So now here they stood, nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. Each of the blades of grass moved back and forth smoothly, never faltering, as a soft and gentle breeze, one of the few Zamza knew he was going to get this day, sauntered through the air. Zamza watched the blades move back and forth with ease, and to him, it seemed like they were making fun of him, waving to some imaginary person or thing at the two human warriors couldn't see.

Slade had said that they were probably four days hard travel to Rockaxe, which was due west, but since they weren't headed in that direction, it was pretty useless information. They were heading south Slade told him, and they would have to cut southwest to a small village known as Highway to get supplies, because there wasn't a town after that until Coronet, since Muse was still closed up.

The sun hung in the center of the sky, seeming to dedicate all of it's time and energy to melting the two men with it's golden rays. The funny thing was, that wasn't the worst thing about the day; the humidity was something fierce. It was muggy and stuffy, one of those days where trying to take a breath of air was like trying to inhale a block of cheese. There was a distant thought, one that clung to the back of Zamza's mind, that told him to go back into the forest, back into the coolness of the shade, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He was going to get to Vandle, to try and regain at least one piece of a shattered past that could never be rebuilt, and if he had to die of heat exhaustion in the process, so be it.

They began walking again, each of them drenched in an ocean of sweat just minutes after coming out of the woods. Their feet thudded loudly against the dry earth in the silent afternoon, crushing the taunting blades of grass as they did so. Zamza looked off into the distance, but everything, from the two inches in front of him, to all the way out to where the low sky and ground became sweaty and hazy, all looked exactly the same.

After a while, the two men came across the first living creature they had seen since entering the plains. A small bunny rabbit hopped across their path, and Slade picked up his pace to catch up with the small animal. With one swift motion, his arm came swooping down, and grabbed the rabbit off the ground. He cradled the bunny in his arms and began to pet it.

"What're you doing here, huh?" he asked the animal. They were the first words either of them had said since coming down from the mountain, and because of that, Slade's voice came out cracked and weak, and obvious sign his voice box was a little rusty. "What did you say? I didn't hear you." He craned his head down towards the bunny and listened intently. "Oh, you're trying to get home, huh? Well, we can't help you with that, but you are more than welcomed to come with us, isn't that right Zamza?"

Zamza was momentarily speechless. His eyes grew wide, trying to make some sense out of what Slade was doing, and then simply responded, "uh, yeah sure, I guess."

"See there!" Slade said enthusiastically, "Then it's decided! You'll come with us, we're going to visit an old friend. Oh yeah, by the way, what's your name?" he asked the rabbit.

"Benny." Slade answered himself in a high, squeaky voice that Zamza assumed was supposed to be the rabbit's.

"Alright! Benny the bunny it is! My name's Slade, and it's damn fine to meet you." Slade said in his true voice once again. He took Benny the bunny's paw and shook it politely. "Yeah, we're going to have some good times, you and me, just like me and Zamza had." Slade finished up, throwing Zamza a glare. "Do you remember Al, Zamza?"

The smile shot up onto Zamza's face, but he stifled it back down. It was useless, though, and the smile violated his lips. Al Coholic was a soldier for the then Scarlett Moon empire some twelve years or so ago. Shortly after Zamza had met Slade, they had gone to Gregminster together, where they met Al. They were by no means friends, in fact, the three would never officially meet. But Al had a lovely sword, one so beautiful, that Slade wanted it for himself. So Zamza and Slade watched him for a couple of nights and found that Al Coholic had a large fondness for the bottle. After work, he would head straight for the tavern, where he would get drunker than crap, and eventually crawl home and pass out.

So on the third night, Zamza and Slade tried to give it a shot. They snuck into Al's house from the back, and as they walked through the house, they found Al sprawled out on his bed, apparently unconscious, in nothing but his shorts. They found his sword not far from him, propped up against the wall, next to a broom of all things. Slade crept quietly into the room, while Zamza looked for anything else of value to sell. Slade had just picked the sword up and began to leave, when Zamza came back, holding up a Rage crystal the man had yet to get attached. Slade nodded his approval with a smile, and the two silently began to slip away, when Al started to stir. Zamza and Slade froze in fear as the man groggily got up. Slade looked over to Zamza, and Zamza nodded. The two darted out of the room, throughout the house, and out the door. They came to a startling halt as they reached the cool, night air. Their eyes flickered everywhere, their minds reeling, not sure what to do, when Zamza saw some barrels stacked against Al's next door neighbor's house. Zamza patted Slade on the shoulder, and as Slade looked at Zamza, Zamza nodded towards the barrels. In the next second they were running towards the wall, climbing up the barrels, and eventually pulling themselves up to the roof.

They scrambled to the peak of the roof, exhausted and completely out of breath, when they saw Al come running out of his house, still in nothing but his shorts, holding his broom high over his head. He came to a halt as soon as he hit the outside, just as the two thieves had done just minutes before. He looked confused for a second, then glanced over at the house the kids were currently hiding on top of.

Al wobbled over to his neighbors house, then preceded to pound on the door. when no one answered after a few seconds, Al pounded again. The neighbor opened the door sleepily, and looked at Al, not at all happy about this late night interruption.

Zamza and Slade began to creep toward the edge of the roof so they could see what was happening, when they heard Al yell in a drunken stupor, "I saw you, you stole my broom you thief!"

Zamza and Slade watched as Al began to chase his poor neighbor around in circles in front of the house. The scene was comic. The unfortunate neighbor ran, his arms waiving frantically in the air, shouting, "I don't have your broom, I swear!" Meanwhile, Al continued to chase his neighbor in just his shorts, swatting the "thief" with the end of his broom, while insulting the man by calling him a "thief", and a "brigand", and insisting that his neighbor give him back his broom. Zamza and Slade erupted in laughter, and eventually fell asleep on the roof. Al collapsed and passed out on his neighbor's doorstep, after the so-called "brigand" had escaped back into the safety of his house.

It was one of the many good times Zamza and Slade had together when they were young. All of that happened when the two were brothers, though, when nothing in the world could separate the two, well, that is to say except maybe one of them going criminally insane and starting a homicidal rampage.

"Yep, Bunny, me and you are guaranteed to have some good times together, because I'm just a fun loving guy!" Slade continued to try and explain to Benny, who was currently gazing off into the great distance, seeming to have no interest in his keeper's oration. "Zamza used to be a fun loving guy too...that is until he turned on me. We used to be able to go into a town in the morning, and have every house robbed blind by nightfall. We were fantastic. But then he had to leave my side for the weak side, and that was a big mistake."

At that point Zamza lost it. He didn't know why he lost it, he just did. Slade had always been good at getting under his skin with those little comments, it was sort of like a special skill. And though Zamza knew Slade was trying to goad him, probably not into a fight, but perhaps a pissing contest, Zamza's mouth got the better fo him, and he retaliated for what he considered to be a slanderous assault.

"You're insane, you know that you little shit? I didn't turn on you, you started killing people, and I couldn't stand by and let you do that! You, you, you're insane, and anyone who looks at your eyes can tell!" Zamza shouted.

Slade's first response was a simple chuckle, the he answered to Zamza's speech. "Oh, my dear friend, you mistake clarity for insanity, how very unfortunate" Slade finished up, stepping nose-to-nose with Zamza. "you see, during my stay with good ole Master Forge, I saw the world for how it really was. The world is divided into two different types of people; the hunters, and the hunted. The hunters rule the hunted with an iron fist" and as he said this, Slade exposed the claws on his left fist, and smiled "so to speak. Now, all of us 'hunters' have one common goal, to cleanse the earth of the impurity which your kind is. You had the chance to be a great 'hunter', and along with me, we could have been unstoppable, but you turned your back on your destiny, as well as on your kind, and for that you deserve to die a death a thousand times worse than those pathetic peasants you like to call friends, and trust me when I say that I shall be the one to deliver you sentence."

Zamza looked deep into Slade's eyes, for what he wasn't sure, some validity to what Slade was saying, perhaps a reason why Slade was the way he was, whichever it was, it didn't matter, because Zamza discovered, horrifying as it was, that Slade's eyes had absolutely no end to them. Zamza did find a sort of truth and comfort in those eyes, but not the kind a kindhearted person was looking for. It was a false truth, one that could convince you that black was actually white, or up was really down, and the comfort was shaky, convincing you that it'd give you anything you need, but what it kept hidden was the fact that it'd throw you out like a piece of trash when it was done with you.

Zamza could easily see how someone (Slade especially), could be seduced by this...

(evil)

It was terribly persuasive. It could convince a person's head with ease, the problem was trying to win over the person's heart. Any evil person who has ever lived throughout time, was missing one vital part of his or her anatomy, their heart. Without the heart, a person becomes bitter and venomous, and will do whatever it takes to satisfy their never ending hunger for destruction. But grabbing the heart is a very hard task, which is why

(evil)

usually only preys on the emotionally unstable, they're easy to sway. And this is what happened to Slade.

So as Zamza continued to dig deeper and deeper into Slade's midnight sky colored pupils, searching for a root to all the

(evil)

every bone in Zamza's body became nothing more than a thin sheet of ice. Terror racked every fiber of his being, as he realized that if Slade so much as pointed at him, his bones would completely shatter, and he would be nothing more than a walking jello mold. As the seconds ticked by like hours, Zamza finally pulled his eyes away.

"Fine" Zamza stated coolly, "if you want to kill me so bad, then do it." Zamza's arm jumped out at Slade like a bolt of lightning, and his hand clasped around the hilt of one Slade's two remaining daggers, and pulled it out of Slade's belt. Zamza refused to show the fright that currently coursed through his veins, he knew this could very well be the end of his life, but he brought the blade up smoothly and pressed the edge against the base of his neck. "Here's your chance."

Slade suddenly dropped his new friend, Benny the bunny, rushed forward a couple of steps, grabbed the dagger from Zamza's vice-like grip, and then preceded to slice open Zamza's throat. Blood poured everywhere, spraying and drooling all over Zamza's chest, as he fell to his knees, and saw Slade's freshly exposed claws coming straight at his face.

And then the intense vision was gone, and Zamza was still holding the knife at his own throat. Slade, meanwhile, still held his friend.

"Did you hear that Benny? He's offering us a chance to kill him! Ha! And while I would like to, oh good gods you have now idea how much I'd really like to, I'm going to have to politely decline your offer at the present time." Slade cracked.

"What's wrong, Slade? Why can't you do it? Are you afraid? Come on, you talk big, but now that you have your chance, you're a no-show. What's the deal?" Zamza had no idea why he was trying to ignite Slade's temper, but it felt good. It was probably foolish, and could possibly get him killed, but Zamza didn't think so.

Slade was infuriated. He had the chance to end all of this madness now, but he wouldn't do it, not yet. It wasn't the right time. He wanted Zamza's disgrace and humiliation to be complete. The blood was rushing to his head, and Slade knew he was going to be able to contain the rage building up inside of because of Zamza audacity. So, with a vicious growl, Slade maliciously tore Benny the Bunny's head from the rest of it's body with his bare hands. "Your time is coming, Zamza. Trust me. Now come on Benny, we'd better get going" Slade finished up, dropping the rabbit's body on the ground, yet keeping it's head tightly sealed in his hand.

Zamza didn't follow right away, he didn't want to follow. He tried to find some words for the cruelty that just took place but found he could find none, and for the second time in about ten minutes, Zamza was completely speechless.

They didn't reach the village of Highway that day, or the next day for that matter, but finally on their third day of travel through the seemingly endless prairie they hit paydirt. They spent two nights in the small town, Zamza picked up the amount of supplies he felt he would need to last him until Coronet, and caught up on some sleep.

Slade, on the other hand, was a busy little beaver. He and Benny had gotten a lot closer since the minor decapitation incident, and Slade was now taking advice from the former four-legged animal. The first thing on Slade's agenda when they made it to Highway was to give a Benny what he called "a little trim". Slade used his claws skin off all the skin and fur that was on the outside of the head, then feeling that perhaps Benny was a little too fat, Slade hollowed out the inside of the skull. Slade then asked Benny what they should do to make sure the two of them would always be together, and (supposedly) Benny answered that Slade should make a chain, which he did. He looped it through each of Benny's ears, then hung it from his neck.