Back with a new chapter and hope you guys is ready for this one!

Tales Of The World

Tactics Union

Chapter 3: Face Off

The heroes gathered in Moon's meeting room as she sat in her usual big black chair. "I have a job that needs to be taken care of immediately, it's been over looked for too long and someone needs to answer it." Moon said as she looked at a piece of paper in her hand. "What kind of job do you want us to do?" Blaine asked. Moon shifted her eyes off the paper and on to him as she set it down on the table "You've heard about the rumor that's going around right? About the monster in Heckeor, apparently there's a monster that shows up and demands food, and if the towns people don't hand it over it takes a human sacrifice." She explained.

"How come nobody's handled that job yet?" Sheena asked. Konyu who was standing behind her put his hands in his pockets "It was never requested as a job so we thought it was truly a rumor also there are three other guilds in this world that could have been asked to do the job." Konyu replied.

Moon put the paper down on the desk and looked at them. "He's right, but now someone named Rosura has sent a job request to us and wants it taken care of immediately. So I'm going to send-"

"Master Moon I have an urgent message from King Gesar."

Moon turned to see one of her knights running in her office. "What did he say?" She asked. The knight stood straight and looked forward "He said that he wants you to come to his castle as soon as possible. There are some things he would like to discuss with you; he also wants you to bring four of your guild members along." The knight said.

Moon looked away and sighed putting her right hand on her head. "So he wants me to come to Cellender. It must be something important if he's asking me to come there so quickly." She said to herself. She then looked up at the group of people standing before her and stood up "Okay here's what we'll do. Konyu, Lloyd Asbel and Sheena will come with me. Blaine, Kanono, Presea, Zelos, Mormo and Tear will go and investigate the monster problem in Heckeor." She explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Blaine said with a smirk. "We'll help the people in Heckeor and get rid of the monster that's terrorizing them." Kanono stated. "That monster won't know what hit him." Mormo added. Moon nodded at their statements "I want you all back here safe and sound." She ordered. Blaine and the other nodded with a smile, showing their confidence.

"Master, shall I tell Yvonne to have the ship ready?" The knight asked.

Moon nodded "Yes, tell her that we'll be there in Ten minutes." Moon informed. The knight nodded and walked out the door. Moon looked to Konyu and the others and nodded before walking out and having them follow her.

Blaine looked behind him and saw that Kanono and the others were ready "We should get going too, it'll take us awhile to get there." He informed. Kanono nodded "It might take us half a day so we'll have to stay at an inn there." She added. "I don't see anything wrong with that." Tear said. Presea looked at her and nodded "Neither do I." She added. Zelos just smiled and draped his arm around Kanono "I'll be there to protect you Kanono, day and night." He said which made Kanono giggle. The group looked at each other once more before heading out the door and beginning their journey to Heckeor.

After Moon and the others made to the seaside port at the end of the town. They stopped in front of a huge ship. A women with green eyes and long brown hair that was put into a pony tail walked over to them. She was wearing a black and white dress with black heels which made her look like a butler. "Yvonne is the ship ready?" Moon asked as a light gentle breeze blew through her hair.

Yvonne nodded "Yes ma'am the ship is ready to depart. Just say the word and we'll set off." She said as she bowed to Moon. Moon nodded and walked towards the ship with the others "Then let's be off." She said walking pass Yvonne and boarding the ship.

After the ship set sail Asbel used this time to have some alone time as he leaned on the edge of the boat and looked at the water. "Cheria… Sophie… I hope you two are alright." He said to himself.

"Feeling alright Asbel?"

Asbel turned to see Lloyd standing behind him. "Yeah I'm fine." Asbel said as he tried to dodge the topic. Lloyd wasn't satisfied with that answer "Hey, if there's something on your mind, you can come to me." Lloyd said.

Asbel thought about it for a moment and realized that holding it in wasn't going to help. Maybe talking about with his new friend would help him feel better. "Well to be honest Lloyd I'm wondering if a few people I know was sent to this world like me. If they are I'm hoping that they're okay and keeping themselves safe." He explained.

Lloyd listened to his words and took in everything that Asbel said "I understand where you're coming from. I have some friends besides Zelos, Sheena and Presea that were teleported here as well. So I'm hoping that doing okay as well. Hopefully I'll find them one day and we'll be reunited." Lloyd explained.

Asbel smiled and stood up straight, facing Lloyd "I'm sure you will, and I'm sure I'll meet up with my friends as well." Asbel replied. "Let's keep moving forward and hope for the best." Lloyd said as he reached out his hand. "Right!" Asbel replied as he reached out his hand and shook Lloyds. The two smiled at each other before looking back at the sky and letting go of the others hand.

Meanwhile Konyu was sitting on the floor cleaning off his swords with a rag. Sheena had noticed this and walked towards him "Polishing your swords?" She asked as she stopped behind him. Konyu didn't have to turn back to know who it was "Yeah… my father gave me these swords. They use to be his." He replied.

Sheena smiled "That was nice of him. Did he retire from fighting and decided to pass them on to you?" She asked. Konyu stayed silent for a moment but didn't stop wiping the blades "My father died… along with my mother." He responded a moment later.

Sheena gasped at the news she heard "I'm so sorry Konyu." She said, feeling bad for bringing it up. Konyu shook his head "It's okay Sheena, these swords were a gift from him so regardless my parents are always with me." He said. Sheena smiled and put a hand on his shoulder as she kneeled down which made him flinch a little "That's a good way to look at it, you're a strong person for pushing forward and not letting it bring you down." She said. Konyu smiled nodded as he continued to wipe his swords, Sheena stood up and was preparing to walk away as she turned around but stopped and looked to the ground.

She then looked across the boat to see Lloyd talking to Asbel. She could see that the two were having a friendly moment and didn't want to disturb them. She then looked back at Konyu and sat next to him. "Hey, can I help you?" She asked. Konyu looked at her for a moment and then smiled "Sure." He replied as he gave her his blue sword with a clean rag. The two began cleaning the swords as Moon watched them from the other side of the ship. She smiled at the two and walked away, leaving the two alone.

As she walked towards the door that led her to the pilot room she heard something moving inside a barrel near the door. She slowly peeked over and looked inside only to see Hanamiya crouching down inside. This made Moon upset, and to prove it she kicked the barrel over and watched her little sister fall out.

"Ow! Moon why did you do that?" Hanamiya asked. Moon shot a look of disappointment at Moon "You know you're not suppose to be here Hanamiya. I have a good mind to send you off to dream land." Moon threatened inching closer to Hanamiya.

Hanamiya was about to say something until she saw Sheena and Konyu sitting next to each other, smiling and having what seemed to be a nice conversation. "Who does that girl think she is, Konyu is mine!" She exclaimed as she stood up and was about to run over to Konyu but was stopped by Moon who grabbed her collar.

"Leave them two alone, Konyu has finally found a friend that he can talk too besides us." Moon said. Hanamiya pouted "He's been through so much, I think it's only fair he finds a friend that can look out for him." Moon added. Hanamiya continued to pout "Hmph, she'll be gone in a few months so I'm not worried." She said in a childish tone. Moon looked at her "You have no chance of getting him even with her not being here so get over it." Moon said as she dragged her sister away.

Two and a half hours later the group had arrived in Celender Town, the home of King Gesar. The ground was nothing but white clean bricks. Some houses were small and some were tall but none compared to the Castle. As they departed from the ship they saw peddlers selling items and people having a good time. Some people were dressed up nicely indicating that they were good with money. Some were dressed decent but not as good as the rich folks.

Konyu and the others began climbing up a few flights of stairs and then walking down a straight path that led straight to the Castle. They passed by bars and blacksmith stores, and noticed that people were walking in and out of them living a natural life.

As they made it to the Castle they noticed that the trees surrounded the caste like great armies defending their citadel. Their armored trunks reached out in the air protectively. This great expanse of green enhanced the castles eeriness and beauty as its portcullis made out of hard iron guarded the passage. Sentinels silently walked the walls keeping watch. The circle towers had a spiraling stair case. The stair case made it awkward for invaders to fight upwards. The steps were also uneven so the defenders had an advantage. Great mighty pride trebuchets stood with legs on towers ready to unleash their hinged fury. The grey stone seemed eerie in the night as it enhanced its beauty with the radiant moon shining down guiding it by its face. The keep drew the attention as turrets took root and grew like trees.

Guards that were in silver colored armor stopped them "Ms. Aiyame, the king is expecting you." The guard said. The doors opened slowly and the group walked inside. As Konyu and the others walked through the double French doors, that had a deep red color. Their first step into the eerie castle echoed. Asbel look down at the cold, hard marble floors, each tile chosen with a specific taste in mind. Sheena looked around to see beautiful paintings all around the room. There were a set of double staircases, one on the left, one on the right. The railing of the staircase is exquisitely engraved with flowers and vines, never a one to be the same. There were six large stone pillars evenly spaced, to keep the castle standing. Each one was elegantly carved to accent the Renaissance feel of the castle. To your left, there is a grand wooden door that leads to a very large library. To the right there is a door that leads to a green house, with too many plants to even think about counting, each one from a different place in the world. There was a moderate sized fountain that showers water gracefully back to where it started.

Once they made it to the room the King was in the doors opened to show the King himself. Gesar had black eyes and wore black crown with gold strips on it. He wore a light Turquoise colored robe that had red and golden designs on it. His hair was put into a long pony tail that hung down to his back. The king also wore Turquoise shoes and brown armor covering his arms.

"I'm glad you could make it Moon." He said in a gentle tone. Moon, Konyu and Hanamiya got down on one knee paying respect to the king. Lloyd, Asbel and Sheena noticed this and did the same in respect. The king smiled a chuckled a little "Please, raise your head Moon, I should be the one paying respects to you, after what you and your guild did to save my people, I still owe you for that situation." Moon said as he looked at Moon and then Konyu.

Moon shook her head "No sir you don't owe me anything, and I'm pretty sure Konyu feels the same way." Moon said. Konyu nodded "You don't owe me at all your majesty, I was happy to help you in your time of need." Konyu replied which earned him a smile from Moon.

"Please rise, let me see your faces." The king said. The group did as they were told and stood up. "Now Moon we have much to discuss but before that, I would like to ask your companions to go into the next room down the hall. I'll have a guard come and bring them in when I'm ready for them." Gesar said. Moon nodded and looked at Konyu who nodded at her and guided Lloyd and the others to the next room. Moon then turned to the King and then followed him inside the room. As she entered the room she seen a familiar face that she didn't really want to see "Yumin!" She called out.

Konyu and the others walked down the hall heading to the room that the King told them to wait in. "The King seems like a nice guy." Asbel said. Konyu nodded "Yeah he is, he looks out for people and doesn't look down on anyone." Konyu responded. "He said something about you and Moon saving his people, I'm guessing Nexus attacked this town." Lloyd said. Konyu nodded "I just happened to be in town with Kanono and Blaine handling a job for woman that lived here. A few Nexus soldiers came and started causing trouble and before you know it Kandra showed up and started causing trouble." He explained.

"Kandra?" Sheena asked. Konyu nodded "You haven't met her yet but she's another higher up in Nexus like Zira." He responded. "How many higher ups are in the Nexus?" Sheena asked. Konyu looked at her "Well from the information we've gathered so far we've seen about five higher ups but that's all we know right now. For all we know there could be more that haven't shown their face yet." Konyu explained as he approached the door to the room they were assigned to and opened it.

"Well, well, well looks like Konyu has arrived."

Konyu gritted his teeth as he entered the room and saw who called his name. Sitting at the round table in the room was four people. Konyu set his sights on Katsu Mikoto, a 21 year old man with burgundy colored hair and orange eyes. He wore a tan colored sleeveless coat with burgundy designs on it. Under the coat was a black T shirt. He wore blue pants and Burgundy shoes to match.

The second person sitting at the table was Yuuto Mikoto. Yuuto was a 14 year old boy with violet hair and black eyes. He wore a violet coat and underneath was a black shirt. He wore black pants and violet and white shoes. Leaning on the table near him was a violet scythe which had a dragon's skull at the beginning of the blade.

Sitting on the left side of Katsu was Rita Mordio who wore her usual outfit, and on the right side of Katsu was Yuri Lowell who also wore his usual outfit. "Katsu, what are you doing here?" Konyu asked. Katsu smirked at him "Probably for the same reason as you." He responded.

Konyu sighed and was about to sit down until Katsu spoke "If you're here doesn't that mean Moon is here as well?" Katsu asked. Moon narrowed his eyes at him "Yeah, but why does that matter to you?" He asked.

Asbel, Lloyd and Sheena could feel the tension between the two and decided to step in. "Konyu, do you two have a problem with each other?" Asbel asked. Katsu laughed "I don't like him, I did once but that changed ever since he decided to play for the other side." Katsu stated.

"Play for the other side? What is he talking about Konyu?" Sheena asked. Konyu sighed but kept his eye on Katsu "He's upset that Blaine, Kanono and I decided to join Moon's guild instead of Yumins, which is pretty selfish if you ask me." Konyu said.

"It's not selfish when it was a promise made by friends." Katsu stated. "Katsu we promised that we would go to the same guild together, that's true indeed. But things happened in my life and Moon was there for me, I wanted to repay her so I joined and decided to help her out. You joined Yumin's guild because you looked up to her. I don't look up to Yumin like you do." He explained.

Katsu didn't say anything else he just stared at Konyu "Konyu maybe we should just-" Asbel started until he was cut off by Yuri "I think this is something you should stay out of." He said. Asbel turned his head to look at Yuri "So I'm guessing you're hoping that this turns into fight." Asbel said.

Yuri shook his head as he crossed his arms "I didn't say I wanted to see them fight. I'm saying this is something between two people who use to be friends, let them settle it the way they see fit." Yuri responded bluntly.

"You just heard them say that they don't like each other. " Lloyd added. Sheena looked at Rita who was reading a book, not paying the argument any attention "And you heard what Yuri said. Stay out of it; it doesn't concern any of us." Yuuto said.

"If you guys don't like that I'm telling you this, then feel free to keep on interfering. But then I'll have to interfere as well." Yuri warned. "Same here." Yuuto added. Asbel and Lloyd glared at Yuri and Yuuto, Katsu noticed this and got an idea. "How about this Konyu, seeing as the six of us isn't going to be able to talk this out. How about a little 3 on 3, unless you and your partners are scared." Katsu said.

Hanamiya who had heard enough ran over to Konyu and grabbed his arm "Konyu don't do it, there's no need for any of you too fight." Hanamiya said. Sheena nodded as she walked over to the boys "She's right, just ignore them." Sheena stated.

She then turned her head to Rita with a displeased look as she noticed Rita was still reading her book "And you, how come you're not trying to talk them out of this as well?" Sheena asked. Rita just kept her eyes on her book "It's got nothing to do with me. If they want to go at each other's throat then that's on them." Rita replied in an uninterested voice.

"Some teammate you are. You don't even care about your own partners." Sheena said. Rita sighed "Just because I'm not weak and timid saying 'Oh please, oh please don't fight' like you are, doesn't mean I don't care about them." She replied.

"Weak… and timid? Come over here and say that, and see if I'm weak." Sheena said. Rita sighed and closed her book before standing up. Katsu held his hand out to stop her "Hold on Rita. If that's the case, if this is going to turn into a four on four battle let's go outside and handle this. Unless the Spiral Force guild is all talk and no action." Katsu said. Yuri and the others nodded and awaited Konyu's answer.

Konyu looked at Hanamiya and removed her hand "I'm sorry Hanamiya." He said before looking at Asbel, Lloyd and Sheena who nodded "Let's go." Konyu said as he turned to look at Katsu.

All eight of them walked out of the room and down the hall towards the entrance of the castle. "Where are we going to go?" Katsu asked. Konyu looked at him "We'll go to the field. Nobody will be there, so we won't have to worry about people getting hurt." Konyu said. They all nodded and made their way to the location. "I have to do something." Hanaimya said as she ran out of the room and headed for the room Moon was in.

Five minutes later Konyu and the others made it to their destination and were now standing in a field of green grass. They all stared at one another, preparing for an intense battle. Everything was silent and nothing could be heard except for the slight gentle breeze in the air.

A moment later without any warning Katsu pressed off his heel and with intense speed he tackled Konyu and ran forward with him pushing him backwards with ease. Asbel turned to make sure Konyu was alright "I think you should be worrying about yourself!" Yuri called out as he ran forward and unsheathed his sword preparing to swing at Asbel.

Asbel quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked Yuri's attack making their blades collide. The two pulled their swords back before clashing them again. Yuri used his strength to push Asbel back and off balance but Asbel was ready. Asbel quickly jumped back and sheathed his sword which made Yuri smirk and run forward "I don't think put your sword away is a smart thing to do against me!" he exclaimed.

Asbel quickly waited till Yuri was close enough and then began spinning his sheathe which slashed Yuri multiple times. Asbel then kicked Yuri in the stomach sending him flaying back. Yuri caught his ground and looked at Asbel who was now running towards him giving Yuri little time to react.

Yuri then spun his sword trying to slash Asbel in the same manner that Asbel did with his sheathe, but Asbel was ready and blocked it with his sword causing Yuri's blade to hit Asbel's blade multiple times.

Even though it was blocked Yuri was not about to let that stop him as he made four wide slashes with kicks placed between each slash. "Dragon Swarm!" Yuri exclaimed. Asbel was able to block a few of the attacks but the last kick caught him in the chest and sent him stumbling back. Yuri knew he had an opening and took it as he slashed the air, threw his weapon to his opposing hand, and then slashed again, hurling an X-shaped wind-elemental projectile at Asbel.

Asbel used his sword to block, but was knocked back even further from the strike. Asbel gritted his teeth as Yuri was still on the attack. Yuri slashed his sword through the air, which sent a blue blast through the air at Asbel "Azure Edge!" Yuri exclaimed.

Asbel narrowed his eyes at the attack and quickly unsheathed his sword. Asbel then held his sword in the air with both hands before slamming it down to the ground. Three pink lights would appear from the ground in a straight line colliding with the Azure Edge "Ruinous Bloom!" Asbel exclaimed as the wind blew through his hair and dirt started to blow and swirl around them. The two stared at each other once more before dashing forward and clashing their blades once more, Asbel gritted his teeth while Yuri smirked.

While that was going on Sheena started to run as Rita was launching fireballs at her. 'She's fast, but that won't stop me from attacking.' Rita thought to herself. Rita didn't let up the attack as she sent a fiery tornado forward to try and damage Sheena, but Sheena was still dodging with her ninja like speed.

Rita then started to focus her energy once more before using her power to summon a fire dragon that tried to crash down on Sheena.

Sheena dashed left and right and then jumped into the air as the fire dragon tried to crash down on her. As the dragon vanished after hitting the ground Sheena then gave Rita no reaction time as she dashed forward and delivered a powerful kick to Rita who tried to block with her arm but was pushed back by the impact. Rita looked at Sheena who was on the move again. Rita gritted her teeth and prepared herself for the next attack.

As Sheena and Rita were fighting Yuuto pulled held his scythe and dashed for Lloyd who unsheathed his material blades. As Yuuto swung his Scythe which Lloyd blocked with both his blades before pushing back away from Yuuto. Lloyd was about to dash forward but flames appeared between the two and stopped them in their tracks. A small white wolf with green and blue eyes and blue highlights on its tail jumped onto Yuuto's shoulder. "Roumen, did Master Yumin send you?" Yuuto asked with a bit of worry in his tone.

The wolf nodded with a scared expression on her face "The girl from Sprial Force told her sister what was going on. The King, Master Yumin and Moon is on their way here. I ran ahead to warn you Yuuto, she's really mad." Roumen said in a cute light tone.

"Did that wolf just spit out fire?" Lloyd asked in disbelief. Yuuto nodded "Yes, his names Roumen and he's my pet wolf, he can use fire element attacks and fights along side with me." Yuuto explained with a smile. "But it seems we'll have to save this for another time seeing as our guild masters are coming." He added.

Meanwhile Katsu and Konyu were battling head to head. Konyu dashed forward as Katsu readied his fist gauntlets. As Konyu swung his sword Katsu blocked it with his metal gauntlet. The two looked at each other before jumping back. "Demon Fang!" Konyu exclaimed sending a powerful blast at Katsu.

Katsu smirked and swung his fist towards the ground "Demon fist!" He exclaimed as both of their energy blasts collided. Konyu and Katsu both dashed forward and started exchanging blows left and right but only colliding with the others weapon. "This is nostalgic, I remember we use to do this back then as kids only difference was we used our fist." Katsu said. Konyu smirked and dodged the last punch Katsu threw and kicked him in his stomach sending him back.

Katsu winced in pain but stood strong and laughed "Now this is taking me back. It's been a long time since I felt a hit like that." He said. "I can give you another if you like." Konyu added with a smile on his face. "Tell me Konyu, why do you follow Moon? Why couldn't you guys come with me to Yumins guild?" Katsu asked. Konyu looked at him and still had the smile on his face "Because that guild isn't my rightful place. You belong in Rising Hope because you look up to Yumin. I owe a lot to Moon for having my back when I lost my parents. I wasn't trying to break a promise between us, I was just doing what I thought was right." Konyu explained.

"Sometimes you can just be too kind Konyu. You'll never change." Katsu said as a smile crept across his face. "I don't need to change. I'm fine just the way I am." Konyu replied. The two went silent after that statement and started smirking before dashing at one another.

"That's enough!"

Konyu and Katsu heard the familiar voices and sighed in unison. "Looks like our battle is going to be put on hold." Katsu said as he turned his head to look in the direction that the voices were coming from. "Seems like it." Konyu replied.

Once the two made back to the others they were met with a pissed off Moon and a disappointed Yumin. "I take my eyes off you for a second, and you go and start fighting with another guild." Yumin said to Katsu as she shook her head and crossed her arms. "You know better than this Konyu, and in front of King Gesar none the less." Moon scolded.

Konyu hung his head low "I'm sorry." He said. Katsu nodded "I started it Yumin so I'll take responsibility for it." He added. The King laughed as he stepped forward "There's no need for anyone to be punished. You all got to see a little bit of your team members' strength and moves. Sometimes it's good to test out your partners, that way you'll know how to support one another." The king said. Everyone except Moon and Yumin raised their eyebrows "TEAM?!" They all exclaimed in unison.

Well I know this was a little short but the next one will be longer hope you guys are liking it so far. Hope you guys loved the whole Asbel Vs Yuri!