Authors' notes: This will probably contain spoilers for Suikoden 1, 2 and 3. So please play the games first if you don't want spoilers. And the flame champion's name will be Hikaru.

Request: Beta reader please…If anyone is interested please e-mail me. I know this is a bit selfish, but I don't want to do this alone. As some of you can tell my grammar isn't good and neither is my story structure, despite I'm a native English speaker. I'm more of a script writer, and I wish this story to look like a novel style. Thank-you.

A leaders burden

Tir was brought to the Zexen council for a trial hearing. His hands were tied behind his back, the ropes were securely tightened. The knights took him to the center of the council room, and there Tir awaited his judgment. The council members frowned at the sight of the boy. Sasarai, who was also there, was sitting in one of the chairs smiling slightly at him.

"Lord Mcdohl of the Liberation army." One of the men smirked.

Tir didn't say anything.

"Why on earth did you steal the True Wind Rune. Don't you know stealing other people's property is wrong."

Tir continued remained silent.

Sasarai frowned and went up to Tir. "Hikusaak was recently attack by two men and a woman. Do you know anything about this."

A small smile suddenly formed across Tir's face.

"So you do know something about it." Sasarai's eyes narrowed at Tir's face. "Could you tell me who they are."

Tir went back to giving them the silent treatment.

One of the council members pounded the table. "Say something damn it."

Tir didn't even look up, it was as if he was completely mute.

"Damn, you punk. Guards take him away."

"Wait." Sasarai interrupted. "Does this have anything to do with that Witch you call Leknaat?"

Tir was still silent.

"I see. Alright you can take him away." Sasarai said waving his hand at them.

"You know something Lord Sasarai?"

"Judging from his expression, its possible that he's working with those who attacked Hikusaak."

"So what does that this mean?"

"I don't know yet. Only he can tell us."

Tir was taken to the court yard behind the parliament building. The knights tied his wrists together and hung him in the center of the court. Tir's face didn't even wench when they took out the weapons that they were going to beat him with. They had gotten some clubs and began smack them against Tir. Tir grunted, but didn't scream. The guards looked at Tir, and no matter how many times they hit him, his face never changed. They hated his eyes. When ever they looked into his eyes, they wanted to stop. There was something about him that gave them hope of the binds of destiny. That they no longer have to take the crap the Zexen council always gives. Just by looking into his eyes, they wanted to join him and see his world. Tir's eyes were very kind to them despite what they were doing to him. Eventually, they stopped beating him to take a breather and looked at him.

"He hasn't even screamed yet."

"Well he was the leader of the Liberation army and he did participate in the Dunan wars. So its possible that he can within stand a great amount of pain."

"Maybe. Hey kid why did you steal the rune."

Tir remained silent, hanging there like a dummy.

"Damn. We need to make him talk." The man grabbed Tir's head and made him look at him face to face. "Tell us! Where is the rune!"

Tir still remained silent. His eyes were starting to get to the man. The guard hated it. Tir's eyes had the look of determination, as if nothing could break him. The guard was starting to get impatient.

"Stop looking at me like that." He shouted and punched Tir in the face. The guard wiped his mouth and growled. "Our shift is over." He called to the others. "Lets go."

Tir continued to remain still. Chris quietly snuck a peek from one of the doors to look at Tir. She didn't understand why she wanted to see him again. There was something about him that she wanted to get know more.

"Lady Chris, is something wrong?"

Chris turned around and saw Borus looking at her curiously. "Borus?"

"Sorry for startling you Milady. What are you looking at?"

"That man, there is something about him."

"Lord Mcdohl? What do you mean?" Borus stood next to Chris to glance at Tir who was still hanging still. "He certainly was a powerful thief."

"Its not that." Chris shook her head. "Have you seen his eyes?"

"No. Why? Is something wrong with them?"

"No. Its not that. When you look in his eyes, you just can't help but feel hope."

"Hope?"

"Yes, strange isn't it?"

"A bit I guess. Do you feel pity towards him?"

"You could say that."

"Chris…"

"I know. I shouldn't. He's the enemy." Chris sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just not myself today. I think I should go home." Chris began to walk away and stopped herself midway. "Maybe you should talk to him too. Then you might understand what I'm feeling." Chris said leaving the parliament building and went straight home.

Borus went up to Tir, who was still hanging still by the rope, it was almost as if he was asleep. Borus examined Tir's face closely. He lifted Tir's chin gently and continued to studied his face. Tir's eyes were half open, Borus shook his head and backed away a bit from Tir.

"Who are you?" Tir asked.

Borus was a bit shocked that Tir suddenly talked after remaining silent for such a long period of time. He shook his head and place a hand on his heart. "I'm Borus. One of the 6 mighty knights of Zexen."

"Is that so. What is it you want."

"Chris told me that you have interesting eyes."

"And? What do you think?"

Borus looked closely into Tir's eyes. Like everyone else, he saw a determination and softness in Tir's eyes. As if Tir knew the answers to any problem Borus could ask. Borus blinked when he let himself go into Tir's eyes. He shook his head and turned away from Tir. What kind of power did this boy have. "What? Your eyes…"

Tir merely smiled kindly at Borus. "A lot of people say that."

Was this the feeling that Chris was talking about? Borus shook the feeling off. "You're still a criminal. You stole the wind rune from Zexen, so you're getting what you deserve."

"I suppose so."

"Well then, if you would excuse me." Borus began to walk away, but stopped in the middle of his tracks. "For a criminal you seem like a nice guy though." Borus left the court yard, and leaving Tir to hang in the hot sun with his blood drenched body.

Meanwhile, back at Budehuc castle, Hugo was pacing around in the hotel room. He couldn't stand the wait of giving Thomas the wind rune. He knew that Tir was probably with those ironheads. He didn't want to think what they would do him. Especially since he stole something so valuable.

"Sit down." Geddoe frowned. "Walking around won't help."

"Sitting won't help either." Hugo growled.

"We just have to be patient Kid." Ace said relaxing on the bed. "If we went outside, those Zexen knights would come and get us."

"I know." Hugo sighed. "I just feel so helpless like this."

"Don't worry Hugo." Aila smiled. "I think he'll be fine."

"By the way Boss. Why are we helping him now?" Ace asked as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Geddoe looked at everyone and closed his eye as usual. "All I can say is that I have a good instinct about him that's all."

"That's it?" Ace gasped. He then cringed and started to rub his head. "Jeez, I thought you'd come up with a better reason."

"What was that?" Queen frowned.

"Uh its nothing." Ace said trying to shield himself from Queen.

Hugo shook his head. "Can't we sneak past them?"

"Its probably best if we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"Unless…" Aila began to think. "We can disguise you."

"Huh?" Hugo didn't like the look in Aila's eyes.

"Hey that's not a bad idea." Queen smirked and place a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't mind giving Hugo a make over."

"M-Make over." Hugo stuttered. "You can't be serious."

Aila and Queen both grinned at him. "Don't worry. We'll make you look pretty."

"What? What makes you think I'll allow you." Both Aila and Queen gave him an evil look. Hugo quickly hid behind Geddoe. "Make them stop."

Geddoe looked back at them and shrugged. "Do what you want."

"What? No way am I letting them give me a make-over."

Aila frowned. "Don't you want to see Lord Thomas?"

"Um, yeah…"

"Then let us disguise you so you can go out."

Hugo eventually gave up a surrendering sigh. "Alright."

"Hey girls." Ace frowned. "Don't make Hugo look like a girl, he might attract some of the guards." Ace teased

"Hey!" Hugo yelled.

"He has a point." Joker shrugged. "You have a young face, so you can easily pass as a girl."

Hugo hissed at Joker like the cat he is.

"Too bad. He would of made a cute girl." Queen joked.

"What did I agree to?" Hugo asked himself.

"Come on Hugo. If we disguise you well enough then the Zexen soldiers won't recognize you." Queen said as she patted Hugo's shoulder.

Queen and Aila took Hugo by the hand and dragged him downstairs. Queen looked outside to make sure there were no Zexen soldiers passing by. When the coast was clear Queen waved at Aila and Hugo to go. They ran to the item shop across from the hotel looking around, just incase someone was looking. Hugo sighed, he couldn't believe he was actually going through with this stupid plan. He wish he could think of a better plan so he wouldn't have to go with this one. When they arrived at the item shop, Queen swung the door open.

"Ah! Welcome to my item shop. Oh its you." Gordon smiled. "What brings you here?"

"We need your help." Queen said as she held the door open to let the others in.

"Ah Lord Hugo. I heard you had a run in with the law. You certainly have a habit of getting yourself into trouble."

Hugo rubbing his head shyly. "I didn't mean for it to get this far."

"No need to worry. You are a friend of Gordon." Gordon smiled and placed an assuring hand in front of him. "So how can I help you ladies today."

"We need you to help us disguise him." Queen said giving Hugo a light push towards Gordon.

Gordon raised his eye brow and placed a thoughtful finger on his brow. He slowly walked around Hugo and then placed his hands onto Hugo's shoulders. "Ah yes. I'll make you look like a fine gentleman so that everyone would be envious of you."

Queen shook her head. "No no, we need him to look more casual. He needs to blend in with everyone. If you make him stand out, he'll probably attract unwanted attention."

"Ah I see. Well then, lets see what I have." Gordon smiled as he went to the back of his counter to get to his trunk. He burrowed through his things, looking for the perfect outfit for Hugo. "Ah, here is something." Gordon pulled out a black suit. It had a white shirt underneath, black pants, with a black jacket as a cover and a black top hat.

Aila squinted at suit. "That suit looks familiar."

Queen frowned and shook her head. "If we gave him that, he would definitely stand out. Do you have anything else."

"But of course." Gordon placed the suit back in a neat fashion. Then he burrowed in the trunk again and took out a brownish outfit and gave it to Hugo. "Ah, yes. This will do nicely. There is a change room in the back. Why don't you put it on."

"Uh, alright." Hugo looked at the clothing as if they were rags. He took a long sigh and went to the back room.

"What did you give him?" Aila asked titling her head.

"Some Zexen clothing. He'll be a very handsome looking boy." Gordon smiled proudly.

The three wait and waited. Hugo was taking some time to change into the clothing. Alia was beginning to grow impatient.

"Hugo. Do you need help? We can send Gordon to help you."

"No!" Hugo yelled. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Gordon asked in a worried tone. "I can help you if you don't know how to put on the clothing."

"NO! I'm fine. Just give me another minute."

"Well hurry up." Queen said with an impatient tone. "We don't have all day."

"Alright, I'm coming."

When Hugo opened the door. Everyone's mouth dropped open. Hugo was brown wearing overall shorts with a white shirt underneath, the shorts were cut off around his knees. Hugo was also wearing brown gloves with brown shoes to match.

Aila grinned. "Hey, I never knew you had such nice legs. It must be from all the running you've been doing." Aila teased.

"Shut up!" Hugo snarled.

Aila then frowned at him. "What took you so long anyway? That outfit doesn't look difficult to put on."

"I couldn't hide my weapons well with this outfit. Why do these shorts have to be so high."

"Sorry Lord Hugo. It was the only one I could find at the time, but you do look marvelous."

Queen walked around Hugo and shook her head. "This is good and all, but we still need to hide his face."

"Ah, I got just the thing." Gordon went to his shelf where he had many objects. He stopped in front of it and trailed through the row of hats on the shelf. He took out a brownish-gray beret and placed it on to Hugo's head. It fitted nicely over Hugo's head and the shadow covered his eyes a bit so you couldn't get a good look at him.

Queen titled her head and looked at Hugo. "Okay this will do." Queen smiled. "Well you better get going."

"Uh yeah. What about you two?"

"We'll go back to the hotel when the coast is clear." Queen nodded.

"Alright. I guess I'll try this out." Hugo took a huge gulp and then started to walk outside. The Zexen soldiers were walking around the area. Some of the men were victims of Tir's Soul eater rune and was taken to Budhuc castle to be recovered. Hugo walked out of the item shop and started to make his way to the mansion of the castle. The soldiers glanced at Hugo, but nothing more. Most of their attention were on his legs anyway. Hugo wanted to slash them with his knife when they looked at him, but he had better things to do. His main objective was to find Thomas so they could rescue Tir. Hugo went up the stairs and was about to open the door when the door burst opened.

"Oh no. Are you okay?"

Hugo groaned and then shook his head. He looked up and saw Cecil and Thomas looking down on him. Thomas was taller now, but still looked a bit skinny. His hair was also cut as well, and his voice changed a bit. Cecil was slightly taller too. Her hair was longer, but she still wore the same clothing. Hugo jumped on to his feet when he recognized Thomas. "Lord Thomas!"

Thomas blinked. "Yes? You're not hurt are you?"

Hugo shook his head. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Not here." Hugo looked around and made sure there were no Zexen soldiers looking at them. "Can I talk to you in the Library."

Thomas looked at Cecil and nodded. "Alright, lets go."

They entered the mansion and began to walk up the stairs. Hugo looked around, and saw all the paintings and vases he found during his trips were still there. There were also the mini statues and the suggestion box at the top of the stairs. Hugo remembered getting many letters from everyone. They would tell him how they felt that day, what their opinion on the war was or just plain suggestions on how to make the castle better. A smile crossed Hugo's face. He couldn't believe that so much time has passed since that time. When everyone was working together and living happily. Finally they made their way to the Library. When they opened the door, the saw Eike organizing some books. He stopped what he was doing and turned to Thomas.

"Lord Thomas. What a pleasant surprised. Did you want to red something?"

"No. This boy wanted to talk to us about something." Thomas said pointing to Hugo. "So what is you want to talk about?"

"Uh hold on a minute." Hugo went around the library to make sure there was no one else. When he made sure there was no one else, he took off his hat.

"Hugo!" Thomas and Cecil said at once.

"Its been a long time." Hugo smiled shyly at them.

Cecil thumped her spear on the floor and frowned. "What are you doing here? If you stay, the Zexen soldiers will catch you."

"I know." Hugo said lowering his head. Then he looked at Thomas with a determined look. "But I needed to give something to Lord Thomas first."

"Me? What is it?"

Hugo took the wind rune out of his pocket and showed it to the shocked couple.

"That's, the true wind rune." Thomas gasped.

"Yes, Tir Mcdohl wanted me to give this to you."

Thomas nearly jumped back when Hugo held it closer to him. "But why?"

"Perhaps this will help." Eike held out an envelope addressed to Thomas.

"Its from Lord Mcdohl." Thomas said as he opened the letter. He read the letter out loud. "Lord Thomas, forgive me for giving you such a heavy burden. This was the request from the former rune bearer Luc as well as the True Wind Rune. Over time, Luc felt he was no longer human, but a host for the rune. He wanted to be free from his destiny. Like me, he wanted to free everyone from the bonds of destiny. No one should be destined to wear a rune forever. Please do not hate him for it. Like every leader, he did what he thought was right. Luc admired you all in reality. When you and Cecil tried to protect Sasarai, he saw what a strong heart you had. This will sound selfish, but I want you to take the rune for the time being. I wish to free Messiah. If Eike is with you, please ask him about the legend of Messiah. I have already talked to many true rune holders and they are currently collecting true runes from around the world. I have arranged that we met at the top of the world. If this plan is successful, we will no longer be bond to the fate of the true runes. If you decide to join us, A sailor named Tai Ho and Yam Koo should be around your castle. I told them to wait until I returned. If I'm not with you, show the wind rune on your right hand. Until we meet. Tir Mcdohl."

"Legend of Messiah?" Thomas asked titling his head. "What is Messiah."

Everyone turned around to look at Eike. Eike nodded slightly and told them. "The Legend of Messiah is an old Sindar myth. Messiah is supposedly the child of sword and shield."

"Sword and shield?" Hugo asked. "You mean from the legend of how the 27 runes got created."

"Yes. According to the old Sindar myth, Messiah will be combination of dark and light. It will possess all the true runes and become god. It is unknown if Messiah is a god of chaos or order though."

"So then, this plan is risky." Hugo said shaking his head.

Thomas looked nervously at the rune. "If Lord Mcdohl wanted to revive Messiah, then why does he want me to have this rune."

"It must be the same reason why he didn't take my rune." Hugo said looking at his right hand.

Thomas titled his head. "What reason is that."

"He needs us. That's why. He can't do this alone."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Hugo nodded. "That's why I want to help him."

Thomas shrugged. "I see, but still I can't. I can't accept this. I still have responsibilities here."

"So you're not going to help?" Hugo asked with a sad look.

"Well, I can't leave without giving everyone a notice, but I do want to help." Thomas then looked at Cecil. "Cecil, what should I do?"
"Lord Thomas." Cecil smiled at him. "Why don't you look within your heart. If you choose to do this, I'll protect you along the journey."

"Cecil.." Thomas looked back at Hugo's ambitious eyes and nodded. "Alright. If he really needs me then I'll do my best to lend him a hand." Thomas held out his right hand and the wind rune began to glow. A bright light shimmered around Thomas' hand and the symbol of the True wind rune was place on to it. Suddenly, Thomas collapsed on the floor.

"Thomas!" Cecil cried and helped her master up.

Thomas chuckled. "Funny thing is this is exactly how I became a castle master as well."

Cecil smiled and hugged him.

Hugo grinned at Thomas. "Now, we can bust Tir out of jail."

"Jail, was he caught?"

"Yeah, he did it so I could give you this rune. Now we need to think of a plan to help him escape."

"Escape?" Thomas said with a worried look, but soon it became a determined face. "Yes. Tir took the time and trouble to give me this. We should help him now."

"How are we going to do that?" Cecil asked?

"Perhaps you can use the Sindar ruins under the castle."

Thomas gasped. "There are Sindar runes under the castle?"

"Yeah. we stumbled across them when Chris and Geddoe were chasing us." Hugo shrugged.

"Oh, so we can use them to get to Zexen."

Eike nodded. "Yes, but the place is unstable so it could easily collapse. Once you go through the Sindar ruins you'll get to the northern cave of Zexen."

"Ah! That place where Guillome was stashing all those people's stolen items." Hugo said remembering when he and Melville went on the treasure hunt.

"If you go through there, you can sneak into Zexen at night and break Lord Mcdohl out."

Hugo nodded in agreement. "Okay sounds like a plan to me. You coming Thomas."

"This is sudden." Thomas said holding his head. "Lets hurry then. I need to finish some paper work, but I wanted to have lunch first." Thomas stomach suddenly growled.

Hugo's mouth dropped out. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize that. I guess we should eat first."

Later that day, Tir was getting beaten by Harmonian troops. They took out their weapons and began to smack them against Tir like a practice doll. Sasarai was standing in front of him with an impatient look. He then grabbed the back of Tir's head so he could look at his eyes.

"Where is Hikusaak's rune?" Sasarai asked.

Tir didn't say anything.

Sasarai punched him across the face. "Stop being stubborn. We wouldn't have to do this is you told us. Just tell us your objective and what happened to Hikusaak."

Tir blinked and raised his head slowly to look up at Sasarai. "I'm sorry."

Sasarai was confused with this response. "What do mean?"

"You have to be born to bear the rune. You never had a life like the rest of us. You were born with the burden. Now, you follow Hikusaak because you don't know how to live through life without him. You are bond to be his for the rest of your life."

Sasarai stepped back, scared of what he was going to say next. "Stop it! You don't know anything about me."

"We're the same aren't we? We both possess the a true rune. Just like Luc did. Only he experienced true happiness before he died. Which should make us both envious of him."

Sasarai shook his head. "I won't let you get to me. Continue with the beating and questioning."

Tir was constantly beaten and then he was thrown into the dungeon. Sasarai sealed the door and looked at Tir. Tir was breathing heavily, the beatings seemed to tire him out. Sasarai sighed and said in a calm voice, "If you do not talk tomorrow, we will execute you. Good night Lord Mcdohl." Sasarai then walked away from him. He sighed to himself and thought that it would be best to kill Tir as soon as possible and take his rune.

Meanwhile, Chris was at home drinking tea and looking outside the window. She looked at the beautiful moonlight sky. The scenery began to make her mind wander. She put down her tea and sighed.

"Is something the matter?" Chris' butler came through the kitchen door with some cookies for Chris to snack on with her tea.

"Huh? Oh its nothing. I was just thinking that's all."

"About what?"

Chris took another sip of tea and then placed it on her lap with a sad expression. "That boy Tir Mcdohl. I still think about him even thought he violated Zexen."

"I see. So what will you do?"

"What do you mean? There is nothing I can do about it. He broke Zexen's law and now he should be punished."

"Sometimes the government makes the wrong decisions though."

"I know, but…"

"Chris, what do you think of him?"

"He's a courageous boy, that has a plan for some purpose, but I just don't know what."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Nothing else."

"No."

"Are you sure."

Chris blushed. "Yes I am. I'm just curious about him that's all."

"I see. Why don't you talk to him. Its no good for you to stay here impatiently."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm a Zexen knight. I can't become soft to those who disobeyed our laws. I swore an oath for the country of Zexen."

"I see. But if you don't talk to him, you might regret it Lady Chris. After all, he might not be in Zexen forever."

The butler went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Chris looked at her cup of tea and sighed. She closed her eyes and thought, "A knights oath…"

Meanwhile, Thomas and the others were in the assembly hall discussing the plan to break Tir out. Emily, Juan, Piccolo, Cecil, Kenji, Peggi, Dominic, Jefferson, Sebastian. Muto, and Eike were there as well. "Welcome everyone. Its been a long time."

"Yeah." Ace grinned. "This is just like before."

"I don't see why we need to help Lord Mcdohl." Sebastian said wiping some sweat off his forehead.

Geddoe frowned at Sebastian and then looked at Thomas. "So what's the plan?"
"We'll bust in there right." Emily said happily.

Thomas shook his head. "If we did that we'd have many Zexen soldiers after us."

"We'll sneak in, just like when me and Tir stole the wind rune."

"Yeah, but weren't you two seen though?" Queen pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Well with all of us in it together we can do it."

"Master Thomas, won't this break the Free Trade zone treaty if we go along with this. Zexen will have our heads for this."

"Come on, we have to all do our part to help Lord Mcdohl." Alia said in a pleading voice.

"Well I'll help." Emily said proudly. "I'm getting bored here anyway. There is no one worthy to arm wrestle. I wonder if Lord Mcdohl is strong enough to take me on. Mom always told me stories of how strong he was."

"Well I'm getting too old for this. So I can't be any use." Piccolo shrugged.

"I can help." Kenji said excitedly. "We should do our exercises before we go though."

"We can do that later." Hugo said.

"So we are going to use the Sindar ruins right." Cecil smiled at Thomas.

Thomas nodded. "Yeah. If we use them, then the Zexen soldiers won't be able to follow us."

"Then its agreed." Geddoe said looking around. "Hugo, we need a distraction. So we're going to have you and Fubar distract the guards while we sneak in. Thomas, we'll use your wind rune to make the guards sleep. My team will break into the parliament building and get Lord Mcdohl. In the mean time, Emily and the others will take out any guards that are left behind. Muto can keep an eye on the Sindar ruins to make sure there is no guards heading there. Hugo and Fubar will fly over Zexen and gives us a signal if there are no guards coming."

"What signal should I give out?"

"Fubar's loudest squall. That way the soldiers will continue to follow you."

"So how will Hugo lose the Zexen knights?"

"Thomas and I will combine our runes to create a mist so the guards won't be able to see anything. That should give us enough time to escape."

"Alright this is a good plan." Hugo grinned.

"Then there is no time, lets get to work."

As everyone began preparing for Tir's rescue, Chris found herself in the courtyard of the parliament building. She sighed to herself wondering what she was doing here. She knew that she couldn't let herself become soft for this boy. Yet when she was with Tir, she felt a comfort that she hadn't felt for a long time. Like when she was with her father. The same warmth in her heart that she yearned for years. Chris looked around and went to the basement of the building where the dungeons were kept. All the prisoners where asleep. She then came upon the last dungeon where Tir was. They had to put him in the most secure place. The door to the dungeon was black and had a small window near the top. Chris took a deep breath and shook her head. She couldn't, she mustn't, but why does she want to see Tir alright. To see that sweet smile of his that she only got a glimpse of. She craved for it like a strong addiction.

"Who's there?" Tir asked weakly.

Chris jumped back a bit, afraid the door was going to open.

"That clanging sound…a Zexen soldier. Is there something you want?" He asked kindly.

"Tir?" Chris could only peek through the window of the door. There she saw Tir laying on the ground, breathing heavily. "You're…"

"Chris Lightfellow? What are you doing here?"

"I-I…"Chris began to find herself blushing. "You know I've been asking myself the same thing." She said smiling a little bit. Tir began to crawl near the door. Chris could hear him shuffling left and right. Chris clung to the door. "Lord Mcdohl. Are you alright? Please don't move."

"My body hurts, but I'll be alright. How are you doing?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the one hurt."

"You seemed upset today. So that's why I was asking."

"Tir. Why? Why are you asking such stupid things."

"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

"No. Its just that, you're the one who's hurt. So why are you concerned about me?"

"You came all this way to see me I guess."

Chris sighed and leaned over the door. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"Its alright. You're like this woman I used to know."

"A woman?"

"Yes. Her name was Sonya. She hated me at first because I was the enemy. But she soon started to respect me. Is that the same case for you?"

Chris smiled and shook her head. "I guess so. You seem to give other people good feelings."

"I suppose so."

"Tir, you're a strange guy. I don't know why I'm here, but I knew that I had to see you once more. Your smile. I couldn't get it out of my head. You're kind and gentle smile. You always looked so sad, but when you're happy I feel a warmth. A warmth I haven't felt since my father was around. This sounds ridiculous doesn't it?"

"Chris.
"Yes?"

"Can you give me your hand?"

"My Hand?"

"Yes, please."

Chris blinked and then reached into the window. The window was small so she had to take off the top of her armor off. She then reached again. "Tir I can't reach any farther."

Tir raised his hand to reach hers. "I can't reach it. I can't stand up."

"Tir…" Chris tried to stretch her arm a bit more. "I can't reach anymore."

"Just a little more…." Tir continued to reach for her hand. Both hands were staggering, trying to reach for one another. Chris almost cried pain, trying to reach Tir's hand. Tir was gritting his teeth trying to find the strength to push himself up to touch her hand. He was still too weak from the soul eaters power earlier, and the beatings he had gotten that day. Finally, their hands touched the at the tip of the fingers. "I found you." Tir smiled.

Chris then felt cold fingers touching hers. The fingers felt the palm of her hand and then back to her fingers. "Tir…"

"I don't remember much about my mother, but being with you has given me that warmth. Thank-you."

Chris almost cried. "Tir…I should be the one thanking you."

"Lets call it a draw then." Tir said kindly. "Your hand is warm, but mine is cold."

"Its alright. I want to hold your hand just a little longer." Chris sighed and titled her head on the door. She wanted to have this warmth forever.

"Chris…"

Ka-boom!! A loud roar suddenly echoed through the town of Zexen. Chris looked around.

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

Outside of Zexen was Hugo riding Fubar. Hugo yelled out. "Hey! If you want the True wind rune, you have to catch me first you ironheads."

"It's the brat barbarian!" The soldiers growled. They got their weapons ready and began to chase him.

The plan had started.