Chapter 10 * Akane – Brilliant Red

*Ding dong* Akane jerked, almost cutting herself with the knife. Opening the door, she found Koyuki on the other side. "Hello, Koyuki."

"Hi, Auntie Akane!" Koyuki smiled as she came in. She followed Sol's mother into the kitchen.

"So, what do you have to tell me today."

Koyuki chattered about school while they cooked and ate dinner. When they were done eating, they moved to the living room.

"Sol's getting really good at using Babbo. She's also been teaching Snow how to fight." Koyuki informed her "auntie."

Akane smiled sadly. Koyuki had been coming by every day since Sol had left. Initially, Akane had been distraught. First, her husband, now her daughter, both gone. Koyuki, however, had reassured her that Sol was working hard.

"I see Sol every day. It's only in my dreams… but every morning I remember them perfectly. In that world, I'm the princess of a great kingdom. I imprisoned myself in ice to escape evil pursuers. I waited for someone to save me… so cold… so lonely, uncertain and scared. But… Sol came for me. Just like she always has. My dreams flow endlessly, like a single story. Right now, we're training together… to defeat our enemies. It's as if when I'm sleeping I become a different girl… and I stay in touch with her through my dreams. I know I'll see Sol again tonight." She had been so calm and confident in what she was saying, that Akane couldn't possibly doubt her.

As Koyuki described an argument between Sol and Babbo, Akane's smile turned genuine.


"Hey, Sol, what's that?" Jack pointed at the necklace that was now around Sol's neck. "A new ÄRM?"

"Hm? Oh. No, just a dog tag. Snow carved it for me."

Babbo started laughing. "And who does that dog tag represent?! I'll give you just one guess! The perfect spherical body! The proud nose! The dashing moustache! Who else?!"

"Is this… supposed to be our emblem, princess?" Ed asked, dejectedly.

"Yup." Snow responded.

"Um… I wonder if you might consider…"

"Shut up, mutt!" Babbo cut the poor dog off.

"Hey! How dare you call me a mutt!" Ed yelled, incensed.

"Emblem?" Jack asked, ignoring the two arguing.

"That's right! It's the symbol for our army! This world is dominated mainly by three forces. The Chess Pieces who are trying to conquer MÄR Heaven, the Cross Guard that was formed to defeat them, and the other group… is the Thieves Guild of Luberia." Snow explained.

"Aren't you guys trying to defeat the Chess Pieces? Why not just join the Cross Guard instead of making a new army?" Dorothy asked.

"In the days before I fled Lestava… the castle oracle made a prophecy… Flee the castle princess. Then… create a new army. Go in search of the seven dwarves. Those seven… will prove to be the ones who will save you… and MÄR Heaven.

"Sol, Ed, Jack, Dorothy, and Babbo gives us five so far. The Cross Guard is being decimated. Their effectiveness in battle is plummeting. Too many among them have fear in their hearts… now that Danna is gone. That's why we must create a new force to battle the Chess Pieces!"

"An army of eight, huh? *HMPH* …for the eight saviors of MÄR Heaven… how about 'MÄR'?" Sol said.

The others looked at each other. They each voiced their agreement. "Then 'MÄR' it is! Now for our first sortie -" Ed threw out a small ÄRM, which transformed into a magic carpet. "we'll take this! We don't have long-distance transport ÄRM s like the Chess Pieces do… but this should be enough to cross the sea between Pazurika Island and the main land!"

"Then let's go to the Hild Continent." Sol said.

Sometime later, Sol, Jack, Snow, Ed, and Babbo were on the rug over the ocean. Dorothy was some distance to their right on her broom. Jack was nervous but had stopped complaining after Sol casually offered to knock him out.

"Ms. Sol," Sol looked at Ed. "I've been meaning to ask you…" he looked over at Dorothy. "She is a witch, correct? And moreover, her name is Dorothy?" Sol nodded. "The witches of the island of Caldia, northeast of Lestava, are among the sneakiest and shadiest characters known. They mingle with no other country and are unforgiving of intruders. Yet even among witches, the one named Dorothy has a uniquely bad reputation!" Sol cocked an eyebrow. "They say she's pilfered or taken by force many ÄRM s, from various lands. In short, she's a thief."

Dorothy looked over then, "Did you say something, dog?" she asked with a sickly sweet smile.

"N-no! I was merely commenting upon your beauty!" Ed tripped over his tongue. Sol rolled her eyes as Dorothy laughed, allowing Ed's obvious lie to slide.

Sol dismissed Ed's gossip. Dorothy my well be an ÄRM thief, but clearly, Ed had never had any prior interactions with her or anyone from Caldia. Sol judged people after interacting with them. Dorothy was odd, but Sol liked her.

"Sol, look!" Snow exclaimed. "It's the Hild Continent!"

As they arrived over the land, Sol heard an odd sound. She looked down. "Watch out!" She jerked back as a spear punched through the rug in front of her face. Several more pierced it as well. The rug dropped, Jack and Ed screaming like children. Babbo was trying to maintain his composure. Snow found she felt fine, because Sol had picked her up.

When they hit the ground, Jack and Ed groaned in pain. Babbo was fine, as was Snow, who was in Sol's arms. Sol had landed on her feet. She now put Snow down.

A man with waist-length blonde hair stood on a rock nearby. A group of men was arrayed behind him. "Revenge. It's time at last."

"Solara… are they…?" Babbo asked.

"Thieves. You'd think after the last time, they'd have learned better." She kicked Babbo's hammer up into her hand.

The man walked forward. "Today, five of the Chess Pieces will finally… Die." He sneered.

The group stared. "Are you stupid?" Sol asked bluntly. The guy blinked. "We're MÄR, not Chess. Given that I recognize that shit behind you as the leader of the idiots that kidnapped Jack, trying to steal Babbo, I would think you should have known that." Sol pointed at the man whose men had attacked them in Pazu Town, who flinched.

The guy looked at Babbo for a moment, then looked at the other members of the group. Finally, he said, "Did I mess up?" He had a goofy expression on his face. Sol was seriously considering punching him. Snow touched her wrist. Sol glanced at her, then unclenched her fist.

"I apologize for my stupidity. My name is Nanashi. I lead the Thieves Guild of Luberia."

"If you are Luberians… do you intend to steal our ÄRM s?" Snow asked as Dorothy landed beside her.

Nanashi's face went slack and he drooled as he looked at the two girls. A doofy looking grin took his face. "I didn't notice the two hotties! Stealing from girls is against my code! Umm…" he started bouncing around. "Do you want to go out?!" His men pounced on him, while Dorothy simpered, and Snow looked confused.

Looking at Sol, Snow said, "But… there's three of us…?"

Sol looked at her. "I'm fairly aggressive, Snow. Something of a turn off for most guys." Snow frowned, but Sol just shrugged, not caring.

After a few minutes, Nanashi calmed down. "So the Chess Pieces are your foes as well? Want to join me?"

Sol looked at Snow. "Luberia is a pack of thieves, but their communication system is second to none. This might be a good opportunity to learn about the state of the world and the Chess' movements. Besides, he doesn't seem like a bad person." Sol nodded to Nanashi.

"Fine. Let's take our guests back. Dimension ÄRM, Andata! Bring all those here to the Luberia Fortress."

Sometime later, the group were sitting with Nanashi, explaining why they were up against the Chess. "The princess of Lestava, a resident of the other world, and a strange ÄRM once possessed by the leader of the Chess… no wonder you've been marked. Instead of running away, you've joined the fight… as MÄR?"

"That's the idea." Sol stated.

"Yeah, we'll save MÄR Heaven!" Jack added.

"Heaven…? You might be a little late for that…" Nanashi tossed three magic stones, which then displayed images from some of the now destroyed towns and cities. "This… is the MÄR Heaven of today." There were various measures of horror on the faces of the group. "Elto Town, Gheirerul, Acalpa Port, Yudaril… Half of all the kingdoms and cities have been destroyed." Nanashi turned away. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Outside the fortress, there was a large graveyard with makeshift wooden crosses. "I'd like you to meet my comrades. For this… they will pay. Even as we speak, this entire land is becoming a graveyard. So the Chess Pieces declare war!"

"Indeed! And if they use the same methods as before… they'll follow this initial terrorism with a second stage attack!" Ed stated.

"Second stage?!" Jack yelped.

"The 'War Games'!" Ed explained. "First they inspire fear through their murderous rampage, and they to the survivors, they propose a game they call 'war'! It's their way of killing off those who rebel… of getting their hands on more ÄRM s… and of proving that they are the only true masters of the world! In the war games six years ago… Danna, Alan, and the Cross Guard joined the battle and guided us to victory! Now the Chess Pieces, having already lost once in this game… will surely challenge the world to a similar game – this time intent on revenge! And I'm guessing that time will be soon."

"A game, huh?" Sol commented. The other looked at her. Her expression was calm, her tone almost bored. "Can't say that's surprising. Chess is a game about war. Designed to display strategies and tactics. The point is to defeat, or rather kill, your opponent's King. To do that you must remove or kill their other pieces. Their very name dictates that they think of all of this as a game." Her eyes made Jack and Dorothy, who were closest to her, step back. Sol's left hand started bleeding, having punctured her palm with her nails.

"Nanashi!" One of the thieves ran up. "We've spotted Chess Pieces on the move! In the north-west of the Hild Continent! In Vestry! Apparently they're still on the rampage!"

"So. Vestry of the Underground Lake! I've been there before… it's within Andata's range. How about it… MÄR? Will you take me along? We can be there in seconds!" Nanashi asked.

Jack, Babbo, and Ed seemed put off by his occupation. Dorothy wanted to take him because he was cute. Snow looked at Sol.

Sol looked at Nanashi for several long moments. He resisted the urge to squirm under that penetrating gaze. Finally, Sol extended her right hand. Nanashi looked at it blankly for a second before hesitantly grasping it. Sol's expression softened somewhat, allowing Nanashi to relax. "Welcome to MÄR, Nanashi."

Nanashi grinned. "Then it's decided! I invoke the Dimension ÄRM Andata! Take us to Vestry!"

The group appeared in what had once been a town. Most of the buildings were crushed and smoldering. The group surveyed the destruction with horror. "Vestry… the town of water and forest… a beautiful place when I last saw it. Now…" Nanashi fell silent.

Several people wandered over to the group. "Who are you?" One asked listlessly. "Chess? Cross Guard? Not that it matters. Vestry is finished. Our homes… our fields… nothing is left. Not even our will to live." The man moaned glumly. He might have continued, but Sol grabbed him by the throat.

His eyes bugged in surprise as she lifted him off the ground. He clawed at her wrist, trying to get her to let go. She did, dropping him to ground. She had him for maybe 30 seconds.

The man coughed. "So much for not wanting to live." Sol commented. The other villagers had shied away. Her own companions seemed shocked and confused, but Snow smiled at her comment. Sol pointed at one of the villagers. "You. Gather up the wounded. Snow?"

"I'm on it." Snow pulled out the Healing Angel ÄRM.

"Ed," the dog looked up at her. "Gather some people and start going through the debris. See what can be salvaged." Ed nodded. "Jack, get a space cleared and set it up for growing. These people will need food."

"Yes ma'am."

Sol looked towards a cave on the far side of the village. She could see the remains of shattered boards that had once covered the opening. "They're still here. Coming Nanashi?"

"Of course."

"I'll come too!" Dorothy chirped.

The first villager had recovered from his shock. "W-why are you doing this?"

Sol looked at him. "You can either rebuild, telling them you think that they are nothing more than an annoyance, or you can lay down and die, letting them win. We've made our choice. What choice will you make?" Sol turned away from the surprised faces of the villagers and headed to the cave, Babbo hopping beside her, Nanashi and Dorothy following.