You wonderful people. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Allow me to celebrate by giving a slightly longer chapter.

There was nowhere else to turn. He'd knocked twice now, and his stamina was waning, an effect of the arrow still buried in him. Flynt was standing on the doorstep of the only person in the capital who might help him. She was an old friend, one he'd met shortly before his return to Prentice as Flynt. She was the only one to ever have shown an interest in his side of the story, and though she stood with the rest of the capital on that day, she was his only hope of getting Ahri back alive.

The door opened, and in the frame was a tired brown haired girl in her mid twenties, around the same age as Flynt. Her brown eyes widened at the sight of him, and she nearly shut the door in Flynt's face.

"Wait!" Flynt stopped the door with his foot.

"Why are you here!?" the girl yelled. She moved to push him away but stopped herself once she noticed Ahri in Flynt's arms.

"Samantha please, I need help. She needs help… I have nowhere else to go. You said it yourself, that you'd want to hear my side of the story. Now's your chance."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't. Leave me out here for all I care, I can handle it, but she needs help." Flynt nodded towards Ahri.

Samantha sighed. "You owe me." She opened the door and stepped aside. "But first we have to help your friend. Follow me, I'll clear off a table."

Flynt followed Samantha into the house and laid Ahri sideways on the now empty table he was led to.

Samantha inspected Ahri's wound. "The arrow went right through her; it's a nasty injury." Samantha shifted from her left foot to her right and back again. "Flynt I don't know if there's a lot that I can do here. I mean… considering where she got hit I don't think she's gonna make it."

"Just do whatever you can Sam. Please."

"Now that I think about it, I'm curious as to how you're still standing right now with that arrow in your shoulder. You carried her all the way here, and what happened to your hair?"

Flynt shook his head. "I'll be fine. Worry about her first."

"She's a lost cause. By now she's bleeding out from the inside. There's nothing I can do."

"There must be something you can do… anything."

Samantha paused for a moment. "I can try to stop the bleeding from the outside and close the wound as best I can, but that won't solve much. Taking it out at this point might open up a world of new problems, so she'll have to deal with it if she wakes up, and that's a big if." Samantha looked at the arrowhead. "I don't think it's poisoned, but even so anything I do would only delay her death. Our best bet is to do what we can and hope she survives the night. We can take her to someone else in the morning."

Flynt nodded. "Thank you."

Flynt placed Ahri gently on the guest bed, making sure to lay her on her side. Samantha eventually agreed to remove the arrow in fear of infection. A few healing spells, some potions, and a proper dressing was all Samantha could do for the woman. After Ahri's treatment Samantha insisted that Flynt give her a recap of the situation while addressing his shoulder wound. Once Samantha's questions were answered and Flynt's shoulder was patched up he promised to give her his life story, and now as he kneeled on the floor with his head resting on the mattress, he could feel the extra energy from his earlier actions leaving him at a steady rate. At any point he would succumb to his aching body's cries for sleep.

A finger brushed against his hair. A nail pressed lightly against his forehead. Flynt raised his head from the bed and stared into Ahri's dim eyes.

Impossible…

She tried to say something, but what came out of her mouth was a whisper that Ahri herself couldn't hear. Flynt leaned in closer. "What was that?"

Ahri's fingers brushed against Flynt's cheek, and brought his eyes back to her's. "Thank you." She closed the distance between them and locked Flynt into a forced kiss.

At that moment his energy tanked. He was growing so tired so rapidly that he could feel energy pouring out of him and into her, but despite this he couldn't pull himself away. His chest grew increasingly heavy as he struggled to breathe, and eventually his lower body gave way, dropping him to the floor. His eyes shut before he touched it.

I warned you.

How could he be so naive? How could he be so hopeful? Had he not learned anything from the Elders? He had pondered these questions during his walk back to the village. Molly's reaction to his confession was not what he expected, but the more he thought about it, the less it surprised him. He watched her run away, and decided against chasing her; it would only have made the situation worse. Before making the journey back to the village, he took a different familiar route to the awful structure he called a home for the two years before making the village his new home. By now he'd guessed at the fate of his parents, and wanted to return to the shack to acknowledge that he was likely going to be with them soon. The walk back to the edge of the forest and eventually to the edge of the capital settlement was taken with no rush. He got as far as the marble stage before the party he expected began. Members of Fez stormed out from behind buildings and seating to push him to the center of the stage. They were well organized, swordsmen with shields stood closest to him in the ring of soldiers that surrounded Flynt while men with spears stood behind them, pointing their weapons an equal distance from him. In hindsight it might not have been a good idea to give them all so much time to prepare for his arrival. He wouldn't be able to fight them all at once, there was no possible way. He could survive against two, maybe three of the well trained Fez, but fighting this many while surrounded would be suicide, so he simply brought his hands above his head and got down on his knees in surrender. His surrender was almost like a play, with the entire royal guard as his audience.

The Fez directly in front of him parted to allow a small group of people inside the ring. Elder Garrison led two others to a surrendering Flynt. Garrison locked eyes with Flynt. A painful history brewed hate behind both pairs of eyes.

Elder Garrison began speaking. "I speak on behalf of the king when I say that this very worrying to know that this… thing has been living among us. He has been tricking us into thinking he is one of us, likely to gain our trust and wipe us all out at once." He smiled and stepped back, allowing the lead Fez to step forward. Before addressing Flynt, the soldier removed his helmet. His short brown hair was a mess, and there was anger behind his blue eyes. Ace.

"You know, I trusted you Flynt." Ace said, walking forward slowly with a frown on his face. "I was going to ask you to join the Fez. Imagine that: A personal invitation from the prince to join the most respected military organization in the Kingdom." He chuckled. "Guess I can't do that anymore."

Flynt said nothing, he just remained where he was kneeling.

Ace drew the great sword from his back. Standing before Flynt was the spitting image of the king on the day of his capture. Everything had come full-circle. He wasn't sure what he expected. Even his pep talk and rhetorical questioning to himself hadn't changed his attitude about people and trust. He was going to die at the hands of his best friend of three years simply because of who- what he was.

He grunted. "Where's the fight in you? I know you can stand up to me. Show me what you can do with a blade Flynt, or was that all a big lie as well?"

Flynt croaked. "None of it was a lie. You don't have to do this Ace, I'm your friend."

"You have no right to call me that. Not after what you've done."

Flynt raised his voice. "So this is what it's like." He stood slowly. "Being human is about ignoring the good people do and instead focusing on the labels placed on them. It's about believing the first thing you hear about someone and disregarding the possibility of a second half of the story." Flynt placed his hand on his sword. He was trying to keep himself in check. The situation brought his memory five years back. Betrayal was on his mind. "I'm glad I don't belong."

"Draw. We'll settle this here and now."

Garrison spoke up. "Master James, I advise against this."

Ace glanced back at Garrison. "He speaks like he's innocent, like he didn't raze villages to the ground!" He turned back to Flynt, readying his sword. "Entire families slaughtered and you think you can get away scot-free by living in the dark for a few years."

Ace wasn't entirely wrong. Flynt killed people, but it wasn't his fault. They attacked him, and he fought back; they died. The people of this kingdom declared war against him, and he retaliated the same as any other kingdom would. Then they caught him, and he escaped. He was announced dead, and returned to start anew, but he made the mistake of thinking his past was properly buried under his new self. In the beginning all he had was hope. He'd hoped that they'd never find out who he was. He'd hoped that he wouldn't slip up. He'd hoped to live a normal life like everyone else. He hoped that, of all people, at least Molly could see past his labels. His hope landed him in this very spot with Ace standing before him not as a friend, but as an enemy.

Flynt drew his sword and stood his ground, allowing Ace to make the first move. "Here and now." His voice was void of emotion; he needed to focus for this. Ace was playing to kill, but Flynt didn't want any more bloodshed.

"Nobody interrupts, not until he's dead," Ace announced before stepping forward with an experimental first swing.

Flynt simply leaned out of range and waited for his next strike. Ace pressed forward, delivering swing after swing at Flynt while Flynt stayed just outside of his reach. Flynt led Ace around the stage as if leading him an a ceremonial dance. The first sounds of the duel were heard as Flynt's scabbard collided with Ace's greatsword with enough force to shift its momentum. Ace was thrown off balance for just a second, and Flynt capitalized by shoving his shoulder into Ace. As Ace fell to the stone floor of the stage, Flynt's foot met with Ace's ribs and kept him on the floor. Flynt held his sword at Ace's neck.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Don't start showing mercy now!" Ace exclaimed.

Flynt stared back at him. "Just let me go."

"ENOUGH!"

An electric blue cuff materialized on Flynt's wrist. A sudden attractive force brought his hands together quickly, causing his sword to fall from his grip. A similar process occurred to his ankles, causing him to fall to the floor.

"An impressive display, Pariah, but it seems your time is up." Garrison was now on the stage with his arm extended in Flynt's direction.

Pariah.

The name brought back memories. Memories of a simple yet isolated life with the only family he'd ever known. Memories of the promises his guardians made to him: he'd be very important to the kingdom one day. Memories of those same guardians, the elders, imprisoning him in that damned tower. Memories of the whip, the chains, the water, the darkness. The betrayal. "A sacrifice for the good of the kingdom."

And among those memories were the memories of a friend. He was about Flynt's height with similar features; they even had the same hairstyle. His name was forgotten, but Flynt remembered that he always appeared wrapped in shadows, like a ghost, and he always appeared when Flynt was at the edge of his will. They always talked about leaving the tower, but Flynt was never in any condition to try. Then the elders slipped up.

Flynt's trip down memory lane was interrupted by a shoe colliding with his ribcage.

"Garrison!" Ace called out.

"What!? This little shit killed your elders, my friends! Are you defending him after what he did?"

Ace stood up and faced Garrison. "No. We should kill him now."

"The king wants him-"

"And what happened the last time we did what my father planned?" Ace turned back to Flynt with his sword raised.

Ace stood before him ready to strike him down, but at the moment time seemed to slow. Flynt felt a prickly sensation originate at his sword arm. It spread quickly to his other arm, and down to his legs. Flynt felt the force that bound his hands and feet disappear as the magical cuffs that restrained him shattered. He saw the power before he felt it. A sudden burst of dark flame that subtracted light from its surroundings enveloped him. Flynt rolled away from Ace's downward swing. Flynt recovered his own sword as Ace recovered from his miss. The flame grew once the weapon was in his hands.

Garrison was the only one in the crowd who could speak. "No…"

Flynt readied his sword. "You seem surprised. Wasn't this what you were expecting?"

No one made a move until Garrison unleashed a blast of magic at Flynt. Flynt simply stood in place as the blast flowed around him, the subsiding magic revealing a dark barrier protecting him.

"Kill it!" Garrison shouted.

Garrison and Ace fell back into the crowd of soldiers who rushed Flynt. Flynt swung his sword before they reached him, and a dark arcing projectile shot forward from his swing. The wave cut a path through the soldiers that led to their leaders. Before he could reach them he was cut off by the remaining Fez. They were closing fast, so Flynt made the first strike by running the closest soldier through. He turned around to intercept a swing from someone behind him and delivered a fatal counter. Flynt continued pushing through the Fez, staying on the offensive so he wouldn't get overwhelmed by their numbers.

He wasn't fast enough. Someone's strike found its mark; the sword cutting into his back. Flynt tried to retaliate, but the wound threw off his focus. Shortly after he gained a wound on his sword arm. Flynt continued fighting with his scabbard alone until a sword pierced his chest.

The blade slid out of him and he fell on his back, struggling to breathe. Ace stood over him with a pained expression on his face. Garrison joined him with a smile of triumph. The dark flaming aura surrounding Flynt had disappeared, leaving him with more energy than he should have had. It was enough for one last effort. He wasn't surviving this, but he was going to do the most to make sure he wasn't the only one dying today.

Flynt concentrated all of his available power into his uninjured left hand. He was dying anyways, so his choice was clear: Flynt began using his own life force once his energy was depleted. Flynt sprung backward, flinging his arm at Garrison. His hand connected with Garrison's ankle and all of the energy available poured out into one final devastating spell of raw power. Flynt was evaporated Garrison was annihilated by the force of the spell. Ace was thrown back into the crowd of remaining Fez behind him.

Ace got to his feet with the help of his soldiers. One man's cheers turned into roars of victory from the entire army as they all swarmed Ace, praising him as the hero of the fairy tale.

The land was saved, the Shadow's Thrall was finally killed, and they all lived happily ever after.

Or at least that's how it was supposed to happen.

silver330 - Thank you. The plan is to have the Flynt/Ahri dynamic actually exist this time instead of saying "time passed, and they hung out a bunch... trust me."

Kerbal - Godamit... the logic grave is deep. I can't tell you how Garrison and the Fez found him so quickly, all things in good time. I had a group of friends once upon a time, and we called ourselves the Fez Organization. Now as for the thing about the things... Yeah, Ahri should be dead right now, but... y'know... magic. (plot armor) But even with her recovery aided by Flynt's generous donation, I agree that they'd probably have to go see a real doctor soon. Also, the exalted blade is very similar to the power Flynt can wield with his own sword.

DANISHMONK - Yes, and perhaps he can learn from Ahri as well.

Mango(x2) - The main plot of the story (or at least how it was supposed to go) remains the same, but I plan on changing a few things. I more or less have a plan this time. A lot of the weaker parts of the fic (including the return home arc and the parts before then) will be changed.

gg