Hey there, Elpeeps! Welcome to Part 9 of Elrios University: Semester Two!

Chung: This might be the last update for a while, due to Kat's having classes...

Rena: IGNORING CHUNG-It looks like the action is starting to pick up again~

Yep! I tried to drag this out for readability's sake, but I can only drag out and expand the plot for so long before it's just filler chapters (and everyone hates fillers-I think?). Anyways~without further ado:

El Explorers: PART 9, BEGIN!

"The NERVE of him! Elsa's his sister; you'd expect him of all people to wanna keep looking for her! Not just SULKING IN HIS ROOM!" Aisha shouted the last part loud enough for Elsword to hear her on the other side of the building. Rena sweat-dropped when an Elrios History textbook came flying out of seemingly nowhere and hit Aisha square in the forehead.

"SHUT UP TOMBOY!"

"MAKE ME KID!"

Rena sighed as the two continued to argue, their voices rising constantly in volume. "Why do they always seem to have something to fight over?" she glanced at Raven, waiting his response.

"Because the two of them have such similar personalities they don't really get along. Kind of like the same charged sides of two magnets." Raven replied. "Opposites, like—say—Chung and Eve, attract, while likes, such as Elsword and Aisha, repel."

Eve blushed as she took the chance to tease Raven back, "So, why are Chung and I the opposites in your scientific example, Raven? Last I checked, Rena and yourself are more of polar opposites than Chung and I. Therefore, using your logic, you and Rena should be the better option to get along. Not Chung and myself."

Rena and Raven blushed simultaneously while stammering. "B-b—"

"N-no—!"

Elsword, having finished his screaming match with Aisha (at least for the time being), sighed as he looked at Elsa's sword, Claymore. Sis…what is Ciel's message supposed to mean to me? How am I supposed to call you to back us when Add is drawing closer to us? I don't wanna lose anyone else to Add like I lost you! Please give me some kind of a reason to believe that you're still alive! I want to believe Seiker…I really do…So how do I protect and lead everyone like you did?

…..

The figure smiled as she watched Elsword reading for a way to save his friends. I admire your will to protect the others, but…willingness to protect isn't gonna defeat Add, Elsword… She frowned at the thought of Elsword losing all his friends to Add. She wrote something on a scrap of paper and walked past the distracted Elsword, dropping the scrap into his book as a bookmark as she left. See you there, Elsword.

…..

Elsword glared at the book as if it would give him the solution to all that's wrong in Elrios. He grimaced, It's not like the heavens will open with a heavenly chorus and give me an answer to whether or not my sister's still alive. He laughed pitifully at himself and then muttered, "Why is it so hard to believe what Seiker, Lu, and Ciel are saying? I miss her and want her back more than anything…so why am I so against this idea? Do I not want to lose her again? What's wrong with me…?" Just then, a strangely familiar gloved hand dropped a scrap of paper into his book, almost like a bookmark. As Elsword muttered "thanks", he caught a quick glimpse of fiery red hair and a small smile on the redheaded woman's face. When he jumped out of his seat and looked in the direction the woman went, he saw nothing. What unnerved him more than that, however, was that the scrap of paper was still in his book, right where he left it.

Elsword groaned, Forget the heavenly chorus, I'm going delusional! He cautiously looked around again, then darted back to his book to snatch the paper out. He quickly read through it in a whisper:

"'Hello, Elsword! I see you've been training hard in my absence, but I'm not quite sure it's enough…no. I know it's not enough to defeat Add—yet. If you even believe that this is my handwriting, not Add's attempting to fool you, you know where to find me. Prove it to me that I don't have to continue to keep an eye on you. See you when (and if) you come to where we used to train as kids. Sincerely, Elsa, your caring big sister. P.S. Don't let anyone else see this note! They'll try to stop you!'"

He sank down in the beanbag chair that he had been reading in with his face devoid of all color. Chung walked over to where he was to ask how the research was coming along, but rushed to his side when he saw how bad off Elsword looked. "El?! What happened? Are you ok?"

Elsword nodded mutely, his mind was on more things than answering his roommate.

Chung frowned, "Maybe you need a break. Why don't you head to the dorm and I'll tell the others what's going on."

Elsword walked quickly out of the room with the message from Elsa clutched tightly in his hand. As soon as he was out of sight, he bolted towards the Practice Arena, where he and Elsa would always play when they were younger. I have to see this for myself! If it's Add, then I'll fight and kill him for impersonating my sister! Please, whatever deity is out there, let it be Elsa!

…..

"Elsword looked sick, so I went ahead and sent him back to our dorm," Chung concluded his explanation to the rest of the Explorers.

Aisha frowned, Elsword? Sick? But, he's the healthiest one out of all of us, easily! "Was he 'seen-a-ghost' sick or 'I'm-gonna-barf-if-I-don't-leave-soon' sick?"

Chung paused in thought, "I think it was more of the first one, now that I think of it. Also, it looked like he was holding something in his hand with an almost death-grip…"

Eve snapped to attention at that piece of news, "Perhaps Elsword was holding a note from someone he knew…"

As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone had the same name in their mind: Elsa!

Ara shifted uneasily, "S-so, what do we do now? If Elsword really had a note from Elsa, where would he go? Someplace that the two of them know?"

Aren frowned, "Just because we think it was Elsa who wrote him that note, we can't rule out the possibility that this is one of Add's tricks to kill Elsword when his guard's down."

Rena jumped into the conversation, "Elsword's probably suspicious too, guys. He won't get caught off guard like he was back then. He can hold any enemy off at least until we get there."

"The Elf is right, y'know…" everyone turned to the new speaker, Lu, "He's stronger than you give him credit for. Give him this chance to prove it. Let's go back to figuring out where he would go."

"I have to agree with Ara. He would definitely go to someplace he feels safe. Sorry to say, that means he wouldn't go anywhere near the dorms or Practice Range," Ciel pointed out.

Chung thought about it, then an idea popped into his head, "Not the Range, but the Practice Arena! He and Elsa would always go there and play when they were younger. They showed me a secret path there, so we should be there in twenty minutes (versus the hour and a half route) if we leave right now."

Raven smirked, "Looks like Elsword had more faith in his sister than we thought. Let's move out."

So, Elsa's back, but is it for good? R&R your answer :D! What is it she's looking for in Elsword? Or is this Elsa just one of Add's tricks to get at Elsword when his guard's down? Enough of me rambling; see you guys in the next update!