a/n: Sooooo...hey! Been a while! How goes it? Remember me? The, uh...NOT dead guy? Just wanted to throw this your way while I try to find all my files. THis WILL be updated often! I promise! Until then...please don't be too mad that I didn't finish everything that I said I would! I'll...I post another poll soon to see what you want me to finish next. And for those that really liked More Than You Know, I'll have a special surprise for you...eventually. So keep an eye out!

Til next time

~shine

Disclaimer: You know the deal. I'm too poor to own Elsword or KoG, so I'm not doing this to make any kinda profit. Ya dig? I don't wanna get sued to hell and back.

Madness

Laughter echoed.

She sat within a dark room, her body weak, arms chained above her head. Her body covered in the rags of what used to be her old uniform. Dirt covered her body, and blood trickled from her bruised wrists. She cried out, her voice little more than a harsh grunt. She sighed.

Time held no meaning here. How long she had been here, she couldn't say. Her mind was a haze, all thought of who she used to be long gone now. All that existed for her was this place. That chilling laughter dousing her body with fear and rage. Sharp teeth and claws racking her body with pain. Painful slaps, mocking words stripping her sins bare and flooding her veins with shame and hatred. But for who...she couldn't say. Perhaps herself.

Failure. That's what she was. She was a failure that led countless knights, men and women with futures, with families, to their deaths. All for a cause she could not even believe she once thought was just. Justice...that had only brought her misery.

"And look at you now," a shadowy voice spoke, laced with scorn. Fresh tears spilled from her eyes, her body thrashed, pulling against the restraints that kept her tied down. She didn't want this. She needed to leave. But she was too weak. Always believing that she was strong enough to face anything, and now...now she couldn't even hide her fear. "You're useless. You're a failure. You're a weakling."

She cried out again, rage boiling up in her chest. She knew that! She knew...but yet something inside her refused to accept it. She couldn't. Never. She would fight back. She would escape from this place. And then she would prove that she was strong. She would kill anyone that stood in her way. Anyone, human, demon...or even a god.

"Can you do it?" The voice asked, amused. She would. She had to. She had someone to protect. Someone important to her. "And who would that be, I wonder? A lover, perhaps? A friend? A child, even? Or...maybe...your brother?"

Elesis twitched at that word. Her brother! She had to find him! He wouldn't be safe without her! She thrashed wilder, screaming in rage and pain, frustration and fear creeping into her senses now. Desperation. She must leave!

"Elsword!" She screamed, her voice finally coming back to her. She cried out, pulling so hard on her restraints that she feared her muscles would tear and her bones would break. But that didn't matter now! She didn't matter as long as he was safe! With a wild cry and renewed vigor, she finally broke free-

And she laughed. Tears filled her eyes, blood dripping down her blade, but she laughed all the same. First a low giggle, and finally a loud, wild laugh filled the battlefield. Demons shrunk away from the girl bathed in red, her dark yellow eyes filling with something akin to primal hunger.

"You'll struggle in pain..." She spoke, raising her sword above her head, a devilish grin on her bloodstained face.

Never once did she realize, however, that the one she cut down...was the very one she had vowed to always protect.