Saito woke up the next morning to hear the front door closing. Being careful not to disturb Louise, he made his way downstairs and outside. Out front, he saw Tabitha preparing to depart on Sylphid. "Leaving without saying goodbye?" Asked Saito curiously. "Have to go back, need to complete preparations to assume the throne," she answered. "Sure, but can't you at least stay for breakfast or something? I'm sure Kirche will wanna see you off," Saito added. "Already told her last night," she replied. "Didn't want to make a big fuss like last time."
The boy remembered when Tabitha left the Academy, it was quite the emotional affair for all involved. "Alright, I get it," he sighed. "Just know you're welcome here anytime you wa-" He stopped suddenly as his eyes beheld an unwelcome sight approaching through the woods. Tabitha noticed them too, "Gensou's siblings."
The trio clearly wasn't expecting to be seen, and we quite off guard at coming across people so early in the morning. "Why are you here?" Demanded Saito. "To kill you, of course!" Replied the one called Lolou. He drew his sword, a dark grin on his face, "Just die peacefully!" The blond assassin charged forward. Saito didn't have Derf strapped to his back when he came out, just his knife, and was about to pull it when Tabitha leapt in the way, blocking Lolou's strike with her staff.
"What's this? Don't get in my way!" Said the surprised man. "I am his Sister in Arms, you will not hurt him," Tabitha replied determinedly. "That hair, it's the same as Gallia's royal family..." Lolou noted. "I have some affiliations with Gallia." "I was once a Knight as well," Tabitha added. "What a coincidence!" Lolou said, leaping backwards to get a better strike. Sylphid charged in as Master and Familiar fought the blond swordsman. But Saito noticed something was wrong, and saw the violet haired woman of their group run into the manor.
"Damn!" Saito exclaimed, running towards her. He's stopped, however, by Jack, holding his Morningstar. "I will be your opponent," he said with a grin. "You," Saito grit his teeth and went for his knife. "I thought you were locked up in Romalia!" "Ha! No prison can hold me for long," Jack laughed, swinging his weapon. Saito narrowly avoided the blow, which smashed into the ground. "Although I must say, I did not enjoy their disgusting meals. So I think I'll have you taste some of my frustration!" He swung again, missing and knocking a chunk out of the side wall.
"What're you doing to my house!?" Saito yelled in frustration. "Varquelle!" Yelled a voice, and a series of brass Valkyries surrounded the criminal. The caster was Guiche, standing ready with Malicorne and Reynard, who held Derflinger. "Saito, you alright?" Asked Guiche. "You can leave this muppet to me!" As if on cue, however, Jack's own creations smashed through the Valkyries with ease, unnerving the others. "Do you really want this fight?" Asked an amused Jack.
"Actually, I'm not here to fight you," smirked Guiche. "Really, I'm just here to distract you!" Jack became confused, but his response was cut short as he was knocked on the back of the head by Saito. Using the hilt of his knife as a blunt, he delivered a clean strike when the enemy wasn't looking. "Nice hit!" Said Reynard, tossing over Derf. "There's another one inside," Saito replied, drawing the sword. "I'm going after her."
"Hold it!" Exclaimed a voice. Saito looked up to see the violet haired woman from before. She had Louise at wand-point, and the two leapt from the upper window to the ground. "You have a cute, resistive face," she said, teasing Louise and licking her ear. "Stop!" Louise yelled, both scared and grossed out. "Let her go!" Said Saito, Derf pointed at his foe. "We already took down your brother, and the other one is fighting our friend as we speak! You're outnumbered!"
"I tend to get what I want," said the woman. "And what I want right now is to take this girl and make her my doll." "Let me go! You're weird and creepy!!" Exclaimed Louise, fighting to get loose. "That's quite enough," said another voice. The woman looked dismayed to see another person walking towards her. He was short and had blond hair, but his tone seemed to indicate that he called the shots among their little group. He stepped over the downed Jack.
"Jeanette, what are you playing at? Why are you all here?" He asked firmly. The woman, Jeanette, seemed to wither slightly, "B-Brother Damian! Um you see, Lolou wanted to fight that Sai-person again, and..." Damian sighed, "And you took this as opportunity for your own amusement? We haven't been paid to do anything to them. You will release the girl, now."
Jeanette frowned, but acquiesced. Louise snatched her wand back and pointed it at her attempted hostage taker. "I apologize for my siblings," said Damian, with a slight bow to Saito. "They tend to act before thinking, and as you can see. And their pride can be somewhat detrimental." The boy was about to respond, when he heard a scream in the woods. "That was... Tiffa!" He exclaimed. "Saito, go!" Said Louise, and the he took off.
Running a short distance, Saito saw a frightened Tiffa surrounded by a group wearing brown cloaks. "Hold it! Leave her alone!" The boy ran over with Derf in hand. One of the group started to speak, but he wasn't close enough to where he could hear. But a second later, the ground glowed a bright green and he began to feel weary. A moment later, Saito fell to the ground, completely passed out.
The boy awoke some time later in a strange room. "This place is... Where am I?" He asked, groggily attempting to stand up. However, Saito couldn't quite get his balance and fell backwards, his head landing on something soft. There was a soft whimper, catching him by surprise. Sitting back up, he turned to see Tiffa cautiously poke her head out from under the sheet. "S-Saito?"
Saito let out a sigh of relief, "Tiffa! Thank goodness you're alright! Where the heck are we? How long have we been unconscious?" The half-elf sat up in bed, "I was wondering the same thing." She looked down, realizing she was wearing a new outfit. "These are the clothes of elves!" She said in surprise. "My mother had similar ones too!" "Come to think of it, Elves were attacking us earlier," Saito noted. He felt around, but to his dismay, he no longer had his knife on chi's belt.
"Ah, you're awake!" Said a voice. The boy turned, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head at the sight. Entering the room was an elf. She was completely naked aside from a towel around her neck. "I was worried that Arie's Magic might've affected you too much," she went on, reaching for her clothes. "A-are you an elf?" Asked a blushing Saito.
"That's right. I'm Luctiana," she said. "Pleased to meet you." "Um, where are we?" Tiffa asked. "Here? This is our land, Neftes. And this is my Oasis," replied Luctiana. She drew open the window curtains, revealing them to be at a watery oasis in the middle of a desert. "Why are we here?" Asked Tiffa. "Oh, isn't it obvious?" Luctiana turned back towards them, smiling warmly. "We kidnapped you two."