Twilight felt her stomach lurch as she stepped out of the world in between the graves, appearing within Oed0n Tomb. She fell to one of her knees, her hand tight on her side as she looked up, sweat pouring down her face. It was like she’d just caught a fever, and at this point, she wouldn’t even be surprised.

Looking up though, she saw it was much… better than that. It was confirmation of a hypothesis of hers. That shade she’d seen back at the Hunter’s Workshop didn’t like her being here, something that she’d only chalked up to the desire these beings had to take over Equestria. Now though…

Twilight smiled, slowly standing up tall as she gazed upon the shifting fogs around her. Sure, she still felt weak, but when one does something great, they should make sure they watch their handiwork, instead of shunning its effects.

And the large beastman, twice her size, with claws half as long as her short cleaver, that screamed at her face made her quite proud of her accomplishment. This was Gascoigne, she could feel it. It was what she had stopped. What the music box had put to rest.

And now she was watching as this hell tried to handle it. Tried to deal with the change to it. A course of events it couldn’t reconcile, or just reset like the Cleric Beast. No, Twilight had denied whatever the fog had wanted to do in this place, and it sent chills of joy down her spine. She could do something here, instead of just being helpless to the beasts she faced.

The only problem she had with her joy was that while she could see she was denying these beings of their game, she still didn’t know how it happened, or what the fog caused in the first place. She shouldn’t be able to see Gascoigne fall in this beastial form just as much as her ability to revive back at the lamps made no sense.

For a moment, the hair around Twilight’s eye darkened before she brought a hand up, covering the pain. Calm down, Twilight. If you worry about this too much, you’ll go insane. This place is of pain, destruction, and for me to comprehend it… She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. There was no reason to dwell while she had a little girl to help.

She strode out of the tomb, heading back to the study that she had left Gascoigne. She’d been gone for maybe an hour at most, and that was while being extremely generous. Still, he was a pretty hardy old man, a pain in her neck reminding her just how true that was, so he could have woken up and walked off. The thought worried her, as she didn’t know how she had calmed him before, and doing the same trick twice didn’t always seem to work with this place.

Of course, to go with how terrible this place was, Gascoigne was indeed gone. Twilight rushed forward, knocking over some of the books and a chair as she tried to go to where he’d been. Placing a hand on the seat of the chair, she cursed, having hoped that maybe, just maybe he had somehow gone invisible. No luck though.

And then, she sniffed. Immediately she knew the sort of smell in the air, as she’d had it cling to her clothes all too often back at the magic circles in Canterlot. Incense, and it was powerful. So thick in fact was its potency, even like this, that she could taste its magic. It was a welcoming feeling, or it would be if it wasn’t where a father had been.

Fortunately, there was ladder, and she clambered up it, not caring about her hooves or bumping into the sides of the small hole it led into. Instead, she only kept her eyes forward, watching for any sign of the man she hoped to call friend.

And, there, halfway in a slightly ajar, well decorated door, was Gascoigne. Her horn lit up, but not to grab the hunter. Instead, Twilight used it to try to grip whatever had him, only bringing a small, strangled scream from the other side of the door. Her magic immediately dispelled itself as she threw open the heavy door, the muscles in her arm screaming as she looked down.

A man looked back, covered in a simple, dirty, full length cloak. His face was covered by the cowl of the gray cloth, as well as his hands, which were thrown up in obvious terror. Under his breath, Twilight could hear him mutter about how he knew he shouldn’t have left his chapel, and looked up.

Before her was a tall building, its vaulted ceiling at least a hundred feet above her. Balconies looked down upon her, their banisters cracked, but made of fine marble. Looking back to the open space before her, she could see small stairs lead up to a vaulted middle area where she could see an orator giving a speech to all of those around there that occupied the lower parts of the chapel.

And coating all of it: ash. The incense in the air was still just as powerful as before, probably due to the man who cowered below her having been the one to always set up the magical wards. In fact, Twilight could even see to her right a small area with at least ten pots of burning incense with a space inbetween them for someone to lay down, sleep, and probably pray at.

Twilight looked back down, before crouching towards the poor, pale man. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m used to this place having so many wicked people that I assumed you might be hurting my friend. Now, why don’t I help you move him.”

The man nodded furiously, weakly crawling away from Twilight. She could hear his labored breathing and felt bad for him for a moment. How long had he been here? How much had this possible act of kindness hurt him, especially for trying to get a body up the ladder behind her? It only made her attack on him all the worse.

Not that he seemed to mind as he gestured to one the banisters on the corners of the raised platform. It warmed her heart that he would put Gascoigne above himself, and the banister would allow him to sit up, so he might be a little more comfortable like this, even if the chair might have been softer.

Twilight set him down, before going to the middle of the platform where she had spotted one of her small lamps. It seemed a little silly for there to be one here with another at the tomb, but then again…

Twilight breathed in deeply, sighing out as she heard the name ‘Oedon Chapel’ ring in her ears. It welcomed her home, and her magic sparked, excited to be past Central Yharnam at least. She only had one more thing to take care of there, and then she could just head forward.

The small man cleared his throat, before the act made him cough. After the small fit though, he did speak. “D-Do not worry about your friend. I just wanted to bring him to where my incense could protect him, as the beasts seem to hate the scent. In fact,” a small smile slipped onto his face, “I’m happy to see that you enjoy it.”

Twilight smiled, her eyes darting to her fur covered hands. It was nice to have a way now to possibly show someone that she was safe, instead of them just having to believe that she would become what Gascoigne could have, or at least what the Nightmare Fog had shown her he could. “And I thank you for trying to help him. If I can return the favor, then please, do not hesitate to call upon Twilight the Huntress.”

Her tongue ran across her lips, slightly enjoying the title, before it turned bitter. She supposed it was much like how these hunters ended up. Even that nice one…

The man nodded, returning to his little alcove as he spoke. “It’s nice to meet you, and my name is of no import. I simply seek to protect myself and others, so if you wish to help me, tell those you find who seek somewhere safe that they may come here.”

Twilight nodded, already having two people in mind to possibly bring here, even if one was… rude, to say the least. “I’ll keep it in mind. For now though, I should head back. I have someone to go grab for my friend.”

“Oh, is it Henryk?” The dweller recoiled as Twilight sharply turned back to him, and he waved his hands. “I-It was the name your friend was saying in his sleep. If that’s not the case, than that’s fine.”

Twilight bit into her cheek. She’d heard the name before, but she couldn’t put it together. She thanked the distraction though as she headed down the ladder and back to the tomb, She would grab the chest later, but a little girl was waiting for her and-

The screech of metal against stone interrupted her thoughts, before a male and female voice, the latter which sounded possibly familiar, shouted at each other.

“They didn’t deserve! He good man!”

“Just like you are, while you try to mindlessly rip me apart. You can barely speak you’re so close to transforming. Besides, do you really think it wasn’t his hand that killed her?”

“Shut up, birdy!”

Twilight ran out, her eyes wide as she watched the two below her. Neither were going to notice her up here, not with how they were locked in combat. The crow woman was indeed back, her twin daggers flashing as she danced around the other hunter. However, any blow that caught under the insane man’s yellow clothes brought little blood out, and Twilight knew first hand how fragile she was.

And, as the man’s Saw Cleaver shredded a tombstone, Twilight knew the fight could go either way. The man had talked about them, and him, and a good man… Had he seen the corpse of Gascoigne’s wife? Could this man, as far gone as he was… be Henryk?

She would need to make a choice soon though, before they made it for her.

1) Join sides with the man who may be Henryk to take care of the ‘Hunter of Hunters’ who had killed her before.
2) Join the crow clad hunter against her foe. Twilight at least knew she had good intentions, and this man was too far gone for reason.
~~3) Wait for one to die, before coming down to finish off the other. They both were threats, and she could get something useful off of their corpses.~~
4) Stop the two fools. I’ve changed this place’s fate once, so maybe I can do it again and find out who this man really is, while also saving the feather covered woman again.

Author's Note

And yes, option 4 could have been the one crossed out. Also, Twilight's beginning to put things together, a dangerous thing for one who has so long to go. Of course, it may be better than the confusion and fear that she had to begin with, like all new people to these sorts of games.

Also, this is one of three stories on this site I have on an informal update list, as I'm, contrasting from what the last chapter said, no longer full time, and even getting to go back to school, though not college, so I can focus on my personal projects more, such as this one and the one linked above.

Final note, as someone was absolutely right about this, Twilight has 20 Quicksilver Bullets thanks to the pile of them on the bridge.