Me: Hey guys, welcome to Side Chapter 2! This chapter, we learn what happened with Aera, and how she joined Ran's side, and whatever the hell else happened. Anyways, has anyone seen Xen? I haven't seen him at all since last chapter.

Raven: He went off to sulk in the same corner for hours, while staring and bawling at a picture of his girlfriend. *Points at Xen in the corner*

Xen: *Sulksulk* Waaaaiii do you have to team up with that bastaaard... AND WHY DID I HAVE TO DIE?! WAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIII?!

Me: o_ol| Oh, btw, gots another OC request, yeeeeeeeey, from Arrow-Chan3, also known to some other people, as 3.

Project R (Or, Rain, or... whatever... owo), Laser Shooter, 14

Me: What this side-chapter is about? It's about how Aera-

Xen: *Loudly sobbing comedically*

Me: -teamed up with Ran.

Aera's POV

I look at Xen, or at least his corpse. I notice his body is littered with blood and cuts. I walk towards his body, which he is still on both knees down on the ground, his face staring into the sky with a blank expression. I kneel down onto both of my knees, and I hug his body. I sob on his shoulder. "I... I'm sorry, Xen... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry it needed to end this way..."

I can still remember when I first met Ran and how he had 'convinced' me into joining him... I was a fool, but, I couldn't help it... My body is doing things on it's own, speaking it's own language, but I was only able to be in control this once. Every other time, I couldn't even control my movement or voice, like I was a puppet on strings. Ran played a trick on me by giving me this damned sword...

(Months Before Current Time...)

I felt dead. But I'm not. It felt like forever since the accident at Firossel. I could still remember the words Xen spoke to me before I had 'died' in his arms. Now, I wake up to face a man with white hair and demon skin. The normal reaction I usually would do, and I tried to do, was scream and try to scramble away, but I bumped into a large, floating skeleton man, whom looked like a priest, hood and staff, and all, and I had was plain freaked out. I look back to the demon man.

"W-Who are you?" I stutter out. He replies with, "Don't be afraid, child. I am Ran. Do not be alarmed by my Demon appearance, and my..." He looked at the skeleton-priest behind me. "Um, 'friend', Avalanche."

"Why am I here?"

"You see, I am here to ask for your help."

"For... what?"

"To take over Elrios, my dear."

I stand and I give him a frustrated look. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I am the one who bought you back from your dead state."

"Tch, I would rather be dead than help some random demon guy take over Elrios!" I cross my arms, and turn around stubbornly, and I forget that Avalanche had been standing behind me, so I'm pretty much looking at him, and away from Ran defiantly.

"Really, now? But don't you wish to find Xen, your old friend, again?" My heart skips a beat, and I turn back towards Ran, and I ask him, "Wait, what?! How do you know what his name is? And what do you mean by 'find'?"

"I mean, that there is a chance we might be able to stumble upon him while we work together to take over Elrios... and perhaps have him join us." My hands shake at his words.

"N-No... you're lying! If we happen to 'stumble' upon him, he's just going to kick your ass!" I say.

"OK... perhaps if I sweetened the deal?"

"...What is it?"

"I know how to make it so you can prevent yourself from death more. I'm sure you have heard of the man named Edan, whom used to be a righteous colonel in Feita, correct?"

"Wait... He doesn't exist, though."

"That's what you have said about demons, dear, and you are speaking to one now."

"What... What else do you know about me?!"

"You died a year and a half ago, you raised a Magmanta, and failed, with your friend Xen, and you have wind magic. I could go on for years."

"How do you know all this stuff about me, you stalker?!"

"Because I have gotten many info on you and Xen through a spy I sent into your village, Firossel."

"Who?"

"You don't remember? There is one man who always roamed around areas wherever you and Xen were. He always had a hood on, and he was covered with a coat. His face was always hidden by a shadow. That is him."

"Wait... that creepy guy Xen and I would always find stalking us somewhere around us?"

"Yes. Now, as for the deal I wish to make with you, so you may be able to stay alive better."

"Uh... O-Ok, right... whatever, fine, just tell me..."

"I am aware of where to find Edan, and if I am able to lend you his corrupted demon sword, you will be given the power of blood, and the ability to heal. In-fact, if you do, I might even leave you alone with the sword, and let you run off to Xen..."

I was a fool to actually do so...

Next thing I knew, I found myself standing infront of a cave in Feita, with Ran. He sent his friend, Avalanche, back to, Hamel was it? Anyways, Ran figured that Edan resides here when he doesn't go into some Arena to fight challengers there.

"I shall go in. You may stay in here, Aera. You may be a bit delicate, and you don't seem to still have your strength, after being dead for a year and a half."

I hesitantly nod, and Ran walks in with his rapier, Hendel Bites, he calls it. The next things I heard was a roar, sword clashing, countless amounts of sounds of wind blowing, and then Ran yells from inside, "Black Destiny!" I hear grunts, and sounds of a man hitting a wall. Then I hear a stabbing sound. And then, Ran came out with a second sword in his hand, it emitting an ominous blood red glow traveling from hilt to the tip of the blade. I noticed Ran had some injuries mostly on his leg, a few bleeding spots, and some scratches. Other than that, he was fine. (No, not as in, dayum, fine. Aera's already taken. By Xen. :P) He hands me the odd sword which glowed blood red. I hesitantly take it, and as soon as I did, I feel like every injury in me starts feeling better, and on a side note, did I mention I still had the injuries from when I died? Anyways, I even felt like all my tiresomeness faded away. Ran says, "There. You must feel quite better. Also, I have decided."

"On what?"

"That I might want to have you with me while I take over Elrios?"

"Oh, yeah... What about it?"

"I shall let you run back to that Xen person. And you may even keep the sword."

I feel like a happiness inside me that was trapped behind a dam that held it back had burst open and flooded through me. "Really?" I ask. Ran nods. "I'll bring you there with my shadow magic."

"Thank you, Ran... I guess some demons have decency." I comment. He smiles, and he snaps. Next thing I knew, I found myself in the outskirts of Velder, in a forest. I looked around confused. Wait a second, this is where Xen is? Or is he just nearby, or outside of this forest? I think to myself. I shrug and I wander around the forest, clutching onto the sword Ran had given me from Edan. The energy it gave off only made my hand tingle, and feel really heavy, but powerful. I spend hours just trying to find my way out of this forest. When I finally do, I stumble upon a camp in Velder Capital. I smell fresh air. I look down at the camp, as it's surrounded by dirt walls, the forest resting on top of them. One side has some stores where merchants stand at, hoping for some customers. The right corner, there is a man with an instrument, speaking to a tall, cyan haired woman with a spear/axe/whatever on her back. Then I look a bit to the bottom left of them to see a small dog. But the strange part is, he's standing on his hind legs, and he's wearing a scientist coat, standing on a pile of boxes to speak to a guy, about 19 or 20 years old, with brown hair, that looks perfectly spiked, and has spots of char on it. It took me a while to recognize who it was, until I realize it, and remember that brown hair; Xen. I was thrilled, and when I was about to go down there, a cloud of some funky dark brown color burst around them, as the dog scientist seemed to have opened or dropped a vial of the stuff. I could smell it from where I was standing, and it reeked. I was coughing and fanning the smell away from my nose. I summoned up a breeze in front of only me, and I looked back at the scene.

Then a red-headed girl around Xen's age had walked up to them. She was holding a sharp looking blade in her hand, and she was wearing red knee socks, black skirt rimmed with gold, with red belts suspending up a red strip of cloth in front of it, providing the Velder symbol. Her shirt was a button-up shirt with red rims, and held together with straps in the middle. One side of her shirt was sleeveless, and the glove on that arm had a strange glowing red rune on it. The other side was normally sleeved. The girl spoke with Xen, the girl fanning the stench away from her nose, saying words I couldn't hear from here. Xen scratched his head, and laughed with his common stupid grin of his that I, for some reason, never get tired of. I even caught a slight blush on his face. Was he flirting with that girl? No, he probably isn't. If I knew Xen, he would still be liking me, not that I, uh... Not to sound conceited, or anything... Then I realize who that girl was; The Legendary Red Haired Knight, Elesis Sieghart. Of course Xen would try and flirt with her. Sometimes, when we were teens back in Firossel, while we had been dating, and walking around the town, he would flash some girls at the sidewalk a grin that would say, Hey, girl! Mind if I have your number? of course, he wouldn't get most of the girls' numbers, and if he did, he would actually pass, since he actually still dated me. He was the kind of guy who acted comedic, yet never cheated on anyone. It was something only he, as a crazy pyro, could do in his nature.

Now that, A. She's pretty well known it most continents of Elrios, B. He thought I was dead, meaning that he could probably go out with another girl, meaning that he probably would flirt with Elesis. Something somewhere inside me snaps; I start to get mad at him, a bit jealous. Tears start swelling in my eyes. I feel like just screaming and throwing things. I can't believe that jackass could just forget about me all of a sudden and head on to a famous woman! W-we even ha... before in Firossel months after dating... a-and he just forgot about me?! Now?! I scream in my mind. Then, the sword I'm holding glows, but I don't care. I run the opposite direction of Velder. (Yep, Xen and Aera had it.)

After running for hours, I eventually find my self on Velder Pier, with a boat waiting to leave to Hamel. I sit down on the dock, sobbing to myself miserably. I constantly cursed in my head about Xen being a double-crossing traitor to me. I hear footsteps walking towards me. I turn and see the demon, Ran, looking at me. I turn away, continuing to cry.

"Something wrong, Aera, dear?" He asks me.

"X-Xen... he... that bastard..!"

"Having love issues?"

"Y... Yeah..."

"Good, I thought it would happen." He grinned,

"Wha... What are you talking about?" I never got my answer. All of a sudden, my vision goes dark.

When I wake up, I find myself walking around in a long corridor of fancy white stone, and water flowing. I can't move my own body. I can't even speak. Then, I see Ran approach me. "Hello, Aera. How is it today? I sure hope you are over that Xen person."

I try and object and say I'm not over it, but instead, I say, "Yes, Demon General Ran."

Ran smiles and pats my shoulder and says, "Good." right before walking off. Inside, I feel like I want to destroy him. Then I realize that it must be the sword. It's corrupted with a blood-sucking demon... and it might've taken over my physical control. 'I' approach Ran, and begin walking him, realizing that I am committed to Ran and the demons, now.

(Now...)

"I'm sorry Xen. I was weak and angry, and I let the demon take me over..." I continue crying on his body's shoulder. "I didn't want to do it... Please... Come back..."

Me: Oh, so Xen had it out on the bed with Aera? Good job, bro.

Elsword: Mind giving me some tips for when I do it with Aisha? :D

Aisha: P-Perverted baka! *Strangling Elsword*

Elsword: x.x

Next Time!: Between Death and Flames!

Xen: Aaaeeeerrraaa... ;w; *Sob, weep, bawl, sulk, crai, etc.*

Me: *Facescreen*

Like what you saw? Feel free to give a review or favorite, or whatever you want. Also, 1 more spot open for OC's! :D