Dark Mist: Wow, it's been a LONG time since I updated this... Not to mention SOMEONE has yet to start writing his life story. *Glares at Lance*
Lance: I'm working on it, okay? Jeez...
Me: Anyhoo, enjoy the chapter.

Astral and I stayed in the back corner until Ena returned and told us it was safe again.

As we left the room, we passed by many soldiers, some seriously injured, others not as much and I overheard some of their conversations as we walked past.

"All of Brightwyn was pretty much destroyed..."

"Several other surrounding cities were damaged as well..."

"What if we can't fight them off next time?"

Sure enough, when I finally caught a glimpse of the city from a hole in the wall, it had crumbled to pieces and what wasn't fallen was burning to the ground.

When we reached the ground floor, Ena told us to wait in the lobby while she went outside.

I was getting tired of being left behind all the time, so I started toward the door after her.

Astral grabbed my arm and stopped me. "She told us to wait here."

"Yeah, but don't you want to know what happened?" I asked him.

He stared at me for a few moments before nodding hesitantly.

I opened what was left of the door and stepped outside, Astral right behind me.

It was difficult to see through the smoke and dust. In fact, it was even hard to just breathe. The air was so thick, I might as well have been trying to breathe underwater. It was warm too, hot even, like a desert, from all the fire.

Squinting, I was barely able to spot Ena among the debris as she turned around a corner.

Without any warning to Astral, I ran off after her, not even sure if Astral was following.

Once I got to the spot I lost sight of her, I paused to look around, but couldn't find her anywhere.

I have to admit, it made me feel panicked.

Astral caught up a few seconds later. "Don't do that again." He said, though it might have supposed to be a growl, if he knew how to be menacing.

Deciding to ignore him, I asked, "Where is she? Can you see her?"

A few moments passed before Astral answered. "No..."

I winced at that. I really hoped that didn't mean we had...

"We've lost her, haven't we?" Astral asked, finishing my thought.

"Yeah, I think so... Let's just go back to the building and wait for her to-"

My voice was cut off by a loud noise somewhere behind us. It was like a crossover between a earthquake and a avalanche.

Astral and I quickly turned around to see the tower we'd been in fall to the ground in a cloud of dust.

"I am glad we did not stay in there..." Astral mumbled in shock.

I nodded numbly in agreement.

"It seems we have no choice but to continue searching for Ena then..." Astral said, turning onto a path and starting to walk away.

"H-Hey, wait up!"

We were wandering for quite some time before we finally found her talking to someone else in hushed voices.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Astral.

"That's Eliphas..."

So that's Eliphas...? I thought. Doesn't look like anyone special...

Astral started towards them, which I hesitantly followed.

"Maybe interrupting them isn't a good idea..." I whispered to him.

"I am sure they will not mind if we tell them what happened."

I hope he's right.

Once we were about five feet from them, they noticed us.

"I thought I told you to stay in the tower." Ena scolded, though it was still soft.

"It had collapsed and we did not know where else to go." Astral replied.

I hadn't noticed before, but when I looked at Eliphas, he seemed to be glaring at me. What did I do?

I glanced over at Astral and Ena, but they didn't seem to notice. Maybe he was just always like that? Or because of the attack?

"Then, let's find somewhere safer for you two to stay at." Ena replied, then looked over to Eliphas. "Perhaps they could stay at your tower?" I thought it sounded more like a command than a question.

"Very well. Wouldn't want them getting in the way." Eliphas growled.

Jeez, this guy really rubs me the wrong way...

"Alright, let's go." Ena said, ushering Astral and I towards the tower at the very center of the city.

Dark Mist: Ta da. Almost got killed again if we'd stayed in the tower. And you guys wonder why I'm so screwed up...