Chapter 2! Well, more like the second part of the former first chapter. Wow, this one chapter has undergone so many changes... But anyway, please read it and don't weep. XD

Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1

Chapter 2: The Red-Eyed, Purple-Haired Alchemist

The chase continued until evening. The girl kept throwing potions and bombs at our back to keep stop their pursuers in their tracks. Of course, that was the original plan. But as the nature of the alchemist's creations was quite destructive, her actions really did more than just stall the Guard and the angry mob. The cobblestone streets were littered with craters caused by ballistic explosive potions, some houses caught fire which were fortunately put out quickly before they spread (one storekeeper's stall wasn't that lucky though), and the fountain at the town square became unapproachable because some of the alchemist's plants found their way into its waters, making them more deadly than they already were.

Finally, the two managed to get out of the city through the western gate. There were fewer patrols there on that day, so it was easy for the alchemist to break through using her potions. Johann avoided combat as much as possible. He didn't want his name to be stained even further. As they went out into the fields, the girl threw more plant bottles on the ground near the gate, for good measure. The two didn't stop running until they got into a forest about two hundred paces away from Prontera. Once they were assured that nobody would be chasing them that far into the forest, Johann and the girl plopped down by the base of a tree near a clearing, clearly experiencing the lethargic after-effects of an adrenaline rush.

They stayed like that for about five minutes, even after their breathing settled down. Johann turned to look at the girl. She did the same, and their eyes met. Silence followed, accompanied by the chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves against the wind. And then they broke into fits of laughter all of a sudden, as if everything that had happened that day was just a comedy sketch, ignoring the fact that they were almost captured by the Guard multiple times in possibly the roughest ways.

"Phew!" the girl exhaled loudly, having calmed enough to speak. "Oh right, it's getting dark. Wait a moment… I have just the thing in my bag…" She rummaged through her red handbag, which had eyes and a mouth with a toothy smile. Patches were scattered all over it. She took out a bottle with a white luminescent substance inside it. It immediately brightened up the whole clearing, like a huge white bonfire. It was warm like one too, and Johann moved forward a bit, helping himself to that welcoming heat.

"How did you make this potion? I've never seen anything like it before…" Johann asked the girl curiously. To the alchemist, it came out as a compliment and she blushed as a result, much like the potion albeit a red variant of it.

"It's pretty simple, actually," the girl huffed with pride as she began her explanation. "Flame hearts are used to generate heat equivalent to that of a camp bonfire. But it only takes one or two flame hearts for the potion. Too much of it can easily turn the whole thing into a thermal bomb which can incinerate a wide area in seconds. Red bloods can be substituted for it, but it's a given that it would take at least five to ten times the amount of flame hearts for it to suffice. For the bright light we have the liquid that can only be extracted from shining plants. Those are rare, but I have a secret harvesting place for them. Of course I'm not going to tell you that, silly. In theory, mixing the flame hearts and the essences in one solution is supposed to be an easy task. It will require five hundred milimeters of karvodailnirol and a good catalyst, preferably a pinch of star crumbs. But I tell you now, it's far from easy. Oh boy, it took me hours just to get two main ingredients to balance each other and…"

The girl went chattering on about how hard and exhausting making that single luminous potion was, and something about stuff exploding in her face for no reason. Johann tried to understand what she was saying, but he was already lost at about three sentences into the girl's monologue. In fact, the alchemist didn't seem to care that Johann was dumbstruck by her explanation and her subsequent ranting. In an effort to stem the flood of words coming out of her mouth, Johann tried to get her attention, loudly.

"Ah! I forgot to ask your name! How rude of me!" Johann deliberately exclaimed, making sure to raise his volume to notches higher. That got her attention, and she thankfully stopped her nosebleed-inducing monologue. Johann was sure that if he didn't have a swordsman's endurance, he would've fainted due to blood loss just by listening to her talk.

"Oh, sorry for that winding explanation," the girl said with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of her head. She shifted her position so that she was facing Johann entirely, sitting in seiza position with her hands on her lap. "My name is Maria Eltnam Flamel. Or Mei, for short. It's much of a hassle to pronounce my name, so call me Mei instead." She gave a winning smile to Johann that made him think of Comodo models. She extended a hand to him and said, "Nice to meet you, um..."

"Johann… That's my name," he took the hand and shook it in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you as well, Mei."

Mei sensed the hesitation in Johann's voice when he mentioned his name. Her strong sense of curiosity almost drove her to ask him about it, but she knew better than to dig deeper than she should, or rather than to dig deep at all. 'I hardly know the guy… I don't have any right to suddenly inquire about that in his face… But I reaaaallly want to know…' Mei said in her head, using quite a bit of willpower to restrain herself.

"I think we should camp out here for the night," Johann said, snapping Mei out of her thought train. "We can't possibly go back to town. The Guard will be there waiting for us. Our best bet is on this very spot, but at night the forests are dangerous… I think I should patrol while-"

"I already have the solution to that little problem," Mei interrupted, like a merchant doing sales talk to a client. She took out a bottle with an olive-green solution. There was a dark-green lump floating inside of it. "This little critter will serve as our patrol. That means both of us will be getting enough sleep for tonight. We're going to need it, since by tomorrow morning we'll be heading out to the northern Pronteran fields to gather ingredients for my plant bottles."

She threw the bottle onto the ground a few meters away from them. The sound of breaking glass was heard, and green smoke puffed up into the air. Johann had to cover his nose to block the somehow nasty smell that was coming from the smoke. Mei, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the scent at all, and was actually excited to see her creation come out. 'Ugh… She looks like how she was at that time at the marketplace,' Johann winced at the memory.

When the smoke cleared, there stood an old stump. What made the stump special was that it had vines wrapped around it, and they were glowing faintly. The vines were also pumping rhythmically, as if it were the blood vessels of the plant. The strangest thing about the plant was the girl sitting on top of the stump. She looked no older than five years, and she had green hair with a single sprout on top of her head. Other features included a vine attached to her back, which in turn was split into the smaller vines that entangled the stump.

"A funny name the researchers at Yuno give this creature. A name such as Parasite… Such a harsh name for an innocent creature such as her…" Mei sadly said, feeling sorry for the creature. Johann couldn't say anything. He was either disturbed by the fact that a Parasite was going to be their night patrol, or by Mei's statement about the origins of the Parasite's name. "Don't worry, she won't attack us," Mei reassured him. "She recognizes me as her master. Although she might have a bit of a problem with you, so I suggest you stay away from her."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Johann said, thinking he won't be getting near the Parasite anytime soon. Just then he remembered what Mei said before she threw her Parasite plant bottle. He remembered in particular a certain word; 'we.'

"Wait, you did say we we're going to the northern fields to get stuff, right?" Johann asked.

"Yep. What are you deaf or something?" Mei answered in a mocking tone.

"Heck, no. It's just that the 'we' in that statement caught my attention," Johann said. "Does that mean I'm coming along with you?"

"Of course you are!" Mei said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, it's either that or you could stay behind in this forest or you drag yourself back to Prontera. Either way you're going to get in big trouble. I don't think you have that much choice in the matter."

'I don't like the way she said that last part,' Johann thought. 'But she does have a point. I'd rather go with her to Glast Heim than go back to that town. Who knows, I might get something good out of it. Besides, I was getting tired of that place anyway… And my sense of adventure is heating up."

"Alright, Mei. I'll come with you," Johann said. "It sounds like fun. Besides, I've been planning for an adventure of my own for quite some time now."

At that moment Mei's eyes were sparkling, literally. The luminous potion gave more emphasis to that sparkle in her eyes as she heard him say, 'I'll come with you.' Johann was taken aback. He didn't think that him coming along with him would have this much impact on her. He was sure that if they weren't very tired from running around Prontera and into the forest, she would be jumping up and down now.

"This is great!" Mei squealed in delight. "With the two of us, we could gather twice the amount of ingredients for my potions! And I could use you as a meatshield in case we get attacked by strong monsters! Finally I can get someone to carry some of my things for me… You don't know how hard it was for me to hold an armful of maneater blossoms and try to escape a horde of agriopes on my tail. Also with you there would be higher chances of survival! You're a swordsman, of course… You could hold off any monsters while I collect the necessary items. But there is the problem of travelling costs… I mean the two of us means more expensive inn fees. Not to mention..."

Once again Mei was off spouting words that she managed to string into coherent sentences. Johann found the part about him being a meatshield a bit irritating, though. But he didn't really mind, because for the first time that day he saw Mei smile like a girl, instead of that mad grin she flashed many times that day. She seemed really happy that someone was coming along with her, and Johann couldn't help but smile with her. At the time he found himself wondering if that mad scientist he saw back at the market place was really her. 'Either that was a realistic hallucination, or she's bipolar…" Johann thought.

"I think we should get some sleep now," Johann said clearly enough to stop Mei's loud chatter. "We need all the energy we can get for tomorrow. The northern fields are pretty far away if you ask me."

"Yeah, you're right…" Mei said, calming down a bit. She saw Johann getting ready to lie on the ground, and then she suddenly asked, "You're not thinking of sleeping on the cold, hard earth, are you?"

"What's wrong with that?" Johann asked, as if sleeping on the ground was the most natural thing to him. "There's grass growing on it. It would make for a fine sleeping mat."

"Well I have other means of sleeping outdoors," Mei haughtily said. She rummaged in her red handbag once more and pulled out a rolled-up blanket and a heart-shaped pillow ('How do they all fit inside that tiny handbag?' Johann wondered.) She fixed her pseudo-bed on the ground, and she lied down, her back facing Johann.

Johann was just looking at Mei, when he realized that he was in such a pitiful state, lying on the cold, hard earth without anything but grass to lie on. He wanted a blanket that badly, but he wasn't going to tell that to her. He felt that to ask her for a spare blanket was to admit defeat. He resigned to his fate and tried to sleep in spite of the multiple lumps that he felt on the small of his back.

"Goodnight, Johann…"

He turned to look at Mei, who he realized had already fallen asleep. It wasn't surprising, for someone as tired as her. He was amazed at the energy she had when she was ranting earlier that evening. For no reason he smiled as he looked at her peaceful form. He was looking forward to what will happen tomorrow, and for the next few days, or months. Thinking about that made Johann a little bit excited about his new adventure.

"Goodnight, Mei…"

He fell asleep soon after, overcome by fatigue and drowsiness. Back then, if he could only look at Mei's face as she slept, he would see her face adorned by a sweet, happy, and hopeful smile.

And thus a new adventure begins! I hope you could stick with me till the end of this. XD As always, please leave a sensible review. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames will be dealt with accordingly, and by that I mean with bomb potions. XD

See ya soon! I hope...