Note- Here's another chapter for you wonderful reviewers. You guys brighten up my day. As a treat I was thinking of writing a Last Remnant one-shot based on whatever you lovely reviewers want. Tell me the plot and I'll write it. Oh and you gotta let me put some David/Rush going on. Sorry but I really can't see those two with anyone else. So get back to me soon.

Chapter Six

Memories

Elysion

The Congress Palace

Irina Sykes was terrified to move an inch from the sofa she had been placed on by that brute and the freak in white. She didn't know how much time had passed since she was taken from the hilltop near her home but it may as well have been years. She had yet to learn anything about her parents and she wondered if they even knew she had been kidnapped. At least she was in Elysion so her mother and father would be at the academy. All she had to do was find a way to get a message to them.

Irina didn't recognize the room she was in or even the building but she had a feeling that it was the Congress Palace. She had a clear view of the market and the river from where her room but the windows couldn't be broken and she had no weapons of any kind nearby. Her kidnappers, Wagner and Jager, wanted her to be as comfortable as possible for the arrival of their lord whoever that was. Sighing deeply she held onto the flowers she had picked just before she had been abducted from the hilltop.

Irina was an only child; her parents adored her but where away from home most of the time leaving her to stay with friends of the family. She was a genius with Remnants and often helped her parents whenever she could. Despite her intelligence Irina couldn't enter the academy yet because of her age. At fourteen Irina was a beautiful young lady. Honey brown hair framed her gentle face. People often said she was the mirror image of her mother.

She was wearing her favorite blue dress, a birthday present from her father when she was thirteen. Growing up even with her family and friends Irina sometimes felt lonely. She had a good childhood and was well cared for but she would often wish for a sibling to talk to. Sometimes she imagined having an older brother to play with. When she brought that up one time at breakfast her mother had gone deathly pale and her father looked sick. Irina never brought it up again but their reactions stayed with her still.

She was snapped out of her thoughts of escape by the heavy door being opened and a yama guard entering. Behind the guard was Wagner, his mouth curved into that know-it-all smile she loathed. Jager wasn't with him which in itself was a blessing. The brute complained constantly about kids and babysitting a brat. The way he looked at her, like he wanted to display her head on a stuck, made Irina squirm and wince. She kept her mouth shut when Wagner stepped side to allow another man to enter the room.

This man was dressed royally and stood with the air of an aristocrat, a man who had everything handed to him on a plate his entire life. His cold eyes narrowed when he took in Irina's appearance then he openly scowled when she remained sitting there refusing to get up and acknowledge him. She gulped down her fear when the man approached her, his hands behind his back.

"So this is the girl with the gift is it?" the man scowled at her, looking at Irina as if she were a bug. "She doesn't look like much."

"Trust me my lord she is what we have been looking for." Wagner said with ease. He turned to Irina. "This is Duke Hermeien."

"The Chairman?" Irina gulped down. This man practically ruled Elysion and the small towns surrounding the city.

"And where is your cohort Jager? I want a report from him concerning the Marquis of Athlum." The regal man growled.

"All in good time my lord. As long as we have Irina Sykes we have the advantage." Wagner replied.

"Why are you keeping me here?" Irina demanded angrily. "Just what do you need me for anyway?"

"Speak when spoken to girl!" Hermeien practically screamed. "Woman should remain silent and obey."

"I didn't know that I had to be courteous to my kidnappers." Irina spat back.

"Such an insolent girl." Hermeien grabbed her face in one hand. "Perhaps she needs some obedience beaten into her."

"Right now you are needed at Congress my lord. The girl shall remain here for the Conqueror to see her." Wagner glanced at Irina with a grin. "You're exactly what he wants."

"The Conqueror?" Irina whispered. She had heard tales of the man but nothing had ever been proven.

"Did you locate the seal?" Wagner turned to the duke.

"Better yet my dear friend my scholars have located two of the. You'll have your seals soon enough." Hermeien looked smug.

"Perhaps you should inform your guest of her purpose. I'm sure she wishes to know everything." Wagner suggested.

"Yes…I believe you're right." The duke approached Irina again. "With your gift the Remnants of the world will be mine to control."

"What are you talking about?" Irina asked hesitantly. By the look in the duke's eyes Irina concluded that the guy was a few berries short of a pie.

"Why my dear with the Remnants I shall control everything. I'll take my rightful place in the world." Hermeien grinned at the thought.

"But that's insane! No one can control all the Remnants!" Irina yelled. She whimpered when Hermeien grabbed her wrist in a wise grip.

"I won't tell you again girl." He growled lowly. "But don't worry. By the time your parents figure it out you'll be serving me faithfully. Then we'll see if that detection device works."

"We had best depart my lord. The Congress will be gathering within a few days." Wagner interrupted them.

The duke released Irina's bruised wrist from his grip to follow Wagner from the room leaving the Sykes girl allow again and even more terrified than before. The man was completely insane if he wanted to control all the Remnants. Her heart hammered in her chest as she thought of her family. They were involved in top secret Remnant research so Irina had no idea what they were working on.

She knew that some Remnants were still missing around the world. Did her parents find some way to detect them? Is that what Hermeien meant? She had to find a way to contact them somehow. That lunatic would stop at nothing to get what he was after. And just what did they want her for anyway? Irina was smart, yes but what were they talking about concerning this power? She needed to escape from here and fast. She gasped when the door opened again and Wagner walked in.

"Irina, you're coming with me on a little excursion to Blackdale." Wagner smiled.

"What's going on?" she gulped down.

"You're going to demonstrate your power to me. I need to make sure you're exactly what my lord needs." The white robed man reached out and grabbed her arm. "Time to go my dear." Irina cried out when an icy portal opened and the man pulled her through.

Blackdale

The cavern was vast. That was the first thing Rush was aware of when he entered the cave system after Jager. The groups entered into a small chamber that ended with a small tunnel. After walking through the passageway the squads came into a much larger cavern with only a small narrow pathway to walk on. Rush glanced down into the ravine but instantly regretted it. There didn't seem to be an end to the chasm below him. Mist was pouring in from somewhere else within the cavern making it impossible to see how far down the hole went.

He thought about tossing a rock down just to see how big it was but decided against it. The gods only knew what nasty large man eating monster lurked in the darkness. The last thing he wanted to do was awaken some blood thirsty dragon from its hibernation. The brunet followed David closely. Form the way the blond was walking through the tunnels ahead it would seem that he was here before or his generals were. After traversing the narrow pathway and a small tunnel they came to a fork in the road.

Torgal took the lead here because of his past missions into this region. As the groups traveled through the cavern they were met with attacks from the local monsters. The spiders were weak compared to other monsters and they were easily taken care of. Despite their low strength the creatures relied on heavy numbers to attack their prey. To stay in one place at a time and fight them would be suicide. Moving quickly along the tunnel the squads stopped again when they encountered another fork.

Torgal wasted no time in thinking about which way to take. He motioned for the squads to follow him deeper into the caverns. There was only one place Jager would go to once he came in here and that was the chamber deep into the caves. Torgal didn't go there himself but he did hear about a chamber within Blackdale which the spiders protected fiercely. It may be where their nest was located. The only other exit from this system ended in a vast chamber with only the bottomless spit as a means of escape.

Rush noticed that blood had been smeared along the walls the deeper they got into the cave. Jager must have been attacked by the spiders. Without a weapon he was dinner served hot and ready. Finally they reached the bottom of the cavern only to encounter a large door. It was etched with symbols and runes which Pagus translated to be the resting place of a Remnant.

Making sure the squads were fully healed the Marquis pushed the doors open to reveal a chamber with what could only be three Remnants contained within it. The artifacts where shaped like swords, a red glow filled the chamber and standing directly before the Remnants were three people. Wagner, Jager and a young girl in a blue dress who was now raising her hands towards the Remnants. Wagner looked around when he heard the door opening and smiled.

"I'm afraid you're a little late. This Remnant is ours now." Wagner turned to the girl. "Bind the Remnant to you Irina."

"Irina? Isn't that the girl you're looking for?" Rush glanced at David.

"That's her…" the blond nodded. "Irina, we're going to take you home."

"Home?" the girl mumbled as if in a trance.

"Ahh, the Enthrall ailment is quite effective isn't it? She won't listen to you." Wagner nodded at Jager.

"That kid there…" he pointed to Rush. "He knows about the seals. When I attacked him my weapon broke against his skin."

"Truly?" Wagner stared at the silent teenager. "How do you know of the seals?"

"Like I'd tell you!" Rush snapped back.

"So feisty and full of fire. I'll know your secret soon enough boy." Wagner promised. He turned back to Irina. "But for now we must depart here. But here is a little something to keep you all busy."

He slammed his white fan onto the rocky ground and a burst of fire erupted from the ground in waves. Stepping back Wager watched as the summoned creature emerged from the flames. Its body looked like it had been shaped from lava rock with thick red horns jutting from a demonic head. In one hand was a staff wreathed in flame.

The demon turned to glare at the warriors from Athlum before letting off an ear piercing shriek and charging straight for Rush.