It was dark, incredibly dark. It was also damp, not to mention humid despite the lack of light. Those things, however, came nowhere close to how bad the smell was in the place. It reeked as bad as Fluttershy's animals when they rolled around in their feces and yet even that comparison seemed not to do the horrid stench justice. If it wasn't for the fact that she was bound, gagged, and blindfolded; Sunset would have lost most of what she ate that morning and last night. She could hear voices but, whatever magic Bix had used before seemed to have worn off or only worked with him. All she could tell was that they were moving around in a hurry, and the room itself was either cement or marble from what she could feel.

Sunset had tried to go around the whole place only to be kicked without warning when she reached a certain point. She had started to fight back at once but, was quickly beaten down by some of her "guards" and thrown to the back of the room once again. She decided against doing anything else that might provoke them and just leaned against the wall behind her. Not knowing how much time had passed was the worst of it, when they caught her it was still near noon. Now, it felt as if enough time had passed for it to be night or somewhere near it from the temperature drop. Though, whether or not that was true, she couldn't tell because of the stench and humidity of the room itself.

She sat in the corner wondering where Spike was and what had kept him so long. The boys weren't all that malicious which was evident by them feeding her, at least, some soup. She appreciated it but, at the same time she had to be held down and fed like a baby due to her trying to break free. All of the silence and inactivity gave her time to think about a lot of things.

"When Spike gets here I'll make sure he doesn't hurt them much. I just hope he doesn't kill any of them. The little guy has changed so much in the time he was gone. I wonder what Twilight or the girls would say if they could see him now. I'm sure they would happy but, would they accept him the way he is now?"

She wiggled around the room feeling for a corner and found one right away. As she propped herself against it, she started to relax a little. It was going to be a long wait, they had gone in search of Spike for ransom but, there was no telling where he was in this city. Even after most of the things the dragon had told her of his time in this world, he had skipped major parts of his time here and ultimately left her in the dark about his past. She didn't like it but, she knew better than to pry something that upset him so much.

"Hurry and get here Spike." She said before falling asleep in the corner of the room.

The sleeping powder the boys put in her soup had taken effect. They hadn't put it in there to do anything cruel. They just did it because they would rather not worry about her thrashing about every chance she got.

"She out?" Bix asked the boys that he left to guard Sunset.

"Yea, she is. Finally, I thought for sure that beating we gave her would tire her out. At least, with this, she'll be quiet for the rest of the night."

"Hope you guys ain't left any bruises, would hate to explain that to that lizard of hers. Sam and Lester aren't back yet, and it's already been three hours."

"I wouldn't worry Bix; they probably got lost again. Ain't exactly easy to predict when the city changes unless you got something like that ring you found."

"True, but I still don't like it. Be ready just in case something goes down. If he tries to bust in here, make sure to move her. I need that lizard compliant for what we gotta do next."

Bix left the basement and went back upstairs, leaving the two guards to their work. He headed towards the dining area of the hideout to snack on something and talk to the rest of the gang before Sam and Lester showed up with the lizard. As he walked through the rooms, he took note of all the kids that occupied them. Each one either abandoned or orphans due to the death of a family. Freedonia was never kind, the chaos it took pride in had taken a toll on all of its citizens. Driving more than half of them mad with all the ways it had to confuse anyone unlucky enough to walk into the city without proper countermeasures. The rest of the people in the city were either visitors or dungeon delvers. Both always lost something in this city, whether it was their sanity or family, the city always took something.

"Bix, any word from Sam and Lester?" asked a girl blonde haired girl that peeked out from one of the rooms.

"Nothing yet but, I'm sure they're on the way back. How are the rest the kids doing?"

"Not bad today compared to last week. I need to get them some form of medicine. There is only so much we can do without either that or an apologist on hand."

"I know, I wish there was something more I could do but, last time we tried to break into the hospital we didn't even make it past the entrance. It also didn't help that any and all apologists are rare all across the Domains. The only reason they come is to dungeon dive and if they're lucky to get out of that alive."

The girl could see the conflicting emotions Bix was going through. It made her feel awful for bringing the subject up again as she knew that he was doing everything he could to help. He had saved all of them from starving and even went as far as setting up this hideout in one of the poorer districts. It had taken most of his stash that he'd stolen throughout the years but, he was always proud that he did so in the end.

"Ok Bix, sorry for being so persistent about these things." She vanished into the room and closed the door.

Bix lingered in front of the door trying to ignore the sounds of pain and coughing coming from the other side. Inside were more than half of his friends and family losing to an unknown disease that appeared after one of their usual theft ventures. It had started small only claiming two people but, it spread fast. It had taken all of them to try and isolate all the infected and realize how it was spread. It still confused him but, that was something he got over quickly as seeing him in such a state put the rest of children in a panic.

He started to walk to the dining area again trying to ignore the pleas for help that echoed in his mind from kids already gone. It would always haunt him as he could not do anything to cure them. He knew the cause and how it spread but, it was impossible to stop it unless the source was destroyed, the medicine was taken, or an apologist was present to help. They tried to ask any of the passing apologists for help but, due to the city's reputation, it was always in vain.

"Alright everybody, listen up!" Bix said as he walked into the dining area gaining the attention of everyone present. "When that lizard shows up, make sure not to give hints as to where the girl is, we need that thing to do what we want by any means."

"What if he just comes in swinging?" a voice rang out

"Well, we either threaten him by hurting the girl or kill them both. I would prefer we didn't kill them. We don't come across monsters like that often, especially those that seem far more intelligent than the average paradox beast. Not to mention the girl just wanted her stuff back."

"I get ya Bix; I wouldn't want to kill her if I could help it either. She seemed like a nice enough lady." Answered another voice from the crowd.

"Alright then, just get ready for when they get back. I don't want any one of you lousy misfits to die before we take care of our biggest problem." Bix finished addressing the gang and set off to get ready for the inevitable return of the lizard.

Whether it was with the two boys or by himself, Bix wanted everyone to be prepared in case of things quickly going south. It had taken a long time to come up with a plan to cure everyone and get enough loot to tie them over for winter. The only problem was the apparent lack of muscle and combat experience that the children required. Bix had some experience in battle but, it was mostly murders and escaping anyone trying to cut him down. It wasn't enough to only have one person with experience, so he kept searching for someone with enough of it to go through with the plan. He was more than happily surprised when that someone turned out to be something in the form of a giant purple lizard. Even more ecstatic when he saw the girl and noticed her apparent lack of any experience.

It was only obvious to him that Sunset herself was either sheltered or had some amnesia. The world was never peaceful enough for her not to see death otherwise. That, of course, made her the perfect bait for the lizard to come to him. Convincing the big creature would be a task in itself but, he couldn't afford any mistakes. The kids were counting on him, and he had run out of options. Before he could think of anything else, there was a loud crash from the window entrance that they had caught Sunset. All at once several people ran with weapons in hand, and Bix followed shortly after to investigate the noise.

"What's going on?!" Bix yelled as he burst into the room to find a circle of people around the entrance. He stepped past them to find a tall boy out of breath and slightly severely beaten.

"What in the name of Kallista happened?" he yelled trying to get the tall boy to stand with help from the others. "Lester?" he asked

"That lizard beat us something awful, I managed to try and slice him in the face when he picked me up, and we ran when he got spooked. We split up and ran back here, not sure where the other guy is, for all I know he's still running." Answered the lanky boy as he leaned on Bix for support.

"Is that so…?" Bix stopped and readjusted for the tall boy while making a motion with his free hand to the others. All of them ran out and disappeared into the inner chambers of the house. Bix led the boy downstairs and into the dining area where he sat him down.

"Does he know where we are? Did you tell him anything?" He asked as he poured some water and slid it in front of the battered boy.

"We just mentioned we had his girl, and then he went crazy. We should give her back; it's not worth the trouble." Answered the boy as he took small sips of the water.

"What about Sam? Do you know how far he went or if that thing went after him?" Bix asked with an intense look in his eyes. The look made the lanky boy shrink slightly but, he was otherwise unaffected by it.

"I don't know if he was chased or not but, with me being here I think the lizard went after him instead of me. I'm lucky to be back alive; that thing was crazy. I'm telling you we should give him back that girl. Where is she?" at this point the boy had gotten composed, and the room was filled with the crowd that had disappeared before. All of them with slightly worried looks or serious expressions.

"Really now? I guess we should do that then… tell me Lester. If that big dumb lizard went after Sam then why are you here? Why aren't you out there?" Bix motioned to the group around him and they all silently agreed.

"I told you, it was all I could do just to get away from the damn thing. I panicked and just came back as fast as my legs could take me. I know I shouldn't have separated from him but, I didn't know what to do." Lester had a look of anguish on his face, not knowing the fate of his friend and realizing his cowardice was taking a toll on him.

"Well then, I guess you couldn't help it then." Bix stood up and walked towards the door at which Lester tried to follow after him. "No, no, just relax for now. It's not like we have to worry so much about the damn thing. Isn't that right boys?" He said aloud, and the room loudly agreed.

Once the noise that came from the response died, Bix snapped his fingers, and all of the boys jumped at Lester. They held him down for all they were worth, and Lester screamed at the action.

"What the hell are you doing?! What's going on?!" Lester yelled and struggled to break free from the crowd.

"Let's just stop playing these games lizard, I don't know how something like you got a hold of such a rare spell but, I know you should have thought this plan out a little more." Bix said with a slight frown on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about? Let me go?!" cried Lester as he was forced further to the ground as the boys kept slamming him down.

"Lester, Lester, Lester, my dear friend, if you are who you say you are then it wouldn't have come to this. I mean come on, it was pretty easy to figure out. Especially when you're supposed to be Sam and Lester is the one the lizard should be chasing."

All at once the struggle stopped, and boys looked down at their captive. They saw his body stretch, and his skin turn into cold, hard scales. The clothes were being ripped, and it took more of them to cover the body.

"I knew I should've asked for their names, then again I didn't think you kids had any names whatsoever since you're all urchins." The boy now dragon said, forcing his way up and scattering the pile of children that were trying to force him down.

"Where is Sunset?" yelled Spike staring down the boy caught by his tail.

"Le…let g.go…you freak." Was all the lanky boy choked out Spike tightened the grip his tail had on kid's neck.

The smaller boy was struggling to break free from Spike's grasp but, was knocked out as a fist slammed into his stomach. It was a bit disgusting when the kid barfed due to the impact but, it gave Spike time to deal with the other one.

"Listen, kid; I'll only ask one more time before I start getting violent. Where is she?"

The boy still caught by the tail calmed down when the grip loosened a bit. He looked as if he was ready to talk but, refused and only gave a look of utter hatred.

"I won't say shit to a beast like you. Let us go otherwise who knows what she could experience if we don't go back in one piece."

"Kid, both of you aren't in a position to tell me what to do at all. You urchins took my stuff and while I would have let that slide if I got some things out first. Now, you have my friend, and I'm losing my patience. So either show me where you're keeping her or I explain to your friend why I had an early dinner and ask him instead."

The kid seemed to panic but, remained silent. Spike had to give him some respect; it wasn't every day he encountered someone not intimidated at the sight of a giant lizard regardless of whether they knew he was typically non-hostile. As he was still trying to think of what he could do before actually resorting to violence, the portly kid started to stir.

"Uhmmgm…" came from his left as the boy stirred.

Spike immediately knocked him out before he could do anything to help his friend. The boy in his tail didn't seem to like that and thrashed violently trying to get enough room to speak. As Spike raised the boy caught in his tail out of the way he saw a flash of silver and a sudden pain traveled through his body. In that moment, he released the hold his tail had on the boy and saw him drop with a thud. He searched for the cause of the pain and saw a knife with inscriptions belonging to the church. The hilt was nowhere to be seen until he picked up the fallen boy and saw it sticking out of the boy's shoe. It was clever for an urchin, but Spike guessed one had to be in order to live in a town like this.

He looked at the boy and noticed his neck had snapped, it couldn't be helped as the thrashing and pain made him instinctively crush him. Spike tore the knife out from his tail only for it to burn through his scales which made him drop it. It left an imprint of the blade on his claw that sent waves of pain screaming to run away. He tore some of the cloth from the dead boy's body and grabbed the knife. It didn't burn through the cloth or him this time so he stuffed it in his dimension pocket.

"I'll figure out what the fuck just happened later, right now I need a plan… I doubt this other kid would be willing to talk and one dead kid is one too many." He thought aloud, he was starting to get frustrated until he remembered what he showed Sunset days before.

Reaching over to the body, he concentrated and felt his scales retract and turn into skin. The jerkin he had on along with the pants were now much too big for him and the boy he had been holding had fallen on his back, still knocked out. Spike changed into the set of clothes the dead boy had and put his into the pocket dimension as well. He took a moment to drag the corpse away and came back to the portly boy regaining his senses.

"What happened? Where's the lizard?"

"He left, said he didn't have time to waste on kids. Let's go back and let the others know"

"Sure. Fuck, if I ever see that thing again I'll check to see whether or not that tail regrows like a gecko."

Spike smiled slightly at the threat, it was hilarious to know what people said about him when they thought he wasn't around. Usually, Spike would threaten anyone or anything that would say such things, but he couldn't blow his cover until he knew where they held Sunset.

"Sunset comes first Spike, just relax and think of Sunset." He muttered, trying to calm down from the rage building inside.

Spike motioned for the kid to lead the way and followed close behind, the trek was a quiet one as he guessed the kid usually didn't talk much in the first place. They went through alleys, roofs, holes, and stores throughout the way only to have many residents chase after them. Just as the boy said they were almost there a pair of hands reached out and grabbed them by the collars.

"There you are little shits, thought you bunch of rats could just take food from my stand and get away?" They turned to look at a man that looked about the same height as Spike if he were still a dragon.

"Lemme go you bastard; I don't have time for this you fat piece of sh…off" yelled the portly boy trying to break free.

He was answered with a swift knee to face, the guy had sent the kid clear across the street. Spike found himself laying down in the mud again for what seemed like the third time today. Before he could get some form of bearings again, a barrage of kicks came down almost instantly.

"Wait!" Spike yelled before the guy did the same to him. "I'll pay for it, and more if you help me out"

"I doubt you have the money, you filthy orphan."

Spike made to reach into a small pouch strapped to the clothes that belonged to the previous owner and pulled out a silver coin. The man reached for it and threw him on the ground, he looked at the coin and pocketed it once satisfied it was real.

"What do you want then?"

"I'm guessing you know the area relatively well; do you happen to know where our hideout is?"

"Yea, down the alley on the right past the dancing old man and the guy who thinks he's a bird. Usually, I avoid the area since it's full of filthy brats."

"Thanks, the only other thing I need you to do is get rid of the kid somehow. I don't particularly care how it's done, I just don't want him around."

"That all? Sure, I got just the place to dump unwanted trash. As long as you're a paying customer I don't mind." The man picked up the boy he had thrown and walked away, Spike never saw the boy again and no one else did after that. It did make him feel a little guilty, but only a little as it was nothing compared to the possibility of losing Sunset.

He turned away from the scene and continued on towards the hideout, stopping in an alley directly in front of his destination. Taking a small amount of time to rest he ran towards the door and charged through full force. The crash was effective as a large group of kids came and were reacting to his presence.

In Spike's defense, he thought his plan would go smoother than this but, lack of planning comes back to bite hard. There he was, surrounded by children with swords and knives, all of them willing to kill the giant intruder at the slightest hint of hostility. Still, while it is somewhat intimidating, Spike's scales would be enough to block it all with the strength they had. They didn't seem to notice this despite him not showing much concern, except for one of them. The one that had seen the ruse almost from the start of it all, the leader of this den of thieves.

"I ain't got any reason to let go of the only leverage we got that easily lizard. What did you do with my boys? For your sake and the girl's, they better be alive." The kid stood there with an air of confidence that seemed weird for a kid.

Walking over to him and picking him up by his collar didn't change the look on his face. He remained rather emotionless but, the rest of the kids surrounded me once again. The leader motioned them away and stared at Spike.

"As far as I know there's still one of them alive, the one whose form I took is, unfortunately, dead. I reacted on instinct to danger and it couldn't be helped."

"So Sam is dead? Fucking idiot…"

There was a slight silence as the rest of the children took in the news, none of them dropped their weapons and instead readied to pounce at the slightest signal. Spike could feel the bloodlust filling the room. He put their leader down and took a step back waiting for them to make the next move.

"What of Lester then?"

"Got caught by some guy he stole from before; I didn't have any obligation to save him so I just let him be."

"Follow me lizard." The leader said his tone full of venom.

"The name's Spike, I'm pretty sure you know that, and it would help if you called me that instead of lizard."

"Fine, Spike. They call me Bix, now follow me and be quick about it."

He followed Bix to a dining area sat down across from him. Bix spoke to one of his guys, and they brought back some water and a bowl of soup. They set it down in front of Spike; he looked at it suspiciously until Bix tasted it and pushed the bowl forward to ensure that it wasn't poisoned.

"Listen here lizard, if you want the girl returned safe and sound then I'm going to have you do some errands for me. I need someone, though in this case, thing to go somewhere and get a certain object for me."

Gulping the soup down and slamming the bowl Spike kept listening to his explanation. Apparently, he wanted Spike to go into one of the few dungeons that appeared and stayed for more than a week near the city. It would change location each week and never have the same layout. Fitting for a city like Freedonia, though, everyone that went into it never came back out.

"You want me to go on a suicide run? I'd rather kill the lot of you as that would be more in my favor." Staring at Bix, he got up and was immediately surrounded again.

"You won't be doing it alone; I'll be going with you to ensure the job is done right. There are a lot of traps in there, and I can help with them. The big problems are the beasts that lurk within the dungeon itself."

"No deal Bix, I have no obligation to help you get anything. I'm going to find Sunset and take her back now, casualties or no casualties."

"If you do that then I'll have one of my guys take care of her before you arrive. I'm pretty sure even you won't be able to undo a curse. The hospital requires a hefty sum and apologists are increasingly rare in these parts."

Spike stopped halfway towards reaching the door and turned to face him. The look on Bix's face was serious about the curse and there was no indication he had lied about the way to cure her.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing for now, though, if you cross us at any point and time she'll be forced to experience something rather unpleasant. Ever see the idiom "Tall drink of water" turn into something literal?"

The water Spike was drinking was spit out immediately at that question. Bix didn't flinch and only smirked at the action. If what he said was any clue, and it was, that meant they had a book as rare as the one Spike had that let him change form. The spell itself "Turn to Water" was simple enough, it turned small objects into water which is harmless enough. The thing about it was the fact that, when used on anything sentient, it turned them into water elementals, and they could never turn back unless the curse was broken.

The thought of being a water elemental might seem like a pretty good idea to some but, the fact of the matter was that they needed to stay in the vicinity of a water source at all times. Not to mention that, while they kept their sense of self, they were locked into a state of slavery by the one who cast the curse. Spike had only seen it done once, and it was horrifying, to say the least. The screams coming from the one turning were traumatizing enough, hearing or even seeing Sunset become one would no doubt send him on a rampage. One potentially worse than the greed induced one back in Ponyville.

"Fine, I'll do what you want and go to this dungeon. I want details if I'm going to something as dangerous as a Freedonian dungeon, I want to know what I'm trying to find inside." He wiped the water from his mouth and eyed the pitcher suspiciously.

"Well, that's fair enough, though, if you'd have just waited I'd already be telling you."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks, I prefer someone like your friend, not lizards. Regardless of the offer of a good time, I need to go into this place because of the sheer amount of dungeon divers that use it. I'm not sure how far we'll be going into the damn thing but, I'm looking for any dead apologists that might've left behind their books."

"Why do you want the books? Can't you just steal one like you lot usually do?"

Bix lost his smile at the mention of taking one. The look he had was one Spike was all too familiar with, one of loss and regret. He had probably tried to steal them before but, met with substantial resistance. It was to be expected as those books were guarded in hospitals and never left an apologist's side. It was even harder as apologists were never alone; be it party members or bodyguards, they were well protected as a source of healing.

"We have sick and injured; I know what the cause of the illness but, without the proper care they'll just die. Those books can help them get better and provide us a means to get coin properly. The only thing standing between us getting a better life are the beasts and traps in that dungeon, not to mention whatever else could be lurking around. That's where you come in Spike, none of us have enough combat experience or the coin to hire goons."

"Bodyguard for a thief huh? Fine, I'll do it then, though, I have some demands as well if I'm risking my life in that place."

"I don't know if you've noticed but, we're the ones with the leverage here."

"I can find a way to break the curse at some point, and unlike the lot of you, I can walk around freely in this city."

Bix didn't want to admit it but, Spike was telling the truth. Nothing was stopping the brute from killing everyone here other than the girl and possible curse. Though if he wanted actually to kill them all he would have done it by now. He wondered what types of demands the lizard wanted but, it didn't help anyone if the thing started to get violent.

"Fine, what do you want then?"

"I want my bag back for starters. I also want to see Sunset; I promise not to do anything stupid. I want you to follow what I have to say as this will likely be your first time in a dungeon. Finally, if we find any extra books or items down there we split them evenly."

"I can give you the bag back no problem. The split of the stuff is fine but, we get first dibs. I'll listen but, you have to follow what I say in regards to traps as I do have experience with them. As for the girl, we can let you hear her voice but, with your magic, I'm not entirely sure what you're capable of so we can't let you actually see her."

Thinking about the conditions it was fine, not only would he know Sunset's situation, but he'd have a chance at whatever they found. If there was anything there that Sunset could use then all the better. "Fine." He presented his claw and Bix shook it to seal the deal. One of his guys brought a familiar bag and they headed towards what Spike guessed was where they kept Sunset. The smell was horrible and it somehow reminded him of the time he helped Fluttershy bathe her skunks.

Author's Note

Revised, edited (to the best of my ability), and out! Thank you once again for waiting so patiently, with this chapter out that means I have one more to edit and I'll be caught up to where I left off. The next one will be another long one if not longer chapter as well so please look forward to it.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me improve. Have a great day!.