Odiad Chronicles [ IC / Started / Currently Not Accepting ]

[Kakashi Hatake]

Ikeno was put on edge by the sudden events. After the had stopped running, Ikeno walked over and leaned against a wall. His breathing was slightly accelerated due to the running. He heard the girl, Rose, speak. [color=#696969][i]"Those paradus men! I hated them before, and I hate them now. They are so power hungry! They must be brought down."[/i][/color] she said. Ikeno just raised his eyebrows and looked away as if saying, [b]"Yeah, they're power hungry. Just like any other nation."[/b] She spoke again. [color=#696969][i]"Now, you three. What has been going on with you? How did you get dragged into this mess?"[/i][/color] she asked Cael, Alexander and Ikeno. Ikeno remained silent, figuring someone would answer her. Cael's been doing all of the talking anyway. All of a sudden, Alexander started speaking to the princess. Professing his love or something, Ikeno couldn't pay attention to him over all of the thoughts going through his head. After Alexander was done speaking, Ikeno stood from the wall and said, [b]"Yeah, let us all profess love for the woman-- how do we get out of here, man?"[/b] he asked Cael. It was clear that he was a little agitated. He didn't mind all of the running, but the plot twists were starting to get old.

[Hotaru987]

Soon all of the soldiers were dealt with, and Cael called out to her asking if she was alright. Elzira nodded once, "Yes, I'm fine." She figured that these three people didn't know who she was, and she wasn't pressured to tell them. Firstly she didn't know what their true intentions were. Who would come down here to the Watergate tunnels willingly? For all she knew they could be working with Prince Sinegard. He asked why were those men chasing her and she didn't know how to answer. Thankfully Baschan arrived, with a few soldiers and a woman Elzira did not recognize. He pointed his sword at the tree accusing them of harming her, to which Cael yelled that they just helped save her from the Paradisus soldiers. Baschan turned to her, "Well, yes...They did help me out." After apologizing, Baschan told her then he would introduce her to Lady Rose once they get away. Cael however, wanted to know what was going on though Baschan wasn't going to tell them. Elzira agreed, they were already dragged in this far enough. Anymore and she would feel horrible.

Sadly, more bad news approached as a wall exploded and Prince Sinegard and his men arrived. [i]"Well, well, well... What do we have here? A bunch of filthy weaklings? Is that the best you can scrounge up Captain Baschan?"[/i] Baschan got ready for battle as did his men, though Cael asked who that was. Now it didn't matter if those three knew who she was. Sinegard has saw them and would find them even if they got away. Baschan also realized this and pleaded with them to take her away. "No! I refuse! You have to come with me Sir Baschan!" Of all the people Elzira had lost in her life she did not want Baschan to be among one of them. That was all she could say before Cael snatched her wrist and pulled her away. Her eyes widened as Baschan and his soldiers became further and further away.

They ran for a long time, and though Elzira wanted to stop she couldn't break free from Cael's grip. So she was forced to keep up with his pace. Finally they came to a stop, and the moment he let go of her she fell to the floor legs tired and heart heavy. [i]'H-how can he do that! He was supposed to stay with me until the end! He said he would guide me to the tree and now he'll be...No! Don't think like that. He'll be fine, he's a capable warrior.[/i]' Elzira closed her eyes praying that Baschan would be fine. She stood back up, the ground being no place for a princess, dusting herself off gently before surveying the others. How was she supposed to trust them? The girl called Rose began speaking and so Elzira looked to her. "Actually it is not I who must explain what is going on. As you all must already know, I am Princess Elzira Austerbaine Dosca, and I want to thank you for helping me thus far. However, I would like to know what all of you were doing down there. It was because of such terrible timing on your parts that this has gone array in such a way." Elzira was sure that things would have been better if their interference wasn't in the equation. Though whether their interference was a complete hindrance or a disguised blessing was no known. Who knows how things would have turned out if they were not there. Would she have gotten away completely unscathed, or would she have been captured? There was a breeze that blew through the area, but wonder where it came from. Glancing at Rose she figured it was coming from her and her fan, so she nodded in thanks. It was quite hot down there.

It was then the shy boy began speaking, though after an initial hiccup of nerves he seemed to get over it, [i]"I am Alexander Rosencrantz Blackwood, Descendant of Cirano Lidare and Halcius Blackwood, son of Anabel Lidare and Halcius Blackwood IV. And I swear to eternally serve the Royal Family of Dosca, and to protect you, Princess Elzira Austerbaine Dosca, all at the cost of my own well-being, and if necessary, my life."[/i] Elzira figured he was just trying to show manors, but perked up when she heard the name Lidare. She smiled at him, her eyes alight simply at the thought of having someone around her that she knew she didn't have to watch her back off. If what he said was true then he was on less person she had to keep an eye on. "It's an honor," Elzira replied curtsying respectfully, "I know of a man also of the Lidare line; Therius Lidare, the Dosca family current royal healer. He was a kind man, and another person I was able to fully trust. I hope I can find the same trust in you."

The third guy then spoke, but unlike the others he was clearly irritated at being dragged into this mess, and Elzira couldn't blame him. However, when he asked how were they going to get out of it Elzira flushed with anger. Her honey colored eyes burned, and her hands clenched. "How dare you be so rude?" Though she was clearly angry, she did not raise her voice, "I could care less about you wanting to leave me here alone, but Sir Baschan had [i]begged[/i] you to help. If you hate me or the kingdom I can deal with that, but don't throw away a request of a knight such as Sir Baschan without giving it a second thought. Furthermore, whether you like it or not you, and this goes for all of you, are in a serious mess. Prince Sinegard has seen your faces, and thinks that you have collaborated with me. It will not take him long to find out who you guys are and kill you." Princess Elzira had calmed down after a bit, and sighed staring off at the corner. "I regret that you all were pulled into this, and I wish that it could all be taken back. I didn't want to involve more people than I had too. For that I am sorry." She bowed her head in apology.

Princess Elzira was more worried about the four that was with her now than her own self. She knew the consequences when she decided to plan this escape, but now innocent people were involved. "Again I ask...What where you four doing in these passages? We assumed everyone would be distracted by the wedding."

[.:Blu:.]

[spoiler=The Rest of Chapter 1]It was quite the stressful day for Cael. First, his plan of snatching the compass from the museum failed. Second, Cael is now suddenly dragged into help Princess Elzira. Third, he had just learned of Alexander's lineage. And finally fourth, he is now a fugitive. There was just too much to take in at once for one day. Furthermore, now he needed to find a way to help everyone escape Dosca. Fortunately, Cael was adaptable and he just needed a moment to clear his head. "Alright everybody, calm down for a second!" Cael yelled. Ikeno, who was a bit agitated as well, asked Cael how they were going to escape the waterways but Elzira, due to the stressful situation and had been forced to abandon Baschan, mistook Ikeno for not wanting to be involve in helping her and gave him a small lecture before apologizing in the end and asked everybody their purpose once more. "Uhh Princess, Ikeno meant how we were going to escape the waterways." Cael corrected, not wanting her to label his friend as a guy who wouldn't help people out.

Standing up from the ground, Cael exhaled, calming himself before looking at the Princess who had asked him about his, Ikeno's, and Alexander's purpose for being down here in the waterways. "Well, I guess there's no use in hiding the truth since we're all in the same boat now... We were trying to steal a compass from the Dosca Museum. The compass is said to be able to lead the way to Oasaah, the legendary city of immeasurable wealth. Unfortunately, we've discovered it is now located in Xilith..." Cael explained, still depressed that his heist had failed. "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is getting out of the city and let things settle down. The soldiers are hot on our trail so we can't afford to stay here much longer." Cael stated. "If I'm not mistaken, we should be right above the slums. Hold on, I'll check to see if there are soldiers up there." Cael said before climbing a ladder built into the wall. Before Cael even reached the grate however, he could see Paradisus soldiers marching along the street.

Cael quickly looked down and placed his finger over his mouth, warning the others to stay quiet. Cael turned his head back around and waited for a moment before discreetly opening the grate and peeking out from the entrance. Cael looked around to see the soldiers have just passed the street and that they were indeed beneath the slums. Placing the grate back on, Cael climbed back down to the bottom. "There were a group of soldiers right now that had just passed. It may be safe to go into the slums and hide for a day or two. At least it'll be better than our current position. Either way, things'll only get tougher from here on out..." Cael explained.[/spoiler]


[center][size=5][b]CHAPTER 2: THE MAN FROM NOWHERE[/b][/size][/center]


[spoiler=Chapter 2 Synopsis]After their encounter with Prince Sinegard XVII in the waterways, Cael, Elzira, Ikeno, Alexander, and Rose are now forced to temporarily take shelter within Cael's house. Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander then left Elzira in the care of Rose in order to ask Rasch for his Airship while Elzira and Rose reunite with Baschan. Later, the group receives help from an unlikely ally.[/spoiler]


Approximately seven hours have passed since the events that had transpired in the waterways. Not wanting to be sitting ducks for Prince Sinegard XVII and his soldiers, the five of them escaped the waterways and soon find themselves taking shelter within Cael's little shack of a house. "Sorry, it's not much but it's all I have." Cael said, referring to the size of his house which barely contains a small dining room, one bedroom, one restroom, and a make-shift kitchen. Cael had been living in this shack for his whole life and so he was accustomed to it but he knew the others were probably uncomfortable taking shelter in such a small place. But the five of them couldn't afford to be picky at this time. As far as a hideout, Cael's shelter is the best option because it was well hidden within the large slums, making it difficult for the soldiers to find it while also searching the waterways.

Cael leaned against the wall with his arms behind his head and gave a sigh. "This place is pretty well hidden within the slums so we'll be safe here temporarily. But now we need to find a plan to get out of Dosca." Cael said before he stopped leaning against the wall. "Alexander, you said your uncle Rasch's got an Airship right? You think he'll let us borrow it for a while? We'll use it to get out of Dosca and let everything settle down here." Cael explained. After being given an answer, presumably yes, Cael nodded. "At least that's one good news. Alright, you, me, and Ikeno will go to the docks to find your uncle. Rose, you'll have to stay here to protect the Princess. Don't worry though. I doubt the soldiers will be able to find my house in such a short time and we'll be back as soon as possible." Cael stated. "If you guys are hungry. I got some bread and leftover vegetable soup in the kitchen. I know it ain't what you'd called a royal feast, but that's all I got." Cael explained before picking up his gear.

"Alright, we'll be back soon." Cael said to Elzira and Rose before leaving with Ikeno and Alexander.

[Later]

Leaning against the wall of a large building, Cael quickly took a peek from behind the building to see a group of Paradisus soldiers patrolling the streets. Cael quickly turned his head back around to face Ikeno and Alexander. "That's the fifth group of soldiers we seen. They're everywhere. Luckily we shouldn't be too far away from the Airship Docks by now." Cael said before he and his friends sprinted as quickly yet as quietly as possible across the street, hoping the soldiers wouldn't see them. Luckily, they got to the other side of the street and into an alleyway undetected, or at least they thought so for a moment. "They're over here!" the muffled voice of a soldier shouted. "Damn it...!" Cael cursed before unsheathing his scimitar. Suddenly, two Arkolves leaped down from the two buildings surrounding the alleyway and blocked both paths, trapping Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander inside. Two Paradisus soldiers, wearing lighter armor than normal soldiers, leaped down from the buildings as well. One look and Cael knew that they were dealing with Tamers, specialized soldiers who utilizes monsters in battle.

"No wonder they found us. They have Arkolves along with them." Cael said. Being in the middle, Cael would not be participating in this fight, leaving Ikeno and Alexander to handle the Arkolves and their respective Tamers.

-Meanwhile-

Things were pretty quiet back at Cael's shack as Elzira and Rose awaited their return. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside of the shack. By the sound of the footsteps, it seems Elzira and Rose would be having some company, but are they enemy soldiers or something else? Suddenly, the door pushed opened and there, in front of their eyes, was Baschan, heavily wounded and being supported by one of his soldiers who seemed hurt as well but not in as bad of a shape as Baschan. "See Captain? I told you the Princess would be here." the soldier said eagerly and seemingly with knowledge of Cael's shack. Baschan weakly tilted his head up to see the Princess and Rose. "Ugh... Princess... Y-You're alright..." Baschan struggled to say due to his wounds. "Hurry, you gotta help Captain Baschan, he's seriously injured!" the soldier exclaimed worryingly.

[Cherz]

[size=3][color=#222222]Rose gasped. "So, he survived the fight?" Rose said, shocked, and relived. "How did you find us?" Rose asked surprised. She put her hair into a pony tail. "There is not much I can do to help him; I do not know where the medical supplies are." Rose said grimly. "I would leave this hut, but I a fugitive, and if they could find us, so could the enemy." Rose silently cursed. "There must be something we can do." Rose muttered under her breath. She began searching around the kitchen. She decided she should at least stop the bleeding. Rose ripped off a sleeve of her dress, and tied that around Baschan. Rose looked upset. "Princess, what more can we do? It seems like we need to move out for more recourses, but two reasons why that is a bad idea burden me." Rose said in a tone that said she was panicking, but she did not appear that way. "If you move out, you could easily get captured. If I go, who will protect you? If we both go, then Sir Baschan might get killed by Paradus soldiers, and that would defeat the purpose of leaving. We are pinned down in a corner." Rose said, desperately trying to devise a plan that would save Baschan.[/color][/size][color=#222222][/color]

[Hotaru987]

Elzira felt really horrible after that huge misunderstanding with Ikeno. She was also surprised, and disappointed that they were actually theives but decided to put that aside for the time being. After that, they were quickly on the move again so she hadn't had the oppertunity to apologize for her behavior. Cael led them to a small cabin, which was his home, inviting her and Rose into it. Though it was small, and on the complete opposite side of the spectrum Elzira was used too she welcomed it humbly. "Thank you for your kindness." She said as Cael began to come up with a plan to get them out of the kingdom. All of this was her fault. Before they left Elzira stood up, "Wait. Um...Ikeno I...I apologize for earlier. It was wrong of me to say such terrible things, even if it was a misunderstanding. I hope you can forgive me." Whether he responded or not, Elzira once again took a seat now left alone with Rose. Though she remained silent, unsure of what to talk about.

While waiting for the others to return there was noise outside, and Elzira tensed. What was it? Were they found out already? When the doors opened it was the last person Elzira was expecting to see. Even so, she was happy by the smile that lit her face. "Sir Baschan!" It was, however, short lived as she noticed the heavily wounded conditioned. "Ba-Baschan...Y-you're hurt..." While seeing people hurt wasn't new to her, it frightened her to see Baschan in that state. He was so close to death that she froze. Rose however, jumped up and began to try and help him. Though her face didn't really shange, the panic in her voice snapped Elzira back. Her expression changed into determination and she quickly moved over to the heavily wounded knight. "Do not fret Lady Rose, I can at least do this much." She reached out her hand, holding it over his chest area, as they began to glow a faint yellow. "I hate that I can't do much, but at least I have the power to help others. Once I have finished with Sir Baschan I will tend to your wounds next." She gave the soldier a kind smile before concentraiting back on Baschan.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander looked around in the shack as Cael explained the plan. "O-Okay...Sounds good..." he said, obviously unenthused. As they left to go out into the slums, Alexander cast a worried glance at the two girls. His gaze lingered on Princess Elzira, and he felt a pang of guilt.

[i]If only I could stay with her and protect her...I hope nothing happens...[/i]

And with that, he ran after Cael and Ikeno, heading deeper into the slums, a place he only knew from visiting his friends...

-Later-

"A-Arkolves!" Alexander exclaimed. He gritted his teeth, and drew The Harp from his back, unfolding the blade and deploying its strings. He swung the massive scythe around so that he was holding it in both hands, and slammed it into the ground. The clang of metal against the ground startled the arkolve nearest Alexander, causing it to yelp and jump back a bit. Alexander reached down, fingers trembling, and tried to strum on The Harp, but to no avail.

[i]D-Dammit...S-Stupid Arkolves...I-If....If only I weren't so s-scared of them... [/i]However, his thoughts were interrupted by the beast's charge. Instinctively, Alexander pulled up The Harp, slicing the underside of the aroklve's jaw. It yelped in pain, then began to growl. The beast snapped its jaws at Alexander, circling him slowly, just beyond The Harp's range. It would occasionally snap at him, sending globs of saliva at him from its fanged maw. Alexander watched it uneasily, his stomach churning at its every motion.

Finally, the beast charged. As it did, however, the tamer barked a command, and the arkolve dove sideways toward Alexander, catching him off guard. Alexander had barely enough time to bring up The Harp to block a mortal blow, but his right hand suffered a serious gash. "Gah!" he cried out, stumbling backward. The tamer barked another command, and the arkolve rushed in once again, its ravenous maw open wide.

Alexander instinctively shoved the shaft of The Harp into the arkolve's mouth, propping its jaws open. As the beast struggled, Alexander struggled to think of a way to subdue the creature. However, he realized that Anima would not be nearly effective enough, and he had no way to fully subdue the arkolve by utilizing its hyper-sensitive hearing. Sadly realizing there was no other alternative, he slowly reached his hand into the creature's mouth. "I'm sorry...Don't hate me..." Alexander whispered softly to the creature, closing his eyes tightly. His hand burned with a blue glow, signature of a Cadenza. There was a small [i]*BOOM[/i][i]*[/i], and Alexander opened his eyes.

[spoiler=Do NOT Read if you are Offended by Gore or Scenes of Violence Against Animals.]
His face grew immensely pale, witnessing the carnage he just unleashed. The entire back of the arkolve's skull and the top of its neck were completely blown away, a large splatter of blood and bone fragments plastered to the wall behind them. He pulled his hand and The Harp from the dead arkolve's mouth, and it fell to the ground, its jaw snapping off in the process, causing more blood to leak onto the ground and Alexander's clothing and hands.
[/spoiler]

Shaking, he looked over to the arkolve's tamer, who looked just as stunned as he felt. The tamer dropped to her knees and crawled over to her deceased companion, brushing its fur gently.

"I...I'm s-s-sorry..." Tears began to well up in Alexander's eyes, and he thumped the tamer's skull with The Harp's shaft once, knocking her unconscious.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Ikeno was silent the entire time while they made their way from the waterways to Cael's home. When they arrived, Ikeno stood there as Cael began to explain what was going to happen. As everyone began to head out, Princess Elzira stood up and said, "Wait. Um...Ikeno I...I apologize for earlier. It was wrong of me to say such terrible things, even if it was a misunderstanding. I hope you can forgive me." Ikeno stood an listened until she finished. [b]"It's all alright."[/b] he assured her with a smile as he turned and left with Cael and Alexander, shutting the door behind him.

[Later]

As they encountered the tamers and their arkolves, the two arkolves charged in a flanking maneuver. One came at Ikeno and the other at Alexander. Ikeno drew his black sword from his side in his left hand and fended off the creatures charge. Moments later, the arkolve charged again and this time, Ikeno being tired, could only block it's charge by holding his blade horizontally. It tackled him to the ground, Ikeno holding it off with his sword pressed against it's breast area. It's razor teeth in his face as it snarled and bit at him. Just then, he heard a booming sound. He turned to see that Alexander had defeated his arkolve but did it in a way that startled them all. The arkolve was still not giving up, trying to get at Ikeno's face. Ikeno took a deep breath and quickly exhaled a small flame into the creature's face. It yelped and jumped back, rubbing it's face to put out the flame. Ikeno quickly jumped to his feet as the arkolve charged him again, this time in a flanking maneuver again. It ran around to Ikeno's left and attacked. Ikeno quickly spun his blade around and slammed the butt of the handle into the side of the arkolve's head, knocking it unconscious. he turned towards the remaining tamer and his blade began to glow a light blue color. One of the tamers charged him and Ikeno released a large blue blast into the tamers torso, blowing him back. Ikeno put away his blade and turned to Alexander. [b]"We need to get out of here."[/b] he said, the tears in Alexander's eyes were beginning to get to him.

[.:Blu:.]

Baschan lie there as Elzira continued haling him. He quickly felt better but not by much; at least it was better than bleeding to death. "Princess... Rose... Thank you..." Baschan said in a weak, whisper-like voice. "Please Captain, you shouldn't exert yourself by talking... Ugh..." the soldier took his hand off of his torso wound to see the bleeding had stopped but his hand was completely covered in blood. Placing the hand back onto the wound, the soldier began to speak. "The battle against Sinegard's soldiers was brutal... We were outnumbered and everybody was quickly killed except for the Captain and I who retreated... That boy... The one with the blonde hair and vest... I knew where he live because I patrolled this part of Dosca before and saw him... I figured he would bring you two here..." the soldier explained how he knew of Cael's home. "Fortunately I was right or else Captain Baschan might've- I'm sorry..." the soldier cut himself off from saying something unfortunate. "Speaking of things, where is the other three?" the soldier asked, referring to Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander.

After receiving an answer, the soldier almost jumped from his position. "What?! They're heading to the Airship Docks?! Damn it, they're gonna get themselves killed! Sinegard knows that one of them is part of the Lidare lineage. He set up a trap for them there!" the soldier exclaimed, overexerting himself to the point of coughing out a bit of blood. "This is bad, we need to do something..." the soldier said. Suddenly, Baschan struggled to sat up and he finally did, leaning against the wall. "We can't... The Princess will be exposed... And Rose can't leave because right now she is the only one capable of defending the Princess..." Baschan stated. "So what do we do...?" the soldier asked. "We'll just to keep faith they will able to handle themselves..." Baschan stated, a clear sign of distress and sorrow in his voice. Baschan then turned to Rose. "Rose... You said you were here to see the wedding right...? Did you get here on a ship...?" Baschan asked. After receiving an answer, Baschan felt a bit more relieved. "Rose... We'll need to get the Princess out of Dosca... Frone and I will fight off any soldiers along the way while you get Princess Elzira to your ship and escape..." Baschan explained his plan.

"These soldiers won't be a match for me even if I'm injured... Once you two are gone... I'll go help those three boys..." Baschan added. Baschan then turned to face Elzira. He was doing his best to hold back his tears and fortunately, he accomplished just that. He couldn't allow the Princess to see him in a weak state. "Princess Elzira... Looks like I won't be able to fulfill my promise to you... I'm- I'm sorry... Truly I am..." Baschan stated.

-Meanwhile-

After defeating the enemies, Ikeno urged his two friends that they needed to get out of there to which Cael nodded once in agreement. Cael turned to Alexander to try and comfort him and urge him to move on for now. "Alexander, it's alright. It was just a spur of the moment, it's not your fault. But right now we have to avoid getting into more fights so we need to go." Cael said softly. From there, the three of them began running as quickly as they can. Paradisus soldiers had heard the fighting and were quickly chasing after them. Luckily, they were far away when the fighting had started and so Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander had a head start. While not as well as the waterways, Cael knew the streets of Dosca pretty well, the same thing could be said for Ikeno and Alexander, and so using their knowledge, they were able to escape the chase with the Paradisus soldiers. Not long after, the three of them arrived at the Airship Docks. "Finally." Cael said, staring at the large display of Airships.

Suddenly, they noticed soldiers were patrolling the docks and there were a lot of them. "Crap...! Should've guessed they'd be here. Looks like we don't have a lot of choices but to fight our way in and find Rasch." Cael said, unsheathing his scimitar. A group of six soldiers suddenly noticed the three boys from afar. "There they are! Prince Sinegard said they would be here! And there is the Lidare boy!" one soldier shouted which caused a flare to go off in Cael's head. "They know?! Does that mean... What if something has happened to Rasch?!" Cael asked. Questions would have to wait however as the soldiers charged towards the three of them. Cael quickly launched a Scarlet Bomb towards one of the soldiers, exploding on impact and sending the soldier into another, knocking both out. "We don't have time to fight them seriously. We need to get to Rasch. He might still be here." Cael stated.

After Ikeno and Alexander had taken care of the rest of the four soldiers, the three of them quickly rushed deeper into the docks. It wasn't long until they arrived at an open area of the docks. There, they saw four soldiers surrounding someone. "Hey!" Cael shouted to get the soldiers' attention. As the soldiers turned their bodies and moved to the side, it was revealed that the soldiers were surrounding a restrained Rasch on the ground with heavy chains wrapped around him. "Alexander!" Rasch called in surprise to see his nephew. Naturally Alexander wanted to help his uncle to which Cael nodded. "Beating these guys will be a piece of cake. You should've run when you had the chance." Cael told the soldiers as he unsheathed his scimitar. Suddenly, a loud roar emanated from above Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander, causing them to look up to see something coming down on them and fast. "Dodge!" Cael instinctively shouted to his friends as he leaped back to avoid whatever was descending upon the three of them.

After all three of them have avoided the attack and regained their composure, they looked to see a large monster, standing at a height of fifteen feet and probably weighing in at more than a ton. The monster seems to be on the soldiers' side as it once again roared, directing its roar at Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander. "T-That thing is massive...!" Cael said, looking at the gargantuan monster in disbelief. Snapping out of his awe, Cael looked back to the soldiers who were ready to fight as well. "Ikeno, Alexander. Looks like we got a serious fight on our hands." Cael stated.

[spoiler=Boss Battle - Goliath Info][IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz46/wirespy/036_max.jpg[/IMG]

Goliaths are incredibly powerful and uncommon monsters found rarely throughout Odiad. Extremely powerful with a vicious nature to match, a Goliath's only goal is to destroy its targets by any means necessary using its gigantic sword as its primary means of fighting. Though slow and its attacks are relatively simple to evade, a Goliath's attacks will cause significant damage to targets and the area. Besides using its sword, a Goliath also makes use of its feet to stomp an enemy and cause small tremors while it does so. Finally, it boasts incredibly thick and durable skin that can repel quite a few basic weapon attacks before it is damaged. The best way to deal with a Goliath is to attack its head and exposed torso with magic and more powerful weapon attacks rather than basic attacks.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Goliath Boss Battle Music][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z3yLcVfsU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z3yLcVfsU[/url][/spoiler]

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

The trip from the alleyway to the airship docks was a blur to Alexander. All he could think about was killing the arkolve, its blood, bone, and brains splattered sporadically behind it...

Remembering the fight, Alexander looked down at his right hand. There was a large gash all the way across the back, and blood was flowing out at an alarming rate. He didn't say anything, though. He didn't want to force his friends to stop or slow down on account of his injury, so he merely tore off some fabric from his jacket's sleeve and wrapped it around the cut. Afterwards, there was a brief altercation with more Paradisus soldiers, but he made quick work of them by slamming the flat of The Harp's blade on their heads and knocking them unconscious.

As they arrived at the airship docks, Alexander caught sight of Rasch. His ruddy brown hair was matted to his forehead, slightly obscuring his normally warm (but now pained) orange eyes. There were various bruises and lacerations up his thick arms, and his massive, calloused hands were tied over his head. There were more injuries on his barrel-like chest, and judging by the blood, they were relatively fresh. All in all, Rasch [acronym='gav-ree-ell']Gavriel[/acronym] Blackwood looked quite a sight.

"U-Uncle Rasch!" Alexander said, aghast at the sight of his bound and beaten uncle. A kind of hot anger filled Alexander, and he gritted his teeth at the sight of the knights. "Y-You...Y-You're g-gonna p-pay for this!" he shouted, swinging The Harp over his head. He twirled it overhead, and the movement caused some air to pull the strings and strike up an odd melody. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind whipped up around Alexander, and it quickly grew more powerful and tangible until Alexander was fully enveloped in a massive grey funnel cloud that hummed with power.

The knight nearest Alexander had his spear torn away from him and into the vortex, and moments later, he himself was pulled in as well. As he struggled to get out and cried for help, his own spear impaled him through the torso, silencing him.

Alexander swung The Harp down and scraped the cobbled ground in a semi-circle, dispelling the tornado and sending the mortally wounded soldier flying. As he readied himself to attack another soldier, a deafening roar rang in Alexander's ears, and he looked up. A massive black shape was fast approaching, and Alexander rolled out of the way.

A tremor shook the ground, and Alexander looked up to see what had happened. There, standing before them, was a fully-matured Goliath. Alexander had heard tales of the beast, but he had never expected (nor hoped) to ever be face-to-face with such a creature. He scrambled to his feet and let out a small hiss of pain when he placed too much weight on his right hand.

All Alexander knew about the Goliath was that the torso and right side of the head (which were both unarmored) were vulnerable to magical attacks. He had to think quickly, and since he didn't wish to place the burden of covering him on Cael and Ikneo so that he could try to perform the Heartstring Sonata, he swung The Harp in three arcs in quick succession, causing three crescent-shaped Cadenzas to fire off at the Goliath and remaining soldiers. He saw two blasts hit the Goliath square in the abdomen, but it seemed to have little visible effect on the beast. He saw the third Cadenza strike a soldier's arm, causing him to cry out in pain and drop his gladius.

"H-How are we gonna get rid of this thing...?" Alexander muttered to himself, concerned.

[Hotaru987]

Princess Elzira was quickly becoming tired, as seen by the sweat trickling down her brow. She would have kept going if it wasn't for the other soldier coughing up blood. Since she managed to keep him for bleeding to death and dying for the time being, she moved over to the soldier as he began telling them how he knew about Cael's home. He then asked where the three boys were to which Elzira responded, "They went to aquire an airship from Alexander's uncle Rasch." The soldier almost jumped from his position, but Elzira gave him a stern look as to not move while she was trying to close his wounds. Thankfully the bleeding stopped on it's own, but if she didn't close it, the bleeding might start again. It slowly doawned on her what the soldier said, and her eyes widened, "Oh, no. This isn't good. Prince Sinegard will no doubt send something terrible after them, if he doesn't not go there himself." In responce to the soldier sayign they needed to do something, Baschan replied that there was no way they could.

He still sounded weak even after her healing, and she looked down in self pity. She was causing so much burden on other people. She couldn't even relieve Baschan and the soldier of their pain. [font=comic sans ms,cursive][i]'Just what kind of princess am I? I'm putting everyone that is close to me in harms way.' [/i][/font]She looked up when Baschan asked Rose if she arrived here on a ship, to which was answered in the positive. The wounded knight began to tell them the plan, but Elzira didn't like it, especially his parting words. [i]"Princess Elzira... Looks like I won't be able to fulfill my promise to you... I'm- I'm sorry... Truly I am..." [/i]The princess knew he was holdign back his tears, she was doing the same, however unlike Baschan she didn't succeed. Her chin fell to her chest as she looked to the ground, her tears falling. Since her father's passing she had done everything to not cry, but now she couldn't help it.

"Don't....Don't say that...Because you - I....I-i order you to come back." Elzira probably sounded like a spoiled child and not the princess she was. "You won't disobey a direct order will you. I want both of you to stay safe and return. Do you understand...?" With her tears, and whispered voice it was more like a desperae plea than an order.

[Cherz]

Rose answerd yes when she was asked about her ship. She felt a deep sorrow in her heart, but she did not have a big connection to Baschan like the princess did. She too held back tears, for she was bonding with him. But, there was not much to be done. She heard Elzira order him to acompany him, but both knew it was pointless. "I am sorry Baschan, you were a noble knight. I will always remember you." Rose said to Baschan, bowing. She conjured a metalic rose, and gave it to him. Rose knew she had to lead Elzira to the ship. Baschan made up his mind, and she knew he would not change it. With hot tears dripping down her sad face, she said to Elzira "I am sorry Princes. I know this must be hard on you. In fact, it is hard on me, and I hate to be the one to pry you from Baschan, but we must get going. Baschan will die in vain if we do not hurry." Rose told Elzira. She grabbed Elzira's hand, and she dashed ouut the door of the shack. "Farewell Baschan, you will never be forgoten." She shouted to him.

[Kakashi Hatake]

After arriving at the docks, Alexander began unleashing attacks onto the soldiers there. Ikeno was a little startled by the initiative Alexander was taking. He barely had time to do anything before they were abruptly interrupted by the attack of a Goliath. After dodging its advance, Ikeno was shocked to see what it was. Alexander was quick to unleash an attack on both the creature and the soldiers. Ikeno already had his black sword drawn and decides that he may need to use both of his swords to take care of this monster. The goliath turns to face Alexander after his previous attack. Ikeno quickly began to charge his Clear Wave magic attack. As they began to glow more and more, he ran swiftly to the monster's left, and began yelling to get its attention. [b]"Hey, over here, Ugly! Follow the glowing swords!"[/b] As the goliath turned to attack, Ikeno quickly released his attack, sending both waves of magic hurling straight towards the monster's face. They landed with point accuracy and caused a slight cut on the side of the creature's face. It stumbled a step back and Ikeno jumped back as far as he could, knowing that if that didn't do much then he'd have to charge it up even more to even effect the thing.

[.:Blu:.]

Hearing the Princess' "command", which truthfully sounded more like a desperate plea, Baschan did what he thought was best. "I understand..." Baschan responded, knowing full well he was lying. Just then, Rose created a metallic rose to which she gave to Baschan, after telling him that he was a noble knight. Baschan nodded and thanked Rose, holding the metallic rose near his chest. Rose then began to shed tears of her own, seeing how miserable the situation was for them. Baschan felt a heavy pain in his chest from seeing the two of them cry. "P-Please... Don't..." Baschan pleaded with the two in an attempt to stop their tears from flowing. In an act of duty, Rose grabbed Elzira's hand and pulled her away from the scene; bidding farewell to Baschan as she left out the door. "C-Captain... Are you... alright...?" Frone asked Baschan who gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. "I... I failed... I failed our Princess... What good is a knight if he can't protect those he sworn to protect...?" Baschan asked. "But you did protect her... More than you know..." Frone replied. Taking in his soldier's words, Baschan released his clenched fists and exhaled. "Frone... Thank you..." Baschan said.

After some time, Elzira and Rose arrived at the entrance. Along they way, they had to fend off a few Paradisus soldiers, but not that many however because Baschan had taken care of them beforehand. Unfortunately, the gate of the city was closed, preventing the two of them to escape. But since Baschan came up with this plan, he had to have done something to allow the two of them to be able to open the gates. It turns out, the guard protecting the lever is dead and with the lever unguarded, Elzira and Rose could proceed to open up the gates. After opening the gates, the two of them ran outside to the ship port only to find it was completely empty. There were no ships docked at all; even Rose's ship was gone. Suddenly, the four guards that were here when Rose had arrived in the city ambushed the two of them with swords drawn. "Hand the Princess over!" one guard commanded Rose as all four of them surrounded her and Elzira.

-Meanwhile-

Both Alexander's and Ikeno's attack proved somewhat ineffective against the hulking beast, and now it was Cael's turn to give it a go. While the Goliath was distracted, Cael rushed up from behind and leaped up towards the beast with his scimitar extended outward. Cael then performed a horizontal slash across the Goliath's back, however, as the scimitar's blade moved across Goliath's back, it proved to be ineffective. Cael landed onto the ground and quickly leaped back as Goliath's sword came around in an attempt to counterattack. "This monsters' skin, it repelled my attack with no problem..." Cael said quietly to himself. Cael looked to his friends with an expression as if he had came up with a plan. "Hey Ikeno, Alex, how 'bout we try attacking all at once with magic?" Cael suggested. Goliath turned back around to face the three of them, it seemed angrier than normal now. "Alright, guess we'll have to try it then. Take this!" Cael shouted as he lobbed a Scarlet Bomb towards Goliath.

With their combined magic attacks, they were able to deal some good damage towards Goliath, destroying some of its armor as well as its skin. The Goliath roared fiercely in response to the three's attacks. "Heh, that turned out pretty well actually. Let's give it another go-" Right as Cael said that, Goliath chucked its massive sword towards the three of them. "Whoa!" Cael shouted as he managed to barely leaped out of the way; hitting the ground rolling and stopping in a kneeling position. "This monster's got some real anger-management issues." Cael lightly joked. With a majority of its armor now destroyed, its flesh is now exposed, making dealing damage to the monster much more easy. However, without armor weighing it down, the Goliath was faster now as well. Without the warning, the Goliath charged towards them.

[Cherz]

Rose looked around. [i]Were is my ship?[/i] She thought. ut, that was the least of her problems. 4 guards ambushed them and circled them. This should not be too hard. What I'm worried about is the fact we have no escape." Rose told Elzira. She pulled her fan out. "are you "men" sure you want this? You could just tell us were my ship is, let us leave, and we could do this the easy way. Or, we could trash you." Rose knew that the men would not allow that and she sighed. She created a tornado about the size of a small house. "As long as we stay in the middle, we should be fine." She told Elzira. Pink metallic petals were tangled with the wind. Rose shouted "Disperse", and the tornado did just that. "Damn, were is my escape?" She silently cursed.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander nodded in response to Cael's suggestion to use their magic attacks simultaneously. Alexander swung The Harp and fired off a Cadenza, the crescent shaped blast of energy slamming into the Goliath's chest.

The Goliath roared, parts of his armor destroyed and blood oozing from his torn chest. He threw his sword at the trio, and Cael just narrowly dodged the weapon. Alexander rolled beneath the flying sword, the blade knicking his shoulder slightly. "Ergh..." he groaned, feeling blood trickle down his right arm. He stood up, staggering a little from the pain.

Alexander brought up The Harp and readied himself for another strike against the Goliath. However, the monster charged, and he had little time to react. Alexander dove out of the way, slamming his left knee into the ground. "Agh!" he cried, rolling onto his back.

It was than Alexander noticed that a Paradisus soldier charging at him while he was still on the ground, spear in hand. Alexander had little time to bring up The Harp and catch the spear with his Lover's Embrace, twisting the spear out of the soldier's grip forcefully and cutting it in half. The soldier readied a magical attack in his left hand, and Alexander slammed the shaft of his scythe into the soldier's wrist, breaking it and causing the soldier to crumple into a pained heap.

Alexander started panting, obviously exhausted and in pain. He now could only lie there on the ground, unable to move. He thrust his hand outward and fired a blue Cadenza from his palm toward the creature's flayed-open chest, hoping to critically wound it.

[Hotaru987]

[i]'I will never forget you Baschan. I promise, none of this will be in vain. I will compelte my mission, no matter what.' [/i]Princesss Elzira made a vow as she was being pulled away by Rose towards the docks. It didn't take them long to reach the docks but when they did they were met with a great surprise. All of the ships were gone, and by the look on Rose's face so was her's. "Now what are we going to do?" Elzira asked. Suddenly they were approached by four men that demanded tha Rose handed her over, but thankfully Rose refused. Elzira didn't know what drove Rose to help her, but since Rose was the only person she had left to assist her Elzira had no choice but to trust her. Though if Baschan trusted Rose, then Elzira would do the same.

In an amazing display, Rose created a small tornado in which the two of them were in the middle. Swirlign around with the wind were hundreds of cherry blossom petals. She then made it expand the attack heading for the soldiers. [i]'She's strong...Guess Baschan was right to trust her.[/i]'

"Perhaps those 4 men know something about the missing ships." Elzira tried to offer assistance to the matter.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Ikeno wasn't suprised to see that Cael's attack proved about as ineffective as the rest. [b]"Yeah, I've got it!"[/b] Ikeno answered as Cael suggested that they all attack at once. Ikeno already had his magic attack charged from his previous attempt at wounding the goliath. he raised his swords and launched the wave into the goliath along side his friends. This combined attack dealt some decent damage and destroyed some of it's armor, revealing it's bare flesh. The goliath wasn't exactly happy and chucked it's giant blade straight at them. Although he did not have enough time to react by telling his friends to dodge, he was able to swiftly react due to his keen foresight ability. Ikeno didn't have time to get up when seeing a Paradisus soldier attacking Alexander Luckily, Alexander was able to deal with the problem. Ikeno realized that Alexander was stuck after launching that magic attack. [b]"Get on your feet, Alexander!"[/b] he shouted. Several thoughts were running through his mind about what to do about their current situation. Should he help Alexander and risk getting attacked, or hope that Alexander can stand on his own and be alright? Ikeno quickly decided to put away his swords and cast the Healing Hands magic as be began sprinting to Alexander.

[.:Blu:.]

The four soldiers were quickly defeated by the skilled Rose. However, their trouble was far from being over. Once Elzira had suggested to Rose that they should interrogate the four soldiers, one of the soldiers began laughing in a weak tone of voice. "Hehehe... You think... You think you can really escape...? What a joke... Hehehehe- Ugh!" the soldier's laugh was stopped short when he coughed up blood. The other three soldiers were already unconscious after being hit with Rose's tornado, but this particular soldier had some toughness to him, still being able to laugh as if what Rose had said before was funny. "There's no way for the two of you to escape. We've already taken the liberty to retain every single ship to assure the Princess won't be leaving any time soon. However, I must congratulate you. Yes you, the one with the fan. You're lucky to be the Princess' guard. You'll get to live a little longer. However, as for the three guards and that traitor Baschan, they will be killed by Prince Sinegard himself at the Airship Docks. Hahahaha!" the chatty soldier explained before he passed out. Things were even more bleak now as Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander plus Baschan and Frone are about to face Prince Sinegard, the strongest general of the Paradisus Army. They are all lambs heading towards their slaughter and Elzira and Rose needed to get to them fast.

-Meanwhile-

Both Alexander and Ikeno were in a tough situation. Alexander was wounded on the ground after a combined assault from Goliath and a Paradisus soldier. Meanwhile, Ikeno needed to help his friend and so he selflessly risked his own safety by dashing towards Alexander, hoping to heal him with magic. To distract Goliath, Alexander fired a blue Candenza towards the monster's exposed chest, hoping to gain a critical hit if at all possible. Surprisingly, the armor-less Goliath expertly side-stepped, entirely avoiding the incoming projectile. Even worst, the massive hulk had not stopped moving and continued its planned charge towards Ikeno and Alexander. Cael, meanwhile, wasn't exactly in a position he wanted either, being way too far away from his two friends to reach them in time, and his magic alone would not be able to stop Goliath. "(What do I do...? WHAT DO I DO??? DAMN IT!)" Cael thought, unable to think of a plan to help his friends in time. Everything seemed to be moving faster now for Alexander and Ikeno being so close to death. At any time, the two of them could shake his hand, allowing him to escort them to the afterlife.

Goliath closed in on the two of them, mere seconds away from crushing both of them with the impact of the charge alone. "GAHHH!!!!" A sudden battle cry rang out into the atmosphere, echoing through the Airship-filled docks. A sudden black flash rushed by both Ikeno and Alexander, ending with a powerful kick straight into the monster's chest. The impact of the kick was so great that it launched Goliath back a pretty good distance. Cael's eyes remained large, being able to see everything that is happening but his brain at the moment couldn't possibly process it all. Whoever saved Ikeno and Alexander then landed onto the ground in a kneeling position while a single, long black braid flowed adamantly in the air. Goliath, regaining its composure, roared at whoever had attacked it; clearly furious. As the person's braid fell back down, it was clear that by the shape of the person, it was a male who had saved the two of them.

The man turned around, revealing a fierce face, one akin to a wild beast. His furious red eyes stared at Ikeno and Alexander imbuing them with a sense of adrenaline and rush. "Hey! Are the two of you alright?!" the man shouted, his voice almost seemed like an uproar.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Ikeno was dashing as quickly as he could in his current condition towards Alexander. He could hear the Goliath charging towards them but continued until he reached Alexander at the last second, sliding to him on his knees. The Goliath was mere seconds away when Ikeno looked up to hear a ringing battle cry sound. He saw a quick dark flash rush past him and slam directly into the Goliath's torso. Ikeno was shocked to see that the force of the attack was enough to launch the Goliath backwards. A fierce looking man landed and turned to face them, his eyes as red as crimson. "Hey! Are the two of you alright?!" the man shouted, his voice almost seemed like an uproar. [b]"Well... yeah! We're just awesome!"[/b] Ikeno answered, almost unable to believe what he had just witnessed. He turned back to Alexander and crouched beside him on one knee. Holding out his already golden glowing hands about chest level over Alexander, he began refueling Alexander with energy. He didn't have the energy to completely heal all of his wounds but he took care of enough that Alexander could continue to fight another round or two.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

The Goliath roared at them, and Alexander braced himself for death. However, a battle cry cut through the sound, and a dark figure shot into the Goliath's chest, knocking it back quite a ways. The figure fell to the earth, and Alexander could see it was a man with a long braid of black hair.

[i]"Hey! Are the two of you alright?!"[/i] the man shouted at them. Alexander saw the man's fiery red eyes, and he felt within him a renewed sense of vigor.

"Y-Yeah!" Alexander said, nodding. He placed The Harp's shaft on the ground and pulled himself up as the Goliath began to approach again, a bit more cautiously than before. When Ikeno reached him with his Healing Hands, Alexander felt the flow of blood from his shoulder stop, and his knee began to feel back to normal. He still ached a bit, but the injuries were no longer serious.

Alexander had an idea. It would be difficult to pull off, though, and it would leave him wide-open for attack if he were to try and perform it perfectly...And he didn't want to be a burden to his comrades, just like he had been when he was injured just now...

Without a word, Alexander flipped The Harp upside-down with its blade resting on the cobbled ground, and he knelt down beside it. He began to play a light melody, and he hummed softly. Blue light encircled Alexander, causing him to glow faintly. [i]Okay...Halfway done...Now, if I can play the Third Movement without a hitch, I might be able to end this...[/i]

[Hotaru987]

Elzira frowned at the man after hearing that they had took all of the boats. Though the alarm came when he mentioned that Prince Sinegard was heading towards Cael, and Baschan's position. "Lady Rose we must get to the airship docks! You do know where they are at, yes?" Though she had lived in Dosca for all of her life, she wasn't very informed on where places were or how to get there. "Since your ship isn't here we don't have a choice but to go there and hope they were able to get that airship from Alexander's uncle." She waited for Rose, though the look in her eyes was very impaitent. Elzira just wanted to get there to possibly help those three boys, Baschan and the other soldier.

[Cherz]

Rose was both furiouse and upset. "I payed good money for that." She whispered to herself. She listened to Elzira, and then remembered she went by the airship docks while she was wandering. "Yes, I do know where the docks are." she told Elzira. Rose created an updraft. Ride this wind, I will guid us to them. I hope you are not afraid of hights." She said to Elzira, trying to slightly lighten the mood. She hoped in the updraft, and was shot upward. "I spotted the dock. It looks like there is a giant creature with them." Rose informed Elzira. Rose couldent make out details, but she could see 4 dots, and 1 big one. "We must hurry, they could be in danger!" Rose exclaimed. She guided the winds with her fan. They began to speed up, and soon they were soaring.

[.:Blu:.]

With help from a mysterious person, Ikeno was able to heal Alexander so they can continue fighting against Goliath. Cael quick got to his friends, a worried expression on his face. "I glad you guys are alright... That was a close call... Hey, thanks." Cael said to the man. "Your welcome. Are you three good for more fighting?" the man asked. "Yeah." Cael replied with a stern voice as he took a stance. "Good. We can beat this damn thing with a combination of some powerful attacks. Think you're up for it? If you are then let's not waste any time!" the man shouted at the last part before rushing towards Goliath. His speed was quite something to behold. His speed is certainly faster than any human. "Guess we shouldn't be standing around either huh?" Cael said as he rushed towards Goliath as well. Seeing what was going on, Goliath roared loudly, as if it was accepting the challenge, and then charged at the four of them. Once he got close enough, the mysterious man leaped into the air and twirled his body around. Once he stopped, Cael suddenly noticed his feet becoming animal-like. "(What the-)" Cael's thought was interrupted as the man called out to him, Ikeno, and Alexander. "If you're gonna attack, attack now!" the man shouted before landing a kick straight into Goliath's chest. Quickly snapping out of his confused state, Cael leaped into the air. Raising his scimitar over his head, his weapon suddenly was enveloped by a turquoise-colored aura most likely magic. Cael then brought his weapon down onto Goliath's head, causing the magical aura to surge and burst in an explosion of magic.

After taking an attack from each person, Goliath fell onto the floor, unconscious and substantially injured but not quite dead. With their combined attacks, the four of them managed to defeat Goliath, and a big credit of that was owed to this mysterious person. If he hadn't appeared when he did, Ikeno and Alexander might've been bidding farewell to Cael. Cael was thankful that wasn't the case. "Arrg, I hate these things!" the man shouted angrily before stomping on Goliath's arm repeatedly in an angry fit. Suddenly, Baschan arrived on the scene with his other soldier. "You three, are you alright?" Baschan asked Cael, Ikeno, and Alexander. "Baschan?! Y-Yeah we're fine, but you look to be in worst shape then us." Cael replied, surprised to see Baschan. "What are you doing here? The last time we saw you, you were up against Prince Sinegard. You managed to survive him and his small army?" Cael asked. "Yes, but barely... Huh? Who is this person?" Baschan asked, referring to the man with the braid. "Shhh." the man suddenly told the others to be quiet. "What's the matter?" Cael asked. "I can hear... wind..." the man replied, though it seemed confusing to the others what he meant.

His meaning however was soon made clear when Elzira and Rose arrived on an updraft created by Rose, much to Baschan's dismay. "Princess!" Baschan exclaimed, surprised. "Why are you still here?!" Baschan asked in an almost scolding-like voice. "Don't hide in the shadow like a coward! Show yourself!" the man with the braid suddenly shouted before Elzira could explain things. "Very impressive... You sensed my presence...? Magic I suppose..." an all too familiar voice emanated from behind one of the many airships within the docks. Sinegard then stepped out from behind the airship and he seemed to be alone. "Magic...? Not exactly... More like a curse..." the man with the braid answered. "Curse or no curse, it's impressive either way. Unfortunately, you've harmed one of my favorite pets and you helped my enemy. Since now you're an enemy, you'll die along with them." Sinegard said before unsheathing his sword. "I'll kill you first-" the man shouted but was interrupted by Baschan.

"Please, all of you must escape now." Baschan stated as he unsheathed his own sword.

"Baschan, you're not serious about fighting him. You're injured. You can get yourself killed." Cael stated.

"No I won't as long as you can get the Princess out of this city. Please, trust me. Now go before he kills us all and takes the Princess captive!" Baschan exclaimed as he charged at Sinegard.

"Run?! Why can't we just kick this guy's ass?!" the man with the braid asked, ready to fight.

After someone in the group answered the man's question, a large group of Paradisus soldiers showed up on the scene with weapons in hand. "Damn it, there's too many of them to fight them all!" Cael exclaimed. "If you guys wanna escape, you better follow me to the ports!" the man said before running off. Some soldiers attempted to stop him, but he quickly took care of them with a few good punches and kicks. "C'mon!" the man urged them to follow. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice. Princess, I know you think leaving Baschan is pretty much hitting the nails on his coffin but staying here will only cause even more sorrow for him." Cael explained. After convincing the Princess, the group ran after the man with the braid, hoping he wouldn't be the light that will guide them out of the darkness.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander continued strumming on The Harp as Cael and their new ally fought the Goliath. He was a bit shocked when the new person turned into a panther-like creature, but he couldn't be forced to dwell on that now. Finally, he managed to bring the song to the point for the Second Movement.

"Heartstring Sonata's Second Movement: Burning Passion!" Red spheres of light appeared around Alexander and elongated into spear-like shapes. They fired into the Goliath's chest and exploded as Alexander struck a powerful chord, assisting in knocking the beast down.

Alexander was just about to finish at the end of the second movement, but he noticed Baschan's battered and bloody figure approaching. Noting that this was the perfect opportunity to use the Third Movement's healing properties. He began the Third Movement, a heart-wrenching melody now coming from The Harp. Golden strings of light emerged from the scythe's blade, and they stretched toward the Goliath and Baschan. The strings wrapped around the two beings' arms, and one could see white balls of light travel along the strings. The Goliath seemed to be getting slowly weaker, even in its unconscious state, as the balls moved away from its body and toward Baschan, who seemed to gain strength whenever one of the balls reached him.

Alexander's concentration was broken momentarily when the Princess and Rose arrived. However, he resumed playing, trying to heal Baschan's numerous wounds to the best of his abilities.

However, when the mysterious man with the braid noticed something was off, a chill ran down Alexander's spine. Prince Sinegard was there again, stating that he would kill them.

Alexander stood up with The Harp as Sinegard and his army of soldiers advanced, and the strings of light converged over Alexander's head into a large heart shape. "Alright, everyone, run!" Alexander shouted, tossing The Harp at the Paradisus soldiers. Without hesitation, Alexander grabbed the Princess's hand and pulled her along, trying to get her away from the mass destruction that would ensue and help her follow the man with the braid.

Sure enough, once they were a safe distance away, there was a massive explosion far behind them, and Alexander could hear the shouts of a few Paradisus soldiers. [i]I'm sorry, Dad...The Harp...It's gone...[/i] Alexander brushed the tears from his eyes as he ran, trying to keep the Princess and everyone else from seeing how upset he was.

[Hotaru987]

"Ahhhhh!!" Elzira shrieked the moment she was carried into the air by rose's wind. She stared at Rose in shock at her idea. While it ensured that they got to the airship docks quickly, it almost gave Baschan a heart attac. Though she didn't get a chance to reply," Her heart lifted, and she smiled after seeing that baschan was still alive. Cael and the others were also still live. There was also a new guy. He had long black hair wich was braided, and red feral eyes. Elzria sighed in relief once she touched the ground, but it was premature since the braid guy called out Prince Sinegard. Baschan once again yelled forthem to go an again elzira was torn. Every time she resigns herself to leaing Baschan something hppens to bring them back together. Her eyes were closed as she thought about it. The braid guy then asked wy can't they just fight him, "No it'll be pointless. Prince sinegard is in a league all his own, not only that but here he has all of the soldiers at his command. He'd tire us out before long."

Cael agreed and looked at her to convince her to leave. She just smiled, "I know..I won't make this any harder than it has to be....I'm fine." Thankfully the braid guy had a ship so they followed him. Elzira felt a bit better after Alex healed more of Baschan's wounds givng him a better chance. Afterwards, he suprised her by grabbing her wrist and pulling her along. A group of Paradisus soldiers blocked them. Braid guy was able to take care of them, and een Alex helped by throwing his scythe. She was surprised he was going to leave his weapon, it seemd special to him. Her eyes narowed when she noticed his tears.

"Why are you leaving it?! Go back and get your weapon!" She yelled, "It's important to you right?"