Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XXIV: The Driving Wish
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
"How much longer are you gonna keep this up dammit!?"
Albert currently had no intentions of letting go of the fireball that Grena had thrown at Mina, an Imperial Soldier who knew Albert. Despite Grena calling out to him to get out of the way and defend himself. However no matter how much she called out, Albert stood steadfast. He held back the large fireball to keep Mina and himself out of harm's way.
"Mina!" Albert called out. "You and Mona get out of the way! I doubt that I can hold this forever!"
"I'm not gonna leave you to get hurt on your own!" Mina responded, reaching into her satchel for several bottles of water. "I'll see if I can put it out!"
Mina pops off all the lids to the bottles of water at once, dropping the bottles as the water gathered around her. In one move of both her hands, she sent out a large blast of water towards Grena's fireball. As the water collided with the flames, the area was being covered in a large amount of steam. When Mina's water ran out however, the fireball was still quite large and still a threat.
"No..." She said is a disappointed tone. "That wasn't enough water!"
"H-Hey! You gotta do something!" Mona suddenly turns to Grena and started talking to her. "Please, you've got to stop this! You're a fire elemental, and that fireball is your doing! You've gotta stop it before it hurts Mina and Albert! Please!"
"Why should I?" Grena scoffed. "So the three of you can gang up on me while I'm open and arrest me without anyone finding out about it? No thanks. I'm not as dumb as I look."
"Grena, I wouldn't dare do that!" Albert exclaimed, slowly being pushed back. "I'll talk to Mina and Mona once all of this is over, but I'm not going to just let all of you be apprehended! I will prove to them that Her Highness is wrong for making you criminals, but I need you to help us survive this!"
"And am I just supposed to believe that? You've known these two girls much longer than you've known my ass or the others. You can drop the friendly act, Albert. I ain't falling for it."
"This isn't an act, I swear!" Albert grunted as he felt himself being unable to hold the fireball back forever. He turned back and looked at Mina. "Mina, get out of here now! I don't want you to get caught up in the blast!"
"What?!" Mina said in shock. "But Albert!"
"Albert no!" Mona called out
"I'll survive this, I promise. Now go!" Albert responded.
Mina reluctantly but quickly ran out of the way and over to Mona, pulling her away as well as she tried to run over to get Albert. Albert kept holding the fireball back for the two to get as far away as possible. However even he grew tired. He suddenly found himself unable to hold it as it continued to push forward, knocking him back. He was expecting the flames to consume him but blinked when he realized that the fireball was now staying in place instead of coming forward any further. Looking ahead, he could see that Grena was wrapping her chains around the fireball, her eyes were closed and she had her left hand on the fireball from the opposite side.
"God... DAMMIT!"
Grena shouted as she suddenly spins around, the fireball going with her. With the attack in hand, she leaped into the air a little and slammed against the ground, the fireball slamming into the ground and exploding into a large pillar of flames that anyone could see. The whole first floor was being shaken up to the point where it felt like the worst earthquake that they'd ever experience. The worse of it was in the area where the four of them were, Mina and Mona had been knocked back by the explosion while Albert stood his ground and shielded his face. Grena slowly started to rise from the ground as the shaking continued to get worse and worse. As she rose however, she and Albert both noticed that large cracks started to form in the ground under the two.
"The hell!?" Grena exclaimed.
"That attack of yours..." Albert said. "It must've been so powerful that it's-!"
Before Albert could finish, the ground underneath the two started to give away and cave inward. Albert and Grena suddenly found themselves being dragged underground by the collapsing rubble.
"It's created a sinkhole!" Albert shouted.
"Shit!" Grena exclaimed. "That ain't good!"
Grena threw out her right arm and sent her chains upward. She wrapped the chains around a large hole in an abandoned building.
"That'll keep me in place!" She said, then prepared to toss a chain towards Albert. "Here! Grab on! I'll keep us from falling-"
The ground only caved in faster as Albert could see himself falling into the large hole being created very quickly. Grena quickly tossed out her chain towards the falling Albert, who immediately grabbed hold of it in response and wrapped it around his wrist. Grena found herself now hanging in the air by her other chain and started to pull Albert upwards. However before she could get him up another piece of debris suddenly fell between them and onto the thrown chain. Due to the stretched out chain being near its max length, the force of the debris falling snapped the chain in two, forcing Albert to hang onto something else for his own safety. This did not keep him from falling however.
"Shit!" Grena exclaimed.
Grena increased the length that her right arm's chains were extended to try and lower herself down to help Albert before he could fall. However at the same time, another piece of debris was falling onto that chain and eventually it snapped as well. With Mina and Mona still on the surface, the two attempted to rush over and try to reach the two of them by any means necessary.
"Hang on! Both of you!" Mina called out.
"Please don't fall! We'll help!" Mona calls out as well.
"No, you can't!" Albert responded. "Mina! Mona! Get back and get out of here!"
"Albert we can't just leave you two! We're-"
Mona was cut off as she and Mina had to jump back due to a blast of flames from Grena, who threw a kick in their direction. However at the same time, she had to let go of whatever she was holding onto and was falling deep into the hole. Albert reached out and grabbed hold of her arm, but soon he ended up getting dragged down into the hole with her.
"Albert! Grena!" Mina and Mona exclaimed.
"Get back or you'll fall in too!" Grena yells.
"We'll be alright!" Albert yelled out.
Mina and Mona quickly ran backwards away from the enlarging hole as it only continued to grow, while Albert and Grena were falling straight into the bottom of the hole. When the sound of the hole rumbling finally stopped, the two girls turned around to see that the hole had stopped growing. Immediately they ran back up to look at what had happened, and saw that the sinkhole was very deep. No matter how hard they looked, it was impossible to see the bottom, or to locate where Albert and Grena are in there.
"I can't see anything, Mina!" Mona exclaims.
"Albert! Grena!" Mina yells out into the hole, an echo being heard letting them know how deep it was. She got no response in return however. "They're too far down to hear us!"
"W-What are we supposed to do about this?!"
"I-I'll think of something! We'll get them out somehow!"
"I heard it from over here!"
"See anything Feena?"
Mina and Mona both lit up as they heard voices approaching them. Turning around they saw Monika and Feena running up to them.
"What the hell?!" Monika exclaims, immediately pointing to the large sinkhole. "Is that what was causing all the noise?!"
"Oh great... A sinkhole's decided to move in near my house..." Feena groaned.
"You two..." Mina said. "You're-"
Monika and Feena both went on guard.
"Who are you two supposed to be?" Monika asks, hand on her sword's sheath.
"Wait! Wait!" Mona called out. "We can't fight each other now! Albert and Grena fell into there!
"What?!"
"Albert and Grena are in that giant hole?!" Feena exclaimed.
"How did they-" Monika shakes her head. "No. We don't have time to stand here trying to figure out what happened." She points at Mina and Mona. "Considering you two were already here, I expect you have some insight on what happened, yes?"
"We know what happened." Mina answered.
"Let's get somewhere safer so we can talk then. This way."
Monika and Feena both ran off to head back to Feena's house. Mina and Mona were both reluctant to follow after them. Immediately they recognized Monika and Feena as two of the three that they came to the first floor to pursue, and now they were supposed to cooperate with them. However, Grena also seemed to be in league with them and Albert seemed to be trying to work things out peacefully, hinting to the two that he may be involved as well. Wary of what awaits them, Mina and Mona follow after Monika and Feena, their current concern being to save Albert.
"Hmph. If they're going to be preoccupied with saving their friend then most likely, this plan will go more smoothly than expected."
Unknown to all four of them however, Predator had been drawn over by the commotion as well and had been watching in secret. Seeing where everyone's focus was, she expected that as long as Mona and Mina were busy with Monika and Feena, she could sneak in and capture her target with ease. As the four left the area, Predator follows after them in secret, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Location: Underneath Goldenia. . .
The sounds of groaning could be heard inside of the large hole that was created by Grena's fireball. All the way at the very bottom of the sinkhole was what appeared to be a small cavern. This was where Albert and Grena both had fallen down into. The two of them were both alive, but were heavily shaken up by the sudden sinkhole. Grena was laid up against a large rock, her head tilted to the side. The woman was in some pain as she landed on the ground as well. Albert had landed directly on Grena's stomach, which also contributed to the mercenary's pain. Albert wasn't doing any better as the fall also did damage as well. Albert soon started to pull himself up as he opened his eyes, slowly feeling his strength returning. Grena also felt herself waking up too.
"Where..." Albert started to say, rubbing his head. "Where are we...?"
"Man... shit..." Grena groaned slowly looking to her other side. "What happened to us?"
"We fell down into that sinkhole... and then..."
Albert started to shake his head and was getting ready to pull himself up.
SQUISH~
"Hm?"
"?!"
Albert stopped what he was doing for a moment as he heard a loud gasp come from what he can assume to be Grena. Confused as to what the reason was for the woman making such a sound, he looked up to face the woman and immediately went wide eyed when he saw the cause of this. Unintentionally when Albert reached up to pull himself back to his feet, he placed both of his hands directly onto Grena's breasts, firmly grasping them as he was pulling himself up. This caught Grena by surprise, which was the reason for both the sudden gasp that she made, as well as the large blush of embarrassment all over the woman's face.
"W... Why... you...!" Grena started to say, obviously growing angrier as she said this.
"Oh, Grena I-!" Albert took his hands away from the woman's breast as she spoke, slowly getting up. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize that I was-"
"YOU PERVERTED SHIT!"
BAM
Albert soon found himself knocked onto the ground off of Grena as the mercenary struck him with several punches. The man was lying on the ground, groaning in pain as he was holding his stomach considering that's where he was hit the most. Grena was now standing up, her fist clenched as she had an angry look on her face. Though she still had a noticeable blush.
"That'll hurt... for a while..." Albert strained himself to say.
Later. . .
While the two may not be able to tell just how much time has passed since they've fallen down, but roughly it's been half an hour since they managed to pull themselves together... and Grena's outburst. Albert was able to pull himself together and was now sitting on the ground. Grena was also sitting up away from him, having finally cooled down from the misunderstanding a while ago.
"So, are you feeling better now?" Albert called out to the mercenary.
"...Yeah. I guess." Grena answered, looking away from the man. "Sorry about that."
"No worries." Albert stands up. "But for now, I suppose we need to figure a way to get out of here."
"The damn rocks snapped my chains. I don't have enough of them to throw up to the surface."
"And I don't have anything on me that would be that useful in this situation. I guess we're just stuck down here until the others can find us."
Grena stands up. "Waiting around forever isn't gonna sit well with me. I'm gonna try something."
Grena suddenly started to run towards the nearest wall formed by the sinkhole. As she went near it she stopped right as she placed her left foot on the wall, and then suddenly let out a burst of flames as she kicked upward. With a burst of flames, Grena shot herself straight upward in an attempt to shoot herself straight out of the hole. Going at a fast speed, it looked as though the mercenary would have no problems making it to the surface.
"She's moving so fast..." Albert thought. "Will she make it?"
Staring up into the sky as she ascended rapidly, Grena saw the exit coming closer and closer to her. She started to reach her hand out to find something to grab onto, but suddenly found herself moving up slower. Suddenly she was no longer moving upward. Looking down she saw that the flame she shot out was gone and that she was left floating in the air, about halfway to the top of the hole. Grena scrambled to find something to latch onto quick, but there wasn't a sturdy enough surface to grab. A loud scream could be heard as the chain-wielding mercenary started falling to the ground. Before she could hit the ground, Albert rushed over and caught the woman before she reached the ground, gently letting Grena get back to her feet afterwards.
"Would you like to give that another go?" Albert asked the girl who was now standing back up.
"No. I'm good." Grena answered with a sigh. "Besides it wouldn't do any good anyways. When I went up, I only made it about halfway before I started falling. If I can't get up to the top all on my own, then there's no way that I would be able to get us both outta here."
"Well then. It looks like we'll have to sit around and wait for help after all."
"Great. Just great. Goddammit!"
Grena slammed her fist up against a nearby wall, which unintentionally caused it to start rumbling once again. Quickly hopping away, she and Albert looked surprised as a part of that wall fell apart, revealing a small, dark opening that was hidden behind that wall. The two looked down the new opening that they found, though they were unable to see anything due to the lack of any light at all.
"Oh, well would you look at that." Grena said. "Looks like we won't just have to wait around after all."
"You plan to investigate whatever lies back there?" Albert asked.
"You know it. Might as well have some fun while we're stuck down here. Who knows. This might even lead to a secret passage back to the surface."
Grena holds out her hand and formed a small ball of fire in her palm. Holding it in front of the pitch black opening revealed that there was indeed an underground pathway hidden in the dark.
"Coming with?"
"It's for the best that I do. If there's anything back there that might prove to be a threat, it would be better for the two of us to fight together than for you to fight alone."
"If that's what floats your boat, then alright. Come on."
Grena started walking into the opening to explore what was ahead, her flame lighting up a small distance so that she could see. Albert followed after the mercenary, staying close to her as so that he can see around as well. Neither of them know where this path goes or what could be hidden in the darkness, but that was not going to stop them from exploring.
Location: Feena's House, 1st Floor, Goldenia
"Monika are you sure about this? I know you're concerned for her safety too, but..."
Back on the surface of the first floor, Feena and Monika had both made their way back to Feena's home before Mina and Mona could catch up to them, as the two sisters weren't sure at first on whether they should follow them or not. After they made it back before them, Monika had asked Feena to do something before they arrive; take Goblin Mage somewhere else away from the other two girls. As of now, Monika and Feena were both standing outside of the house, Feena holding Goblin Mage in her arms. The goblin girl in question was preoccupied with a shiny piece of metal Feena had given her.
"We don't know anything about those two, or what could happen." Feena said in a worried tone. "Asking me to take Goblin Mage and leave you here by yourself is just insane in my eyes... Not to mention, Ragna's still recovering. What if they still try and take him away?"
"I'm not going to let them in the house after all." Monika replied. "We'll have our little chat outside, so that way they won't even get a chance to see Ragna. And even if we do somehow manage end up getting inside I can get Ragna and myself out of here faster if it's only the two of us I have to worry about." Monika points at Goblin Mage. "Goblin Mage is one you care for the most, and she's just a child as well. We need to keep her out of harm's way as much as possible. I know how much you care for her, and that is why I'm doing this. If anything happened to her, you'd never forgive yourself."
"I know..."
"Are you more concerned about the two of us than about Goblin Mage?"
"N-No! I'm still thinking of Goblin Mage above all else!"
"Good. Then get going. Those two will catch up to us soon."
"...I'm against this idea, but..." Feena looked away from Monika and started to turn around. "I'll go on then."
Monika nodded her head. Feena turned around and started to walk off with Goblin Mage in her arms. Monika sighed and leaned against the house as she was waiting for Mina and Mona on her own, thinking about how this could go down. It was long that coming from the other direction she saw Mina and Mona running towards the house and up to her. As both of the other girls arrived, they both quickly stopped and were bending over, obviously a little winded.
"Sorry... We got lost and you ran off without us..." Mina said, trying to catch her breath.
Mona held up her staff. "Mina... Should I...?" She started asking her older sister.
"No, not now Mina..." Mina started to stand upright once again, though she was still catching her breath. "We can... worry about ourselves later." Mina turned her attention to Monika.
"Right..." Monika started to say. "So, you girls wanna talk about how we're going to save Albert and Grena or do you wanna try and arrest me first?"
"We can settle that issue later."
"Yeah, it's more important to save those two first." Mona added.
"I wasn't expecting the two of you to set me aside so easily." Monika said. "Albert must really be a close friend to you, right?"
"The three of us go back several years." Mina answered. "I do want to know why he seemed friendly with your friend Grena. And I can only assume that he must know you and that other girl as well."
"Speaking of which, where is she?" Mona asked, looking around for Feena. "She was with you when the two of you ran off."
"I needed Feena to take care of something for me somewhere else around here." Monika answered. "I'm not trying to set either of you up or anything. Right now, it's just you two and myself. We'll talk about how to handle this situation and find a way to save Albert and Grena." Monika smiled and held out her hand to the girls. "I'm Monika. For now, we'll work together."
Mina and Mona looked at each other as Monika extended her hand. Eventually the two girls nodded as they both shook Monika's hand.
"Mina. I'm willing to put any intentions to arrest you aside for now." Mina said.
"I'm Mona. It's nice to meet you." Mona said.
"Shall we head inside then to continue our discussion?"
"I think it'd be better if we were to talk over near the giant hole." Monika responded. "This is Feena's house and she isn't here after all. I wouldn't want to just let the two of you in without her permission."
"I see. That's understandable." Mina gestured towards the direction the sinkhole was in. "To the sinkhole it is. Please, lead the way."
Monika nods her head as the three of them started walking off towards the sinkhole.
"This might be more complicated than I thought..."
Meanwhile, nearby the group was Predator. During this time she had followed after everybody and managed to track down Monika and Feena. She also witnessed Feena running away with Goblin Mage, the girl she was supposed to kidnap. After Monika, Mina, and Mona were out of range, she dropped down from a nearby roof and looked in the direction she saw Feena run off in.
"Mona's distracted that one, but..." She thought to herself. "That girl has a head start with my target. What's more, she's an extremely capable fighter, even on her own."
Predator started to walk in the direction Feena went into.
"I'd better play this carefully. If I'm going to do this I'm going to have to get into a skirmish with that girl." She continued to plan out her next moves in her head. "She doesn't look like that she'll let my target out of her sight so I'll have to take her by force. From what I know, she's a powerful Wind Elemental and an excellent archer. At the same time she's not afraid to get close up and brawl. I don't know what to expect now that she's guarding that kid, but I don't plan to back down from this."
With that, Predator quickly took off, hoping to quickly catch up to Feena and Goblin Mage.
Location: Underneath Goldenia. . .
While all of that was happening on the surface of the first floor, underneath the kingdom Grena and Albert had been exploring the area inside of the opening that they found. The two were walking on the path that Grena discovered, which was leading them away from the sinkhole that they fell down. The two had been quiet for the most part, Grena keeping her flame lit so that they could see and Albert looking around for anything lurking in the shadows. Finally, the silence was broken between the two when Grena spoke up.
"Hey, Albert?" The chain-wielding mercenary started to say. "I probably should've said this sooner but... I'm sorry about all this."
"About what?" Albert asked.
"Dragging the two of us down here into this giant hole. What else? It was my attack that created the sinkhole and therefore this is all my fault. So yeah, sorry about dragging you into this mess."
"That's quite unexpected coming from you. I didn't think that you'd suddenly give out an apology."
"Shut up."
"That aside, there's really no need to apologize. You're not the only one who's at fault here. It may have been your attack that sent us down here, but Mina and Mona were after you as well. What's more, I could have easily stepped in and made the two of them let you go by force but yet I didn't. This situation is not a burden that you should try to bear alone."
"Yeah... It was either I fight her or be arrested peacefully. You said that girl's name was Mina, right? The one with the blue hair. Is that what you called her?"
"That's correct."
"She seems to really care about you, huh? When I was fighting her, it was pretty obvious to me that she's doing this for the reward. Would you know anything about what she could possibly want? What could be so important to her?"
"Hm... If I had to guess..." Albert was looking down as he spoke. "It's most likely something that she wants not just for herself, but for me as well. Her sister Mona too."
"What do you mean?'
"You remember when we were talking about the Sky Knights, correct?"
"Oh yeah, we didn't finish our talk about that." Grena looked back at Albert as she talked. "You went from being a big shot royal guardsmen to living with the people on the first floor. How's-"
Grena was suddenly interrupted as she suddenly slipped off the path the two were on due to a piece of the rocky ground underneath her giving out and falling off. As she slid downward, Albert quickly grabbed hold of Grena's arms before she was out of reach. He pulled the girl back up quickly, Grena helping out the moment she could. Thankfully, Grena managed to get back up.
"Are you alright?" Albert asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Grena answered. "Anyways, what was I saying? Oh right." Grena lit her flame back up as she talked. "What happened? How did you lose everything like that?"
"...It was only a few years ago when we were forced to disband."
-x-
"Forcefully disbanded?"
Meanwhile on the surface, Monika had managed to start a conversation with Mina and Mona as the three made their way back to the sinkhole. The question Monika had asked was very similar to Grena's. She wanted to know more about the relationship between Albert, Mina, and Mona. The two sisters had told her about the Sky Knights, just as Albert had told Grena. This let Monika to also question what happened to them, to which Mina and Mona began to explain to her how the Sky Knights were forcefully disbanded.
"That is correct." Mina said to Monika. "Not that many years ago, our royal guard was disbanded after one incident."
"What happened?" Monika questioned further.
"It happened on one night, when His Late Highness had thrown a banquet for the five of us royal guards."
"Honestly, it came out of nowhere. The banquet I mean." Mona spoke up. "None of us were aware of the surprise banquet. Not even the Prime Ministers knew about it, and because of that they weren't present at the time and would be arriving later. We didn't realize it back then but... I think that... No... I know that-"
-x-
"I'm positive... the surprise banquet was a set up from the beginning."
Grena looked at Albert with a confused look. "A set up?" She questioned. "If the banquet itself was meant to be a trap, are you saying that somebody planned all of this out?" She the blinked at a realization. "Wait, don't tell me-!"
"It was meant to be a trap not just for us, but for His Highness as well." Albert continued. "This banquet was a trap to assassinate His Highness, and possibly all of us along with it."
"Who could've set something like this up? There's no way a king would have just agreed to launch a surprise banquet on his most trusted guards less it was somebody he really trusted who gave the idea!"
"That's exactly what the situation was."
"What?!"
"The person who gave him the idea for the banquet... was one of our own. A member of the five Sky Knights..." Albert clenched his fist as Grena went wide eyed. "And somebody who I considered to be my best friend."
"Get out..."
-x-
"This-This was a trick from someone on the inside?!" Monika exclaimed in shock. "Not only that, but it was one of the king's very own royal guards!? That's the person who set up this trap?! Why?!"
"I was just as surprised as you were when it happened, probably more." Mina said as she looked away. "He was a close friend of all of us. We trusted him with our lives, as did His Late Highness... and yet he betrayed all of us..." While Monika couldn't see it, tears were forming in the bluenette's eyes. "Me, my sisters, Albert... All of us..."
"And it's because of that night that the late king was killed...!" Mona said, her voice breaking. "We failed at our duties and just allowed him to kill His Late Highness. And to top it all off, we couldn't even capture him afterwards!"
"Do you know why?" Monika questions further. "Why would he do this?"
"I'm not even sure myself still..." Mina answered, wiping her tears. "If he had any grudges or if His Late Highness had said anything to him that could have angered him into doing such a thing..." Suddenly as she spoke, Mina started to clench her fist tightly. "But... to tell you the truth... I don't care about his reasons anymore."
"You don't?"
"At first I wanted to understand why he would do such a thing. But I honestly stopped caring about his reasons a long while ago.
-x-
"And to be honest..." Albert said to Grena. "I'm not surprised if that's truly how Mina feels about him."
"Was him betraying you guys that devastating?" Grena asked. "He was a good friend of not just you, but those two as well. If she's going to be angry at him for killing the king, then she should at least want to hear his reasoning."
"That's because it's not just the king that was killed that day."
"Huh?"
Albert turned away from facing Grena. "Do you remember how I said that the Sky Knights was a royal guard unit that consisted of five members? After this incident there were only three of us left. You already know that one of them was behind the king's murder and that he escaped afterwards. Can you guess what happened to the other one?"
Grena put a hand up to her chin as she looked down in thought. Soon she looked back up at Albert as she managed to come up with an answer.
"If you ask me I guess there's a few things that I can think of that could have happened." She started to respond. "For starters, I guess they could've ran away with the one who started all of this if they were conspiring with them."
"I'm afraid not. The 4 other Sky Knights were all in the dark about this plan."
"Could they have left Goldenia to chase after him?"
"Negative."
"Then... the only other answer is... is that they would have died. Did they die the same night as the king then?"
"That's correct." Albert turned back around. "The reason that there are only three of us left is because on the night that king was assassinated is because the Sky Knight who assassinated him managed to successfully flee Goldenia, and because one of us was killed trying to avenge the king. That Sky Knight who died... was the younger sister of Mina and Mona."
"Their little sister...!"
"Yes. That's who was killed along with the king."
-x-
Mona was leaning up against Mina, trying to keep herself from crying as they talked. Monika wasn't expecting to hear what she did from the two.
"Why did it have to be like this...?" Mona cried.
"Mena was so young..." Mina said quietly. "She was so kind... energetic... strong and brave... She was such an amazing person and I loved having her as my little sister. I loved Mena so much... We both did and..." At this point Mina couldn't even control her own tears. "And I had to watch as she was taken from me... I can't forgive him... I don't care how long we've been friends for! I don't care how close we were! I just can't-"
Mina jumped in surprised as all of a sudden she felt Monika hold onto both her hand and Mona's. The girl had her hat covering her face, but tears could be seen strolling down her cheeks as well.
"I know how you feel." She said.
"You... You do?" Both Mina and Mona responded.
"Years ago, somebody that I knew well took everything from me. I had complete faith in this person. I trusted them above all else. And in the end, my friends, family, our goals and plans, all of it was taken away from me by such a cruel fate. I vowed that one day I would finish what we started, as well as claim vengeance for everybody that was lost that day. No matter what it takes." Monika looked up at the two sisters. "That's why you're so adamant on capturing us isn't it?"
-x-
"Those two want revenge for the family that was taken from them." Grena said, her arms folded as she spoke to Albert. "That's what their wish is for the Imperial Court. They want to get back everything that was lost that day, and then they want to take revenge against the man that killed their little sister. Goldenia's got one of the largest military forces in all of Riverbrandt. They could easily track down this person if they haven't already." The girl shrugged. "It's no wonder that they're chasing after us."
"I know that..." Albert said as he looked down. "When I first laid eyes on you and Mina fighting, I had figured that Mena's death was her motivation for trying to arrest you."
"And yet you're still going to help us out aren't you?"
Albert looked at Grena with surprise, not expecting to be called out like that.
"You know that we just want to leave Goldenia peacefully despite all of the trouble Ragna and everyone else may have ended up causing. Yet at the same time, you know Mina is doing this not for herself, but for her sisters and you as well. She thinks that if she can have the backing of an entire military force then there's nothing that can stand in the way of her revenge." Grena smirked. Heh. She's got a point. She'd get revenge easily if we let her turn in Ragna, Monika, and Feena without any interference. Hell if I helped out, who knows what I'd get out of it."
"...Has anyone ever told you that you're bad at making jokes?"
"Yeah. They have. But that doesn't answer my question. Who do you intend to side with? I wanna leave Goldenia just as much as the three of them do. I've chosen my side. Now choose yours. Are you gonna let your good nature work to our advantage so that we can leave? Are you gonna side with the people you've been friends with for years and turn against us so that her dead sister can have closure? Or..." Grena starts walking past Albert. "Are you going to just stand around and do nothing, just like you did at that damn banquet."
While his face didn't show it, it was clear that what Grena said clearly had some effect on Albert, seemingly starting to anger the man. He clenched his fists tighter as Grena started walking off deeper into the cavern.
"Let's go." She called out. "We've got some exploring to do."
-x-
"I'm sorry I made you two have to relive such a horrible thing in your minds."
As Monika apologized for starting this conversation, Mina and Mona weren't sure about where to go from here. After being forced to retell the story about how they lost their younger sister, neither one of them were feeling at their best anymore. The emotional pain cause by this incident was hurting them heavily. Monika could see this, and only continued to hold onto their hands in an attempt to try and calm them down.
"These two... I know how they feel..." Monika thought to herself. "Being betrayed by someone that you were so close to. Watching someone you loved being taken away. Unable to avenge them on your own. I understand that feeling far too well. We may be enemies temporarily joined as allies, but... but is that how things should remain for the three of us...?"
Monika continued to think to herself as she held onto the sisters' hands, not letting go as she waited for them to calm down.
Meanwhile, In another part of the 1st Floor. . .
In another part of the first floor, Feena had been taking a break somewhere within the abandoned area of the city. Sitting on the ground, she looked up into the sky as she put her hands behind her head. Goblin Mage was sitting down next to her on the ground, looking over at Feena as she was holding her staff.
"Goblin Mage... you think Monika's gonna be alright?" Feena asked.
"I think so." Goblin Mage answered. "Monika's a very strong person, right?"
"She is. But I can't help but we worried for her..."
"Are we gonna go back to help her?"
"No. That might end up putting you at risk. And I can't do that."
"Oh... Then... Are we gonna leave Goldenia now?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't that what we were doing? Didn't you want the two of us to leave now?"
"Well yeah... but..."
"What's the matter?" Goblin Mage suddenly crawled over and was now on top of Feena. "What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing!" Feena tries to look away. "It's nothing-"
Goblin Mage smothers Feena's face with her hands.
"Yes there is." Goblin Mage said. "Is it because you don't want to leave Monika and the others? I wanna know!"
"Goblin Mage... can't... breathe..."
Goblin Mage took her hands off Feena's face.
"I... Guess it might be because of that." Feena answered. "We could easily get out of here right now without them, but... for some reason I don't wanna just turn around and ditch them. After all the things that we've been through, I... I've... kinda grown to like them and- G-Goblin Mage?"
Feena looked surprised at the bright smile on Goblin Mage's face as she stared at Feena with starry eyes.
"H-Hey, you're scaring me! What's with that look!?"
"You're making friends!"
Goblin Mage suddenly dove in and gave Feena a big hug, having a big smile on her face as she did so. Feena was surprised at this at first, not expecting that answer from Goblin Mage.
"Hooray! You're making friends!"
"W-What are you talking about?!" Feena exclaimed.
"That's why you don't wanna leave them!" Goblin Mage cheers. "They're your friends now!"
"You... think so?"
"Definitely!"
"Then... I guess that's why I don't feel right leaving them... We've become... friends..." Feena stared at the goblin girl on top of her. "Hey... Is this really what friendship is like? Is this what you've been trying to tell me?"
Goblin Mage nods her head.
"Heh... Then I'll believe you. All those people that used me in the past. They were liars weren't they?"
Goblin Mage nods once again.
"I never would've realized it. That this is what true friendship is..." Feena smiled brightly. "Thanks, Goblin Mage."
"You're welcome!"
"Such a touching moment."
Feena and Goblin Mage both jump up in surprise at the voice from behind them. Looking ahead they saw Predator suddenly appear from atop a building's roof and jumping down to the ground in front of them, her claws out and ready for a fight.
"You?!" Feena exclaimed. "I thought that-"
"That the phantom thief threw me out of the picture?" Predator spoke up. "Her Highness is letting me go should I cooperate with her. Hand over the girl. She's coming with me."
"Me?" Goblin Mage said confusedly, Feena pushing her behind her.
"Over my dead body!" Feena responded, aiming her crossbow.
Predator brandished her right claws. "If you insist."
Meanwhile, Underneath Goldenia. . .
Underground with Grena and Albert, the two had been continuing their walk inside the underground cavern that they found. The more they explored around, the more it seemed like that it wasn't leading anywhere. The cavern wasn't lit at all so Grena had to keep her flames in hand so that the two of them could see. This cavern was quite large and very expansive. There were multiple pathways all over that they could take, though they stuck on the same path that they came in on, as to keep themselves from getting lost.
"Man, talk about cavernous." Grena commented. "This place is huge. Who knew something like this was underneath Man's greatest kingdom? You'd think that people would've at least known about this by now."
"This is too convenient." Albert said."
"Eh?"
"This entire cavern. It feels man made. Something's been digging this place out and these pathways are too convenient. Something's down here, but I don't know what it is."
"You're probably just overthinking things." Grena holds her flame in front of her and waves her hand around slowly. showing off multiple parts of the cavern. "See? There's nothing out there. No reason for you to be so concerned. The only thing in here is just you and me."
"Still, you can't deny that this is all too convenient."
"This is probably just something Goldenians dug out a long, long time ago. I know that this kingdom wasn't always so large so they must've had something going on underground at the time of building this place up. I mean look at it, it's practically empty."
"You're right about that, but we should still keep our eyes peeled."
"Peeled for what?" Grena snickered. "You expecting some cave dwelling monster to spring out of nowhere and attack us?"
"Well for starters..."
Albert points ahead of the two. Looking in front of her, Grena saw what appeared to be another larger opening off of the path that they were walking on, almost directly below them. What was noticeable about this one is the fact that part of it could be seen without the need of Grena's flames. Meaning that it was partially lit.
"That." He said. "There's a lit pathway down here.
Albert jumped off of the pathway they were on and walked over to the new, lit one that he found. Grena soon jumped down with him, making her flames disappear as she wrapped the remains of her chains around her arms, which barely covered any parts of her arms at all.
"I... guess this means that there might be something down here." Grena sighed. "Looks like you were right after all."
"Come on." Albert said as he started walking into the new path. "Let's check it out while we're here."
"Uh-Right."
Grena immediately followed after Albert into the path. What they found was more than they were expecting. The path itself was quite large as if something huge could easily fit through it. There were torches with blue flames stuck inside the walls, which was the source of the light that Albert saw. The walls seemed to be carved smooth and the floor of the cavern was just as smooth as the walls were. Both Albert and Grena had the feeling that this was something recently made. They didn't know what could have made this, but they knew that whatever did, was still down here with them. Whether it was friendly or not was a mystery.
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
Somewhere near the sinkhole, Monika, Mina, and Mona had been sitting down somewhere so that the two sisters could calm down after the conversation earlier. The two of them were sitting on the ground, Mina having her left leg pulled up to her stomach and her right leg stretched out while Mona was balled out and leaning on her sister's shoulder, snoring quite loudly as she fell asleep. Monika was sitting near the two, her left on the ground Indian style and her right leg in a position to where she can easily stand up in case of any emergency.
"So..." Monika started to say to the two, looking away from them. "Are you two feeling any better now?"
"Yes. I am." Mina responded. "It's just been a while since I've had to talk about that incident. I realized that I still had all of those emotions balled up in me, but I didn't think that they'd all flow out like that." Mina turned her head to look at Monika. "I'm sorry I had to put you throughout dealing with that. We didn't even manage to come up with any rescue plans."
"It's alright, I'm positive. Those two seem like they can take care of themselves." Monika pulls her hat over her eyes. "Besides this is my fault. I shouldn't have asked to know more."
"There's no need to blame yourself, I promise. This is something we needed. Other than Albert, there's not really anybody that we've ever talked to about that incident. Even if we're supposed to be enemies after all of this is over... It felt good being able to talk to someone. Especially since you seem to genuinely understand me."
"I'm glad to hear that you think of me that way."
"You know... I wasn't sure what to expect out of you people when I started following you. I didn't know if I would be able to take any of you down on my own, or if I would even survive meeting you guys. But now that I've actually gotten to know you, I... feel like that it was a mistake for wanting to capture all of you. Maybe this is why Albert saw you all differently... Do we have to be enemies...?"
"We don't have to be Mina."
"I know... but... if Her Highness is willing to grant any desire that I have for your capture, then... Then I could've asked them to help me avenge Mena. I could ask them to help me give Mona and I some peace knowing that Mena's killer has been killed. But part of me doesn't want to do this to you anymore... I'm so confused."
"...Mina?" Mina looked straight at Monika. "I... No, I shouldn't."
"What? What is it?"
"I wanted to offer to help you find your sister's murderer. But... But I shouldn't. I don't know if I could ever keep such a promise if I did offer to help. I don't want to say it if I can't do it in the end."
"And... If you could keep that promise?"
"Huh?"
"If you were sure you could help me out... What were you going to say?
"Monika folded her arms and looked down as she spoke. "... I... I was going to say that you should resign from your position in the Imperial Army and come with me to other places around Riverbrandt. We all have our own goals in the end, and I'm sure that if you were to travel around with me then we could eventually find a lead on the person who killed your sister."
"You... You'd be willing to..."
"But... I don't know if I could truly keep that promise. I don't know if we'd be able to find him. I don't know if I would be here long enough to help you find him. I can't ask you to come with me if I'm not even sure that I'll be able to help you."
"Monika... You saying all of this is more than I could ever ask for..."
"E-Eh?"
"Are you guys truly as bad as Her Highness makes you out to be? If you're saying things like this... listening to my problems and wanting to truly help me out of the goodness of your heart... despite us being enemies and me chasing you down here... being partially responsible for what happened to Albert and your friend Grena... Even after everything that's happened, you're still thinking about me? You're still thinking about wanting to help me?"
"Don't say that... I'm not a good person. I am the one who let my friends die years ago..."
"And I'm the one who let my own sister die years ago..."
"..."
"..."
The two girls looked up as they saw the sun was starting to set.
"I didn't realize that it was already evening." Mina said, starting to shake Mona as she stood up.
"We've sat here and talked for a while, haven't we?" Monika said, also standing up. "Come on. Let's go see if we can find Feena. I'll ask her if she's alright with you two staying in her place with us."
"Oh, no it's fine. You don't need to do that."
"There's no need for you to head back up to the higher floors just for the night. I'm sure she won't mind."
"W...Wha..." Mona started to say drearily as she woke up. "What's..."
"That... and your sister is still out of it."
"I guess you do have a point." Mina giggled. "Alright. I'll stay the night."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Monika, Mina, and a half-asleep Mona start to make their way back towards Feena's house.
In Another Part of the 1st Floor. . .
However, unknown to them, Feena had been preoccupied elsewhere... or at least was.
"Tch..."
After having a run-in with the claw wielding assassin known as Predator, Feena had no choice but to fight against her one-on-one. The assassin in question seemed to be truly after Goblin Mage, who Feena was willing to protect with her life. After the two fought a hard battle, Feena eventually came out defeated. She laid on the ground unconscious, claw marking from Predator's claws could be seen on her bleeding chest. Fortunately, Predator did not walk out unscathed. With her claws retracted she had her right hand holding her stomach, as she was bleeding from wounds due to Feena's arrows. In her left hand she was holding the unconscious Goblin Mage over her shoulder, having gently knocked her out in order to keep her quiet as she fled.
"Damn that girl... Where is she?!" Predator groaned, staring at her opponent. "Magic's her specialty so she could easily heal me. Hmph. No matter."
Predator started to approach the unconscious Feena.
"If I'm going to start heading back up now then I suppose I should claim two for the price of one. They can use both of you as hostages, then I'll have Mona lead them into our trap." Predator chuckled slightly. "This was far too easy. They should've picked someone else other than her to defend-"
Predator was cut off as she suddenly noticed the shadows under her appearing to be moving. Quickly she jumped out of the way and just in time. The shadows suddenly sprung to life, part of it consuming Feena's unconscious body and the other attempted to grab Goblin Mage. Predator managed to get out of the way and landed on top of building. The shadows soon vanished, taking Feena with them.
"Shadows?!" The assassin went wide eyed. "It couldn't be!"
Predator quickly started making her way back to the lift, afraid for her suspicions to be true and for this plan to be ruined.
Back Underneath Goldenia. . .
"Looks like the torches stop up ahead."
Walking through the new path that they found, Albert and Grena had suddenly came to an end of the new tunnel. All they were met with unfortunately is what appeared to be a dead end. Looking around the end wall, they didn't see anymore paths.
"The chances are we missed whatever was down here or it somehow got through here and sealed off the pathway." Albert said. "Maybe there's a route that we bypassed while staying here."
"I've got another plan." Grena growled, cracking her knuckles. "This wall's looking real iffy to me."
"What?"
Without hesitation Grena cocked her left arm back and then slammed her fist into the wall. Shattering to pieces pretty easily, lots of light could be seen shining through the broken wall. The wall crumbled to pieces, revealing another opening.
"Whatever's down here sealed off their exit." Grena said while walking through. "That must mean that they're aware that we're-. . . that. . . we're. . ."
"Grena...?"
"Holy shit..."
Albert quickly walks through the opening. "Grena what is it?! What's-"
Albert also went silent as he took a good look at what Grena was staring at.
"What in the world...?" He said.
"Maybe... we should've waited..." Grena said.