Rini - Hey everyone :smiles: Sorry for the long wait. I had things that had to be done, get ready for school. Its a bummer, really. I'll try to update this story and my other stories more often, okay?

Maini - Her hair is really red? Wow, I never noticed that. Thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to mention it if I mention her hair again. Here! A brownie :Smiles: Enjoy!

Disclaimer - I do not own Saga Frontier, only this fanfic. And my characters. And my brownies. :smiles:


Chapter 3

'One Step Forward'

Again, the pair found themselves in the Shrike port, with a new teammate, new reasons, and new problems. Neither of them knew what to do next, but had decided on their goal; to improve the relationship between humans and mystics. Asellus wanted to help the world and become Charm Lord. White Rose wanted to help Asellus and has promised to help her all the way through. And Cotton, not being able to talk, just follows them, the girls deciding he was a big help since the fight. Standing inside the port, the girls, along with the roaming curious Cotton, stared up at the flight schedules, trying to figure out where to go.

A lot of emotions and questions were swarming around in Rose's head. She made a sigh and pondered, still staring up at the board. She hadn't thought much about anything other than protecting the young girl, who claimed they were like sisters. Rose couldn't remember the last time she was even in Rootville, let alone another region, and this made excitement grow within her. She thought about all of the magics in the world; meeting new people; and possibly meeting other Mystics. White Rose smiled at this idea when a region name caught her eye, and her breath. 'DEVIN'. Rose couldn't take her eyes away from the name; there were so many things starting to run through her mind.


Flashback

"Lord Orlouge, where are you going at this time of night," White Rose asked, finding her master in the stable room, readying the horses and harnessing them to the carriage. He only looked at her, and she shuddered, and unable to resist the power of his charming looks. He didn't answer, only continued to get the carriage ready. White Rose felt hurt that he didn't answer when she cared. "Lord Orlouge, please tell me what is wrong."

"White Rose, give me some space!" Orlouge yelled angrily. Rose backed away, startled from the outburst. Never had she heard him raise his voice, of all the years she was there. To hear him yell, it broke her heart, the charm disappearing. Orlouge did the final adjustment and climbed into the carriage, then held his hand out to his arch-princess. "Come along, White Rose. We're going to Devin." He cared for Princess White Rose greatly, but Princess Rei was his first love, and no one forgets a first love. And like humans, Orlouge never forgot his first love. Even though she was able to escape his obsessive clutches through the cycle of rebirth, he loved her, and would do anything to find her again. He had heard news of a wandering Mystic seeing Rei in Devin, and wanted to find her as quickly as possible. "White Rose..." She looked at Orlouge's hand, then the determined look he had on his face. The once loving and irrresistable charm she had been held down by was gone, and free to decide on her own, she shook her head and backed away.

"I-I can't, Orlouge..." Orlouge blinked in surprise at the refusal and the lack of title, this being a big disappointment to him. He got out of his carriage and sighed, knowing what had to be done.

"White Rose...I do not want to do this, but if you are not willing to be with me, then I must. Goodnight, my princess." With those words, he grabbed White Rose's shoulders, a dim blue light surrounding his hands and soon her body. She didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. Her body felt tired; her eyelids closed; and soon, she felt nothing, but heard so much. She heard of her sister archprincesses; she heard of Orlouge's retreated return; she heard of the human who he had hit that same night. The next time she opened her eyes, they met with the curious, emerald green that belonged to Asellus, who stood beside the always-stern Ildon. A memory she could never forget.

End of Flashback


"White Rose," Asellus asked concernly, noticing the mystic was lost in a daze. White Rose blinked and looked at Asellus, looking into worried eyes. "Are you alright? Do you want to rest more?" Rose smiled and shook her head gently.

"I'm fine, just thinking about something. Sorry if I startled you, my lady," White Rose replied softly. Asellus tilted her head and sighed at the title, already have fought with Rose about it. She looked back up at the board, along with Asellus, gazing at the region names. Seeing the Luminous name, Rose smiled, remembering that's where she obtained her Light magic. "My lady, let us go to Luminous. I remember, early in my Mystic life, that is where I learned my light magic. And I am sure Shadow magic is there, if not, we can ask around." Satisifed with the decision, the girls, along with Cotton, paid for their flight with their newly acquired money (Asellus knowing where to find rare items and sold them). Getting ready for yet another plane ride, Asellus and White Rose sat in their seats and buckled up, while Cotton looked terrified of the huge mechanical-monster. Pitying the timid monster, Asellus pulled Cotton into her lap and comforted him, giving him the attention he craved for, purring and 'myuing' happily. Rose giggled quietly as she watched the small animal curl up in a loving ball, purring its head off. Asellus refused to look out the window, shuddering at the thought of Tanzer swallowing their ship. Choosing to rest, she closed her eyes and relaxed her body, her petting slowing down, much to Cotton's dislikes. Slowly, Asellus felt herself drift into sleep.


Asellus cried out softly and jumped up, scaring the sleeping Cotton into jumping onto the ground, chattering at her angrily. The young girl breathed heavily and sat back down, her face pale and covered in sweat. Letting out a heavy breath, Asellus leaned down, cradeling her head in her hands as she stared at her knees.

What was with that dream, Asellus asked herself, feeling her body tremble slightly. She bit her lip, the scenes of her dream playing over and over in her mind. Images of strangers came to mind, helping her get to her feet; laughing with her; helping her fight Orlouge. Who were those people? Was...was it a premonition? Where was Rose?

"Lady Asellus, we're here," Rose's voice called, shaking the girl from her thoughts. Shaking her head clear, she smiled up at Rose with a nod. Within minutes, the small group got off the plane and walked through the terminals, finding themselves in a small lobby-like room with only two people occupying the space; the assistant standing behind the counter, looking quite bored, and a man, who was leaning against the wall, not to far from the door. The pair split up briefly, Asellus spotting some chairs and tables to the side, and headed straight for them, her mind still slightly dizzy from her confusing dream. Sitting down, Asellus let out a sigh, laying her head onto her arms when Cotton caught her attention, nudging her leg for attention. Smiling, she held her hand down and scratched the animal's chin, hearing his purr ring out.

"My lady," Rose asked quietly, her hand finding its place on her friend's shoulder. Looking up into caring eyes, Asellus smiled, and assured Rose she was fine as she sat down beside her, smiling back. Making a small nod, Asellus laid her head back down onto her arms, realizing she could get a good look at the man several feet away. The man wore some bizarre clothing, Asellus thought, wondering where he could've possibly gotten them. TIlting her head slightly for a better view, the young girl could faintly see his eyes closed under his scruffy silver hair. Her eyes widened slightly when she recognized him from her dream, where his hands glowed eeriely, creating a plasma ball of energy. Shuddering at the thought, she noticed Cotton walk up to him curiously, sniffing at him, then scampering back to them, almost as if he was scared. Asellus shook her head clear of her thoughts, but the dream still lingered.

"Rose...I...I think something bad is going to happen to us...I think...Orlouge is going to be stronger than we thought...we should get the strongest and most varied magic possibly," Asellus said quietly, half admitting her dream. She sighed, looking down at the table. "Between us, we must get as much magic as possible, so we have no weakness in the end."

"Ah, you are looking for the gifts as well," a deep voice asked with a slight accent. White Rose and Asellus both turned to see the silver-haired man still leaning against the wall, but his head up, deep brown eyes watching them with interest. Straightening up and dusting off his long dark robes, he walked up to their table and looked down at the with a smile. "If you are travelling the regions in search of magic as I am, please, let me join you." Looking at eachother, both women asked each other mentally if the stranger could be trusted. Asellus pondered, remembering the destructive-looking plasma ball, but also his help in the battle with Orlouge. After several long moments of thoughts and nods, Asellus turned and smiled at their new companion.

"Of course you may join us! We can help each other as we travel." Smiling more, the man nodded and sat across from the pair, his brown eyes observing them silently, then down at the small animal, who was gently nudging his leg. White Rose blushed and smiles, clearing her throat gently.

"My name is White Rose, and beside me is Lady Asellus," Rose replied kindly, Asellus scoffing at the noble term her friend used again. Rose giggled when Cotton's happy 'myu' made the man jump slightly. "And that is Cotton. We came from Facinaturu and we have a plan of retalliation against Lord Orlouge. I was wondering if you happened to know of any other magic."

Now giving Cotton a gentle rub, the man then smirked and rested his arms on the table, his silver bangs falling over his eyes as he looked at them with pride. "I, am to be a powerful magician, so I have learned of where magic is located. Of course, as you know, here resides the powers of Light and Shadow. Both magic uses the power of nature upon the enemy. In Devin, the power of Rune and Arcane are found there, but both have long, tedious missions to achieve the gift. Both having the power to help us in battle. In my hometown originately Realm magic, and of course, Facinaturu contains Mystic magic. And there has been news of a magic called Mind, which I believe helps the body, mind and soul in battle, which can be found somewhere's in Kyo." Asellus blinked with shock as the information was slowly collected in her brain, the man smirking again. "And my name is Rouge. Pleasure to meet you, ladies." Smiling, they enjoyed eachother's company, briefly explaining themselves when they decided it would be a good time to seek the Shadow magic. Getting to their feet, the group left the port, and traveled along the dusty roads, before finding it fork into two directions, a sign saying what was where. Looking at the sign, Rouge simply nodded to the left, and they walked down the road for several minutes before finding an entrance to a dark cave.

Walking down the dark tunnel, Cotton let out a quiet whine, climbing onto Rouge's shoulder for protection. Chuckling at the action, Rouge stroked his fingers through the scared monster's fur, leading the way through the darkness when they came to a huge room-like area, an elderly, sinister-looking woman sitting closeby, a oil lamp sitting in front of her, the only light. She looked up at the small group, immediately knowing why they were there.

"Shadow magic is the ability to use shadows and darkness as an illusion to attack enemies, a very strong magic. Although, its rival is Light magic. If you want to gain the gift of Shadow magic, then you must go to Omble, where you must do a simple task of figuring out the complexity of shadows and defeating the labyrinth. Monsters, mecs and light users cannot enter Omble. Do you wish to seek the gift," the woman replied, darkly but dryly. Cotton whimpered when she finished, rejectedly walking away from the group. Asellus pitied the small animal, and knelt down.

"Don't worry, Cotton...we'll be as fast as possible, okay? Just you wait, we'll be done in there in no time," Asellus said quitely, trying to comfort him. He only whimpered more, hanging his head down as he walked off to the side. White Rose walked up to him and picked him up gently, hugging him.

"Take your time in their, Lady Asellus. I shall keep Cotton company," Rose whispered, smiling with care. Asellus blinked in confusion while Rouge nodded with a smile.

"I'm sure you two will be fine. Me and Miss Asellus will be back soon," Rouge replied, walking towards the portal that had appeared. Fuming at the new title, Asellus sighed and followed him into the portal, into the dark universe of Omble.


Rini - I hope everyone liked this. I had changed the meeting with Rouge a little because the old way was kinda...mean. If you wanna know, it was when Cotton was sniffing him and Rouge telling him to scram and stomping his feet. Yeah, that's cruel, so I changed it :Smiles: Ja ne! (Review if you'd like, okie?)