You were walking down the cobble stone halls of the castle, contemplating why you were still so nerve wrecked when you heard a shout echoing from the dungeons. Your heart sank. He didn't. Panic rushed through you as you dashed to the dark and forbidding entrance of the dungeon. You kept repeating to your self that he promised. He said he wouldn't do a thing to Ian. You didn't want to believe that Aniki-san would lie, but doubt was starting to plague your thoughts. Almost tripping a few times, you ran down the stairs. The shouts started to become more distinct and the voice started to form a name. There was no mistaking it, the cries of distress belonged to none other than Ian.
When you finally reached the bottom of the steps, you saw Ian chained to the wall. You took no time to hurry to his side. "Ian what's wrong?! What's happening?!"
He didn't have to say much at all. Him uttering, "They took her" was all you needed to piece the situation together.
Your eyes widened in realization and off you went again into the darker depths where no one wishes to be. You threw open the heavy door of dense steel and kept on going. Going in hope that it wasn't too late. Cell after cell, plea after plea for help, you reached what seemed to be the largest pair of doors there. In an instant you had them flung open as well and stepped into the vast shadows. You could barley make out the form of what seemed to be a person. A candle in the hallway was lit and it casted its ghostly glow into the room.
"Gido..." you whispered in horror, shock, and complete sadness. You took a few steps forwards and then rushed to her side. She was recognizable, but only the top half of her. Sprouting from where her legs should be were these tentacle like things. The sight was slightly grotesque and the stench even more revolting.
You knelt down and lifted up her still human half so it was resting on your lap. She looked at you and tried to speak, but all that came out was noise. She couldn't form words. Just lay there in pain and spit out what she wished could be a sentence. "Gido..." you started, "I'm so sorry..." You held her closer to you. "So, so sorry." Tears were forming at your eyes, but you didn't allow them to leak.
Then, a looming shadow from the hall shown itself into the confines of the once enclosed space. "Wonderful, isn't it?" the voice questioned. There as no doubt on who it was. "The brutality. The sight. The aroma of rotting corpses. It's all so captivating." Then they laughed a cruel wicked laugh that bounced off the nothingness of the cell and seemed to be chanting.
You pulled out your holy ARM and placed it over Gido's heart. She was reaching towards your face with her hand as if begging for help. Yet slowly and peacefully, her hand went back to her side and she drifted off into the calm of sleep. You stood up and faced the twisted visitor of this depressing scene. It was, as you could tell from his first sentence, Halloween.
"How could you do this?! You said you wouldn't harm them!" you shouted, tears daring to break again.
He smiled insanely, "I held my part of the deal. You said not to harm that rook."
Your eyes widened. He was completely right. You only made him promise to not harm Ian. It was your fault. Or so you thought and it rang throughout your head. Singing, embedding itself into your thoughts. "No... Even if it was my fault, how could you possibly be so heartless?! How could you do this to anybody?!" you raged at him, despair mixed with hatred overwhelming you.
He laughed. "Easily. I would have done this to anyone. And I most certainly would have died to see you in that position." He kept smiling. Enjoying this suffering. Rejoicing over others pain.
Your head lowered, "I'll never forgive you..." Halloween made a questioning sound. "I will never forgive you!" you yelled looking at him with a flame of fury burning in your eyes. "I swear that if there is no way to save her, then I'll kill you and who ever did this!"
Your shouts echoed for a while before ceasing to be audio able. He had nothing more to say and his smile dropped. You were quiet as well, still staring at him with the intent to kill. You started to exit the room and as you passed him you whispered dangerously for him to hear, "Remember that Halloween. You may not live as long as you think." And off you continued, solemnly walking back out of the dungeon.
When you were gone Halloween's smile returned again, more twisted and disturbed than before, "Heh heh heh. That actually made me break a sweat."
You were slowly moving, almost shuffling, down the corridor back to Ian. You didn't want to face him. You didn't want to say that you couldn't do anything. But you really couldn't and you had to tell him. You slowly pulled open the steel door that was blocking your path, and entered the area where Ian was still chained up. You returned and he was almost hopeful, until Gido didn't come out from behind you. A suffocating aura of depression laced the room. You unchained Ian and he himself was still finding it hard to believe. As soon as all the chains were gone, he collapsed to the floor. You knelt in front of him, tears about to surface once again. Ian looked at you as if asking what could have been done different to save her. To save Gido. You had no answer for that though.
You stared into his eyes and this time, a water droplet fled from your own, "I'm sorry." That was all you could say till the break down set in. The held back tears were finally escaping. You were both blaming yourselves for what happen, both dumping the worlds problems on your own shoulders. Time seemed to stand still for that instant. Then you draped your arms around his shoulders and rested your chin on his neck, giving comfort and seeking comfort all the same. The silence was even more eerie than usual at that point. Not even a mouse was heard.
Next Day
You woke up late, still tired and feeling gloomy. Ian was gone for a while now and it was almost noon. You were almost about to lay back down into comfort of sleep, when you remembered that the Preliminary round was today. A vague thought crossed your mind of who might be entering so you decided to go check it out. You teleported your self to the practically barren castle of Reginlief. Pozun (yes, you met him... Some where... I don't know every thing!) was standing there waiting for the rest of the Cross guard to get there for the Preliminary round. "Hey Pozun," you started, "Can I be in the Preliminary too?"
He looked at you with those huge, non-circular-pupils/fish eyes, "That would hardly be fair."
"Pleeeeeeeease!?" you said giving him puppy eyes.
...Silence...
"Ok." He didn't see the point in arguing just as you wouldn't see the point in giving up.
"Yatta!" And around you danced in circles. Suddenly you sensed some low magic energy signs coming towards the stone castle gate. "Alright, I be off then." You used your Andata and teleported into the dimension where you are to be waiting for your opponent. Okay, I'll tell everything if he comes, and kick ass if he doesn't. That was your plan. Yes, it was all thought of and planned out at the last second. You really wanted to concentrate on the task in front of you, but the thought of Gido kept returning. As well as a new thought of Ian, and you started to question exactly how you saw him, and what he thought of you.
It didn't take long for your opponent to appear though, and he was just who you wanted him to be. He didn't do anything except stare, trying to comprehend on why you were there in front of him. You smiled and waved, "Hey there, Nanashi."
"A- Asashi! What are you doing here!?" He questioned, trying to get a grip on the situation.
"I am part of the Chess no Koma now. Why else?" You felt an urge to smirk, but kept it down since this was suppose to be a serious time, and not a time to be an ass about it all.
It looked almost as if he was gritting his teeth as he spoke, "Tell me this... Were you there when they destroyed Vestry?"
Your look only softened at each word that left your lips, "And how would you know?"
He tightened his fist, not entirely knowing how to react, "Because, you use to always talk of how you wanted to see trees every where for nature back in Luberia and... And you left this behind." He held out his hand with your necklace in it.
"Keep it. I have no need to hold onto that memory, at last until I get the rest of what's already lost."
"Why!?" he shouted at you, confusion sounding from his voice when he tried to sound confident. "Why do you choose to forget me?! And why are you with the Chess!? Do you have any idea what they did to Luberia?! To our friends?!"
You were a bit taken back for a moment, but remembered your plan. "I do, and I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm with the Chess now because they can help me. And I'm too deep in an issue right now to back out." Your gaze on him became more direct with your next sentence, "I'll tell you this now, Nanashi. I'm going to be entering the War Games as your enemy. Forget all feeling and memories about me now, because I'll attempt to do the same about you. Good bye. At least I can say our time together wasn't wasted. I forfeit this match." (If you want to know what they are talking about if you hadn't figured it out already, then go to the bottom)
"Wait, Asashi!" he yelled at you to return, fore he still had many unanswered questions. Nanashi was teleported back to Reginlief's castle front, and you went back to the castle of Lestava.
You landed back outside the gates of the castle that floating in the sky on a chunk of land. I Why is it that when ever I have to leave, some one is crying my name?/I Then you proceeded to walk into what you hope wouldn't be your "home" for much longer.
Unknown to you, a shadowy figure was looking out a window at the country side when you first showed up in front immense looming gates. They chuckled to their self, "As you try to gain what's loss you lose even more. You're still too naive for this game, Asashi-kun." (There's that mystery person again! :D)
Page Break
That night, in your room, the silence wove itself thickly into the night. You and Ian laid there, back to back, not feeling up to the challenge of breaking the silence. Mind restless, he was finally able to fall into a deep sleep, but it seemed to be an unpleasant one. You on the other hand could not sleep. You quietly got up and mode sure to noiselessly exit the room and into the halls.
The moon was half there this night, yet it still shot it's ghastly glow. Your foot steps echoed down the stone covered halls as you made your way across the barren halls of Lestava. Thoughts racked your mind and you knew that you'd run into that one person that could piss you off beyond reasoning. In the next corridor you stopped mid-step and made eye contact with the other being in the hallway. None other than the number one knight Phantom of course. "I'm fighting in the war games tomorrow." you said not taking no for an answer, clearly not having any regard for your own life.
"I don't know. I think all of the slots are full." he was being a smug bastard as always.
"It wasn't a question." Your eyes were unchanging, and almost defying every bit of common sense you had ever accumulated.
Phantom lost his entire attitude immediately, "Why should I listen? I could kill you where you stand."
"I don't care. I'm guessing you have an order from higher up not to kill me, besides I'll take some one else's spot for tomorrow if I need to."
"Very well then. You'll fight if there's a forth spot called on the dice."
"I'm going regardless. Try as you might, you won't stop me. You or anyone else." You were defying death once again by acting as an equal, almost superior, to Phantom. Your expression never once quivered. Your determination never faltering. As you walked away from that very scene, away for a nights rest, you could have sworn you felt the threads fate weaving and changing ever more.
Okay, about four years ago in the story, Asashi traveled to Luberia looking for her memories, but found none. Instead, she met Nanashi, the boss of Luberia and over time, they became friends. Asashi was dense and didn't see that he wanted to be more than a friend, but he shortly gave up and decided to see her as family instead. While there, she got her jacket and few ARMS as well as a necklace from Nanashi as a reminder that she had a reason to return to Luberia. But she never did. Yes, I realize it was cheesy and pretty unoriginal, but I had this thought brewing for a while now and I do believe that that is the last of the cheesy crap. Yey! I also kinda changed the plotline so it would be even less cheap and unoriginal.
