A/N: This was an extremely slow update..haha.Thanks Tom, for reviewing my previous chapter. I think you were the only one that had actually reviewed it anyway.Heh. Anyway, I'm getting rather busy here so updates will be slower and slower for me. Nevertheless, I'll see what I can do about updating A.S.A.P. I present to you Chapter16, though it's rather messy and perhaps uneventful. I'm really out of ideas! xX Hopeto hear from those that had read theseI want to know how you feel about it,good or otherwise.

Chapter 16: Family Reunion

"Damn! What happened?" cursed Shenzein loudly. He banged his hand uselessly on the rocky barrier that had just separated him from Alyssa. He heard Anexia cursed something under her breath behind him. Turning around, he looked at the both of them expectantly.

"Well, any ideas?"

Astrexil shook his head and sighed. "None here," he said. His sister shook her head frustratedly as well. Shenzein growled something under his breath and clenched his fist tightly. He tried to blast the wall with a fire spell he had learnt just recently. It was a powerful spell, and it would take up about a quarter of his energy. His fist began to glow as he concentrated on the spell. It took time and diligence to actually control the strength of the spell. Fire, being the most difficult element to master, only chooses its wielder that is able to control and rein a tight leash on its seductive powers.

He uttered a short bark and unleashed thousands of fiery ribbons at the wall. As soon as those ribbons all but touched the rocky surface, they burst into flames and emitted a powerful blow on it. Clouds of dust swirled around thickly when the spell exploded. Coughing, Shenzein looked up triumphantly, confident that his spell had made at least a hole on the rocky wall. To his utter astonishment and disgust, there wasn't even a scratch on it!

Growling in anger, he redirected his energy again on his fists, preparing to hit the wall with the same spell. Perhaps a few blows would leave a dumb hole there, he thought as he blasted off those ribbons a few times more. The clouds of dust grew thicker and thicker as the aftermath of the spell. But the wall remained erect and unharmed.

From a distance, Anexia stared at the futile efforts of the sage. She sighed impatiently. "As if those puny spells could even penetrate past that wall," she muttered to herself. She had scanned the wall earlier for any vulnerable spots but had come up with none. Whoever conjured up that rocky wall was a perfectionist and a powerful mage. Even if she combined her physical attacks with Shenzein's fiery ones, she doubted if it would leave even a scratch on the massive wall.

Finally, the sage stopped attacking and slumped on the ground, exhausted. Astrexil looked at the sage and sighed. He was being rash again, he thought as he restored Shenzein's energy.

"Look, I doubt if we can break past this massive wall in the first place, Shein. How about we just let it be and find a way past it without any assaults?" he said reasonably. "That would mean less energy consuming anyway!"

Anexia looked at her brother thoughtfully. He did have a point there. Being rash and illogical was a waste of time-but will Shenzein accept that fact coolly?

Shenzein sighed. "All right, Trexxy! Let's go," he said, pulling himself up. Just then, he heard a cold voice reverberating around him.

"No one is going nowhere today. Be prepared to die, you fools!"

. Startled, he looked around, only to find his friends gaping in astonishment as well. "Who is there?" he called out cautiously, his eyes scanning around for any signs of movement.

"Can you not see where I am, fool? I am here, right in front of you!"

There was a sudden burst of light and smoke. The startled party automatically shielded their eyes and tried to peer through the thick smoke. Finally, for what seemed like eons, a figure appeared right in front of them.

Shenzein stared at the person in front of him. It was a man bedecked in a rather strange crusader's suit. His eyes were blood red and strands of ebony hair hung limply around his face. His mouth was twisted in a way Shenzein could only assume as a smirk. His garments were the oddest of them all. Made out of dark metalloid pieces, his armor was encased with odd squiggles that looked suspiciously like runes from the Old Kingdom. The dark crusader did not wear a helm at all, which was a surprise. It was customary for all crusaders and knights to wear their helms as a badge of honor. Then again, these dark crusader in front of him does not look like and crusaders he had seen before.

At the same time, Anexia was doing a bit of survey on the strange person as well. She scanned the stranger's physique rapidly. It would be wise to know at least what they would be dealing with later. "Prepare to die," he had said earlier. Grimly, Anexia tightened her grip on her katars and readied herself for any sudden attacks.

"Who are you?"

Slowly, the dark crusader turned around and faced the sage. "I am your past, Shen'nerezein Zephyrthros," he said slowly. "As well as your present, and your future!"

Shenzein stared at the heavy lidded stranger in front of him. No one, not even Alyssa, had known his real name. Damn, he thought, who the heck is this guy? But even as he pondered on that question, something was nagging inside his head. There was something familiar about the crusader in front of him…

The crusader's mouth curved slightly and suddenly disappeared into thin air. Surprised, Shenzein blinked once but at once his senses quivered. Uttering a short exclamation, he glanced upwards and quickly found out that the dark-haired man was right above him preparing to attack. As quick as thought he dodged the attack and landed gracefully on fours.

"Damn," cursed Anexia as she gripped her katars tightly and launched herself forward. The crusader was swift-too swift. She was surprised at first when the crusader had disappeared from their peripheral view. By right crusaders are ordinarily being too hampered down by their heavy armor to be agile and swift, but this dark crusader proved otherwise. She could sense her brother's surprise as well as she dashed by Shenzein's side.

The crusader gazed at the assassin coolly. Again, he disappeared at sight and reappeared a few seconds later behind Anexia, his dark mettaloid sword glinting against the sunlight as he raised it above his head. Startled, Anexia could only try to parry with her katars. The blow was shatteringly painful. Even as she tried to block the attack, she could feel the cool blade slicing her shoulder in one clean cut. Wincing with pain, she wrenched herself free and gazed at her hands disbelievingly. Both her katars were shattered. Her hands that once held their most treasured prize are now coated with blood as the shards of the remnants of the katars pierced them.

"Anne!"

Both men looked at the assassin in horror. Shenzein quickly got up and glared angrily at the dark crusader. A sudden thought occurred to him. "You are Shan'e'rizegan, aren't you?" he asked quietly. His eyes glittered dangerously as he looked at the silent crusader. At the corner of his eye he saw the priest making his way to his sister.

"What do you think, little brother?" mocked the crusader darkly.

Shenzein nodded his head grimly as he faced the crusader. Now he realized why he had felt that he knew this man in front of him. Shan'e'rizegan, or Shane in short, was his brother. 'Was' is definitely the right word for it. Shan'e'rizegan, or Shane for short, was his elder brother-the black sheep of the family.

"So it is you then," he said clearly, looking at Shane directly at his eyes, "To what honor do I have to actually meet you face to face now?" He said the last sentence mockingly.

"Simple. I am here to kill you. All of you," came the cold and emotionless reply.

Shenzein narrowed his eyes and bit out, "We'll just see about that, brother." He gripped his staff tightly and prepared a fast spell. At the corner of his eye, he glanced at Astrexil for support. The priest caught his glance and nodded. Astrexil stood up quickly and mentally summoned supportive prayers for the sage. "Agility and defense, may you lighten his path," he murmured softly, directing the holy prayers to Shenzein. Then he turned back to his sister and resumed his task.

"Never mind me, brother. Go help him," gritted out Anexia, her forehead wrinkling as she tried to hold back the pain. The blow on her hands was beginning to hurt her like mad. Lifting her injured arms, she shooed her brother away and took a small vial from her pouch. "Let us hope you will help me, my little friend," she muttered to herself. She uncorked the vial and swallowed the contents in one gulp. In just a matter of seconds, she could feel that the pain had ceased from her hands. She looked down and smiled. There was not a scratch that could be seen on both her hands anymore. It had worked.

"Now, my next problem is, what am I going to use as a weapon," she said to herself. Then she remembered. She quickly rummaged through her brother's knapsack that he had carelessly flung aside and produced a pair of twin daggers triumphantly. "Thank goodness he nagged at me at bringing spare weapons and brought them himself for me," she muttered gratefully.

She glanced at the battle scene in front of her, surveying the damage the dark crusader had caused. Shenzein's brother eh, she thought cryptically. Nevertheless, she saw that both the sage and her brother were tiring out fast. Stooping down, she grabbed two bottles filled with sky-blue potions and uncorked them quickly. She secured her twin daggers by her side and held each bottle with her hands, careful not to spill any precious liquid.

Then, concentrating hard, she dashed forward. By avoiding the aftermath of the three men's attacks, she managed to get close to her mates. "Shein! Trexxy! Drink this, fast! I'll take over for awhile," she shouted as she pushed the bottles into their hands. She undid the daggers and took a firm hold on it. Grimly, she eyed the crusader. She knew now that she had overestimated her opponent.

The dark crusader stared at her for a few moments, as though hardly believing that an assassin had just stepped in to parry him. His mouth quirked into a slight smile. "Well, well," he mused, "Looks like I have a little plaything to toy about while waiting for you to gain back your stamina, little brother. I have to thank you for that."

Anexia gritted her teeth. That obnoxious crusader! She'll show him how skilled she is at her breakneck skills. "Never mess around with an assassin, crusader!" she bit out. Gripping her twin daggers tightly, she readied herself in a fighting stance. She observed her surroundings, taking note of each and every detail and stored them in her mind. Although it might seem unnecessary, those details might come in handy later. Anexia had been taught thoroughly about that, especially when it was her parents that had taught her about it.

"I admire your determination, girl! But you will never win me," Shane, or the dark crusader, called out, "But since I am in a generous mood today, I'll let you go first. Don't waste this chance and disappoint me now!"

Again, Anexia gnashed her teeth angrily. Really, that guy was getting on her nerves! Her eyes roved about all the time, calculating the speed and limit she has to reach to that crusader. She made a few mental calculations as she surveyed the distance and the cumbersome factors barring her ways. Then she smiled grimly. That was the only way, she supposed.

She charged forward, her eyes narrowed as she concentrated on her opponent in front of her. The crusader's stance seemed rather lax, but she wouldn't count on him relaxing his blows on her. The fact that her prized katars were smashed to bits was still imprinted deeply in her mind. In less than a second, she covered almost half of the distance between them, closing the gap rapidly. Yet, the crusader's pose remained unshakeable.

Anexia gritted her teeth. That guy is really pissing me off man, she thought as she charged on. Her hair was already streaming back from the speed and the wind was slowing her down slightly. She quickly shifted her position as she ran and almost instantly, the wind was on her side instead of being against her. The simple rule of being an assassin, she said to herself, was to learn how to adapt and create advantages from the disadvantages.

Just a bit more, she thought grimly, her hands were forced backwards due to the momentum she had created on herself. She quickly divided her attention into two: her opponent and her right hand. A bit more…now! She wrenched her right hand from its current state and plunged it straight into her small waist pouch. She felt the coarse powder inside slithering between her fingers as she took a firm grip on them.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she concentrated hard forward. Finally, when the distance between them became shorter, she cloaked herself from his peripheral view and flung the powder straight ahead. As soon as the powder touched the ground, the land rumbled and large, intimidating spikes broke the soil apart. The spikes grew as it multiplied its way towards the crusader.

Even as she concentrated on that particularly tough skill, she could see that she had taken the crusader totally out of surprise. Anexia smiled grimly. "I'm not totally done with you yet, man!" she muttered to herself. She moved towards another spot as fast as she could-being invisible hampers one's agility drastically-and casted the same attack. Without stopping, she went from one spot to the other while manipulating the same skill again and again. While this might be unwise, the assassin wanted to buy her mates some time and at the same time, try to hamper and weaken their opponent.

Finally, she stopped her pace. Already, her energy was used up summoning that particular skill of hers. She eyed the spiked spot warily. The spikes had started from where she began to the crusader. Since she had performed that skill numerous times from various places, the spikes had grown steadily from a molehill to a miniature mountain towards the spot the crusader had stood. Somehow the effect reminded her of a twisted star, with the thick forest of spikes right in the center of it.

"Anne! You okay there?"

Anexia glanced up. It was Shenzein speaking to her, eyeing her anxiously. She smiled slightly. "I'm fine, Shein! But could you please tell my lovely brother to help me regain my strength here?" she called out, her voice wavered slightly.

"Hey," said Astrexil in a slightly injured voice, "I'm right here you know. No need to send a messenger when the person you want to speak to is right over here."

The assassin grinned. "I know you are, bro. Just felt like teasing you, that's all," she said soothingly. Astrexil sighed and went to his sister. Shenzein watched those two and shook his head ruefully. Anexia is really one heck of a girl, he thought. He shifted his glance at the earthen spikes she had created.

"Grimtooth, the specialty of an assassin," he murmured thoughtfully. He had read it somewhere that Grimtooth, the earthen elemental skill, was a skill taught by the very first assassin that had been brought into Rune Midgard to his children. Although powerful, it is extremely hard to manage as one had to focus their concentration solely on the skill and if that concentration were to be disrupted, the penalty would be disastrous.

"Anexia Kristos," he mused, "Just who are you?" Just then a sudden movement caught his eye. He stopped dead on his tracks and his eyes narrowed. Did the spikes just quivered back then? He looked at it closely. Then all of a sudden, he turned around and shouted at the startled siblings.

"Anne! Trexxy! Stand guard! That bastard's still alive in there!"

"What, impossible!"

"Just stand guard, Anne! I just hope I'm wrong about it…"

Standing upright in a defending stance, Shenzein gazed warily at the upraised spikes. This time, the quakes were even more visible. Anexia paled slightly at the thought that even her Grimtooth had failed her. But she stood her ground, clenching her twin daggers tightly. No matter what happens, I'll stand my ground and fight! We still need to find Alyssa and continue what we had started, she vowed silently.

The quakes grew violent. Suddenly, it stopped. Anexia barely relaxed her grip in relief when the bindings of Grimtooth exploded. Shards hardened earth flew everywhere and the three of them had to exercise great care not to be hit by any of them.

"Is that all you've got, little girl? Then I'm very much afraid you will die in my hands!"

The taunting voice arose as they shielded their eyes as well as their body. Anexia didn't need sharpened rocks to pierce her to feel what she was feeling now-pure hatred. She hated the way that lousy piece of metal-scrap taunts her. She hated the fact that her Grimtooth had failed. Worse of all, she hated the way her heart was racing erratically. She had no idea why though, but she assumed that it was all part of the adrenaline she was feeling at the moment.

Shenzein wasn't feeling too great about this either. Deep inside, he realized that it was a lost situation for them. Shane was a great warrior, if his memory serves him well. The crusader had led many troops in war once, and never once did he return without victory and a dying troop. But what can I do, he wondered. Then an idea came up to him. "Yes…yes…that is the only way," he said softly to himself.

He backed off slowly until he was beside Anexia and her brother. "Anne," he muttered by the side of his mouth, "When I give the signal, both of you make a run for it. No, don't bother protesting! I know my brother and I know his strength. Both of you won't stand a chance against him. Now listen, I need you to find Alyssa. Find her, and then find her friend, Earilith. The both of them should not be separated anymore, okay? Leave Shane to me."

Anexia opened her mouth as if to protest but closed it back abruptly. She nodded grimly. Family affairs was one thing that she never did like getting involved in, and this was one of that times family affairs has interfered. She whispered softly to her brother. Astrexil looked outraged and started to reply, but the assassin merely said a few sharp words. Subdued, the priest nodded his head and stared at Shenzein. The sage smiled slightly. Anexia could be such a domineering queen at times.

He focused back on the crusader. "Shane, this battle is between you and me now. I will never let you uproot our family's honour anymore!" he shouted, brandishing his staff. The crusader looked at him emotionlessly and nodded.

"Very well, if that is what you wish, then you shall die first," came the reply.

Shenzein tensed and prepared himself quickly. He glanced at the two siblings at the corner of his eye and gave a slight nod. Anexia nodded in return and grabbed her brother's hand. Quickly, she made a few quick movements using her free hand while muttering something. The both of them suddenly disappeared. Shenzein smiled again. Anexia was one surprising girl, he thought. Invisibility, another skill an assassin should own. Only hers was more complex. He surmised that she had created that skill herself since it was not recorded in any of the ancient books of power.

Shane watched the other two leave and said nothing at first. Then he opened his mouth and said, "Well, I can hunt them later anyway. But for now, let's fight!"

Shenzein focused his attention back to his brother and smiled grimly. Yes, it was time to settle this once and for all. He mentally prayed that those two will be alright and stood in a defense stance. It was time for a bloody battle…