"Long ago, when the world was at peace with all three races, Nasods, Elves and humans helped each other. When one kind asked for help, the humans would go their way and aid their fellow friends.
This went on and on, for a long time. The Nasods and humans had formed a tight bond between each other, a thing that neither the two races ever occurred before. Machine and man, passing their lives, experiencing moments that were irreplaceable.
But, nothing is always good and soon, the humans were cornered against the elves. The elves demanded, threatened and warned the humans to give them the the El stone, so that both their worlds would still be united.
The humans, having had so many moments with the machine race was in a bind. They had not been in touch with the elves as much as their fellow Nasods, but they couldn't do that to their irreplaceable friends.
They needed the stone to keep on living. To take it from them, would mean that their time would be limited. So limited that they would start to go to war against them.
The humans had to decide, war against the elves or war against their friends...
...The humans chose the war against the Nasods.
It was not because they chose to. Each Nasod or human that fell in that war, both parties cried for their companions and old friends.
The humans cried for themselves and their friends, the Nasods did the same. Until, the humans won, but with a hefty price.
The bond between the elves was bittersweet, the humans didn't like them, but it was too much for them to enter in a fight against another of their friends. Even if their hearts still had a lump that weighted heavier than the world itself."
Our heroes just defeated the massive demon of muscle Victor and were ready to face Ran, Ara's possessed brother. This encounter was already told they would meet, yet something was off.
It was a person. He joined them a few weeks ago, when he saved Eve from an active ancient Nasod guard.
"Where's Add? He was just behind us!" Rena perked up, the boy was certainly right behind her.
"He'll join us later! He has the tendency to come late." Raven informed as they reached the platform that would take them to the dark Earl.
"Get ready all of you!" Elsword yelled, getting their attention.
In front of them was a throne, on it was Ran with an amused expression towards the gang. Behind him was the water priestess, enveloped with a magical bubble.
"How amusing... You defeated those weaklings that I call an army." He proceeded with a little chuckle before looking at them with a serious expression. "No matter, It has already been placed into the hands of the water priestess... Time is on my side."
Shadows swallowed him, before taking him in front of the gang. Sword at his side and dark magic between his fingertips.
Add was beside the unconscious body of Victor, not because he could relate to the demon, but because this is the second time he had to face him. It disappointed him on how, the strongest demon of this pity army of demons, wouldn't give him the spark of fighting as before.
No, he wasn't here for him...
*Huff*Huff*
"There you are... Chloe." He said while eyeing the battered up dark elf, now corrupted from the forces of darkness, more specifically, the dark El. She was holding to her left arm with her right hand, a move to try and cope with the pain.
She was beaten by the gang a third time. Add had learned before that this dark elf wasn't always like what she is right now. Before, she didn't had any marks on her face and her eyes had a deep pinkish red eyes, she also used a bow before.
Elesis once told the gang that she wasn't always bad, the demons corrupted her and changed how she was before. Before she became evil.
Now, she only used her legs and back knife to attack, her eyes now a bright yellow eyes. She was so different now.
"You're going to Ran aren't you?" He asked while she continued to walk forward. "Let me guess, you're going to sacrifice yourself to make him escape."
She stopped for a moment, while delivering an icy cold glare towards the male human in front of her. She tried to pass him, but he grabbed her neck and slammed her on the ground.
"Where do you think you're going, escape goat?" He asked while giving her an amused expression. "Do you really think I wouldn't notice the secret passage up there, near that broken statue?"
Her eyes finally gave away, he noticed it while many of the demons and party alike missed it completely. It gave a direct route to the chamber that Ran is in right now.
"You human fiend! Unhand me! My master needs me!" She finally spoke and struggled from his binding, but in her current condition it was pointless.
"I don't think so. You'll just be a nuisance to us if I don't knock you out properly." He informed before drawing closer to her elven ears. "Plus, wouldn't he have a backup plan in case we do defeat him?"
She was being forced to hear this from a human no less. She felt ashamed, she felt powerless.
"Am I that useless?" She asked while gritting her teeth together. "Are you saying that I'm too weak to finish all of you! That I can't serve my master as I should!" She started yelling to him.
"And what can you do right now?" He asked, his bangs covering his eyes. "You can't even take me off of you, much less attack with that arm and leg of yours." He pointed out towards the multiple bruises on her body.
"Then I'll just-!"
"Use your life up for a possessed human that could care less of you? Is that what your thinking?" He asked while applying some strength on her throat. "Don't throw your life away like that, you stupid elf!"
"Why do you care!? You're just a human that wants nothing more to overthrow my kind and make us all your slaves!" She yelled back at him.
"Who the heck even told you that! If you haven't noticed it yet on the records of history, we humans offered the El stone to you elves despite knowing fully well that the Nasod race would become extinct! We made sure we kept our connection with your land at the cost of thousands of our own kind!"
"All for your own gain, no less!"
"We did it, because YOUR kind threatened us!" He yelled back, finally with his expression showing anger. "Don't you dare say that we want to make you all our slaves when we were enslaved by your kind! Why do you think we struggled to keep both races intact? We had a bond with the Nasods, something that could make the world a better place. Until you threatened us and made us choose! War against the elves or the Nasods."
"Don't history me, human!"
"I think you need to! Because if we never helped your race, we wouldn't be here right now! No Ran for you to worship, no plan to enslave us or take over Elrios. Nothing!"
"You still haven't told me the reason why you care about my well being!" She snapped back at him.
"I don't care about you." He coldly replied. "At least, that's what I'm telling myself that." He stopped gripping her neck. "You're a strange woman. Letting corruption setting in, following an army that wants to take over and losing your free will to serve a possessed human."
She clicked her teeth to the hard truth that he was displaying. She gave it all for power, power to protect herself, to protect her kind and to be strong.
"What about you? What do you want with all that power?" She asked while he prepared his hand to neutralize her.
"...I don't even know myself." Were his last words to her before he made sure she was knocked out. "But for now, I need it. That's all I need to know for now." He then jumped on his dynamos and entered the secret passage.
"Ran! I hope you're ready for the beating of a lifetime!" He yelled while charging towards the dark Earl.
"During the war against the Nasods, there was a boy that lived happily with his family. Everyday he was showered with love, shown affection by his familiars and gave the most innocent smile to everyone.
The war was far away from him, but that still didn't stopped his family to experiment with the technology that their once friends held.
During this time, everyone of the human race banned any activity regarding their old friends bodies, make it old or new. Those that were tempted were executed on the spot for breaking a taboo that they established.
The boy, not knowing what his family was doing, was ignorant and knew nothing that they did. Perhaps it was for his safety that they never told him, yet he only faked being ignorant.
He knew that they were experimenting, but didn't know the rule that the humans put and thought nothing of it.
Until, one dreadful day, his family was discovered.
The place he called home, was burnt to the ground. His family, executed on the spot. His childhood now traumatized, didn't know what to do, even when the villagers were coming close to him.
He laughed. He simply laughed with tears streaming down his once innocent face. For many, he was crazy for laughing at his family, but to him, it was a coping mechanism.
Every time he was hurt, he laughed it off. Every time he was yelled at, he laughed it off. Always with laughter, but it hold no feelings to them.
This laughter, however, contained his one true feeling, sadness.
The villagers, taking pity for the scarred child, took him and put him into slavery.
It was horrible. He saw many die into his eyes, his body was malnourished, weak and bruised. His mind fractured into many shards, yet that didn't stop him from thinking a way out of the hell he was given.
For a full year, he waited for an opening, when the guards changed positions, for when the lookouts were distracted with the sight of a female, for when the moaning of pain from the fellow slavers would stop for a moment.
Until one day, he ran with the opening he so wished.
He ran and ran and ran and ran. He never ran so far in his life.
But without any directions, he was lost and ended on the edge of a chasm.
He contemplated to backtrack and find a road to get him out of there, but the guards were right on his tail.
A twig gave away the position of someone behind him and as he turned around, he was shot on the arm. With the recoil and no balance, the boy fell down the gaping hole. Never to be seen again from anyone.
...
The truth is, the boy didn't die from the fall. He was alive and that surprised him.
He looked around the strange new place, books and rows of books was all that he could see. A few Nasod robots were there as well and at the center of the room was a big book.
The many secrets of the Nasods were in that book and like a moth attracted to light. He opened it and started to read what his family died for."
"How are Ara and Chung?" Rena asked towards the current members of the gang.
"Ara is in her room crying.." Aisha replied to her while looking to the side.
"Chung is on the training room, destroying every dummy that he sees." Elsword informed while cleaning his great sword.
"Where's Add and Elesis?" Raven inquired to them.
"He went for a walk and big sis went to talk to Penensio about Chloe." He replied back to him, while grabbing a whetstone and sharpen his blade.
"Chloe... I hope she gets what's coming to her." Aisha said with ill intentions to the dark elf.
While having his walk, Add stopped beside the tent office of the red knights, hearing the conversation between Elesis and her second in command.
"About Chloe, what do you think we should do about her?"
"With her current state, releasing her would only harm the innocent people of Hamel." He informed while looking down to his papers. "The best we could do is give her and quick release, something that an elf of her caliber would want."
"Is there no other way? She wasn't evil before, to do that would mean killing an innocent that was tarnished by the dark El."
"I know what you feel, captain. But, we can't risk that corrupted being roam around and plotting against the settlements." He responded to her. "This is the best we can do for her, for us and for the elf kind."
"What a load of bullshit..." Add said behind near the tent, loud enough for them to hear it.
"Pardon?"
"You foolish people think this is the best for them? For us? Who are you to decide the fate of others?" He asked while walking away from them.
His words had weight to them. Despite out casting himself from the group, he knew what humans were capable of and what their twisted hearts and minds thought.
"Maybe we should talk about her tomorrow morning. We had a rough day."
"Very well. I hope you sleep well for the night, captain."
"You as well Penensio." She responded while leaving towards the inn.
"..." On her locked cage, Chloe sat silently with her eyes downcast. The guards in front of her were chatting for themselves while keeping a close eye on her.
"What do you think will happen to her?"
"She'll probably be executed for her crimes."
"Executed? Isn't that little overboard for the petty crimes she did?"
"Overboard? She killed families, kidnapped dozens of people and even tried to assassinate the vice commander of the red knights! She deserves this."
"She did all that!? I-I didn't know she was capable of that!"
"I was ordered to... I... I was ordered to..." She kept this line of thought to keep her mentality in check.
It was true that she did everything that the guard said, but it was by the order of her higher ups. Deep down, she didn't want to do it. Before everything started, she was but a petty thief, a survivor. She did what she could with the small group she had to survive, even a few of her group members started selling their bodies to some extra ED.
Then Ran appeared and took them in. They were taught simple archery from the demons and had their weapons and armor made by them. With their previous knowledge on the attack, they were able to form an alternate battle style that consisted of assassination through close quarters.
That's when they finally made their debut as a military force for the demons. With her on command, they were able to capture most of Feita before the El gang showed up and took away the present she had for Ran.
She then returned back to him, without her group anymore, and he gave her another chance to redeem herself. He corrupted her with the darkness and set her up next to Victor as an escort.
That too, she failed. Victor was already defeated by Add once the gang reached the end of the Ancient Waterway.
She returned with Victor and they were punished. They were to guard the path towards his throne while the water priestess was dealing with the water seal.
Now, she's here. Defeated yet again, without her group, without her dark Earl to order her.
"Hey, is that guy with that group of heroes?" One of the guards asked as the person approached them.
"Yeah... I think his name was Add." The other said while saluting the tracer.
"Halt! What business do you have here?"
"You commander told me that the elf we captured was here. I'm here to talk to her." He replied back with his contraptions floating behind him.
"Go away... I won't speak to someone like you..." She thought once more while glaring at him.
"We're sorry, sir. But we were ordered to not let anyone interact with her." They replied back to him.
"It'll only take a minute. Just a simple question to her." He replied to them with an expression that said boredom.
"...Very well. Speak with her." They took two steps to the side while granting passage for the tracer.
He looked inside the cage and saw her sitting down, her eyes cloaked with her bangs.
"Why are you here... Just leave me alone..." She spoke to him without looking him in the eyes.
"... Is this what you really want?" He asked without getting a reaction from her. "A proud elf like you, doesn't want to live like her group? Do you want them to lose their leader?"
"They're gone... Feita soldiers killed them..." She read the report that the demons stole. They died because of the humans. Without anything to cling to, she accepted death.
"They didn't." This got him a reaction. "A certain someone, broke them out of there. They're alive."
"...Can you repeat that?" She asked not believing it.
"Their waiting for you. Are you going to let them wait until death comes for them?" He asked once more.
"Their alive... Their alive..!" She thought to herself as a smile was creeping on the shadows.
"Time is up. Please come by tomorrow if you wish to speak to her again."
"Hold up! I'm almost done!" He said shacking the hand away from his shoulder. "Just answer the freaking question! Do you want to go back to them or not?"
"I... I do! I want to go back to them! I want to go back!" She replied with a tears forming on her eyes.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" He replied while using his dynamos to shock the guards unconsciously. Then he used his Nasod armor to bent the iron bars to allow her to escape. "Come on, I'll take you to the port. There's a ship with the elves waiting for you."
"I can't stand... I took too much damage on my legs..." She said faltering to stand up.
"Then hope on! We don't have much time before they notice that I'm helping you!" He said while crouching for her.
She crawled towards his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Through the dark alleyways he ran with her on his back. Every time a patrol of red guards was in front of them, he would change his course to avoid being caught.
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing but wrong to all of you." She asked while burying her face on his shoulder.
He was silent. He was more focused on when to run next to reach the port without being seen, but then a two patrols made him stop and wait for them to pass.
"I'm doing this because I want to. Nobody can tell me what to do except me. Why do you think I saved your friends?" He responded back while the patrols left the place, he resumed running.
"You saved them?" She thought to herself while he ran around the place. The docks were close by. The sea air was close. Suddenly he stopped and hid behind a building.
"Crap! They called them too?" He said while peeking on the corner. She did the same and saw the gang looking around.
"What do we do now?" She asked while looking at the ships. Only one ship had its light on with no guards patrolling it.
"See that ship right there? With the light? Their there waiting for you." He pointed out for her. "Wish we could go around them, but we don't have anytime left. Morning is about to rise and then you won't be able to escape without people noticing."
"Then what should we do? We can't just go over them." She said while giving him an idea.
"Chloe, you have the same intellect as me!" He said while ordering his dynamos to go under his feet. "Hold on tight, we're going upwards."
She did hold him tightly as they went towards the sky. They slowly passed the gangs eye sight and landed on the ship. He reached the door and banged in a rhythm of 3.
"What's the password?" A female voice asked through the door.
"Let me in, you elf!" He kept his voice down while saying that.
"Add!?" She quickly opened the door and was surprised to see their leader on his back. "Chloe! Please come in you two!"
"No time! All of you need to leave now while you still have the night to help you!"
"Right! I'll warn the others right away! Please, put Chloe in that bed over there!" She said before running to downstairs to warn the others.
He slowly reached the bed and sat down, letting Chloe fall down on the cushion with ease.
"They should be good in ten minutes. I need to get going before they suspect me of helping you." He said while standing up and preparing to leave.
"Wait!" She yelled at him making him stop. "What's the real reason for you to help me? Every human that we met always wanted something from us, be it an object or a night with us. So tell me what you want." Her head looking down.
"What I want? That's simple." He said while rising her chin upwards. "What I want, is freedom."
"Freedom?" She asked herself in her mind.
"I'm already living my own hell, but that doesn't mean that other people shouldn't be free with what they want. I'm giving you a second chance to be free. Take it and don't complain."
"Why would you go so far to set me free?" She asked while he turned around, heading towards the door.
"Would you believe me if I told you, that you remind me a bit when I was younger?" He asked while opening the door.
"How?" She asked wanting to know how she reminded him.
"Your eyes." He answered back. "We have the same eyes. We saw pain, we saw how weak we were, we saw how hopeless something is if you don't have power. That's what we have in common."
"Add, we're ready to go!" The dark elf that greeted them came back, announcing the preparations.
"Good. Head out now while you still can."
"What about you? What are you gonna do?" Chloe asked him.
"I still need to stick around those idiots. So this is the last chance you guys will see me." He replied back while eyeing the docks, sure enough the guards and gang are starting to suspect the lit boat.
"We'll see each other again, right?" The dark elf asked him, he just chuckled under his breath.
"Who knows? I don't know the future." He replied before hopping off the ship.
Soon enough, the ship started to silently drift away. Leaving the tracer to look at them. At the back of the ship, he could see Chloe being helped by the dark elf while waiving to him.
She mouthed a few words for him to catch. 'Thank you'.
"Tch. Don't thank me, I didn't do anything." He replied to the wind before stealthily disappear from the scene.
"When the coming age came, the boy was tired of staying in the hole that he fell. He wanted to be free, he wanted to make the people that wronged him pay.
In order to escape, he created six gadgets that were the same. And not a moment too soon, the chasm that he fell seemed to know that he wanted to escape.
The room started to trembled violently, making rumble fall down and destroying anything that it fell from.
Noticing that it wanted to swallow him, he climbed on top of his devices and rose up. Fleeing the deathtrap that was his home for a time.
When he came to the surface, everything changed around him. The lands that were supposed dead, were alive. The village that took his family away, was gone. The enslavement camp was no more.
There were no more wars. No more bloodshed. No more pain. Like everything that he saw was nothing more than a bad dream.
But he didn't accepted it. He soon spotted a village and asked them what happened. The answer that he got, distraught him.
Everything that he had, everything that he saw, everything that he felt. It was all gone, because it was all in the past.
He escaped his present, into the future. He was free, the freedom that he so longingly sought.
But now, he was empty. He didn't know what else to do.
After years of traveling, searching and serving, he found his answer. A small group had the one remaining Nasod, the one that held the title of 'Little queen of the Nasods'.
He stalked the group, from town to town, helping them through the shadows, helping the enemy escape their consequences. Until he finally revealed himself by saving the fragile Queen. It was by impulse that he did it. His heart still held some form of kindness.
One day, he was told about a dark elf. They said that she went through a lot. He was interested that someone else, an elf no less, had gone through pain as well.
He helped the elf, by saving her from her doom. When he was asked why he did it, he said that it was something that he wanted to do it and because that they were more alike than anyone else.
The dark elf, could only be grateful for the boy. She thanked him for saving her people, for giving her the second chance that she so longed for, for the opportunity to experience freedom for herself.
...
Years have passed and the dark elf made a small town, dedicated for her race. She never forgot the kindness that the boy gave it to her and made a small memorial in her home for him.
He one day, came into the town that she made. The dark elves started to rush towards her, calling her to come with them. When she arrived, tears formed on her eyes as the boy was there, again in front of her.
He was there for them, only for a short while, but he promised again to them that he would come back from his journey. Like he did before, only now, he swore that he would come back to finish something he started."
"Wow, mayor Chloe! That was a nice story!" One of the children said towards her.
"It had so many things! I wonder what he found in his adventure!" A young male dark elf said while being filled with energy for an adventure like him.
"What did the boy started, mommy?" A girl asked, she was around four years old while being embraced her.
"That is something only mommy knows, dear." She said while Chloe snuggled with her. "Why don't you all go play for a bit? I'm a little tired from telling that story."
"Okay!" They all replied while running around the town meadow.
This town was peaceful and it was only inhabited by dark elves. Of course, the occasional human travelers would stay in the Inn, but they would only stay there for a few days before resuming their trip.
"This is all thanks to you, Add. I wonder where are you now..." She asked to herself while looking at the sky.
"I'm not that far away." He replied scaring her in the process. "Surprised?"
"Don't scare me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She replied calming down her heart beat.
"Hey, I couldn't help myself! You should know that." He replied back. He had passed a long time since the last time she looked at him. He was a bit taller and a bit more rough around the edges. His hair was a bit longer as well.
"You came back!" She said while giving him a bone crushing hug. "When did you arrived? How was your journey? Was it tough? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Woah, woah! Calm down! I just got here!" He said while breaking the hug she gave me, his arms were a little sore from it. "And I'm fine. Those nitpicks couldn't even give me a challenge."
"What are you doing here even? Just a visit?" She asked while looking at him.
"I came here to finish my business." He said while kneeling down.
"What are you doing?" She asked while looking around a little embarrassed.
"We humans do this when we propose." He answered back, earning from her a blush. "So, Chloe..." He took out a small box with a golden ring with a small El stone in the middle. "Would you... Marry... me?
"M-marry you?" She asked while trying to keep her blood in check. "Can you ask me that again?"
"Really? Do you know how embarrassing this is?" He asked her, but she still held the expression with puppy eyes. "F-fine! Chloe, will you marry me?"
"Y-yes! Dear lady El! Yes!" She said while wrapping her arms on his neck.
"I kinda... Was expecting an opposite reaction..." He said while hugging her back.
"Mommy, who is man?" The girl from before came before the two of them.
"Is this..!?" He asked while looking at the girl.
"Right. You don't know about her yet." She said while picking the kid up. "Add, this is your daughter, Sara. Sara, he's your daddy."
"Daddy?" She asked with some tears on her eyes before the man before her had a smile so grand that it would put all the fake smiles to shame.
"Y-yes little Sara. I'm your father." He said while closing the space between the two.
"Daddy!" She then closed the space between the two and the three hugged each other in affection.
Author: So I thought about making a story that didn't started sad, but still held some feels. I had this idea for so long that I simply could do any work without writing it down. Hope you guys enjoyed this story of mine.