Note: Finally, they all meet! True, introductions may be a bit rushed due to the situation, but rest assured, afterward, everything will be cleared up. The gang goes to Valsena and finds the place under attack. That has to be dealt with first.

Also, it may be a bit much to swallow, yet I believe I found a way to include ALL of the classes in this story. And while that may be a stretch, I have a way to fit them all into the story and fit with what's going on as well.

Checking the Wiki of Mana, and it says that Chess Knights are 'insect enemies'. What?

Siege on Valsena

She had sent him off, she reminded herself, and the young man was more than capable, but still, she couldn't help but find herself worrying over him. If anything, it was perhaps better than allowing him to go off on his own in the middle of the night without anyone knowing. Even if he hadn't told him, it didn't take Richard long for him to note one of his best soldiers' absence. Stelle sighed. Perhaps it was inevitable. After all, Duran had proven time and time again that he had his father's same stubborn streak. As well as an added bonus from his mother.

'Simone...you...you fool! Why didn't you tell anyone?! Why didn't you speak up when you had the chance?!'

Stella's blood ran cold, her arms coming to hug herself to perhaps find a way to ward off the bitter chill that assaulted her.

'L-Loki. I...I didn't want to be a burden. His...his work to protect us was more important.'

'That doesn't mean you neglect yourself, damn it! What of your children?! Do they not deserve to know what's happening to their mother?!' Stella remembered those words well, as well as the crippling guilt that came with them. 'I...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Simone. Forgive me, please.'

And her sister's immediate acceptance of her plea. 'Stella...I'm sorry I didn't say anything. But...I don't believe I have much longer.'

'Simone-'

'I hate to shove this onto you, but...Duran and Wendy...watch them. Watch them...please.'

Stella's lips tightened, her eyes closing. 'I...I will. I promise you. As your big sister.'

"Auntie?" The blonde woman was drawn from her musings by a small voice. Turning, she saw Wendy, the usually chipper girl seemingly startled.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"There are strange girls outside."

"What?"

Suddenly, a loud boom was heard outside. Stella rushed over to the window while Wendy let out a scream. Looking outside, she saw that, to her shock, a few of the homes that were ahead of theirs had been engulfed in flames, strangely garbed women going inside and dragging the helpless residents of said homes out, as if purging them from the area. "Auntie Stella! I'm scared!" Stella placed a hand over Wendy's mouth to silence her, she hurriedly looked around the house.

"Come with me." the blonde woman took the small girl by the hand and rushed upstairs. She looked around again, not seeing many options for either of them. She was also debating on whether or not they should be together. Would they be found easier, or would separating raise the chances of Wendy being unprotected?

"Stop right there!" Stella wasn't fortunate enough to find a place for either of them it seemed. A woman brandishing a glowing staff commanded her to stay put, several other women dressed in similar attire having entered the room.

And then, a rather familiar man stepped forward, pushing back strands of his blonde hair. "Dear madam," he began. "Would a young man happen to live here?"

Outside Valsena

"Whoa! Whoa!" Suddenly, as they continued to descend, the birds began bucking and turning. "Kevin! They're acting up on us here!"

"That voice…" Angela said aloud. "Hawkeye?"

"Hold on!" another voice said, neither Duran or Angela recognizing it. "Just land!"

Just then one of the birds stopped mid-air, the sight of a young, blonde woman pulling a rope as if it were reins guiding a horse. The bird seemed to calm down and descend, Hawkeye doing the same for his bird, it too seemed to mellow out. The two birds continued to come down until they landed on the ground, the riders and their company looking to the two individuals they had been fortunate enough to find. "Riesz!" Angela cried out. "Hawkeye!"

"You're alive!" Duran added. "I thought for sure that you two would've been imprisoned at least-" he then paused, noticing the tan figure the thief had as his riding partner. "You!" the soldier drew out his sword, eyes centered on Kevin. "You took them hostage, didn't you? Did you force them to come here?"

"No!" Kevin shook his head. "No, not at all!" he then got off the hellrider and began to approach Duran. "I'm not-" he was prevented from going any further by the tip of a sword meeting his throat. "I'm not with them. Yes, I'm one of them, but I'm not with them."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Duran scoffed, yet was surprised when a small girl leapt out in front of Kevin, he had to look down upon hearing her voice as he couldn't see its source.

"It's twue!" the small, blonde girl said. "He's a good guy!" she attested. "You'we being WEALLY mean!"

Mean? "How'd you get here, kid?" Duran asked, said 'kid' puffing out her cheeks.

"I'ww have you know I'm fifteen weaws owd!" she said, placing her hands on her hips. "So I'm pwobabwy youw age ow even owdew than you!" she then looked to Kevin, who seemed shocked at her actions, but still didn't say anything to her, the manipulative tactic she had pulled before still fresh in his mind.

"Seventeen. I doubt that." Duran scoffed. Who did this kid think she was fooling? "Anyway," he then looked to Hawkeye and Riesz. "Is this guy giving you trouble?"

"No." Riesz said firmly, joining Charlotte with Kevin. "If not for him, we wouldn't have been able to make it here."

Duran was taken aback at this. "What?"

"It's true." Hawkeye added. "These guys here," he went to pet one of the hellriders, only for it to shoot him a glare, causing the thief to retract his hand. "Were our only ticket here. And it's because of this guy here," he gestured to Kevin. "We were able to even get out of Jadd at all. Let alone help take it back."

"Jadd's been taken back?!" Angela questioned. "But...how?!"

"Well," Riesz rubbed the back of her head. "The story has some...unexpected directions." she then looked to Duran. "But first, put that down." Duran did indeed lower it, but didn't withdraw the weapon entirely. Angela gave him a look, his little 'speech' to her at the bridge flashing in his mind. Still...this guy, he had never seen before. And a beastman too. Still...maybe...

"What kind of directions?" Angela asked.

"Look," Duran suddenly spoke up. "While I'm glad you all are all right, we're kinda in a hurry."

"Then…" Hawkeye began, looking to the two hellriders, then back to Duran and Angela. "How about we give you a general layout along the way?"

Short Time Later

"A race of little people?"

"I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it myself." Riesz told Angela, she and Charlotte had all taken to riding together. "And if not for Charlotte and Kevin's lucky find, we probably would've never been able to retake the city." And while she say anything else further, that wasn't all Domperi and his people had provided for them. She was far from there, yet she remembered the words of the head koropokkur. Specifically, of whom he had mentioned in them. Yet all in due time. For now, they all had a journey to Valsena to make.

"Domperi also told us that we'd best find you too." Hawkeye told Duran, the soldier sandwiched between the thief and Kevin (and not more trustful of his second companion). "Given you're the wielder of the Mana Sword and all." Duran was about to speak, but Faerie came out of him.

"Why, yes. Yes he is. Aren't you?" the winged woman asked, Kevin's eyes widening in shock at what he had seen.

"Whoa!" the beastman yelped. "Wh-What are you?!" he then tugged at one of her wings, she in turn giving a small whine.

"Ow! You're pulling too hard!"

"Gah! It's real!" Kevin cried out.

"Of course I'm real!" Faerie exclaimed, rubbing her wing. "I'm as real as any of you!" she then gave a light grab on Duran's ear. "And this young man here has a VERY big responsibility that he's currently running away from!"

Duran was about to protest, but suddenly, he caught something in his sights. Smoke? Squinting his eyes, he saw indeed, there was smoke. Smoke, and as they drew closer, fire. The city was burning.

Valsena

"Watch out!" the soldier called out, though unfortunately, his warning came too late.

The mage had cast her spell, the spark touching his exposed nose that wasn't covered by the helmet. Flames erupted from inside his suit. The soldier flailed around and pulled at his armor, removing it desperately to get away from the flames now burning at his flesh from inside what was supposed to protect him. Several of his comrades rushed up to help him, he having slipped out of most of his gear, yet another barrage of spells came from behind, striking all of his friends and sending them flying. The soldier was now left the only one standing, practically in little more than undergarments, and with the tip of a staff in his face.

"You...you'll gain nothing from this, witch!" the soldier snarled, despite his current position. "Valsena has seen worse than you!"

The woman smirked. "Perhaps." she said, the spell she was charging growing stronger. "But you forget one thing." She then raised her staff. "Valsena once fell during the Peddan War. So, what's the say that it can't fall again?!"

Suddenly, a sharp pain met her hand, a large flash of brown blinding both her and her target, as well as a veil of feathers. Her staff was knocked from her hand, and her hand had been terribly scratched, a long, deep gash having been delivered to her skin, tearing through the fabric of her glove. Looking upward she saw what appeared to be two, massive birds circling around this particular section of the castle, birds that neither of them had ever seen before.

"What are those things?!" some still conscious soldiers shouted, not able to entirely believe what they were seeing.

"Who cares?! Strike them down!" one of the mages shouted, the other women with her aiming their magical blasts in the birds' direction.

The birds dodged the blasts with lightning speed and then swooped down, talons out and aiming directly towards the Altenan troops. The mages leapt out of the way, though many were knocked off their feet by the gusts of wind caused by the birds' wings. One mage was seized by her wrists and brought upward before being released and falling right into another group of mages attacking another group of soldiers. Another one of the two birds swooped down and swiped several staves and wands from the female mages, rendering them without a means to channel their powers.

"Fire! Strike them down!" the commanding mage cried out, those few that were available to take action doing so, firing magical blasts out from their staves. Unfortunately, these attacks came from all sides, the birds avoiding one set of blasts while another set assaulted them.

The three riders of one bird panicked as the feathers of their ride's wings caught fire, the bird beginning to flap madly in an attempt to put out the flames. It flew all over and eventually crashed into its brethren, both of them soon coming down and crash landing right in the middle of the courtyard, all six passengers either being thrust off or they leapt off before the birds could make a literal crash landing.

There wasn't much time to survey the area as all of them were immediately attacked, everyone drawing out their weapons and leaping to combat the enemy forces. "Look there!" one soldier said. "Is that-"

"Duran!" another said, sending a mage back before rushing up to him. At least, he would've, had it not been for getting blasted in the back.

Rising from the ground, Duran dashed forward and slashed at his aggressors, several recoiled while others charged in his direction, casting spells such as shooting flames and collections of ice in his direction. He raised his shield to block the blasts and charged, knocking the women back from the fallen soldier and from himself. He sliced his sword, no one cut through, yet he managed to score some flesh wounds from his aggressors, the women falling down and clutching their torn flesh in pain.

"Wait!" he suddenly heard Angela, who rushed in front of him, an injured mage looking up in shock at the princess' actions. "Just...just wait a minute!" she then looked down at the fallen member of her kingdom, of whom looked up to her with wide, but thankful eyes. Suddenly, the footsteps of several soldiers were heard, a collection of them coming to the scene with swords and spears, all aimed at the fallen group of mages.

"No one move!" one of them commanded, the mages, with their wands gone, essentially were forced to obey. The other four joined Duran and Angela, the Altenan princess looking in horror at the scene all around her. "Duran, are you all right?" the same soldier questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." the young man answered. "But what about King Richard? Where is he?"

"We've been trying to hold back the Altenan forces from entering his quarters." the soldier said. "Yet we saw that Crimson Wizard with them-" he got out no more before Duran rushed forward, leaving everyone behind and going in the direction of the throne room.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Angela called out, following him, leaving everyone else as well.

The soldiers then looked back to the four remaining. "I assume you're friends and not foes?"

"You could say that." Hawkeye confirmed, Riesz stepping forward.

"What other areas are affected by this attack?" she questioned.

"The courtyard's been taken back." the soldier confirmed. "Yet the east and west wings have also been infiltrated."

"Then we move out." Riesz answered. The soldiers were rather taken aback by her forwardness, yet the authority in her voice was, they couldn't deny, rather convincing. "If I may be so bold," the princess said, realizing that she wasn't exactly in command at the moment. "Would you be willing to split your group?"

"I was thinking the same thing." the head soldier answered.

Outside Main Hall

"Queen of Reason…" Duran huffed, he and Angela continued towards the throne room. "The hell is she thinking?!"

"My mother wouldn't do this!" Angela protested. "She...she's not like this at all!"

"Then what do you call this?!" the Valsenan native questioned. "A friendly little visit?!"

"She's not an evil woman!" Angela continued to argue. "This...this is all Koren's fault! He's the one who organized this whole thing! I guarantee it!"

While Duran wasn't able to swallow much of what she said, the possibility of the Crimson Wizard having a large involvement in this was great and a theory he could easily believe. They both had reached the door that led to the main hall, Duran practically thrusting the doors open and revealing a scene of chaos. "The hell?!" Instead of female mages combating soldiers, smaller versions of the two golems that they had faced on the bridge were combating them. "Probably the work of that red bastard, no doubt." Duran snarled. "Whatever the case," he readied his sword, one of the golems turning to face both of them. "I'll treat them no differently than any other enemy!"

West Wing

It appeared that the women were not the only ones part of the troops that could perform magic. For once the group entered, they came across the sight of what appeared to be giant chess pieces, specifically knights (albeit, they took on more of a unicorn appearance due to the single, blue horn on their foreheads) engaging with the soldiers that were struggling against them.

"What...is this?" Kevin questioned, unable to entirely swallow what he was seeing.

"Awe they toys?" Charlotte questioned. "Big toys?" the only explanation she could come up with was that they were simply enlarged, enchanted chess pieces.

"Whatever the case, they're a threat to his Majesty!" a soldier with the two shouted. "So they must be terminated." he rushed forward, spear in hand. It was at that point when one of the knights noticed its incoming aggressor and leapt upward, another that was close by suddenly becoming enveloped in what appeared to be a shimmering light. Then, to everyone's shock, it seemed to disappear. "What the-" the soldier looked around, along with everyone else. Then to everyone's horror, it manifested behind him, as if it had moved at the speed of light.

"Behind you!" Kevin cried out, yet it was too late.

With its horn in position as if it were a jouster, the chess piece ran forward and knocked the soldier off his feet, right into another that proceeded to do the same thing. It then proceeded to essentially 'pass' the hapless man into more and more of its 'friends' until finally, one of the chess knights used its lower section as a club and struck the soldier, bouncing off the wall and leaving an indent before falling to the ground, motionless. The other chess knights then directed their attention to Kevin, Charlotte, and the rest of the troops with them. Then, they dove right in their direction.

East Wing

"Hurry!" a soldier shouted. "His Majesty has already been injured from the last attack! He'll stand no chance if these fiends reach him!"

"Don't doubt his Majesty so quickly!" another soldier protested. "He was able to take on that Dark Knight and come out the victor in the end!"

Riesz, despite her speed, paused at this. Dark Knight? Just what had occurred here? Just then, they all had thrust open another door and come across a long hallway, stopping upon seeing what awaited them inside: instead of human mages, what appeared to be rather short, dark faced magicians of sorts garbed in blue robes and wide-brimmed hats with long staves were in the area, their glowing eyes all fixating on the human intruders. Suddenly, as if sensing the others' actions, they all directed their staves in their direction, they glowed at the ends, and it was clear what was about to happen.

Main Hall

Damn! Their outer shell was too strong! "We have to get at their gears!" Duran thought aloud, yet that in itself brought another problem: how?

"What, and break your sword again?" Angela answered, dodging a fist from one of the mechanical droids. "Here!" she then jumped back. "Let me handle this!" the tip of her staff then began to glow. "Holy Bolt!" she cried out, a blast of light shooting out and striking one of the golems in its backside, the panel in where the gears lay dented from the assault.

Duran leapt forward and began pulling at the damaged panel, said panel seemingly resisting with all its might. "Here! Let me help!" Faerie called out, coming out from her host and pulling at the panel as well. Eventually, it had begun to open, ever so slowly, but, "Watch out!" the second golem blasted its fists forward, aiming for Duran, yet it smashed right into its mechanical comrade. Despite this, however, as well as the panel now being open, the golem wasn't down for the count. It got back up on its feet and revved up, charging forward at its two human opponents.

West Wing

One by one, the Valsenan soldiers fell by the agility of the chess knights, beings knocked against the walls, clashing into the suits of armor lining the area, and overall being tossed around as if they were little more than rag dolls. "Watch out!" one soldier cried out, pushing Charlotte out of the way, of whom was about to be pierced by the glowing, blue horn of one of the enlarged chess pieces. He took the brunt of the hit instead, the horn piercing through his armor and sending him flying back, right into a suit of armor, causing the whole thing to come crashing down. Then, with only the young girl and her beastman companion left, the plethora of knights directed their attention to them.

"Hey, you!" Charlotte cried out, steeling herself and trying to make herself appear brave. A chess knight drew closer to her, one then, seemingly out of nowhere, coming in between her and Kevin.

"Charlotte!" Kevin cried out, yet he soon found himself surrounded by chess knights, cutting him off from getting to her.

"You...you think you'we so tough, don't you?" the half elf stammered, trying to generate energy in her hand. "Weww...y-you'we nothing but a bunch of stupid toys!" her hand grew hot, she then thrust it upward, palm open. A blast of hot, white light shot out, striking one right in its neck, taking its head right off. Another came from the same direction, Charlotte swinging her mace around and thrusting it downward on one of the pieces' heads, splintering its horn. Unfortunately, she couldn't be fast enough to react to attacks from the back, a horn meeting and scraping the side of her cheek, fresh blood free to run down her flesh. Then, a hard, blunt object, the lower portion of the knight was thrust upon her back, sending the young girl down to the floor, her fallen form soon surrounded by the enchanted objects.

East Wing

The tapestries on the walls were erupting into flames as fireballs were cast in one direction while others were torn to shreds by swirling winds, all of which manifested out from the wands of the small, dark faced mages that were stationed in this part of the castle. Hawkeye leapt out of the way of what appeared to be a slew of sharpened objects that embedded themselves into the wall, he only noticed and realized what they were afterwards. "Are these...diamonds?!"

"Look alive!"

'Shit!' the thief inwardly cursed, ducking as what seemed to be a dark swarm of energy moved right over his head and crashed right into the wall, the energy spreading into a large mass and then appeared to consume the portion of the wall that it made contact with, plaster and wood underneath breaking apart, being sucked by an invisible force until suddenly, it all disappeared, leaving little more than a giant, sunken hole in the wall where the dark ball once was.

Riesz found herself unable to do little more than hide behind one of the suits of armor as one wizard kept casting ice balls at her, she shivering as the chill from the collections of hardened, cold crystal continued to come at her, freezing and encasing the pieces of armor it hit in an icy sheen. The soldiers clearly struggled against this magical onslaught, being blasted back and everything from being burnt to frozen to having holes created in their armor from the spells thrown in their direction. Both the thief and amazon were at a loss at what to do, as it seemed that there was little that could stand against the magician's spells. Although, while it was just for a short amount of time, armor appeared to be more resilient than expected. And with the armor displayed all around, there was plenty of that to go around…

Main Hall

"Holy Bolt!" again, she casted the magic spell. Yet again, the golem seemed to anticipate this and turned itself around and blasted one of its fists in her direction, she just barely dodged it. Albeit, she fell flat on her rear end while doing so, but still, it counted! "How's it going on that one?!"

"Damn thing won't stay still!" Duran shouted, beating the swinging machine back, Faerie having retreated back into him. The back panel hadn't been so much as touched, and it seemed that, if it were possible, the machine had become aware of what Duran was doing, thus, it was keeping on the offensive, not allowing the soldier to get any time to swing to the back of it and do what he had done to its counterpart.

On her end, while Holy Bolt was putting in some dents in the shell of the golem, it still made little difference in its pursuit of her. Just then, Angela thought of something. Perhaps she was just thinking a little bit too soon, but then again, she DID manage to conjure the Elemental's magic at the right time in the tunnels. 'Please, don't make this difficult. Please.' she silently begged. Holding out her staff, she was both shocked and relieved to find the tip of it glowing, as well as crystalizing. "Diamond Shards!" she called out, Gnome transferring the knowledge of the spell to her. Several hardened pieces of pure diamond manifested and struck the machine, though to her dismay, it seemed to have even less effect than Lumina's magic. They all seemed to bounce right off!

'Careful!' Faerie shouted from within her host, Duran currently struggling against a golem's fist up against his shield.

"Can't exactly be careful right now!" he groaned, the machine's superior strength forcing itself down upon him.

Seeing this, Angela didn't have much time to realize this, as the golem she was dealing with was drawing closer, ready to release a punch in her direction. She had to find a way to get to the open panel in the back. It was then that a thought struck her. 'Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!' Lumina said telepathically. 'Let it shine, hun!'

"Holy Bolt!" the sorceress shouted, though instead of directing the blast at the golem's outer shell, she directed it in its optic area. The bright flash caused a momentary lapse in his visual processing, its optics overloaded and it being left unable to see for a brief few moments. A few crucial moments. For it felt a shot in its back, right into its most vulnerable place, and then, it felt itself seizing up, shaking violently, its limbs twisting this way and that, and feeling a scorching heat rising up from inside. "Yes!" Angela cried out, though her triumph was short lived as the golem then began spinning around, coming right for her.

West Wing

"Charlotte!" Kevin shouted, but he found his gut assaulted by a blunt object, one of the chess knights, knocking him back against the wall and off his feet. Several of the knights leapt onto him as they did her, one standing above all, its horn glistening and its intent clear. Kevin struggled against the weight of the chess knights, yet it was then that he noticed that he was pinned right in between two suits of armor. If only he could get enough leeway with his leg to perhaps do something about it.

The chess knight's horn began to glow, ready to strike at any moment. Leaning down, it positioned said horn right above Kevin's chest, rearing back to properly deliver the finishing blow.

CLANG!

Lifting up his knee, Kevin struck the suit of armor, it coming down and crashing upon several chess knights, distracting the one about to strike him, allowing the beastman to then strike it with a headbutt below its jaw to avoid the horn. It was knocked back, and with half of the oversized chess pieces currently being crushed by a fallen suit of armor, Kevin was able to fight off the other half on his left side, knocking them back with fists and kicks, his moves tearing through the chess knights and getting them out of the way, able to see the cluster of them beating at a smaller form.

Charlotte found the world around her beginning to slip. From the numerous blows to her head to the horns that tore at whatever they could reach, the young girl found that her senses were steadily dulling more and more. She could do little more than curl up in a protective ball, yet even that seemed to do little more for her. The continuous barrage against her rendered her unable to concentrate, and thus, pull out any of her recently discovered powers. On and on she was beaten down, the world steadily slipping away from her.

Suddenly, she heard something. Something being broken.

Looking up, in the brief amount of space that had been provided for her from her aggressors looking upward, she saw her protector rushing up and dispatching the chess knights assaulting her. They charged at him, and his fists and legs tore through them, cracking and losing their heads, then falling to the floor and becoming motionless like the pieces of chess they were. "You ok?" Kevin asked, Charlotte steadily rising up. Yet before she could speak, Kevin released a sharp cry, she looked to see, to her horror, that the last remaining chess knight had pierced him in the lower back.

Charlotte, despite her injuries, the sight of seeing Kevin's blood on the enchanted object's horn allowed her to gain enough focus to where she was able to lift up her hand and blast out a beam of hot, white light, the beam tearing through the head of the chess knight. It stopped midway of another strike, and a crack caused by its head wound began to spread down its middle before it collapsed, two halves now on the ground. "Kevin!" Charlotte shouted, stumbling over to see the stab wound in his back. While not overly large, the unicorn's horn ran deep into him, an already large trail of blood coming from it. "I...I'm sowwy…" she apologized, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She then pressed her hand on the wound to try and stop the flow of blood.

"It...it's fine." Kevin groaned. "I...I've had rougher." he lied.

"No, it's NOT fine!" the young girl argued. If only she could do something. If only she could...wait. A light began to come from her hand. A light similar to that she used before. But this one was different. It was softer, warm, but not hot. What was this? Suddenly, Kevin felt something. It burned a bit, yet almost like medicine was being applied to a wound.

"Charlotte?" he began, wincing a bit, yet he couldn't deny that he was beginning to somewhat feel better. "What's happening?"

"I…" Charlotte began. "I don't know." she confessed. "But...but I know I wanna make it bettew."

She kept pressing against the wound, feeling it seal up and shrink underneath her hand. How long this went on, neither could tell, yet eventually, the light in Charlotte's palm died down, and when she lifted her hand, she saw, to her surprise, that there was nothing more than a small mark where the horn had struck, as if it had given Kevin little more than a scrape.

East Wing

Blasts of ice were cast in their direction, though this time, they were both prepared.

Grabbing a shield, Riesz went forward, the small mages casting spells in her direction, yet the metal of the shield held up just enough to where she was able to get close enough. Raising her lance upward, she struck down at the mage nearest her before it could cast another spell. To her surprise, her weapon went right through the small being, as in, it seemed to cut right through with no resistance, the dark faced creature seizing up and its body seemingly disappearing from sight, leaving behind its clothing in a heap on the floor.

Seeing the 'death' of their comrade, the other mages directed their attention on Riesz and went into a full on assault, throwing everything from shards of diamond to fireballs and ice in her direction. She was left with little else to do but hold her shield aloft, yet found a sudden gust of wind manifesting from underneath her, knocking her off her feet and to the floor. She was about to rise, only to find a staff pressing down on her chest, holding her down with a surprising amount of strength. She winced as she felt its tip beginning to heat up, its intentions clear.

Seeing this, Hawkeye wasted no time in looking for something to make use of. His eyes then fell on a tapestry on the wall. An expensive looking one too. Unfortunately, the king was going to be out of one at the moment. 'Here's hoping he's got a replacement.' With that, he took a lance from one of the armors and sliced the top portion of the tapestry, it falling to the floor. Then, he took said tapestry and rushed in Riesz's direction, the mage's staff heating up, the amazon feeling the heat increase steadily more and more. "Ole!" the thief shouted, throwing the large, thick tapestry, said tapestry falling over the collection of mages and trapping them underneath.

Riesz found her current assailant receiving a knife in the back, it disappearing, leaving its clothes behind. Not needing to be told, Riesz got to her feet, she and Hawkeye proceeding to stab at the trapped forms underneath, stabbing over and over, tracking where the forms moved and striking. They went as fast as they could, seeing as each of the forms dropped and went flat. Suddenly though, the fabric underneath began swelling, as if a large mass was there, developing. "Watch out!" Riesz yelled, leaping onto Hawkeye and knocking both of them to the ground. Suddenly, a large mass of dark energy tore through the tapestry, missing the two by mere seconds before it made contact with the ceiling, swallowing and tearing through the structure until finally, it ceased and seemed to swallow itself, leaving nothing but a gaping crater where the energy had made contact. The tapestry showed little more than a collection of robes and hats.

Relief came to both humans, though the thief couldn't help but notice his current position. Of which Riesz, to her horror, realized too. "Geez," he began. "If you wanted to get to this stage this bad, you could've just said so."

"...quiet you."

Main Hall

"GAH!" Angela was knocked off her feet and flung right into a nearby pillar, her body bouncing off it and she in turn landed in a heap on the floor. The machine golem continued to spin wildly with no sense of direction, its systems heating up and going out of control.

Duran was about to rush over to help, yet found the golem's companion blocking him from going to assist Angela, swinging its fists forward and shooting them forward, driving the knight back. It was then, surprisingly, that he heard Faerie speak. 'Give me a sec!'

"What?" suddenly, she manifested out of him and dove towards the ground, near the wildly spinning golem. "What are you doing?!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Faerie said aloud. "But it may be the only way!" upon spinning around like mad, the diamond shards that Angela had previously shot at it lay on the floor, the winged woman snatching two up, as it was as much as she could carry. So far, so good, the golem's back was still turned back to her. And the panel was just cracked open enough for her plan to work. "Keep it up! I'm almost there!" She lifted one of the shards and began to shove it in the small space between its shell and the panel's opening. "C'mon…'c'mon…" finally, "Yes!" the gem went inside, and the sounds of it meeting the gears inside were heard immediately.

Faerie retreated back into her host as the golem began seizing up, the forgien object messing with its insides. Seeing the opportunity before him, Duran ducked under the golem's arms and rushed over to Angela, also ducking under the far more unstable golem and both crawling and dragging her towards the stairs. "Can you walk?" he asked her.

"Y-Yeah. I think so." the sorceress answered, though her injuries came second upon realizing what was about to happen. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Throne Room

His sword clattering to the floor, Richard held his ribs, a painful grimace on his features. "This is one of the great heroes of the Peddan War?" Koren asked, Richard attempting to get up, yet was blasted back by magic, landing right in his throne. "One of the slayers of the Dragon Lord?" the wizard continued to go on, Richard struggling to get out a single word due to the pain. Indeed, this fiend had picked an opportune time to come against their kingdom. "You're spent, old man." the younger wizard smirked. "This kingdom belongs to Altena now."

"You...you will not succeed." the blonde haired king stammered, trying to stand. Koren didn't even consider using magic to bind him, the man having already proven he was weak enough as it was. "We have seen and experienced worse than this." Richard choked out. "And...and you lie when you speak of Valda." the king's green eyes became fiery. "She...she would never mount such a cowardly attack." he tried to rise again. "I should run you through for even suggesting that she would do such a thing…"

"Poor Richard." Koren chuckled. "Despite your crown, you have no knowledge of the political game. Alliances come and go, you know. After all, didn't all nations once band together once to stop a common enemy once? And where are all those allies now?" as if to emphasize, the blonde, young man looked around, motionless soldiers of both Valsena and Altena on the floor. "As far as Her Highness is concerned, such things mean nothing when compared to the acquisition of the Mana Stones."

"N-No." Richard shook his head. It wasn't true. It...it couldn't be true. 'Valda...why?'

"Have no fear." Koren said. "I have no intention of killing you."

"Then what?" Richard asked. "I have no intention of becoming your prisoner."

"That's EXACTLY what you will do." Koren responded. "Unless, you feel generous enough to reveal the exact location of the Mana Stone in your kingdom."

"Then prisoner or no, that knowledge will stay with me to the grave." the King of Valsena snarled. "Neither Altena, nor any other will be able to lay their hands on it!"

Koren didn't seem bothered by this. Instead, he found another option that came to mind. "That night when I first paid this fine kingdom a visit, you had a run in with a peculiar individual, did you not? A knight clad in darkness?"

Richard narrowed his gaze. "What of him? He's aligned with you, that's all I know."

"No, that's not all. And you know it. Surely you must've sensed SOMETHING familiar about him, yes? Did you not see the way he moved? How did he fight against you? The techniques, his mannerisms, don't they all strike you as familiar?"

Indeed, it was something that Richard noticed. It was all he could think of since that fateful night. Everything about him...if not for that suit of armor, he could've sworn it was...no. No, it...it couldn't be. "Yet more lies from you." the king moaned. "He...he is dead. He perished giving his life for this kingdom, as well as perhaps the entire world, should that fiend had been left to his own devices."

"You know well that what I speak is the truth." the Crimson Wizard answered. "I can take you to him. He's been ever so lonely. The only company he has is his new master, and, well, I don't believe that the two like each other very much."

"Master?"

"Oh, I believe that it's someone you also know." Koren said. "Yet I've spent too much time engaging in idle chit-chat." he then extended his hand in something of a mocking gesture to help him up. "Come. Both of them await."

Suddenly, the entire throne room was wracked with a tremor, a large BOOM nearly rendering both men deaf from the sheer intensity of it. "What the-"

"STOP!" Both Koren and Richard turned to see a young man with wild, auburn hair burst through the doors, armed and ready to strike.

"D-Duran?" the king's eyes widened. "N-No! Get back! You need to-" he was silenced by a slap courtesy of Koren, the blow knocking him to the floor.

"You again?!" Koren shouted, though he quickly composed himself. "I was wondering where you were, boy. I was looking forward to seeing you again." he then looked to the young woman with him. "Dear Princess," he then gave a bow. "You're looking well."

"Cut the crap." Duran snarled. "Step away from his Majesty!"

"Oh, that's not possible." the blonde sorcerer answered. "His Majesty has vital information that he simply refuses to share with me. Thus, I must take him to Altena." he then looked to the fallen form of the king. "Perhaps a conversation with his old flame will loosen his tongue."

"Old flame?" Angela questioned, looking to Richard. But such things would have to come later. "Anyway, I've been waiting a long time to say this to you!"

"My, Princess, such anger." Koren observed. "Whatever could I have done to offend you so badly?"

"All of this...this is your doing!" Angela bellowed. "You're the one pulling the strings here! You set all this up! And…" the young woman paused, feeling the beginning of tears prick her eyes. "And you turned mother against me!"

Koren chuckled and shook his head. "You're in just as much denial as His Majesty here." he then gestured to the unconscious King Richard. "I'll have you know, I'm not the one that suggested that you be a sacrifice. Your own mother came up with the idea."

Angela rapidly shook her head. "N-No! You're lying!"

"And she said that nothing would be lost. She could always produce another heir if need be. Though with the Mana Stones, what use would children be when one had the power of the very essence of the Goddess at your fingertips?"

"I'll cut off yours before you can do any more damage!" Duran shouted. "This time, your life is mine!"

Note: I know the golems are resistant to Gnome's magic, yet given this is an adaptation, I would figure that something hard being thrown into the gears would mess a machine up, whether magical or not. Also, before you gain Lumina, if you check, Charlotte already has powers such as Twinkle Rain, so that fact of her having powers will be mentioned later.

Also, it'd be revealed what happened to Wendy and Stella later, as I initially wanted to include it in here, but this chapter is going on a bit long (try to have at least a maximum of 20 pages/10,000 words). Thus, the battle between Duran, Angela, and Koren will be taking place in the next chapter.

Again, thank you to everyone that's been reading so far, and I hope to see you all next time!