Charlie: Alright, here's the shpeel, not an excuse, just why I haven't updated in so long.

My teachers areEVIL. EVIIIIIIIIIIL, JUST EVIL I TELL YOU!

I will spare you the details, but now you know.

Chapter 35 – Day 5, Morning – Noon

Operation GAAKTFTB

"So Charlie, you and Kiyo looked pretty comfy last night."

The innkeeper groaned as three giggling sisters ran away from his snowball. Next to him, a confused and half asleep Kiyoko (who was still under the effects of the anesthetic), clung to him and walked along. She was still trying not to think about having to search for Astharsa's Tear with Sain, Karel and three impossibly busty yet still possibly quite young girls… oh and Alan. She was quite succeeding as the euthanasia Charlie injected into her was still clouding her mind. Besides, Alan, and his fifteen bathroom trips (i.e. a bush by the side of the road) was doing enough worrying for the both of them.

Charlie on the other hand, was still suffering great ridicule because of the compromising situation he was found in the night before. Unfortunately for him, nobody saw the hypodermic needle he had stuck into Kiyo's radial vein, nor did anyone see the bump on his head he got when Kiyo's struggling caused him to hit his head against a wall. So, he was miserably trying, and failing to explain why he was in the position he was in, WHILE trying to keep Kate and Brian from ripping his head off.

The true story is, sometime around midnight, Charlie had enough when Kiyoko woke him for the third time that night, asking for water and a bedtime story. It was at that point in time where he got out his med-kit. Now, Euthanasia, in a normal dose, would kill a human being. Because Kiyoko has a special nerve ending in her brain that is the source of her hyperness, craziness, and overall Kiyo-ness, even a dose of Euthanasia strong enough to kill a herd of fully grown elephants would only put her in a light doze.

Using his chemistry skills, (i.e. the same technique he uses to hyper concentrate alcohol), Charlie managed to super-saturate 50 grams of solid euthanasia into 50 milliliters, which is probably lethal enough to kill half of the population in Lycia. Unfortunately, Kiyoko does not like needles that much… and in the ensuing struggle, both parties were knocked out; Kiyoko by the poison and Charlie by the wall of his bedroom.

Which brings us to this morning, when he and the girl met their friends for the walk to the inn and were confronted with this juicy detail.

While Charlie was being teased, tormented, tortured, etc, a certain female tactician was humming while she came down the stairs to get her breakfast.

Jessica was deliriously happy. Why? Nobody really knew, her moods, as with most girls, are likely to change by the day, hour, minute, second, whatever. So while she came down the stairs humming her cheerful tune, nobody really paid any mind to her… nobody, that is except for the five people who received a mysterious note to meet the tactician and two Silent Springs guides after breakfast on the road just outside of town.

Sain was the first to arrive at the site. He was early, as nobody else was there. However, he was soon joined by the three Pegasus sisters. None of them was particularly pleased with him.

"The pervert." Farina sneered. "Lets hope he doesn't try to rape all three of us."

"It's bad enough you debauch our little sister." Fiora said, her voice a tad too loud.

"Uhm… Fiora?"

"But after you rape her, you decide to go on to us?"

"Fiora…….."

"How could you be so insensitive?"

"FIORA!"

Everyone stopped… Florina had just yelled.

"…Did you just yell Florina?" Fiora asked wide eyed.

The young girl blushed and looked down. "Sain…uhh…hasn't really done…well… anything to me…"

…

…

…

"Well, this is awkward." Sain said. "So uhm, what do you think Jessica has planned for us?"

"Quite possibly something dangerous." A voice said behind them. The four jumped and turned around to see Charlie standing there with Kiyoko and Alan.

"Whoa! You scared us there."

"Yeah, sorry to break up this little party." The innkeeper smiled. "Anyways, Kiyo and Alan are your guides this morning, so… good luck… and you'll need it." He looked past the group to see Karel sulking his way over. "You just got stuck with the two craziest people this side of the mountains."

With that, the innkeeper left the group to contemplate their fate of why they were being stuck with Kiyoko AND Karel.

Trailing Karel, was their deviously grinning tactician. Everyone stiffened and faced her, wanting to get things over with.

"Hello everyone." Jessica said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Okay, I've recently hear that in two days, there will be a winter ball in this town. Normally, it's an event for the young people of this town to have fun and celebrate a good summer season. This year though, we've been invited to attend."

The group, except Karel, immediately relaxed and started to chat about what they were going to wear to the ball.

"Shhh… listen up." Jessica said waving her arms. "Yes, I know it's exciting, but we first must help them get ready. Now, there's a shrine in the mountains with a sword there. It's tradition to have the sword to crown the king and queen of the ball. Since we're here, we're going to help these two retrive that sword. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. Just a walk in the woods. Got it?"

Sain and the three girls nodded. Karel just grunted his approval.

"Alrght, good luck guys."

Jessica then turned and walked away with the innkeeper, leaving the group to their unknowing fate.

"That's cruel you know?"

Jessica smirked. "I know…"

The innkeeper sighed. "…I'd hate to be under her command." He mumbled to himself.

Unfortunately, Jessica heard and soon, the innkeeper was on the ground, holding his shins.

After picking himself up from the ground and putting the pieces of his ego back in place, Charlie grudgingly trudged off into the inn. He quickly made eye contact with three of his friends who were going to assist him on his dangerous and near suicidal attempt at Operation GAAKTFTB. He smiled inwardly…this would finally be the year he would be free of his "little sister."

---

Legault was the fun quirky guy if you got to know him, but he tended to stay in the shadows. He never really put himself in the spotlight, and was never important enough to be of notice. He had his uses and was glad to simply stay in the background. He however, was not a fool, nor was he an overly relaxed guy. Though he may not show it, after years of working for the Black Fang… and killing people whom he cared about simply because they dissented with the majority ideal…he was becoming paranoid, and rightfully so.

Now, the fact that Jessica suddenly and randomly out of the blue decided to uproot the entire army and move them hundreds of miles away from their destination for a random vacation was unsettling with the thief, but by the first day, he figured Jessica just wanted everyone to relax a bit. He let it go. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. Over the past four days, he noticed secret conspiratorial meetings and glances the tactician and the residents of the small town shared. He also heard the mutterings of a secret meeting occurring in the lobby the night before.

So gathering up his breakfast knives, he made a smooth exit into the snowy field, determined to find out what was going on. He saw the tactician walk past him into the inn, humming a happy tune. If anything, that made him even more suspicious. Then he saw something that confirmed his suspicions. While Karel, the Pegasus sisters and Sain left with Alan and Kiyoko, the innkeeper, the priest, his sister, and that hot springs manager were following, wearing winter camouflage.

Palming his breakfast knives, Legault stalked after the quad, hoping the heck it wasn't an assassination attempt on his comrades.

---

Karel did not enjoy his assignment, and he definitely did not enjoy going into the wilderness unarmed with a rather unbalanced girl who IS armed. He considered many times to snap her neck and just steal her daggers, or threaten her real well for them, but then that'd cause more trouble than he's willing to cause right now. He just wanted to get this over with so he can get away from this rather childish group.

Just then, Karel got a chill, like someone was following him. He looked back and saw nothing but a field of snow covered trees and the snow-covered path. He turned back cautiously. He could've sworn he saw a color distortion somewhere.

Sain marched alongside Kiyoko, trying hard not to look at any of the ladies. Fiora had somehow picked up a rather big branch along the way and was walking behind him at an uncomfortably close distance. Try as he might, he snuck occational glances at the ladies, and especially Florina, who he had become quite fond of. Sighing, he trotted on, wondering what Kiyoko was marking down on her parchment roll.

Charlie stood at the split. He looked around, having three priests around him made things rather useful. Magic was definitely more useful for causing avalanches than blades were. Of course, he had failed to mention to his comrades that causing avalanches were part of the plan…

"ARE YOU BLANKETY BLANK BLANK KIDDING ME!"

The innkeeper did expect Brian to go ballistic. Secretly, he never intended to use white magic to cause the avalanche.

"I'M NOT DOING IT! I HAVE MY HIPPOCRATES OATH TO THINK ABOUT!"

"Your what?"

"…NEVERMIND! I'M NOT DOING IT!"

"Shhh! They'll hear!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Kate and Samantha rolled their eyes and looked up the path. Sure enough, the group was getting closer and closer to the split. With the way things are going they were going to be revealed sooner or later. But just then, there was a rumbling up the mountain. The girls turned to face a giant snowslide.

"Uhh….guys?"

"I'M BUSY GETTING PISSED RIGHT NOW!"

Kate tapped Brian on the shoulder. "You won't be alive much longer to be pissed if you don't move."

Brian looked up and dilated his pupils at the falling snow. He turned towards Charlie with a fist raised. "Oh…you son of a bitch."

"Hey…I KNEW you weren't going to do it."

"Oh yeah? You should've also seen what I'm about to do next."

Taking out his float staff, Brian enchanted himself and the two girls, leaving the innkeeper standing helplessly on the ground.

"Oh hey! HEY!" Charlie called desperately while running down the path. "THAT IS NOT COOL! COME ON GUYS! OH GOD YOU'RE SO LAME!"

Suddenly he collided with a heavy figure and tumbled into the snow with the wind temporarily knocked out of him.

"OW!" Legault cried as some blur slammed into him. When he got his senses back, he looked up and saw that it was actually the innkeeper.

"YOU! Aren't you the innkeeper?"

"Yes, and aren't you one of Jessica's? What are you doing here?"

"Wondering why you're following my friends in winter camo. Now tell me."

"Later…" Charlie sped past, dragging Legault along by his cape.

"What are you doing?"

"Look up buddy."

Legault looked up the mountain and understood; he soon joined Charlie in pelting back from where he came from.

"Once we get outta this, you have a LOT of explaining to do."

The innkeeper just smiled.

---

Karel noticed the rumble first. He nudged Priscilla who nudged the sisters who kicked Sain who poked Alan who looked up and screamed bloody murder, which informed Kiyoko that something was wrong.

She looked over at the archer. "What's wrong."

"Avv…ava…Avva…Av…"

"Avatar?"

"Avva…"

Karel had enough. "Oh for the love of. He means AVALANCHE!"

Kiyoko blinked. "Ohhh…Avalanche…why didn't you tell me…. RUN FOR YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE LIVESSSSSSSSSSS! Oh and… ME FIRST!"

Alan quickly grabbed the girl and tried to pull her back up the path. "WE HAFTA GO BACK! WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT TO THE FORK!"

Sain and Karel quickly picked Alan up and carried him while the girls led the way towards the fork. "Do you really want to be castrated by Jessica?"

"No."

"Then shut up and run." The duo dropped the poor archer and the group pelted for the safety zone past the fork.

Brian and Kate floated above the panicking group while Sam hid behind her brother and was too scared to look.

"Five bucks say they don't make it."

Brian glared at Kate. "How dare you bet on our friends lives? They're being chased by an avalanche! We must help them."

"Oh excuse me Mr. Big Macho Priest." Kate rolled her eyes. "But if you have an avalanche stopping spell, please, feel free to use it."

"Your sarcasm is unbecoming of your post."

"As a hot springs manager?"

"NO! As a light magic user."

"Oh pshaw! I just stole your textbooks in school."

"YOU WHAT!"

Sammy poked her head out. "Uhm…guys? I think they made it."

"What? Damn!"

"I believe you owe me five bucks."

"Hey Priest boy, you never took the bet."

"SO?"

Sammy smacked her brother and her friend. "Come on, let's go! I think Charlie wants us."

The innkeeper was red in the face when the group floated down, from both the running and pure undiluted anger.

"BRIAN YOU NUMBSKULL!"

Kate slapped both of them upside the head too stop the arguing and possibly another avalanche. "Just shut up, both of you."

"Alright, since plan A didn't work because Brian decided NOT to cooperate."

"YOU WAN-"

Kate slapped them again.

Charlie rubbed his head and groaned. "Okay, this is Legault, he wants to join us in our little adventure."

"For the thrills?"

Legault shook his head. "No, to make sure you chumps aren't pulling a fast one on my friends."

Kate looked down and smacked her forehead. "OH! The camo!"

"Alright, forget the camo." Charlie said, gathering everyone. "Oh and Legault, we're doing Operation GAAKTFTB, so if you want to tag along, you'll hafta help."

"Operation GAAKTFTB…what's that stand for?"

"Operation Get Alan And Kiyoko Together For The Ball."

Legault nodded and the plotting continued.

---

As Kiyo and her ragged comrades choked into the temple of Astharsa, everyone collapsed to the ground, kissing the stone tiles. Along the way, they dodged a rockslide, a freak snowstorm, and the voice of "God" telling them that Alan must kiss the first girl he saw. Priscilla delivered a hearty slap on reflex, apologizing profusely afterwards.

"Please tell me we're finally here!" Sain gasped.

Kiyoko nodded weakly. "Just in the last room, down this hall."

Sain stood up and walked forward. "Good, because one more surprise and I'll kill someone."

"NO SAIN! WAIT!" Kiyoko and Alan body tackled the paladin and knocked him to the ground just as three arrows sliced the space above where he once stood.

"DUCK!" Kiyoko yelled as dozens of sharp arrows flew from concealed tubes and screamed towards the group. Karel quickly knocked Priscilla to the ground as Fiora and Farina both dropped with their hands over their heads.

Kiyoko thought they got pass the trap when suddenly a loud shriek pierced her ear.

She turned and saw Florina clutching her shoulder. Groaning, she pulled Alan back and they went to tend to the fallen Pegasus knight.

---

Legault stared at Charlie incredulously.

"YOU LED THEM TO A PLACE WHERE THERE ARE KNOWN BOOBY TRAPS!"

"Hey, it was JESSICA'S idea."

"AND YOU CONVIENENTLY FORGOT TO TELL HER THERE WERE ARROWS!"

"…In short…yes."

Legault smacked his forehead. Just then, Brian tensed up.

"Oh shit guys, weren't those arrows poisoned?"

In unison…

"Son of a bitch…"

---

"FLORINA! I WILL AVENGE YOUR DEATH MY LOVE!" Sain ridiculously grabbed Fiora's big branch and started stabbing at the walls.

"Actually, I'm fine, it hit my armor and bounced off."

Sain blinked. "FLORINA! I WILL AVENGE YOUR FATAL WOUNDING!"

Florina cocked her head. "I'm fine really, I can go on."

Sain pushed her back down. "No! You stay here, we shall go forth!"

Florina stared at the retreating Paladin. "O-o-okay?"

Fiora and Farina stared at the paladin. "Okay…that was weird."

Karel just shrugged. "So are we getting the sword or not?"

Just then, Sain came back, brandishing a glowing iron sword with a bejeweled hilt. "Fear not, I have returned with thine blade."

"Okay, you can stop talking like a moron now." Farina said smacking him upside the head. "Lets get out of here before any more arrows try to kill us."

"Right." Kiyoko said shuddering. "…God I hate archers… Oh and Sain, did you offer three gold pieces in the challis beneath the alter?"

Sain's face turned white. "…and if I didn't?"

Kiyoko sighed… "RUN FOR YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE LIVES!"

The group took off as the entire temple began sealing off and crumbling into nothingness. From the outside, Legault had to be restrained magically by Brian, and his mouth stuffed with a wad of cloth ripped from his cloak to save Samantha's virgin ears from too much profanity.

Karel stared at the wall attempting to slide down and cut him and his friends off. "Is it usually this dangerous!"

"THE TRAPS WERE TRIPPED THIS TIME BECAUSE SAIN WAS A MORON!" Kiyoko yelled over the noise of the crumbling building. "THE NATURAL DISASTERS AND 'GOD'…WELL, I DON'T KNOW! WE'RE JUST UNLUCKY I GUESS!"

Alan looked at the wall. "WE'RE GONNA HAFTA DIVE! COME ON FOLKS!"

One by one, they went through the gap, head first, but as Priscilla, the last one went down, she tripped and got stuck under the descending wall. Just before being crushed into Valkyrie paste, Karel grabbed her by the waist and yanked her through, causing the two to land in a very compromising position.

"Th…thanks for saving me…" Priscilla gasped through her pants.

Karel, realizing what he just did, went into shock. He, the sword demon, saved a life instead of taken one. This was a first. He hoped it didn't start a trend or give him a new name like "Sword of Saints" or "Saint of Swords" or something dumb like that.

"Ahem…" Fiora cleared her throat. "If you two are done gazing at each other, can we go now?"

Karel and Priscilla separated in record time, both blushing profusely, Priscilla from embarrassment, Karel because Priscilla stepped on him when she scrambled up.

Farina looked at Kiyoko who was now holding the Tear of Astharsa. "Are we done?"

Kiyoko shook the blade and the glow wore off. It looked no different from a regular old iron sword now. "Yep, we're done. Although now that the temple is destroyed… I wonder if this is the last time I'll have to come."

"Well…" Fiora said coming along side the girl. "We'll just have to see huh? So who're you going with to the ball?"

Kiyoko blinked. "I don't know, probably just gonna bug my big brother again."

"Haha, that's always fun." Priscilla said smiling.

"Speak for yourself." Sain said. "So, would you eligible ladies like to escor- OW!"

Know your place Sain." Fiora growled. "You're lucky my boots weren't metal this time."

Sain just squeal and nodded, going ahead to lead the way.

"Oh by the way…" Alan said. "Kiyo…will you…help me ask Lugia to the ball?"

Kiyo smiled. "SURE!"

The group laughed and continued their merry way.

"Hey, did someone just hear a scream of agony?"

Charlie: X.x again, sorry it took months. Again, teachers are EVIL! JUST PURE UNDILUTED EVIL!

Anyways, I would've had it out earlier…and you'll have to forgive me for not having it out when summer break started. But I had to get surgery on my knee, and well, yeah… lets leave it at that.

Well…next chapter up after AX. Sorry again X.x