Deep in the woods that bordered the capital city of Prentice was a clearing and a small pond. At one end of this pond, directly below a large tree stood a small shack constructed with the remains of raided merchant wagons. The shack suffered from years of neglect, apparent in the rotting wood that was badly in need of replacing. In front of the shack appeared a dark sphere that was barely visible against the dark background of the nighttime forest. As the sphere slowly began to turn translucent an observer could point out two figures embraced in the air, one of which had nine white, fluffy tails coming from behind her and the other holding those tails away from the edges of the sphere. When the sphere completely disappeared, the two figures lowered slowly to the ground along with the mound of dirt taken from their previous location. When their feet touched the ground, the taller figure collapsed almost immediately.

Ahri backed away from Flynt and glanced around. "What did you do? Where are we?"

Flynt sat up, letting his back rest against the shack behind him; he was breathing heavily. "Welcome," he said between breaths, "to Prentice."

"You mean-"

"I brought myself back home." He coughed a few times. "I didn't know it was so far away; I've never felt this bad after doing that before."

"Well what about me? Why did you bring me here?"

"I had to, otherwise you would have killed us both with your attempt to stop the spell."

"You could have pushed me away, you could have moved, you could have done anything else!"

"Yeah, and you could have simply let me leave."

"You attacked me, and trashed my house!"

"Self-defense, you tried to bake me like a chicken."

"Because you drew a sword!"

"I took my sword back from you, and even told you that I didn't want any trouble."

"Look at it from my point of view. You fell from a thousand feet in the air. You should be dead. You not only lived, but recovered from that fall in one night. You broke through a charm with little effort and then drew a weapon against me. What was I supposed to do?"

Flynt began to stand, leaning against the shack for support. "I could make the same argument. Something about a captor who doesn't want me to leave and has the ability to mess with my head doesn't sit well with me. What was I supposed to do when you refused to give me my sword and let me leave?"

Ahri glared at him. "Can't you just take me back?"

Flynt pushed himself off the shelter and shook his head. "I'd love to, if only so that you'd leave me alone, but if I tried I'd probably end up killing myself. That spell takes a lot of energy to perform once. It's amazing that I didn't suffer more just bringing you along."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Good question." Flynt began walking into the forest. "Sounds like the kind of thing I wouldn't care about."

Ahri began to follow him. "What if I helped you?"

"With what?"

"Well, you're back, right? And last time you were here you were fighting the people, so I'm guessing you're here for revenge."

Flynt said nothing and continued walking.

"Ok, well if you're not here for that, what are you here for?"

"Answers."

"To what questions?"

"If I tell you will you stop bothering me?"

"Sure."

Flynt began explaining while navigating the forest. "I'm headed to the capital city of Prentice. I lived there for three years or so. It was great. I had friends and people who cared about me. I found someone I loved who also loved me… or at least I thought she did."

"So you want to know if she's moved on or…"

"No, just listen. Before Flynt, I was known only as the Shadow's Thrall. The Elders of this kingdom told stories of me, terrible stories about the things I've done, though none of it is truthful. I thought that I would be able to trust her with the truth. I thought she'd at least let me explain. In the end she ran off to alert the Fez, the king's elite guard, and I returned to the capital to find them waiting for me. No one would let me explain, and I only fought back once I knew I was going to die if I didn't." Flynt took a short pause. "I fought as best I could, but in the end I was forced to use my own life to at least kill the one responsible: Elder Garrison."

"So you're still alive, and you want to know what's going on?"

Flynt nodded. "If I'm alive… he could be as well. I just want to know for sure."

"Alright… or you could forget about that and just take me home."

"And what would that accomplish?"

Ahri shrugged. "Well, these people think you're dead, why don't you just keep it that way? You could just go on about your business somewhere else and get back that life you seem to want back."

"It's not that simple."

"Then what am I missing? Is it the girl? She must be something special."

Flynt stopped walking, nearly causing Ahri to run into him. He was silent for a moment before he started forward again, saying, "Why are you following me?"

"I'm making sure you don't get killed."

"How sweet, I'm touched."

"Very funny. I'm only doing it to make sure I can get back home before you end up killing yourself."

"I don't need you here, you can go back."

"Even if I knew my way, the broken down, mangled pile of scrap I'm guessing you call a home isn't exactly the most comfortable of places to wait."

"It's not- nevermind."

"So what are you going to do when you find out that this Garrison guy is still alive?"

"Kill him."

"Alright, because…"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, I'm just curious."

"You don't need to know. You won't even be here long enough for it to matter."

The two eventually reached a downward slope where the trees stopped growing. In front of them was a quiet village existing just outside the walls of a city of stone. In the center of the city stood a modest castle with one tower that stood above the rest. It was easily the tallest building in the city, watching over the rest of the city as the people went about their business.

"So this is it then?" Ahri asked. "That's Prentice?"

Flynt nodded. "I want you to stay here."

"There's no way you're leaving me here alone, and I'm keeping you alive, remember?"

"I appreciate the gesture, but this is for your own safety." Flynt slid down the dirt slope and began running in the direction of the village border before Ahri had time to protest.

The moon was out and full; the shadows were long and dark. The shadow cast by the tall prison tower standing behind the castle was immense; he could feel it from the wooden fence that separated the farmland from the plain. It didn't take Flynt long to reach the inner walls of the capital. His experience had taught him the shortest route, and though he felt exhausted, he pushed himself to run the entire way. He traveled along the stone wall until he reached a closed gate flanked on both sides by wooden towers holding at least an archer apiece. If he weren't so tired he could figure out a way around the obstacle, but for now he just backtracked his way back to the north side of the settlement surrounding the capital; the stage was located there, and it was where everything went down one month ago.

Flynt eventually reached the giant marble disk that was buried in the ground. It's engraved surface was used for plays, public announcements, and stories told by the Elders. The disk was now concentrically cracked in the middle, and though the stone seating was still intact, the stage looked like it had been abandoned for weeks. Columns that held braziers of flame were knocked over, and vines had grown along the stone.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that."

Garrison. Flynt tried to draw his sword, but he was too slow. A wave of force struck him, pushing him down on his stomach. Bands of light formed around his ankles and wrists, securing him to the floor. Flynt struggled against the bindings, but there was no divine intervention this time. Heat began concentrating at his wrists, and then it exploded violently across his entire body. Garrison's bindings delivered pain akin to being burned alive. He couldn't hold back his yells, and he was too exhausted to try and resist. Though it lasted for less than a minute, it felt as if an hour had passed. His head was swimming, and he didn't even know it had stopped until he heard conversation behind him, a laugh and a kiss. The next thing he knew, Ahri was helping him stand back up.

"And you said you wouldn't need me. Are you alright?"

Flynt groaned.

"Perfect."

Flynt leaned on her for support. He should have waited a day before coming here, but he couldn't let his exhaustion take over now. "We need to go."

"You need to take a rest first."

"We need to go now!" He grumbled as he shoved his weight in the direction of the forest.

Ahri nearly dropped him. "Why? What's the rush?"

"Just come on." The two of them began making their way out of the village.

Flynt should have waited for the next day. He should have known that Garrison would have used some Elder wisdom or something to sense the enormous amount of energy used in teleporting here, and if Garrison showed up, he'd have reinforcements somewhere. More than likely the Fez were contacted, and following him right now, but there was a chance that they hadn't caught up yet.

Flynt's thoughts were interrupted when an arrow pierced his left shoulder. He collapsed out of Ahri's arms. Flynt glanced up, and saw the short hill leading to the forest past the short wooden fence. Ahri started to help him up, but Flynt waved her off. "Go!"

Ahri's ears perked up and she jumped back just before an arrow dug itself into the ground between the two of them. She stared at the rooftop, preparing her essence orb, but what she saw was more than one lone archer. At least six men armed with bows stood on the rooftops of buildings in front of her, and on the ground a larger group of soldiers began closing in. Her orb disappeared. She couldn't fight them all. Even if Flynt wasn't injured they still couldn't fight them together, but she couldn't run either.

"I will be fine. Just go." Flynt was on his knees now looking into her eyes. "I'll find you later."

"You're going to die. I can't leave you here."

"I'll be fine. Just go!"

Ahri took a step back before running in the direction of the forest.

"How noble of you, Thrall." A voice boomed.

Flynt turned his head to see the head of Fez standing before him. Behind him were at least ten others, and Flynt could make out seven archers above him.

"How… honorable… unexpected. I expected a creature such as yourself to use that girl as a shield. Obviously she means something to you, so…" The leader waved his hand, and Flynt heard the sound of a bowstring releasing.

He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact, but when it never came he knew exactly what just happened. He spun his head back towards the forest just in time to see Ahri fall to the ground.

"No!"

"Yes! Like you have taken from us, we shall take from you. Yates, make sure she's dead."

One of the men broke ranks and began walking to Ahri.

"Don't touch her." Flynt growled as the soldier, Yates, passed him.

Yates' response was to spit on Flynt as he walked on. Flynt shut his eyes. He wanted to wait until Ahri was well out of his way before going to his last resort. The last time he'd resorted to his, it hadn't gone well for him, but last time an Elder was there to stop him. He'd have to take the risk, and hope he could control himself.

"We're not taking any chances this time." The leader muttered. He waved his arm again, and another archer let an arrow fly. This one was aimed at Flynt's neck.

Flynt's eyes flew open at the same time the arrow was fired. He shifted his head to the left, catching the arrow with his right hand. He turned around as dark flame erupted around him. Flynt felt an immediate sense of revival. After abandoning this power for three years it was the second time he'd used it in a month. Feels good. His eyes were void of color, and his hair became darker at the tips. There was a thin smile on his face; he chuckled as he held the arrow between his fingers high in the air.

"Shoot him!"

Flynt's response to the command was to throw the arrow back at its origin, piercing the archer who fired it through the chest. The remaining archers hesitated long enough for Flynt to draw his katana and slip into the shadows. These soldiers were foolish enough to attack him at night, when the world was enveloped in its own shadow.

Spare no one.

Flynt flew through the fleeing crowds of people, his sword slashing at everything that breathed.

The archers fell one by one, and the foot soldiers were next. They tried to attack in groups, but it didn't mean much as Flynt slipped in and out of their vision. Despite their confidence, these men weren't remotely prepared for this combat.

They'll just send them all after you later, why not get rid of them now?

When all of his soldiers had fallen, the commander held his position against Flynt.

Everyone else had fled, the young man stood his ground. His poorly crafted blade and absent experience in combat didn't stop him from trying to defend his village.

Flynt held his blade low and pointed up.

He was waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

The commander charged.

Flynt timed his movement perfectly, dragging his foot behind himself as he dodged the swing. Flynt pivoted his blade so that it ran itself across the boy's side as he committed to the missing strike. The boy fell motionless-

-a pool of blood forming where he lay.

Flynt's attention was drawn away by a woman's screams of protest. Turning towards the forest he saw a man in armor being pushed back by periodic bursts of weak blue flame. The source of the flame was a woman lying on the ground. She was injured.

Spare no one.

Flynt reached the soldier in seconds, slicing his sword through his abdomen as he slowed to a stop. As the soldier fell to the ground, Flynt turned his attention to the woman below him. She was weak, frightened, and pleading. The words she spoke didn't reach him. He rose his sword, the tip pointing to her heart.

Spare no one.

Staring into her eyes, he felt something familiar. It was a warm feeling.

"Please."

Spare...

Kerbal: Late or not, you're first to the party. Welcome, sit down... have some beverages... don't leave... please. In all seriousness, you'll see more differences in the ways characters are portrayed (hopefully) and differences in how they interact with eachother (also hopefully). Thanks for stopping by.

GG