: Fragment No. 4 :

True Colors

Quick FlashBack:

Macha laughed in her sing-song voice, "Elk's decided to come with me now.. I won't have to be left all by myself… He's going to stay here with me after you all are dead."

"What!" the Twin Blade asked with surprised wide eyes. He immediately turned his head to look from the Phase to the boy he'd just recently spent a whole day with, "Elk, it's not true, right? Right!"

Elk glared coldly down at him, raising his Staff and answering slowly, "It's… true…"

Σ Graceful Tempting Fallen Angel – CONTINUE

Kite felt his Heart shatter into several pieces the moment he head the younger boy's answer. It couldn't be… It just couldn't be… Elk wouldn't turn against them all of a sudden! Although, this Phase Beast had once been his very first and probably best friend… would he really turn against them for her?

"Why…? Tell me why! Why've you sided with Macha!"

"Her name is Mia!" the Wavemaster shouted angrily at him, casting a spell, "OrbiAni Don!"

The older boy looked around the air, seeing many black skulls materialize out of the Darkness. They all flew down toward him and did some major damage.

"Kite!" called Balmung and Wiseman in unison, the old Wavemaster casting Pha Repth on him.

Although Kite knew that he still had the older PCs on his side, he didn't know if he could continue fighting now… with Elk turned against them… how could he?

Macha held her hands up again, another ball of light forming there. As she threw it at Kite, she spoke.

"Sprite of Love! Come on, Elk! I'm sure you can attack, too!"

Elk nodded, spinning his Staff in an expert-like way as he cast several different Spells at once, "OrVak Rom! OrGan Don! LaRue Zot! MeRai Rom! OrbiAni Don!"

The Twin Blade had been pushed back slightly by the Phase's attack, but it did next to no damage to him. Why was this? It missed, and he thought that was on purpose, just to get Elk to attack him. He panted, looking up just in time to notice all the oncoming Magic Spells that the young Wavemaster had cast to do damage to him and him only.

A tornado of fire came up from the ground beneath his feet, trapping him in the middle of it. He yelled out in pain as he lost about a fifth of his full HP, but then came the next attack… Boulders suddenly dropped down from the ceiling on top of him, causing another fifth to go down. The tornado of fire that had been spinning around him faltered, and he thought the attacks were done.

Just as he was about to fall down, columns of ice rose from the ground and broke all around him, causing another fifth of his Health to disappear. The ice had broken into water and practically soaked him, and he wondered why… it'd never happened like that to him before. Wait… there was something behind that…

He didn't get to ponder on it for very long before a tornado of plasma/Thunder formed all around him, causing way more than a fifth of his HP to go down since water conducted electricity… It was then that the skulls appeared again, but they all missed since he'd fallen down, straight out of the way and almost out of HP.

"Wiseman! Heal Kite before he's down for good! I've run out of Recovery Drinks!" Balmung shouted at the old Wavemaster.

"I can't! I'm out of Mage's Souls and I'm too low on SP to do anything!"

Kite didn't really care for what the other two in his Party were talking about. Right now, he didn't care if he died, or even if he went into a coma. So long as Elk continued to side with Macha… he felt like he was nothing… Nothing without that cute little Wavemaster following him and blushing and smiling…

"Haahaah! Now, to get rid of that troublesome little worm once-and-for-all!" Macha declared, holding her left hand to her shoulder before pointing her palm at the weakened Twin Blade, "With his HP hanging by a limb, he'll die once I'm done with him!"

The famous and invisible bracelet that every one of the Phase Beasts had, just like Kite did, emerged from her wrist and began to open up, storing power to do the attack that put many innocent PCs into comas.

Elk watched as the poor and now-fragile Kite just laid there on the ground. He didn't move… not one millimeter. He didn't even seem to be breathing! His own Heart cracked slightly at the sight.

"K... K-Kite…" he stuttered, whimpering as he began to sweat, "M-Mia… St-Stop it… Pl-Please…"

"What is going on? Why are you talking to me! When I give a command, you do it without question! You do not give me commands!" The Temptress hissed, smirking as the bracelet reached its limit in storage, "Now! Data—!"

"N-No!" the young Wavemaster shout, his eyes widening immediately and light returning to them the way they had been before. He'd broken the Phase's Spell, so now he would fall… Pushing himself forward through the air, he landed in front of the weak Twin Blade, also holding his hands out to his sides to protect him, "Kite! Wake up! Please!"

"E-Elk…?" Kite asked quietly, picking up his head slightly to look up at him.

Elk smiled down at the now-seemingly conscious Leader of the Party, "Yeah… It's me…"

"—DRAIN!"

"U-Ugh!" he grunted in surprise, suddenly falling victim to the Data Drain technique.

"I GOT IT!" Wiseman shouted in a random way, casting Pha Repth on Kite.

The Twin Blade, his HP fully restored, pushed himself up quickly and ran to the brave-hearted young boy he'd been hanging out with all week. The boy was on the ground, so he too fell beside him. Picking him up and holding him in his lap, he stared down at the blue-haired boy's face with surprise written all over his own.

"Elk! Elk, why did you do that?" he demanded to know, worry in his voice.

"I… I wanted… t-to help…" came the younger's stutter of a reply, a weak smile on his lips.

"You didn't have to help in that way! I would've been fine!"

Elk slowly shook his head, "No… you wouldn't've… Y-You would… have fallen… c-comatose… J-Just like everybody else…"

Kite, biting his lip, quickly turned his head and shouted, "You guys! Restoratives? Antidotes? ANYTHING?"

Balmung shook his head uneasily, but Wiseman stepped forward, waving his Staff for a moment, "Rip Synk."

Only half of the many status problems the younger Wavemaster was experiencing had disappeared with that attack. The Leader quickly looked through his own bag, smiling in relief that he had an Antidote left over. Using it immediately, his smile widened as Elk sat up.

"S-Sorry… to worry you, Guys…"

All Kite did was smile, falling forward and wrapping his arms around the other's waist. He pulled him close, hugging him in a way one would hug someone you were afraid had died or had just come back from a far away place.

Wiseman smiled pleasantly at what was going on between the two, turning his head to look over to their other companion. Apparently, Balmung of the Azure Sky was… what? Jealous? That's what the look on his face said. He was blushing lightly, slight anger on his face, his arms folded, and he was looking the other way. The oldest of the four just laughed silently at this before turning his attention back to the two youngest.

"I'm so glad… you're all right…"

Elk blushed, wondering if he should hug him back. He mentally shrugged and slowly placed his arms around Kite's neck, embracing the other while savoring the feel of having him so close.

"R-RAAAAAA!" came a shriek of pain from the huge Phase Beast.

All four of them looked up at The Temptress, only to watch as her hands flew to her head and she moved about as if she were in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAH! HOW DID YOU BREAK MY SPELL? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME! LOVE ME! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STAY WITH ME FOREVER, BUT YOU RUINED IT!" she yelled, creating another huge ball of light, "ELK! ELK, IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN NOBODY CAN! SPRITE OF LOVE!"

The blast fell right in front of them, missing them completely as they all jumped out of the way. Kite let go of the Wavemaster and smiled with confidence at him.

"You ready?"

A happy nod came from the other as they both stood up and ran forward to begin the attack. Balmung followed their lead, and Wiseman began casting spells from afar thanks to that long wait and the recovery of his SP.

"OrGan Zot!"

"Vak Revolver!" exclaimed the winged PC as he slashed at the monster with his flaming blade.

"LaRue Zot!" Elk cast the Water-based Spell.

"Staccatto!" Kite barked as he spun around numerous times, slicing and dicing and actually doing damage this time.

"R-RAAAAAAA!"

Macha fell down on herself as she Protect Broke and just lay there for a moment, completely open to any type of attack they could throw at her.

"Kite!" Wiseman called.

"Do it now!" demanded Balmung of the Azure Sky.

Elk just smiled and nodded, "You can do it!"

The Twin Blade jumped back, activating his Bracelet as it grew and then pointed it at the Phase, "Data Drain! Haah!"

Macha's shriek filled the entire room as her Data was suddenly rewrote, and her outward disguise was broken. She, or rather It, looked like a few Magic-filled rocks that were connected together and were floating.

"Alright, you guys, attack!" Kite commanded, pointing one of his blades at the newly-formed monster before them.

Damage upon damage was being dealt to the monster, and the glow in the rocks began to fade away. Suddenly, a form was visible in the very middle one. Elk, of course, was the first to notice.

"K-Kite! Kite, Mia's in that one!"

The Leader looked to where he was pointing to and also saw the outline of their cat-like friend. He nodded, jumping upward and slashing at the gunk that held the rocks together.

"Let her go, damn it! Tiger Claws!"

He was able to cut one half of the rocks loose from the main one where Mia was held, but he was also dealing some major damage points… At this rate, they'd defeat Macha before they could get Mia out of there! He growled for a moment, deciding that it was the only way. All he could do was keep trying…

It didn't even take very long for them to finally overwhelm the Phase, so they'd won, in the end. Elk and Kite watched as the middle rock disappeared, revealing Mia, of who had been trapped inside of it the whole time. They rushed the area where she was slowly floating down, and Kite caught her easily, holding her up softly.

"Mia…" he whispered.

"Repth!" Elk attempted to Heal her with his Spell. It didn't work, "Ol Repth!" Still nothing… "Pha Repth!"

This time, he was pushed away by a blast of Data. He sat back, for a moment, leaning forward while holding his Staff close as he stared at his very first friend.

"Elk…" He looked straight at her as her eyes opened slightly, a pleasant smile on her face, "Thank you…"

Tears swelled in his eyes as he watched one of his closest friends slowly disappear into golden Data that floated up into the air, only to disappear soon after. He let his head face downward so no one could see his crying, but his tears slipped down to the ground, leaving drops of sadness there.

Kite moved forward and pulled the saddened Wavemaster into his arms, giving him a place to cry on his shoulder. His brown-gloved hands were on his back, rubbing softly as he attempted to comfort him.

Balmung! Wiseman! Kite! Are you all still there?

"Yes, Lios. What is it?" Wiseman asked, standing up a little straighter than he had, holding his Staff out to the side.

The Data that vanished has returned. We're resuming operation! Go back to Ω Cruel Vindictive Scars!

"Yes, Sir!" Balmung nodded, looking to Kite, a serious look on his face, "You coming?"

The Twin Blade shook his head, motioning to Elk in his arms, "You guys go ahead… Balmung, you can lead, right?"

The winged PC nodded once again, "Yeah, sure… Later."

He turned around and left, leaving them there. Wiseman, however, smiled at the two younger boys.

"You know… this really isn't the place to be crying… A monster could sneak up behind you and—"

"I got it, I got it… Jeez, you couldn't have named yourself Wiseass?"

He just smiled in amusement before he too left.

Kite looked down at Elk, "C'mon, Elk… Wiseman's right… We should get to one of the Root Towns where it's safe."

Elk nodded slowly as he sniffled, trying to calm himself enough to stop crying. The Leader of the now Duo-Party smiled softly at him, pulling out a Sprite Ocarina and playing it.

Upon leaving the Dungeon and reappearing in the Field, they instantly gated out of that area, only to appear back in the cloudy and windy Root Town of the Σ Server. Kite bit his lip slightly, his grip around the other's waist tightening so he wouldn't fall.

"Let's… go somewhere nicer…"

"Kite… Can I… be alone…?" This question surprised the older, and Elk knew it, "Please?"

"A-Alright…" Kite replied, blushing and looking away from him. He could only feel as the younger gated out of his arms and out of that particular Root Town, leaving him there to watch as a Stray Grunty scurried by.

Author's Notes:

Okay! I got no Reviews at all for theprevious chapter... I only have 5 Reviews in all... and I've got 79 Hits for this fic. Why is that? Oh well, who cares, as long as you people are reading it, I'll continue... But here's something: The next chapter ends it. LoL, but I'm gonna try to make it cute, so Blah.

Just because I'm continuing this even if I don't get Reviews, that doesn't mean you can't if you want to! Please, at least one? Just one would make me happy, even! -cry-