Chapter 56
Big Trouble, Lots of Fun!
---
Riou walked down the stairs, feeling just the slightest bit annoyed at this rapidly strange situation. He knew something was up when Andrew mentioned Elaine's rune earlier, and it's little glowy display just then did little to help matters. It was painfully obvious it was having some affect on Elaine's decision making, but just how much of an affect was still a mystery to Riou. He couldn't remember the rune glowing before, although Elaine did have a penchant for wearing gloves. Riou assumed it was just to help her hide in the shadows better, and with Elaine's pale skin tone she needed all the help she could get in that department.
Riou played the conversation with Elaine over and over in his head, trying desperately to find some kind of clue to help him solve this before Elaine left the Orange Army for good. 'She said she rarely used the rune before she used it in Kuskus...using it then left her unconscious, so it's no wonder she rarely used it if that was the outcome. She'd be wide open for an attack if the rune's power wasn't enough to defeat her enemies...'
Riou entered the foyer of the Inn, which also doubled as a dining area. He saw the other members of his party sitting down there. Chris and Millie were eating breakfast together, and Bonaparte seemed to be eating something on the floor...it was really best not to think what Bonaparte could possibly be eating. Andrew was staring out of the window, not really paying attention at all. Avara hadn't come down from his room yet, which was probably a better thing than not at that given moment.
And Nanami...
"There you are Riou! For a minute there I thought you'd wandered off to see Lord Makai without us!"
...was being her usual charming self.
All eyes seemed to turn to face Riou at this point. Andrew was instantly shaken out of his trance at the announcement of Riou's presence. Andrew quickly approached Riou, quite eager to find out how his conversation with Elaine had gone.
"She seems quite determined to leave," Riou stated simply, although that wasn't quite enough to hide how upset he really was about it, "Elaine seems to think being around us is making her physically and mentally weak because we're bringing out her emotional side."
"Doesn't seem like a very good excuse to me," Nanami chipped in, "She's not weak in any way, and we should know! We've seen her in action; heck, we've fought her before! We know she's good! Elaine's just afraid of letting herself open up fully."
"So, any idea what the real reason might be?" Andrew asked, "Or is that all you could get out of her as well?"
Riou opened his mouth to respond, but stopped as he heard footsteps from the stairway. All attention that had been focused on Riou had suddenly been diverted to the doorway that the led to the stairs. Eventually Elaine walked through the doorway, looking nonplussed as usual. She seemed to have recovered from her conversation with Riou, despite possibly uncovering some shocking truths.
"Are we going to see Lord Makai now, Riou?" She asked, either ignoring or simply not noticing the various looks she was getting from the others, "I'm ready to go whenever you say."
"We're just waiting for Avara now, Elaine," Riou replied, pointedly ignoring Chris' moan at the fact Avara was coming with them, "And we all know how he is, we could be here a while."
"We also have to wait for Fitcher," Nanami added, "And since he is notoriously unreliable..."
"Amen to that," Chris said chirpily, ignoring the look from Millie at the meanness of that comment.
Elaine simply nodded and walked over to the nearest seat. She sat down and rested her head in her crossed over arms. A moment later, she closed her eyes. It was then that Riou motioned for Andrew to follow him outside, and Andrew guessed that it had something to do with his previous unanswered question. They walked outside, and Andrew made sure to close the door behind him.
"I think I have an idea of what could be behind Elaine's radical change of attitude," Riou said quietly, just loud enough for Andrew to hear him, "This could have something to do with her rune."
"I knew it! I just knew that thing was trouble!" Andrew yelled, then realised this was supposed to be a private conversation and immediately lowered his voice as he continued, "Is there any proof that's what's up?"
"When I was talking to Elaine, it glowed. Every time she said something, it began glowing, and when she stopped speaking it ceased."
"Dammit, Riou!" Andrew tried to keep his voice down, but it was becoming increasingly hard as his anger threatened to take over, "Does she even realise what control it has over her?"
"I think she does, I tried to touch the rune and she attacked me before I could even come close to touching it. She definitely wasn't in control then. That's probably what caused her to fall unconscious in the woods too, the rune tried to control her but it couldn't quite manage it..."
"So it knocked her out instead before she could rebel," Andrew finished off Riou's theory, a very grim edge to his voice, "Giving it plenty of time to work it's mojo while she was out cold."
"Activating the rune in Kuskus must have awakened that side of it," Riou was silent for a second, thinking that over, "And maybe she was knocked out before she could deactivate it. It could still be active right now for all we know. It'd explain the involuntary glowing, it took quite a lot of effort for Elaine to stop it from doing so."
"So basically, the only possible way we can convince Elaine to stay..." Andrew began, not liking what he was thinking one bit, "Is for her to deactivate the rune."
"It's not looking good," Riou said sadly, "The effort it took for her to stop it glowing was hard enough on her, imagine what it'll take for her to shut it down totally. And even if she tries, what's to stop the rune from knocking her out again?"
"It's all up to her, then?" Andrew moaned as Riou nodded in response, "Damn..."
The two stood in contemplative silence for a moment, before the door to the Inn opened. Nanami looked out at the two; "Avara's downstairs, causing a fuss over his breakfast. So we're just waiting for Fitcher to arrive. Any sign of him?"
Riou glanced around, "No...that's odd, he said he'd be here in the morning."
"Chris is already saying that he's run off," Nanami giggled, "I wouldn't put it past Fitcher at all. So are you two coming inside to eat or not?"
"We're just coming, Nanami," Riou smiled at her as she went back inside, the door closing behind her. The smile faded somewhat as he turned back to face Andrew, "We'd better not mention any of this to Elaine, she's already in a state as it is...it's up to her to figure this out now."
Andrew simply nodded as he followed Riou back into the Inn. Avara's arrival downstairs hadn't really disrupted the scene; he seemed quite content to moan about the lack of quality of the food to the helpless looking waitress. Riou noted that Chris and Millie seemed to have enjoyed their breakfast, so he guessed Avara was just moaning for the sake of it at that moment. Riou sat down opposite Nanami and began to eat his own food. Andrew didn't take too long to sit down and begin to eat either, although he couldn't help notice that Elaine wasn't eating anything. In fact, she seemed to have fallen asleep. She certainly hadn't moved in the time he and Riou had gone outside to talk and back.
"You don't have to stare," Elaine said quietly, not opening her eyes, "Didn't your mother tell you how rude that is?"
Andrew wasn't paying attention to Elaine's words; his eyes were focused on the rune. Just as Riou had said, it had begun to glow from Elaine's first word and was beginning to fade after she had finished. Elaine apparently hadn't noticed, but that probably was only because her eyes were closed.
"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to kill people for money?" Avara rolled his eyes, not really interested in Elaine's change of attitude. If anything, he was actually quite happy that she was leaving, "She must be so proud of you."
Elaine didn't even flicker, she remained in the exact same position as before, "Whatever, I'll have seen the last of you soon enough. I cannot wait for that day."
Avara almost smirked, "Is that a threat?"
Elaine's eyelids slid open, and she coldly looked at Avara, "It's a promise."
"Nice to see those two are still on such good terms," Riou muttered to himself, shaking his head in a show of dismay. He noticed Andrew nodding solemnly in agreement beside him, and it seemed that Andrew was the only person who heard him. That was probably for the best, all things considered...
"Er...can we save this fight for later?" Riou was surprised to hear Millie, of all people, speaking up as a potential peacemaker. Millie looked pointedly at both Avara and Elaine in turn before continuing, "Bonaparte's just eaten, and the noise would give him indigestion."
'Ah, now that's the Millie I know..." Riou thought to himself, almost smiling despite himself. It really was hard not to like the girl, despite her naivety and utter blindness when it came to Bonaparte.
Speaking of the little Groundhog, most of the eyes in the room had fallen on Bonaparte after Millie had finished speaking. It simply squeaked happily under all the scrutiny...at least, one hoped it was a happy squeak; daring to think about the alternatives was not an option. After less than a moment's contemplation, absolutely nobody in the room (besides Millie, due to being too overprotective of Bonaparte, and Avara, who simply didn't care) was convinced that Bonaparte was capable of getting indigestion. Of course, they had all taken into consideration things that it had already eaten in the past. Things like a giant two-headed snake (although Elaine still didn't believe that story fully, but then she hadn't had the misfortune of seeing it like everybody else had) and many other unfortunate creatures that roamed around outside. If it could eat them and still look none the worse for wear...
"I had no intention of fighting with so many people around," Elaine said calmly, and Andrew allowed himself one glimmer of hope. One that was cruelly dashed away when Elaine continued, "They'd get in the way, for one thing."
Nobody was sure what to do. Avara and Elaine were simply staring coldly at each other, neither making a move, offensive or otherwise. Everyone else watched on with baited breath, ready to step in if it was necessary. Although stepping in between a fight where the combatants were a professional assassin and a cocky, but very talented and accurate magician, was probably not the healthiest option going.
Luckily, it seemed like things wouldn't come to blows. The door to the inn swung open and Fitcher ran in.
"This is a terrible, terrible thing!"
All eyes switched focus from Elaine and Avara's stare down to the flummoxed looking and out-of-breath Fitcher. He was panting heavily; it seemed like he had been in a hurry to get to the inn.
"What's happened now?" Riou asked, partially glad of the distraction, but mostly dreading the sense of foreboding as to what Fitcher's announcement would be.
"It's Lord Makai and Lord Ridley!" Fitcher moaned, panic well and truly set in, "They're having a huge argument in the town hall! We have to hurry to intervene before the situation gets any worse! Lord Ridley is threatening to fight the Highland Army with the Kobolds alone!"
"Arrgh! Is it too much to ask for one thing to go right for us here?" Chris sighed, looking frustrated with the whole experience.
"Looks like it…" Andrew shrugged, "But moaning about it won't get us anywhere. Let's see what's going on already."
"There's no point in us all going," Riou looked around at his companions, especially at Elaine and Avara. 'I think I'd better separate Avara and Elaine before they kill each other…' "Elaine, are you ready to go?"
Elaine looked up at Riou, she actually bothered to lift her head up from it's previously dormant position on the table, "Mmm, I'd really rather not, if it's all the same to you. I'm quite comfy here."
"Fine," Riou fought the urge to sigh in desperation, hadn't Elaine wanted to go just a few minutes earlier? "Avara, Andrew and Chris, let's go see what this problem is all about."
"I'm coming too!" Nanami interjected hotly, the mere idea of being left behind was apparently beyond her.
"Me too," Millie added, "I wanna know what's going on too. Plus Bonaparte needs the exercise after that huge breakfast, don't you Bonaparte?"
"Okay," Riou shook his head at the antics of the two overly exuberant girls, "Will you be okay on your own, Elaine? You don't need anything?"
"I'm sure I can manage, thanks," Elaine replied, her head already back in position, resting in her folded arms, "Don't worry, I'll be here when you get back."
"I have no doubts about that. If you feel inclined to do so, could you please scout the surrounding area to make sure the Highland army isn't approaching already?" Riou said casually as he walked towards the door, "Lead the way, Fitcher."
"Y…yes! Right, of course!" Fitcher exclaimed, leading the way out of the inn, closely followed by the others. Nobody noticed the sad look on Elaine's face as the door closed behind them.
"He still wants my help…why don't I want to help him anymore?" She whispered to herself. Had anyone been paying attention, her Rune had most definitely not been glowing when she had whispered that.
He was what made you weak in the first place. You shouldn't have to listen to a boy that's barely in his teenage years. You should have killed him the second his companions weren't looking...instead of becoming one of his companions. Such a disgrace to the name of the assassin.
"I shouldn't have to listen to you either," Elaine sighed, suddenly wishing that she hadn't left her gloves behind at the castle, the glow of the Rune was becoming stronger. It was gaining power over her, and she was losing control to it rapidly, "I don't suppose a little patrol is out of the question?"
You'd better make sure it's safe out there before you flee; you're no use to me dead.
Elaine felt a tear roll down her cheek, she pointedly used her left hand to wipe it away...the Rune, of course, being on her right hand, "I hate you."
You may hate me, girl. But you can never say you don't need me. I'm what makes you so powerful, and you'd be best served never to forget that again!
Elaine ignored the second tear as she stood up to leave the inn. It was slightly harder to ignore the several that followed afterwards.
---
"How come I didn't get the option to stay behind?" Avara asked, although his heart really wasn't into the jibe. He was quite looking forward to a duel with Elaine, only for cooler heads to prevail. It was hard not to pity the next wandering creature that dared look at Avara the wrong way…
"Any idea what's going on?" Andrew asked Fitcher as the seven of them headed to the city hall.
"I'm not really sure, I only heard snippets from behind the door," Fitcher had the decency to look embarrassed about his eavesdropping, "But I'm pretty sure Lord Ridley mentioned something about a spy from Highland!"
"Sounds serious," Riou looked worried, the alliance was pretty much in the bag the previous day, and now Ridley and Makai had suddenly gone off the same page, "And sudden. I don't like it."
"Yeah, they seemed pretty buddy-buddy yesterday when they were insulting the Wingers together," Chris threw in his own thoughts to the situation, "Could there really be a Highland spy here?"
"Couldn't be a very good one if Ridley found out about him," Avara sounded about as interested as he got, "But why would he be angry at Makai about a spy…unless the spy was working for Makai."
Andrew shook his head at that, "That doesn't make sense…you said Makai was all for allying with us yesterday, why would he hire a Highland spy? This just seems fishy to me…I get the feeling somebody knows we're here."
"Oh, this is confusing," Nanami moaned, holding her head with her hands, "Let's just get the whole story from Lord Makai and Lord Ridley before my head hurts even more."
The guards at the city hall parted to let them all through the door that led to Lord Makai's office. Sure enough, Ridley looked absolutely irate at Makai. At lease, one assumed it was an irate look…it really was difficult to tell with Ridley.
"I should have known better than to put my trust in humans!" Ridley ranted, his temper clearly getting the better of him, "The Kobolds will defend this city from the Highland army if no-one else will!"
And without another word, to Lord Makai or any of the surprised seven that watched him leave, Ridley stormed out of the hall. The door slammed shut as all eyes turned back to face Lord Makai's confused face.
"I just don't understand Lord Ridley's sudden change of attitude," Lord Makai sighed, he could feel a migraine coming along quite nicely, "He kept on mentioning something about a 'spy,' but I'm afraid I have no idea what he is talking about. Lord Riou, could you please follow Lord Ridley to the Kobold District and try and find out what exactly is going on...if he will not tell me, perhaps he will be inclined to confide in you instead. We must sort this out quickly before the Highland army appears."
"This just keeps getting better and better," Chris shook his head, "Where is the Kobold District anyway?"
"Oh, you have to go through the Winger District to get there," Lord Makai answered helpfully.
"WHAT?!?" Chris moaned at this revelation, he remembered that his last trip to the Winger District ended in utter embarrassment. And he wasn't going to give Avara any more ammunition to use against him, "No way! I'm not going through that Winger District again! No, no, no!"
"Aw, is Chris afraid of the little winged thieves?" Avara rolled his eyes, "It would seem that you are beyond useless."
"Oh, don't listen to him," Millie wrapped her arm around Chris in a show of support, "We can go back and help Elaine with the scouting."
A kind of hush fell over the room as everyone let Chris digest that idea. He had turned a shade paler, and was apparently assessing which option would be more productive to his long-term life expectancy. It would have been easy enough to dismiss Millie's suggestion as just trying to help Chris, but it did seem like a rather devious trick to pull...even Avara seemed somewhat impressed by the implication that Millie was being slightly underhanded.
"On second thoughts..." Chris said with forced cheerfulness and a painfully fake grin on his face, "Like everybody else, those little scamps deserve a second chance! Shall we go?"
"Thank you," Lord Makai nodded, "Please come back quickly. Without the aid of the Kobold army, Two River is practically defenceless."
The seven companions walked out of Lord Makai's office, and right out of the city hall. They waited a few moments until they were safely out of the hearing distance of the two guards stationed at the city hall before they began talking again.
"I don't get it..." Riou thought out loud, looking around at his companions. They too all looked worried, "I just don't understand this."
"Lord Ridley must know that the Kobolds alone won't be enough to stop any of the Highland army's four units," Fitcher was frowning, he seemed unable to fathom this situation either, "He needs us just as much as we need him..."
"I don't know what Ridley's been told to make him turn on Lord Makai, but we're going to find out," Andrew said forcefully, "I for one am fed up of getting shafted around by people in this city. A straight answer would be nice for once."
"Let's just get through the Winger district quickly," Chris muttered, "They're definitely not going to help out against Highland."
"Look at it this way, Chris," Millie chirped cheerfully, "At least we've nothing left for them to steal."
"Basing your whole opinion on a race through the actions of only one person is irrational," Avara said as he boldly walked into the Winger district first, "I'd hate to imagine what their thoughts on the Human race would be if you were the first person they met."
"Hmm, would I rather they thought of us as clumsy and greedy or arrogant and cold-hearted?" Nanami giggled to herself, and only Millie joined in. A faint smile did creep it's way onto Riou's face, but he made sure that nobody saw it.
"As long as they didn't think of us as loud and obnoxious," Avara replied, looking pointedly back at the girls as they walked through the Winger district.
"Ouch. Score one for Avara," Andrew somehow managed to avoid laughing. It probably wouldn't be a good thing to inflate Avara's ego by letting him think he was funny. However, he could feel the cold glares the girls were shooting him, which prompted him to immediately change the subject, "Hmm, nice forest feel to this district. It's kind of pleasant."
"You wouldn't think that if you had got your money stolen," Chris scowled, his eyes constantly shifting to look around the district. He really had nothing to worry about; none of the Wingers seemed particularly interested in the group of humans that were walking through their district. The Wingers knew they weren't here to see any of them, and thus continued to go about their own daily duties. They were used to either being ignored or insulted by the humans by now...
"Oh, do be quiet. This constant repetition is getting irksome," Avara grumbled, "Money we can recover, but if we cannot reacquire the services Lord Ridley and his Kobold army..."
"Then Two River is going down to Highland," Andrew nodded, apparently being the only person on Avara's wavelength, "And we'd probably go down with it. You won't get your money back if you're dead, Chris."
Chris gulped, and his pace noticeably quickened. Everyone watched him speed off towards the Kobold district with some amusement. Millie chased after him, but even she couldn't contain a giggle as she went.
"It's too easy," Andrew smirked.
"At this rate, it might almost not be fun anymore," Avara pondered this for a second, before grinning his particular evil grin, "Almost."
---
Elaine found herself looking out into a wide-open nothingness. She leant against the city's entrance keeping her eyes open for any movement towards Two River. Currently, the only thing moving towards the city was a gentle breeze that barely ruffled Elaine's hair. As an afterthought, she took out the band holding her hair up in the ponytail out, letting the wind run through it more easily.
"It's too quiet," She whispered to herself, "This silence is more uncomfortable than being lectured by Riou..."
She pushed herself gently from the wall and walked ahead for a few meters, looking for signs of life. There were none. The trees were missing the usual shower of birds and squirrels, the plains missing the creatures that usually freely wandered around. The only person around seemed to be Elaine, there certainly didn't seem to be anybody approaching in the distance.
"Something's going on," Elaine sighed, seeing absolutely nothing but plants and trees around was mildly disconcerting, "I don't like hearing nothing when I should be hearing the call of the wild. Unless...this is the calm before the storm. They're out there, I just can't see them from here."
Elaine quickly turned back around and headed back into Two River city. She didn't hang around for long as she made a beeline straight for the City Hall. The two guards looked at Elaine quizzically as she stormed up the steps towards them.
"No entry without permission," The braver of the two guards managed to say, despite being under Elaine's scurrilous glare.
"I'm with Riou, is he still here?" Elaine folded her arms in a sign of defiance.
"No."
"Then where is he?" Elaine struggled to remain polite. It probably wouldn't look good if a member (even if she was going to leave after this mission) of the Orange Army killed a Two River guardsman, "Come on, I have something important to tell him."
The guard narrowed his eyes at Elaine, which under any other circumstances would have probably have been a fatal thing to do, "Do you have any proof that you are part of Lord Riou's contingent?"
Elaine fought the urge to righteously bitch-slap the guard and instead decided to use her brains instead of violence, "Let's see...proof...How about this?" She smiled and counted on her fingers as she rallied on, "A clumsy guy with a talking sword. An arrogant, stuck-up magician. A money-hungry, wiseass kid. An annoying girl who never shuts up. A scruffy guy with a smart mouth."
Both guards looked at her dubiously until she used her coup de grace.
"And a girl with a groundhog."
Both guards gulped and turned to face each other. After a few seconds they turned back to face Elaine and replied simultaneously, "He's gone to see Lord Ridley in the Kobold district."
"Thank you," Elaine turned away sharply, and without another word she headed straight towards the Kobold district to catch up with Riou and the others.
---
"You humans, arf, can't come in here! By orders of Lord Ridley, no Humans allowed! Arf!"
The seven companions stood in front of the entrance to the Kobold district. Unfortunately, the Kobold guards stationed there weren't budging an inch.
"But...Lord Ridley is exactly the person we've come to see..." Fitcher moaned.
"Just tell him that Riou is here to see him," Andrew offered, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind..."
"No humans allowed!" The Kobold guard barked at Andrew, cutting him off completely, "That means you, you, you and especially you!"
"Why did you look at me when you said that!?" Nanami fumed, getting right into the Kobold guard's face. A sighing Riou and a fed-up Andrew dragged her back by her arms, despite her protests that they let her go, "Come on you guys! We can take these two, no sweat!"
"Yes, but do you think we could take on the rest of the Kobold army?" Avara wisely noted, noticing the defeat on Nanami's face, "Would it hurt to think before you leap towards certain doom?"
Nanami pouted, but since she knew Avara was (unfortunately) correct, she said no more. The seven cohorts walked sadly away from the entrance to the Kobold district, not really sure what could be done next.
"We'll just have to tell Lord Makai we couldn't get in to see Lord Ridley," Fitcher walked on ahead, "I don't know how we're going to cope with this...this is all wrong."
They walked back towards the Winger district, silently agreeing that going back to see Lord Makai was the best course of action. Unfortunately, in their state of depression following their unceremonious denial of entrance into the Kobold district...
"You're making this too easy!"
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, wondering who had spoken. It was then the winged thief struck again, dashing in between the seven companions and coming away with a wallet. He then rushed off quickly before anybody could realise what had happened.
"What the heck was that?" Nanami questioned, looking around frantically, "I felt something touch me! Who was it?"
"That voice...I've heard it before," Riou looked at Chris, who nodded in agreement, "Not many people could move that quick."
"A Winger probably could," Millie added innocently. She was too busy fussing over Bonaparte to really notice the impact her comment had made.
"A Winger..." Chris said slowly, looking deliberately at Riou.
"No wonder his voice sounded familiar," Riou added, "But...he already got all our potch...we don't have anything left..."
"You guys don't mean that Winger that was in your room last night, do you?" Andrew asked Riou, "What a creep! Thinking he could rip you off again."
"Well, no harm done, none of us have lost anything..." Fitcher said, patting his pockets as he spoke. A blank look overcame his face after, and then he proceeded to check his pockets properly. A frantic look replaced his blank one as realisation dawned, "Aaah!!! He stole MY wallet! Where'd he go?! I'll get him for this!"
Fitcher ran into the Winger district, leaving the others to watch his progress.
"Well, that's his wallet gone for good," Chris watched Fitcher find the Winger kid, then get left behind in the Winger's quick getaway. Fitcher gave chase, but it was painfully obvious that he could never catch the Winger. The others shrugged and walked towards the Human district again.
"It was probably empty anyway," Avara added as the Winger ran past in front of them. None of them bothered to try and catch him. They walked forward again, and a few seconds later Fitcher ran past, still giving chase.
"Oh, there you guys are. I thought you were going to the Kobold district."
They all stopped as Elaine approached them. She was forced to stop in her tracks as the Winger ran past her, with Fitcher following not-very-closely behind. She watched them go, and turned back to the group with a quizzical look on her face.
"I almost don't want to ask..." Elaine asked bemusedly.
"Fitcher was robbed," Chris muttered, "It was the same Winger that stole our money."
"Oh, it is, is it?" Elaine's eyes narrowed as she turned back to look at where the Winger had run off to.
"Yeah, and we couldn't get to see Lord Ridley either," Riou said, "We were just going to inform Lord Makai..."
He stopped as Elaine quietly walked past them; she had a very strong air of determination about her as she walked on.
"Someone's going to get it," Andrew said softly, "And I pity whoever it is."
---
The Winger's name was Chaco, and he was a very proficient thief. He was also a very proficient mischief-maker, which was the primary reason he chose that same group of humans to pick on again. As he said, they really did make it too easy. They didn't even think to raise their guard as they walked through his district. One of them was even stupid enough to try and catch him. Unfortunately for Chaco, this particular human was way too slow to pose any possible threat to him. Which simply meant that this human didn't pose even the slightest hint of a challenge. Chaco even had to purposefully slow down on a couple of occasions just to see if the stupid human was still giving chase. He was persistent, even if there was no chance of Chaco being caught by this human. Eventually Chaco had lost sight of the human completely. Chaco allowed himself a victory chuckle as he examined his newest bounty.
"Heh, heh...way too easy. Just a shame his wallet was empty," Chaco gloated, "Ah well, at least I got to show those humans who the top race is around here..."
Chaco was forced into silence as a dagger flew through the air towards him. Chaco ducked just in the nick of time, before his neck could be nicked. Chaco looked forward in time to see a girl charging towards him; her hand was reaching for something concealed somewhere on her persona. Chaco was intelligent enough to realise that this something was most likely a weapon, and he rolled out of the way just as she slashed at him with a knife. Chaco looked at his assailant properly, and found himself looking at what could be considered hell in Two River City. Chaco grinned at her as he retreated backwards, watching her movements very carefully. She paused only to pick up her dagger before continuing her pursuit.
"Finally!" He exclaimed, "A possible challenge!"
Chaco managed to dodge the girl's attacks, he also managed to stay slightly ahead of her much to his delight and her annoyance. She was even more persistent than the other human, and she actually seemed willing to kill Chaco for some reason...not that the Winger could remember every human he'd ever ripped off...
"Give back Riou's potch right now," She sounded calm, which was usually the most dangerous sound a person could come out with. And considering Chaco didn't even know Elaine... "Or I will have no problem taking it back over your dead body."
"Riou? Oh, the kid who claimed to be the leader of the Orange Army!" Chaco grinned, easily avoiding another of Elaine's well-aimed attacks, "You his girlfriend?"
"What?" Elaine fumed, attacking Chaco again with a furious attack that even Andrew could have dodged without falling over his own feet, "No! I'm just someone who really needs to vent some of her anger."
"Maybe you should practise on slower targets," Chaco stuck his tongue out at Elaine. Elaine looked absolutely irate, and Chaco grinned. 'Humans are so easy to manipulate...' "You have no hope of catching me!"
"I don't want to catch you," Elaine charged forward with a more technical attack that still failed to make any contact, "I want to kill you!"
Chaco laughed as he continued to run, "Bet you can't!"
Elaine actually allowed a smirk to cross her features as she continued to chase Chaco over the Winger district, "Willing to bet your life on it?"
---
"I think she's enjoying herself," Chris watched the Winger/Elaine chase with amusement, "I don't know her that well, but I'm guessing that might not be a good thing."
"It'll do her the world of good," Andrew replied, also watching the chase with something approaching amusement, but since he did know Elaine pretty well... "See, if she was really trying that Winger would be dead already."
"I hate to break it to you Andrew," Riou, meanwhile, was watching the chase with absolute sadness in his eyes, "But I think that she is really trying to kill that Winger."
Andrew shook his head in response, "Then why hasn't she done so already?"
"Is it that big a shock that somebody might actually be more nimble than her?" Avara intoned in his usual 'I don't actually care about this' way, "Wingers are quick, and don't forget that they can fly."
"You know," Nanami looked on as the chase continued. Elaine was actually making some progress...despite not having actually successfully hit him yet, "I think that Winger is playing with her. He's pretty much in control. Elaine can't even really get close to him."
"I think you might be right," Andrew sighed sadly, "If that's the case I really hope she doesn't catch him."
"You're right there," Avara added, not even paying attention to the chase, "Since we'd probably be forced to clean up the mess."
---
Chaco slipped past several confused looking Wingers, the human girl in hot pursuit. She was good, Chaco barely had to slow down for her at all. But he had everything under control, there wasn't any likelihood she could actually catch him. He chanced a look back at her, and saw that she was easily darting through the Wingers with just about as much ease as he managed to do.
Seconds later he wished he hadn't looked backwards. Chaco turned back to look in front of him, and realised that he had ran into an alley that he knew ended in a dead end.
"Damn! Wrong turn!"
Chaco screeched to a halt in front of the bars. They had been erected there to block people from accessing the sewer system that ran under Two River City. That didn't help Chaco's case much, since the girl was...
"Oh, I like this. Never before has the term 'dead-end' been more applicable."
...right behind him.
---
"Oh crap," Andrew muttered, "She's got him cornered."
"She wouldn't really hurt him, would she?" Millie asked worriedly, "She's just trying to scare him into giving our money back, right?"
Nobody replied with words. Instead, Andrew and Riou ran towards the alley, with Nanami following quickly behind them.
"I'll take that as a yes, then," Chris said dryly, before chasing after Andrew, Riou and Nanami. Millie followed Chris a few seconds later, leaving Avara standing there on his own.
"Does anyone remember that we were going to see Lord Makai?" He said haughtily, shaking his head at the rashness of the others, "Why must I be the only sane one in the city?"
Avara watched as the others neared Elaine's location. Avara watched as Andrew had to pick up the exhausted Fitcher and carry him over towards the alley. Avara knew full well that he couldn't go and inform Lord Makai of events, since he could only get in there with Riou. With an irritated sigh, he followed Riou and the others at what could only be described as a slow walk. With any luck, Elaine would just kill the Winger and then get thrown in prison and completely out of Avara's magically re-coloured hair.
---
"Well, I gotta say that I'm impressed," Chaco grinned at Elaine, who had relaxed considerably now that her prey wasn't about to escape anytime soon, "You're the only human that's ever come this close to catching me."
"You've nowhere to go, and no-one's around to help you escape," Elaine moved forward slowly, never taking her eyes off of Chaco's face, "I'd say you're caught."
"Ha! You think I'm gonna let a human catch me?" Chaco laughed, which threw Elaine off a little, "I know the Winger district better than anybody. I always have a Plan B."
"Shame your Plan B this time around is 'die.'" Elaine replied coldly, gripping the hilt of her knife tighter, "I despise common thieves."
"I'm sure Lord Riou will be delighted to have a common murderer on his side," Chaco said slyly, pointing behind Elaine.
Elaine didn't turn around. She didn't have to turn around to know that Riou was behind her. She could sense his presence without any difficulty. That said, she could also detect Andrew's presence behind her. That was something she could well do without.
"That's enough Elaine," Riou stated simply as he walked up beside her, "You caught him. There's no point hurting him."
"He stole your money," Elaine replied harshly, "I think I'm at least owed a few ruffled feathers."
"Oh, what's the point?" Andrew said, utterly exasperated, "She's not going to listen to us, Riou. Why don't we just let her kill him? That way we can let her leave the Orange Army with nothing but negative memories of her. She's too much of a loose cannon to be useful anyway."
"You all knew I was an assassin when you let me join you," Elaine retorted, turning around to face Andrew in particular, "That's all I know. I kill people for money. That's the only way of life I know. I can't change the way I've been raised."
"You're not even willing to try, Elaine," Andrew countered, "That's what gets me most of all. The fact that you have the potential to change, but you're just too damn scared to try!"
"Why change something I'm comfortable with?" Elaine yelled back, completely oblivious now to the presence of Riou, the Winger or any of the others, "I don't see you rushing to change your way of life for me!"
"My way of life isn't turning me into the evil bitch monster of death!"
"You're the one bitching enough for the both of us here!"
"It's the only way you'll listen!"
The sound of flapping wings cut Elaine and Andrew's argument short. A look of realisation etched itself on Elaine's face as she turned back to face the Winger. He was now using his wings to hover above the ground.
"Don't mind me," Chaco said cheerfully, "I'd hate to get in the way of your lover's tiff."
Chaco began to gain a little more altitude, and looked to be about to make his flight to safety. However, he didn't get the chance as a lightning bolt just narrowly missed him, striking the bars that blocked the entrance to the sewers. Chaco fell to the ground again as Avara slowly approached the group. He wasn't going to be able to fly out of trouble this time.
"I believe you owe Lord Riou some money, Winger," Avara held the hand with his rune up in the air, "I suggest you give it back, because I won't miss again."
"Y...yes...a...and give me b...back my w...wallet," Fitcher managed to add between deep breaths.
"Stay back mage," Elaine growled angrily, "This one is mine."
"This one is nobody's," Chaco smirked at Elaine and Avara, "Like I told you girl, I know this district better than anybody."
"And how do you plan on running through a barricade like that?" Elaine asked dubiously, thinking that the Winger was just bluffing now.
"Little trick no-one else knows," Chaco stepped back and turned to face the barricade. Nobody saw what he did, but a second later one of the bars dropped into the ground and allowed Chaco an easy escape route, "You'll never get that close again, girl!"
"Oh no you don't!" Elaine yelled, "You're going down, winged monkey!"
"Elaine, wait, we don't know where that goes..." Riou stopped short as Elaine ran through the gap in the barricade after Chaco. He turned back around to face the others, "Although I'm guessing we're about to find out..."
"That's right!" Fitcher chorused, having finally got his breath back, "Neither hell nor high water is stopping me from getting back my wallet."
"Oh, yes, that's the issue here..." Andrew replied dryly, "Let's hurry up before she clips his wings..."
---
Disclaimer: Konami owns Suikoden 2. Please don't sue me.
