Here's chapter 10. :D

Please enjoy!

- - - - Means time skip

Chapter 10

Din and Asch ran down through the marketplace and the crowds of people. They had come to Blue Abarath from the opposite direction that the two girls had run to.

"There's Sin," Asch stated before running to her.

She ran into his arms and began coughing.

The blonde's blue eyes narrowed as they glanced over the heads of the people. 'Where's Scion?' He wondered with confusion.

Surprise ran through the crowds of people when there were many crashes of thunder and blue lights flashed near the entrance of the city.

"What the-"

"Someone must be using Fonic artes," Asch murmured with a grim expression.

Sin seemed to jerk to life with those words.

"We have to help Scion!" Sin stated, gripping the former General's cloak tightly, "She's in danger!"

Din's mind immediately told his legs to run and he was running before he had even realized it. 'I have to help her!' He didn't care if Asch followed him. He would do it alone if he had to.

Surroundings were invisible. The only thing that mattered was making sure that Scion was okay… that she was alive…

The field was empty though... nothing but dead bodies, scattered weapons, and exploded dirt.

"I don't understand…" the blond murmured with confusion.

'Where could they have possibly gone? Where… where could Scion have gone besides back?'

"No!" Sin hissed from behind him, "They were all here!"

Din wandered forward a few steps to where there was the most exploded soil. He bent down and his gloved hands grabbed the two large pieces of blue stone. 'No wonder she needed help…'

"She's alive," Asch stated from behind him as well, "We'll think of a plan and take her back."

"What are you talking about?" the blond asked, frustrated as he turned toward Asch, "How do you know she's alive?"

"What are you orders?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What. Are. Your. Orders?"

"To capture you both. The lady wishes to torture the girl before her execution."

Din's brows pushed together and his palms held the broken sword hatefully. 'So that's why…'

"We have to save her now!" Din stated, looking the crimson haired man directly in the eye.

"We need a plan," Asch stated, "They are an entire army and we are two men and an ill fifteen year old. There isn't much to be done like this."

"I'm not going to let them torture her!"

"I understand that, but our attempt will be in vain without a proper plan of attack," Asch explained.

"Asch is right," Sin admitted quietly, "We can't do anything like this."

Din's muttered incoherently at the thought. He didn't want to leave her to die without trying to save her.

"I guess… I don't have a choice…"

The echoing sounds of an object hitting flesh could be heard down the dark stairway. Only dim lights lit the single person chamber… the cell.

"I'll teach filth like you to steal my Generals away!" the lady hissed, slapping her prisoner hard across the face.

There was no cry of pain… no admittance of defeat…

"Why not say something replica?" the woman asked snidely.

"I don't want to lower myself to your level, bitch," the girl stated coldly, lime green eyes glaring hatefully.

Another slap across the face. Scion spit the blood onto the stone floor. 'I'm not afraid of this woman… I never will be.'

"You're lucky that I don't use the Fonon helmet on you to obey me," lady Nadelay mocked, "but I'm tired of looking at your disgraceful demeanor."

"Good," Scion mused, "I wouldn't want to have to look at you either."

A back handed slap across the right cheek and Scion scoffed at the strike.

"Keep her locked up in here," the lady ordered, "Her punishment shall start tomorrow."

"Yes my lady!" the two soldiers stated in unison as they guarded the door.

The cell door slammed shut and Scion leaned back against the cold, damp stone wall. The musty smell of mold stung at her nose. 'This is what I get for not listening to you big brother.' She thought rather dryly. 'Maybe my suffering isn't finished yet… Maybe I'll spend my whole life suffering.' She laughed darkly at the thought.

"Probably," she whispered.

Her hands were tightly shackled behind her back. She wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Din stared at the dark ceiling. He couldn't sleep… not at the moment. They had hardly even talked about the plan. All three seemed to have lost their voices on the way back to the palace.

"I can't believe this," he muttered to himself, rolling onto his side.

"We'll discuss this fully tomorrow."

"What?! We have to save her!"

"Sin and I have to report this to Dailiin and Syft. You need time to calm down."

"It'll be okay Din. Scion… wouldn't want you to get hurt as well."

"I know Sin… I know…"

The blonde's door creaked open slowly.

"…Mieu?" the light green Cheagle asked with a solemn tone.

It jumped onto the bed before climbing onto Din's chest.

"Yeah," he murmured, "I miss her too."

He patted the small creature's head lightly.

"Kind of funny on how… empty it feels without her here," Din laughed humorlessly, "Considering on how short a time we've known her…"

Scion's broken sword lie on the dresser not too far from his bed. His blue eyes looked toward the blade; only able to see a dark outline of it.

"Mieu," the Cheagle seemed to murmur in agreement; nodding his head.

"I'll get her back," he whispered, "I promise."

A whip cracked from the dungeon. She could feel the blood trickling down her back through the stinging of the pain. Her fingers clenched together; nails digging into her palms.

"You are worthless!" the lady growled, swinging the whip again, "A completely worthless thing!"

'That's not true… That's not true!' She screamed in her mind.

"Din doesn't want you. He wants me," lady Nadelay continued hatefully, swinging the whip once again, "You will always be nothing compared to me!"

"Good!" Scion growled back.

The whip cracked again and the muscles tensed in Scion's back with the lash of pain. 'One day… if I get out of this alive… I'm going to kill this woman.' She winced as pain scorched at the top of her back. Her eyes narrowed as her vision began to blur.

"Damn it," she quietly hissed before she was dropped to the floor.

The two soldiers left, leaving lady Nadelay and Scion alone. 'What the hell does she want now?' Scion asked herself, frustrated and angry. She felt a hand grab her hair and turn her head upward.

"Don't forget your place," lady Nadelay mused, "You never were worth more than dirt."

Inside Scion seethed as the blurry figure of the woman disappeared behind the wooden cell door. 'I'm not going to break… not to this woman.' She thought as her eyes slowly drifted shut.

She knew that she wasn't a nobody… that she had been worth something to someone. She was strong, and didn't want to lose to a woman that had easily lost her mind.

- - - -

Days had passed and Din had grown frustrated with not being able to come up with a hole-less plan. Each idea had been easily thwarted by the other. Some ideas came up twice, only to fail again.

"We have an entire army," Sin stated, fingers clutching the battle plan table, "I don't see why we can't just invade her manor and take Scion back. If there's an act of war we could easily win."

Asch shook his head with an exhausted sigh.

"We don't want another war Sin," he stated, looking down at the map as well.

Din hadn't been much of one for planning. He was used to making it up as he went along.

"I could just go back to get her and negotiate," Din suggested with a quiet tone.

'I don't want to go back to that place… but if it would save Scion's life, then I would gladly do it.'

"She'd make you her prisoner and kill Scion," Sin stated with her own sigh, "The moment you come back she wins."

"It's more than winning and losing right now," Din muttered to himself.

"Sin is right," Asch agreed, "She'll kill Scion on sight."

Din shook his head. 'This isn't good enough.' Closing his eyes, he placed his face in his palms.

"Sin could you go ask Syft if all the weapons have been checked recently?" Asch asked the smaller girl.

"I guess so," she agreed with some confusion.

"Thank you."

The door shut behind Sin and the crimson haired man turned toward Din.

"I can't take this Asch," the blond murmured, dropping his hands, "After all the things that have happened… I need to help her."

"She's not a child Din. I understand that you wish to help her suffering," Asch stated as he took a seat at the table, "but I don't want to save one life while destroying many others. We need an effective plan and unfortunately it's taking time."

Din's brows pushed together. Inside he could feel it. He was willing to risk the lives of many to save just one… She was worth it to him.

"Too long," the blond stated.

"If revenge is what lady Nadelay desires then simply killing Scion wouldn't be enough," the former General stated thoughtfully, "Revenge and torture are a long process. There's a large chance that she will still be alive by the time we save her."

'By the time… I don't want to live off of just a chance…'

"The main thing is that you're trying Din… we're all trying."

"Yeah… I guess so…"

- - - -

Scion stared blankly at the dark ceiling; nothing really running through her mind. She had reawakened from the given punishment from the lady. She always did it personally; never once gave up the chance to 'teach Scion a lesson'.

'How long have I been here?' She asked herself with some confusion. Being underground with no outside window made it hard to keep track of the time. 'I receive a beating a day… don't I?'

Confusion seemed to be one of the only things she could remember how to feel. Emptiness and feeling useless… Scion never thought that she would experience that again. Here it was… ruling over her in this dark prison cell.

'Let's see… One… two… seven…' Her brows furrowed at the thought. Fifteen times? That didn't seem right. Fifteen days of being locked up in this dark void cell… How many more of her days were numbered?

Closing her eyes, Scion tried to drift back to sleep. 'Din… I'm really happy that I go to meet you… I'm sorry that I wasn't a better friend.'

Din dressed silently in the dimly lit room. It had been fifteen days… sixteen by the time he would reach Valinsa… There was no more time for insufficient plans to be half plotted and then given up on. He couldn't take much more of this anxiety. He wanted Scion back, and he wanted her alive.

The blond silently left his room and went through the dark halls. By the time he had made it to the outside steps, the Cheagle had been waiting at the steps for him.

"Mieu?" it questioned with a confused face.

"Come along then," he ushered quietly.

The light green Cheagle jumped onto his shoulder with agreement.

Din ran through the dark empty streets as quickly as his feet would take him. 'I need to reach the stable and borrow a horse. A horse can get me there faster than my own legs.'

"I know you're scared, but if you want to help then it's the only way," the blond told the Cheagle sternly.

He was in a hurry now.

"Mieu mieu, mieu!"

He felt tiny fingers grasp at his shoulder and couldn't help but smile a little. 'At least I'm not the only one willing to risk everything for her.' Din grasped the reigns of the horse tightly in his palms.

Before he could even make the horse go, Din looked back at the palace with the same small smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Asch," he whispered, "but I can't wait around this place anymore while she's suffering… You'd do the same for Sin."

His boots tapped the horse's ribs to make it start running toward the exit of Blue Abarath… toward Valinsa.

Scion's nails dug into her palms as the whip cracked against her back. It had stung more than the very first time; having cut through her previous scabs. She could hear a high pitched ringing in her ears and could feel numbness creeping into her limbs. 'Damn it… Only three lashes and I can't take anymore…' She thought with a bitter scowl on her face.

Her body was weakening… it was going through too much at once and she knew. She knew that lady Nadelay was slowly killing her.

"Why don't you apologize and beg for forgiveness?" the lady growled before cracking the whip again.

Scion didn't reply. She hadn't spoken in many days. There wasn't anything else to say.

It didn't matter what she replied with, the insufferable woman wouldn't listen. She told her that Din didn't want either of them, that he could go where he wished. Lady Nadelay didn't believe her, called her a lying creature… a treacherous and hated being. So she decided; it was no use.

The feeling in Scion's legs disappeared and the two soldiers let her collapse forward.

"You're pathetic," the lady laughed darkly, "We'll try to use the helmet tonight."

'Damn it… damn it!' Scion growled at herself in her head. Her vision blurred as she furrowed her brows. 'Why are you so useless?'

"Why did you read it out loud Scion?"

"I-"

"Don't read from this book ever again. It's dangerous to both you and others around you."

"But I-"

"Please Scion promise me you'll never use this arte again."

"…I promise."

Weakly, Scion closed her eyes. 'I broke my promise and used it to kill people… Maybe when I die I won't see all four of you after all.' A grim smile appeared on her face before she drifted off into sleep.

Blue eyes looked at the large manor lit by the moonlight. 'I have to hurry…' He quietly ran to the side of the entrance doors.

"Why does she have to use this thing?" a soldier asked.

The blond froze with his back to the wall at the sudden voice.

"She wants to control that replica in the dungeon," another soldier stated, "For revenge I guess."

"Didn't she learn her lesson last time?"

"Guess not."

Din's brows pushed together with wonder. 'She's going to use the Fonon helmet on Scion? Would that even work?' He didn't know… but he didn't want to chance it.

"Okay little guy," he whispered to the quiet Cheagle on his shoulder, "I need you to get that helmet and create a distraction."

"Mieu," the Cheagle chimed quietly.

The light green Cheagle immediately jumped to the ground before going into action.

"Mieu mieu mieu, mieu!" the creature seemed to laugh as it jumped through the soldier's arms.

Grabbing the helmet, it ran through the open doors and disappeared from Din's sight.

"Hey!" one soldier hissed.

"G-get back here!" the other soldier demanded; both chasing it inside.

Din waited as footsteps sounded up the stone stairs. He didn't want to get caught. 'Alright… I think it's safe.' Silently, he opened the door and turned the corner. He still remembered every turn and picture. He knew where Scion was being kept.

Behind him, Din heard the shouting of Lady Nadelay on the floor above. He shuddered at the sound. 'I almost forgot what she sounded like…' The dungeon door creaked as he pushed it open; footsteps echoing down the stone hallway.

"Who's there?"

Slashing sounds… a dull clang against stone… She was disoriented.

Her green eyes opened halfway; sight blurry. At first she thought she heard her name… but she wasn't sure. The kind of yellow hair made her confused as it came closer.

"Sci…on," a voice said through the ringing, "Scio…n."

"…Din?"

Her own voice sounded hoarse to her ears.

"Hold on Scion," his voice said gently, "I'll get you out of here."

"Din… can we go home?" Scion asked; head rolling to the side.

"Of course we can."

Somehow… she felt assured that things would be alright now. Inside she felt the comfort of knowing that someone had come for her; that she wasn't going to die in the dark cell. 'Not alone…'

She winced as his arms slipped underneath her back.

"Please…" she whimpered.

"It'll be okay now Scion," his voice assured her, "I promise."

He couldn't believe her condition… couldn't believe the amount of blood he found on the back of her white jacket. 'What did she do to you?' Din's brows furrowed before taking her back up the stairs.

The Cheagle ran by the doorway, using the helmet to deflect an arrow.

"So this Cheagle belongs to you," the lady's voice stated coldly from the stairs.

He didn't answer, just glared at the woman. The amount of betrayal he felt toward the lady was disgusting to him. He had once had feelings for this woman and now could not come up with a reason as to why. Betrayal, anguish… hate… all of them were present inside his being.

"Why won't you come back Din?" she asked with a gentle expression, "I'll forgive you if you just leave that thing down there."

Din's fist clenched at her words. Scion was no thing… she was a person. Placing her unconscious body against the wall, Din looked up at the lady.

"I do not wish for your forgiveness," he stated as he swiftly drew his sword, "The only forgiveness I desire is from the one behind me."

"Is that right?" the lady asked before readying her bow, "Then you can die along with that filthy creature."

The blond raised his sword to fight. He would defend his friend's right to live… even if it meant that he lost his.

End of Chapter 10

Thank you for reading. :D I hope that you enjoyed it. Please R&R!

halfdemon-kai