Thank you again to all who review my fic, you make me be willing to keep writing.

Replies to the anonymous reviewers:

-DuchessMeMaAeKo: In most of the fics with Decus and Alice they have no importance at all and almost no screen time. The author only use them when he/she needs them to interact with the main characters, and that always end in a bad development of Decus and Alice. That's why I decided not to lose the elements of the main characters even if it is a Decus&Alice fic, because we all want to see a good development of the characters we like.

-Syllys: All the characters deserve their time. The main point of the last chapter was to introduce the reader in Sylvarant and the current conflict. And don't worry, your favorite characters are back in this chapter.

-Sturm and Drang: Thank you for the supporting words.


EPISODE 1: A NEW BEGINNING.

Chapter 7: The journey

Outside Palmacosta

Alice carefully examined the pink haired guy that stood before them, meticulously cleaning his clothes. She could feel it, he was fellow half-elf, and not just any half-elf, but the one they were looking for. She was finally having some luck.

"Nickolay!" Decus shouted, lowering his weapon. "So you managed to leave Tethe'alla! How?"

"Really? Do you really need to ask how? Doesn't the Knight armor give you any hints?" Nickolay said as he cleaned his glasses with his shirt.

"Oh… I understand it now. You dressed up as an imperial knight to avoid suspicion and be able to leave the country without problems!"

"Wow, you are a clever guy." He said sarcastically.

"Hehehe! Thank you." Decus said, laughing proudly. "Not a lot of people notice my deducing skills."

Alice rolled her eyes, not really knowing what to think about Decus' credulity. She finally walked closer to the half-elf, took off her robe and gave it to Decus to show who she was and properly present herself. And like a true lady she took the red tips of her yellow dress with her fingers and lifted them as she bowed her head while she crossed her legs in a curtsey.

"Hi, I'm Alice. I'm glad that you took care of that guard before he gave the alarm."

"Oh, that… I actually didn't do it for you. I saw a good chance to get rid of him and be free and I took it. Besides, since they already know you are around here all the blame of this murder will go to the both of you. It was a chance that I couldn't waste."

Alice smiled, to the surprise of the half-elf.

"I like your raw sincerity, it's not something that you can easily find."

"And I like to be flattered." Nickolay said accommodating his clothes. "But now, if you don't mind, I have to leave."

Alice lifted her toy rapier and put it over his chest as he tried to walk past her, using it as a barrier.

"Not so fast. What's the hurry?" She asked with a fake worried expression. "I actually want something from you."

"I would love to spend more time with you, but I have no time for this kid's game." Nickolay said, pushing the toy rapier away ignoring her.

Alice looked in disbelief at the man's behavior. That arrogant behavior wasn't going to be overlooked by Decus. He wasn't going to allow anyone to pass Alice as if she were nobody. He knew how much his dear friend needed to get rid of the mana-inhibitor and couldn't allow himself to stand by without doing anything about it. He knew that Alice didn't like anyone else to fight her fights, unless she forced them to do it, but he wasn't going to let that discourage him.

"How you dare to ignore my dear Alice." He said stopping Nickolay. "Don't you know who is she?"

But in Alice's mind, Decus' action wasn't interpreted as a favor, but as an attempt to make her look like she couldn't defend herself. And there was only one way to prove that she wasn't weak; a soundly slap.

'SMAK'

"I have already told you, Dumbo-Decus!" She said as Decus caressed his burning cheek. "I'm not weak! I can handle it all by myself. Just because I have this thing," She pointed the mana-inhibitor. "doesn't mean that I'm weak! Do you understand it?"

"What an interesting girl." Nickolay muttered, smiling to himself. "This might not be a waste of time after all."

"I'm sorry Alice. I didn't think that-"

"That's your problem, you never think. You just do the first thing that comes to your mind without looking at the consequences. The last time you almost-" but she cut herself before she said the key word: die.

"I was only trying to be useful."

"Then stay aside when-!"

"I hate to interrupt your conversation." Nickolay said lifting his voice to ensure himself to be heard. "But I could help you to get rid of the mana-inhibitor."

Those words took Alice's attention completely.

"So what Decus said was right?" She asked with more desperation than she would have like to show. "Then do it! Take this thing off of me."

"If I could, I would have gotten rid of mine, don't you think?" Nickolay said, pointing at his own mana-inhibitor. "I can't do it here. I need my lab instruments to disable it."

"Let's go then. Why are we wasting our time here? Where is the laboratory?"

"In Triet."

"What! That's at least at four days from Palmacosta."

"Indeed. As you might have noticed, I'm not the strongest man alive." He said, opening his arms and spinning himself around. "That's why I need someone to protect me in my travel to Triet. And from what I have heard, you two could fit that profile. So if you protect me, I will disable your mana-inhibitor. Do we have a deal?"

Alice smiled, satisfied.

"We do have a deal."

"Great! Then we should leave as soon as possible. It's a matter of time before the companions of our friend," he pointed the corpse of the knight, "come here to check how he feels. And as a doctor, I can tell you that he is not very well."

"You are right, there is no point in staying here any longer. Let's go, Decus."


Sylvarant

Zelos and Sheena looked at each other with an unfriendly gaze while they walked in circles, testing each other's strength with their eyes.

"So it has come to this…" Sheena said closing her fist.

"You don't leave me any other option." Zelos answered, with an unusually serious gaze.

"I could say the same."

"This could have ended different Sheena…" Zelos said, disappointed.

"The time for chit chats is over. Let's finish this once and for all!"

"Aaaaaaah!" Both shouted in unison.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Zelos knelt, defeated before his opponent, who was celebrating her victory jumping in joy.

"Ahahahah! I'm the most skilled in this game! You had no chance!"

"No way!" Zelos refuted from the ground. "It was unfair! I demand a rematch!"

"That sound like a loser excuse to me." Sheena said crossing her arms and looking him over her shoulder with a gaze that overflowed with self-confidence. "Why should I give you a rematch?"

"Your breast were distracting me! It was impossible to concentrate with those-!"

'SLAP'

"You pervert! I'll smack you!"

"Why do you always warn me after the slap!" Zelos complained, rubbing his red check.

"Because you deserve it!" Sheena answered, turning her back to him to hide her blushing cheeks.

"So… Where are we going to go?" Zelos asked as if nothing had happened.

"I think that Luin would be a nice place to begin our search."

"You won, you choose, but I still think that Altamira would have been a better place to begin our search."

"Of course! What better place for two fugitives to go than the biggest tourist complex in the world?" She said sarcastically.

Zelos and Sheena started their Rheairds and began to go to their new destination. The traveling was quite calm until Sheena noticed a big cloud of smoke in the distance, not too far out of their way.

"Zelos!" Sheena shouted but Zelos didn't hear her because of the strong wind. "ZELOS!" She shouted, louder this time to ensure that Zelos could hear her. "Have you seen that!" She said pointing the smoke.

"Yeah!" He shouted, nodding. "We should land and see what's going on!"

As they went closer to the smoke they saw what was causing it. A house of salvation was in flames. The fire was already so intense that it would be reduced into ashes in a few minutes. When they landed they saw a group of priests begging knelt to five guys who were looking the fire.

"Please, stop the fire!" An old priest begged, grabbing the leg of a man.

The guy kicked the priest away. "Get away from me scum!" he shouted. The two younger priests went to check if their elder was badly wounded.

"Why are you doing this?" One of the priests asked. "We only try to help people!"

One of the men took the younger priest by the collar and lifted him up.

"How dare you demand any answer!" The bandit said, raising his fist in a menacing way, ready to punch him. "Do you think you have any right to ask after what you have done?"

"Hey! What do you think are you doing?" Sheena shouted, climbing down from her Rheaird.

"You should better go far away from here if you don't want any problems, woman!" The guy that was holding the priest said.

"That's not a way to treat a lady." Zelos said joining her side. "Not even if it is her." Sheena poked Zelos in the shoulder.

The guy suddenly dropped the priest and pointed at Zelos.

"You are Tethe'alla's chosen, aren't you?" he asked.

"I see that my fame precedes me." Zelos said in a mocking voice. "If you leave those innocents alone, then you won't force me to kick your grimy asses."

The five men raised their weapons and went towards Zelos.

"Beatrice will reward us if we kill you."

"I would like to see you trying it." Zelos said, unsheathing his sword.

Sheena went closer to Zelos and took a fighting position.

"It looks like we won't get out of this one without fighting." She whispered.

"Are you sure? I think that if you show a bit more of that beautiful cleavage of yours they might change of idea." Zelos answered, only half-teasing

"What! There is no way that I will do that! You pervert." Sheena said as she blushed, trying to cover her cleavage.

"Me, a perv?" Zelos said putting a hand over his chest, sounding offended. "I'm not your tailor."

"Stop talking! Take us seriously!" One of the bandits shouted, running toward them, followed closely by his four companions.

"Oh, my, here they come…"

The bandit lifted his sword and launched a blow at Zelos, who effortlessly parried it with his sword and immediately slammed his shield roughly against his face, breaking his nose. The man covered his face with his hands in both pain and a vain attempt to stem the waterfall of blood gushing from his nose. Zelos didn't give his enemy any time to recover, and before the man could utter a sound he slammed his shield against his head again, knocking out the bandit out. The bandit fell to the floor, unconscious, before his surprised companions.

"You will pay for that!" One of them yelled.

The four men ran towards the pair.

Noticing that Sheena was unarmed, one of them ran toward her, ready to get rid of the supposedly easy prey, but to his surprise instead of running away, Sheena ran towards him. The bandit tried to hit the ninja, but it was already too late. With one hand, she grabbed his arm before he could land the blow and lifted it. She delivered a strong punch to his armpit, producing an intense pain that forced the man to clutch his injured body, dropping his sword in the process. Then Sheena spun around and elvowed him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

"I… I will kill you, bitch!" The man said, coughing as he tried to recover his breathe.

Sheena's answer to his threats was fast and rough. Like lightning, she spun around and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick right to his face, his jaw giving a sickening crack as it was dislocated. The man began to wobble from side to side as he tried to recover his balance, only to be taken by the arm and pulled to the ground. Once her opponent was on the ground, Sheena put her knee over his back to immobilize him and roughly twisted his arm, dislocating his elbow.

"Ahhhhhh!" the man screamed in pain.

While Sheena was busy with the bandit, one of his mates tried to stab her in the back, but the sneaky attack was quickly deflected by Zelos', who had already gotten rid of other bandit. Sheena, noticing the failed attack, hit his chest with the palm of her hand and Zelos gave the man a vicious kick, knocking him back. The bandit got up and prepared to attack again when he noticed a little card of paper shining on his chest.

"Bye-Bye." Zelos said smiling to the bandit.

"What the-?" But before he could end his question, a little explosion sent him flying backwards. The bandit landed heavily with a thud and made no attempt to get back up.

Sheena and Zelos then looked to the last bandit.

The guy looked at his mates, either unconscious or moaning in pain, as the pair approached him. The guy dropped his weapons and fled as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving his allies behind.

"Watch this." Zelos said, smiling.

He took his shield off and threw it as if it was a disk in the direction of the bandit, hitting him in the head and sending him to the ground.

"Did you see that! Five stars!" Zelos exclaimed in celebration.

"The Church…" The older priest said, crying. "Is all burned."

"It's OK, we are fine, that's what matters." One of the younger priest said, trying to comfort him.

Sheena ran toward the priests to aid them.

"Is anyone wounded?" Sheena asked to the three priests.

"We are fine." One of the priests said. "How can we thank you?"

"There is nothing to thank us for." Sheena said, helping the younger priests raise the older priest to his feet. "That's what we are here for."

Zelos quickly collected his shield and went back to Sheena and the priests.

"What happened? What did they wanted?" Sheena asked to the priests.

"I- I don't know. They broke into the church, dragged us out, and burned it."

"They didn't want anything from you?" Zelos asked.

"No, they just dragged us out of the church, said something about ending the abuses of the Church of Martel, and burned it down."

"Maybe they were from Tethe'alla." Zelos said to Sheena.

"I don't know, maybe. But I have heard that there have been a lot of incidents lately in Sylvarant against the Church of Martel since the Blood Purge incident." Sheena said. "Whoever it was, it doesn't matter now, we have to take care of them now. It looks like we will have to stop our mission for a while."

"Not necessarily." He answered.

"What are you talking about? We can't leave them here."

"There is no problem." of the priests interrupted as he coughed. "We are fine."

"We are not going to leave you here." Zelos said, giving a gel to the priest. "We are going to Luin. We can take them with us and leave them at the town's inn. They will take care of them there."

"I guess that could work."

"Thank you, Chosen." The old priest said.

"No problem. Let's go, Sheena."

Sheena nodded.

"Yeah, Let's go."


Asgard

"The last sunbeams of the twilight faded in the night as the three heroes - Alice, Decus and Nickolay - arrived at Asgard, the City of Wind. Decus turned his head to his left and saw Alice giving him a bored gaze. Her beautiful honey eyes looked at his deep sea ones, and for a moment, the world stop moving. Could it be? Could this be the moment that Decus had waited for since he was nineteen?"

"No Dumbo-Decus, it isn't." Alice answered emotionlessly. "And stop narrating what we do. I've had enough of your stupidity for today."

"Please Alice, stop looking at me with that cold look. You are freezing my heart" Decus said, a hand over his chest and the other over his fore head as he looked to the sky forlornly.

"I hate to interrupt." Nickolay interrupted. "But we should leave this place as soon as possible. This might not be the most crowded place, but we can't take any risks. Let's take the groceries we need and leave this place."

"We have just arrived and you already want to leave?" Alice asked. "Now that I think about it, we don't know why you ended up being imprisoned."

"I would prefer not to talk about it in a public place. Let's just say that I was the greatest expert in the field of science involving mutated cell replication caused by expheres."

"And that's something bad?" Decus asked.

"Apparently when you use humans as guinea pigs, it is."

Alice lifted an eyebrow, she wasn't sure if she had understood what he had said, but she decided to leave it as that for now. She didn't care a lot about it anyway. As long as he could get rid of her mana-inhibitor, it was fine for her.

The three entered in the town and went directly to the closest shop, none of them wanted to spend more time than necessary in a town. As weird as it was, no one seemed to notice them or to freak out about their presence in the town. It was possible that the latest news about them hadn't arrived to Asgard yet. Besides, as Vanguard members, they didn't have a bad reputation in Sylvarant, not until the truth of the Blood Purge was known. They had to take advantage of it while they could

"Could it be?" An old woman said, not too far away from them. "Alice? Alice of the Vanguard? Is that you?"

"Do I know you?" Alice asked with a remarkable contempt in her voice.

The old woman knelt and bowed.

"Thank to the goddess Martel. It's you! Lady Alice! Thank you! Thank you very much!"

"Do you know that woman?" Nickolay asked.

"She looks familiar, but I don't recognize her."

The old woman stood up so Alice could see her better.

"Don't you recognize me? You helped me with that priest in Meltokio. If it wasn't for you my grandson would be dead now."

It was then when Alice recognized her. She was the woman she helped by beating that hypocritical priest and helping her grandson to get a medical review in Flanoir.

"Oh… Now I remember you."

"Can I do something for you to thank you for what you did?"

"Just don't tell anyone that we have been here. Let's go to the shop Decus." She said, ignoring the woman.

But the old woman wasn't satisfied with her answer. Her grandson was alive thanks to Lady Alice, and she had to return the favor in one way or another, and she wasn't going to take a 'no' as an answer.

"Wait!" The old woman said, following the trio. "I'm the owner of the Inn. Do you want food? A place to sleep? Money?"

But Alice kept ignoring her. Any of the propositions were appealing to her, except the money. But she wasn't going to take the alms of a granny. Decus was following her without questioning her decisions, as usual. And Nickolay seemed in favor of leaving the city as soon as possible.

"But there must be something I can do! A dinner? A hot shower?" the old woman persisted.

Alice suddenly stopped when she heard the key words: hot shower. She hadn't had a hot shower in days, and she was quite tired of taking cold baths in streams. Just to hear the words "hot shower" was making her feel tingly.

"Did you say hot shower? With hot water?" The old woman nodded at Alice's question. "Well, I guess we can take a little break."

The old woman smiled when Alice finally accepted one of her proposals.

"OK." Decus said, following Alice to the Inn. "And I will make the dinner!"

The old woman smiled and nodded to Decus.

"Let's go then." Nickolay said, annoyed.

The old woman heart stopped for a second when she heard Nickolay's voice. "D-do I know you?" The old woman asked with a trembling voice.

"I don't think so." He said, readjusting his glasses.

An inexplicable chill traveled through her back when she looked at him. She knew that guy from somewhere, and whatever had happened, it wasn't something good. But he was with Alice, so she told herself that she was probably over reacting, there was no way that someone as nice as Alice could be with someone evil. It must be her imagination.


Asgard's Inn

A little kid who was no more than ten years old entered in the kitchen when he smelled something tasty being cooked inside. When he entered in the kitchen, he saw an unknown, purple haired man busy with several cooking instruments.

"Are you the new cook?" The young boy asked Decus.

Decus turned his head to look at the young kid who had already taken a chair and put it aside him to watch what he was doing.

"No, I'm not. Who are you, little boy?"

The kid looked at the bubbling water with noodles and smelled it with so much force that he could almost taste it with his tongue.

"It smells great. Can I taste it?"

"It's not done yet." Decus said as he added some more ingredients to the broth.

"Who are you?" The kid asked with curiosity.

"Well, my name is Decus, if that's what you are asking for."

"Decus!" The kid almost fell from the chair when he heard his name, but Decus was more surprised when he heard his next quote. "You are the guy from the Blood Purge!"

Decus stop cutting when he heard the young kid. He couldn't believe what he had heard, if that kid knew him and what he did they were lost.

"Wh-What did you say?" Decus gulped.

"You are the guy that the evil Lloyd Irving and the Church blames for the Blood Purge!"

"Wait, wait. What are you saying?" The purple-aired asked.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about it, do you?" Decus negated with his head. "They say that you killed all those innocent people in Palmacosta. But they are lying!" Decus could notice the hatred in those last words. "I was there, and I saw him with my own eyes. They say that it was you, but that's a lie. You didn't do it, Lloyd did it!"

Decus lowered his head and looked away.

"What do you mean when you say that you saw him?" He asked, trying to hide his face expression with his fringe.

"I was with my dad and my mom when Lloyd ordered that the city was to be burned." The kid said with a sad and melancholic voice. "A knight entered our house and attacked my mom, but my dad defended us. And then, when we were going to leave our house Lloyd appeared and stabbed my dad, and then he killed my mom." Decus began to cut some vegetables. "And then he came after me but the burning wooden roof fell between us and he left. I tried to save my little sister, but the smoke had already killed her."

"I see…" Decus said emotionlessly voice as he put more ingredients in the boiling broth.

"How could he do that!" The kid shouted in tears. "We didn't do anything bad! How could he do something like that!"

"Maybe he had his reasons…"

"What kind of reason can justify what he did!"

Decus took a deep breath. "I don't know…"

"He is a monster!" The kid shouted with hate.

The old woman entered in the kitchen when she heard her grandson.

"Don't annoy our guests." She scolded the kid. "Go to the dining room and prepare the table for the dinner."

"Yes grandma…" The kid said lowering his head.

When the kid left the kitchen the old woman approached slowly to Decus.

"You will have to forgive him. He lost his parents in the Blood Purge."

"It's OK." Decus said, as if nothing had happened while he removed the broth from the stove. "I lost my parents when I was at his age too. The Desians took them to a human ranch."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, it was long ago. I don't even think about it anymore." Decus took a spoon and tasted the food. "It's ready."

It was obvious to the old woman that Decus didn't want to talk at that moment, so she decided to leave him alone with his thoughts.

"I will help my grandson with the table."

"OK" he said, nodding in response.

Decus looked into the stew as if he tried to find an answer in the steaming broth.

"A monster, huh…"


"It was delicious." The young kid said when he finished the dinner.

"We should leave already." Nickolay said, getting up from the table.

Alice stood up too and put on her hat.

"Yeah, we can't waste any more time. Let's go Decus."

Decus stoop up without saying a further word, took his Iron-Maiden, and opened the door for Alice.

"Wait!" The old woman shouted. "Why are you leaving already? You can stay here to sleep."

"We are in a hurry." Alice said as she left the inn.

The old woman ran after Alice to reach her before she left the building.

"Lady Alice, wait a moment!" Alice turned her head to look at old woman who had become annoying. "Come with me a moment, I have something that can help you."

"Look, I have no time for this."

"Please."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Fine…"

The old woman leaded the group behind the inn to a stable.

"These are my horses." She said showing them the two animals. "I know it is not enough to thank you for what you have done for me and my grandson, but I would like to lend them to you. They will help you to go faster through Sylvarant. And you can take the wagon, too." She said, pointing an old wooden wagon.

Alice smiled.

"I think that I could accept the present."

"If we travel in a wagon carried by two horses, we could be there tomorrow night." Nickolay pointed out.

The group prepared the transport with the help of the granny and her grandson. Once everything was in its place, Nickolay took the place of the driver and Alice and Decus entered the wagon.

"Let's go!" Nickolay shouted, shaking the reins.

The old woman and the kid bid farewell to the group in silence as they left the city in the same way they entered: without being noticed.

Alice smiled happily. "Tomorrow night I will be free of the inhibitor." But to her disappointment, Decus didn't said anything to her. "I said that tomorrow I will be free of the inhibitor!" She said louder this time. He should be happy for her, but he didn't seem to notice what she was saying.

"Decus!" She shouted.

"Ha-uh, what?" He said, looking everywhere, confused.

"What's up with you?" Alice asked, pretty annoyed.

"Nothing…" Decus took a deep breath wondering if he should ask her or not. "Do you think… Do you think I'm a monster?"

"What?"

"Do you think I'm evil?"

"Why are you asking me this? Did you drink sea water?"

"I killed that kid's family in Palmacosta…" Alice chuckled at the irony of what had happened back in Asgard if that was true. "I killed all those innocent people. Do you think it makes me a monster?"

"There is no such thing as innocence when we talk about humans." Alice said with a serious voice. "You already know how despicable your race is."

Decus didn't like when she talked like that about his kind, but even if her words were cruel, he must recognize that she was right.

"Besides," Alice continued as she yawned. "It was Richter's plot wasn't it? If you hadn't done it, another would have done it."

"If that's true," Decus said, more to himself than to Alice. "then… Why I don't feel better about it?"


Author notes: I guess that you all suspect which was Nickolay's work (even if he put it a nice name to his scientist field) and for who he worked. To those who don't know the old woman, she was in Alice&Decus side-quest; you can watch it in youtube if you are interested. If you do, you will see that Alice can also help people in her own twisted way.

Well, this is it for today.