Chapter 1: The Brink of Death

The glistening white marble halls of the Astral Palace ran crimson with blood.

The sound of sprinting footsteps echoed through the quiet upper halls that contrasted with the devastation below, usually full of serving boys and girls, soldiers, and palace officials, but now empty save for one man.

His slightly heeled black boots clicked loudly with each step he took, his red-lined black cloak billowing behind him. He held a slender silver trident in his gauntleted hand, and the dim candlelight reflected off the still-wet blood that coated it.

He skidded to a halt in front of the library, the large cherry doors inlaid with emeralds, and pounded on it. A firm voice called out for the visitor to announce his name.

"Captain-Commander Ryoga Kamishiro. Hurry, there's little time."

The door opened slowly, despite the captain's haste, and he found himself with a sword point in his face when the door was cracked open.

"Yuma, put that away," the captain snapped, shoving his way into the room and slamming the door behind him. He stopped in front of a figure sitting morosely at a table near the ornate stained glass window, and knelt, resting the bloodstained trident on the gleaming floor. "Lord Astral-"

The figure at the table motioned with a frail hand for the captain to get to his feet. Everything about him was pale - from his white-blond hair to his colorless skin covered in shimmering, pale blue robes hanging loosely from his slender body. Triangular emerald green tattoos highlighted his sharp cheekbones and pale blue gems adorned his ears and the narrow headband hanging over his forehead. He fixed Captain Kamishiro with two different colored eyes - one a pale grey, the other a bright gold that contrasted jarringly with the rest of him and matched the triangular key hanging from his neck. He nodded at the captain's neck. "You're hurt."

His voice was calm, sad. The captain raised a hand to his neck and it came away bloody. He had been only vaguely aware of it. "I'm fine, but the castle is under heavy attack. There isn't much more we can do to hold them off-"

"Are they using the Baria Crystal?" the other man interrupted. Where Captain Kamishiro wore dark clothing and armor, Yuma wore the opposite - a white jumpsuit with red armor and boots. To the captain's annoyance, the younger man clutched his sword still despite his order to put it away.

"Not the crystal itself," Astral murmured before the captain could respond. "Weapons... they're using weapons made from the crystal, though. I can sense them; weaker than the crystal but still powerful enough to neutralize much of our astral power."

"Lord Astral," Captain Kamishiro began again, becoming increasingly irritated with the flippancy the two were treating the situation. "You must leave the palace. They're here for you and if they get you, we won't be able to stop them."

Astral's pale eyebrows lifted. "You think I will abandon my kingdom to these marauders and murderers?"

"No," the captain said after a moment's hesitation. "I order you to."

There was a stunned silence as Yuma's sword loosened in his hand and Astral watched the captain intently.

"You are ordering the prince of the Astral Kingdom to step aside for the Barians?" His voice sounded a combination of incredulity and annoyance. "You have a great deal of authority but even you can't tell me how to rule my kingdom."

The captain looked up at him, then climbed slowly to his feet. "I don't have time to argue with you. The Barians are slaughtering everyone downstairs, they are going to break through our defenses and if we don't get you out of here through one of the secret passages out of the palace, more than your kingdom will fall."

"Ryoga-" the other man began.

"Lieutenant Tsukumo, I am your commander and you will refer to me as such," he said sharply, without looking at the younger man. "You are also the prince's personal bodyguard, yes?"

"I- Of course."

"So you have to do everything I say to keep him alive."

"I suppose." Yuma saw right away where this was headed.

"If I told you to knock the prince unconscious and carry him away from his palace to a safe place where we can plan an attack on the Barian kingdom, you are obligated to follow suit, yes?"

"Wait a minute," Astral interrupted. "You propose to flee from those who would kill my subjects and threaten to overthrow my kingdom after physically attacking your prince? What you say sounds like cowardice and borderline treachery, Ryoga. I thought the last of the Dragoons would uphold the clan's creed to never back down from those threatening the kingdom."

Ryoga's jaw clenched but he remained silent. He simply turned to Yuma, whose sword tip rested on the ground as he looked at Ryoga with a terrified expression.

"Yuma." His voice was softer. "There's no more time, and there's no chance of victory today."

Yuma's eyes darted between his prince and his commander. Mouthing words that may have been anything from a curse to a prayer, he sheathed his sword, darted to Astral, and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Yuma-" Astral's mismatched eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

"My lord, my greatest duty is to keep you safe." He yanked Astral roughly along as he followed Ryoga to the door. "Please forgive me."

The captain peered down the empty hallway. "Something's wrong," he muttered. "It's too quiet downstairs."

Yuma's heart pounded as he led Astral into the hall. He watched his commander gaze down the hallway for a moment before clearing his throat nervously. "Captain?"

Ryoga ripped his gaze from the end of the hallway that he had come from. "This way." He trotted in the opposite direction, his reluctant prince and Yuma close behind. They had nearly reached the end of the hall, where it split to the east and west wings in front of a large painting of a figure covered from head to toe in gleaming golden armor, when the thing Ryoga feared would happen did.

"Ah, Captain Kamishiro! There you are!"

He turned slowly. At the opposite end of the hall stood three masked and hooded figures, one tall and slender, the second short and stocky, and the third towering over them. They walked calmly down the hall.

"Or should I say Captain-Commander?" the slender figure said in amusement. "I hear the previous Captain-Commander died ignominiously, unable to defeat her foe."

Ryoga swore under his breath before turning to Yuma and Astral. He spoke rapidly in an undertone. "Yuma, draw your sword. Lead the prince to the southwestern tower and take the hidden passage to the basement dungeons. Follow the path."

"What are you-"

Ryoga gripped his trident and turned to face the three Barian warriors.

"No!"

"Yuma, that's an order!" he barked.

"By all means, Captain, let him stay," the slender figure said in amusement. "Two against three is much better odds than one to three, isn't it? Unless- oh!" He caught sight of Astral, half-hidden behind Yuma. "Yes, Lord Astral! What a wonderful surprise."

Ryoga ground his teeth. "You knew full well he was with me, Mizael."

"Can we cut the small talk?" the shorter of Mizael's companions cut in. "I'm itching to get my hands on more of the Astral Kingdom's power." He rubbed the brass knuckles inlaid with small, glowing red stones on his fist, anticipation shining in his eyes.

"Durbe told us to wait until Vector gets here, Alit," Mizael said impatiently.

"Oh, will it take four of you to get the prince?" Ryoga sneered. "Scared of him?"

"We've just slaughtered almost your entire guard downstairs, Captain," the third shot back. "We will take great pleasure in slaying the last son of the Dragoons and his protégé as well, before ripping the power from the prince you love so much." He nodded to something just over Ryoga's shoulder. "Your parents are dead, did your captain tell you that?"

Ryoga turned his head to where Yuma stood petrified, still clutching Astral's wrist. Astral teetered as though hit in the head with a blunt object as he absorbed this news.

"Dead…?" Astral whispered, eyes darting aimlessly around the hallway.

"I gave you an order!" he said furiously. "Why the hell are you still standing there?"

"I can't… leave you to die," Yuma said in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"How precious," Mizael said tonelessly as Alit and the larger Barian snickered.

"With the king and queen…" His voice quivered. The memory of the king dying in his arms as he made his captain swear to leave him and save his son clawed at his chest. "The prince is more important than a hundred of me." Ryoga's raised voice echoed through the quiet hall, cutting through the Barians' chuckles. "Go, NOW."

"No."

It wasn't Yuma this time, but Astral. His face was ashen and his body shook violently, but he pulled himself out of Yuma's grip and clenched his fists.

"Lord Astral-"

"No, I won't. If my parents are dead, I am now the king. I won't flee without a fight and I won't see any more of my people die for me." Astral lifted his glowing right hand and made a cutting motion before raising his hand above his head. Ryoga made a strangled noise of protest that went unnoticed by the prince. The Barians stood stock still, watching Astral warily. "My kingdom is in peril. Rid the threat with your power! Come forth, Aspiring Emperor Hope!"

A swirling black mass appeared in the air above the Barians, who took a few steps back as they watched the warrior in the golden armor descend from it, a ten foot tall mirror image of the one in the painting behind the prince who summoned him. He landed gracefully in front of Captain Kamishiro and unsheathed his massive sword.

"Hope will dispatch them," Astral said quietly. He slumped against Yuma, who caught him by the waist and held him up. "It always makes me tired," he added with a small smile at his concerned bodyguard.

Mizael, who had gazed at Hope with surprise, came to his senses first. His bow materialized out of thin air and he fired an arrow that streaked with red energy right at Astral. Weakened by the effort of summoning Hope and held still by Yuma, Astral couldn't react quick enough to dodge it, and it pierced his shoulder. The arrow shot a current of power through Astral, who shrieked in agony as the Baria crystal-infused arrow targeted his astral powers.

Captain Kamishiro dropped his trident as he cleared the short gap between him and his screaming prince. "Lord Astral-"

Astral clenched his teeth as he gripped the arrow. "Hope…"

With his summoner being drained of energy by the second, Hope slumped over, leaning on his sword.

"Nice shot, Mizael!" Alit said giddily, raising his fists. "Time to get rid of this monster." He lunged at Hope, who managed to deflect the blow with his sword. "Help me out, Gilag!"

The large Barian's hammer materialized in his hand as he too charged at the golden warrior. Behind Hope, Astral leaned against Yuma, who clutched his prince tightly around the waist as he held him up, eyes wide with fear with every shudder that indicated the Barian arrow was still doing its job. Ryoga put his hand over Astral's on the arrow, met his prince's eyes, and took a steadying breath. Gilag shouted angrily as Hope continued to deflect all three Barians' attempts to get to the three men behind him, despite his rapidly deteriorating stamina. "Hold him still, Yuma."

Yuma tightened his grip and squeezed his eyes shut against the scream that followed as the arrow tore from Astral's shoulder. Ryoga ripped off his cloak and wadded it to stem the tide of blood gushing from the wound. "Yuma, let go of his waist now. You need to carry him to the unused dungeons. Cell 3. Understand?" Yuma swallowed and nodded. He held out his arms as Ryoga lifted the nearly-unconscious Astral into them. Ryoga picked up Yuma's sword and wordlessly re-sheathed it in Yuma's belt.

"Go quick," he said quietly. "I'll catch up."

Yuma bit his lip. "Don't take too long," he said shakily, turning down the hallway. Mizael fired another arrow at them but Ryoga flicked his lance upward with his foot and knocked the arrow off-course. Mizael cursed and aimed one at Ryoga, who leapt easily out of the way.

A tsk echoed down the hall. "I set you on a simple task to kill the Captain of the Astral Kingdom's Royal Guard and the prince's bodyguard and bring me the prince, and not only did you fail to accomplish any of these, but the latter two escaped."

The three Barians turned as a fourth masked figure strode stiffly toward them.

"Hello Vector," Alit said stiffly, clearly not happy about this reunion.

Vector shot him a withering glare and turned instead to Ryoga, standing close to the greatly weakened Hope. "Why are you so determined to fight when you're going to die either way, Ryoga Kamishiro?"

Ryoga lifted his trident in front of him. "I will never break an oath." In his peripheral, he saw a blurred figure hopping silently from curtain rod to curtain rod toward them. He felt simultaneously relieved and worried.

Vector laughed humorlessly. "An oath? To a prince who has little time left, judging by the state of his summon? The least you could have let us do was to rescue his powers before he died. All that untapped power, wasted. What a shame."

"Go to hell."

"And will you send me there?" Vector tilted his head, eyes glittering curiously. "The score is four to two – well, four to one and a half, I doubt Hope can last much longer-"

He cut off abruptly as he dodged a slender sword aimed at his throat, causing the unexpected attack to slash across his shoulder instead.

"How about four to two and a half?" rang out a woman's voice.

The attacker landed gracefully next to Vector and aimed another lightning-quick blow that Vector had to stumble backward to avoid. He clenched his good fist in front of him and shot a ball of energy at her, and she sliced through it neatly with her rapier.

"Impossible," Vector spat.

The woman held up the long, thin blade admiringly. "I took this from one of your dead. A Barian blade, is it? Such lovely balance." She brushed back her multi-hued blue hair and held the rapier in front of her. "Want to have another go?"

Vector's eyes narrowed. "The same arrogant face, the same self-important gait. You must be Rio Kamishiro."

"I must be," she said indifferently. "But just because I look like my brother doesn't mean I'm as useless as he is."

"So much talking!" Alit interrupted before Ryoga could give his sister anything more than a stony glare. "Why can't we just kill them and be rid of the Dragoons forever?"

"Agreed," Vector said. "I will oversee the cleaning up of the palace and lead the search for the prince in the eastern wing." He waved an arm and a dark portal appeared behind him. "I trust you three can actually accomplish your task this time?"

"Yes," Mizael said jerkily.

"Then I will see you shortly," Vector said, stepping back into the portal. As it dematerialized his body, his voice called out, "And remember that the price for failure will be steep."

Mizael glared at the spot where Vector had disappeared for a moment before lifting his bow. "No more talking, now."

He fired off an arrow at Rio, who twirled sideways to avoid it before jumping atop a table. Her light leather boots slid gracefully across it before she caught her left foot against the marble wall. Mizael fired again and she used the wall as a springboard and sailed through the air, rapier slicing at Mizael, who tried to let loose another arrow. She knocked the bow aside as her rapier left a light graze across Mizael's chest, and the arrow sailed harmlessly into a tapestry. Behind her, Alit charged, fists nimbly darting through the air as Rio barely managed to avoid the impact. Gilag charged at Hope, who was starting to deconstruct, with his hammer, but was caught behind the knees by Ryoga's trident, and he stumbled onto all fours as Ryoga raised his weapon.

"Gilag!"

Mizael fired at Ryoga but aimed too low in the chaos; the arrow sunk shallowly into Ryoga's thigh. Despite the arrow not penetrating too deeply, he felt a powerful shock in his lower body and let out a cry of pain.

"Ryoga!"

Rio's split-second distraction gave Alit an opening; he nailed her in her sword arm with his knuckled fist. She felt the sharp points pierce her shoulder, which cracked loudly as her rapier fell from her fingers, and screamed.

"Rio-" Ryoga's fingers laced around the arrow and without giving himself time to brace for it, ripped it out. Blood seeped from his wound and Gilag was regaining the use of his legs as he reached for his hammer but Ryoga was beyond feeling – his sister was now sliding down the wall, face ashen, gripping her bleeding shoulder, her weapon lying uselessly on the floor next to her as Mizael drew his bow back. "No, not Rio- Rio!"

Time seemed to stop as the slowly disappearing Hope lifted his sword and brought the hilt down with a resounding crash that shook the entire hall. All three Barians were knocked off balance but Ryoga managed to steady himself with his trident as he hobbled over to his sister slumped against the wall.

"Rio-"

Mizael recovered first. He lifted his bow once more, aiming intently at Ryoga, who, in his determination to ensure his sister's safety, did not notice.

"Ryoga," Rio whimpered as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Hope lifted his sword once more and swung it with all his might at the Barians. This time, the force of the shockwave blew all three back into the wall at the far end of the hall, where they remained motionless. A portal much like the one Vector had used to disappear formed behind them, their bodies dismantling into bright, multicolored dots that the portal absorbed.

Ryoga glanced at the portal in surprise for a moment before looking over at Hope, who was disassembling into his own portal.

"Thank you," he said to the summon, who bowed his head as he disappeared. Ryoga bent down and gently touched the lightly bleeding holes in his sister's uncovered shoulder as she flinched.

"Broken," he muttered. His eyes swept over her tightly laced leather armor vest. "I've told you a hundred times that if you're going to wear any armor, make sure it covers your shoulders and make sure it isn't leather."

"Shut up," she said weakly.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah…" She stumbled a little, but managed to remain upright when Ryoga pulled her good arm over his shoulders and gripped her by the waist. "You're bleeding," she said in surprise as her leg brushed his.

An intense throbbing coursed through his leg. It felt like the Barian power was travelling as an electric current through his veins. "It just grazed me. I'm fine."

"My rapier-"

Ryoga glanced at the Barian blade with disgust. "I'm sure we can find a different weapon for you to use."

"It's the best blade I've ever handled, Barian or not." Her pale, sweat-soaked face glared up at her brother with a strange mix of petulance and determination.

He sighed and flicked the rapier into his hand with his foot. It felt strange in his hand, uncomfortable. The pain in his leg intensified, and he bit back a groan. Like he had done with Yuma, he sheathed it for her before grabbing the trident propped against the wall. The moment the blade left his hand, the pain lessened slightly.

"Ryoga, the king and queen-"

"I know."

"What's going to happen to the kingdom?" she whispered.

"I don't know. We have to get to Lord Astral and Yuma quickly, before Vector comes back."

Astral wasn't a heavy man by any means. He was slender and unusually light for his height. But Yuma found as he hurried down the hidden path to the dungeons that Astral felt heavier and heavier with each step. Astral's breathing became more labored, though the bleeding had slowed, and his face shone with sweat.

Every few minutes, Yuma would whisper to his prince, who usually responded with a small noise or a flickering of the eyes. But as they reached the cell masking the underground exit, Astral made no motion that he had heard Yuma. His body slumped unmoving against Yuma's chest.

Fighting the panic welling inside of him, Yuma leaned his face close to Astral's. When he felt a warm breath brush his cheek, he relaxed slightly.

"Lord Astral?" he tried again.

It was a few seconds before Astral's mouth moved, though Yuma couldn't make out any of the words.

"What?"

"My hand… the wall…"

Yuma looked at the grimy stone wall, such a contrast to the gleaming marble of the rest of the palace. These dungeons hadn't been used in three generations and it was unlikely the Barians would even know they existed. "You want me to touch your hand to the wall?"

Astral's head inclined a fraction of an inch. With difficulty, Yuma positioned Astral in his arms so his hand brushed the slimy wall.

A blue light shined behind from an outline in the wall, and with a flash, a small entrance to a passageway appeared where the wall had been. Yuma understood; the door opened only for someone with Astral powers. But-

"How is Captain Kamishiro going to get in?"

"Dragoons have Astral powers," was the haggard reply.

Yuma stepped into the narrow passageway with a heavy heart, and the entrance sealed itself behind him, plunging them into darkness.

After nearly an hour of feeling his way down the pitch-black passageway, during which Astral slipped back into unconsciousness, Yuma finally bumped into a door. He groped for the doorknob and pushed it open.

He wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't this. It was a room about the size of the library with three beds evenly placed in the corner with small tables between them, a small fire grate, and several crates stacked against the wall. At the opposite side of the room was a padlocked door. Crisscrossing the ceiling were exposed pipes, some of which led out of the room, and several small vents. Dimly glowing blue bulbs hung suspended periodically along the wall, casting an eerie glow across the room, reminding Yuma forcibly of being underwater.

Yuma took Astral to one of the beds and placed him gently on it. He removed Captain Kamishiro's blood-soaked cloak from the wound on Astral's shoulder, which bled still, though not as much. Sitting on the table next to the bed was a small bottle and a stack of dusty cloths; this room had clearly been used as an improvised hospital in the past. He shook out a cloth, sneezing as a cloud of dust erupted from it, and opened the bottle. A foul-smelling odor emanated from it and Yuma winced. Hoping that the liquid was meant to be topically applied and not drunk, he dumped some of it on the cloth and dabbed with shaking hands at Astral's shoulder.

It immediately made an unpleasant sizzling sound and Astral let out a whimper. The blood bubbled and hardened, forming a scab over the wound that stifled the blood. With a breath of relief, Yuma shook out a second cloth and wrapped it tightly around Astral's shoulder. He suddenly realized how tired he was, and as he laid his head next to Astral's body, he fell into a troubled sleep, the question of what became of his commander burning in his heart.