Rated: PG-13
Language: English
Categories: Humour/Adventure
Title: RoChronicles
Summary: Life was good for Zira, Shujiri, Swift, and Eos where they lived in the division of Rune Midgard known as Void. Then one day, a dark cloud fell over the land and everything they knew fell apart. Will they ever be able to pick up the pieces? More importantly, can they remember who they were along the way?
Author's Note: Disney training montage lyric shout-out with the next chapter title. I had a difficult time getting started on this chapter; my outline for it wasn't as detailed as the others were. My notes to myself can be summed up as follows: "Training, story-telling time, big revelation, Pharin's a softie." ...Real good, right? As it turned out, I didn't even end up using the training part yet! I'm not familiar with the walking layout of Rune-Midgard, so it's difficult for me to figure out how to get them where they need to go in an efficient manner. I REALLY WISH THEY COULD JUST WARP EVERYWHERE! xx; Pretend that warping drains some of their sp, okay? Big thanks to T-chan for his help in figuring out how to get them from the abbey to the robot factory on foot. For the song to this chapter, we'd might as well go with one of the themes for the Yuno field maps, "Big Guys Love This."I had a small issue with Yuno/Juno and the whole floating thing, so flying is the best way out of it I can think of. xD; Just go with it? (Gyah why didn't anybody ever tell me they were the same freaking city?)

RoChronicles


Chapter Forty-Two: Good Night
The way back out of the abbey was much simpler than the path into it, now that the friends knew how to handle the monsters there. Zira passed Lana a few of his remaining blue gemstones and the two sent out a few waves of carefully placed Magnus Exorcismus to clear the path for themselves and their comrades, occasionally reinforced by Yuuki's blade and Jackel's Holy-infused bullets. For the most part, no one really had to lift a finger.

Once outside, Godporing provided his assistance once more in clearing the way for them to safely reach him. There was no big battle this time - no fight for survival to end in near-death experiences. Instead, the Holy 'Ring offered his help in transporting them from the island. It was help they were extremely grateful to be afforded, considering their boat ride off of the island had never been scheduled, and none of them were overly fond of the idea of spending their time idly on the evil island when they had far better, and considerably more important, matters to attend to.

Once everyone had their bearings about them after being deposited just north of Veins, Zira and Lady Lana were easily enough capable of directing them through Rachel and to Lighthalzen, where Ghebriel took over the instructions. From there it was a simple enough walk to the outskirts of Einbroch, where they stopped for a couple of hours to rest and regain their strength from the long walk following the battles they had gone through at the abbey.

Finally, with a few trips via air by Zira and Falcone, they reached Yuno, where Shujiri ultimately decided they should call an end to their trip for the day. They were all exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, and so Shujiri had found them a few rooms at the nearest inn.

Dmitri and Sahari had already fallen asleep - passed out the moment their heads touched their pillows.

Lady Lana was murmuring her prayers, silent and mournful but still thankful for the small blessings given to them through their quest so far. The whisper of her voice was as reassuring as anything, partly because her voice was so calming under even normal circumstances, and partly because the sound of her words on their ears helped somewhat to soothe their consciences of the bishop's demise at their hands.

Jackel had taken one look at the stares Sahari sent him downstairs and had turned on his heel, excusing himself to the room assigned to him with all the speed of the seasoned Gunslinger he was.

Alex chuckled and made his way to his own room, intent on getting in more sleep this time than he had the last time they'd stopped at a town inn.

Even Yuuki had long since been returned to his egg. Zira had left him in Jeliel's care with instructions to be gentle with it and the promise that if he returned to find it smashed on the floor or scrambled in a frying pan, he would force the man to eat his top hat.

That was a bet Jeliel remembered losing on Void to Shujiri that he had no intention of repeating the consequences from ever again; especially not from getting on the blonde's bad side when he was already charged with the volatile emotions of not only himself, but those around him.

Pharin had already been fed and had settled down to sleep on an arm of the coat hanger in the room Falcone and Ghebriel were sharing. He felt some consolation knowing that although his master had told him not to needlessly assault the Scholar, he would be close enough to help the ditzy Creator if he was needed.

He didn't like not being entirely aware of why his maker was sporadically so afraid of the redhead; it left him open to being..and he shuddered inwardly to even think of it,..wrong, in his assumptions. Despite this, a small part of him whispered that he wished he would be wrong.

Ghebriel removed his lover's glasses and set them carefully to the side of their bed, frowning at himself when he cringed at the arms that wrapped around his middle to embrace him as their owner prepared to sleep. Like Pharin, he was uncomfortable with not knowing why he sometimes felt such fear around the man he also felt so much passion and love for. All he could do was just let it happen when it did and hope it would eventually pass.

Beside the one-eyed 'Chemist, Falcone also sent up his silent prayers that the smaller man's obvious bouts of occasional anxiety would vanish soon. His deep red eyes peered down into the sleep-hazed eye of his partner with sorrowful acceptance that that time would not be tonight and pressed a tender kiss to the other's forehead to show his understanding when the Biochemist's face turned down in silent shame at his own actions.

The last sounds from their room had been the whispers of mirrored apologies and acceptance, and the sound of feathers shifting as Pharin, from his perch where he pretended to sleep, peeked over every so often at the couple on the bed to reassure himself that his master was still safe.

Zira slipped to Shujiri's side, hoping to discuss their plan of action for when the morning came.

The Assassin Cross looked up wearily to his blonde friend from where he sat, patting the mattress beside him as his invitation for the other man to be seated.

Accepting the offer, Zira gave his blue friend a thankful smile and practically fell onto the bed. He bounced slightly as his back met with the mattress but other than that neither made any move to alter their positions. They each stared at the wall or ceiling, tired and unfocused, for a few moments before Zira finally gathered the energy to push himself back upright.

"Shujiri?"

"Aye?"

Silence fell once again, and the two listened through the sounds of the night to the sound of their friends turning in for the night in the rooms around them. The sounds reassured them that their friends had all made it back to familiar ground alive and safe, no worse for the wear.

Finally, Zira spoke again. "What are we going to do from here?" he asked, a worried frown on his lips. "I can't help but feel that we're running out of time the more we have to run around looking for Chrnos and Xabel. Maybe they do know a few things we don't because of those..visions that King Gakudon said Chrnos was having, but if we haven't found them, then our opponents haven't, either; for all we know, they may not even know they exist. We still need to find Rine, and-"

Shujiri lowered a calming hand onto the other man's shoulder and squeezed softly. He kept his hand there until Zira's wings calmed and stilled, signaling his tranquil state had returned. When he removed it, he said, "Just a few more tries, Zira. We need to know everything we can about what he sees from their perspective - we need that upper hand. This might be our last chance to get there first and stop everything from being destroyed all over again; we'll find Rine, but we need to do this."

Sighing, the High Priest nodded. "I know we do. But, Shujiri, just look at the state of us. Do you think we're in any shape to keep prancing around searching for two people we don't even know through all the danger they put themselves in? We need a chance to assess everyone's strengths and weaknesses in this life without the chance of someone dying if there's a slip-up. The others need more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time; they need time to rest and recover - I need time to rest. You need to rest!"

At the blonde's words, Shujiri sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry I've been pushing it so much. We don't have much time, though; you were right about that. If we had the time to kick back and relax like the Ragnarok wasn't coming then you know I wouldn't begrudge any of you that. Just bear with the push a little bit longer until we can find them."

Zira frowned but nodded a second time.

After a pause, Shujiri sighed. "Ye did have a good point, though."

"Hm?"

"We need to see what we're capable of without something trying ot kill us. Like an experiment, but in a controlled environment - one where we can stop the fight if it gets too far or something goes wrong and not have to worry about getting killed for it."

"What do you suggest?"

"For now, let's just worry about catching up on our sleep. Tomorrow, when everyone's awake, we'll have ourselves a mini PvP to see what we can all do."

"What time?"

"I don't know." Shujiri replied with a slight shrug, his lips quirking up in a smile. "That depends on when the last person wakes up."

Zira blinked. "So, then-"

"Aye. We only have a short amount of time before everything blows up again, but if we keep pushing and not giving ourselves time to assess and mend then we won't be any good when the big fight happens, anyway. Why don't we just stay here for a day and rest? After that, we'll set out for the factory. Since Godporing warped us here, we should be a little bit ahead of Chrnos and Xabel, anyway. Maybe we'll catch up to them there. If we're lucky, we might even beat them there."

Two think arms tangled around the blue-clad man's neck in an appreciative hug. When Zira pulled away, he grinned up at him. "I could almost kiss you, but I have a feeling you'd rather leave that up to one of my colleagues." His tone was teasing, his grin becoming more of a smirk.

Shujiri fought back most of the blush, although a slight dusting of pink still tinted his cheeks at his friend's words. "Aye, well," he coughed, clearing his throat awkwardly as he refused to meet the steady blue gaze with his own, "Ye should get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow and even though you and Lady Lana are healers I still expect ye to show me what you both can do if you're forced into a fight, with and without magic."

The blonde's smile returned as he stood. "Sir, yes, sir!"

The two friends chuckled at this and as Zira turned to leave, Shujiri stood and reached out to stop him. His fingers closed gently around the blonde's wrist and, when he had his attention, he said in a somber tone, "I know you and Lady Lana both are going to be taking Hibram's demise the hardest of anyone here. If either one of you need to talk about it or vent, you're both welcome to come to me for it."

The smile on the smaller man's lips fell by a few emotions until it seemed to be held up only by a weak thread. "Thank you, Shuji; I'll be sure to tell her for you, too."

"I mean it. None of that bottling thing. Got it?"

"Yes, dear."

Jeliel's voice from the doorway caught the attention of the two friends, turning their faces in his direction. He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed and a slightly amused smile on his lips. "Am I interrupting?"

Shujiri chuckled and shook his head even as Zira flushed brightly and turned to move towards the magician. "Don't be an idiot." the blonde admonished, earning a sheepish, mock-surrendering smile from the taller Wizard.

Jeliel held his hand out to the blonde and Zira took it, staring holes into the floor at their feet. "Come on; it's time for all angsty Priests to go to bed. You'll feel better in the morning."

With a last nod of thanks to Shujiri, Zira slipped by the cloaked man, his hand slowly sliding out of his grip as he left. Jeliel turned his back to the Assassin and started after the smaller male, turning his face back slightly to give a nod of his own to the man in place of the bidding of a good night.

As the door closed behind them, Shujiri chuckled to himself and turned to his bed. He moved back over to it and slipped in, mindful of his new wings. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder what was in store for them on the horizon. Whatever it was, good or bad, they would all face it together, as friends and teammates.
To Be Continued...