"You are here. Good." Cynthia said coldly when the group knocked on the door. She opened it and allowed them in, shutting and locking it behind them. "My master has begun experiencing throes of near death. We must hurry, follow me." She lead them without a second thought, heading up the stairs with the group running behind her. They made their way down the hall and to the master's bedroom, bursting inside without a thought.

Delebor sat in bed as he was this morning when they saw him, but he was in a far worse condition. The markings on his neck had spread all throughout his face and pustules had formed on his cheeks and forehead. It was obvious that he was in tremendous pain, but he showed barely any stress as he sat up against his pillows and beckoned the group closer. [i]"You return in the nick of time with the potion. I am grateful, give it here, please."[/i] Nyrette reached into Quin's backpack and fished out the large white vial and approached Delebor, handing it to him gently. He held the ice cold bottle in his hands for a moment and reached to the top, uncorking it and smelling it. His smile said that the group had found what they were looking for and they were able to sigh in relief when he took a swig, downing the entire bottle in one go, and smiling for a second time.

[i]"This. Was a vial of river water. Utterly worthless but...ah."[/i] He paused and peeled back the covers. [i]"A good last drink."[/i]

"Oh void, I'm so sorry." Nyrette pleaded, ashamed that they had all been fooled. "The vial looked as good as-" Delebor shook his head, smiling still.

[i]"It was none of your faults."[/i] He swung his legs out and Cynthia ran to his side to assist him, but he put up his wrinkled hand and she froze. He got up all on his own, incredibly sick, in excruciating pain, and on the verge of death, but he did it on his own and proudly. Standing up now, he was hunched a bit but he was a little taller than Iisska.  [i]"Instead of bringing me a cure for my life, you have instead brought upon me a cure for the life of another."[/i] He approached the group slowly and gripped onto a bed post. [i]"With my very near passing, a unique opportunity has been presented and I wish to take the most of it."[/i] He said, coughing hard afterward and taking a deep, ragged, breath. [i]"I wish to ask one more favor of you, outlanders."[/i]

"What is favor?" Cheshik said, crossing his arms. "Is it chocolate?"

"Favor, not Flavor, Cheshik." Nyrette grumbled and listened to Delebor chuckle and Cheshik's misunderstandings.

[i]"It is nothing drastic. I simply ask of you...nay, I plead of you. When you leave this place and continue your journey, wherever it may be: Take Cynthia with you."[/i] The request was met with shock from the group, but Quin was the first to ask why. [i]"I was never able to have a child. My will was not strong enough. My dear Cynthia is as close to a daughter that I can get, however."[/i] He took a moment to breathe and found that he could no longer stand. He sat on the bed as his breathing became more ragged and tired. He reached out for Cynthia's hand and she grasped his gently. [i]"Take off her mask and let her become more than a simple alchemists' apprentice. I..."[/i] he coughed again. [i]"I never removed it myself out of fear she would become what I am. An introverted, lonely, old man. Please. Let her experience the world."[/i]

It was a solid few minutes of silence for the group before Cheshik was the one to step forward and deliver the answer. "We are always happy to welcome new family." He said happily. "What do you mean by "Take off mask and become more than alchemists' apprentice"?"

"When a Haemonculus removes their inhibitor mask, they begin learning from their surroundings and the people that control them. Depending on how reliant the people around them are, it can take a few days or a few months for any Haemonculi to become almost unrecognizable from any person and become entirely individualized." Cynthia said as coldly and robotically as ever.

[i]"To be...a master of her own fate...thank you, outlanders."[/i] His voice began to get weaker and he slumped over a bit. [i]"Take good care of her. She is...every...thing...."[/i] He slumped fully against the bed post and closed his eyes. A few seconds after, he went limp and Cynthia kept him from falling via laying him backwards onto the bed. She stood and clasped her hands together, awaiting a command.

"Cynthia lets...go down stairs for a moment to...talk about this away from the stench of death." Nyrette said, feeling the bile start to rise as the body released it's fluids. Cynthia bowed her head slightly and waited for the group to go through the door. They made their way down stairs and to the living room. Iisska quickly found a large wall-parked couch to lay on and rest for a moment. The rest of the group gathered around the fire, Quin and Nyrette sitting while Cheshik stood next to Cynthia, whom stood the same as she was upstairs, awaiting orders dutifully.

"Well. Mask must come off, correct?" Cheshik said. "If none will do it, I will." He said happily.

"Hold on." Nyrette said. "We should learn mo-and you're not listening are yo-No...no you are not." Nyrette didn't even get to finish her sentence before Cheshik approached Cynthia and placed his hands on her head.

"If you feel pain, speak. Hate when I hurt family on accident." He reassured her, though she just nodded, unaffected by what he said. His nails found the edges of the mask and he prepared to pull hard, but it started to come off rather easily. He pulled a bit more and more until it disconnected from her face entirely. Cheshik lowered the mask slowly and the group finally saw what was underneath. Even Iisska got up and leaned against the chair behind Quin to see. The main feature was her bright and shiny blue pupils above her pointy nose and rounded face. A radical change from her very angular clothing and hair. She looked from person to person in the group for several seconds before her eyes widened and she put her hands on her face and screamed. "OH THE PAIN! IT BURNS AHH!" She screamed and turned away quickly before turning back with her hands at her side again. "Nevermind, it is fine. Where were we?"

"Oh she'll be just fine in our little family." Nyrette chuckled. "Do you know our names?"

"I do not. No." She said inquisitively, again a big departure from her robot voice.

"I am Nyrette Silvanus, The lizard there is Cheshik Essan. The beautiful woman there is Pike're Quin, Quin for short, and the Togruta behind her is Iisska Reylos." Nyrette said.

"Oh! You're hurt!" Cynthia said and stepped around the chair to Iisska. He tried to back away but she held him fast, pulling up the sleeve and looking at his shoulder. It was missing a decent sized chunk of flesh from his arm and he was bleeding pretty bad. "I have something for this, I will be right back. Do not worry." She hurried away, walking as precise as she did before though in a much more emotional manner. Nyrette turned around and saw the shoulder.

"Oh wow. Why didn't you say anything? We would have held your stuff and wouldn't have pushed you as hard to get home." She turned back around and leaned on the arm of the chair, sighing. "I'm just a mess today. Got somebody killed and didn't even notice my brother's hurt shoulder. What is wrong with me?" She grumbled, though Quin placed a hand on hers and smiled, cheering her up quite a bit. Within a minute, Cynthia was back with a small red potion in hand. 

"Here, drink this, please. It is not fast, but your wounds will heal in a few hours and the hunk of flesh missing will regenerate as well." She held it out to him. "It will taste a little bitter, but I added a couple dashes of Cinnamon for flavor."