Claudio was pacing the floor biting his thumb thinking how he would get Matthew back. Ffyr proved to be an asset that he could not lose. She showed that day that there was a way to navigate through the Labyrinth. He'd need to study her to know how.

Erin, Vanessa and Eric were much more concerned about Matthew's and Faralynn's personal safety than the experiments. The communications from Faynn started to come back less and less often. Their signal with their radio was not improving nor getting worse. They could only wait and hope. Or risk getting lost in the Labyrinth themselves.

When Faynn told base that they found an unusual room, Claudio jumped on the radio asking for pictures. Faynn just informed them they'd be trying the teleportation circle nor acknowledging Claudio's order to take pictures.

The silence that reigned after that was deafening. Just a few seconds passed, but they all felt like it was much longer.

Suddenly a flash of light appeared in the middle of the first room. From the light Faynn, Faralynn, Ffyr and Matthew materialized from thin air.

"Lynn! Matt!" Erin screamed running towards them and hugging both of them tightly.

Vanessa and Eric walked towards then with less enthusiasm, but not any less relieved.

Claudio also got nearby with a smile that covered all of his face. A teleportation circle that led adventurers back to the entrance? That was gold. If he could decipher the runes, maybe he could even make a machine that would allow them to teleport into the dungeon.

Claudio extended his hand to which Matthew took and shook mistaking the man's true intention.

"The phone, Matt." Claudio said not amused. "The photos." He added.

"I didn't take any pictures." Matthew said while Vanessa examined his new scars.

"We need to get you checked out to see if you healed properly inside." Vanessa said trying to imagine the extend of the damage.

"Lynn needs a hospital too to fix her leg." Erin said giving her shoulder to Faralynn to lean into.

Claudio then cleared his throat calling everybody's attention.

"I told you take pictures of the teleportation device." He said annoyed.

"I'm sorry. But it slipped my mind." Matthew apologized.

Claudio breathed deeply holding his anger inside.

"Must I remind you the nature of this dive?" Claudio said with venom on his voice.

"They were lost inside the Labyrinth." Erin said with anger in her own voice. "I think that prioritizing their lives instead of research was the sane thing to do." She added staring down at Claudio.

The weight of the Finnegan family hanged behind her words. Faralynn was also staring him down bringing the weight of the Laufgraan house over him as well. Both very powerful families. But given their proper nature, they wouldn't be able to help Matthew in the same way the Tower of Ryvylin, that wasn't shy of corrupting public officials, could.

Even not leaning into corruption, those houses were enough to hold Claudio's tongue on the matter.

"Alright." He gave up. "We'll talk later, you should go get yourselves checked out by a doctor." Claudio added giving the order to his staff to store all the equipment and leave the dungeon.

The party was quick to leave as well.

"Was that why you two wanted to come today?" Matthew asked after noticing how the girls protected him.

"Yes." Erin confirmed. "If you're dealing with the Tower, you'll need a bit of help from people with power to face them."

"Don't worry. Claudio will treat you fairly." Faralynn assured Matthew not entering into details.

"Should I take you all to my brother?" Vanessa said picking up the car keys.

"No." Faralynn said. "Let's go to my family's doctor." She said looking at Faynn who hurried to pick the car. "You and Eric can go home, if you want. I'll take Matt with me." Faralynn added to Vanessa.

Vanessa felt intimidated by Faralynn's tone. There was something possessive with how she treated Matthew now. As if she saw her as a threat. It didn't took long for Vanessa to understand the nature of that treatment.

"Great then!" Vanessa said with a smile. "Eric and I will pick up Katia at Matthew's house then." She said pulling Eric away. "Call me when you get out of the hospital, kid." She added to Matthew.

"What about you, Rin?" Faralynn asked more gently to her friend. "Should we take you home first?"

"No." Erin said. "I'll ask for someone to pick me up at the hospital. I want to be sure you two will be fine."

At the hospital, Matthew got scanned with both a Diagnosis machine and traditional imagery machines to make sure his internal organs were all right. Luckily for him, They all healed properly and were functioning perfectly.

Faralynn's leg needed surgery. Cut out the part of her muscles that didn't heal properly and heal them slowly in a way they returned back to normal.

While the elf was being briefed on her surgery by the doctors, Erin came to Matthew with a sly smile.

"You and Lynn finally got together, huh?" She nudged Matthew with her elbow.

"How do you know that?" Matthew asked confused.

"We talked while you were doing the ultrasound." Erin giggled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that." He said as if he done something wrong.

"Why?" Erin said confused. "Look, Matt. You are a great guy and, honestly, I would like to date you if you were available. But I don't feel that strongly about you to get in the way of my friend's happiness. She really likes you." She explained.

Matthew was dumbfounded by her explanation. He felt a bit rejected and that made him a little sad.

"You treat her right, Matt. I've never seen her like that toward any other man. Ever." Erin warned him. "You like her too, don't you?"

"I do." Matthew said looking at Faralynn who was nodding along the doctors' explanation from afar. "I'm not sure how I feel. But I'm sure that I want to be close to her."

"Good. I'm pretty sure you two will be a great couple." Erin said patting him on the back.

When Faralynn's mother arrived, Matthew greeted her formally and stiff as a board given how nervous he was on meeting her. Not soon after Faralynn told Erin and him to go, since she would be in surgery for a while.

Erin gave Matthew a ride home and said goodbye with a smile.

At home he informed Vanessa through text message that he was alright and didn't need to do any medical procedure.

After showering, Matthew laid down on his bed with Ffyr laying on the pillow beside him.

"Today was fun." Ffyr said staring at the same point on the ceiling as him. "Dangerous, but fun. We got out of there alive."

"Yeah. We fought like hell." He said smiling.

After a couple of moments of silence, Matthew asked his familiar:

"How did you know where to go in there?"

"I wanted to go deeper into the Labyrinth and just felt the way." Ffyr explained. "And then after that fight, I just wanted to be safe and just followed my feelings."

"Do you often find your way like that? Or is just inside the Labyrinth?"

"It was just inside there. Normally I get lost easily." Ffyr explained.

"Do you think if you want to find a treasure next time, you'd lead us to a treasure?" Matthew asked greedily.

"I don't know? Maybe?" Ffyr shrugged.

"And how do you feel about me and Lynn dating now?" Matthew asked a bit worried she'd be jealous or that she didn't like the elf.

"She's beautiful and fun. I like her." Ffyr said smiling. "She's a good woman to put you in your place." She laughed at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Matthew turned around staring at her.

"You are a man-whore, Matthew." Ffyr said flying away from him while he chased her playfully.

"I'm gonna teach you how to respect me!" He said also laughing and jumping around after the fairy.

Matthew then used his new skill to increase his Agility and was able to catch Ffyr in his hands, falling gently onto the bed as he made sure he'd not hurt her. They laughed for a while before getting serious again.

"But Lynn will be handful." Ffyr said. "She's shy and all, but when things get serious she's like a wild dog. She will be demanding, but very affectionate."

"And since when you understand her so well?" Matthew asked finding odd Ffyr's mature remarks in deep contrast to her normal childlike nature.

"Sometimes I can say intelligent things." Ffyr said moving made up glasses on her face.

"Do you just pretend to be childish?" Matthew asked confused.

"No… I just feel different sometimes. Sometimes I feel like playing and other times I feel like causing chaos. But right now I feel like your friend. And I'm really happy you made up your mind and started to date Lynn. She's great." Ffyr explained.

"Wait, what?" Sarah's head popped in the bedroom from the door. "You're dating Lynn?!" She squealed.

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