Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Kore Yamazaki. I just play with her characters.

Author's Notes: I promised myself that I would churn out another chapter before October ends. And I did. You don't know how much this makes me happy. This one has a bit of everything, from plot to fluff, drama, and action. It's quite a rollercoaster ride, and I hope you would enjoy it. :)

Chapter 14: Someone to Save

Joseph fixed his hat before pushing the cargo of goods he had before him. He was at the College entrance calmly waiting for his turn to go through the mandatory inspection of the cat sidhes before entering the institution itself. He wasn't sure if his plan would work, but for the past few days he carefully observed those that were allowed entrance to the College. Mostly these were those who delivered groceries for cafeteria use or office essentials for the staff. Noticing that the guy who delivers the groceries got more freedom to enter the College, he immediately possessed the unaware guy. He was a man in his mid-twenties with dark hair and eyes.

Now a week later, back with delivering groceries again, Joseph stood in line while wondering if he could fool the cat sidhes. Possession of a human being was complicated after all, and, try as he might to erase the imprints of his magical energy, he didn't know if cat sidhes could detect them still. Yet he never felt nervous at times like these. He knew he should keep a calm demeanor. Anyway, he had a lot more plans than this should his attempt fail.

"Stop! State your business." Florence, the white cat sidhe announced as he loomed over the College entrance gate. He was twenty times larger than his natural cat form with eyes, claws, and fangs as sharp as steel.

"Delivery of goods for the cafeterias." Joseph, disguised as the deliveryman, beamed at the cat sidhe innocently. It only eyed him with undeniable suspicion that Joseph had to stand still and endure the thorough scrutiny.

"Ah! Lloyd, good timing. I've been waiting for you since this morning." Someone from inside the gate exclaimed, and Joseph had to double-check that the guy was pertaining to him. The cursed Sorcerer didn't know his name enough to respond after all. Yet the man inside the gate saved him the trouble. He turned to the cat sidhe and pleaded, "Let him in will you, Florence? It would be a pain to go back and forth the cafeterias and transport all these goods by myself."

"Very well." Florence replied, and Joseph fought hard not to jump for joy. Instead, he smiled and said his thanks sincerely. The cat sidhe opened the gate, and he finally entered the College.

"We'll stop by the main education building's cafeteria first as they always have the biggest shipment." The man said, and now that Joseph strained to look at his name tag, the cursed Sorcerer found that his name was 'Robert'.

"Sure thing, Robert." He replied with enthusiasm, unbelieving his good luck.

They walked the grounds silently and finally reached the kitchen of the cafeteria in the main education building. Joseph patiently tolerated being ordered around by Robert, but before the last of the goods were placed in the stockroom, he asked permission to go to the restroom. Robert kindly gave him instructions on where to find it, and Joseph took his leave. But instead of following Robert's directions, he headed to the cafeteria.

The cursed Sorcerer looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was just fifteen minutes past lunch time. Good timing, indeed. His eyes scanned the whole area looking for one thing: a boy with blonde hair and pale, grey eyes. Joseph looked at the sitting area and found none, but when he turned his gaze at the food counter, he found the boy there in the midst of getting food for his tray.

Joseph then smiled darkly pleased that he had found his prize.

xxxx

Chise carefully placed her Magecraft textbook and notebook inside her bag. It was just the end of another Magecraft period, and she couldn't help but smile at how pleasant it was. Elias lectured about the different branches of Magecraft, mainly as preparation for those who were interested in choosing Magecraft for their learning track in their high school studies. Everyone had their eyes and ears trained to their Magus professor. Even Lian, who was bent on following the normal Sorcery track, asked if he would be allowed to attend a class or two in these Magecraft branches.

Chise stood up from her chair and straggled a bit, watching the black form of her dearest friend and professor. Elias was erasing the whiteboard where he wrote down his lecture notes. One by one, the students exited the classroom, and Elias bid them goodbye. It wasn't long until she and he were the only ones left in the classroom. She walked to the front with her bag in tow and smiled at him as he turned his gaze towards her.

"Do you have something you wish to talk about, Ms. Hatori?" Elias asked, using her surname formally in jest. In his human glamour, the sparkle in his crimson eyes was less intense but there was a wide grin on his face.

"There's a lot, and I don't even know where to begin." Chise admitted honestly. Even when he just discussed the different branches of Magecraft, the problem of what subjects to choose for her high school studies was niggling at her.

"Then may I suggest you reserve it for tonight? I would like to invite you for something."

"Invite me to what?" Chise asked, curious as to what he was planning.

"The Quadrantid meteor shower. I heard from Professor Sinatra Francisco that it will peak tonight. While the Astronomy tower is where most of the students will flock to, I'd like you to see it from the hill in the gardens with me." Elias explained.

"I'd be there just to see you, even without the meteor shower."

"I know." Elias placed a gloved hand on her head and smiled, pleased that Chise was agreeing. "But trust me, it would be a nice addition."

"Alright, how do we do it then?"

"Meet me at the hill in the gardens at around 10 pm tonight." He said to her. Chise nodded in acknowledgement, and then she headed to the exit of the classroom. But before she was able to open the door, Elias called out again. "Oh, and Chise, you may bring some snacks if you like. We'd be there for a while."

Chise beamed at him as a reply, already looking forward to the evening they will have together.

xxxx

"Oh, you're just in time." Elias exclaimed as he saw Chise approaching him in the hill in the gardens. He was back in his wolf-skull form, and Chise smiled upon seeing him, glad that he wasn't wearing a human glamour. He was seated on what seemed to be a picnic mat and had a basket of food beside him. He patted the space beside him, and Chise took that as a cue to sit near him.

"Thank you." She said with a grin, and then she decided to take a look at the basket of food he brought. "What have you got for us?"

"Just some clubhouse sandwiches and hot chocolate." Elias replied. He eyed the bag Chise carried and decided that it was his turn to ask, "And you?"

"Some chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and sodas." Chise beamed and took out all the items she mentioned from the bag.

Elias immediately reached for the tin of chocolate chip cookies to which Chise giggled at. After happily shoving one to his skeletal mouth, he remembered what happened in the classroom and asked, "What did you want to talk about when we were in the classroom before I invited you to come watch the Quadrantid?"

"Oh, I was just thinking on what subjects to take for the Magecraft learning track. I know you discussed how the subjects are different, but I can't choose what would be appropriate for me."

"Well, it depends on the kind of Magus you want to be, Chise."

"The kind of Magus I want to be?" Chise repeated, unsure of how to respond to his statement. She knew she always wanted to be the kind of Magus Elias was, but she realized she didn't even know what kind he was. So she made it up on her mind to ask. "What kind of Magus are you, Elias? How did you even become one?"

"I am… a bit of everything, Chise. I guess back then I didn't have a choice. Rahab was a Magus Master at Yud level, the highest rank a Magus Master can obtain. Consequently, she made me study every branch of Magecraft under her and urged me to get my Mastery too." Elias recounted with ease now. Ever since he had confided to Chise the story of how Rahab died, he no longer felt ashamed talking about her. In fact, reliving the memories was now somehow nostalgic to him.

"What level are you then?"

"I only took the Mastery examination once. Before the Second Great War. The Tribunal of Magi awarded me a 'He' level that time." Elias tilted his head upwards and closed his eyes for a moment. He could still remember the look of pride Rahab had when he showed her his certificate and badge. "That's the mid-level rank of Mastery, the fifth highest."

Chise nodded her head in acknowledgement. She remembered the lectures Elias gave them in their Magecraft class about Magus Masters and their ranks. "I bet if you took the examination again, you'd be a Yud level now." She said with such certainty knowing Elias's sheer genius.

"That's kind of you to say, Chise. But even my rank was stripped from me as part of my sentence from the Tribunal of Magi." Elias confessed weakly. When he saw Chise's wide eyes directed at him though, he decided to change the subject so they would not dwell on it any longer. "Anyway, you can choose to study anything as long as they're interesting to you. As your mentor and friend, I would guide you always. Rest assured that that won't ever change." Even when you've graduated and are gone from the College, and I'm still left here, he wanted to add but decided not to instead.

"Elias, I—" Chise started to say, but on her peripheral she saw something shiny glide through the night sky. "Elias, look!" She pointed to the sky, and soon after dozens of shooting stars began filling the empty expanse above them.

The Quadrantid meteor shower was starting, and for five minutes both were silently watching it. They were just a simple thing really, just rocks from outer space entering the Earth's atmosphere, and yet they were beautiful to watch, with their blazing streaks of light and shimmering tails. Chise lied back on the mat and gazed at them more carefully. Elias too leaned back resting on his elbows and arms just behind his back, but he couldn't quite get comfortable. The Sleigh Beggy noticed it, and she turned her body facing him, reaching out for his gloved hand.

"What is it?" Chise asked, knowing that it was rare to see Elias so listless.

"It's just…" Elias began and then paused, hesitating to tell Chise the cause of his discomfort and his desire.

"Come now, tell me." Chise coaxed and sat up, trying not to be amused at his slightly embarrassed state.

"I want to watch the meteor shower while lying on my back too, but…" Elias trailed off, and Chise finally understood what his dilemma was. He, after all, had two horns that extended behind his wolf-skull of a head, preventing him from ever lying on his back.

Chise mused on how to help him and finally found an idea. She stood up, knelt on the mat, and sat with her buttocks resting on the back of her feet. She then opened her arms wide and beckoned for Elias, "Come, lie down here." She gestured towards her lap.

Elias seemed reluctant at first but seeing the determined look in Chise's green eyes made him obey her. He maneuvered himself towards where Chise was and lied down on his back with his wolf-skull head cradled on her lap. The added height ensured that his ochre horns would not hit the ground. He was greatly relieved by that. He then looked up at Chise, and saw that she was smiling at him, holding both sides of his skeletal jaws at the same time before looking up back at the meteor shower-filled sky. Elias, too, took the time to do the same.

It was another comfortable five minutes when he remembered something. His crimson eyes turned to Chise. "Did you wish for something?"

"Wish?"

"Yes. In the west, it is a custom to wish for something when you see a shooting star. It stretches back to the Ancient Greek times. The people then believed that whenever a meteor shower happens, the gods are opening a portal from their realm to ours. And since the portal is open and the gods are looking, why not make a wish while you're at it? Who knows, they might be listening."

"Ah, so that's where that came from." Chise remarked, amazed by Elias's story. There was the same custom of wishing on a shooting star in Japan, but she never did so as she never saw a shooting star there.

"So did you wish for something?" Elias asked, tilting his head up to look at Chise's eyes. He knew he asked for the same thing on her birthday, and he could still remember the exact words she had said to him then. Still, he wanted to know if what she would wish this time could be something he could grant.

"I wish... the next time we see this we are both free." Chise said in a heartbeat, her green eyes looking straight to his crimson ones.

"Chise…" Elias could only breathe out her name in response. Like the wish she had on the night of her birthday, he didn't know how to grant it, and it unintentionally pained him.

"Shh. Just indulge me, Elias." Chise requested, her hands brushing against the sides of his skeletal jaws. "What would you do when you are finally free?"

He pondered hard on the question for he never once gave thought about it all throughout his imprisonment in the College. For him, freedom was still a hundred years away. But his Chise asked, and he couldn't deny her no matter how much of a wishful thinking the conversation they were having right now. "Probably travel again. Visit new places and the old ones that I've been to and liked. And you, Chise?"

"Will you let me come with you?" She asked so immediately as soon as he finished answering her question.

"Of course. I—"

"Then that's what I'll do. I'll travel with you." Chise beamed at him, her eyes filling so much with simple joy that he couldn't help but also hope in the wish they were talking about now. "What place would we visit first, Elias?"

"We can go anywhere, Chise. All over Europe. To the Americas across the Atlantic. Or even as far as the countries in the Pacific. I'll take you anywhere you want to go." His eyes sparkled with passion then. There were many places he had already visited that he would like to show her, places that filled him with wonder even when he travelled to them hiding in the shadows. This time, he knew, if she was with him, he would no longer have to do that.

"Thank you, Elias." She said to him with a steady voice, her head tilting down towards him so close that his skeletal snout was almost touching her nose. He had thought all was right with her, but then he felt droplets of tears falling on his wolf-skull.

"Chise…"

"I'm sorry. It's just… I'd like that. I'd like that so much." She wiped the tears in her eyes with her forearm. She didn't mean to cry at all, but the ideal world she wanted so much just clashed with the harsh reality before them. As a Sleigh Beggy, she might not live long enough, and Elias would still have to serve his sentence. Talking further about this wish filled her with so much longing and hurt at the same time.

"Then I'll wish for it too. If both of us are wishing for it, then the gods are bound to take notice, right?" Elias told her, reaching out a glove hand to cup her cheek. Chise held it against her face tenderly.

They both fell silent after that, choosing to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower above them for quite some time once again. Chise took the time to look at each of them carefully this time, entrusting the wish they both have to the shooting stars. When she looked down though, she found that Elias's eyes were closed. She brushed a hand on his forehead and realized that he had fallen asleep. She smiled at that, becoming aware that this was the first time she saw him actually sleeping ordinarily and not because of injuries he had to recover from.

"One, two, where do you bloom?

Under the window where children sleep

White flowers on the night of a pale moon"

Chise sang a lullaby while lightly caressing the expanse of Elias's forehead. She didn't know why she started singing, but the sight of Elias soundly asleep like a little child oddly made her do so. She made sure that her voice was soft and coming out in dulcet tones, mindful of unintentionally waking him.

"Three, four, where do you bloom?

On the frame of Mommy's mirror

A little blue flower blooms"

She continued to sing, and the Magus never did once stir. In fact, it felt like he was being drawn to a heavier sleep. Chise beamed, feeling happy knowing that perhaps her lullaby was reaching Elias in his dreams. She then wondered what dream he was having and hoped that it was a good one. Without stopping her singing, she closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them, she found herself in a completely different place.

xxxx

Chise looked around her with surprise. She was no longer in the hill in the gardens. Instead, she was in a vast, surreal place filled with mist and paths made from trunks of trees that crisscrossed each other. In front of her was someone dressed in an elegant, white cloak, covered from head to toe. That someone was holding a golden staff, the head shaped like a talon of a fire-breathing dragon.

"Finally, Hatori Chise…" The voice whispered, so soft and endearing. It was female, though it sounded muffled by the hooded cloak she was wearing.

"W-Who are you?" Chise asked, deeply uncertain about what was happening.

"I am a part of him that he never wished to be so."

"Him? I don't understand…" Chise answered back, confused. But then she remembered all the dreams she had and knew they were only always pertaining to two persons. Elias and Rahab. "Are you… are you Rahab?"

The spectral figure nodded and lowered her white hood. Chise then saw that it was really Rahab, with her kind, dark eyes, black hair, and olive-skinned face. The Magus Master walked closer to the Sleigh Beggy and addressed her. "Ah, you have so much talent, child. I have never known someone who possesses so much Sight. Forgive me, this is the only way. For I know that you alone can reach him."

"What do you mean?"

Rahab looked at the expanse of empty space before them, her eyes distant and forlorn. "He has suffered so much in his guilt. When I had not meant to. When all I wanted was to give him life."

"Life? Didn't Elias eat you?" Chise asked hesitantly, Elias's recounting of their story coming to her mind.

The Magus Master gave a sigh, and then she turned her gaze to the Sleigh Beggy seriously. "That is where everything went wrong. He never ate me, child. I gave my life force—my mana—to him. I gave my life to him willingly."

"But he said—"

"I forced it upon him." Rahab admitted firmly, fixing her determined stare to Chise's green eyes.

"W-Why?"

"It was in the age of the Second Great War. We were both dying. And I only wanted to save him. For what mother could bear not to save her own child? Perhaps it would be better if I show you." Rahab said, walking closer to Chise and placing a hand on her shoulder. Without delay, the space around the two shifted and warped.

Chise felt like she was floating unintentionally, yet Rahab was with her and so she felt at ease despite it. Once the distortion of space stopped, the Sleigh Beggy found herself in what seemed to be a well-lit conference room. There were various maps on the table, and seated on the chairs were seven Magi, each cloaked gracefully in stylish robes making them look so dignified. In front of them was Rahab of the memory, standing and cloaked in white, very much like the Rahab who was beside her now.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Rahab? It's a suicide mission at best." The man seated at the very middle of the conference table asked. He was wearing a dark blue robe and had spectacles on his eyes. He looked not a day older than thirty, but Chise knew not to trust a Magus's appearance when it came to their age.

"The Court of Magi and Sorcery in Germany already decided to mobilize and join the No-Magic's world war, what else can we do, Augustus?" Rahab of the memory told him, placing both hands on the conference table before her.

Augustus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The others beside him shook their heads in dismay. "I just don't like everything about it. Our kind mixing with the affairs of the No-Magics again."

"I know you don't, and it's what we have always feared happening again after the First Great War. But it is done, and we have an Alliance to uphold. Though Magi, we are citizens of this country nonetheless. If they win, do you expect the Tribunal to bow down to their demands and be overruled?" The Rahab of the memory once again argued, looking sternly at each of the members of the Tribunal.

"Yes, you are right, Rahab. But you are a former holder of a Seat in the Tribunal, I hate that you have to be the one to do this. Perhaps there's someone else we can send, Augustus?" A lady seated beside Augustus reasoned. She was wearing a yellow cloak and had kind eyes so blue that Chise thought she was looking at an ocean.

"I've decided. I won't change my mind, Ophelia. The No-Magics and the Magi and Sorcerers you will send to Operation Overlord would be in far dangerous conditions. But this would help them have an advantage in the war by gaining supply lines. We'll free the South of France, prevent the enemy Magi and Sorcerers from interfering, and push them to the Vosges Mountains." Elias's Master said, tracing her fingers on the map on the conference table with a determined look.

"And that is the beginning." The Rahab beside Chise spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at the Sleigh Beggy with a look of regret. "I eagerly accepted a mission from the Tribunal and never breathed a word about it to Elias. But he found out, that silly child of mine. He followed after me. The next memories are the true events regarding his alleged crime."

Again, the whole scene before Chise twisted and warped. The conference room faded into black, and instantly they were inside a forest on a dark, autumn night. Explosions and gunfire resounded around them, as well as the screams of countless soldiers dying. There were clouds of smoke and heat everywhere that for a while, even in the memory, Chise couldn't see a thing.

"Keep going! Don't fall back!" Rahab of the memory shouted amidst the ensuing chaos. She was in the front line, surrounded by her fellow Magi and Sorcerers. They were dressed in green uniforms identical to the No-Magic soldiers of the Allied forces. They even had firearms strapped on their backs. Yet instead of using them, they had their wands out, each chanting their incantations. The Magi had various faes and familiars around them helping out. The Sorcerers were all casting Elemental Magic at their enemy counterparts, making it a mayhem of fire, water, air, lightning, and earth magic.

Still, Rahab pushed through the enemy lines, advancing even when incendiary-filled projectiles and stray magic were shooting past her. She found a seemingly wide opening, a line with sparse enemy No-Magic soldiers. She wasted no time in summoning great balls of fire and raining them down on them. Some of them burned alive, while the others retreated further beyond. Yet there was one man, donning an all-black garb, standing tall amidst the flames she created.

"So the great Ignis Draconis has come herself." He stated, without even feeling a slight of fear. He had auburn hair and brown eyes that it made him seem innocent, but he wore a smile that was filled with malice.

"I know you. Crepitus. You spied on the Tribunal and defected to the Axis." Rahab of the memory said, eyeing the man with disgust.

"Come now, why the long face? The Court pays more, that's all I can say." Crepitus spat and shrugged, as if there was nothing wrong with his morality and way of thinking. "Anyway, between your fire and my explosions, why don't we see who has more heat? I've always wanted to know, Ignis."

"Then you shall meet your end here." Rahab of the memory declared, and then she stretched out her hand that was holding her wand. "Fire and brimstone from the heavens. Light of the great sun to the Earth. Scorch the ground and rage. Raze, raze, wings of Inferno!"

A great dragon of fire shot out from her and charged fiercely at Crepitus. Crepitus on the other hand chanted his counterattack, "Temper, iron and fire to steel. From the molten core of Terra,

Ignite and erupt, Vulcan's fury!"

Out of nowhere, black, circular orbs surrounded him and flew to each direction towards Rahab. Yet the Magus Master flared her dragon fire, stretching out and sweeping largely all throughout the whole area they were in in one swift motion. Upon contact from her fire, the circular orbs of Crepitus exploded prematurely, lessening their intensity. What Rahab did was a magnificent act of magic, yet it didn't even faze the Explosion Sorcerer one bit.

"I should've known you wouldn't be easy to defeat. I like it though—" Crepitus wasn't even able to finish his sentence when he was shot in his left shoulder by a bullet. Not far off the distance, behind Rahab, a No-Magic Allied soldier was poised to shoot again. Crepitus gritted his teeth and summoned his magical explosives. "You fucking No-Magic!"

"I've come to help, Commander Ainsworth—" The Allied soldier was about to say, but things happened so quickly.

"No, don't come near!—" Rahab warned, but it was already too late. At lightning speed, circular orbs shot through the space before them and headed towards the Allied No-Magic soldier. Rahab had no time to for an incantation or a counter-spell. Instead, her reflexes immediately commanded her to extend her left arm and shield the soldier from Crepitus's magical explosives.

The impact of the explosion instantly threw Rahab and the Allied soldier a few paces away. Crepitus walked closer to them to inspect the damage and laughed at the sight. Rahab's left arm was completely gone, burned off by his explosion up to her shoulder. There were grave wounds on her chest, but she was still breathing and alive.

"Always so compassionate to the No-Magics. I knew that that would be your downfall, Ignis." Crepitus mocked, and he sent one black, circular orb to the Allied No-Magic soldier, exploding him into nothing but pink mist. When Rahab saw what Crepitus did, she eyed the Explosion Sorcerer with a hateful look. Crepitus smirked and decided to play with her a little longer. "Still so high and mighty in your judgement of right and wrong. Nah, Ignis!?" Crepitus shouted at her and then a small circular orb attached to Rahab's right leg and exploded.

Rahab screamed loudly in the night at the overwhelming pain she felt. Yet Crepitus only laughed harder and harder at her. She knew she would pass out from the pain soon enough, and her vision was getting more and more blurry, but she saw that two other Sorcerers appeared next to Crepitus.

"Don't toy with your enemy, Crepitus. It's better to finish her off quickly." A male one said.

"I'm just having fun, but I guess you're right." Crepitus answered back. He turned to Rahab with a wicked smile, black, circular orbs floating around him. "I'm not sorry it ends like this, Ign—"

Suddenly a barricade of black vines with sharp thorns materialized around Rahab's body. It grew and grew, stretching towards the enemy Sorcerers and attacking them, catching them in a surprise and making them back off from Rahab. Then they heard large footfalls and a loud roar. Crepitus didn't have the chance to react when Elias's beast-like Chimera form showed up in a flash and bit one of the Sorcerers beside him, crushing the spine and throwing the body at a far-off distance as if it was just a scrap of paper.

"What the—" Crepitus exclaimed in shock, but Elias wasn't even done. He charged at the other Sorcerer beside Crepitus. The poor guy tried to hurl ice magic at the beast-like Chimera, but Elias only blocked it with his incredibly sharp and thick, thorny vines. And then they hardened, extended, and stabbed the other Sorcerer many times straight through his chest, killing him swiftly.

"What the fuck are you!?" Crepitus screamed in a panic, launching his black, circular orbs of magical explosives at Elias. Elias quickly blocked them with a wall of his thorny vines, and then he hastily wrapped them around Crepitus, immobilizing the Explosion Sorcerer in a grip so crushing that the sound of piercing flesh and bones breaking can be heard all throughout the area they were in.

"Think I'd let you kill me… without bringing you with me…?" Crepitus managed to mutter despite his pain, but Elias only gripped him harder with his hardened vines that the Explosion Sorcerer let out a scream. Nonetheless, as a last resort, his whole body lit up and exploded, the blast so strong that it created a mushroom cloud in the whole forest they were in.

"Elias, NO!—" Rahab shouted amidst the final explosion Crepitus did. Though crippled and unable to move, she had watched how Elias fought the three Sorcerers with unbelief that it was actually happening. How did Elias find her when she told him nothing about her mission? She guessed that it didn't matter anymore, for she saw Elias's great beast-like Chimera form still standing tall when the smoke had cleared.

Yet something was amiss when he walked towards her. Something that she couldn't make out what, with the extent of her own injuries and how it affected her. Still, Elias went to her and lifted her by putting her gently in between his skeletal jaws. Soon, they were both gliding through the forest at top speed, retreating from the battle that was happening all around them. It might have been hours for Rahab, but in a few minutes, Elias found an empty cave that was large enough for both of them and settled them both there. He placed Rahab back to the ground, but as soon as he did, he unceremoniously collapsed before her.

"Elias! Elias!" Rahab called out frantically, finally seeing the whole extent of her apprentice's injuries. There was enough moonlight shining upon the mouth of the cave for her to do so. He lost both his arms from the final blast made by Crepitus, and his chest, torso, and legs were burned to the highest degree. Rahab felt tears flowing from her eyes from the sight. "You damn, damn fool!"

"Rahab… alright?" Elias managed to ask in a deep whisper nonetheless.

"Why!? Why did you come after me?" The Magus Master asked desperately, the frustration of what happened to both of them building up inside her.

"For mother… safe…"

"You weren't supposed to be here! You weren't supposed to know anything…" Rahab cried out in anguish. He was supposed to be kept safe, away from the whole war. That was the whole point she kept silent to him about her activities. And yet here he was, injured and dying in front of her.

"Fa…mily." He answered back with what little strength he could muster, and Rahab noticed the light in his crimson eyes slowly fading little by little.

"Oh, Elias! My dear, silly son…" She placed her right hand over his black, burned body. She thought of something, anything that could help save him, but nothing logical came to mind. If only she could heal him, but the nature of her magic was fire and not the healing hands Lindel could provide. She took stock of the situation. They were in enemy lines, and it would only be a matter of time before they were found. She lost her left arm and right leg and will not be able to defend both of them long enough for help to come. There was only one thing left to do. She wiped the tears from her eyes, determined to see it through.

"Elias… I haven't been truthful to you." She started, tracing her finger on his body as she did so. Two crimson eyes came back again, however faint they may be. Even in the midst of pain and impending death, he still gave her his full attention. "The reason I accepted this mission from the Tribunal is because… I'm dying, Elias. I have been for quite some time now. A rare and fatal disease of auto-immunity, my own body is killing me…"

"Lindel…" Elias breathed out, still trying to understand what his mother was saying.

"It's not something Lindel or a hospital could fix. I accepted this mission knowing I would die here. But you… you have your whole life ahead of you. You have so much to see… to know… about the world…" The fusion circle she drew on his body with her blood was finally complete. She took a steady, deep breath and began an incantation.

"Fire and brimstone from the heavens,

Light of the great Sun to the Earth,

A life for a life to tie frayed en—"

Upon hearing his master's words, Elias's eyes became panic-stricken. He tried to move his body, but he struggled to do so. He knew what the last line of her incantation meant. "N-No…! S-Stop!" He moaned instead, a wail so deep and filled with agony.

Rahab only cradled his head with her remaining hand, pressing close her forehead to his skeletal one. "No, you listen to me! You are my child! You have to live! I'm not letting you die here when I know I can still save you!" She reasoned adamantly, her tears spilling towards Elias's wolf-skull. And then with a deeper yet shakier breath, she said her incantation with more determination once again.

"A LIFE FOR A LIFE TO TIE FRAYED ENDS,

TIP THE SCALE AND TURN THE CLOCK,

SEALED BY BREATH AND BLOOD OF MINE,

LIFT THE HAND OF DEATH UPON THIS ONE!"

Blinding lights of yellow and white enveloped both of them. Rahab felt heat surround her and exit her body through the hand that was connected to Elias's chest. She deemed that it was her very life force—her mana—transferring to him to heal him and revive him from the brink of death completely. Yet she never withdrew her hand and even pressed it further to him. Amidst it all, only one thought remained in Rahab's mind, resounding clear as day to Chise's ears as the Sleigh Beggy watched all that had happened.

I love you, Elias.

xxxx

Chise never noticed the tears that were flowing unstoppably from her eyes until the Rahab beside her reached out both her hands to cup her cheeks and brushed them with her thumbs.

"I've made you see something sad, didn't I? I'm sorry, Hatori Chise." The Magus Master said to the Sleigh Beggy apologetically. Chise could only shake her head softly and dried her eyes with her forearm, after Rahab withdrew hers.

"I don't understand. Why does he believe he ate you? You said you became a part of him. Couldn't you just show him?"

"He never wanted it to happen and buried the true events deep in the dark recesses of his mind. Then when he came to, he believed the only logical reason he could find. He believed he ate me in his Chimera form—absorbed me and my life force in a desperate attempt for survival. Yes, both our manas are tied together because of what I did, but I cannot reach him no matter how I try."

"But why do I see you instead? I've been seeing fragments of both your memories for a long time now…" Chise wondered out loud. She knew that there had to be a reason somehow that she could see Elias's and Rahab's past. She understood it all now. But why it happened to her, of all the people, she didn't know.

Rahab tilted her head upwards, and then her gaze turned to their surroundings, her eyes scanning the different crisscrossing paths that were made from wide trunks of trees. "Why, indeed, I do not know. Perhaps it is because of your magic that calls me from deep within him. Or perhaps because we are standing in the stream of life, where Elias's, mine, and yours flow and intertwine, even though away from space and time." The Magus Master then looked at her with pleading onyx eyes. "Whatever the reason may be, now that you know the truth, only one thing I ask of you, Hatori Chise: save him. He has suffered far too long. Please save… him…"

"Rahab, wait!" Chise shouted after her, for the Magus Master's body was fading and disappearing away. She reached out her hand just as Rahab's reached for her, but she only grasped air. There were still many things that the Sleigh Beggy wanted to ask. What should she do with the knowledge that Elias was innocent of his crime? How would she go about saving him?

Still, even the surreal place where they were in dissolved and melted into nothingness. Soon after, Chise opened her eyes and found herself back in the hill in the gardens, just as she was when she was singing a lullaby, Elias's wolf-skull head cradled gently on her lap. Yet she felt something different. Not with her surroundings but within her. She looked at Elias calmly sleeping and brushed a hand along his skeletal face, her new resolve burning very much like the dragon of fire of Rahab's.

"You never ate her, Elias. Rahab just wanted to save you. And I want to save you too."

xxxx

Additional Notes: So how was it? I hope you had fun reading this chapter. Do share your thoughts by dropping a review. It is so satisfying to be able to post this chapter as some scenes here were already written even before I started posting this fanfiction in this site. :)

As always, this chapter has lots of notes for little things here and there:

The Quadrantid is a meteor shower that shows up in the UK around the first to second week of January. But by the power of the mighty pen I wield (or should I say my word processor), I made it happen here at around February, though I never once specified the time this chapter is taking place. The timeline is just on my mind.

The story of how wishing on a shooting star came to be just came from a quick search on the Internet. Whether it's a fact or not, I do not know. But it is a nice explanation nonetheless.

The First Great War and the Second Great War are actual references to the two World Wars in the context and perspective of Magi and Sorcerers.

'Operation Overlord' is the codename for the Battle of Normandy. I once watched a documentary of the Second World War on Netflix, and I was filled with awe and heartbreak. Freeing the South of France is an allusion to 'Operation Dragoon'.

'Ignis Draconis' is the alias I just made for Rahab. It means 'Fire Dragon' in Latin. I just think it fits her so much because she is such a badass Magus Master.

Likewise, 'Crepitus' is Latin for 'Explosion'. Enough said. I just couldn't think of any other name.

Once again, thank you for reading! :)

BlueNachturne: Thank you for always reviewing after reading the chapters I put out. It is so nice to hear feedback, and I really appreciate it! :)