I would like to thank those that reviewed. IWUV you. Anyway. I do have to say thank you to my sister. She's been my proof reader and has given me different suggestions here and there. This story wouldn't be happening without her ; )

On a different note,in the first chaper i made a mistake about the mansion thing in Aquaria. As im sure some of you notice, that was supposed to take place Woltars mansion. However, im not going to go back and make the changes right now. I may eventually, but not right now

Any how, ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW!

TOURNIQUET

At the most you could say they were well into the Mountains of Barr and possibly even about into the Urlsa Lava Caves. That is, if you were an optimist. However, the truth was they were utterly lost in these god forsaken mountains. Nel led the way along with Albel and Fayt. They had decided to be the scouts, facing any monsters should the need arise. She had taken the job mainly because she needed some way to work out her frustrations. Being lost was far from her style, and she had never actually been lost in what she considered dangerous territory. Of course, everyone has their firsts, and apparently this would be her golden opportunity to face the predicament of being lost.

She looked around the unfamiliar landscape. 'Honestly these mountains aren't so bad, I just don't like the dragons.' Overall the mountains really weren't that bad, it was more the monsters that inhabited them that were a nuisance. The climate was warmer than what she expected of such a high altitude, but she attributed that to the lava caves being near by. 'Where ever those damn things are...' They probably generated plenty of heat. Her mind continued to try and occupy itself as her other senses stayed alert in case of an attack. Being caught off guard was a mistake made by the foolish. Her hands were constantly brushing her daggers. It was quite eerie at times how quite enemies could be, especially for their size, always popping out of nowhere. And now was no different.

In a whoosh of purple color Albel had passed her, looking directly ahead. She knew immediately that he was attacking some sort of beast, but she had no clue what or how many there were yet. Quickly, both her and Fayt caught up with him. Two land dragons, one air dragon, one of the harder combinations, but still no match for them. With her trusted daggers drawn she rushed after the land dragon that Fayt was also going to attack. She always thought in better to decrease the number of enemies as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that was to team up with someone. She stabbed at the dragon, as it hit a thought came to her mind. 'I doubt Albel would let anyone team up with him, stubborn egotistical chauvinist.' Strange, he did have a way of making his way into her head, even if it only was to anger her.

"Air Slash!" She heard his voice boom. 'As long as we can still hear his voice we know he's still alive.' Her thoughts were slightly sarcastic, but none the less were true. He would fight until there was nothing left in him, and even then he still did something.

"Blade of Fury!" Fayt cried, lunging his sword at the land dragon that was about to breathe its paralyzing breath all over him. Nel saw her opportunity for a little runology and took it. She gathered herself, and the symbols of her up coming attack appeared in the air in front of her. She reopened her eyes, her attack now ready.

"Ice Needles!" A torrent of ice threw itself at the dragon, still slightly dazed by Fayt's attack. But it wasn't enough to finish it off. She knew it wouldn't be. But they were one step closer. She watched as Fayt charged again at the dragon, he definitely attacked relentlessly. Nel spared a glance over to Albel who was currently fighting both a land and air dragon...and was winning. It did look like he was tiring though, but not enough to cause any alarm yet. She returned her attention to her own little dragon problem. Rushing up to it, she stabbed it, stunning it for enough time for Fayt to hit it, and then she froze the dragon with her Ice Daggers. Fayt then finished it off, giving her a smile. He then looked over toward the fight with Albel and the other two beasts.

"Shall we?" He said to her before he charged toward the action. Before Fayt was able to aid Albel she watched as he was paralyzed by the breath of the vile beast, then the air dragon began to attack him furiously, most definitely injuring the swordsman quite badly. She charged forward, but her progress was impeded by a few falling boulders. Her feet skidded to a stop before the unexpected debris could damage her. This left her blind for the moment. When the few falling rocks did pass she saw that the air dragon was nowhere to be seen and Albel was on his feet, but just barely. He was trying to hide it, but she could see he was not in the greatest of shape. It looked as though Fayt was holding his own against what looked to be the last of the dragons. So she began to cast a healing spell directed at Albel.

As she prepared the spell Albel turned to her. His eyes were full of pure hate; a hate that was so deep rooted it almost frightened her. Had she been any less of a warrior she would have cowered in fear of that gaze, but she forced herself not to. Then, she couldn't believe it, he was charging at her, full speed! The healing spell was almost complete, and she couldn't just stop it now. And now he was going to attack her! 'I can see him not liking runology, but to attack me for it!'

A noise came from behind her, one she was not expecting in the least, then a tail whipped out to knock her off her feet, her healing spell now failed. 'The air dragon! But I thought...' The beast opened its mouth, ready to breath its fiery breath down a upon her. She shut her eyes, knowing this would be quite a painful experience and she braced herself.

"AIR SLASH!"

I tried to kill the pain

When she heard that and felt no pain upon herself she opened her eyes quickly. Albel stood in front of her, injured and apparently extremely pissed. His crimson eyes were wild, she had never seen him quite like this before. He was also charging rapidly at the dragon, his injuries forgotten. The dragon did manage to throw some fire in his direction, but his claw rose to meet it, looking like it blocked most of the onslaught and leaving only minor burns where the flames had touched. It was almost like he was trying to prove something. 'Or maybe he's always this stupid.' The thought was unexpected as she jumped to her feet. She charged, jumped into the air and struck the air dragon as well. Surprisingly Albel didn't strike her as he too continued to attack. She was also surprised not to hear him oppose her help. Then again, serious injuries do strange things to people.

Nel saw that Fayt had finally defeated the land dragon that Albel had nearly killed before. She was slightly aggravated at how long it took him but didn't say anything. There was no need for controversy and they were currently busy with something else.

All three of them attacked simultaneously, bringing the beast down, effectively killing it.

Nel wiped the sweat from her forehead, glad that was over. She then looked at her comrades. Fayt seemed to be fine. He didn't take on much damage from the fight at all and what damage he had received he was remedying with some blueberries. Albel on the other hand wasn't looking so good. There were many cuts adorning his lean body and he was bleeding quite freely from a gash on his right shoulder, next to his good arm. He seemed unfazed by this though. He almost seemed like he didn't notice. She also noted that the wild look had gone from his eyes, though he still looked rather annoyed and his body was still full of tension. This annoyed her to no end. He had to know he was hurt, even he wasn't that stupid. She walked over to him, no clue what she was going to say in her mind, but still intent on saying something.

"Nox." She said rather loudly when she reached within ten yards of him. This effectively captured his attention and he looked over at her. 'How does he always make me feel like he's looking down on me? It must be some power the devil gave to him.'

"Zelpher." She could swear he said that in a mocking tone. He apparently thought it was funny to copy the way that she addressed him. He turned away slightly so that he wasn't completely facing her, but his head was still slightly inclined in her direction, meaning that for the moment he was listening. 'How considerate of you to pay attention to me.' She thought to herself sarcastically.

"Are you going to treat your wounds or allow yourself to die in the next battle?" Her voice came out coldly, colder than even she expected. 'I'm getting better at this.' Her eyes scanned him to see if he would give any motion to use some sort of salve of healing ointment, or anything for that matter, but he just stayed as he was. He even straightened his back some, letting a mirthless smirk come upon his mouth.

"Come now Zelpher, I didn't know you cared."

But only brought more

Albel spat back at her, turning away from her. He didn't seem to be doing anything. Was he so arrogant as to just stand there and not treat his injuries? She was beginning to wonder about this man's sanity. He clearly wasn't in his right state of mind, that was for sure. 'If this is the way he's always been it's a wonder he's still alive.' There was no sarcasm in that thought. But there had to be some way he had lived this long unless he was extremely lucky. Right now she was beginning to believe that was the case though. She began the first stages of a healing spell. If he wasn't going to do something about it, then she would. The last thing the group needed was for one of them to collapse from blood loss.

"Use that on me and your life will end here fool." His words stopped her in her tracks. Though he was injured, she did not wish to fight him. She wasn't sure why this was, being that she was confident that in his current state he wouldn't be in his best form and she would be able to defeat him, but she just didn't want to push things at the moment. She left it at that. No analysis necessary. The spell left the air and the words never left her lips to incite it.

"Fine Nox, but don't slow us down. We need to finish up here." If he wanted to let himself bleed to death, fine by her. It wasn't like she cared any way. That was his own choice. Stupid as it may be, he did have a right in deciding what happened to his own body. 'The scent of blood may cause more predators." She knew that more than likely that would be the scenario. But he still had to go and be stubborn. 'Men.' She thought dejectedly. How foolish they are.

"Tend to your own wounds weakling. Mine are nothing." He responded. If he was trying to get on her nerves he was most definitely succeeding. His eyes scanned her menacingly as he said this. Her mouth got away from her and she lost the little bit of cool that she had maintained.

"Are you blind Albel Nox! If not then you're stupid! Just how pigheaded can you get!" She screeched at him, earning a satisfied smirk on the Glyphians face. This only served to enrage her more. Fayt looked over at the two, having been startled by the angered pitch of Nel's voice. That was a tone he had never heard before. She certainly was being loud. He wondered slightly how she allowed Albel to anger her so much, but he had no clue and let it sit at that. Approaching the two, he was hoping that his presence would mediate the problem.

"These words coming from a maggot who can not even protect herself from an air dragon for a moment. You say I am stupid? Bah, you are nothing but a fool." It was strange how Albel's voice rarely rose. Even in the heat of an argument he usually seemed fairly cool and calm. This time was no different. Nel barely even registered what he said. Her anger was boiling over right now. And Fayt's presence at the argument wasn't helping. She hated when anyone saw her flustered, that's why she rarely allowed it to happen, at least not in front of others.

Lucky for Fayt, the rest of the group had caught up now. Rodger, Cliff and Maria walked around the bend and noticed the scene. Both were pretty sure that they understood the circumstances, at least enough to the point where they knew that and end had to come soon.

Cliff walked up beside Nel and set a hand on her shoulder, then looked around. Rodger for once stayed silent. Usually he would try to sneak a peek up Nel's skirt, but the redhead didn't seem to be in a very good mood. And that meant a lot of pain if he was caught.

"Looks like you guys did a pretty good job of clearing out these dragons." He said nonchalantly, pretending he couldn't sense the tension in the air. Briefly he registered the almost painful glare of absolute detest that Albel was giving him, but he shrugged that off as well. Acting oblivious was a trait well suited to him at times, and it did come in handy, despite what others thought of his intelligence.

"Yeah, I guess we did. There are a lot of dragons wondering around. I'm surprised we haven't actually found the cave yet." Fayt responded, hoping to get some sort of conversation going. Anything was better than this feeling of awkwardness right now.

"I know what ya mean. Too bad they don't just mark the way to the caves. You know a sign here a sign there. That'd make life a whole lot simpler." Cliff responded. He could feel some of the tension leaving Nel's shoulder from under his hand. Good thing too, he was even starting to feel out of place.

Fayt gave him a weird look then smiled at him for his comment. You could count on Cliff to make a joke at the weirdest of times. He was pretty good at that too. Fayt then looked over to Maria, who had stayed oddly silent and was looking over at Albel. She suddenly took on a look like she was going to speak and he had a feeling that he knew what was going to come out of her mouth. He would give anything to stop those words. He rushed over towards her. His hand outstretched, hoping he would make it in time.

"Albel shouldn't you mfffmphh..." Her words were muffled by a hand over her mouth. Fayt was almost ready to jump for joy as he realized that he had guessed right at her intentions and had stopped the words from escaping her mouth in time. Everything seemed to be returning to as close to normal as this trip had been.

"Bah." The Captain muttered. He then turned in the direction they had been going and continued to move forward. Nel followed soon after, silently. After the two had turned a corner Fayt dropped his hand from Maria's mouth.

"What was that for!" Maria shot out as soon as her mouth was free. It wasn't her style to be out of control of a situation. 'Besides, who does Fayt think he is! I am Quark's leader, I do deserve some respect!'

"I'm sorry, its just..." Fayt began, not really knowing how to explain everything.

"He realized what you were gonna say and had to stop you." Cliff finished. He came up beside the two smiling.

"Why exactly could I not say what I had intended to say?" Maria asked, still slightly angry.

"Well, call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that what you were going to say has a lot to do with how the argument started. I don't think Fayt here wanted everything to start all over again. So he uhhh improvised." Cliff smiled at his explanation, almost positive he was right. He had a hunch, and those were never wrong!

"Yeah, that's basically what happened. I just didn't want it to come to another argument. Still, I'm sorry." Fayt said to Maria. He like being respectful and felt badly about his rude actions, though they were necessary and called for. Still, rudeness wasn't his way of doing things.

"I see, no need to apologize then, next time warn me." Maria responded, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. "We had better catch up, there's no telling how much more Albel can take, despite what he says."

Fayt and Cliff nodded in agreement. They both saw Albel's condition and knew it was far from okay. He was being stubborn and because of that they needed to catch up. There could be a chance that he might collapse from his neglected injuries, and with the mood Nel was in a moment ago, they doubted that she would rush to his side to aid him.

Interesting day. We fall down a giant whole that Fayt supposedly did not see, and then we enter these caves with those damn freezing mermaid things. On top of that, Albel is still being a stubborn ass and has done nothing to aid his injuries.' Interesting indeed. But at least it almost seemed as if they were getting somewhere, except for where Albel was concerned. They had found an odd cave where the wind through the dragons' bones sounded eerie. Albel had explained the used of the dragon's windpipe to make flutes. So of course, like normal people, they decided to take the windpipe and see what they could do with it. To her surprise they actually were able to use the thing to create a flute. They had been extremely lucky to find the dilapidated workshop. This flute was supposed to be able to subdue dragons. Hopefully it could come in use and they hadn't wasted their time at the workshop. That would be most aggravating.

She sighed. Guard duty was very boring at times, though it was of course a necessary burden. The others, saved Albel who she could not see at the moment, were resting on the floors of the cavern they were currently in. Albel had volunteered in a rather demanding way that he be the one to keep watch at night. After an extreme amount of persistence from Fayt he had very reluctantly agreed to sleep half of the nights while someone else kept watch the other half. He had actually been keeping watch for at least half of the night every night since they had left Airygliph to come here. 'That includes that time in the mountains when it was just the two of you.' She thought to herself. She hadn't let herself really think about that time, it was a fluke, she was sure of it. He showed no sign of treating her differently than the others, if anything he seemed to try and anger her more. His small amount of kindness then was due to necessity. She doubted she could even consider his actions kind, they were dutiful at most.

'Speaking of Albel, where is he? He better be at least resting, his injuries are still serious. Chauvinistic ass.' She was almost positive he wasn't sleeping and was thus just further exhausting himself. Stubbornness was something she expected of him, but even though it was expected she was surprised that he really was this pigheaded. As silent as humanly possible she rose to her feet. Just because he wasn't sleeping with the group didn't mean he wasn't sleeping. He rarely slept in exactly the same place as everyone else, but he did stay close. His habits were strange.

As she crossed the rather wide area of the caves to a bend she thought of another event from that day. 'He was so angry when he attacked that air dragon earlier. That was the battle that he got injured in. I wonder why he was so angry.' She thought to herself. Then something came to her. That dragon, it had been after her. He had stopped it from attacking her straight on. The realization surprised her a great deal. And then she had the nerve to yell at him after he did all that to her? She was starting to feel really horrible about herself. 'Stop it Nel, you know he deserved it.' She told herself firmly. Still, she couldn't help but think about it.

She peaked her head around the corner. Nothing, but she entered the area none the less. It would be foolish of him to sleep completely out in the open and more than likely he would be somewhere in one of the outcroppings of the cave wall. After a few moments of inspection she found him. And to her pleasure, he was actually resting. His body was slumped against the wall on a slightly elevated platform. He looked almost to just be sitting, but his eyes being closed and the rhythm of his breathing guaranteed his sleeping state. For a moment she thought about applying the medical ointments to him while he was vulnerable, but she dismissed that idea. There was a chance he would wake up and would stab her on the spot. That would not be something pleasant, and she avoided it.

Instead she settled for inspecting his face. His mouth was set downwards and he was sweating slightly. 'Odd, it's chilly in here. Why would he be sweating?' She watched as his expression continued to worsen into something of a grimace. A nightmare? What in the world could frighten him? She had no clue, but she watched as his body jerked suddenly in a movement that meant he was in pain. She moved closer to him, trying to figure out some way to stop whatever it was that was hurting him but not wanting to wake him because he was in need of the healing. 'What exactly am I supposed to do?'

I lay dying

There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. His mind was already well en route to the memory. This nightmare always had to run its full course before it stopped. He could not wake himself from the memories, though he did try endlessly before. Now he just succumbed to them, knowing there was not a thing he could do to halt them. Sometimes it was easier to deal with it this way. Other times, it just seemed worse. There was no getting over this.

He watched his younger self enter the Urlsa Lava Caves. It was his turn to prove himself in the succession. His training had supplied him with much knowledge of the ways of the warrior and the military. However, this task was still one that not many took on, but it was required in order to become a part of the highly regarded dragon brigade. For honor and also to prove himself to his father, he had decided to engage in this treacherous past time. It took everything in him not to scream at his younger counterpart to stop, to turn around and forget this foolish mission. But he had tried that many times before, and still the stubborn boy continued on the path of death.

Regret, as it always did, built up in him. He regretted his foolish pride, his arrogance, his want of honor. They all led to this most foolish event. One that would never leave his mind. The stupid beasts ruined so many things that day, more than they could ever know. More than he himself realized.

And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal

The boy wondered blindly into the Lava caves, not knowing exactly what to expect, but having a faint idea. Albel remembered exactly what he had been thinking. In his foolishness he had been thinking about the celebrations to follow his most glorious victory. 'Oh how wrong I was.'

As the boy wandered about the caves, he searched for a dragon. Before he met one he came upon another beast though, a stone and lava beast. Albel could feel himself start to sweat as his younger self charged upon the enemy. His skills then had not been what they are now, but he was still quite a capable opponent. Relentlessly he charged at the monster, slashing with his sword as hard and as quickly as he could. Even then speed was a strength for him.

'Save your strength fool!' Albel screamed in his mind. He knew his thoughts made no difference though, and he still somehow did not open his mouth.

His younger counterpart was having some trouble with the beast. It seemed like he would defeat it, but the toll the thing took on him would be a different story. His eyes scanned the boy as he continued to attack as much as he could. There was no sign of despair or fear in his eyes, only a look of determination. It was quite the site, the small and frail looking boy bringing down the beast. Small cuts, bruises and burns graced his body and it looked as though he was slightly tired, but it was a great victory. But those thoughts were short lived.

"TURN AROUND YOU FOOL!" Albel barked loudly. It was the first time so far that he had actually spoken. However, the boy was deaf to the shouts, and continued resting for a moment. There was no way the beings in this dream could hear him and he knew that, but this, this was ridiculous to him.

Out of the murky darkness of the caves came an air dragon. And it wasn't just any air dragon, it was extremely large and very powerful looking. Not exactly what potential new members of the Dragon Brigade were supposed to face. But the boy still remained oblivious to the presence of danger as he shoved some blueberries in his mouth in an effort to regain his lost strength. Without warning the dragon's tail came out and whisked the boy's feet out from under him, letting out a loud growl at the same time. 'No not again.'

Young Albel was now pulling himself up from the jagged and heated ground of the cave. He hadn't been able to heal himself as much as he would have would have liked to. At the moment he was quite vulnerable to attack.

"MOVE! DO SOMETHING WORM!" Albel again screamed at him. He could see every cut that adorned his younger self's body. He could feel them too. Each one a prickle of pain. There was a doubt in the boy's mind, he could feel that too. He could feel everything. The fear, the pride, the determination, the hope, it was all there. But these feelings only led him to get even more angry.

The figure before him righted himself the beast swiped a huge claw at him, catching the center of his back and ripping through the armor that he did wear. Crimson rivulets began to leak out of the newly formed gashes. They were deep, he could feel them. He still bore those scars along with many others. The boy screamed out in pain and again fell to the floor of the cavern. But he was still moving, doing what he could. Albel watched as the his young self made a successful attempt at taking in some blueberries. 'It's no use...its no use.' Just before the dragon had a chance to swipe again the boy rolled out of the way. His breath was coming roughly now, the gashes on his back throbbing painfully. Still Albel watched as the he rose, ignoring the crippling pain in his back. The boy drew his sword, and charged directly at the monstrous beast, striking it in its large belly. The dragon gave a small scream, causing a smirk to rise on the boy's face.

'No...get away now fool. You don't stand a chance.' Albel's words remained as thoughts again as he coped with the pain. This was far from the worst part and he knew it. The air dragon made sure he would suffer.

Again the boy was charging full speed, but was caught by the tail of the dragon and halted. The huge muscle threw him back against a wall, eliciting a scream from the boy. He was now barely able to move, the gashes in his back had been ripped open even further. But the boy refused to give up. Again he pulled himself up, but this time only into a crouching position.

I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming

Again the dragon brought its mightily claw back to strike. As it struck the ground rocks flew up everywhere. The cave even seemed to fear this beast. Once the debris cleared Albel again remembered this. The boy, he had rolled just to the side of where the dragon had just struck. There were rocks and dirt covering his form, but again he rose.

"JUST STAY DOWN FOOL!" Albel heard himself scream out again. If he had just stayed down, maybe...

His younger counterpart was on his feet again, slouching, but his grip was still tight on the sword in his hands. He still believed he could defeat the beast. Again he charged with all his might at the beast. He managed to lunge his blade into the chest of the dragon. A sound of pure rage and pain came from the beast as it reared back from the boy. By luck he was able to pull the sword out before it was taken with the dragon. But just because the dragon was injured did not mean anything was finished. Within the same moment the dragon had moved in for and attack, pushing its immense head toward the warrior who dared challenge him. The boy moved as quickly as he could backward into a small opening, one the dragon's head could not fit in. Physics didn't stop the dragon, it pushed roughly against the enclosure, its teeth barred right in front of his prey.

The boy pulled back his sword, readjusted his grip, and slammed the sword forward, right into the eye of the monster. This time when the dragon pulled back, it took his sword with him despite the boy's best effort to pull the sword back out. However, the dragon's reaction to the new injury allowed the boy enough time to escape the small enclosure. But without a sword he was losing faith in this battle. He was beginning to consider the option of retreating, but he realized his exit was currently blocked by a certain obstacle. There was no choice in the matter, he would have to go through his enemy.

Without a second thought he jumped out into the most open space available to him, grabbed a rock and threw it at the monster. This effectively caught his attention, and there was now no way that the dragon was just going to let him go.

Am I too lost to be saved

The sword was still protruding from the dragon's now closed and swollen eye. The boy eyed it, a plan forming in his mind as he ran towards the dragon. If there was any way he was going to make it out of here, that sword was required to be in his hands. The dragon had other ideas. It batted its tail at the nuisance, and brought a claw down in the area that his tail had just swiped. Somehow the boy managed to jump out of the oncoming tail's way, but was unable to completely dodge the claw completely. The chest plate of his armor was now destroyed and he was bleeding there too. But it was then he saw his chance. In a flash he was in the air, and had jumped past the head of the dragon, ripping his sword from the beast's appendage.

He landed on the other side of the dragon and staggered down to his knees. His injuries were catching up to him, his vision was now cloudy. Small black spots were appearing before his eyes periodically and despite continuous attempts to clear them by blinking, they did not fade. Another growl from the dragon along with footsteps caused the boy to pull himself to a standing position again. The beast was infuriated and, despite the two very deep stab wounds, was still in comparatively good shape.

Albel's younger self decided it best to run towards the entrance, should he need immediate aid once he finished this damn beast off. So, moving as quickly as his wounded body could, he sprinted back through the winding caves. Several monsters had tried to impede his way, but when they saw what was chasing him, they fled the area, allowing him to continue forward. When he slid through the final bend into the main room he fell. His body was exhausted and needed a break, something he did not have time for as the dragons huge footsteps closed in on him. He pushed himself from the floor that was now stained with his blood. His arms nearly gave out from the weight of his body. Still he was upright once again.

"YOU WEAK MAGGOT, JUST LEAVE!" Albel had finally come back to himself again and was screaming at the boy. This time his voice was higher than the last, and he was trying to lunge toward the boy, but his body was held in place by something akin to shackles. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help the boy. It was out of his hands.

Am I too lost

The boy charged at the dragon, his sword aimed at its heart. Unfortunately he was met with a downward swipe of the beast's claw. His sword flew from his hands, his wrist twisting painfully with the unexpected onslaught. After a moment the dragon drew back its head, then opened its huge mouth, a sea of fire emerging from it. The boy's eyes widened as this happened and he drew up his shield as quickly as he could.

Luckily the shield had diverted most of the flame, but the places where he was gripping the shield were searing hot and were melting the flesh that it touched. For now the boy ignored this, only giving a small hiss of pain. He knew that there was a chance the dragon would do the same thing again. Before the smoke cleared the dragon's tail came out and smacked along his midriff, sending him again to his rear.

Then the dragon reared back again, pushed its head forward and opened its giant mouth. Another wave of flames rained down upon him. He held up his shield knowing that it would not be enough, but he had to try something. The flames engulfed his arm, burning his flesh beyond repair. The boy let out a scream of pain. He couldn't help it, there was no way he could have suppressed it even though he desperately wanted to.

Albel himself shook at the sound. That scream had been of pain, but also cause more.

Suddenly, a man entered the cave, and watched what was happening. His eyes too widened at the size of the dragon, just as his son's had when he set his sights upon him. But it made no difference to the man. He charged over toward the beast, his own blade in hand. The boy had not noticed him until the dragon stopped with its breath, apparently more interested in something else. He watched speechlessly as his father engaged his burden. He couldn't allow this to happen. There was no way he was going to disgrace his father by not completing his task.

"NO, FATHER!" The boy yelled to him, but he paid no mind. Albel himself had yelled the same thing at the same exact time.

My god, my tourniquet

The boy watched as his father continued to joust with the huge dragon. He had now taken on a few injuries himself, but it was nothing that serious. The young Albel looked around him for something that could help, namely his sword. He spotted it a small distance from where the current fight was happening. With much difficulty he managed to get himself off the ground, his burnt arm throbbing violently in protest. What he hadn't realized is that his movements had distracted his father, causing him to be caught off guard by the dragon's claws.

However, the boy by now had his sword, and after seeing his father on the ground, he ran towards the dragon that was approaching his downed parent. He plunged the blade as deeply as he could into the dragon's side. His many injuries screamed in protest at his actions, but there was no way this beast was going to kill his father. He wrenched the blade back out, nearly falling backwards from his own wooziness as he did so. His father was back on his feet and was now taking something out of his pocket. The boy did not have time to pay attention though, for the dragon was again focused on him. Its beady yellow eyes locked with his own crimson ones. It seemed it could now open both eyes despite the injury it was earlier dealt.

Still young Albel drove his blade at the dragon's chest. It successfully made contact, but at that movement he saw out of the corner of his eye caused him to jump back, abandoning his sword in the beast's chest. Just as he moved a claw came down on the place he was just standing. Surely that would have been the killing blow. He found himself on his butt again, it was the only way he could land and he did not have the strength in him to bolt to his feet again.

The dragon came upon him.

"No..." Albel said out loud. Each injury was taking its toll on his body too, he could feel everything.

Again the mighty mouth was opening, but this time the boy knew that the shield that he had with him would do almost nothing. He would be reduced to ashes. But there was a sudden movement.

"No..." Albel repeated again, his hands coming to his head. Some unknown force kept his head glued to the spot and his eyes open despite his effort to try and close them or turn away.

The beast let out a torrent of fire, but a shadow loomed over the boy.

"No father!" The young Albel cried out. His father looked down upon him, that look forever haunted him.

"Albel, my son, you must survive!" He ground out painfully as the flames licked at the skin of his back. The boy looked up at his father, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "No father, you can't! STOP!"

Return to me salvation

"NO!" Albel cried out.

The wounds, each one was aching, hurting all anew. The burns were fresh and unforgiving, marring his skin. His father's form was hovering above his own in its saving grace. His throat felt tight, his chest was constricting. Everything was moving slower now. Everything. He watched as the boy cried out again. His father meant everything to him, especially since his mother had past away in the last year. But the boy's cries were unanswered. They were met only with more flames.

Before he could witness his father's death something shook him. Something from outside of his body. Albel found himself thanking the thing, whatever it was, with all of his being.

My god my tourniquet

Green eyes stared back at him as his crimson one's shot open quickly, his breath coming in gasps. Her hand was still on his shoulder, where she had shook him to wake him up. When she heard him cry out she knew it would be best that she woke him.

She moved back as he brought his body off the stone of the wall. She also withdrew her hand from his shoulder but continued to stare at him, not sure what could have caused this to happen to him. He put his good hand to his head, as if to clear his mind of the memories of the nightmare. How she wanted to ask what it was about, but she also did not want to bring up what was obviously painful to him.

After a few moments he still hadn't let his hand drop from his head and she came close to him again, almost worried that something might be wrong with him. 'I'm not worried...I just have to make sure he's not dying. The others would blame me if he died on my watch.' She told herself. She was surprised when he didn't at least acknowledge her presence or proximity. Her eyes scanned his body. It didn't seem like his injuries had recovered at all from the amount of sleep he had gotten. Without another thought she began to cast a healing spell. 'This is getting fixed right now whether he likes it or not.'

Her fingers touched the side of his body where the wound was, instantly healing it along with the other scratches and cuts that were adorning him.

Return to me Salvation

The contact seemed to bring him out of whatever state he was in. His hand dropped from his head, revealing his eyes. His ragged breathing was now calm.

He looked directly at her. She jumped back. The look in his eyes was frightening. His crimson eyes, they were full of something. Hate? Anger? There were many different things swirling in those pools of rouge. it wasn't that his eyes were holding any kind of threat or malice towards her, none more than usual anyway, it was just that she had never seen him like this. He was still silent. Usually be now some sort of insult would have been thrown her way. 'That must have been some nightmare to leave him silent.' Again she wanted to ask what exactly his dream was about, but she wasn't going to let her curiosity get the better of her.

"What are you staring at fool?" The voice caused her to regain her head. She blinked a few times then tore her eyes away from Albel's. She almost thought she could feel heat on her cheeks, but there was no way that was possible.

"Excuse me for breathing." Nel replied sarcastically. It seemed as though there wasn't anything wrong after all. He already insulted her, everything was back to normal then. 'I shouldn't have even bothered worrying...no wait, who said I was worried? I'm only here because if anything happened to him then Fayt would be angry, which would displeasure Her Majesty.' That was it. Exactly, nothing more. As these thoughts passed through her head she was unconsciously waiting for a response from Albel. It was only when he moved passed her that she realized he had gone silent again.

His slim form slid past her and he made his way off the elevated area that he had been sleeping on, not looking back at all. Nel kept her eyes trained on him, wondering where exactly he was going to go. His shift was coming up in an hour or so and he better not be thinking about making her pull an all nighter. Though he might not need it, Nel loved her sleep.

"Don't even think about skipping your watch tonight." She said to his back. He stopped for a moment and let out a sound that sounded somewhat like his familiar "Bah" then continued walking without turning around. Nel had been expecting a little more of a retaliation than that, but sometimes he could be like that. His form disappeared around the corner into the cavern where everyone else was still sleeping. After a few moments she moved off the platform to follow him. 'I'm not following him, I'm just going back to where
I was.'

She reentered the area and glanced about. Everyone still appeared to be dozing rather peacefully. Everyone except a certain Glyphian. Despite several glances around she couldn't see him anywhere inside. She sighed. Tonight was certainly turning out to be a lot more interesting than she had planned. There weren't very many places for them to go and she wasn't sure why, but she had an urge to seek him out. Strange as it may be, she followed this urge and, with a final glance around to make sure that everyone would be okay without her watch, she began walking down one of the paths.

He slipped himself out from behind the drenching streams of the waterfall letting as little moisture graze him as was possible. 'Those stupid caves annoy me to no end.' He thought to himself. Luckily there weren't any monsters in the immediate area. That would at least allow him to be at ease for what little time he did have left before he had to take up his duty of watching over the maggots.

'She probably thinks I'm going to make her pull double duty. I should, the fool. She had no right coming near me.' Stupid thought. He instantly remembered the dream he had. A sour look came upon his face, even in waking those memories were quite disturbing. He grunted then shook his head. Only a fool dwells upon what they cannot change. And Albel Nox was no fool, or so he told himself. So instead of spending his time in his mind, he brought his gaze upwards, looking towards the heavens.

What he couldn't understand was why so many people worshiped the skies. As far as he could see there was nothing special about them. They were dark at night, and sometimes during the day. They were what caused the people of Airygliph to starve in times of poor weather. And in times of 'good weather' things were almost no different. However there was one thing that fascinated him about the skies, and that was the stars.

He found it odd how something so small could stand out so brightly in a sea of black. Many people inquired about what exactly those things were, but he could care less. If it was necessary for him to know what they were, eventually the time would come and someone would inform him. At least, that's how he looked at it. It wasn't that he found asking questions to be a stupid practice, but at the same time it might be more to your benefit to feign knowledge about a subject.

'Whatever.' He thought dismally. These moods were weird for him and he despised them. They made him look at things from odd perspectives and see things in a different light. Often a light that he would rather not have come across. Things like, how would your father have done this or he would have never done that came to his mind. But again there was no way to change things that had already transpired. That is why he hated these moods, something inside him insisted that things still could be changed.

"Fool." He said aloud. His crimson orbs were still glued to the stars, one in particular. Something about it must have caught his eye, but there didn't seem to be anything special about it.

Do you remember me

It was a question he often asked the sky when he stopped to observe it. That wasn't all that often, but it did happen from time to time. His mind drifted back. There was a time that Woltar had tried to explain why his father had jumped in during the Accession of the Flame.

.:Flashback:.

"What are you doing out here boy?"

For some reason he had decided to go outside. He wasn't really quite sure why, he just couldn't stand being indoors for the moment and his mind was on certain recent events. But there was no way that he would tell the old man that. None at all.

"Leave me alone old man." There was no need for respect. It wasn't like there was anyone around to chastise him any more. He looked over at the old man through his shaggy bangs wondering what exactly his reaction would be.

"Learn some respect boy. Your father wouldn't want you to behave like a barbarian."

"You have no clue what my father would want. He's dead fool." Every word was dripping with absolute hate, and it was clear that his control was being tested. No one mentioned his father, he had heard to many statements about what a 'great man' he was and how 'he truly was a hero.' He truly was a fool.

"That may be so but you cannot live like this forever. Your father saved you for a reason." Woltar responded. Quickly Albel turned on him, a scowl smeared across his young features, his muscles tense.

"He saved me, someone who should have failed the test and been left to burn. He was a fool!" His eyes dared Woltar to argue against him. He was so confident that he already had this dispute won.

"With that attitude it's a wonder why he did save you, boy. But listen to me now, and listen well boy." He took a small pause, inhaling deeply and shutting his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them he looked towards the stars.

"He saved you because he loved you." Albel opened his mouth to protest, but Woltar continued.

"I know you've heard that, but think about it. You were his son. And even if you don't think it, he believed you were destined for great things." Woltar then stopped and turned to look at Albel. He wasn't looking down upon him though, he looked at him as something of an equal. This action confused the young Albel, but he didn't care.

"Just another reason he was a fool." Albel muttered then turned away from the old man.

"I hope you don't feel that way forever boy. Then your father's sacrifice would have been a waste." Those were the last words the old man said before he reentered his large mansion.

.:End Flashback:.

Albel pulled himself from his thoughts. 'Foolish old coot.' Woltar knew how to manipulate people, that was probably what he was trying to do when he had spoken those words. At least, that's what he believed. The old man was quite a card. Still, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what Woltar had said.

Lost for so long

'Maybe this journey now is what my life is supposed to lead to...Foolish nonsense. Only the weak believe in a predetermined fate.' Religion was something he couldn't bring himself to accept, and so was the idea of destinies.

Briefly he realized just about what time it was. It would soon be time for him to take over that irritating job of guarding camp. He smirked to himself. Zelpher was probably just about ready to kill him because he had left camp without saying anything and possibly leaving her to take the full night. 'There' something so amusing in pissing her off.' He quieted his thoughts once again, this time determined to clear his mind.

Almost instantly his ears picked up a noise that he hadn't noticed before. Someone was with him, and they were breathing, Albel realized with disdain. He didn't move at all. The last thing he wanted to do at this moment was to let whoever it was know that he knew they were there. No, he had a much more subtle and refined way of doing things. 'Let's play.'

He began to walk further away from the cave and the waterfall that hid it from sight. There was no doubt in his mind that whoever it was would follow him. At least, that was what he was hoping for. No particular destination came to mind, all he needed was a certain type of area. As he rounded a bend he found what he was looking for. 'Oh yes, this is going to be fun.'

When he had started to move away from the entrance she knew something was up. Her instincts told her that there was something amiss. But she couldn't help herself. With a last look back into the caves, she left, trailing behind him far enough so that he shouldn't be able to hear her movements. Her steps were calculated and she stayed in a low crouched position, just in case he did happen to get suspicious.

She watched as he disappeared around a corner and she slowly inched her way up to it. For some reason she was very weary about turning this corner. 'Please don't say I'm getting a hunch...I'm killing Cliff.' With that thought she moved herself around the corner, very surprised at what she did find.

Will you be on the other side

At her throat, she could feel the cool blade just touching her neck, not enough pressure to cause an incision, but still, this was not a favorable position. Her daggers were limply hanging in her hands. She had just enough time to draw them but not enough to actually divert the attack. Her heart was racing. Never had she been caught in such a vulnerable position. The one that held her captive was currently behind her. He had used one of the oldest tactics in the book. He simply jumped down from an elevated area on the corner to come up behind her.

"So, you're the maggot that's been following me." His voice was amuse. Oh how she wanted to throttle him right now. The only problem was, she couldn't even find her voice to speak. It was hard enough to suppress the shakes that were threatening to overtake her body.

"My you're silent Zelpher. Care to explain why you've been watching me?" His blade was still firmly pressed to her throat. She was almost afraid to talk in fear of moving too much and cutting herself. But she couldn't take his tone. Who did he think he was talking down to her!

"Drop your blade now Nox or I swear I will..." She was cut off.

"I don't think you are in any position to make demands fool. Now, answer the question." With that he came up more closely behind her, his body now extremely close to touching hers. The blade that was at her throat seemed to come closer, if that were at all possible.

"I..." She paused. That damn sword was having quite an effect on her. No matter how she tried to hid it, she was afraid of being cut down right here. She tried to back away slightly but found herself slamming into Albel's chest. However, he didn't move the blade any closer, it wasn't like she was all that far away from it anyway. She took a deep breath and readied herself to give some sort of explanation.

"I saw you leave the cavern after I woke you." Nel hoped that little explanation might suffice, but she knew it wouldn't and he was quick to shoot it down.

"Keep going Zelpher, that was a sad attempt." Albel replied. He was going to let her off the hook easy, that much was now obvious. Nel closed her eyes. What exactly was she supposed to say to him? Why did she follow him? She couldn't even answer those questions for herself, how could she answer them for him? But this was quite an uncomfortable position. There had to be something she could say. Anything would help right about now.

"You shouldn't leave camp without telling one of the others."

"You saw me leave, that's enough, is it not?" Albel replied. 'Shit. Now what the hell am I supposed to say? I could just keep arguing this point. There's a chance that I can still get myself out of this.'

"And how was I supposed to know where you were going or if you weren't just going to desert us?" She said coolly to him.

"You maggots know I can do no such thing. I have orders fool." He replied and began to press the blade closer to Nel's neck again. He brought his head down next to her ear and whispered into it. "Strike two, next one and I lop your head off. So try and make it good Zelpher."

She forced herself to take a breath to calm both her anger and her nerves.

"Why should anyone need a reason to follow you? You're the one that won't tend to your own wounds! You're so irresponsible it's pathetic!" Too bad that calming breath didn't work. She shut her mouth. Insulting your captor wasn't the greatest way to try and escape. She had a feeling that pain would be a problem in her very near future.

"Don't tell me you were worried Zelpher." He nearly spat the words out of his mouth as if they were incredulous to him.

"Slime." Nel replied without thinking. He shoved her away from her roughly, moving his blade just in time to avoid her moonlit skin. In an instant his sword was sheathed and he was turning the corner again to head back in the direction they had come.

Or will you forget me

Nel picked herself up off of the cold rocky ground, grabbing her daggers which she had dropped when he pushed her. Her mind was swimming right now. On one hand she couldn't believe that she had actually gotten out of that predicament with her head still in place. However, on the other hand she felt guilty. Albel seemed pissed when he mentioned the thought of her worrying about him. His face had taken on the same look as when he was looking at the stars at one point. He seemed quite bitter.

She placed her daggers back in their respective places on her waste, then began to follow in his footsteps back to the caves and the cavern they had been staying in. But she still couldn't get her mind off certain little details. The look on his face before she had woken him was one of them. Another was how he just went outside and looked at the stars. She might not know him that well but he definitely didn't strike her as the type to go stargazing .

'Maybe there really is something wrong with him.'

I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming

As she reentered the caves she forced herself not to think about it. Albel Nox wasn't worth the time or head aches entailed with deep thought. The war between their countries may be over, but there were some things that she didn't think would ever change. Whether she was supposed to or not she still though of the Wicked One as an enemy and enemies didn't deserve her contemplation. That was what she had always told herself. There was no point in changing her philosophies now.

She was only partially shocked to see the object of her contemplations leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the cavern where everyone was sleeping. He made no move to acknowledge her presence and for some reason that bothered her. 'Arrogant jerk.' Was he really that angry at her for following him? 'Well, two can play at this game,' she thought.

Am I too lost to be saved

With her lips sealed she sat down right across from him, staring directly at him but making a point to look away but at him whenever he lifted his head or seemed to turn in her direction. This little game continued for the better part of an hour until finally one of the two geniuses decided to say something.

"Don't you need to sleep Zelpher?" Albel questioned, it almost seemed as though he was talking to the rock beside him rather than to her. He was staring at it rather intently.

Nel looked over at him. She just remembered how tired he was now that he had said something about it. Strange how things like that could slip your mind in the heat of a battle. She wanted to say something in response but found that there was nothing for her to say. There was absolutely no reason for her to stop and start this little game but she did. And on top of that she had no clue why she did. Plus she didn't want to actually tell Albel that she was tired. Somehow he would use that information against her, she knew it.

Am I too lost

But somehow she felt she owed him some sort of response. And a response he would get.

"Aren't you lacking in rest as well?" She asked. It was a rhetorical question but she was sure he would respond. And she was right.

"I wouldn't be if someone hadn't disturbed me." Albel replied, still staring at that poor innocent rock. He was glaring daggers at that thing and even if rocks weren't alive his gaze had to be painful. But those words struck a nerve with her. She didn't allow her voice to rise for fear of waking the others, but she did speak a piece of her mind.

"Next time I'll let you enjoy your nightmare Nox. And I'll make sure to let you bleed to death." Nel replied, her voice low and dangerous. She was staring directly at him now and was awaiting the confrontation that was sure to come.

"There wouldn't have been any wounds if you knew how to fight fool." He replied, he still hadn't turned to look at her and that was beginning to piss her off. Did he have no respect? Or was he always this chauvinistic? It didn't matter, no one insulted her fighting skills. She was a Crimson Blade after all.

"If I recall correctly you were the one trying to take on two dragons at once." Each word was laced with deadly venom.

"And you were the fool who couldn't even protect herself from an air dragon." He finally brought his gaze directly upon her, what she had been trying to get him to do for probably an hour now. But the honesty of that statement stung her and she remembered just how he had come in between her and the dragon. The movements that he had to perform probably did tear his wounds open further than what they would have been had he not had to jump in. 'In a sense he saved me...'

My God my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

Now she was faced with a decision. A part of her was saying that he still owed her an apology. There was no way that he wanted to stay in that nightmare and she had done the right thing in waking her up. The other part of her was telling her to at least show some gratitude for what he had done earlier. In a sense, both sides won out.

"You're right. It caught me off guard." She said, her voice lighter, almost reflective. The change in her demeanor surprised Albel, she could see it in his crimson eyes. But she wasn't done yet. There was a little more to be said, on his part to, and she was going to make him spit something out.

"But don't you think you should have at least let me heal your wounds without threatening to kill me?" She asked sarcastically, yet keeping her voice in a bouncy tone.

"I didn't need to be healed." Albel shot back, though it didn't sound like he was all that angry.

"Right, just like you would have preferred to stay in that nightmare than to have been woken up." Nel smiled to herself. There wasn't any smart response to that and she knew it. And by the look on Albel's face, he knew it as well. 'Score: Nel 1 The Wicked 0. Ah it feels good to be the best.'

My God my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

"So you decided to become my private stalker? How flattering Zelpher."

'Damn it! How does he always come up with something to say! It's so frustrating! Right when you think you've got him too. Score: Nel 1 The Wicked 1. Lucky shot.' She took a few moments to try and come up with something to counter with, but her brain was foggy from lack of sleep. Her fatigue was wearing on her and this conversation, if you could call it that, wasn't helping.

"Next time I'll be sure not to worry." As she said this she closed her eyes stood up and gave her body a light stretch. She missed the look that passed over Albel's face at her words. When she reopened her eyes she looked into the area where the others were sleeping. That was looking like a great idea right about now. Without further ado she began to walk towards her things laying near a corner in the room.

"Where do you think you're going Zelpher?" Albel asked before she got too far into the cavern.

"I'm going to leave you alone and get some sleep. Not going to lob my head off for that, are you Nox?" She asked him but didn't wait for a reply. She continued over to her corner and unrolled her sleeping things from her pack. It was on instinct that she always traveled lightly and before long she was settled on the cave floor awaiting the goddess of dreams to come to her and take her away.

Albel just sat there on guard duty. He did take to sharpening his sword for a little while in preparation for tomorrow. It would probably me the day when they met the Marquis and it wasn't something he was looking forward to. Dragons were scum.

I want to die

Funny how he had been right. It had been the very next day they had found Crossel and recruited him against his will. And what a battle that was. The beast was huge. But he was quite effective for what they did need him for. Aquaria's runological weapon had been mounted on him with ease. And before he knew it they were in the skies fighting the celestial ships and 'saving the planet.'

Then it was supposed to be time for goodbyes. That's when he left. Those things were never his style and he considered them a waste of time. Besides who was there to say goodbye to? The blonde oaf? His hunches got on Albel's last nerve. That Maria wench? Her commanding attitude was enough to make him not think twice. And that naive boy Fayt, there was nothing to say goodbye to there. But somehow he didn't feel bitter towards any of them. They had all, to some extent, shown their usefulness and strength. 'What about Zelpher? You never did come up with a reason for not saying goodbye to her.' 'She's an Aquarian wench, that's reason enough.'

My God my tourniquet

Return to me Salvation

He reached Peterny by midday and only stopped to grab something to eat on the way. He was then in route to Arias. By his estimations he should be able to reach the riverfront village right around nightfall. Despite his dislike of the place it would be in his best interest to stay the night there. Then he could head to Kirlsa and check in with the old man before heading back to Airygliph and reporting to the king. His mind wandered as he made his way across the bridge leading into the war torn village. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay at the Lasbard mansion now that he no longer had any real allegiance with the Aquarian forces, but the Inn would suffice.

He was more exhausted than he thought he should be by the time he did actually get a room and settle into it. It had been quite a fight to actually attain a room because of who he was, Albel the Wicked. Fortunately for him the Lasbard girl had come in for something and had demanded that they allow him to stay there. To him it really made no difference, if necessary he would just have kept going and rested in Kirlsa tomorrow. But he was slightly grateful to the woman, though he made no move to show it.

Night crept in and darkness consumed the small town. It wasn't long until everyone was asleep.

These hills were nothing but a nuisance. They were occupied with hardly any monsters but were swarming with Glyphian soldiers. Thus he had no entertainment as he passed through the area that morning. An occasional soldier would address him with the usual "Glad to see you're back sir," or "Welcome back captain." It all meant nothing to him. He was feeling oddly empty right now and so he was irritable, more so than usual.

'The mining town of Kirlsa. Home of that old man's nagging.' Albel thought to himself. For some reason he wasn't quite up to conversing with the old man about how everything had turned out with Aquaria. 'I need a little training first I think. Nothing like a few deaths to get the blood flowing.' With that he directed himself towards the Granah Hills, the area that contained the training facility. There were always a few monsters lingering there. And probably a few inside as well.

Of course, as usual he had been right. There were monsters roaming all over the place, inside and out. They weren't really a challenge, but they did provide him with something other than thought to occupy his mind. But here he was again, thinking. At times he almost wished himself incapable of such a thing.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by a strange noise. He was on the roof and he quickly leapt up onto one of the ledges and concealed himself behind a pillar. The spy business was something he did miss at times. It could be quite interesting finding out things that would destroy and opponent.

He watched as some beings, apparently humans, appeared before him out of what looked to be thin air. He forced himself to remain silent despite his disbelief at what he was witnessing. From what he could tell these humans didn't seem to have any interest in moving out. They were just standing where they were as if they were waiting for something. 'What the hell could they be waiting for?'

As if on cue more beings started to appear. Most of these he recognized. But what were they doing back here? Didn't they say their business was done on this planet? Albel found himself compelled to move closer. There was a need for him to know what was happening. Silently he crept towards the rear of the first party that had appeared while he kept his eyes on his former comrades. They didn't seem all that at ease.

That's when he noticed something he couldn't see from his prior position. These humans had hostages that were apparently valuable to Fayt and his group. 'But why come here?' There were a lot of things that weren't making that much sense to him right now. Especially that odd machine that had come out of the air with the oddly dressed group. Albel looked at Fayt to see if he had any reaction to the machine, but apparently he hadn't really noticed it yet. So he then looked at the rest of the group. Maria had seemed to take quite an interest in the machine and wasn't looking too happy.

'I guess I could do them a favor. This could turn out to be interesting.' With that he stormed out of hiding, sprinting toward the machine. He brought his sword down upon the metal heap powerfully from numerous different angles and, as far as he could tell, rendered it useless. Then he dashed out of the surrounding enemies and towards Fayt's group. What he didn't expect was the blow that he received with no one in range of him. Nor did he understand the searing pain in his shoulder that seemed to be eating at his flesh.

My god my tourniquet

Return to me salvation

He almost expected Zelpher to come up and yell at him while she cast a healing spell. But no such luck came his way. Fayt and the others quickly pooled around him. Their words were fuzzy, as were his own. He couldn't understand how a single shot had taken him down. The idea was utterly ridiculous!

But there wasn't any stopping it. His eyelids were forcing themselves shut and he didn't have the energy to keep them open. 'This can't be the end. I won't let it be.'

My wounds cry for the grave

He was out cold in moments.

When his eyes reopened he was met with a completely unfamiliar surroundings. 'Walls of metal? What the hell are all these things attached to me?' He thought as he looked down at his arm. A few lines of something were running from some propped up bag and into his skin via an incision in his arm. Instead of just ripping them out right away he sat up. For all he knew they could be some sort of device that would trigger something he didn't want to happen when removed.

The action of sitting up was only slightly painful. He looked over to his now bandaged shoulder. It still hurt more than he would have liked. He was firmly considering chopping the offending area of his body off when a voice came to him.

"So, you're awake. Good. That boy would be even more of a mess if you were to die too." It was a woman's voice, a woman he did not know. He looked over to the owner of said voice. She was wearing some white outfit over what looked to be common clothes among Fayt's type of people.

"Where am I maggot?"

"Quite the socialist aren't we? You're on the Quark ship Diplo. We had to treat your wound from the Vendeeni rifle." She explained this all while coming over to him and, without hesitating at touching him, pulling the lines from his arm. He was both angered and surprised at the audacity of the woman to touch him without his permission. 'I'll have to kill her some time.'

My soul cries for deliverance

"I'll go get the others. They will be quite happy with your progress.." With that she left the room through an odd sliding door mechanism that shut immediately after she departed. Things were getting more and more confusing by the second.

He swung his feet out from under the white sheets they had been in and brought them to hang over the side of the bed, his feet touching the ground. At the very least his strength had returned. The only problem now was figuring out what was going on. Something told him he wouldn't really understand much of what he was told though. Apparently Cliff's hunches had worn on him as well.

Standing, he experimentally stretched his limbs. The only pain he had came from his shoulder. That was a good sign, or at least as good of a sign as he had gotten so far. He began to walk around the tiny room when Fayt came in.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Fayt said, a sad smile gracing his face. Albel guessed it had something to do with death, the doctor had mentioned something like that before she left. 'I wonder who croaked...'

"We'll be able to return you to Elicoor whenever you're ready. I'm sorry for any trouble we've caused you." Fayt continued. Sometimes the politeness of the blue haired maggot confused and annoyed him.

"Just where do you think I'm going fool?" Albel replied. It looked as though there were things to be done on a grander scale than his country, or even his world. This could be interesting in many ways.

Will I be denied Chirst

"We have to return you to Airygliph. We've already intervened too much in your world." Fayt tried to explain. But his words were falling upon deaf ears. Albel didn't even appear to be listening at all. There was no way to tell though.

"I'm not going back to that boring world when there are battles to be won out here." Albel said in finality. Despite himself, Fayt smiled. Albel was a competent warrior and would be an asset in battle. But he did feel guilty for pulling the man out of his normal life and intertwining him into business that had nothing to do with him.

"Fine. You'd be an asset any way. Thank you Albel." Fayt said then paused before he continued. "I'll be back later to brief you on everything and explain a few things to you since I'm sure you have questions. But right now I have to meet with the rest of the crew."

"Do as you will." Albel replied. Fayt gave a quick farewell and exited the room through the odd sliding contraption.

Tourniquet

'So this will be the second time I didn't say goodbye.' He thought to himself. But this time he didn't know what he was getting into. Everything was an unknown factor to him. It was almost exhilarating, in a sick and twisted sense. But the battlefield was where he belonged, of that he was sure.

My suicide

That's it for this chapter! Please let me know what you think! -