OoO( 21 )OoO

The warrior returned to the island which had a fresh blanket of snow covering its surface. From what he could hear inside the tavern, the largest building in the village, there was some sort of celebration afoot. He opened the door and stepped inside, causing everyone inside to look in his direction.

The first to speak to him was Ark, who was watching as the troupe was reenacting one of their oldest and most loved skits for the islanders and heroes. The dark warrior walked up to him and crossed his arms. "So, did you get the last one?" he asked. Lyle nodded and held up the orb, letting Ark take it and place it with the others. "So...what now?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, we will open the Sealed Gate. Lets leave it for tonight seeing as everyone is having a good time." he said stretching himself out.

"I meant what now for you?" asked Ark eyeing him curiously. "Is your unfinished business taken care of?" he asked as he took a bowl of stew handed to him by Kiko.

Lyle looked across the room and spotted someone. "Not quite. Talk to you later." he said as he walked passed the dark warrior. Moving through the crowd, he rapidly made his way towards the one closest to the stage. Finally, he stood in front of her. She turned and looked at him curiously, her golden hair swishing as a small smile crossed her face. He examined her smile, noticing that it had a hint of sadness in it.

"Is everything okay Lyle?" she asked curiously as she looked down, a bit embarrassed that he was staring so intently at her.

"Come with me..." he said as he took her by the arm and led her towards the back door of the tavern. "I need to have a word with you." he said. She frowned as he led her away from the crowd.

"This doesn't sound like its going to be a friendly chat..." she said nervously.

"It's not." he said opening the door and leading her outside into the brisk air. The moon glowed brightly in its full glory, shining off his armor as he closed the door behind him. He turned to her and looked at her again. "Alex..." he said.

"Are you mad at me for some reason?" she asked, almost cringing at the thought. He slammed both palms on either side of her, forcing her against the wall. "I'm sorry...I don't..." she said, but was cut off as the warrior grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her forward, joining them in their first kiss since the bandit camp long ago.

Alex's eyes widened in shock, but that wore off as her body seemed to melt in his grasp. Slowly, after the shock wore off, she returned the kiss passionately, snaking her arms around his neck and allowing him to lift her off the ground. He spun her around for a moment before walking with her in his arms to his house nearby.

She pulled away from him momentarily and looked into his eyes, as he did to hers. He could clearly see tears flowing down her beautiful face in the moonlight. But these weren't the tears of sadness, no longer did she have the look she had in the tavern. The look of silent suffering, of pain being held inside. She finally let herself go, her tears pouring freely down her cheeks as she held him close and kissed him again.

Kicking the door open, he walked inside and closed it behind him in the same manner. Setting her on her feet, he took his gauntlets off and threw them aside, then pulled her to him again. This time, she backed him against the wall and held onto him as they kissed deeply. Her hands slid up his chest and slowly unbuckled the armor on his chest, pulling it off of him and throwing it clear. The resounding crash of the heavy metal plate plowing through a table didn't even faze the two as they began to undress each other.

Once all his armor was removed, he grabbed her and lifted her again. This time, her legs wrapped around his waist for support as he pushed the door too hard, causing the weak wood to snap off its hinges and slam to the floor. She kissed him deeper still, trailing them from his lips down to his chin before he set her on the bed, both of them armorless and seemingly on fire.

Lyle stood over her, staring into her eyes still. Taking off his shirt, he held his hand out to her. Taking his hand, she was pulled to her feet gently. She reached down and mimiced his action by taking her own cover off, reavealing her bare chest for him. Leaning forward, she kissed a scar on his chest just below the collar bone. She continued to trail down as her hands removed his last article of clothing, his pants.

With them out of the way, she stood again and removed her own skirt, leaving them both bare and blazing like two suns as they looked at each other. Lyle turned her around and wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him gently. She shivered as she felt his skin against hers and laid her head on his arm with her eyes closed.

He closed his eyes as well, tears now flowing from them. "I'm sorry...I've been so stupid..." he said in a whisper.

"Lyle...?" she asked as she opened her eyes again. "You've always had this." she said as she took his hand and placed it over her heart. "I've just been waiting for you to take it." He smiled gently and kissed her neck before turning her around again.

"I promise I'll take good care of it." he said, making her smile. Leaning down, he kissed her again, forcing her back onto the bed where she lay down. He slowly climbed over her, locking eyes once again before he ran his hand up her beautiful naked form and kissed her once more.

"I love you Lyle..." she said silently.

"I love you too Alex." he said without hesitation. "And I always will."

OoOoO

The moon had slowly vanished into the night sky as light took over the horizon. Heavy clouds poured over the island as if setting the scene for the upcoming events. The town lay silent in sleep as time passed by them like water. In the morning, the first to awake was Ark. His eyes opened to silence. Sitting up, he found something was holding him down.

Looking down, he saw a small figure with black and red spiked hair laying with him under his blanket. He smiled and gently stroked the top of her hair, the only part that laid flat to her head. She had known him for only a short while, but in that time they had become close. "Well, I guess since Lyle isn't awake yet I don't have to get up just this moment." he said silently, laying back on his bed.

"Good." said Cara with a smile as she looked up at him.

"Ah, playing dead were we?" he asked her. She giggled as he looked down at her with his dark eyes.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." she said playfully.

He smirked as he reached down and tickled her. "I can arrange that you know." he said as he rolled over on top of her. She giggled wildly as she tried to fight him off, but to no avail. Suddenly, his arms were pulled above his head, causing him to look up confused. "What the hell!" he said. Dark energy had poured from the cieling and bound his hands together, rendering him immobile.

"Who has the advantage now warrior?" she smiked wickedly as she sat up in her night clothes.

"Uh...lets talk about this..." he said nervously. But she said nothing as she leaned forward to go for the killing blow. Suddenly, both the warrior and the mage looked towards the door as it flew open, spilling light into the room.

Lyle stood in the doorway, his eyes wide in horror as he saw his comrade bound to the ceiling with a half naked woman in his bed. "Uhh...bad time?" he asked. Cara glared at him and he took a step back. "I'll just let you two finish what you were...uh...talking about." he said nervously before slamming the door shut.

"Hey, wait! Where the hell do you think you are going!" shouted Ark as he pulled at his bonds.

"You aren't going anywhere." said Cara as she smiled sweetly.

He looked back at her, smiling nervously. "Whatever you say dear." he said.

OoOoO

Ark sat at a table in the tavern, eating whatever meat was on the menu for the day. He took a large bite of it as he heard the chair next to him lose its vacancy. Looking over, he saw Lyle with a large grin on his face.

Ark looked in the opposite direction, trying to ignore the smile. However, it was as if the smile was drilling in the back of his skull. Finally, he looked at the warrior with a deadly glare. "You got something to say you traitor?" he asked.

Lyle laughed before speaking. "Traitor? I'm sorry, did you want me to rescue you?" he asked.

Ark looked away again. "She could have killed me with that dark magic of hers." he said as he took another bite.

"But she didn't. So...how was it?" he asked.

Ark thought about it for a moment before replying with a confused look on his face. "Strangely...incredible." he said before pushing his empty plate away. "I can't really explain it. There have been village girls, all incredibly attractive since I was taken here. But none of them really interested me. But her...she's amazing." he said.

Lyle smirked. "Was the sex that good?" he asked. He suddenly found himself coughing and sputtering smoke as he was thrown backwards from a fireball.

"Leave it to you to ruin an honest moment." said the dark warrior as he took a drink from his tankard.

"I'm just kidding..." said the hero as he got to his feet and set the chair back up. "Besides, you aren't the only one who found themselves last night." he said.

"I figured as much." said Ark, who got a curious look from the warrior. "I could see it in your eyes when you walked away from me last night. You were driven by something." he said, getting a nod from Lyle. "Can I ask you something?" he questioned.

Lyle looked up at him curiously. "Sure...go ahead."

"Yesterday, when you said you would get the last soul alone..." said Ark as he noticed Lyle scratching his head. "Was it that girl?" he asked.

"Who told you about her?" asked Lyle curiously.

"Van told me when I asked him why you seemed so...closed in on yourself." he said. "He just told me that there was a girl, and you blamed yourself for her death."

"It's true." he said as he grabbed the tankard set on the table for him. "A while ago after my battle with Jack, I faced an opponent I had never anticipated. I couldn't have beaten him."

"So...how did you survive?" asked Ark curiously.

"Maria, the girl, sacrificed her life to try and save me from the demon. After I saw her die, I just...lost it. I focused all my hate and rage onto the one who killed her...and I destroyed him." he said.

"Wow..." said Ark as he looked down at the table. "So...you blamed yourself because she sacrificed herself to protect you?" he asked. Lyle nodded. "And you went to see her again when you left yesterday?" Lyle nodded again. "I see. So, she is the heroine." he said as he felt the orbs at his side. "When are we going for the gate?"

"The end of the week. Everything else is taken care of, now all we have to do is prepare ourselves and evacuate the island. Once that's taken care of, we open the gate." said the warrior.

"What's to stop Jack from leaving the island once he is free?" asked Ark, taking another drink.

"He won't leave. He isn't the kind to leave business unfinished." said Lyle. "He'll make sure that me, and anyone who helped me is long dead before he leaves."

"Comforting..." said Ark with a sarcastic smile. Ark looked up as he saw a figure approaching Lyle from behind. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around the warriors neck, resting her chin on his head.

"Hello Ark." she said with a smile that would light a room. He smiled back at her.

"Well, I can see you are in a good mood." he said. Standing up, he looked at Lyle. "I'll start the evacuation. It shouldn't take long, but where will the residents stay until its safe again?"

"The Guild." said Lyle as he stood up also, holding Alex against him.

"But...what if we fail? The guild will be the first place Jack would attack." he said concerned.

"We won't fail. But...if we do, then it won't matter where they hide. If we fail, the world belongs to Jack." he said looking at the dark warrior. "That's why we aren't going to fail."

"Good point. I guess I'll see to my own preparations then." said Ark as he nodded to the warrior. Lyle nodded back as he grabbed his sword. Ark nodded to Alex, then left.

Lyle turned to Alex and smiled. "Are you ready?" he asked her and she smiled knowingly.

"Never been readier. Let's get rid of him once and for all." she said as she held up her hand. Lyle took it and kissed it before smiling at her.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." he said, then they both left the tavern into the dark cloudy day.