AN: This was a bear to write, but I make no apologies about the lengthiness. I do, however, apologize for the wait. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: A Kink in the Plan

After a while of listening to the voices downstairs, they eventually eased off again into a comfortable quietness. She wondered if her mother had finally made it back. But she was even more curious about meeting Felix's parents. He'd seen hers more or less-now it was her turn. She remembered the chance meeting she had had with Felix. Who would have thought that she'd be meeting his parents somewhere down along the road? She grinned to herself; it almost made her consider such things as fate. She didn't have to meet the elf that day and by all accounts their paths might never have crossed considering the lives that they led yet here they were. She sipped slowly on the cooling Chai Tea putting her mind into a more relaxed state. She never liked meeting new people, but this was somehow something she was looking forward to and the suspense was just beginning to get to her.

She finished her tea and then made her way downstairs. The living room was the first room she came to and she was surprised to hear Cathe's laughter-she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Oh, you evil man, you're cutting me to death!"

A little concerned, Leona stepped further into the room and observed Cathe playing cards with Felix who was just then gathering the two cards in the central area of the table and placing them into a rather interesting pattern on his end of the table.

"That's what I do best," he said, "In fact, you might as well hand over the rest of these books."

"Not so fast, mister, I still have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"Unless you have something higher-

He paused when she slapped down a deuce right after he'd thrown out an eight that had a similar shape on it. Then Cathe giggled.

"You had that the whole time?" he asked clearly caught off guard, "Why wait?"

"So then I could see that look on your face as I take the rest of the books." Her grin was now a bit more sinister, something Leona didn't think she'd ever see on the pleasant girl's face.

Another two cards was thrown out, she took these as well and Leona noticed the girl's pattern was longer in length than Felix's.

"A joker too?" Felix started, "Geez, you've been holding out on me. And you acted as if-"

He stopped as she started to laugh once again. "Never said I didn't have it only that I wondered who had it." Her smile was truly devilish.

Felix grumbled and then put out the last card in his hand only for it to be taken away by Cathe who apparently had a stronger card; an Ace.

"And you call me evil-you just lure people into a false sense of security and then rip the rug right from under them. I can't trust anything you say!" he said in raised tones.

"Oh you're just sooo predictable. You always put your strongest card out first."

"Of course! So then it won't get cut. You gotta' make sure you get all your books."

"Wonder why that hasn't happened for you yet," she asked mischievously.

Leona cleared her throat so that the two would finally notice her.

"Oh, hi, Leona," Cathe said in her normal cheery voice. "You should join in!"

"Demon child..." Felix muttered, but Leona heard.

"I have no idea what you're playing..." Leona began uncertainly.

"It's Spades and it's pretty easy to learn. You're pretty smart; I bet you'd get the hang of it really quickly."

"I don't know..." Leona said. Truthfully, from what she'd heard, it didn't seem like her cup of tea. It seemed a bit...violent and just from the look on Felix's face, he wasn't exactly in the best of moods.

"Can't you see the lass doesn't want to play?" Felix said before Cathe could continue her pleading.

Leona's mind automatically latched on to the word he used to reference her and frowned a little. She had to consciously stop herself from complaining about it. Cathe herself didn't seem concerned, but then she was focused on gaining an extra player.

"Oh, but it's so much more fun to play with three people. It's the perfect number and we can use all the cards."

Leona smiled when a good reply came to her. "You and Felix seemed to be having the time of your lives-I would hate to ruin your momentum."

"Well, I am," Cathe said quickly, "But I could do for a good challenge every now and then."

"Why don't you start another game," Felix said in a calm voice, but Leona could hear his frustration just below the surface. "I promise you I'll win this one."

"Ha! You said that last time, old man, and I wiped the floor with you. I can't even remember the last time you got all your books."

Leona too winced at the word she used to reference Felix. Could those labels really apply to them? Was he this "old man" and she this "lass"? Yet she saw him as her equal. In reality there was probably a steep age gap that could never be reconciled. Was she naïve to even begin to think that there could ever be anything past friendship? The words she had truly wanted to speak had gotten stuck in her throat just hours ago after he had given her the Chai Tea. Had it been because she already knew how fruitless it would have been otherwise?

"Leona," Felix said, his strong voice cutting through the fog of confusing thoughts threatening to tumble from her very mouth. She wondered suddenly if he'd been aware of them. She was looking at him now with her full attention. "Didn't you want to meet my parents? They're in the kitchen making some ridiculously large dinner-one of their favorite pastimes. I would hate for you to become Cathe's next victim."

How does he know about that? How does he know I wanted to meet them...He must still be...

She averted her gaze as her eyes widened at the thought. It was hard to tell what he knew or didn't. "I-I think I'll go help your parents out," she said turning.

"That's great! Hey, did you know Leona's a really good cook? Dinner's going to be ten times better now."

Felix laughed at this. "Good luck trying to get my parents to allow you to help. Once they start, I doubt anyone could interrupt them from it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Leona said with her head now bowed. The room was beginning to feel a bit stuffy, even though his eyes weren't on her any longer.

She walked quickly into the kitchen and the first thing she saw were two rather rotund elves-the woman dark-skinned, the man a light tan- happily chopping and stirring an assortment of food. The larger one was the man who Leona assumed was the father and the slightly smaller one was most likely the mother. They seemed to be in their own groove, laughing and carrying on. She had no idea what to say. She stood in the entryway for a good few minutes at a loss of words. She simply watched them work. From the looks of things, it did look like they were making lasagna. In the end, it was the woman who spoke first.

"Oh, honey, come on in, we won't bite ya," she said in welcoming tones.

Leona blushed a little. They'd found her out just when she was considering leaving. "Sorry, I just didn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense, you're not intruding at all, honeybun," the woman insisted.

With this, Leona did step in just as the woman suggested. She looked around at the kitchen and was immediately impressed with the layout. Even her father would have been. The counters were long and wide and in places that weren't in use, they were clean and shiny. There was space to walk around even with there being an island in the middle currently occupied with neatly placed ingredients they probably planned to put into the lasagna-it consisted of plenty of cheese. She walked over to this and began to parse through the variety. Above this table hung every type of serving-ware she could think of: spatulas of all kinds, tongs, brushes, ladles, slotted and unslotted spoons metal and plastic, wooden stirring spoons, rolling pins, potato smashers, meat tenderizers, and some that even she didn't recognize probably having to do with things that were strictly elven.

"So you're Leona," the man said after she stepped in.

She nodded but then then realized both of their back were to her. "Oh, yes." Felix at some point must have spoken to them about her. She wondered how he had introduced her.

"I hope Felix isn't giving you too much of a hard time," he continued.

"What do you mean?" asked a mystified Leona.

"Now, stop, honey," the woman said. She took a moment to glance back at Leona. For the first time, Leona had a partial view of her face. Her eyes weren't a crimson red like Felix's; they reminded her of cherries and she had a rather infectious smile. Her entire face seemed to be engaged in that activity; dimples on her cheeks and eyes that shined with joy. "He's just being overly concerned."

"But it's no secret he can be a bit trying at times. All my life, I've never known him to have any friends whatsoever and suddenly three appear out of nowhere!" the man said who seemed to get a kick out of it. "I'm waiting for the moment he confesses that you're all complete strangers and that it was another off-beat joke of his."

The woman took a heat pad near her hanging on the drawer handle and smacked the man's shoulder with it. "Don't listen to that fool," she said with a laugh.

"I can see him blackmailing these poor folk for shits and giggles-

"Rhy, language!"

"Sorry, honey." The man turned to look at her too. "Sorry if I've scarred your virgin ears-Oh!" he said as his eyes took her in.

Leona couldn't determine his eye color from where she stood, but it was dark. She couldn't say they were altogether black because there was something off about them. She became a bit self-conscious as the man looked at her longer than usual.

"You're a beautiful young lady," he said.

"Oh...th-thank you," Leona said caught off guard.

The man returned to his task of stirring something in a pot. "Maybe there's hope after all," the man said with a grin clearly in his tone.

"You say that about any girl that comes in here and vaguely knows our son."

"Is it a crime to want some grand kids?" he asked. She flushed when she realized what he was talking about.

"We'll likely be long gone by the time that one thinks about settling down," the woman said. "Don't mind us, honey, just wistful thinking. Besides, I would hate to think of the woman who would have to put up with him for any long periods of time."

Leona laughed a little if not nervously. "He isn't so bad, ma'am," Leona said.

"Please, call me Mrs. Saelon."

"Mrs. Saelon," Leona repeated. "Well, he isn't too bad. He...saved my life before. Twice actually." Leona was sure she would have crumbled into a million pieces if Felix hadn't been there heal her broken father.

"He did?" Mrs. Saelon said with only subtle surprise in her tone. Leona supposed she was trying to hide it. "I'm glad you're safe now. I'm glad we can all be here for dinner today. It's a load off my shoulder knowing my son is alive and well and that he's made so many friends."

Soon the woman was bending down to take out an impressively large glass pan. Leona knew what would come next as the two adults began layering the ingredients on top. It was fun to watch this part as they placed layer after layer of cheese and seasoning along with the meat and sauce they'd concocted not too long ago. Just from looking, Leona knew it was going to be quite the lasagna. She wondered if there would be more courses to the meal, but she got her answer when they told her dinner was almost ready and led her back out to the living room where Felix and Cathe were still playing an intense game of Spades.

Leona opted to sit on the floor, insisting that she didn't mind, as the two parents took seats beside Felix on the couch. Soon they had all joined and the game took on a far less competitive air.

Her mother stepped in with a stack of papers in her hands right when the food was done cooking in the oven. Leona was glad to see her mom after so long and they embraced despite themselves. Her mother had been worried about her since they brought her back here unconscious. Even though Felix had reassured her that it was simply exhaustion, she still hadn't been quite at ease.

"Alright, everyone," her mother addressed those sitting around the table in the living room. "Felix and I have the perfect plan-well, as perfect as we can make it and I can't wait to explain the details."

There was a bit of a smile on her mother's face and it had been awhile since she'd done as much. Already, she could feel her worries slipping away the longer she sensed the other's confidence.

"But first!" Mrs. Saelon said happily standing up from the couch, "Let's eat, everyone!"

The dining room was distinctly separate from the living room and kitchen. Set in the middle was the steaming, hot ridiculously large pan of lasagna sitting on a hot pad, sizzling in anticipation. Leona hadn't realized how hungry she was until the smell hit her nose, disarming her completely and causing her stomach to cave in on itself. The tea Felix had given her was as much to tide her over for dinner as it was to calm her anxious nerves.

Mrs. Saelon made their plates without complaints and Leona was taken aback by the proportions. Judging from the look on everyone else's face, they were as well. Felix was clearly not impressed and wore an annoyed expression. It seemed as if she was being asked to devour a mountain of food. Perhaps one course would be enough...She was, in fact, starving but even she couldn't imagine finishing her plate.

"Alright, everyone, dig in!" Mrs. Saelon said excitedly.

Leona wondered how everyone would tackle their piece. Her mother tried to maintain some modicum of decorum as she attempted to use a butter knife and fork to cut down on it, but it was quite a bit of layers to cut through and it was becoming more a chore. Cathe had started at the bottom at a little piece that was sticking out, but Leona knew that eventually her piece would become a leaning tower if she continued that way. Felix obviously was no stranger to the meal and struck down first with the pointy tips of the fork and easily came up with a good sized piece on the utensil to place into his mouth. But he inspected the food a little peering under the layers and there was clearly a look of disgust on his face soon after. She wondered if there was some ingrediant they put in that they forgot he hated or if he simply did not like lasagna. His parents more or less ate the piece in much the same way as Felix except their forks were far more packed before they lifted it and put it to their mouths.

"This is delicious!" Cathe said with a smile, "It's so cheesy."

"This sauce is amazing," her mother complimented the chefs.

Leona managed to take a piece into her mouth and then immediately fell in love. The sauce was amazing along with the combination of cheese and the pasta that wasn't too soggy and well seasoned. It all melted quite well on her tongue. She couldn't remember ever tasting a better lasagna...

"Everything comes together so well," Leona said after she finished chewing.

Felix's parents were practically beaming. "Lovely friends you have," Mrs. Saelon said, "They know good food when they taste it. Felix?"

They were probably waiting for his input when he didn't add anything to their compliments. He didn't look particularly happy, but...perhaps his taste buds were different from theirs.

"Oh, Feeelix, what do you think, honey?" his mother asked very nearly singing his name when he didn't respond the first time.

"You know very well what I think," he said in a snappy tone.

Leona couldn't imagine ever speaking to either of her parents in that tone of voice. Besides, all they'd asked for was his opinion. Maybe that was one of his pet peeves as he even placed the fork on the plate as if he was done with the entire affair.

"Now, honey-" his mother began, but Felix cut over her.

"Don't 'honey' me. Where exactly are the vegetables? It's nowhere to be found."

"Here we go," Mr. Saelon said with disgust in his voice, "Dietitian Felix returns. Mr. I-Can't-Eat-Your-Food-Anymore-Because-I'm-On-A-Diet."

Felix stood up from the table when he said this. Leona averted her eyes-she hated to see argument amongst family. Her mother and Cathe were completely silent as they watched.

"You know what, I'm surprised you two are still alive and breathing," he hissed. "I bet I couldn't even find a stray piece of lettuce if I searched the kitchen from top to bottom. It's like everything I say falls on deaf ears. And for the record-again-I was never on any damn diet."

With a huff, he turned on his heels and left before his mother could get another word in.

"Just let him go," Mr. Saelon said as she tried calling for him, "He's in one of his moods and quite frankly we don't need that kind of mood ruining the atmosphere."

"Rhy, we can't just..." the mother began sadly.

Then Cathe raised her hand as if she was in a classroom. "Let me go check on him, Mrs. Saelon" she said cheerfully.

"Oh, child, you don't have to do that."

"But I want to-it's no sweat," she said in an equally cheery tone.

She stood up as well and left the table before the other could protest any further. Leona wondered what Cathe could possibly say or why she had volunteered to leave in the first place.

"Sorry about that," Mrs. Saelon apologized to everyone. "I hope we haven't ruined your appetites."

In fact, Leona felt it was nearly impossible for that to be the case for her as she realized she hadn't eaten in nearly two days. Her mother had once again began on her plate.

"Not at all," her mother responded. "I had the pleasure of spending the better part of the day with him and I can't say I'd want to do it again."

"Mom," Leona said in embarrassed tones.

"Not that he wasn't helpful-I didn't have to do all that reading on my own, but he has his own way of recording data and I have mine. I'm sure he thought it was organized, but I spent nearly two hours putting it into a format that I like better."

Leave it up to her mother to criticize someone else's note-taking skills even if that person was most likely well-versed in such activities. No one was safe. Hence the loving nickname Felix had given her. Mrs. Saelon laughed at her mother's comments. At least they were good-humored people, Leona thought with relief. It was more than what she could say about the storming-off Felix.

Cathe eventually returned, her good mood unblemished. Felix didn't rejoin them until the tail-end and he apologized for his rudeness, but he said nothing more for the rest of the meal. It was as her mother had told her one day. If you have nothing good to say, don't say it at all. Leona didn't finish her plate. The portion seemed never-ending. Felix' parents, however, seemed to possess bottomless pits for stomachs. Glancing about the table, her mother had managed to consume about the same amount as her, Cathe a bit more than that, and Felix made quite a sizable dent, but still wasn't able to finish.

When they were done, Leona offered to help them clean up, but Felix's parents insisted that it was unnecessary and that they were happy to do it themselves. So she followed her mother into the living room where she was sure her mother would finally relay her findings to them.

"Alright," her mother said with a deep breath when they were all assembled. She stood in front of all of them. "As much as I would like to stand up here and tell you everything that we found...I think I'll leave that to Felix who-though it pains me to say it-can explain it better and I think my eyes are starting to go cross staring at all these words." She had a nice sized stack of papers betwixt her fingers which she had shuffled through once or twice.

"Careful, that sounds suspiciously like a compliment," Felix said with a grin.

Her mother frowned briefly at the other, "Take it as you will, Professor Felix."

She promptly walked over to the other handing him the stack which he accepted, but then set down on the living room table much to her mother's annoyance.

"You don't need that? That's at least twenty books worth of notes," her mother said stolidly.

"I'll frame it later," he said back coolly.

She crossed her arms, "This should be good-don't you dare ask me to look anything up for you either."

"The thing is there are only a few things we actually need to focus on," Felix said, his tone changing, Leona noted. "First of all, it's a myth that only elves can possess magic. Raine tells me you already know about the Aionis stone-it can give any person that ability. But there are more than one way to do exactly the same as the stone. Regrettably, it is knowledge that elves traditionally keep to themselves because elves, as you know are a stuck-up, backwards group of people and they like to pretend the differences between elves and humans are so incredibly vast." Leona could hear the cynicism clearly in his voice. It surprised her that he could speak so frankly about his own people.

"In reality," Felix continued, "there are hardly any. Humans and elves are so genetically compatible that they, in fact, can conceive perfectly healthy offspring. We see it even without picking up a book and researching that one who has human blood running through their veins can still wield magic with ease. Therefore it is wrong to assume that one cannot use magic because they're human rather it is something that is not widely known. Admittedly, elves do have a certain propensity for magic, but any human born on the right day can conceivably develop the ability to cast magic with an affinity to one or two elements, but not both at the same time. It has long been known that the world itself was created by mana and that it permeates the air just as surely as oxygen itself-even now despite its declining presence in the world. On certain days in which there is no pattern whatsoever, the air is thicker than usual with mana. It makes little difference to most people, but to those at the right time of development it affects them immensely, but not in any adverse way. And if you're dying to know how that exactly works, go read it yourself as I don't have the patience to try and explain nor do I particularly care-it is simply fact."

Raine visibly frowned at this, but Leona was secretly glad that she didn't have to sit through a biology class at this point.

"In the case of Lucas, he was born on or around this sort of day and looking over the records he would then have an affinity for either light or dark elemental magic."

Her mother cleared her throat at this to remind him of something. Felix very nearly rolled his eyes as he took a frustrated deep breath.

"No doubt you probably weren't wondering how we came to that conclusion or even how such records exist or how it was conceived in the first place. Doesn't matter, only that you know how it pertains to Lucas. And, Cathe, if you're wondering if you were born on such a day or if it's possible for you to develop the same thing-the notes are right there, now made extremely accessible for people of all ages to understand courtesy of Raine," he finished curtly.

"Even so, the process is not something I would subject my worst enemy to. Being able to use magic and actually doing it are not things that transitions smoothly to the other. A catalyst is needed for one's powers to be activated. Lucas needed to be exposed to either light or dark elemental creatures. As you must have seen, Leona, the 'essence' of the creatures will simply flow out of it once killed and enter that of the host if he happens to still be in the area."

Raine cleared her throat again.

"I suppose I'll explain a little more here," Felix said when he looked to Cathe and noticed her confused look. "Essence is something that is still debated to this day what exactly it is. However, it is not related to one's soul or spirit. It is something more physical and obviously visible. Some say it is a part of all of us and that we are all simply born with such a thing. Upon study, it is said to contain DNA and living tissue carried in a substance that makes it impervious to most outside influences. It is singularly attracted to the one which destroyed its larger counterpart. Some have been known to become sick or even die by its presence. Of course, one's essence is only visible during these strict conditions when a human with an affinity to a certain element kills a creature of the same one. It is essentially a foreign body in much the same way you'd categorize bacteria or virus' and there had never been an account of the essence of a creature entering a human that has not been described as excruciatingly painful. It combines with ever cell of your body with surprising effort and swiftness and the lingering pain stays with you for hours after before finally tapering off. Most have been known to die from the pain alone and those who survive the first time don't look forward to feeling such a thing again. However, one must be exposed several more times in which the pain is no less before the ability to use magic becomes reality. Assumingly, Lucas, had to go through the same process-obviously, he's no stranger to pain."

"I wouldn't put it past Arcangela to have purposefully placed Lucas into a situation in which he would encounter these sorts of creatures to quicken the process. Light and dark elemental creatures are rather rare to stumble upon in the wild. This brings me to my next point."

Leona remembered the first time Lucas had fallen down in pain. He had been so close to death and she hadn't even known it. She'd opted to keep it secret and Lucas had shrugged it off as if it was temporary when in reality he must have still been in pain a long time after without even so much as a complaint.

"Arcangela made sure that he was only exposed to dark creatures. She needed his dark magic to perform the move which is used to subdue both large crowds of people and individuals alike. To what end? I have no idea. No one can claim to the intentions of Arcangela, but whatever it is, it couldn't possibly be good. The effects of such magic can be reversed, however, and Raine and I both know how it can done. However, to make sure that this does not happen again at least by the hands of Lucas, his magic must be quelled. And just as painfully as the ability can be obtained, it can be taken away with the injection of light. He is particularly vulnerable to light elemental magic. Attacking him directly with it, should be sufficient. It is important, however, that we act quickly. After a few months, it is impossible to take away this ability of his. We do have ample time at this point as it's not been very long since this whole thing started.

"And from that information alone, Raine and I came up with a tentative plan. Raine and I will be in charge of reversing the effects of Lucas' technique while you, Leona, will be responsible for striking him down with your very potent light elemental magic. Not to kill him, mind you, but to take away his ability to continue his 'mission'."

"Me?" Leona said surprised. It seemed like a lot of responsibility for her and she was being tasked with harming someone who she knew and putting him most likely in immense pain. Her mother seemed better suited for it. She was sure her mother wouldn't be as bothered by the prospects. Even Felix would have dealt with it better.

"I know, it may seem like a lot, but you're the perfect candidate. I've never been able to use light magic and yours is even more potent than your mother's so I've determined from watching you both. Not only that, but the ritual which would have to be repeated countless times requires a lot of stamina which your mother possesses more of than you."

"And this is the only way?" Leona asked.

Her mother was looking at her now. "Felix and I scoured dozens of books and that is the only known way."

"But we still don't know where Lucas or Arcangela is," Cathe said finally speaking up.

"Sheena will know by now," Raine said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Leona asked. They hadn't spoken to Sheena in quite some time.

"Because, there isn't a person in the world that could hide from Sheena's information network."

Leona was made speechless by this. She couldn't even imagine her mother trusting something so blindly.

"I wished I shared your mother's certainty," Felix said. "Even if they can't be found, we can still begin reversing the effects and that would be a step in the right direction."

"The plan is to get Arcangela and Lucas," Raine continued. "You won't be doing this alone, Leona, everyone who's able to help will. I doubt with our combined forces they could take you all."

"Arcangela has been careful to strike when our forces are separated," Felix said agreeing with her mother. "She knows that even her power cannot hope to overcome so many at one time."

"Oh my gosh, guys," Cathe said at once drawing everyone's attention, "This plan is definitely going to work! I can just sense it! We'll all be fighting together for once. We'll take back Lucas and knock some sense into him. Arcangela won't know what hit her once we're through with her. All the while we'll be fixing the damage done around the world."

"Once again, Cathe, your optimism is puzzling," Felix said with a frown. "There are plenty of things that could go wrong-"

"But it's best not to dwell on the negative," Raine said cutting over him with a smile.

"Raine, you too?" Felix said a bit surprised.

"I think we've finally found the solution to our problems," Leona said, her lips curling upwards.

Felix sighed exasperatedly, "I give up. I suppose in the end, in order to achieve, you have to believe you'll be able to in the first place."

"That's the spirit, Felix!" Cathe said with a laugh.

"On that note," Raine said standing up, "I'll think I'll head to bed. We'll have an early start tomorrow."

They were reminded of just how late it already was and Cathe followed in suit. Cathe shared a room with Raine, but for some reason, Leona had a room all to herself. She hadn't gotten a chance to ask why before they were already climbing up the stairs.

"You look like you have something to say," Felix said. He'd taken a seat on the couch and he leaned forward with his chin resting on his raised hands.

"I just thought it was odd that I'm the only one with a room all to myself. And where exactly are you going to sleep?"

"You're an only child; I thought you'd appreciate it. That used to be my room, but quite frankly I really didn't want to sleep in it-too many memories. A couch would do just fine for me."

"Your room?" Leona asked surprised.

"Don't worry, the sheets and comforters have long since been washed."

"No, it's not that," Leona said shaking her head. "It just surprised me is all. It looks rather bare in there. I guess you did move out at some point, I suppose that's the reason."

"I never wanted for things. My room has always lacked a certain appearance that matches up to the rest of this house."

"You know, Felix," Leona said thoughtfully, "You're being strangely forthcoming about answering my questions. I was expecting you to get annoyed and ignore me altogether."

"I suppose I haven't been on my best behavior around you; I apologize. I want to be more open with you since I feel as if I've intruded upon your private life quite a bit. And since I know you so well, I know that I could put my trust in you. I knew you'd initially be upset with being selected to take Lucas. Even now you're worried if you'll be able to pull it off. Take it from me whatever it's worth, I believe your resolve will come once you see him again. Your unshakable logic will win out as it always does in every decision that you make."

"Thank you, Felix, for your vote of confidence," she said earnestly. "It means so much more coming from you. I know you don't compliment others very often."

"Not many people impress me."

"You've still been reading my mind," Leona said matter-of-factly.

"Guilty as charged. I know the moment in which I said too much and, of course, you latched onto it quickly."

"You knew what I was going to say last time...even though I didn't say it."

"Saying it aloud would only make things...complicated. You haven't the slightest clue what it means to love another person hence your hesitation nor entirely what it means to call someone your friend. You're a bird who has yet to spread her wings."

"I'm simply too immature-is that what you mean to say?"

"No," he said shaking his head against his hands. "Inexperienced. And I think it's time you got some rest."

Leona thought she wanted to say something more, something to protest him, but she realized moments later that he was probably right. After all, she was only now coming to terms with all the friends she had no idea she had in the first place.

"Good night, Felix, I hope the couch won't give you too many muscle aches in the morning," she said with a grin.

"I'll be fine," he said stifling a yawn.

With that, Leona went to turn off the flickering lamps until it was finally pitch black in the room. Though this place was new to her, she could at least find her way upstairs on her own. She stopped on the first step when a thought came to her mind. Of course, if he was still reading her mind then perhaps he wouldn't be so quick falling to sleep, but this was not the case as far as Leona knew. She crept up one more step and listened to the other make himself comfortable on the couch that was not quite long enough for him to stretch fully. He sighed deeply and then there was only silence. She had to listen even closer. When she held her own breath and then strained her ears a bit more she thought she might have heard him.

After she made her way back downstairs quietly, she peered over the couch and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She could, at the very least, make out his form. He was practically dead to the world. Quite a feat to achieve in such a short period of time. She believed that even if she yelled out his name obnoxiously loud, he'd be none the wiser, but she did not want to test that theory. Instead, she watched his relaxed form for a little longer-one arm across his midsection, the other finding its home behind his head which was turned catercorner to the right propped up by his raised shoulder on account of the arm placed behind him, legs slightly bent and turned to the side with feet tucked snuggly under the armrest. Somehow he had managed to look comfortable even on a couch. She wondered what it might feel like to sleep beside such a person in the same way that her parents did. Her imagination, however, simply was not vivid enough to even picture. He didn't move a muscle even after several minutes besides the subtle movements of his chest. Even she who was restless began to become lulled by the scene. He was likely to remain that way until morning.

She had to will herself to climb up the stairs to the room she was borrowing after reminding herself that it was considered odd and stalkerish to watch someone sleep for long periods of time. Though for some reason she doubted Felix would be at all put off if she mentioned that she did such a thing. After all, despite having control over the ability, he was constantly listening to her thoughts as if it was his favorite pastime.

She found herself running frantically through a thick forest, branches scratching at her skin, the ground playing havoc with her footing. Tears stung her eyes annoying her most of all as if her tear-ducts were struggling to produce them, dry and unused. Her eyes were more reddened by all the grit she was kicking up in the air than anything else, but she couldn't stop running. A lasting anger gripped and tore at her rational mind, she was practically seething. She knew that eventually her energy would fail her, but to her surprise she welcomed her imminent demise. She wanted to fall unconscious; she wanted her mind to stop functioning altogether-it was simply too much to decipher.

And then she tripped on a particularly thick root and fell face first into the soft soil, dirtying herself exquisitely. The vehemence began to overpower her, she was no longer running-she was clawing at the ground like a madwoman, throwing an obscene temper-tantrum yet she could not stop herself even knowing that she should try to rein in her emotions. She'd been taught better than that. She was supposed to calm herself, rationalize. The very sound of those words angered her even more and she could not stop until she tired herself out, her limbs becoming increasingly heavy with exhaustion.

Time passed by without her knowledge and eventually her breathing began to calm. The storm had passed, her nerves were beginning to settle. Slowly her eyes began to droop. She would fall asleep right there not even planning to return home where there were those who might have been worried for her well-being.

"Are you done?" came a woman's voice.

The sound of her voice cut through the fogginess that was just beginning to envelope her. She did not trust her voice so she did not respond. She heard the footsteps now. Dull eyes peered out through her bangs at the woman's apparent bare feet, her toenails a glossy blue.

Then Leona found herself standing looking down at the boy she knew immediately to be Felix-the transition of points of views was a bit jarring. For a moment she had seen the world directly from the eyes of Felix and now she was once again looking from the outside as if she was intruding. He didn't appear any older from when she'd seen him storm out of the dojo perhaps this was occurring on the same day. The forest itself looked familiar as she looked around. Could it be the very same one she'd spied outside her window earlier that day?

The woman, however, she was quite a sight to see. In fact she looked as if she didn't belong. Her skin was gray like that of a shark. Her short-cropped hair an elegant midnight shade of blue. Her eyes a very warm blue, matching the headband she had on. She was scantily clad with a bit of cloth to attempt to cover up her ample breasts and upper body. Dark blue lines that reminded Leona of tiger stripes decorated her glossy gray skin and she wore a long, flowing skirt-a piece of cloth covering her behind and another to hide the front-her sides, however were completely exposed. Somehow despite her risque clothing, Leona felt an uncommon classiness about her. She couldn't possibly be human.

She knelt down in front of child Felix and gazed at him for a moment, expressionless. Then her lips curled into a warm smile as she reached out and gently pushed underneath his chin to further get his attention.

"Aren't you an adorable little human?"

His eyes seemed dull, Leona noted even at the sight of such a peculiar looking woman.

"And those cute red button eyes-they stare into the depths of my soul. Felix, isn't it?"

"...Yes," he finally responded in his small voice, unsure of himself and very clearly not all there.

The woman seemed to blush slightly. "That angelic voice of yours sends shivers down my spine."

Leona vaguely wondered if she was about to see something she wasn't supposed to.

"I will share with you a portion of my energy. Today must have been especially difficult for you. All that raw emotion pouring out of you-it was quite...beautiful."

The woman found one of his small tightly balled hands and covered it with a dainty hand of her own. Just like that, Felix was able to sit up on his own without much trouble at all. He was looking at the woman curiously now as she sat beside him.

"Who are you?" he asked at once, his voice surprisingly even.

"I'm Celsius, the Disciple of Everlasting Ice."

"That's a mouthful," Felix said with a frown, "And you seem painfully out of your element."

"Just Celsius is fine," she said with a laugh. Leona noted that her smiling face from before had become masked once again. "I do become bored from time to time and wander the world."

"And you just so happened to wander into this forest," Felix said with a bit of disbelief.

"My, aren't we a paranoid little boy? Do you think the likes of a powerful summon spirit somehow has it out for one insignificant human?"

"Insignificant?" Felix said with a start. "You must have me confused with someone else."

Celsius laughed once again. "I knew there was a reason why I liked you. As I said before, I wander and for this past week I've been in Heimdall doing my age-old pastime."

An eyebrow rose on Felix's small, round face. "Which is?"

"People watching," she said nonchalantly. "You humans are quite interesting to observe from afar."

"Hm..." Felix said thoughtfully looking away from her. "There aren't many people in the forest."

"Ah, I was just leaving and stumbled upon you."

Another raised eyebrow from Felix.

"Alright," she said with a sigh, "Perhaps I was following you."

Felix gave her an I-knew-it look.

"And perhaps I've been watching you for awhile. I know humans don't take kindly to that-

"Oh no, you don't have to explain yourself," he said with closed eyes, "I suppose it's difficult for people not to watch me all the time."

She giggled. "Indeed. I saw you go running away from that building as if you were chasing down your archenemy. It was very odd. I could tell you were quite angry and there are few times I've seen a human exude such strong emotion. I'm curious, child, what caused you to be that way?"

"Fools," he stated plainly. His eyes were now trained on the ground.

Celsius waited patiently for the other to continue.

"I-You see, I wanted to learn how to fight so I entered a class that would teach me just that. I suppose I wasn't catching on as quickly as the others, but I was certain that eventually if I trained hard enough, I would begin to understand as well."

"And did that happen?"

"I wasn't given the chance, but...I suppose the instructor was lenient with me. Technically, I did fail more than once. Today, he declared me 'unfit' to continue. What was worse, he did so in front of the other students. Now everyone knows that I was exclusively kicked out of class. It was more than embarrassing-it was demeaning, despicable. When I start something," he said now turning his head to look at her directly, "I want to finish it and not just barely but with overwhelming success. That instructor placed an uncrossable wall before me. It wouldn't matter the amount of effort I wanted to put into it, now it was simply impossible. I could not stand that."

Celsius smiled gently. "You are aware that a human cannot be expected to excel at everything they try. Just like spirits, there are things that you will excel at and things that you do not-

"No," Felix said interrupting her, "Given enough time and effort, it is possible overcome those boundaries."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do," he said confidently.

"Well then," she said climbing to her feet smoothly, "Prove me wrong. I've studied humans for a long time and I know that fact to be true. There will always be something you fail at."

"Unfortunately," Felix said still sitting on the ground but with his head turned from her once again, "I can't prove you wrong. Once your instructor dismisses you, you cannot return. It is a final decision."

"I'll be your instructor," she said with crossed arms.

"You?" Felix asked with obvious disbelief.

"I'll have you know-I am well-versed in a number of fighting techniques. And the ones that the elves are so fond of are one of the more simplistic ones."

"Really?" Felix said, now excitement played at his features.

"Yes, really. Now are you willing to be my student?"

Now Felix climbed to his feet as well but not with nearly as much finesse as the spirit. "Of course! I can't believe it-what are the chances of this actually happening?"

"Depressingly low-

"When can we start?"

She was smiling again probably at his apparent giddiness. "Not so fast, little one. There are a few things you must agree to first."

Felix was all ears and not the least bit put off.

"First of all, everything I say, you must do. Secondly, I reserve the right to terminate our arrangement if I feel you're not working hard enough. Thirdly, and this is very important, you can't tell anyone about me. You can say that you're training, but you can't mention that I'm involved, alright? Can you follow those three rules?"

"Easily," he said without any hesitation, "You have my word."

"Now," she said squatting down to his level once again-he was a great deal shorter than her. She brought her face close to his until she nuzzled him.

"What are you-

"Shhh!" she said sharply. "I've always wanted to do this..." Then she began to pull at his cheeks. And just like that she pulled away from him. "Alright, I'm done. I want you to go home and get a good night's rest. And then, I want you to come back here to this very spot. Don't eat anything your parents serve you."

"But-

"You agreed," Celsius cut across.

"No, it's not that. I just...don't know how I would explain that to my parents. Especially not dinner-they take that very seriously."

Celsius placed a hand atop the crown of his head. "You're a smart little boy; I'm sure you'll figure something out. Right?"

A look of determination came to the youth's face. "I definitely will. I gave you my word. I'll do everything you tell me to do."

"Good. Sleep well, little one."

She vanished into thin air startling the child, but he soon got over it and began his trek back through the forest. That was when her vision began to darken. The scene slowly became blotted out by the encroaching darkness until there was nothing more to see. She expected to see the familiar form of Felix, annoyed and asking her why she was intruding, but nothing happened. Only silence greeted her.

"Felix?" Leona said aloud.

No response came and then suddenly a crushing pain caused her to fall to her knees and cry out. Her whole body ached she just wanted to lie completely still and wait for the pain to subside.

"Felix? What's wrong?" Leona asked. She didn't for a moment believe that he could somehow be harming her intentionally.

Finally she heard his voice, but it was weakened and strained. He only managed to utter her name. Her question was left unanswered. She knew something was wrong, however. She needed to wake up right this instant.

Moments later, she found herself looking up at the darkened ceiling. She stumbled out of bed, tripping over her boots and catching herself before she fell to the ground completely. She made her way to the bedroom's doorway and carefully made her way to the steps that took her downstairs. Felix would be in the living room. That was where she'd seen him lie down after supper and there were no more extra rooms upstairs.

She had to wait for her eyes to adjust as she stumbled past the table that sat next to the long couch she was sure she'd find Felix.

"Felix?" Leona said aloud, but once again he was non-responsive.

She was beside the couch now, bent down and shaking him at first softly and then with more and more fervor. She stopped after a moment and then placed a tentative hand on his forehead. Just as she thought, he was burning up. He groaned a little and it seemed to take a lot of effort simply to open his eyes.

"Leona...please...it's a trap..."

She struggled to understand him with furrowed eyebrows. A sharp wind passed by her and then something shining out the corner of her eye. She looked behind herself and found that she was face to face with none other than Arcangela. The elven woman levitated at first and then she set foot on the ground.

"I would expect no less from the great Felix. Only he could have a hope resisting my power."

"Arcangela, what have you done to him-

"Now, now, Leona. I did not come for you. Well, perhaps that is a bit of a lie. You and your friends have gone on long enough. I must stop you here and now."

Leona knew she couldn't face Arcangela by herself and she would be receiving no help from Felix. She could always cry out for help... However, when she tried to shout, no words left her mouth. Arcangela had one arm outstretched and she had a small grin.

"You are in over your head. You should have stopped while you were ahead. Now just stand right there like a good little girl. The adults need to talk."

She realized she couldn't so much as move as Arcangela walked right passed her and knelt down beside the couch.

"See this pain that you're feeling, Felix-it the same exact one that I felt when you rejected me. You lament the loss of your family and yet I'm standing right here. Can you not see? We are both long lived-we have time to start all over again and it can be as it was."

Leona couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course Felix wouldn't even begin considering her words. If her dreams were true, then there was no way. Leona remembered witnessing the other's anger. His one quest to destroy her seemed all-consuming. Then why was this woman even bothering with pleasantries? Couldn't she see that such things were fruitless? Whatever relationship they once had was long since dissipated.

"Now speak," she commanded of the other.

She must have given the other the ability to speak once again because he'd been silent up until that point.

"You are...delusional," he gasped. "If I could, I would sooner kill you where you stood. But of course...you knew to take precautions before spouting such nonsense to me."

Leona heard the other motion to stand up again. She wished desperately that she could look behind her. Better yet, do something. They were practically sitting ducks.

"Alright then," she said, her voice betraying nothing of her disappointment. "I will release you-and you will have a choice to make. You will have your full power at your disposal. You said you would kill me if you had the chance...Here is your chance."

"What are you playing at, Arcangela?" Felix growled.

"I only want to make a point...The ball is in your court. I want you to know that I would rather die than to not have you at my side. How long have I waited? How long until your anger has subsided? That answer will finally be answered today."

"What do you mean-

"Now make your choice."

Leona could see Arcangela now as she stepped back slowly into her view. She heard the cushions of the couch move as she was sure Felix was sitting up. She could feel his presence behind her now, standing. She heard the subtle billow of fire, she imagined it resided on his outstretched hand.

"You are far more naive than I gave you credit for," Felix said. "This must be some sort of trick."

"No trick. Obviously, I'm standing here. Not a clone, not an illusion and you know that."

"All this time I spent pursuing you; all that energy you spent staying a step ahead and now you want me to believe that you'd waltz in here and it make it so easy."

"Damn it, Felix! I realize I have made things hard for you, but that was because I thought you needed time. I need to know this instant, Felix, will you kill me?"

Leona waited for the flames to envelope the woman, but it never did. If she could, she would have turned her head to look at Felix to see why he was stalling.

"What have you done to me," he growled.

"Nothing," Arcangela said calmly.

"You've done something and I can't figure out what it is," Felix said back with obvious annoyance.

She stepped forth now out of Leona's sight. "You can feel your own energy, can't you? All intact and with full access. Why don't you tell me, Felix? Why are you stalling? Here I am-the woman that you despise so deeply and yet you can't even bring yourself to finishing me off."

There was only silence for long agonizing minutes and Leona was becoming increasingly frustrated with her inability to move, to yell, to do anything at all. She couldn't even struggle against anything. Arcangela's magic was strong and impassable.

"I..." Felix began, but he was strangely tongue-tied.

She heard the sounds of clothes being ruffled a little and then there was nothing once again.

"You've forgiven me, haven't you? I wanted you to see that," she said, but her voice was a little muffled.

Leona couldn't figure out exactly what was happening, but she did not like it.

"Impossible..." he began again.

"I know your heart better than even you. Where is that anger, that hatred? Where has it gone? Truth is, Felix, you had plenty of chances to stop me and you did not. I've only ever been good at deceiving people but when it comes to raw strength of magic, you have always trumped me, but your magic is ruled by your emotions. Join me, Felix."

"I cannot," he finally spoke clearly.

"Why?"

"I simply cannot. You've hurt too many people and you would continue to do so."

"All to save the world that I care so much about."

There was more silence and Leona became increasingly antsy. Was that tension she felt?

"You mourn the loss of your family," Arcangela spoke once again, "But I'm still here. We can always start anew. There's always time and we have a lot of it."

"I want you to leave," Felix said forcefully. There was more ruffling of clothes and it was then she realized that they must have been embracing.

"Felix-

"You've chosen your path and I've chosen mine. I could never kill a person in cold blood, you know that and I doubt any healer could. When we meet in battle, I will show you the depths of my anger. Leave and take your mind games elsewhere."

"Fine..." her voice becoming less innocent. "When we meet again, I will not hold back. I'll fight for what I believe in and you...do the same." Leona could see her again as she stepped back from Felix and she turned her back to them both. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this..." she continued, her voice a little shaky. Could she have been crying? "But I'm sorry...I cannot risk it."

Then suddenly she heard Felix gasping for breath and he fell to his knees in the effort. Felix! What in the world is happening? I need to get Mom! her mind shouted. She wondered if Felix could hear or if he was too distracted to do so. Arcangela was looking at her now, her eyes rimmed with red. So she had been crying.

"Please, help him..." Arcangela said.

Just like that she vanished before her eyes and Leona was able to move again. She didn't have time to think about Arcangela's actions. Instead, she ran over to the gasping Felix who was by now on the floor grasping at his chest unable to actually form words. She wished at that moment that she could read his mind, but perhaps it didn't matter at this point; she knew what she had to do. She tore her eyes away from the pitiful sight of the now writhing elf and ran off to get her mother. Even she could tell that he was having a heart attack, a very massive one and it seemed far more dramatic than she imagined it would be. Perhaps there was something else as well.

She knew she had little time as she shook her mother violently. Her mother might have been a bit disoriented, but she seemed to understand enough as she allowed Leona to guide her down the stairs. Cathe remained surprisingly undisturbed. As soon as her mother saw him, her sleepiness seemed to disappear instantly. Her hand began to glow and the healing began. Leona could tell when she watched Felix take longer and longer breaths. She supposed everything would be alright, but his eye began to flutter and he lost consciousness altogether.

"Martel..." her mother said quickly under her breath.

Leona sat down beside her mother now looking down on the now silent form of Felix. "Is he alright, now?"

"No," Raine said shaking her head, "I just don't know...It's just like with Regal. I don't know." Then she was looking at her. "What happened down here?"

"Arcangela," Leona uttered barely over a whisper. "She did this to him."

"I see...The immediate danger is over but his unconsciousness suggests that there is something else at work, something that I cannot see or fix."

"What does this mean?" Leona asked a little fearful.

Who else would heal him if not her mother? He certainly couldn't do it on his own in this state. Had the roles been switched, Leona somehow knew that Felix would know and be able to counteract whatever ailments Arcangela had dished out. Arcangela must have known this as well.

"It means we have our work cut out for us without his help. We still don't know exactly what's wrong with him. He could wake up in the next hour and all would be well. In this instance, even though we don't have much time, I believe we should wait a few days. Then, we move on."

"Move on? We're just going to leave him to die?" Leona asked incredulously. Could her mother be that cold?

"I need you to be strong," her mother said looking away. "There are many lives at stake and we have the means of saving them. If we stay here waiting for something that might not happen, Arcangela will still be out there conducting her plans. Something tells me that Felix would not like to be the reason we dropped everything. He's worked hard for this, so have all of us. We'll see this to the end for everyone's sake."

"Can you do it...by yourself?" Leona asked in a smaller voice.

She realized that her mother would have it harder than any of them. Now with Felix incapacitated, she would have to perform the ritual all by herself multiple times across the world, retracing Lucas' footsteps. She could hardly imagine it being done with just two people.

"I'll manage. I have no intentions of dying either. You just need to focus on quelling Lucas-you're the only one who can do it now."

Jinseigami'Fell: Oh, you so easily lose me in your reviews, but I can at least gather that you're liking the plot thus far. And, yes, Felix hasn't had it easy partially because of himself and partially because of luck itself. Thank you again for drawing Leona. I wonder if it's possible to put links on Fanfiction profiles?

Romina78: Speculations are fine. I just hope I can still surprise somewhat in the end. Although I do think you're on the right train of thought.