Chapter 2! Roderich is going to make his first appearance. Some of you may catch the hints I placed in the this chapter where the focus is on Roderich and the warlock. I will state now the warlock is a nameless OC I made just for this because I didn't want to make Prussia the bad guy again. If you all have any ideas for his name, any nationality, I won't mind. Now enjoy this chapter. ^^

Was he really doing this? Going on a quest to find Roderich? A quest…no! That wasn't his life anymore! Adventure! Yeah, that was the word he meant! An adventure. Vash never thought he of all people would be the big hero of the kingdom but here he was, trying to track down where this mysterious warlock was. Why did he even want with Roderich? Sure the king knew magic but it was useless in battle outside of healing. This was all so confusing!

The young man gave a silent curse. He was over thinking all this! In the end it was just him having to bail out the king again and he'd probably try to talk him into leading his knights again. That just wasn't his kind of life. While he wasn't one to shy away from money he just wasn't a diamonds and pearls kind of guy. Vash would rather be isolated living by his sweat and blood then barking orders in a fancy castle.

Why was he even thinking about all this stuff? Probably because he had nothing better to do to pass the time as he walked. This was no good! He needed a horse or he might be too late to undo what was going on! But what could he do? It wasn't like he had enough money to just stop at the next village and buy a horse. He really should have thought this out more…did Elizabeta even? Well, at the very least he was going to go down fighting!

rrrrrrrrrr

A dark figure looked in a sphere of blood red light, chuckling darkly as he watched Vash. "A foolish boy on a foolish mission. You see that, Roderich? He thinks he can walk here to save you! I'm speaking to you!"

Roderich frowned, slowly raising his sad, violet eyes. His wrists were chained together as were his ankles just enough to he could walk around the room he was a prisoner in. Good….Elizabeta had done as he asked! But why hadn't she taken a horse and given it to him? How could Vash hope to make it walking?

"Yes, you see it, don't you? I know you can. The fool believes he can fight through my darkness with no magic of his own. And he thought you were the idiot. Yes…it's saddening, isn't it? What was his name again?"

The king's throat was dry but he couldn't help it as the name slipped through his lips hoarse and broken. "Vash…"

"Ah, that's right. Vash. You once offered to make him a knight, didn't you? The most powerful knight in the whole kingdom, in fact. But he refused and left you all alone. Shattered your heart and left you to go through failed marriage after failed marriage."

Purple eyes glared, a small aura coming from him that seemed to travel up into the ceiling of the room and out of sight. "Vash cares about me. The fact that he's doing this is proof of that!"

"Does he? No. He's doing this for himself. So he can go back to his solitude without a care for the rest of the world. He's doing this because he thinks he can fight away the darkness and save himself but there's darkness everywhere. Even in the happiest of places that seem to shine so bright there is darkness. You just need to push the right button."

The midnight black haired warlock smirked, flicking his wrist and gazing into his crystal ball to gaze into a sleepy little tavern. "Like here. So many hearts hiding their feelings away afraid of hurt. It's a shame the prince that frequencies that place is so powerful unlike you; he's almost as good a source of power for me as you are. Just think…a little power could have saved you from this like it did him. So weak. And just think; if one thing was different in your pathetic life you wouldn't be the doom of your own kingdom, of the whole world!"

Roderick looked at the ground in shame again, more of that small aura leaving him and floating away through the ceiling. As much as he tried to fight it all he knew just how true every word was. This was all his fault for being so weak. Vash might die going through all this!

"See? If you were even emotionally stronger you might be able to at least delay all this but you can't. Hm? That damn wizard is trying to 'cure' my darkness again. Fool. If he paid attention to the family his magic gave him he'd have better luck. What to do to them today?"

"L-leave my people alone. It's one thing to torment me but leave that family alone!"

"That's right. Get angry. Let the dark emotions flood you. Ah…the more timid son seems to be the light for them all. Let's extinguish that, shall we?"

"What are you going to do? Leave that boy alone!"

The warlock smirked, muttering a few words. Through the ball of energy one could hear a loud crack like a pile of dishes falling to the floor. "Oh…they all managed to miss anything vital. Oh, well. That just means he'll suffer more…and more darkness from more people. You think that foolish wizard would figure out just how simple it would be to cure the boy? No…he's too arrogant; that's why he thinks his magic can stop mine. He'll assume it would take days and require the rarest of things."

The king gave a growl. He wished he could deal at least once blow to the warlock but he knew better. His shackles were enchanted and if he tried he'd be in pain…a pain that would further fuel the madman's magic! "…Vash will put an end to you."

"Oh? Back to that? Trying to distract me or something? Yes…as a matter of fact why don't we check on him." He smirked, flicking his wrist again. "Oh, my. Would you look at that."

"Vash!"

vvvvvvvvvv

What was this? He must have let his guard down while he was thinking! There was no other way to explain why he was suddenly surrounded by a pack of at least six wolves that all looked thirsty for blood. Vash glared, drawling his sword; firing his crossbow and reloading it would take too long against a pack of swift wolves! "You want a piece of me? Come get it!"

All the training he hadn't used in years came back as he moved from memory, taking down two of the wolves quickly as they tried to pounce and pin him down. Two down. This wasn't so bad. The ranger's eyes went wide as the one that didn't have his head chopped off stood up, steam appearing to come from its wounds as the closed up. Ok…behead them! Wait…it was healing too! What was he to do?

No...no! He must not give up! Everything had a weakness! Vash just had to keep fighting until he found their weak point! Determined, he kept on hacking, running while they were healing far from his mind. The former mercenary wasn't sure how long he had been at it but it was clear he was getting no one fast, about to collapse. No…Roderich needed him. Roderich…

What was that noise? When had he hit the ground? Vash groaned as he was rolled onto his back, seeing a faint but familiar outline. No…that couldn't be.

"Idiot! You're lucky the awesome me was here!"

Gilbert…

"Too tired to talk, huh? Don't worry, I'm going to help get you some place safe. Can't go playing hero in your state!"

How did he know? What was going on? The ranger didn't know, he just let himself fall to sleep.

What's this? Gilbert saved Vash's life? BTW, how Gilbert managed while Vash couldn't will be revealed in the next chapter. No further comments at this time since I'll have it up already.