The Fall of RaDos

2

It took another several hours before the group had finally arrived in the Oasis capital of Nega-La. The defenders happened upon The Sleeping Sands Inn, where they would freshen up before heading back to the dojo in the morning. As the others parked their stormers out front and headed inside, Erik lagged behind, working on the bike maintenance.

Meanwhile, Rion bolted upstairs, almost tripping over his tan cape as he went. The remaining two took a seat outlooking the sleepy oasis.

Mel sighed as she sat down with Seth. The two positioned themselves across from one another.

"I'm worried about him."

"Who, Erik?" Seth smiled gently, "Trust me, Mel. He's the last person any of us need to be concerned about."

"I know, I know. He's gotten better, but still..." She swirled a straw around, before taking a sip from the accompanying cup.

"Mel," Seth leaned over, grasping her shoulder reassuringly with his good hand, "If he had an issue about... her... he would tell us. It's been almost half a year since she passed. He's said he's made peace with it, so let him be."

"You don't just make peace with that Seth," Mel retorted, bitterly. But it didn't take long for sadness to replace her anger. "Hell, I haven't made peace with it."

Her hand pressed against the window, her gaze following. Her silver-blue hair and golden skin reflected in the glass. Seth removed his hand from her shoulder, and took her chin in his hand, directing her eyes back to him.

"We all miss Kara, Mel. Greatly. But we have to remain focused on the now. We still have transmissions coming in at the dojo, meaning there are still people out there who need our help."

He smiled, "Besides, we have each other. Erik knows it, Rion knows it. You and I know it."

Mel sighed, "I know... Speaking of Rion, where is he?"

The youngest defender and a rambunctious kid, Rion already set out to cause mischief. While the others were resting, he'd set up a trap at the upper staircase where Erik's room was. When the teen would come up, an insectoid friend would be waiting for him.

It was perfect, given Erik's deathly fear of bugs. Meanwhile, he had traps set for Mel and Seth too– a bucket full of leftover gruel for Mel, and some silver coated fruit for Seth. 

In all honesty, though, Rion just wanted to lighten the mood. Although they still had to hunt the remaining sigil slayers, they'd won against the Ethos. The power hungry squid monsters from another dimension! The mood was too dreary for this victory.

Rion headed down to join the others, his pranks set for them later. As he stepped into the seating area, Mel caught sight of him and called him over.

"Hi Rion, the waitress took orders, but we didn't know what you all wanted, so we got everyone some hot curry."

"Thanks Mel." He snickered at the thought of her later, covered in the same slop.

Rion sat, gobbling down his meal. Seth had already finished his second plate, and the two kept the inn's staff busy.

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Mel watched the boys eating like pigs, and exhaled. Sometimes it amazed her how they could be defenders. But poor mannerisms didn't block Seth from his leadership skills or charm, nor Rion from his raw strength. She couldn't really complain. Though it would've been nice if either of them knew how to use a fork.

Erik soon came in after, wiping sweat from his brow as he entered. He sat down beside Seth looking down at his plate, half eaten in the plight of Seth's hunger. A serious expression plastered his face. 

Mel took notice first, to which point it took a moment for her to stop the other two from eating.

"What's wrong, Erik?"

There was a pause before he spoke.

"I think someone is modifying the Sigil Slayers." 

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A/N: For those who don't know, Kara is Erik's little sister. She sacrificed herself for his sake. 

For those who noticed, the chapter lengths are not consistent. Sometimes I struggle adding depth or description to a scene; this is amplified as the story is in a multi-facetted limited-third person perspective. Which means that it jumps from character to character.

I assure that this story isn't going to be less than 10,000 words though-- so just hang in there :)