"Ah!"

Enthia heard the cry of dismay as she spun around the aghast defender. She would be in the open field now for a while, and the opponent's backline was there last line of defense.

But a formidable line it was. She stopped the ball with her foot as the opponent's players which would be there last stand stood before her. A younger girl who was once known as The Legend's Women's High School prodigy. An older man who had perhaps lost a step or two in his recent years, but was once a legend and knew a lot about the game. And standing in front of the goal post, an unrelenting wall who never gave up, never let go, someone who only grew stronger the tougher it got...and a familiar face she knew well.

It had been a long time, she thought silently to herself while biting her lip. But she remembered that time as clear as if it were yesterday.

Enthia...Enthia…

His voice was speaking to her, but she couldn't focus on it. Tears streamed down her face and she wrapped his body around her arms tightly, too scared to let it go.

"Enthia!"

His voice shook her out of her stupor, and she leaned back to look at him. His complexion was so weak, his face so pale. Just a few days ago, she had thought he would live forever. Why was this happening? She had tried so hard to save him.

"Enthia, please," he coughed as he spoke, each breath looking as if it were taking more effort. "Please, my beautiful daughter, you must listen me one last time."

His words cut like a dagger in her heart. She shook her head, unwilling to believe the meaning behind those words. Those words burned as they echoed in her head, forcing the reality to be accepted.

"Please," her father coughed. "Be strong, my daughter. You must listen to me."

Enthia swallowed hard. The reality of the situation began to settle in, and she realized just how important this moment was. This was possibly her last chance to speak with her father, and she summoned all the courage she could and pushed her distraught thoughts out of her mind. She blinked the tears out of her eyes, and tried hard to focus, her father's blurry body becoming more clear as she did so.

He was a handsome man, or so he always told her to believe. She had his eyes and hair, though hers was quite a bit longer than his curly locks. In her youth, he was the only one who raised her. Her mother had died quite some time ago. During that time, he had raise her alone and despite his duties as the high elf of Nadir, he always gave her the attention she needed and she was grateful to him for that.

It was especially difficult considering the incident that had gone on during that time. The K'Earth incident...the forest was crying that day as well. No one still knows what exactly happened, but it was clear what had resulted. The forest was decimated. Life had stood still and the World Tree was vulnerable. Enthia's own home, her temple was destroyed as well in the incident. It was one of the greatest crisis the forest of Nadir had ever faced.

Because of her father's duties, Enthia and him worked around the clock, tirelessly to restore the forest back to it's former glory. It had seemed impossible at the time. Enthia could still remember the prince Khirel, infuriated in the moment, about to kill a man at the World Tree. The man had done some very unethical things, but he was the only one that could save the World Tree. She made an agreement with him, and hoped it worked out.

It seemed to work out okay. Afterwards, she had to patch things up with the prince. Luckily, he respected her wisdom enough. But she could tell he still had his anxieties about the whole thing.

At the same time, her father had been doing his part to try and resurrect the broken forest. After the incident, the amount of dead trees Enthia had seen had been burned in her mind. Life had felt like it had frozen in the wasteland of a forest. Her father had gone on an quest to save the forest, and Enthia did not know how he did it, but somehow he had succeeded. Nadir's holy grounds were back to the way they were before, as if the incident had never happened.

At what cost, however? Her father had worked himself to the bone, and now it appeared to have taken its toll. Shortly after their job had completed, he had fell ill, and over time it had progressively grown worse. Despite the amount of herbs that could be used for medicine in the forest, no cure could be found, as her father's illness was unusual. Nadir had never seen an illness the likes of his.

Even after her father had resigned to his fate, Enthia had tried relentlessly to find a plant that could do the trick. Nothing worked. Now, it looked like time had ran out.

Her father had requested to see her before he passed. On his deathbed he laid, weak and frail, but determined to meet with his daughter one last time. To have one final conversation about what was to come.

"Enthia...my daughter. Soon, you will become the next high elf of Nadir."

She nodded in understanding, fighting her instinct to wail in despair. She always knew that one day it would happen. The title of high elf was a title that would one day be passed down from her father to her. She had just never expected it to happen so soon.

"Enthia…" Her father continued with a serious look. "You are so young, yet you can already hear the forest so clearly. Promise me this. That you'll continue to look over the forest for many years to come. Always put the forest first, as without the forest many lives will be lost. Please, promise me this, okay?"

Enthia looked at him, his strength slowly fading. The light nearly all but gone from his eye, only a sparkle of life remaining in his golden eyes.

In truth what he had said, she had already known. The forest supported many lives, and it was the elven duty to make sure that every one of them could continue to live and prosper peacefully under its protection. As high elf now, the gravity of the responsibility would now fall on her shoulders to make sure that she did whatever was in her power to do to make sure that it continued. She was to value the forest over all else, and give her life for it if that was what it needed. The same way her father did before her.

"I promise…" She said quietly, to herself as well as her father. She couldn't tell if he heard her, and maybe it was too late, but-

"Thank you."

She thought she heard him, though his mouth did not move an inch. The voice seemed to come from around her in every direction. She let him rest there, and left to gaze around the forest in order to collect her thoughts and calm her down. The sound of the forest was as peaceful as ever, the rustle of the leaves as they were touched by a gentle wind and birds chirping occasionally the only other noise in the vicinity.

Looking at it now, it felt as though nothing could ever disturb the peace of the forest. But Enthia knew from experience that wasn't true. She had to keep alert, lest there be another incident to disturb the forest's serenity. Little did she know that another one was already in progress.

She would find out in due time. Time passed slowly in Nadir, and Enthia had plenty of it to adjust to her new lifestyle as high elf. She had gotten well acquainted with Khiriel and he had seeked out her advice plenty of times. The World Tree had been an important part of her duties as well, and she made sure to keep an eye on the individual she had sent to repair it. And although her father had managed to restore the forest, there was still so much to do to fully repair it. Yet with all the time she had, it still felt like there wasn't enough of it. All day she worked, looking over the forest and at night she fell asleep outside, listening to its voice. Her position was a difficult one to handle and made her appreciate her father more.

One morning, however, as she woke on a damp ground trying to cling to a few fleeting moments of rest before another long day's work, she thought she heard the forest shiver.

Fully alert now, her ears twitched as she strained to listen to the forest. Something was not right with the way it was acting. Its voice had only gotten stronger since she had started to look over it, but now it seemed so weak. Even with this fact, the tone of the voice did not seemed frightened, but unsettling calm. It was as if it knew what was happening to it. Enthia jumped to her feet and scrambled to find the source.

However she did not know where to go. No matter where she wandered off too, the forest still remained the same in it's complexion. Something was affecting the forest as a whole, and not just one part. But something as big as this should have shown signs of happening. Enthia was sure she would have been able to sense it coming, but it all happened so suddenly.

There was something familiar about this situation, but she couldn't quite place what it was. As Enthia struggled to find the source of the forest's dilehma, she bumped into a frenzied prince.

"There you are! What's happening?" Khiriel voice was tense and full of rage.

Enthia paused to collect herself. It would not be becoming of a high elf to be in a state of panic, and especially not in the face of a prince that relied on her. She had to remain calm.

"It seems the forest is ill," she told him.

Khiriel did not seem to be put at the slightest of ease at that response. His expression only grew angrier.

"Who did this?" he demanded.

Enthia shook her head. Even if she knew 'who' it was that could do this to a forest, she would not tell the hot headed prince. Khiriel, she knew from experience was rash and quick to act off his emotions.

"I don't know," she said, and it was an honest answer.

Khiriel looked at her in disbelief.

"How can you not know?" he said incredulously.

Enthia bit her lip, his question stang as her responsibilities were called out. Still, she believed she was not at fault.

"It all happened so suddenly that I haven't been able to pinpoint the source," she explained. "Give me some time to sort this out."

"I will help you."

"No," Enthia shot him down. "You're people are still recovering from the previous incident. They need their prince. Leave the forest's problems to me."

"But…"

"Please." Enthia stood firmly. Khiriel met her gaze, unfazed.

"The people cannot survive without the forest."

"And the forest cannot survive without it's people."

There was a pause in the conversation as the two fiercely glared at each other, the only sound heard between them being the forest's quiet wails.

Finally, the stubborn prince backed down.

"Very well," Khiriel retreated, though his body clearly indicated he was unsatisfied with the result. " "I'll leave the forest to you, then."

Enthia sighed in relief as Khiriel turned his back and trotted back the way he came. Although, it was partly true that he needed to look over his people, the main reason Enthia didn't want him to search was if he did happen to come across the source, the last thing they needed was for him to do something rash and put the forest in even more danger. The forest had just begun to recover after all.

That being said, she had just put a lot of weight on her shoulders to find the source of the forest's deterioration. And she didn't have much information to go off of. There was a lot of work to do, and not much time to waste. Her ears twitched as she started her search, reaching her hand out as if to feel the forest's pulse.

Not too many hours later, whether by chance or the forest guiding her, Enthia found her first lead. She had been examining every area she came across, trying to find a disturbance that would lead to the forest's current demeanor when she heard a distinct rustling. Following the source of the sound led her to a particularly dense part of the forest where various types of plants grew, different from the rest of the forest. This was an area that most types of life generally avoided, but Enthia was more familiar with this region than she'd like to be. She remembered scouring here in desperation when she still thought she had a chance to save her father. The memory brought a shiver to her body.

However what called her to this place now and what was undoubtedly the source of the rustling she heard was a new sign of life in the area. Not one of the herbal kind, but rather a person. A scruffy looking but toned man wearing a sleeveless jacket that looked too small for him and a cap holding his long silver hair was crouched before her, looking so intently at something that he didn't notice her approaching.

"...Nope, not this one either. Damn!" Suddenly, he stood up and spiked his cap on the ground in frustrated fashion, allowing his silver hair to flow wildly behind him. He took a few breaths to calm himself and wipe the sweat off his forehead. "I really thought I was onto something in this area…" he muttered, before looking up at the sky mulling over himself.

Behind him, Enthia paused to consider her options. She knew the life well enough in Nadir to know that he was not from here. No, this man was not even from her planet. What was he doing? It appeared as if he was looking for something. Of what, she didn't know, but Enthia knew better than to trust an alien outside of her planet. Especially with her forest in the state that it was.

Although...she also had no reason yet to suspect him of anything wrong. It was suspicious that he had just so happened to appear at this time, but she had not seen him do anything to cause the forest harm. The good people of Nadir did not attack someone without a just cause.

So deciding the best course of action was to confront him, she reached out to tap his shoulder. If worst came to worse, she was confident enough in her abilities to subdue him if needed. He may look toned, but she had the forest on her side.

"Hah…!"

Enthia jolted as the man made an unnaturally high sound and jumped away from her when she touched him and instinctively readied herself to react in case he rushed at her or tried to run away. Rather than that, though, the man turned around and simply glared at her.

"Fool! Who just sneaks up and touches someone like that?"

Enthia, not expecting that reaction, simply froze in her pose and stared blankly at the man.

"Eh?"

"Don't 'Eh?' me! You do something like that to someone, it's only natural that they act like that. Of course, I wasn't that surprised."

The man was a whole five feet away from her from where he had jumped. Enthia blinked curiously at him, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Reaching down, she picked up the cap the man wore.

"Ah…"

The man's face changed instantly. His face changed from one of proud denial to one with a bit more embarrassment. Enthia could tell that he regretted tossing is down earlier.

She beckoned him closer. The man obediently complied, obviously expecting her to hand over the hat. But she wasn't going to hand it over so easily. Not until she got some answers first.

"State your purpose," she told him, and then waited for a reply.

The man looked at her astounded for a few seconds before saying,

"You can talk?!"

"...Huh?"

This time it was Enthia's turn to be thrown off guard. True, she hadn't said anything since she saw him, but...did he really think that she couldn't talk all this time? Just how little did this man know about Nadir?

"Of course I can talk! What kind of question is that?"

"I mean, I thought you couldn't since you've been gesturing to me like a weirdo this whole time! Like, why didn't you just do that in the first place, instead of having to sneak up to me like an enraged ninja snake?"

A what? Enthia thought, before pushing it out of her mind. Maybe something from his planet. In any case, she was supposed to be in control here, and she was the one who was supposed to ask the questions.

"Where are you from?"

"Oh, just a small planet. It's not really important. Anyway, I guess I should say sorry for earlier, but I really have to go. So if you could give my hat back, I'll be out of your way before you know it. "

Enthia narrowed her eyes at his response, growing more suspicious by the moment.

"You seem like you're in an awful rush."

"Well, yeah, you could say that."

"Just what were you up to?"

The man hesitated before clearing his throat.

"I was searching for something."

"And what would that be?"

"A plant."

"A…plant?"

The man shifted his eyes uncomfortably and shuffled a bit in place.

"Yes, there is a plant I must find here. Need to use it for somethin' "

"And what would that be?"

The man flinched in surprise at her sudden hostile tone.

"Woah, geez, what's with that attitude?"

"Answer the question."

"Hey, hey, it's nothing bad. Just calm down alright? It's not healthy to get that worked up over something like this."

The man must have sensed the elf's growing annoyance because he continued to speak, all in a rush.

"I don't know exactly how it works, but it's something with pink leaves. Do you know it?"

"Pink leaves?"

"That's all I know about it, really," the man shrugged in a causal manner, but still appeared to be somewhat tense. "Just...pink leaves. And can be used for something. If you know of it and tell me where it is, I'll get out of your hair."

Enthia did a quick scan of all the pink-leaved plants available in Nadir and tried to remember if any of them could be used for hostile purposes. Nothing came to mind, but she didn't know if she was missing one, or perhaps there was a method to use a plant she was not aware of yet.

"Right…" Enthia fixed her steely eyes on him. She did not have any intention of helping him, but the mention of his departure brought up another interesting point. "Where is your ship?"

"My...ship?"

"Yes, how did you end up in Nadir?"

"Oh...haha...sort of ended sneaking into one of your ships from another planet. Hid in some luggage room and wasn't checked. So um, yeah."

"What?" Enthia blinked. "You snuck in here?"

"Yeah, that's the gist of it."

Enthia sighed. If what he said was true, then that man was alone here at the very least, and that was good. And sneaking onto a ship was no matter to lie casually about.

Enthia waved his cap.

"Come with me."

"Ah, but-"

"You do know that sneaking onto a foreign plant's ship is a heavy crime amongst all galaxies? I could very well imprison you for this."

"Yeah, but like I said, I don't mean any harm, so if you could just let me go on my way-"

"And what? Even if you do find your plant, how do you plan on getting back to your planet? Ship hopping again? Anyway isn't it not your decision to decide whether you're harmless or not?"

"Well…"

"Look." Enthia spoke gently, trying to put him at ease. "I'm not going to imprison you. I just want to be absolutely sure of a few things before I send you on your way. And if you really aren't any threat to any of us, what reason do you have to go against me?"

The man struggled with the decision for a few moments, seemingly arguing with himself in his head. Enthia decided to throw in another statement for her favor.

"And if you don't, I could call in the prince to imprison you if you'd rather have that."

"Fine," he finally gave in. "But only for a few moments, okay?"

"That is for me to decide."

In all honesty, Enthia did not have any more harmful intentions other than keeping her eye on him. It would not be the Nadir way to imprison someone if they weren't 100% sure that they deserved it. That was her belief, anyway.

The man shook his head in disgust, but made no argument and solemnly walked toward her. Enthia watched him come and decided to lead him back to a settlement. From there, she could gauge his intentions and figure out how much of a threat to the forest he really was.

"I am Enthia," she said suddenly, realizing she had not yet introduced herself. "And what is yours?"

"Kei." He answered curtly. And that was that.

Back in a settlement now, the man named Kei sat impatiently around as Enthia strained her ears to listen to the forest.

To her dismay, the voice of the forest continued to sound frailer than it had before, it's deterioration unrelenting.

She had questioned the man about everything he had done up in Nadir, and he had seemed fairly consistent with his answers. If what he said was true, that he had only been searching the forest for a certain pink-leaved flower, she could not see how he could be the cause of the forest's problems, unless it was his mere presence affecting it.

That seemed pretty unlikely.

In the meantime however, she kept her eye on him. She had made an excuse to keep him around of course, his hat was still in her possession.

She made a point to complain about how sweaty it was, and admittedly she had exaggerated a tiny bit, but nonetheless despite the man's complaints, she had washed it a river, and had it currently out to dry in a location outside of his vision.

The man named Kei seemed fairly reluctant to leave without his cap in tact, so he complied in sticking around for the time being, though Enthia wasn't sure how long that would last.

"Enthia!" Her ears twitched as they heard her name, and she turned to face a rather angry looking prince.

"I heard you brought back an outsider. Is this him then?" Khiriel wasted no time in getting in Kei's face. "Who are you and what have you done to the forest?!" he roared.

"Eh?" Kei blinked casually at him, "What's the matter with you?"

"Don't play dumb! Tell me everything you've done this instance!"

"Pfft." Kei averted his gaze toward the sky. "I don't feel like talking to a plum right now. If you're gonna ask me anything, you need to calm the heck down first."

Uh-oh.

Enthia chanced a look at Khiriel and just as she had thought, the prince looked shocked. Slowly, his face turned an even redder shade and he looked like he was about to burst.

Enthia jumped in between the two men and lightly pushed Khiriel away.

"Enthia? What are you doing?!" Khiriel seemed surprised at her entry.

"It would not be becoming of a prince to lose his temper in front of a stranger," she whispered back. "Please, calm yourself."

"You...you're taking his side?"

"No, of course not."

"But the forest-!"

"The forest is still weakening. You can feel it, can't you? If this man really is the perpetrator, we'll figure it out in due time."

Khiriel glared at Kei, sitting casually in place, still looking at the sky.

"I don't like him."

"Yes, I know." Enthia figured as much. "But, please, leave this matter to me."

"Fine." Khiriel turned his back and walked briskly away. She could tell he was fuming about the man's lack of respect and she couldn't blame him. But, at least she had this matter to herself once again.

But in anycase, it was time to once again interrogate this man, and perhaps give him a wake-up call.

"Kei," she addressed him firmly, but not maliciously. The way she thought would work best. He tilted his head slightly to indicate she had his attention.

"Do you know who that was? That was the prince."

His eyes widened for a split-second and he turned to face her, but instantly returned to his cool demeanor.

"Really? Heh, could've had me fooled."

"You realize-"

"How disrespectful I came off? Yeah, yeah spare me the lecture. Look, it's getting pretty late," he pointed toward the sky. Confused, Enthia looked up. She had not figured it was that late quite yet, but sure enough, the sky did look a bit a darker than it had before.

"So can I go now?" Kei continued.

Enthia sighed and gazed skyward.

"I already told you," Kei continued, shrugging. "I really gotta get going and find that plant. Like I said, that's all I need, so could you just let me go already? If you could provide me a ship, you can even watch me leave if you need to. I'm not here to hurt any forest. "

"Be that as it may…" Enthia trailed off, lost in thought. Something was off. Even on an short day, the sky should not be as dark as it was now. Anxious, she once again twitched her ears to listen to the forest. She had been checking occasionally, and it's weakening status had not changed for a while. Until now.

The forest was silent.

Stunned, Enthia strained her ears, looking to pick up something, anything, but to no avail. The forest had gone quiet.

"What the hell…"

"Eh? Something up? You've gone pale all of a sudden."

Slowly, she turned toward Kei, who had put his own issues aside for the moment. His face showed confusion, and concern. Was it possible that he still had something to do with it?

Her answer came in a brilliant flash of light behind her, that appeared out of nowhere. She shielded her eyes.

Out of nowhere, another party member stood before her eyes. Much like the man named Kei, Enthia could tell that this person was most certainly not native to Nadir as well. However, one particular feature of the new figure stood out above the rest, and it wasn't just the radiance of her light.

The women standing before them lightly brushed her hair from under her tiara before focusing her cold red eyes on Enthia.

"I am Uriel, of the Light's Congress in Heaven's Gate. I am here to collect the soul of your forest."

Her words echoed in Enthia's mind, her numb mind struggled to comprehend it.

"You...what?"

"It is as I say." Uriel once again brushed her hair and looked out around the dark forest. "This forest...is dying for us."

Enthia heard, but she didn't yet understand. Uriel turned her attention back to her, and as if reading her mind, she sighed.

"You've noticed it, haven't you elf? The forest has been growing weaker all this time. This is also the doing of Heaven's Gate."

"But why?" Enthia finally spoke in a shaky voice. "What reason do you have to do this to us?!"

For the first time, Enthia saw a hint of something in the angel's emotionless stare. It was surprise.

"Your father...hadn't told you?"

"My father? What does my father have to do with this?!"

The angel tusked and shook her head.

"I should have expected this. But if you really don't know, I suppose it would be right to inform you."

Uriel sighed in annoyance, but gathered her composure quite quickly. Then she returned her steely eyes right back on the elf.

"The K'Earth Incident. An event that turned the galaxy upside down. Now, I don't need to go into the whole details of what happened in it, I presume. You do know how it affected, Nadir, yes?"

Enthia nodded slowly.

"Good. Now, as you know then, Nadir was virtually destroyed there. It was virtually impossible to restore the forest back to it's former condition. But…" Uriel trailed off as she took another gaze around the forest. "Your father did it. He worked tirelessly around the clock. The trees grew back. The birds came back to life. It was an admirable feat, but he didn't do it on his own."

Enthia's eyes widened.

"You mean…"

"What do all of these things have in common? He brought them back. Back from the dead. From us."

"Fear not," Uriel continued. "It was not so serious as stealing back the lives from heaven, your father and us agreed that he could have the life of the forest back. But." Uriel's eyes flashed dangerously. "There was a condition. He had to provide us with the soul of something of equal or greater value in exchange for the soul of the forest. If he couldn't, we would take it back. That was our agreement."

With those words, Uriel sighed once again. Her eyes remained hard, but her posture suggested that it was a burden to be the bearer of bad news. Her eyes focused on the aghast elf before her, and her eyes softened. But, unfortunately she was not quite done.

"Do you know what your father offered to us? His own soul," Uriel hesitated for a second, but remained her composure. "No offense, but one soul by itself like your father's does not meet our criteria for the agreement. So we had to act on our part."

Enthia thought back to all her times before her father passing. How his cause of death been unknown, how none of the cures she could find work. Was that all self-inflicted then? Tears of shock and disbelief rolled down her eyes as the truth was finally revealed to her.

"Always put the forest first."

Those were the last words her father had said to her, but only now did she realize just how much he meant those words. At the cost of his own life, he had tried to ensure the forest's.

But the angel standing before her reminded her that it was all for naught.

Still she'd be a damned excuse for a high elf's daughter if she didn't try to follow his legacy.

"All you need is something of greater or equal value, right?"

"Excuse me?" Uriel frowned as Enthia regained a shred of determination.

"To the forest's soul, right? If I offer a soul of equal value…"

"Oh." Uriel recognized. "Are you offering yourself?"

"And if I am?"

"Sorry." Uriel shook her head. "That's not gonna work."

"What?" Enthia felt crushed. "Why not?"

"Didn't I just explain this?" Uriel noted with a tinge of irritability. "Your father wasn't enough to match the forest. What makes you think you are?"

"But…"

"Just listen," Uriel interrupted. "This forest is a massive collection of what we angel's have given back to you. One measly soul is not nearly enough to match the value of all we've given back to you."

"Then what is?"

"Well...I'm not sure about that," Uriel shrugged. "I don't think anything comes to mind. In fact, we were quite dubious that your father could keep his end of the bargain at all."

"Then why even make the deal?!"

"Don't insult us angels." Uriel's eyes flashed. "We angels are inherently good. We stand for balance and righteousness. When your father came to us with that request, we accepted it, for it was the right thing to do."

"Right thing?!" Enthia gritted her teeth. "What about this is right? Why return the forest back to life, and get everyone's hopes up, why let everyone here experience happiness only to take it away again?!"

"Do not bare your fangs at an angel. You won't live to regret it." Uriel snapped back. "I wouldn't expect a mortal to know the definition of righteousness in the first place."

Enthia tried to retort back, but there was a lump in her throat. Tears streamed down her face, and she plopped to the ground, defeated. This forest, and all the lives she had sworn to protect, were gonna be gone just like that. She had failed to protect the forest, the people, the animals. She had failed her father.

"Look, it's not all that bad." Uriel spoke again, though she kept her cold eyes and tone steady. "You aren't going to need to sacrifice yourself. You could settle down in another planet, maybe start a new life. That's always exciting for mortals.."

"Equal or greater value, huh?"

Uriel blinked in surprise. The voice that spoke was not the sniffling elf before her, but someone she had not noticed before.

Enthia herself could only stop her tears for a moment of disbelief as someone she had forgotten stepped out in front of her to gaze calmly into the angel's own eyes.

"Well, look no further!" Kei pointed at himself. "I think you'll find what you're looking for right here."

A moment of stunned silence echoed across the trees of the forest, before finally Uriel spoke once again, not even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice this time.

"Okay, this is no time for jokes. Like I said before, one soul is not enough, and two souls will not be any different. I am not taking both your lives for this forest."

"Yeah, that's right, you're not." Kei smirked. "You're only taking one."

"What?" Uriel's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to suggest that you alone can atone for this entire forest?"

Kei kept his grin, knowingly.

Uriel blankly continued to look at him for a few second, before turning back to Enthia.

"Anyway, yeah, like I said, I have a few connections in Minerva if you're looking for a place to-"

"FOOL!" Kei's roar echoed throughout the forest. "Who do you think I am?"

Uriel whirled around, and fixed her dangerous eyes straight at him.

"Do not ever address an angel as such. You're lucky I don't take your life right now."

"You're the lucky one. If you did, you'd have to return the forest back to it's original state right now like the fool you are."

"You dare-?"

"Yes. I always dare. Now do you dare?"

"...Do I dare what?" responded Uriel, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Dare challenge what I say? Are you stupid enough, I wonder?"

"ARGH!" Uriel. "Okay, fine! I'll kill you. I'll kill you because you asked for it, okay? Are you sure you really want me to do this? There's no going back you know!"

"Ha! Ask me again! I dare you!"

"I'm not holding back now. You now face the ultimate power!"

"Bring it!"

"WAIT!"

Uriel froze in place as Enthia now stood before her and Kei. She held out her arms and faced Kei.

"What do you think you're doing?! You idiot!"

Kei tsked.

"Get out of the way."

"No."

"I said move it!"

"And I said no! I'm not gonna another person die in front of me!"

"...Another one?"

Kei looked her in the eye. He could tell she was serious with this.

...Hmpth. If only he had been able be here sooner.

"Step aside, Enthia."

"I said no!"

"I'll be fine."

"How can you say that when-"

"No, I mean it." Kei put as much as as he could in those words. "I'll be fine."

Enthia blinked for a split-second not sure what to make of what he said, and that was all he needed. Quick as a flash, he pushed her aside and ran forward to face the angel once more, of who seemed to be having an internal conflict.

"That was close." Uriel murmured to herself. "I almost took an innocent's life. That would not be right. I must have more control over myself- KYA!"

The last part was the effect of a flick to her forehead. Bewildered, the first thing she saw was the wide grin of Kei, not more than two inches from her face. He opened his mouth.

"Id~io~t," he sang.

That was all that he was able to get out before a brilliant lance of light pierced through his heart, the wielder's enraged red eyes relishing in the moment as she pierced her adversary, twisting and twisting it in the gut of Kei until the light shattered and disappeared, the crumpled body of Kei fell to the ground, the angel laughing maniacally, Enthia's mouth dropped in horror- until-

Kei popped right back up and brushed himself off as if nothing had happened. He laughed heartily as he took in the two absolutely shocked looks around him.

"Hah! Surprised?"

Uriel was the first to recover.

"But how?" She asked to herself just as much to Kei. "My light is supposed to smite all impure life from existence. So that must mean…" An uneasy feeling came over her as she took in Kei's growing smile.

"You…you're already dead…"

"What…?" Enthia managed to utter her first garbled words since the whole ordeal.

Kei laughed.

"Ah, you got me! Yes, I actually died a long time ago. My soul's had time to grow I suppose. But yeah, now that you have me pegged out, it's time to keep your end of the bargain."

"But why would you care so much about…?"

"Because!" Kei's eyes flashed mischievously. "I am a Rescuer."

"A...Rescuer? ...Ah!" Uriel suddenly realized. "Y-You're Kei?!"

"Heh." Kei's short snort was as good as a confirmation.

"I should've known! Who else would address me as such?! Dang it all, I didn't recognize you without the hat and the uniform!"

"Yeah, well maybe you should come around more often, Uri." Kei shrugged.

Uriel growled

"It is not right to trick an angel."

"It isn't? Oops."

"But a deal is a deal."

"Yes, I suppose it would be what is right." Uriel sighed, as she waved her hand.

And just like that, a circle of life appeared right before her. Slowly it expanded, bringing life back all around her. Enthia could only gape in wonder as right before her eyes, the forest was brought back in front of her. Her ears twitched in excitement, and sure enough, the beautiful music of the voice of the forest called back to her, stronger than ever.

"Incidentally," Uriel addressed Kei. "What were you doing here in the first place?"

"Duh! Rescuing!" Kei said as if it were obvious. "I mean, I didn't think you'd show up to destroy everything, but I guess that's was just a bonus for me."

"Tch." Uriel looked as if she was about to say something, but decided better of it, and instead turned around leave. "I will see you back in heaven."

"Sure, sure." Kei waved her off. "Bye, Uri."

After her departure, Kei turned back to Enthia.

"Anyway, now that that's all taken care of, could you let go of me?"

Enthia bowed her head and cried in front of him.

"Hey, hey! What's this all about?" Kei asked.

"Thank you." Enthia sobbed. "Thank you, thank you for saving the forest. From the bottom of my heart, and from the rest of the forest, thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Kei replied merrily. "Uri and I disagree on many things, so this all worked out for the both of us! Well, not quite Uri, but come on, taking a forest's soul is pretty harsh, right? Well, not like it matters to me, since my mission is to rescue any soul no matter how valuable or not it is. Speaking of which…I really got to go find that plant you know?"

"That plant...right. Give me a sec." Enthia collected her composure, and walked out of his sight for a moment before bringing back Kei's hat, and the owner brightened considerably after receiving it.

"Thanks," he said, and then his face turned serious. "Now, I gotta find that pink-leaved plant."

"Wait." Enthia stopped him. "What did you need the plant for?"

Kei stopped for a moment and regarded her curiously.

"Oh, did I never tell you? Right, well it's supposed to have healing qualities. It's leaves can be crushed into powder to be used in an amazing tonic...or so I've heard."

A healing pink-leaved plant. Enthia knew it really well, of course. It was one of the many medicines she had tried to use for her father, which she now knew was an incurable cause. But it was indeed a powerful herb. And if it could help him out...if she could do any to repay him for what he's done for her.

"Follow me," she told him.

"Whew! Thanks! I was beginning to worry if I'd make it in time."

Kei flashed her an appreciative smile as he held a couple of pink leaves in his palm, next to a ship belonging to Nadir.

"No, if anything I should be thanking you."

"Anyway, I gotta get going. I have a epidemic I need to stop, and it's getting worse by the second. So, I'm sorry I can't really afford a proper good-bye right now, but-"

Enthia shook her head. She didn't need one.

"Good luck."

She said. Kei nodded and jumped into the ship. The pilot looked at Enthia and nodded.

"All ready for takeoff…"

Enthia glanced at a window, and sure enough she was met with the expected mischievous smile of the Rescuer. He waved at her.

The doors were closing now, and in just a moment now, she would likely see the last of him. But for some reason, she had a feeling that might not be exactly true.

"Kei!" She called out. "If you ever want to stop by again, please feel free!"

She couldn't tell if he heard her or not, as the doors firmly shut just as she finished her sentence. But as she watched as the plane took off, she felt sure she saw him give her a thumbs up before turning his attention to the Galaxy he would be traveling through.

Enthia closed her eyes and smiled. She was sure she would see him again. One way or the other.

Kei stood firmly in the goal post. He was an relenting wall, and nothing would get through him. He had a reputation for never saying die and was known for leading the Rescuers to a successful Galaxy run.

But now, he was going to be tested once again. He gritted his teeth and watched as a new challenger approached. Those ears surely indicated an elf of some sort, and she had made short work of some of his prized defenders. Out of the corner of his eye, he made sure to track their striker. Surely, once she had the chance she would pass it off.

But soon, his eyes widened as he realized the elven girl's intent. She was running straight at him, and had no signs of slowing down. Fool...didn't she know who he was? But if that's the game that the enemy team wanted to play, he would have no problem playing it!

"Stop me if you can!"

"Fool! Who do you think you're challenging?"

BAM!

She had hit him a lot harder than he thought she would. He gave her that.

But that just made him more excited. Shivering in enthusiasm, he redoubled his focus on the current game. Hah! He dared her to do that again.

And somehow, he had a feeling that would be just fine with her.