OoO( 25 )OoO

She felt the wind pass her rapidly as she lay in darkness. Clutching her hands to her chest, her tears flowing gently as memorys flooded through her mind of her love. She aimed her small bow at the target in front of her, concentrating on the red mark on the target. As she began to release the arrow, a nearby friend shrieked in terror at a beatle crawling from the woodwork. The arrow flew from her startled hands off into the guild grounds.

She panicked and ran as fast as she could, chasing the projectile to make sure nobody was hurt. Watching as it flew towards a young bystander, she yelled out, "Hey! Watch your head!" He looked at her with those piercing eyes and she felt her heart flutter gently. The boy looked up, then ducked, covering his head as the arrow hit the stone steps and shattered. Shaking from her trance, she ran over to him. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

Standing straight again, the boy checked to see if the arrow had hit him. After feeling confident he didn't have a shaft sticking out of him, he looked at her and glared. "Am I okay! You nearly beheaded me with that arrow!" he shouted. She held the bow behind her back and looked at the ground, her stomach sinking with guilt. However, after a moment, the boy replied with a smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry, I just woke up." he said.

Normally a shy girl, she looked up and smiled. "I see. Well, my name is Alex. What's yours?" she asked, getting the fluttering feeling in her stomach again.

The boy held out his hand eagerly and said proudly, "Lyle, nice to meet you Alex." She couldn't tell anyone now why she did it. But her heart seemed to take control of her body as the she leaned forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Realizing what she had done, she blushed madly. "Nice to meet you too. I hope to see you around more often." she said, then turned and ran, berating herself. "What's wrong with you! What did you do that for?" she asked herself as she ran into her teacher.

The man stood tall, his blonde hair reaching his shoulders. His robes bore colors of red and black, the sign of the royal family from a far away land. The girl looked up at him and smiled. He looked back at her and smiled back. "Hello little sister." he said as he elegantly knelt down and hugged the young girl. "Why are you running so fast?" he asked curiously.

She thought back to the boy again, but decided against telling him about the encounter. "Uhh...just in a hurry for my lessons." she said as she held her hands behind her back. She felt awkward lying, as she had never lied before. But he either didn't notice, or didn't press the matter.

"Is that right, well, let us be off then." he said as he took her to the archer yard again.

OoOoO

She stood in the chamber of the guild, with the three others next to her. She stood proudly next to him as the guild seal was placed around her neck. She had proved herself worthy of being a hero, something she had longed to do for a while.

When she arrived, she didn't much care for the guild or its training. As a princess, she was sent to the guild to gain status and honor among the heroes. Her parents believed that no ruler, whether man or woman should ever receive their title without being able to defend themself and their country. She had made a few friends, but altogether didn't feel like she could become the great hero that her mother and father wanted.

She went through her training days, doing as she was told. She learned the bow, as did all her family. Her kingdom was famous for its archers, and if she was to lead one day, she would have to become more skilled than anyone. However, she felt no drive to exceed. She felt as if she stood out, like a lighthouse against the night sky. Nobody in the guild, save for Maze and the guildmaster knew of her heritage, but she still felt she didn't belong.

Her brother, his body sick and dying before he was able to reach the throne, decided to come to Albion and train her himself in the art of archery. She felt some solace in having him there with her, but it didn't dull the feeling she had. Only on that day, the day she met him, did that feeling start to fade. She ran after the arrow and as soon as her soft green eyes met his piercing blue, she felt sparks of life begin to light up her dark world.

She saw him, proud, calm, courageous. He was a young boy, determined to become the greatest hero in all the land. She saw him train, and those sparks turned to a flame. Eventually, the flame grew so bright and heated that it consumed her. She began to train as well, knowing that she could stand next to him in battle if she worked hard enough. Her brother was mildly surprised when her attitude towards being a hero changed. However, once he encountered the young boy, he could see the true meaning behind her eagerness. He smiled his unspoken consent and continued to work with her.

Now, she was here, in the guilds sacred chamber, being handed the honor which she worked so hard to achieve. She noticed her brother smiling silently from the audience. She finally felt proud of her work. Sneaking a look over at the white haired hero, her smiled faded a bit. His eyes were set forward with a placid look on his face. At that moment, her heart sank. She knew that trying to be with him would be like trying to catch a riding horse.

Every move he made was forward, and she hoped that she could keep up. She wanted his attention so badly, feeling as if her life depended on it. There was only one thing she could think of that would get his attention and bring the riding horse to a stop. To become better than him. It was at that moment that she swore to become the greatest hero ever known. She set her own eyes forward, giving the world before her the same unyielding, conquering look that he had.

Together, they left the chamber and headed for the map room of the guild. The young man, who had once infuriated her to no end, now stood over the table looking happily through the guilds many job request cards. She smiled as she remembered years ago, when he and Lyle had been at each others throats. They seemed as if they were made to oppose each other. However, it seemed that overnight, they had become the best of friends. She knew of his feelings toward her, but knew that she could never feel the same about him.

"Well, we finally made it farmboy. What are you going to do now?" asked Whisper. Alex looked at her solemnly. She didn't know how she felt about the warrior. It seemed as if Lyle had become closer to her, which she felt grudgingly towards. However, she knew that there were no feelings between the two. At least, she thought there were no feelings.

"Not sure, I was a little shaken up in there." said the warrior to his friend. "I guess I'll grab my first mission. An easy one so I can get the hang of it." he said looking through the request cards.

"Yeah, we should all grab a mission." Alex said, hoping to be invited along to his. She began looking through the missions also, looking at one. A farmer needed help clearing his farm of hobbes that were stealing fruit from his orchard.

Van picked up a curious card that was dyed red. The red cards were meant for more experienced heroes, ones who had handled tough missions before. The red indicated an emergency that needed to be taken care of immediately. Smiling as he read the card, the young mage held it up smiling. "Here is one to destroy a snow troll at Hook Coast." he said eagerly.

Lyle and Whisper looked up at him skeptically. "That doesn't sound easy if you ask me..." said the warrior. Van smirked at him.

"You take your easy mission then, I'll take this one and put my skills to the real test. No more straw dummies for me." he said confidently as he pouched the card.

She felt herself tense up when she heard the reaction from Lyle. She knew this was her chance to get ahead. Maybe if she could defeat the snow troll, he would be impressed. Eagerly she turned to Van with a smile. "Me too! Can I come?" she asked hopefully.

Van, who was apparently surprised by the question, looked at Lyle. The warrior smirked and shrugged. Smiling at her, Van nodded. "Uhhh...sure. You'd be a great help." he said nervously.

Letting her excitement get the better of her, she cheered loudly. "Yeah! Alright snow troll! You're going down! You're facing an unbeatable team!" she said happily, hoping that the warrior was feeling somewhat jealous of her declaration. She looked at him however, and saw his smile. Instantly, her excitement died away, making way for the fluttering feeling again. She looked away in case she began to blush again.

After a bit more conversation, Van grabbed his guild seal and vanished, with the young woman following after him.

Soon after, the guild master came up to the table with Maze in tow, looking around the table. "Where the bloody hell did it go?" he asked as he searched the cards rapidly.

"What was it?" asked the mage curiously.

"There was a red card here that was sent by courrier. William told me he left it on the map table." said the bald man. Maze shrugged.

"Maybe they fixed whatever needed to be done." said the mage.

OoOoO

When they arrived at the town, all was chaos. The town was ravaged, buldings toppling over, houses destroyed, and bodies lying either unconscious or dead everywhere. Both of the heroes ran to find the snow troll roaring loudly as it backhanded the last of the towns guards, sending them flying through a building and out the other side.

Van immediately attacked the offender, shooting lightning from both hands. The magic hit the beasts face, startling it and causing it to fall backwards. Alex ran up behind him with her bow and smirked. "That wasn't hard." she said.

"It's not over yet..." said the mage as the creature began to rise. The troll raised a hand to cover its face from another attack and charged the both. Alex fired her arrows, but the projectiles either bounced off the beasts thick armor, or barely penetrated doing no damage. Van fired his lightning again, but with the trolls momentum, he couldn't stop it.

It charged forward and both heroes jumped out of the way as it swung at them. Van rolled to his feet again, his attacked charged and ready to fire when he saw an opening. Suddenly, the troll grabbed a large chunk of one of the stone buildings it had crushed and hurled it towards him. The mage ran forward and dove under the large stone block just in time, leaving it to gouge a long scar in the ground behind him.

As he got to his feet, he was met with the trolls massive swing flinging him several hundred feet backwards and causing him to roll across the ground. When he stopped, his entire body ached. He weakly rose to his feet to find the troll on top of him already. Try as he might, he couldn't dodge again. The massive fist collided with him and sent him crashing into the house, which collapsed in on itself from the shock.

Feeling a stinging in the back of its neck, the creature reached around and pulled a broken arrow out of its hide and turned around. Alex stood there with her bow, staring wide eyed at the creature. Part of the wall behind the troll collapse, showing Van's half buried body beneath the woodwork. He looked up at her despirately, blood spilling from his mouth. Using all of his strength, he shouted, "Alex! Run!" Finally, his body gave out and he went limp.

She stood there, not in defiance, but in fear. She felt warm tears start to flow down her face as the troll stomped its way towards her. She tried to move, but couldn't. Fear froze her body in place making her unable to do anything as she watched the monstrous creature lumber forth. When it reached her, it raised its fist and she closed her eyes. "Please...Lyle...help me..." she said silently, before the fist crushed her body with massive force. She lay, limbs broken on the ground, unable to even scream from the roaring pain in her body. She looked up through dim, almost drained eyes as the creature grabbed her and hurled her out across the waters edge.

The girl flew through the air, tears still flowing, even as she impacted a large stone jutting out of the sea, which instantly snapped her spine. Her head lolled to the side, her gaze empty as slowly she began to slide down the rock and below the water. It was that day that Alexandria died.

However, even though her body died, her spirit refused to allow itself to vanish. She was trapped beneath the water, suffocating painfully for what seemed an eternity before it ended. She sat in silence as a dark presence made itself known. The girl looked up at the darkness through empty eyes.

"Do you wish to live?" asked the void. She said nothing. "Do you wish your suffering to end?" it asked again. Again, she stayed silent, staring at cloud of darkness that her mind formed. "Do you wish to see him again?" it asked. Her eyes widened suddenly, causing a dark, sinister laugh to come from the darkness. "Very good. I will grant your wish to see him again, but as long as you live, you will be my Harbinger." it said to her.

OoOoO

When she awoke, she was face down in the sand. Water lapped at her legs, which were unmoving. Her entire body refused to respond to any command. She just laid there, silently tormented by the cold water as she drifted back to sleep.

Finally, after hours passed, she awoke to the sound of voices. "What in the hell?" said one voice as it approached her. She felt something pulled from her grip as another voice spoke.

"What'n Albion is that?" asked the other.

"It looks like...a bow." said the first voice. "What about the girl, is she alive?" he asked.

The man then turned her over, her tattered clothing now nearly shredded. "Aye, she's breathin." said the man as he looked at her. "What you think we should do?"

"I say we take this to the boss, seein' as he'd gut us both if he foud out we were hiding something like it from him. But I says we keep the girl for ourself."

The man standing over her let out a broken smile. "I like the way you think." he said, before lifting her out of the sand. They carried her limp and unmoving form away from the beach and into some form of fortress. When they stopped walking, the huddled together and began to speak silently. "So, what's the plan?" asked the man carrying her.

"Here's what we'll do. You take the girl to our tent while I take this here to the boss. He'll be too distracted by me to notice her. So you hide her there and I'll be back by after I've collected our reward." he said. The second man nodded and turned to leave, but was stopped. "And don't do nothing to her until I get there!" he said ferociously.

Grumbling angrily, the man carried her away into one of the many tents inside the camp ground. She was laid down on some form of makeshift bed inside the small covering. She silently watched as the man peeked outside the tent, then came back over to where she lay. "It'll be a while before he gets back. He won't know nothin." said the man as he began to tear what was left of the girls clothes off.

She protested in her mind, willing her body to move. But it refused for some unknown reason. He continued to greedily tear the already damaged clothing until she was completely naked. He stared at her with lust burning inside him like wildfire. He reached down and touched her body, when suddenly he was blinded by a glowing light from her back.

OoOoO

"And you say there was nothing else on the beach except for this bow?" asked the large bearded man. The minion nodded, rubbing his hands together greedily.

"Yes sire. Me and my brother found it washed up on the beach. I thought you would want to know about it." he said.

The large man looked across the dark wood of the massive bow. The weapon was too large for the average man, but was lighter than any bow he had ever felt. The handguard was a blood red color, making it stand out from the rest, but not taking anything away from how sinister the weapon felt. Taking up the bow, the bandit king took the string and tried to pull it back, but it refused to move. Jerking on it with all his strength, he failed to even move the cord.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked. "Why make a bow that doesn't shoot?"

Suddenly, the attention of the entire camp turned to the screaming of a man. He flew out of a tent, covered in fire and screaming for his life. He crawled around, trying to get help from anyone that he could, however nobody dared go near him. Finally, he fell over and the fire swallowed him until there was nothing left but a charred skeleton.

Rojack walked over to the scene and looked around. "Who did this!" he shouted. Nobody answered. "I demand to know who did this!"

His attention was grabbed by a young girl walking out of the tent in which the body had come. She was completely naked save for a glowing tattoo on her back. The bandit king approached her and knelt down to her height. She looked up into his eyes as he studied her young face. Finally, after a moment, he took his cloak off and wrapped it around her. Standing again, he walked over to the man who was now kneeling over his brothers charred remains.

Grabbing him by the throat, he lifted the smaller man off the ground and growled in his face. "Didn't find anything else at the beach huh?" he asked venomously. "Thought you could sneak by me did you?" he asked as he hurled the man to the ground. "Take him to the cross!" he shouted. Several guards dressed in black gear grabbed him and dragged him away screaming.

Alex walked forward and placed her hand on the bow in the large mans hand. He looked at her questioningly, then handed it to her, curious to see what she would do. Taking an arrow from someones quiver nearby, he handed it to her as well. Placing the arrow on the string, the girl pulled it back until the arrows head was against the bow, then released. A shockwave nearly knocked the entire camp off its feet as the arrow flew and destroyed the screaming man utterly, before he even had a chance to realize what had happened.

The guards that had been carrying him looked at each other in surprise, all of them covered in blood. Rojack looked at the carnage, then back at the girl. Kneeling down, he smiled. "What's your name?" he asked curiously. She looked at him silently, rolling the question around in her head. "You must have a name, right?" he asked.

She shook her head. He nodded, then spoke silently. "Then we will call you Angel." he said brushing the hair from her face. "My little Angel of Death."

OoOoO

It had been years since her arrival at the Dark Hands fortress. She hardly spoke to anyone in the base. She found herself wandering standing on one of the large archer towers of the base, dark weapon slung across her back. The chilled wind of the northern coast no longer affected her, allowing her to wear clothing that was unusual for the area.

She wore a short skirt with a long sleeve shirt that cut off above her stomach. She had gleaming silver armor, with feathery wings engraved into the chest covering her upper chest as well as matching armor around her waist. In her profession, armor wasn't necissary, especially at her skill level. She remembered back to her greatest known assassination yet, where she stood at the top of the lighthouse in Hook Coast and hit her target who stood inside the tavern across the town.

He was a buisness man, making him very methodical in his thinking and acting. Every night he went to the tavern at the same time to have drinks and flirt with the barmaid. Because of his perfect punctuality, a timed shot proved to be lethal. Her arrow flew like death itself and struck through the wall of the tavern, leaving very little of him to recognize.

She had no need for the armor, none of her targets or enemies could ever get close enough to her to require the use of the armor. She stood, watching over the silent, snowy hills of the northern country. It was the only thing that brought her peace these days. It was while she was gazing across the peaceful barren landscape, her ruffled clothing flowing with the wind, that she heard the scream.

Looking down at the gateway to the fortress, she saw a group of men dragging a large bag of loot, as well as a young girl with short blonde hair. The girl struggled heavily against her captors, but the man was one of the largest of the bandits in the camp, making her fight a futile one. The girl pulled violently as she was dragged by the wrist. Looking around, she spotted a rock on the ground. Grabbing the weapon, she jumped up and swung as hard as she could, impacting the mans skull and causing him to fall to his knees.

Even though he had been stunned, his grip didn't loosen at all. Turning, he raised his hand and smacked her harshly across the face. The girl slumped, her entire body tingling from the assault. The man was about to continue dragging her off into the camp, when he stopped in his tracks. In his path was a woman dressed in white and silver armor. Immediately, all of the mans companions cowered.

The man glared. "What do you want?" he asked irritated.

"Are you out of your mind?" asked one of his compatriots. "That's the kings top assassin!"

The man, whos scarred face made him the most intimidating among them, shoved the thief away. "Shut your gob. I don't care who she is!" he said and dragged the girl forward to get in the womans face.

"Let the girl go." said the assassin.

The man looked at her, then down at the stunned girl in his grip. Looking back at the woman, he smirked. "Didn't know she was your type." he said. Then he spat on the ground at her feet. "I don't care who you are, you aren't my boss and you aren't going to stop me from taking my rewards. Now get out of my way before I move you myself." said the bandit as he reached towards the assassin. The woman vanished, appearing on the other side of him.

The mans companions backed off in horror as the young girl fell to the ground. The bandit looked down at her, then looked where his hand used to be. Raising two bloody stumps, he had only a moment to realize what happened before blood sprayed from his neck. After only moments, the mans head fell completely off his body.

The bandit company immediately ran, leaving the bag of loot where it lay. Turning around, the woman knelt down and helped the young girl up. "Are you alright?" she asked.

The girl looked up in the womans face, her cheek swollen and tears in her eyes. Nodding slowly, she looked at the ground. "They killed my family." she said.

Angel leaned forward and hugged the girl tightly. "Don't worry young one." she said as she wiped the girls tears away. "I will be your new family. You can be my little sister." she said with a smile. "Will that be alright?"

The girl looked at her for a moment before smiling. Nodding enthusiastically, she scrubbed her tears away. "Thank you..." she said.

"What's your name little sister?" asked the woman.

"My name is Aerika." she said with a renewed smile.

"Well, Aerika, lets go get you some better clothes." she said as she stood and took the girls hand, leading her deeper into the camp.

OoOoO

Snow fell on the bandit camp as the horde worked its daily chores. The bandit company had almost doubled in size since the coming of its top assassin, making it an imposing shadow hovering over the land of Albion. However, the bandit leader wasn't stupid. He knew that attacking or sacking even the smallest settlement was an act of war. And when there was war, heroes became involved, a risk he wasn't willing to take.

One hero in particular had come into many conversations between the bandit leader and his captains. A hero by the name of Sabre. He had destroyed Twinblade's camp, without reinforcements from the guild and had struck fear into the heart of anyone who called themself a bandit. There were talks of a plan to send the Angel of Death after him, knowing her skill would match any hero from the guild. But the plan was only in its birth stages and hadn't actually been formed yet.

The assassin stood at the window of a tower as she watched down on the grounds. She watched the horde move about and do its work, then smiled as she saw her little sister playing in the grounds with a wolf that she found as a puppy abandoned in the cold wasteland. She turned and sat down in her chair, thinking about the dreams she had been having recently.

She was always standing in a chamber of unknown origin. However, she knew deep in her heart that something about the chamber was familiar to her. There was a large blood red sword in the center of the chamber, sticking blade first into the stone. She approached the sword when she heard a dark voice inside her. "The sword is the key. Free the sword, and your soul shall be freed." it said to her. She couldn't make any sense out of the dream, and didn't bother mentioning it to others.

She laid back and sighed, not knowing the plan that formed in her little sisters mind. When night fell, the young girl travelled to the gate and grabbed the bow and arrow she had stolen from the arms room. Sneaking out the gate, she left in the middle of the night towards the coastal town a few miles away with the canine creature following behind her.

Angel lay in her room, a feeling of apprehensiveness taking over her. She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew that something wasn't right. So, instead of sleeping, she wandered the walls of the compound, looking out over the wasteland again. When she came across the gate, she looked down at the freshly fallen snow in front of it. There were fresh tracks, only a few hours old. She got down from the wall and investigated the tracks closer, seeing a small pair of boot prints as well as wolf tracks.

Suddenly, a sick feeling in her stomach overtook her. She immediately made her way inside the gate and began to search the fortress. A sense of panic set in when she couldn't find Aerika, or the pet wolf she had grown to love. She ran for the bandit kings private quarters on the third floor of the main building, knocking loudly on the door.

When he answered, she immediately began to question him. "Sire, have you seen Aerika anywhere?" she asked.

The man looked at her startled. "Aerika? No, I haven't seen her."

"She hasn't been sent on any new errands?" she asked desperately.

The man shook his maned head and scratched his beard. "Afraid not. Has she gone missing?" he asked curiously. Angel looked down at the ground, her fist clenched, when suddenly they were both alerted by screaming outside. As they ran to the window, they saw the chaos that befelled the bandit camp.

A man with white hair and gleaming armor shattered the burning front gate of the camp and began attacking the horde. Rojack watched in horror as the hero sliced his way like a cyclone of death through the bandit crowd. His blade was as swift and accurate as the assassins arrows, easily cutting down anyone in its path. The hero had been surrounded by the mass of bandits with their weapons drawn, when he let out a magical attack that cooked the circle of men around him.

He held out his palm and created a massive fireball, swinging it around in circles, injuring or killing those too close to him before hurling it deep into the crowd and causing an explosion that shook the ground. When he had a clear path, the man ran forward and jumped up on the dais that led to the battlements. Using force magic, he pushed everyone back onto their rear end.

The man began to speak to the crowd, and although she couldn't hear what was said, the woman stared at him oddly. Something about him was familiar, very familiar. But, like the chamber from her dreams, she couldn't place it. Rojack appeared next to her again, now wearing his armor with his broad axe across his back. He looked out the window with her, and they both saw the man jump from the dais into the center of the crowd.

Suddenly, they were both hurled backwards, striking the wall behind them painfully as the shockwave from a magic attack of outrageous force hit them. Angel rose, as did the bandit king and they both gasped in horror as they saw flames lashing out at everything in the camp. Anything and everything on the grounds was swallowed by the inferno, destroying it immediately. Both of them rushed down the stairs and stayed inside the protective walls of the building to keep from being immolated.

As quickly as the attack happened, it stopped. They were both unsure of whether it was safe to go outside, when a voice struck out at them directly. "Come out! I know you are in there!" shouted the warrior. The bandit king, and the assassin with her weapon drawn, both walked outside through a doorway that had been decimated by the previous attack.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, the hero looked up at them both. Angel felt her mind jerk as she saw him closer up. She knew him, from somewhere. "Tell me something warrior, why have you come to my camp and destroyed everything I have worked to build?" asked the enraged king.

Giving the bandit a death glare, the man crossed his arms. "I didn't come here to destroy anything. Your men had the chance to surrender, but they refused. It's their own fault they died." he said.

Growling furiously, the king glared at the hero. "Then why the hell did you come here!" he barked.

Looking at the assassin, the warrior spoke. "I came here for her." he said pointedly.

Rojack looked at the woman, then back at the warrior. "What business do you have with my assassin?" he asked.

Giving him another glare, the warrior pointed at him. "That is none of your concern. Now, I offer you the same chance I gave your men. Lay your weapon down, and you won't be harmed. If you choose to fight, you will die." he said with an air of seriousness that was chilling, even to the bandit king.

However, Rojack was confident in his assassins abilities. Laughing loudly, he smirked at the hero. "Kill him." he said to her.

She pulled the bowstring back and aimed straight at the warrior. But, try as she might, she couldn't let go of the string. She mearly stood there, aiming at him. The warrior moved forward, stopping at the bottom of the stairs as he looked up at her. She stared back at him, a rush of emotions going through her heart. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked.

She felt her body shake at the sound of his voice. She stared into his eyes as something pulled at her mind. Those eyes, those piercing blue eyes. "What are you waiting for? Kill him!" shouted the bandit king. But she continued to hold the string taut.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, feeling her heart beat faster as her weapon began to lower with the string becoming slack again. He smiled softly and walked up the stairs. That smile, that warm, loving smile.

"You don't recognize me?" he asked her as he approached. He stopped right in front of her, staring deeply into her soft green eyes, now filling with tears of a lost memory she couldn't grasp. The man surprised her as he leaned forward, moving closer and closer until finally their lips made contact.

She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, like electricity had surged through her body, jarring her mind and bringing a flood of memories back to her. She went limp in his arms, tears pouring down her cheeks as her lost love kissed her deeply.

The king of bandits was as startled as she was. Taking his axe from his back, he waited until the two broke apart before raising the weapon and swinging it with incredible force towards the hero. However, something smashed into him and carried him ten feet across the charred stone stairs before leaving him gasping through blood. Looking up, he saw the woman holding her bow aimed at him with no arrow on the quivering string.

"B-But...why?" he choked out as his head fell back on the stone. The woman turned back to the hero and her fingers grew limp, causing her to drop the bow as her knees became weak.

"L-Lyle...?" she asked. He nodded to her. She put a foot forward and jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she began sobbing, letting her heart take control. The warrior wrapped his arms around her slender frame, never wanting to let go again.

"I finally kept my promise to you...Alex." he said, then he locked eyes with her and kissed her again passionately.

OoOoO

The woman found herself surrounded by darkness. She looked around at the nothingness, looking for someone, anyone. However, there was nobody. Lowering her head in grief, she spoke to herself. "I see, so this is where I belong." she mumbled. "The gods are cruel to send me to the darkness."

She stood up straight, startled by a presence that spoke behind her. "So, you are the one." said the voice. It was the voice of a young woman, younger than her. Spinning around, she saw a spirit form floating in front of her. Her eyes widened suddenly when she realized who it was.

"It...It's you!" said the hero startled. The spirit nodded to her with a smiled on her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here for you Alex." said the spirit playfully.

The woman lowered her head. "You are here to take me to the afterlife?" she asked.

"Sorry, but no. I'm here, because you are here." said the young girl.

Looking up at her confused, the blonde hero spoke. "I don't understand..."

"You believe you are here because you died?" asked the girl. Alex nodded, and the girl shook her head. "You are not dead. In fact, quite the opposite. You are completely unharmed." said the spirit.

Alex had a startled look on her face as she digested the last thing the spirit said. "B-But how? I was destroyed by Jack's fire!" she said confused.

The girl smirked and drifted closer to the woman. "Sorry to break it to you, but the fire didn't even touch you." she commented. Alex looked at the ground, trying to pull the memory up, but failing. The last thing she remembered was the crushing pain of watching her hero look at her, knowing she was about to die. Then, she closed her eyes and everything faded out.

"How is it that I managed to escape?" she asked.

"That you will find when you reawaken. But for now, just know that because of what you did, Lyle died inside. He is now a monster, stronger than anything this world has ever seen, or ever will see." remarked the spirit. "You, the one he loved even more than me, died by his worst enemies hand right in front of his eyes. You can imagine what happened, as you saw what he became when I died."

Alex gasped as realization hit her. "How do we stop him? If he unleashes more power than he did before...he could destroy Albion!"

Nodding, the spirit drifted forward more until she was only inches from the womans face. "You are the only one that can stop him Alex. You must stop him before he destroys everybody he loves and more."

"How? I don't know how!" she said.

"There is only one way to stop him, and you are the key. You must go to him." said the young girl. Alex stared at her, then merely nodded. Leaning forward, the girl placed her forehead against Alex's. "Now go hero, and love him like I never could." she said. Suddenly, a bright light encased them both as Talon cupped the womans cheek in her palm. "Goodbye hero."