voidharpy - It's good to hear that, normally people don't know where my country is, it's so tiny, but I'm glad that you're knowledgeable. Ah, yes, I had been confused at first, whether to use 'Huang' or 'Kou' empire, but I shall change it to Kou empire since I'm almost more familiar with that word. And yes, that will happen soon, but for now, let's stick to the Balbadd arc, shall we? :)

NoName - Sorry! But since I'm a very busy person, I can only do so much. ;) That's really cute, I feel honoured by that, really I do! Thank you! :D

kenegi - That's when shit will hit the fan. I can already imagine the destruction.

EigoNoMonoe - That's a scene everyone wants to read and thank you for the compliment. It makes me really happy to hear that.

Jin Hime - Thank you, it's all because of your awesome review(s)-very good and to-the-point. Always a pleasure to read your reviews.

Lady Syndra - I find it amusing too, glad I could entertain you.

almakarma18 - In chapter 3, May is 5 years old. Thank you for your kind reviews, it made me very happy! :D

Guest - I totally agree with you about the fact that May should have been the cool-headed one, but then again, have you seen Yunan's personality? He cries when he is bullied by children, he calls people 'meanie', and likes to tease people (like Sinbad for example), and the list keeps going. :p Yes, I'll place some POV in the story since it would do good to see May through another's perspective. Thank you for the review!

OwlfieOver - That's how May is, my dear. I'll try to make the chapters a bit longer, thanks for the review!

Kukat - Oh, certainly not, I understand that you have your opinion on this matter and I'm glad you say it nicely instead of using crude words. I appreciate your honesty and I shall try to keep your opinion in mind. Thank you for the review!

Sinbad's age: 29 years old

Ja'far's age: 25 years old

Masrur's age: 20 years old

May's age: 19 years old

Judar's age: 18 years old

Kassim's age: 18 years old

Alibaba Salujas age: 18 years old

Morgianas age: 14 years old

Aladin's age: 11 years old

Pride of the Fanalis Clan

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By Angelbloodlover

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~ "I respectfully decline the invitation to join your hallucination."

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Scott Adams

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Chapter 21: Uninvited invitation

After Aladin's recount of his adventures, I quietly slipped out, an angry frown on my brow. I already knew Alibabas story, so I could pretend that I had been there the entire time while I was not. They were far too engrossed with that story to mind my presence. Hands on my hips, I watched as Sinbad and his two Generals were standing with, Masrur keeping a look-out and Ja'far having joined his atrocious deeds. With narrowed eyes, I stormed towards him, fury leaking off me. Masrur, having noticed me immediately stiffened in anticipation, immediately grabbing my hand when I tried to hit Sinbad upside down.

"How dare you eavesdrop on their conversation! Have you no shame, oh great King of Sindria?!" With a rough push, I pulled Masrur away, "Now's not the time to but in, Masrur, don't make me angry at you too, because as far as I can see, you're guilty of this act as well."

"Calm down, May, this information is important towards Balbadd's future. Tell me, would Wonder Man Alibaba talk if I would standing in that same room?" Sinbad didn't even give me time to answer him, "The answer is no, he would refuse to budge and cooperate. I know eavesdropping is a bad habit and an ugly deed towards their privacy, but this is about Balbadd's safety, not to quench my thirst for curiosity."

I sighed, rubbing my temples, "Sinbad, I know that you are a great King, but at times, I wonder what kind of things you were forced to do to become who you are."

"To be a King is to choose wisely. One cannot think about the harm to a single person, it's always about the greater good. My Kingdom, Sindria, my people, I would so anything to protect it," His eyes darkened and I suppressed shivering at his tone, "You hear me, May, anything."

"Then, as your reply, Sinbad, I shall satisfy you by telling how I will crush everyone who dares to hurt my loved ones. Beware what your actions might entail to those I care for," Unknowingly, my eyes flickered to Masrur and before I could say another thing, a loud crash erupted from the room where Morgiana and the rest were residing in.

Sinbad, still listening in to their conversation, dropped the cup, "What?! What happened ?! Suddenly there was this loud sound from above..."

My ears twitched at the incoming sound and with narrowed eyes, I hissed coldly, "Incoming danger, Sinbad. Prepare yourself."

Then, another loud crash echoed through the hotel and a giant anchor came bursting through the wall, and with it, came a horde of people. All of them members of the (in)famous Fog Troupe, wielding weapons of all sorts, and in front of them was the cadre leader, Hassan, with his Dark Household Vessel. Before Sinbad would be skewered, I kicked the lashing person away and grabbing Sinbad by his collar, "Since you don't have any Metal Vessels with you at the moment, let us do the work, oh Great King with the responsibilities of a child." I teased him, winking as I stood before him.

"Wait when I get the back! We'll see who would be the better King Vessel!"

Chuckling in amusement, I stared at the people, recognizing some of them, "I shall keep you to that promise, my King." I averted my attention on Masrur, "Now, my dear friend, shall we get wild?"

He shook his head in amusement, taking the famed Fanalis stance, "Don't go overboard May."

"I'll try not to kill anyone," Expertly, I took out my Metal Vessel, twirling it around as I eyed my opponents. "Now, tell us, why are you here?"

Hassan spoke up, anger evident in his voice, glare firmly in place, "How dare you take our leader away?!" Suspiciously, I stared at Hassan and then towards Sinbad, already knowing that they were here to eliminate Sinbad. They knew that he was here to destroy the Fog Troupe, which is why they acted out first-suddenly, the prey became the hunter, but one who would meet its Doom. "Do it!" He screamed in resentment, ordering his men to shoot, which they did: crossbows, guns, swords, everything in their arsenal was used in their advantage.

I shared a glance with Masrur, who immediately knew what I was thinking of. With quick movements, we lifted up the marble table. Many of the rebellions were watching us in mortification, "That table is made of marble! Are those two monsters?!"

Smirking in his direction, I reveled in the way he shivered, probably from fear. "Finally, some action! I was about to die from boredom!" I charged towards one of them, parrying his sword attacks with my own. Unfortunately for the man, he wasn't trained as I was and soon I got the upper hand. With the hilt of the sword, I knocked him out cold, moving to another one, "Sinbad, don't get killed! They are targeting you for a reason!"

"I know!" He screamed and with one strong slash his sword clashed with Hassan's, a loud metallic sound echoing in the hotel.

I somersaulted over another one, knocking them all out cold since I didn't particularly like to kill innocent bystanders. These people where fighting for their dignity, their honor-how could I possibly take away their protesting freedom?

"Aah! You're so useless!" Ja'far screamed, which made me turn my attention on Sinbad. He was glaring at his advisor, ordering him to shut up and then his hands glowed yellowish-the sign of Magoi Manipulation, something I hadn't used for quite a time. He thrust out his palms towards Hassan's stomach and for a second nothing happened. Then, everything went downhill and he started coughing out blood in an alarming rate. This angered Zaynab beyond words and ordered the rest of the group to eliminate their biggest threat, which was Sinbad as she cradled her soon-to-be-husband close to her heart.

I groaned in annoyance, "Did you have to be so violent?!"

"I had no choice!"

Rolling my eyes, I hit another one, sending him flying to the wall, where he slumped against it. I was holding in a lot of my power since I had no ill will towards them. What was the point in killing them since it would bring forth more pain and anguish? This would increase the amount of Black Rukh, something I wasn't keen on, in fact, I shivered at the touch and feeling of a Black Rukh coming near you. You could literally feel and see their pain, suffocating you until you drowned within them.

"Masrur, they are trying to flee through the roof, interfere!" Sinbad ordered loudly, dancing his way through the untrained soldiers. His sword skills were very good and I was itching to have a sword fight with him. About Masrur's skills, I already knew that he had neglected that skill of his, relying more on his martial arts, more precisely the one from our famed hunting clan. And so, with one strong jump, he shattered the roof, taking Sinbad and Ja'far with him. After that, I jumped up myself, observing the sight here above when I noticed Morgianas grim facial expression, "Aladin, Morgiana, are you alright?!"

My sister nodded and Aladin gave a slight nod of his head, confirming that he had no grave injuries.

Through Kassim's speech, many people got pumped up and surrounded us, feral anger clear on their face. Shaking my head in disapproval, I smirked when I looked at Masrur, "Masrur, my dear friend, don't you think we should make it more fair?"

He smirked, "I was thinking the same."

Both of us inhaled deeply, thrumming energy coursing through our body and then we dashed forward, ramming everything on our path. You could even compare it to bowling and our enemies were the bowling pins. Finally, we landed on the safe ground, opposite from where we were, many people lying on the hard floor, groaning in pain, or even unconscious. We appeared behind Kassim who was stock-still, not even remembering the ability to breathe properly, eyes wide. I didn't blame him after witnessing the monster strength we displayed for all to see. Even Morgiana was in awe at our powers. Winking at her, I mouthed the words, 'I'll teach you that.'

Sinbad chuckled in bemusement, "Masrur, May, you two overdid it-next time, use less power."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

"Understood," came Masrur's reply, which made me frown unhappily, but if Masrur respected Sinbad greatly then who was I to say otherwise? I respected Masrur's choice and would stand by his side, because that was what real friends were for.

"Y-you?! W-What are you?!"

Sinbad smirked, tilting his head to the side, "What? Wasn't I the one you were looking for?"

Anger and hate swirled within his darkened eyes as he took notice of Sinbad, "So, you're Sinbad. You're the one who provoked us fist! take this, Kokubakou Muto!" Black fog flew towards Sinbad who was watching the scenery without any ounce of worry.

"What's this?" Sinbad wondered out loud, "Ja'far, is this what captured you yesterday?!"

"Don't move or your boss loses his life!" Kassim threatened uselessly.

"I could care less about Sinbad," I said nonchalant, giggling when Sinbad glared towards me, "But Kassim, what you did was wrong. At first, I respected your group-you fought for justice, for them any innocent people of the slums, but now, I can see that the rush of power made you wicked. I mean, come on, robbing an entire hotel where tons of innocent people are residing in is just too much." I shifted my feet, twirling my sword, infused with Aim, "Right now darling, it became personal."

He sneered in resentment, "I should've known you would choose Sinbad's side. Does he also share his bed with you?"

Shocked and furious, I snarled towards him, baring my teeth, "Now, listen up, I don't care what you say, but that right there is crossing the lines! Especially in front of my little sister. You've made me mad, Kassim, and I'll make sure you'll regret it!" Uncontainable power surged through my veins and with a fierce cry, I called out, "Demon of Passion and Sensuality, hereby I call out to you, embody my will and bring forth power beyond imagination, Aim!" A swirling, violent fire vortex hid my body from their prying eyes and the demonic changes occurred. My sword became huge, Solomon's star lighting up brightly and even illuminating the sky, "Now, Kassim, let Judgment Day befall upon you!"

"Whoever stands against the Fog Troupe shall be killed!" Kassim roared coldly, increasing the wisp of black and sending it towards me, but I ceased the connection between Kassim and the Magoi using Magoi Manipulation, something that made desperation leak in his eyes, slowly on. Only a little more before he would lose his composure.

Alibaba, not having the heart to kill any living being, screamed in protest, "Wait, Kassim, what exactly are you saying?!"

"The King of Sindria, Sinbad, is going to take care of our Fog Troupe!"

"What?!" Alibaba responded equally disturbed, eyes flickering towards Morgiana and Aladin who were watching everything dumbstruck and then towards Sinbad and I.

"Who was the one who told you that?" Sinbad spoke dangerously low, face darkened by his bangs, "Who?"

Kassim glared at him, "Stop asking such questions when you're the one caught!"

He sighed in annoyance and then his hands glowed brightly, "Caught? You mean this?" and Kassim watched in mortifying shock and surprise as the black fog dissolved. Dramatically, he pushed himself up, ignoring Kassim's desperate words as his eyes moved between Sinbad's group.

"How can that be?! How?!"

I clicked my tongue, moving my powers to appear behind Alibaba and Kassim, draping my arms over them, sword floating in the air above me, "Always expect the unexpected." Leaning closer towards Kassim, I hissed coldly, "To use low and vulgar words like that sickens me." Smirking, I lifted my knee and hit him right in the stomach, enjoying the scream of anguished pain that tore through his lips and he dropped on the ground. Alibaba didn't even have the time to blink his eyes as I leaned towards the fallen Kassim, grabbing his chin tightly, "Normally I don't like being violent, but for this one time, I'll make an exception."

Alibaba shouted in fury, taking his sword out, but without moving my fingers, my magical sword blocked the attack, "Don't interrupt, Alibaba. This has nothing to do with you."

"Yes, it does! It has everything to do with me! Kassim is my best friend, free him this instant!" His eyes glowed fierce in the darkness and his sword lit up brightly, Solomon's sign evident on it. He tried fighting his way through me, but my sword wouldn't give up. He, and yes my sword was a he, fought passionately, not letting anyone or anything bypass him as to protect his wielder.

Sinbad's voice became dominant, demanding to be listened to and I clapped my hands, creating a fire cage around Kassim where escaping was not an option. No one escaped my Fire cage, only after I freed them myself. The cage itself was impossible to jail out since there were fire bars everywhere, even in the ground, so when one tried to dig himself through, he would stumble upon a scorching heat and reconsider his actions. He threatened Kassim, the Fog Troupe, and Wonder Man Alibaba, scaring the two of them. I didn't blame them for being scared, but all things came to an end. And this would be the publically known end for the Fog Troupe. "Now, Wonder Man Alibaba, draw your sword and let's settle this between leaders!" He aimed his sword towards Alibaba, "I wont mind if you use it. After all, you're a Dungeon Capturer, aren't you?"

Morgiana became restless and even tried to stop Sinbad, but Ja'far stopped her, his actions loud and clear. She didn't even receive help from Aladin who kept staring, not doing anything at all.

Heroically, Kassim ordered Alibaba to run away, to prioritize the so-called leader's life, but Alibaba was standing there. The complete turn-out of this made it seem like a nightmare and not reality. "The one controlling the Fog Troupe is this guy, isn't it?" Sinbad pointed his sword to the trapped Kassim, it was all done for and even Kassim, with al his stubbornness could see that. "It's okay, Alibaba. You can run if you want. Think about it carefully, you aren't like these people. They are the 'residents from the slums'. You may look like comrade on the surface, but, in reality, isn't it the opposite? You're different from them." Sinbad turned to point his sword towards Alibabas direction, "That's because you're...," I could see that Alibaba went pale white, the color draining from his face. "..a prince!"

The reaction was immediate, "Shut up!" He shook his head wildly, "That doesn't mean anything to me! I'm no different from them! We are all from the same place and they are my brothers! I won't let you...allow you...to insult the bonds between us!" His anger became visible, sparks flying everywhere and for a moment I was in awe at his passionate honesty and the way he meant every word he said. "Stern and dignified spirits of etiquette, in the name of my magic, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members," His sword was poised in front of his face, "Come forth, Amon!"A giant fire vortex appeared out of thin air and engulfed Alibaba. And before I could do anything, Sinbad and he were fighting, one for the defeat of the Fog Troupe and the other one to the injustice done towards the undeserving people.

In one, two, three, the show was over. At first, it seemed that Alibaba got the upper hand but all went to vain when Sinbad brought out his bigger guns, using his Magoi Manipulation. With a knee uppercut, Alibaba was down, gasping for breath and Sinbad was standing as the victorious one, "But as I expected, Alibaba, you don't really know how to use a Djiin properly!" He took a sigh of relief, eyes flickering to me as I placed my hands on my hips. Somehow, it felt wrong to do this. These were the good guys and instead of helping them out, I was fighting them. "And that decides it. I'll hand you over to the military. I wonder how will King Ahbmad destroy the rest of the Fog Troupe..?" He moved his eyes to the cowering men, speaking to them, "Of course, no one will be excluded from that fate. Only death awaits those who rebelled. But of course, all of you should have been prepared for this!"

One by one the men shook their heads, slowly backing away, "..this is ridiculous, we never wanted this!" And then only a few people remained, the loyal ones.

This broke Kassim's heart and strength, the one thing he had created himself, the one thing he was proud of. All gone. "...my...Fog Troupe..."

"So, you really are the one who created the Fog Troupe." Sinbad spoke uncaring, "Revolting indignation...are you planning to die? Without planning, all this is foolishness."

"There was planning! We've never lost to the military!" Kassim spat out, venom dripping off his words, laced with pure hatred.

"That was because you could rely on information leaked by the military." Kassim's eyes widened from sheer surprise and shock, but Sinbad wasn't done, "You don't even know how weak you actually are! You're too foolish!"

From pure uncontrolled fury, Kassim grabbed the fire bars, his skin searing and scorching. However, he gave no indication that he was suffering-eyes blazing in anger. "Damn you, Sinbad!"

Even I was starting to feel bad for him, though he didn't deserve it, "Sinbad, stop it." Black Rukh fluttered all around him and the tightness in my chest became unbearable.

"But, if you really are determined to rise up against the King there still remains an option to you." His words made everyone confused, poor Ja'far... "Namely, to borrow the strength of others to make up for what you are lacking now." He placed his hand right on his chest, "In short, let me become your comrade by joining your Fog Troupe!"

I did the only logical thing anyone would do in my place. I face-palmed. This was something I had forgotten, but hearing Sinbad's words again made those memories appear one by one. How could I even forget something idiotic like that?

"Ehhhh?" Ja'far shrieked in confusion.

"This will benefit you greatly. As that means that your Fog Troupe will be able to receive help from my country, Sindria."

More confusion descended upon the people, poor Ja'far was mindfucked. "Sin...are you going to fight?"

"Yup."

"With Balbadd's country?"

"Yup."

"...and are you really joining the Fog Troupe?" Ja'far asked nervously, sweat dripping his forehead.

Sinbad crossed his arms. "Yup."

"This is too problematic, we were supposed to capture the Fog Troupe. Didn't we come to an agreement with King Ahbmad that he'll reopen trade if we capture the Fog Troupe."

"But now I want to help them."

Ja'far lost all ounce of control, shrieking, "You are contradicting yourself! Didn't you say 'no matter the reason, thieving is wrong'?!"

Sinbad's face became dark, hidden by his bangs, and then he pointed an accusing finger towards his advisor, "How cold-blooded can you be?"

"Wh-what?!" Ja'far shouted in bewilderment, blinking his eyes as if trying to comprehend the situation.

"Thieving is always wrong! I was naïve! You know what has happened, don't you! The miserable condition this country is in, starving mothers, young girls armed with weapons, a corrupt nobility. You've already seen it all! Don't you have any compassion? Are you not human?!"

I shook my head, muttering, "Oh brother..." Disastrous, that Sinbad really was an idiot, but a great source of entertainment.

"May," Sinbad focused his attention on me, "Why don't you remove your Djiin equip to show how serious we are."

Raising my eye brow, I crossed my arms, "Didn't I tell you I don't follow your orders."

He glared sourly, "For once, follow my order!"

"Please."

He sighed in irritation, "Please."

I smiled in satisfactory and did as told, the power of Aim returning within my sword. "It wasn't that hard, now was it?"

However, instead of answering, he turned his back towards me, convincing the group with alluring words. And somehow I could see that the people were desperately clinging to every single word of him. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading on my face. He may be a manipulative, arrogant man who got whatever he wanted, but at times, like now, he could be very beautiful. All those White Rukh fluttering around him in harmony and righteous honesty.

Slowly on, I was seeing Sinbad's real side-the one that cared for his comrades and beloved people.

...even knowing that he had half-way fallen into depravity.