Chapter 14: Story Time

Everyone was full from the delicious breakfast that their new "guest" Xylek had made. They were amazed by his cooking prowess, but one of them paid it no heed as she confronted him.

"You! Give my powers back!" shouted Celsius as she pointed a finger at Xylek.

He simply turned and looked at her. Not amused, she ran up and punched him in the face, knocking him backwards onto his back.

"I'm not kidding. Return my powers to me!" she said as she began kicking him while he was on the ground.

He simply lay there, taking the abuse until Celsius was tired. He stood up before the exhausted summon spirit and looked at her with his bruised face.

"Sorry, I cannot do that yet," he said as he picked up his helm and placed it upon his head again, concealing his face. "I will return them, but now is not the right time to do so. I can only ask forgiveness for so forcibly taking yours, Shadow's, and Efreet's powers, though I expect none."

He walked away from the group, choosing to go stand a moderate distance from everyone, where he seemed to brood over thoughts that were troubling him.

"What's wrong with him?" Lloyd asked, not sure what to think about Xylek's seemingly abrupt change of heart.

"He's full of regret," Setsuna said to everyone. "He doesn't know what to do. He feels truly sorry for all that he put you through, but to him, he was doing it for the sake of his friend. You could say he's torn by what he's done, and the fact that he's not sure how to proceed from the current situation."

Everyone looked at Setsuna, and then Xylek. The fact that this man, who had so coldly devastated them not once, but twice, was showing such emotions came as a mild surprise to the group.

"Perhaps we should learn more about him before we become so judgmental of him," suggested Regal. "Maybe if we heard his story, we could help him make a decision as to what he could do next."

"That's a logical choice," Presea said.

"Indeed," said Tenebrae, whose sudden appearance startled the group.

"Tenebrae!" Emil yelled with excitement, glad to see his old companion again.

"Mr. Doggie!" Colette yelled; also glad to see her friend unhurt. Tenebrae sighed at the use of this nickname, which was only one of many.

"Alright, so, who's going to go ask him to tell us?" Raine asked the group.

Everyone stopped the celebration over Tenebrae's return and looked around. None of them wanted to walk up to the brooding swordsman and ask him to bear his soul before the strangers who had almost taken his life, and had almost had their lives taken as well. They all turned and looked at Setsuna, who was still sitting with them, watching their interactions.

"Me? Why do you guys even need to know it from him? I could give you a well enough description for you to help Xylek."

Everyone couldn't help notice how her attitude had shifted, in addition to the fact that she had began blushing. Perhaps there was something about their past that she was embarrassed about?

"Well, now I'm even more curious than I was! I'll go ask!" Raine said, thoroughly amused at Setsuna's reaction. She walked over to Xylek, and tapped him on the shoulder. They exchanged words, and Raine seemed to become more and more excited as they spoke. She hurried back to the group after their short conversation, and sat down, seemingly like a child awaiting a present.

"What's got you so excited?" Sheena asked, perturbed by Raine's childish behavior.

"Xylek said he'll do better than tell us, he can show us with a spell he knows! He said he'll need his sword, though, so I told him where I had been studying it in my tent. Wait…" Raine realized that, in her carelessness, she had divulged the location of his sword, and that he was fully recovered.

Everyone went pale in the face when they turned to see that Xylek was now standing in front of Raine's tent, holding his black blade which was inscribed with many runes down each side. He was fingering the edge and examining the sword, almost like there was something wrong with it. He looked up at everyone, and was startled by the fact that many of them had their weapons drawn. Setsuna simply covered her face with her hand.

Lloyd, being the hothead he was, charged at Xylek, who casually stepped out of the way, and with a small push to his back, sent Lloyd flying into the Professor's tent. Xylek nonchalantly walked over to where everyone else was, blade in hand, and sat down next to Setsuna again. He began looking over the sword again, and Lloyd rushed out of the tent, several supplies stuck in his clothes, thoroughly pissed that Xylek had made him look like such an idiot.

"Lloyd, calm down. Everyone else should too," Kratos said, being one of the few who had kept his cool at the situation. "He does need his sword to cast the spell I think he's going to cast. It's a memory-projection spell, if I remember correctly. It's a dangerous spell to cast, so he just wants to have his sword to focus mana through, as it will make it easier to do."

"I do have a question first, though," Xylek said, amused that Lloyd still had suspicions about him. "Who was casting spells on my sword?"

Everyone turned to look at Raine, who refused to make eye contact.

"I, well, I was trying to examine it, to possibly find out how you managed to contain and focus so much power through the blade," she said, but she had actually been trying to see if there was a way to destroy the enchantments on it.

"I see. Well, to put your mind at ease, you cannot discern those things from my sword. Also, it helps if you aren't using magic designed to break enchantments and curses," he said, and Raine knew that her façade had been ineffective. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to use me as a test subject for your research, even if that research is being done to find a way to beat Xegros in an efficient manner."

Everyone was quiet, as they remembered that, yes, Xegros was still out there.

"Setsuna was able to defeat him by herself. We would be fine if all of us fought him," Genis said, smug that they had been victorious in the last battle.

"I had the element of surprise in that battle, and I opted to go all out from the start. He wasn't ready, and having been shocked by my appearance, I was able to temporarily knock him out. He recovered rather quickly, though, and made his escape, as we now had Xylek in our care. He also knew that I wouldn't let anything severe happen to Xylek, so he wanted to recover as quickly as possible," Setsuna said, wiping the smug look off of the young half-elf's face.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Xylek said, poking Setsuna in the arm. "Did you forget who helped you get better with that sword?"

Setsuna blushed, and then smacked Xylek in the back of the head. "Knock it off. I believe you have something to show everyone else. By the way, keep it relevant." Nobody could miss the venom in those final three words.

"Hey, I'll do my best, but it's hard to control the memories shown by this spell, so don't give me too much grief if I accidently show something you'd prefer I hadn't."

Everyone wasn't sure what Xylek was talking about, but they were all wondering exactly which spell he was referring to. Regal asked, so Xylek explained it to them.

"This spell is called Mirror of Memories. It will essentially show you certain memories of the caster, through their perspective. You can often feel the emotions expressed by the caster as you experience the memories, so don't be surprised. You will see things through my eyes. I'm taking a large risk by doing this for you people, but I owe you all more than I can give, so I'm willing to take that risk."

Everyone couldn't help but notice he glanced at Setsuna every time he said risk.

"Alright, let's get this started then. It'll probably take a while. Is there a particular point you would like me to start at?" he asked, and Raine spoke up first.

"I'd like to see what growing up before the war was like," she said, "so perhaps you could start with your childhood."

"Ah, that far back, eh?" he said with a sigh, almost like simply thinking about it caused him pain. He shrugged and said, "I wasn't very old when the war started, so you may just get a glimpse of growing up during the war."

He stood in the middle of everyone, who remained seated, as by his instructions. He began chanting something under his breath, and what seemed to be strings of light began drifting outward from his sword, which was planted in the ground. The strings slowly made their way to everyone, and seemed to attach to their foreheads.

"Alright, the link is established. This may feel weird, but here we go. I'll start as far back as I can, but I'll skip the boring parts."

Everyone felt a shock as his memories began flowing to them, and they all entered a state of partial sleep. Their dreams, on the other hand, would not be their own.

Everyone found themselves looking from a perspective that was theirs, but not. They were looking from the eyes of a young boy. He was playing around in a small village, secluded in the forest. They noticed that there were various other children there as well, and the boy seemed to be friends with them. There were adults too. Some adults were human, others were elves, and some looked like half-elves.

Everyone realized this was a hidden village where half elves and elf-human couples could go to escape persecution, as the racism was even more prevalent in the past than it was in the future. Suddenly, time seemed to skip forward, and they were staring at the same village. Nobody was around, though, and their gaze turned to look at one of the entrances to the secluded town.

Soldiers. Several squads of soldiers bearing unfamiliar crests were standing in the entrance, and a woman was standing in front of them. She appeared to be trying to talk to them, and seemed to be begging, even. The commander of the soldiers seemed to be rather uninterested in what she was saying, and to everyone's surprise, he drew his sword and struck down the woman. This overwhelmed everyone with a sense of deep sorrow, though they didn't know why. The commander began pointing at the houses and giving orders, and the soldiers dispersed into the village. The boy was grabbed by strong hands and carried into a house, where the man who grabbed him opened a small hatch in the floor and placed him in the hole underneath.

"Xylek, no matter what, you must not let them know you're here. Even if you look human, they will kill you," the man said, tears forming in his eyes. "Just… just stay here until it's quiet. Okay? Can you do that for papa?"

Everyone's vision blurred as the boy began tearing up. No words escaped his mouth, but he began furiously nodding as he tried to suppress his crying. Everyone felt the overwhelming sadness as they realized that this was Xylek's father, and everyone could feel what would happen next.

Xylek's father looked at the boy, and said, "I'm going to go find your sister and bring her here, too. You'll need to protect her, because she looks like one of us. I'll be back." He ruffled the hair on the boy's head, and after closing the trapdoor, he turned and ran out of the house.

There had been a large amount of yelling starting outside in the village, but the boy couldn't see what was happening. He heard metal clashing with metal, and people's screams as the soldiers attacked the village. The boy was startled when the door to his house was smashed in and soldiers rushed in, tossing furniture about, looking for anyone who might be hiding. The trapdoor, on the other hand, was completely invisible due to various spells on it.

"This one's empty," one of the soldiers said.

"Alright," another responded. "Move to the next one."

The soldiers left, but the boy remained silent. He waited for a long time, but long into the night, long after the sounds outside had vanished, nobody came. His father never came back with his sister. Everyone realized that the woman at the entrance pleading with the soldiers had been Xylek's mother, as his thoughts went to her. The boy was smart. That also meant he had realized what the dead silence in the village meant. He opened the trap door and looked out into his village through the broken doorway.

Everyone found themselves looking at a different venue, and they realized Xylek had chosen to not show them the atrocities visited upon his home. They were looking from the edges of a forest at a wide path, which they, somehow, knew was the main road that skirted the forest the boy's village was situated in. The boy ventured out on the road, knowing he would be less likely to encounter wild beasts if he followed it. He walked, and time seemed to surge forward a few days. The boy was now much dirtier, and everyone could feel his exhaustion and hunger.

The sound of horse pulling a cart could be heard, coming from behind, and the boy turned to see what looked like a merchant's cart traveling along behind them. The man driving saw the boy, and slowed the cart. He was an older man, with a graying beard and kind, squinted eyes.

"Hey, boy. You look hungry. Come here, and I can give you something. Don't worry, I don't bite," he said, and he held out a small loaf of bread he had grabbed from his stock. The boy slowly approached the cart, wary of this stranger, but once he saw the food he eagerly took the loaf and devoured it. "Hungry, I see. Do you have any parents?" the man looked around. The boy shook his head 'no' and the man's lips flattened as he began thinking. "Ah, I know, I could use some help with all this stuff. You can come with me, if you want. I'm going to the capital," the merchant said. The boy stood there for a moment, thinking about the offer, and then he nodded yes.

"Alright, then. Hop on up here and sit next to me," the man said, and the boy slowly climbed up and sat down. "My name's Albert, but you can call me Al. What's your name?"

The boy sat there, and quietly said, "Xylek."

Everyone was now in the middle of a busy marketplace, situated behind a produce stand. He had been working like this for a few weeks under Al. He helped sell the various goods Al had brought with him to the capital, and Al was even kind enough to feed him and pay him for his diligent work. Al was a kind, old man who had almost adopted the boy as his own son, and had been trying to teach him the intricacies of being a profitable merchant, so he could make a living.

A group of soldiers were walking through the market, harassing various merchants and customers alike. This aggravated the boy, as nobody told them to stop. Of course, as just a young boy, he wouldn't be able to stop them. They came to his stall, and the soldiers grabbed several things from the fruits and began to walk off. Albert, unlike the other merchants, was not going to accept that passively.

"That'll be 12 gald, gentlemen," he said to the soldiers that had began to leave. They all stopped and looked at him like he was insane. "This isn't a free stall."

One of the soldiers walked up to him and gave him a rather hard push, but Al stood his ground. "Do you know who we are?"

"Yes, you are soldiers of the kingdom, charged with protecting the rights of the people of the kingdom. That doesn't give you the right to wrongfully take others' property," Al said obstinately.

"Rights? You're a merchant! You don't have the 'right' to say anything to us. Piss off!" the soldier said as he turned away from Al. He was stopped as Al grabbed him on the shoulder and said, "12 gald, please."

The soldier grabbed his sword from his sheathe and turned and stabbed Albert through the chest. Everyone was overcome by a sense of shock, and then anger and rage as they looked at Al's now lifeless body. The boy pulled a dagger he had bought with his wages from under his shirt, and in a fit of rage, ran after the soldier that had just killed the kind old merchant. The boy ran and jumped on the soldier's back.

"What the-" was all the soldier said before the boy pulled the grown man's head back and slit his throat. The other soldiers turned and saw their comrade fall to the ground, blood pouring from his new breathing hole, and they were shocked to see a very angry looking kid standing over the body, dagger in hand.

"Why you little brat!" one of them yelled, and drawing his sword, he lunged. The boy was fast on his feet though, and he managed to step aside as he ran towards his attacker. The soldier, not ready to be attacked by the boy, had failed to have any form of defense as the boy's dagger planted itself in the man's eye.

The other soldiers were all very angry now, and people had began gathering to see why there were so many armed soldiers with weapons drawn surrounding a small boy with blue hair.

"What's going on here?" a loud voice yelled, and the soldiers promptly stiffened and stood at attention as their commanding officer pranced his horse up to investigate. "Would someone explain why soldiers of this kingdom would be drawing swords against a child?"

"Sir! That child has killed two of our men, sir!" one soldier yelled.

"Oh? So a little urchin managed to kill two of my men? Who in hell would believe that!" the commander spat, glaring at the soldiers.

"It's true," the boy said, and the commander looked at him, "It was simply a business exchange, though."

"How so?" the commander asked, looking at the boy with an inquisitive look.

"Well, the man there with a slit throat killed the man I worked for, so, I charged an appropriate price. His life." The words were cold, and the officer furrowed his eyebrows at the tone in the boy's voice.

"And the other gentleman there?" he asked.

"Oh, he tripped and fell on my knife. That was an accident, but those tend to happen."

The commander looked at the boy, feeling the coldness and seriousness in his tone.

"Those aren't the eyes of a child, boy. What happened, eh?" he inquired.

"This country is at war, sir. I was unfortunate enough to be burdened with burying my family and friends. Sir, have you ever buried your own sister?" the boy's question was dripping with malice.

"I see. That's unfortunate, and no, I haven't got a sister. Tell you what, boy. Normally, I would have you strung up, beaten, and beheaded for this, but as you said, we are at war, and in need of good soldiers. For you to be able to take out two of my men shows that you have potential."

"But, sir, he killed-" one of the soldiers started, but the commander punched him in the mouth.

"Would you be interested in joining my squad? It seems we have a couple vacancies now. It pays well, you'll get somewhere to stay, and maybe you'll even get the chance to get back at the people who killed your family."

The boy pondered this, and then nodded his head. "Fine, but I want paid more than them," he said as he pointed at the other soldiers, who were all turning red with anger at their commander's decision.

"Ha! I like you, kid. Here, you can ride with me on my horse. What's your name?"

"Xylek."

"That's 'Xylek, sir' from now on."

Everyone was now surrounded by the sounds of clashing weapons and grunts of pain. Standing in front of the boy, who was now in his mid-teens, was a soldier holding a wooden sword. He lunged, but the boy moved quickly to the side and struck him on the wrists, leg, and then the back of the head.

"Private, if you fail to defend yourself, even when attacking, you will end up dead. I will not accept failure in my squad. Straighten up or I'll have you transferred to prison duty," the boy said.

"Yes, sir," the soldier responded, before walking off, rubbing the welts that Xylek's own practice sword had left.

"You should take it easier on the recruits, captain," a man said, walking up to the teenager.

"General, sir!" Xylek stood at attention as the man approached.

The man sighed and said, "I've told you to knock that off. You're my pride as general of this great army, so you don't have to be so formal."

"I lead my men by example, sir!" Xylek said.

"Yes, which is why you have the highest mission success rate of any captain in the army. And to think that I found you as a little street urchin in the middle of the market. Well, finding you and having you serve under me let me get to this rank, so perhaps I should thank you," the general said.

"General Toole, I am honored you feel that way, sir," Xylek said.

"Bah, you're embarrassing me. I'm going to go talk to the other captains. You should come have a drink with us sometime."

"I don't drink, sir. I am only a boy in my teens."

"Ah, that's right. Oh well, your loss. Carry on then."

"Sir!" the captain said as General Toole walked off.

Once the general was out of sight, Xylek ran off to the side and vomited. He couldn't believe that he was showing so much respect to the very man who had massacred his village. It had taken a few years, but he had overheard the general talking about his favorite missions. The man even bragged about killing Xylek's mother. 'One day,' Xylek thought, 'one day I'll kill you, and the rest of the soldiers who had taken my childhood from me.'

Of course, he had been killing the soldiers one by one over the past five years he had been "serving" in the army. Wanted posters were located everywhere, talking about a "mysterious half-elf assassin" that had been killing "random" soldiers in their sleep. The reason they knew the assassin was a half-elf was because he used magic when assaulting the soldiers, elves wouldn't do such things, and humans couldn't use magic.

Xylek had taken advantage of his position as a captain for the past two years by studying the various magic tomes located in the Royal Library. He had several volumes in his own quarters, and his excuse was that he needed to know the mind of the enemy. Nobody would suspect the diligent boy who had advanced his commanding officer to the rank of General over the course of his service, in addition to being promoted to captain in three years himself, was secretly a half elf. His appearance was that of a human, having not inherited any of the telltale traits of a half-elf since both his parents were half-elves. He had been lucky, in that respect. He did inherit the elves' strong magic, though, and he used it to his advantage in many of the encounters he had been in over the years.

Fighting against Sylvarant was a difficult endeavor by the kingdom of Tethe'alla, but both sides were seemingly equal matches. The two countries had begun rapidly researching magitechnology, which ran on mana. Humans couldn't tell that such technology was putting a strain on the land, though, so they went about in their destructive ways. Xylek only worked for Tethe'alla because the racism in Sylvarant was just as bad as it was here, so either way, Xylek was killing people who had most likely killed innocents.

Time moved forward a bit more. The only person left alive that had participated in the massacre was General Toole himself. The mysterious half-elf was now only known as the 'phantom' and the thought of him would make the general go pale. The general had realized who the phantom was targeting, and being the only one left had left him on edge.

"You can't stop the phantom," he would say. "It's the embodiment of the vengeful souls of the half-elves I've killed, or ordered killed. I know it's coming for me, but I'm too great a man for a ghost to kill."

He was conceited, and it disgusted Xylek, who was now twenty. He had spent the last nine years in service for the army of Tethe'alla, and was now in charge of his own special, elite brigade known as the Armor Knights. The Armor Knights were known for being unbeatable in the field of battle, and the sight of them would often make foes retreat before they suffered heavy losses. Xylek had personally trained these men to be unbeatable, utilizing not just their own strength, but the strength of others around them when fighting. Always operating in three-man teams, the Armor Knights were one of Tethe'alla's greatest assets in battle.

Xylek walked into the general's office, having been summoned earlier.

"Sir, you summoned me?" he said to the general.

"Yes, I have a special treat for you," General Toole said, smiling.

"Sir?"

"You and the rest of your men have been working hard, so I think you all deserve a 'special' mission."

The word "special" sent a cold wave down the young man's spine.

"Yes, we've located a small half-elf haven in one of the forests, so as a special treat, I'm going to let you and your men be the ones to wipe it out. It's an easy mission, especially for the likes of you. Your men already know, so they're celebrating their little break."

Xylek said nothing, his breathing becoming heavy.

"Sir, I… I don't think we need to do such a thing," he said to his superior.

"No, you deserve this. I remember my last half-elf hunt. It was one of my favorite missions. Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday… of course, it was, oh, not too long before you joined, even. Maybe you were my reward for doing the world good by eliminating those pests."

"I wouldn't say that," Xylek said, slowly turning and closing the door.

"Hey, leave that open," Toole said, looking at Xylek with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm afraid if I did that, some of the men might hear what's going to happen next…" Xylek's tone had become very dark.

"Happen next?"

"Yes, General. It's ironic that you found me when you did. Even more ironic that it was specifically you that had 'found' me." The general was getting nervous.

"So, you remember that half-elf village you take so much pride in wiping out. Did you know there were humans in that village too? Women? Children? Innocent people?"

"What's your point, captain?" the general asked, taking a serious tone.

"Well, sir, I was only eleven at the time, but I remember everything that happened on that day."

"Remember? You weren't there-" the general's words fell flat as he began to realize what Xylek meant.

"Do you remember the woman that had pleaded with you to spare the village? That kind-hearted half-elf you killed so gleefully? That woman was my mother."

Shock went across the face of the general. Perhaps if he could reach to his sword against the wall he could kill the man standing before him.

"Do you remember a little girl? Only six at the time, but that didn't matter. I found her lying next to my father, both with stab wounds. I knew my father died trying to protect her, since his arms were covered in wounds from where he had used them to try and stop the merciless blades of your men. That was my sister. I buried my family because of you, General."

"You… you're the phantom half-elf!"

"Yes, I am. I've killed everyone who participated in that massacre. Everyone but you, sir." Xylek's tone was unmistakable. The general knew that he now planned to take his life this very moment. Toole lunged for his sword, but found his hand encased in a block of ice.

"Magic!"

"Yes, general, magic. Would you like to know what would happen if all the blood in your heart was frozen instantly? The heart's own beating would shred itself on the hard ice. Here, general, let me show you…"

The general tried to yell out, but Xylek punched him in the jaw, breaking it and freezing it shut at the same time. He placed his hands on the general's chest, muttered a few words, and the general's face went white with pain.

"Goodbye, general. Perhaps you can lead your precious unit in hell. I don't think there's much room for promotion, there, though," Xylek said as the life drained from Toole's body.

Xylek opened the door of the office and ran out, yelling that someone had assassinated the general. Nobody suspected it was the most respected officer in the army that had done it. Xylek put on a good façade, faking sadness over the loss of the general. In fact, the loss had been a lifted burden off of his chest, for his revenge had been complete. He savored the look of terror on the general's face as he realized his favorite soldier was one of the half-elves he hated so much.

Several weeks later, Xylek was now a candidate for general of the entire army of Tethe'alla and he had to laugh at the irony of it. He walked through the Armor Knight's training yard, observing his men's sparring.

"Captain! I've found a great way to honor the memory of our dear lost General Toole!"

'Great,' thought Xylek. "What is that, soldier?" Xylek asked, referencing the papers held in the soldier's hands.

"Sir, it's the last mission he had prepared for us!" Xylek's own blood froze in his veins.

"It looks like a half-elf village. This will let us get revenge on those dirty beasts for killing our general!"

Other men had become interested in the situation, and had come over to investigate. After hearing the words of the nosy soldier, they had began yelling and cheering, calling it a "half-elf hunt."

Xylek looked at his men, who were all now gathered around him.

"So, you all want to go on this 'hunt,' you say?" he asked.

The soldiers all yelled their approval. At this, Xylek's heart sank. He had trained these men to be merciful on the battlefield; to be honorable, good men. To hear them all cheering for the slaughter of innocent people like that was like a stab in the chest. Especially when he resolved to do what he must to prevent something like what had happened to his village from ever happening again.

"Fine. Tonight, we'll march out. Meet here in the training yard at sundown, and have your gear ready."

There were cheers from his men as they all ran about preparing for the night.

The Armor Knights were all gathered in the training yard, lightly illuminated by the torches on the walls.

"I've heard that half-elf women are quite good looking," one soldier said.

Another responded, "yeah, I might bring a few back with me."

"No, we have to kill them all," one said.

"Well, I was going to eventually," and everyone laughed. Everyone but their commander, who then walked out from under the gate.

"Hey, it's the captain!"

The soldiers cheered. Their cheering stopped, though, when the gate slammed to the ground behind him.

"Oy, open the gate!" one man yelled to the soldiers positioned on the wall.

"They can't hear you," Xylek whispered, and the rabble of soldiers became quiet.

"Sir?"

Xylek stood before his men. Men he had trained. They had all respected him, even though he was younger than them. He was famed for his jet-black armor and peerless blade skills, but now he stood before them, shaken to his core.

"Sir, are you alright?" one soldier asked, and with that Xylek began laughing. It was quiet at first, but it slowly picked up into hysterics.

"He seems excited about the hunt!" one man yelled, and the others cheered.

"No…" Xylek said, loud enough that the cheering stopped again. "I'm laughing at how cruel fate has decided to be."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Well, I thought I had taught you all the meanings of honor, mercy, and what it means to be a real soldier. It seems that I failed, seeing you here now, consumed by bloodlust."

"But, sir, the half-elves are responsible for the death of General Toole!"

"No! Toole brought that fate upon himself. His sins caught up with him."

"Captain?"

"Would you all like to know a secret?" Xylek asked as he drew his cloak back, no longer hiding his face. His expression was cold, serious, and deadly. "Nine years ago, I joined this army as a young boy. Do you know why I joined the army at such a young age?"

None of the men spoke, for the air was too tense.

"I joined because I had nothing. My family had been murdered in cold blood. Everyone that I knew had been viciously slain."

"Was it the half-elves?" one soldier asked.

"No. It was General Toole and his men."

"What?" the word was uttered from the mouths of the Armor Knights.

"My village, a secluded village in the forests, was attacked and slaughtered by Toole and his men. It destroyed me. And now, you, my men, want to visit this atrocity on another village?"

The men were confused. "Sir, this is a half-elf village we are going to wipe out. You can't compare that to the accidental elimination of your village."

"Oh, I think I can. In this situation, though, I would be representing Toole, and you would be his men."

"What are you saying? Your village was…" the soldiers stiffened as they looked at their captain, who stared back with his cold, green eyes.

"That's absurd. You look nothing like a half-elf. You can't be-" Xylek cut the man's words off as he held his hand out, and after muttering an incantation, a large spear of ice formed in his hand.

Everyone stepped back with a gasp, and some placed their hands on their weapons.

"Humans cannot use magic. As you can tell, I am no elf, either. What would that leave?"

"But, sir! Half-elves are inferior. There's no way you could be one!"

"Inferior? We have hearts. We bleed. We cry. We love. What makes us different than you? We can use magic and we live longer. Both of those points seem to make you inferior."

"If you are a half elf, we'll simply have to complete our duty and eliminate you. I apologize, sir, for raising my weapon against you, but I have a duty to this kingdom," Xylek's vice-captain said. "And you have nowhere to run. The gate is shut."

Xylek laughed. "I closed the gate. It's not to keep me from running away, it's to keep you inside."

Xylek drew his sword, and his vice captain and several others rushed him. He had trained these men to fight well together, and their efforts showed, forcing Xylek to fight with more skill than he normally would exert on a soldier. Unfortunately, he knew his men like the palm of his hand, and they were far from overcoming their teacher. He quickly slew the first few, and the rest charged. Xylek killed his men, one by one, until the training yard was quiet again. Blood dripped from his sword, and his own blood dripped from the several wounds he had received. Xylek's tears fell, too, for he had just slain the men he had almost thought of as family. He quickly gathered his things from his quarters and escaped the capital.

He now had no place to live. He would travel to the forests, and perhaps, he could simply find a place to live in solitude. First, though, he would travel to the half-elf village and explain to them that they had been found out.

Time skipped forward, and he now stood outside the village. There were guards at the gate, though, and when they saw him, they drew weapons and surrounded him.

"What do you want, filthy human!" one guard yelled, pointing his spear at Xylek.

"I'm not a human," he said back, but the guard scoffed.

"Don't try to trick us. We see that armor underneath that cloak. No member of the Tethe'allan army will be allowed to enter here-" Xylek drew his sword, and in one quick motion, he removed the spearheads from all of the spears that were pointed at him.

"-alive," the guard finished, the swordsman's quick motion barely registering on his face.

"As you can see, if I wanted to enter this village, I could do so with or without your permission. I simply wish to speak to the village head. If it would make you feel better, you can bind my hands. Just tell him that Xylek would like to speak with him."

"Xylek? The Xylek?"

"Yes, now hurry up!"

One guard ran into the village, and the others moved around, binding Xylek's hands and removing his sword. They pushed him into the village, where people had begun to gather after hearing the commotion at the gate. Xylek looked around, and was startled at the similarity between this village and his own. An older man walked up to him, and taking his walking stick, he struck Xylek across the head. It dazed the swordsman, but he remained standing.

"So, a great captain of Tethe'alla has come for an execution? What did you plan to do to this village all by yourself? Did you just want to kill me?" the village head spoke, staring at the man in black armor before him.

"No, the reason I'm here is to save this village. The capital knows of your location, and they plan to exterminate it."

"A threat? Well, the capital will see how strong we are after we send your head back to them." The elder pulled a knife from his belt, but in one motion, Xylek's hands were unbound and had taken the dagger. He held it in his hand, remembering Albert nine years ago, and then he broke the blade with his bare hands.

"Hey, I thought I said to bind him tightly!" one guard yelled, but Xylek held up a hand.

"There was nothing wrong with your knot, but it wasn't meant to resist magic."

"What are you saying?" the village elder said, stepping back.

"Like I told your guards, I am a half-elf. Here is proof," Xylek said as he waved his hands in the air. Light emitted from his hands, writing the symbol for "half-elf" in the air. "My parents were both half-elves, and I was 'blessed' with looks that can pass for humans. I know why you distrust me, but I'm serious when I say the capital knows where you live, and they plan to wipe you out."

There were several gasps from the villagers, and the village head seemed deep in though.

"So, we are in danger then. Alright, I'll accept that you are indeed one of us, but what do you suppose we do? Our livelihoods are here in this village."

"Yes, but which do you value more? Your things? Or your lives? I can't make you choose, but I would sincerely hope that you leave this place. I've experienced the pain of losing family, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else."

"I see, thank you for the warning. We will think of something to do."

Xylek grabbed his things from one of the guards and left. Hopefully, they would make the right choice.

Xylek sat alone in front of the fire he had made. Or what seemed alone, but he knew better. He had someone following him. They had been tracking him for several days now, and they were now just outside his camp. He heard a limb snap, and someone cursed. Xylek smiled. Whoever it was lacked skill. A blade came flying from the trees to his left, but he simply moved to the side. There was a crack as the branch the assailant had been perched on broke. Someone crashed to the ground, and there was a yelp as the person landed.

"Shit!" was all that Xylek heard as the person ran off into the darkness of the night. 'This might be fun,' thought Xylek.

The next day, Xylek was traveling along one of the paths in the forest when he noticed several trip lines on the path ahead of him. He smiled at how poorly they were hidden, and grabbed a stick and threw it ahead of himself. It set off the lines, and many blades went flying across the path. The last line, though, detonated a hidden explosive, which threw up a cloud of dirt. This surprised Xylek, and then the assailant rushed him. They were very quick, utilizing a dagger in addition to the martial arts they knew, and attempted to stab Xylek. He wouldn't be killed so easily, and without unsheathing his blade, he disarmed the attacker.

"Tch," they said as they vanished into the trees.

'Fun, indeed,' thought Xylek. He had noticed more about his attacker. The most dominant thing on his mind, though, was that it was a woman attacking him.

The next night, she attacked his camp again. She attempted to rush him while he was eating, but he parried her dagger with his knife he had been using to eat. This infuriated her, but she didn't see him grab the fork with his other hand and swing it at her face. It caught on the cloth covering her face below the eyes, and tore it away. Her face was now exposed, and he saw. He saw the flowing black hair and her cold, blue eyes, and time seemed to freeze at that instant. He didn't know why, but something tugged at his chest. It was the first time he'd felt this feeling, so it confused him.

She jumped back, covering her exposed face, and she vanished into the shadows.

The next day, Xylek examined the cloth he had taken from her, and realized that it was rather interesting. Something designed to mask the sound of breathing. It even had magic cast on it to enhance this. So, whoever was attacking him could use magic? This puzzled him, but then he remembered her face. Perhaps she was like him, a half-elf that can pass as human. No human could tell there was magic on the cloth, but he could. Maybe he could confront her and ask her about it.

Xylek stumbled across an abandoned camp. It had been abandoned fairly recently, too, for leftovers from the meal that had just been cooked were left lying near the fire. He examined the food, and realized that it was cooked poorly, and most of the nutrients in the ingredients had been wasted. If someone kept eating meals like this, they wouldn't be very healthy. He had a guess as to who this camp had belonged to, as well. He sighed as he felt the tug on his chest again. Perhaps that night, he would be the one doing the sneaking.

Xylek quietly moved through the trees, following the sound of a fire not a long ways off. His armor was laced with magic that prevented it from making noise while he moved, so he arrived unnoticed at the camp. He saw her, sitting on a stump in front of a fire, eating what looked like rabbit. He could tell she didn't like the taste, but she needed to eat. She was completely unaware he was watching her, and as she lay down to sleep, he saw she had nothing but the clothes on her back. She dozed off without placing any wood on the fire, and it began to gutter and die as it burned through the rest of the wood. If she didn't have that fire, the cold night air could make her very sick. Xylek wasn't sure why, but he couldn't let this happen.

He hurried back to his camp and grabbed one of his heavier blankets. He would be fine with the others. He ventured back to her camp, and quietly entered. She was sound asleep, and completely oblivious. He looked at her face, and the feeling in his chest was even more prevalent now. She was shivering from the cold, so he carefully draped the blanket over her. He cast a small spell that would allow the blanket to amplify her body heat, since the fire had died. This would keep her warm for the night. Perhaps, for her safety, he should follow her instead of her following him. He had another idea and ran back to his camp. He gathered what he had prepared for his own dinner, placed it on one of the plates he had, and brought it back to her camp. She could heat it up in the morning. He quietly left the camp and observed into the morning.

She jumped awake, and to his amusement, failed to notice the blanket that had kept her warm. She looked around, yawned and stood up. She then froze as she looked at the blanket, and then the food that was now sitting next to her guttered fire. She had a thoroughly confused look on her face, as she never remembered cooking the food or even having such a blanket. She recognized the blanket, though, as she had been stalking Xylek for a while now, and then her eyes widened. She looked around, fearing that he was somewhere near, but he was quite good at hiding himself, so he went unnoticed.

"What the hell…" she said as she lifted the plate of food and looked at it. Xylek had to suppress a laugh when he audibly heard her stomach growl from hunger. She sighed, and began to gather things to start a fire. She checked her traps, and when finding nothing (Xylek had set the rabbits loose before she woke up), she sat down again and stared at the food.

"It's got to be a trick. He probably poisoned it. Little did he know, I can cleanse poison!"

She waved her hands over the food and, after an incantation, a small flash of light came from her hands. The food showed no reaction.

"I'm sure I did that right. Let's try again." She did it several more times, but still no reaction.

She sighed, and put the food over the fire to heat. "I trust my abilities. Maybe he forgot to poison it? It seems unusual to go through so much effort to make food and then not poison it, though…"

The food soon finished heating, and she began eating. She hungrily ate it down, and Xylek realized that she probably hadn't had a proper meal since she had been following him.

"It was alright, I suppose. But what is he playing at?" she asked herself, still unaware that he was watching. "That bastard ripped my mask off, though, so I can't forgive him! Especially since he did it with… a… fork…" The last word seemed to hang over her head.

She put her face in her hands. "Why do I always screw up so much? Maybe they sent me on this mission to try to get rid of me? I'd heard that the guy was dangerous, but now he seems to be toying with me. Is he going to kill me in my sleep after messing with my head? I'm confused…"

She got up and left the camp, also leaving the blanket and plate. She went to where Xylek had camped last, but was unable to find any sign of where he had gone next.

"Great, I even lost him. Now what?" She seemed distraught at her current situation, but she moved on. He followed her throughout the day, unbeknownst to her, and when nightfall came, she made camp again. Xylek laughed a little to himself, since he was going to play a rather mean prank on her after she went to sleep. She eventually curled up near the fire and dozed off, this time after putting wood on the fire. He snuck into the camp again, and this time, in addition to the blanket and food, he left her cloth mask lying next to her.

She awoke the next morning, and immediately noticed the blanket.

"Damn him!" she said, and then she noticed the food again.

"Damn him again!"

She looked around and saw her mask lying on the ground, and scowled. She picked it up, and noticed it was wrapped around something. It was a fork. The look that went across her face actually made him laugh. He tried to muffle the sound, but she had heard.

"You bastard, you think this is funny? You're going to slip up, and I'll get you then! You hear?"

He was having difficulty breathing from the laughter he was fighting back. She threw the fork at a tree, and it buried itself in the bark. Xylek slowly worked his way around the camp to that tree, and carefully grabbed the fork. She came back from rinsing her hair in a nearby stream, and noticed the fork sticking out of the food, which he had already heated.

"Why that… AAARH!" she yelled as she kicked the food. Being the sneaky person he was, though, he had anticipated such a response, and a magic ward on the plate protected the food. The ward then wrote letters in the air that spelled out "Don't be wasteful."

At this point, her face was purple with anger. She sighed, though, and sat down. She checked this food for poison, and then, after starting to eat, she realized she was using the fork. She bent it in half, and then threw it into the bushes. She finished the food, and contemplated burning the blanket and breaking the plate, but then something came across her mind. How was there a ward on the plate? She had been hired to kill a Tethe'allan officer that was notorious for his victories. There's no way a half elf would be in the army.

Xylek hadn't taken any time to sleep over the past two nights, as he was too busy observing his would-be assassin, so he was very tired. He ended up accidently falling asleep. Unfortunately, he was a very loud sleeper, and later that night, his assassin found him dozing against a tree outside her camp.

"Hehe, got you, bastard," she said as she pulled her dagger from her clothes. For some reason, though, she didn't feel any urge to stab this man, who had been toying with her. She pulled the hood back on his head, and looked at his face. It was peaceful, with a small smile, and her resolve melted.

"Damn it all!" she yelled, which startled him awake.

"Crap!" Xylek said, realizing how careless he had been. He started to jump up, but he noticed that her dagger lay in the dirt at her feet, and she was leaning against a tree, covering her face.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

"What's it matter to you?" she said, not looking at him.

"Well, I just wanted to-" he tried to say, but she cut him off.

"Shut up! What're you trying to pull, eh? Acting all nice like that." She was flustered.

"Acting? I just gave you a blanket and some food."

"Exactly! I've been trying to kill you! And then you do that? Is there something wrong in your head?"

"I've been told that," he responded, and she gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Anyways, your 'attempts' weren't very successful, but they did give me something to do, so I suppose I should thank you."

"So I was just entertainment?"

"Well, you were trying to kill me. I just happen to be very good at not dying. It's a curse, really."

"Ha ha."

"Well, to be honest, I don't know why I was helping you. It's just this… feeling I've got in my chest compels me to. For some reason, I just wanted to be sure you were safe."

"So what, you saying you've fallen for me? How does that make sense?" she said as she turned to look at Xylek.

"I have no idea. I've never felt like this before, though, so I don't know if I've fallen for you or not. Pitiful, I know." He rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to say, and she just looked at him. He had an idea.

"So, um, you probably know this, but my name is Xylek. What's yours?"

"You are Xylek? Don't joke." She stared at him, drilling him with her icy blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you can use magic. Xylek is no half-elf. He's a captain-"

"Was a captain. I was a captain. Not anymore, though. I deserted my post."

"Why would Xylek, a captain who struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, leave?"

"I would leave when following orders would mean slaughtering an entire village of half-elves. I left after I killed the General of the entire Tethe'allan army, in addition to my own men, the elite 'Armor Knights.' I could no longer play as a human. I took my revenge on the people that slew my family nine years ago, and left. I expect they are also trying to take my head. For my sake, I hope their assassins are about as competent as you."

"Shut up!"

"No. I know you're a half-elf, too. Why would you be working as an assassin?"

"I need to support my sister, so I take jobs like this. I work for Sylvarant's assassination squad."

"But, this is your first mission, isn't it?"

"N-no! I've killed plenty of people!" She crossed her arms, and didn't look particularly dangerous.

"I doubt that. You don't seem like a killer. I've met people who kill. I'm one of them." Xylek's eyes darkened as he remembered what he did to his own men. He also remembered what they would have done if he hadn't.

"Yes, I know you're a killer, especially if you really are Xylek. You don't seem to like it very much, though. I've heard of soldiers who have lost to your little group of elites. They say that you wash over the battlefield like a storm, destroying all who resist. But, unlike other commanders, you allow wounded soldiers to escape, and even treat some of them yourself."

"Well, if there are survivors, perhaps my reputation will force my enemy to surrender, since they know I will not harm those who surrender. Funny way of winning a battle, eh?"

"No… that's how a kind-hearted person would try to win. To win a war without bloodshed…" She no longer looked at Xylek with contempt.

"Yeah, so, shall we try this again? My name's Xylek. What's yours?" he held out his hand with this question, and she looked at it, and then at him. She saw the genuine smile on his face as he stood there, looking directly into her eyes, and she flushed.

She held out her hand, and grasped his. His hand was huge compared to hers, and for some reason that comforted her.

"I'm Setsuna."

"Oh, Setsuna? That's a beautiful name. I suppose it's obvious you would have a beautiful name, though."

Her face became even more flushed.

"So, Setsuna, I have a question."

"What would that be?"

"How long are you going to hold my hand?"

She hadn't noticed it, but she was indeed still grasping his hand. She quickly yanked it back and turned away.

"Setsuna."

"Wh-what?" she managed to spit out.

"Are you hungry?"

Everyone jumped awake, and looked around. They were back at their own camp, looking through their own eyes. They looked at Xylek, the man who had just bared his soul to a group of people he didn't know, and saw Setsuna standing next to him, her hand next to his on his sword. They realized that not only had he shown his memories, but she had shared some of hers, which explained why they were able to tell what she was thinking during the flashback.

"That… that was…" Sheena said, but no words could form.

Colette was crying, and Lloyd looked off into the sky, trying to fully comprehend what he had just seen.

"That was so romantic!" Marta said, looking at the two armored warriors.

"Marta, stop. A lot of those memories would have been painful to remember," Emil said.

"Yes, that was… terrible," Regal said, brooding over what Xylek had gone through during his childhood.

Raine said nothing, but she stared into the fire in the middle of the camp.

Everyone had felt the emotions that Xylek had during these memories. They felt the pain, loss, and sadness of the man they had fought. They all realized why he had seemingly become a different person when Setsuna had revealed herself. She had brought him out from a pit of despair.

"So that's what love at first sight feels like…" Presea said, remembering the emotions that Xylek had felt the first time he set eyes on Setsuna. "Such a… pure emotion."

"Yeah," said Lloyd.

"Hey Lloyd. It's kind of funny to think about it, but isn't that kind of how we met Sheena?" Genis said, and everyone noticed it too.

"W-was not!" Sheena said, and everyone laughed.

"Oh? Do tell," Xylek said, sitting down with Setsuna.

"Sheena was originally trying to kill Colette, but she kept screwing up!" Genis said.

"Really? I think you might be right, then, Setsuna," Xylek said.

"Right about what?" Zelos asked.

"Oh, that village, Mizuho. If it's what I think it is, I think my sister founded that village," Setsuna said, and everyone looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Yes, and that would make you a descendent of her sister, therefore making you relatives," Xylek said. "You look a lot like her, and you're even a summoner. I'd put money on it."

"I… look like her?"

"Yes, both Setsuna and her sister had beautiful black hair, but her sister had-" Setsuna punched Xylek in the gut.

"Yes, I think you may be one of her descendants. Ironic that you would be one of the ones to encounter me, don't you think?" Setsuna said.

Efreet laughed, since he knew what Xylek was going to say next. Zelos inched closer to him and asked, but he shook his head and pointed at both Setsuna and Celsius.

"I'd rather keep my teeth, thanks."

Zelos sighed, shrugged, and walked off to sleep. Everyone was tired, so they behaved likewise.

Xylek stared at the night sky, and Setsuna walked up next to him.

"So, do you think they can do it?" Xylek asked.

"It really just depends on their resolve."

"Well, I think they can handle it. Looks like we're going to have to beat some sense into Xegros in the end."

"Yeah…"

Xegros sat by himself, hidden in a dark cave. He seemed to be speaking to himself. The look in his eyes was a look of anger and despair. He nodded, and what seemed to be a large shadowy figure appeared in front of him.

"Like I told you, Xegros, they will always betray you."

"But, even Xylek?"

"Yes, that woman corrupted him long before you met him, though. There's nothing you can do to save your friend."

"I know, but I just wish it wasn't true."

"Don't worry, you don't need them. You have us. We were with you for these past 4000 years."

"Yes, you were…"

"So, shall we begin?"

"Yes."

The shadowy figure seemed to multiply, and Xegros' armor seemed to glow. The shadows leapt into him, and he collapsed on the ground. He slowly stood, and now, his eyes were definitely no longer the eyes of a human. They glowed like hot embers from under his helm, and he let out a low growl. Xylek had no idea what his friend had allowed himself to become.

Xylek: 10,000+ words. I think my fingers are bleeding.

Tiger: I can't even think of a good sarcastic remark this time…