Kurt is a half elf who got a pretty odd case of lycanthropy and is a variant of werewolf." She pointed to Kurt over her shoulder as he listened with half an ear and talked with Penny about the next steps.

"How about you, Eal' Vitanna?" Val asked in return.

"Umm, you can call me Anna. It's what my friends called me." She said, growing a little more at ease with the frank admittance of their nature. "As you can tell I am half, and my mother was a lynx type nekomata. If you didn't notice by my markings and features." She pointed at her tufted ears and short tail flicking around under the towel.

"And that makes your dad…" Val began but Anna cut her off.

"Fey and a bit of a freak." She laughed despite herself.

Kristi laughed politely. "If you say so, Anna. Where are your friends or do you have any family that we can talk to and maybe get you a place to stay?"

Anna shook her head. "My mom died shortly after I was born, and my father was driven from court and assassinated some years ago. My friends turned out to not be my friends when they found out about…" She pointed again to her ears. "That's how I ended up here."

Val and Kristi shared a look before the kitsune pressed a little. "How exactly did you end up here?"

"I was captured by the guild when their enforcers came to break up our protest. I was working as an enchanter and mage's assistant when the guild tried to muscle in on our city. That was months ago, before they kidnapped me and shipped me here. It's been a string of enchanting and torture ever since." Anna pulled her knees up to her chest and shivered under the towel.

Kristi had a hard look in her eye and her jaw set in a scowl. "Why were they torturing you? None of the others mentioned more than the occasional beating for slacking off."

Anna took a few moments to respond, seemingly contemplating how much she wanted to share. "Because I enchant in spell layers and make perfect duplicate copies of items. The problem is, I can't copy other things, only my own work and its always a bit… odd."

"What do you mean odd?" Val asked and summoned one of Kurt's sweatshirts she had stolen and some yoga pants. She noted the curious look that Anna cast from the sudden appearance of more stuff.

"F-first can you tell me how you keep making this stuff? I know it can be made directly from mana but the cost is exorbitant."

"Oh, it's these." Kurt said. He had finished talking with Penny and decided to join the conversation. He held up his hand and pointed to the storage ring. "I developed a storage ring. We all have them."

Anna stared at the small band of dull silver metal. "But… how?" She added on to her question a moment later. "How did you do that? The guild has been working on that for decades if not longer."

Kurt smiled kindly as he put his ring back on. "Personal secret, maybe I will share some time." He then gestured to Val. "Can you answer her question?"

"Umm, yeah." Anna swallowed hard after tearing her eyes from the ring. "All my items come out a bit wonky and require certain… things to function."

Val asked for some examples and Anna elaborated. "Well, I made something I called a switchblade. It's a weapon with three forms but it requires certain, ah, phrases to change forms. It has a knife form, a sword form and a spear form."

"Ok, that doesn't seem odd." Kurt said while wondering what was wrong with that.

"The phrase to go from knife to sword is, and I quote: 'That's not a knife'" She said the line in a cheesy Australian accent that Kurt instantly recognized. Apparently, Anna noticed he recognized it and went silent.

"Haaha. And what's the one for the spear?" Kurt said, unable to suppress a chuckle at the movie reference.

"Umm, you have to say in at least a normal speaking volume 'I need some shaft' while holding the knife or sword." Anna winced at the silence that followed. She was expecting to be beaten again and definitely didn't expect to hear the room burst into fits of giggles.

"Oh, aahhhahahaha. Please t-tell me you have more." Val forced out between fits of giggles.

"Umm, I had a bracelet that turned you invisible, but you had to do this." Anna then pantomimed the hand motions of a particular pro wrestler who was notoriously hard to see.

Their amusement was cut short by a sudden commotion from down the hall. Penny and Kurt both stepped out to see what was happening and returned a few minutes later after much shouting and some general grumbling. They both came back into the room with looks of concern on their faces.

"We, ah, might have a problem." Kurt said to Jay. "The captives started getting rowdy when some of the recovery team began to get them ready to move out of the building. Apparently, there is something keeping them from leaving."

"The implant." Anna muttered. When everyone in the room looked at her, she elaborated. "Not sure about the others but when I got here, they shoved an enchanted bit of metal in me, just between the shoulder blades."

Jay's face scrunched in confusion. "What does is do?"

Anna considered for a second before sharing her thoughts. "I never felt anything from mine but I was told that it would keep me here and if I escaped, it would kill me. It also suppresses any spell casting that I might have tried outside of the work areas." She turned around and pointed with her fingers to a spot just beside her spine where she couldn't quite reach with her hands.

"Well, that's diabolical." Jay commented dryly. "Can you stand up over here, please?"

When Anna didn't move closer, Val took her hand and reassured her that everything was going to be fine and even went with her. Jay extended his thumb and index fingers of each hand, touching them together like a photographer trying to find a good shot. A yellow field of transparent mana appeared between his fingers, and he spread them apart, expanding the little rectangle to something around the size of printer paper.

Moving the strange floating rectangle around, Jay scanned up and down Anna's body. He had her rotate around and even move her arms and bend over a little while he looked through his screen.

"Well, there's your problem. Right there." He pointed to a spot on his screen and shuffled around to show everyone.

Kurt leaned in to see what looked like an elongated oval that was nearly an eighth of an inch thick, an inch wide and three inches long. It was sitting right alongside her spine and appeared to be sitting atop the muscle layer, if he was seeing things correctly.

"Yeah, that's it. But how do we get it out?" He asked dryly. "I don't think our new friend wants to go under the knife again after everything she has already been through."

Jay was seemingly only half paying attention as he studied the image. "Hmm? Oh, that's easy. You might feel a slight pinch." He said and suddenly snapped his fingers and flicked his wrist while pulling downward.

"YEEP!" Anna screeched at the sudden cold sensation that was immediately followed by a warm tingle. She tried to rub the spot but failed miserably since she still couldn't reach it.

A split second later, they heard a soft 'tink' as something metal fell on the concrete floor. Kurt looked down to see a slightly bloody oval tag right below Anna. He pulled out another rubber glove and bent down to pick it up. He noted immediately that it was very light and assumed it was titanium, since aluminum would corrode inside the body.

After studying the odd tag and the several inscriptions along both sides, Kurt looked up to Jay. "Can I keep this one? I want to study these inscriptions and see how they did this. I recognize the tracking spell, and I think this one is a type of disruption spell, but I want to know how they set it all up."

Jay shrugged. "Fine by me. Besides, I think we are about to have a whole lot of samples." He then grabbed his floating screen by the corner and walked back into the hall. "You guys can head out if you want. I am going to get this taken care of, and the squads can help settle people into temporary housing in the barracks."

At the mention of a barracks, Anna's ears drooped and tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. She did not look happy about going to some strange open bay of a room with a bunch of strangers. Val immediately took pity on the poor girl.

"Oh, sweetie." She said and wrapped an arm around her. "Would you rather come home with us? We have a guest room that you can stay in."

"C-can I?" Anna sniffled. She wasn't expecting the kind gesture but greatly appreciated having the offer of a safe place. She knew that these people were powerful enough to protect her and so far seemed to be nice.

Val nodded. "Sure thing, how about you put these on, and we can get out of here. We will get you fed, bathed and in a nice comfy bed."

Kurt stepped out of the room with Penny while Anna changed into the clothes that Val gave her. They emerged a moment later with a much more confident looking Anna in tow. Val and Kristi formed up on either side of her and they began to make their way to the elevator but were stopped by an unfamiliar person.

"Are you Kurt?" Asked a rather tall gargoyle.

"Yes. Who are you?" He replied with a little caution in his tone.

Jay turned around from where he was standing over a small pile of metal tags and a line of former prisoners. "Kurt, this is Casitor, my boss."

"Ah, well sorry to be meeting you under such… conditions." Kurt gestured to his tattered clothes and the general destruction around them.

Casitor just rolled his eyes. "It's fine but before you clock out, I need to ask you some questions and get them on record. Can't have a war starting when we don't have the facts straight."

Kurt wasn't sure about the whole war thing, but he turned to Val. "You guys go ahead. I will follow when we are done here. Make sure Anna gets everything she needs."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, no reason to keep you guys here and she needs to begin to decompress." Kurt said while nodding to Anna as she tried to hide under the sweater's hood.

Val shared a glance with Kristi who nodded. "Ok, but don't be long and keep us updated."

"I will do my best." Casitor answered. "Let's go young man, the sooner we get started, the sooner we can get the hell out of here."

Kurt shared a quick hug and kiss with both Kristi and Val before following after the old gargoyle. He really hoped this wouldn't take long.

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