It was just another day in the facility. The walls were in bad shape, the old paint had started to peel off and curl into little rolls stuck on the wall, the floor was mucky, covered in mud from the last batch of soldiers that entered through here from outside. It was raining heavily yet everyone was as busy as they could get. Nevermind the poor standards of the base, all that mattered is that they did their duty, and well enough that they wouldn't get fed to the homunculus.
They didn't really do much there, it was usually catering for the needs of the royal family up above, there were cadets running around the place with papers or scrolls in their nervous grips, trying hard to get to their destination on time so they needn't worry about getting scolded by their superiors. You could hear the sounds of troops performing their daily training outside, in the muddy tracks on this rainy day, the stomps of their boots on the ground almost seemed to rattle the whole place considering how many men were out there. It was ridiculous! The last royal family didn't need this much soldiers to protect them, but as usual no one questioned it, and what made it a lot more suspicious is that no one has ever even seen the new family.
Come to think of it, they had declared that the usual public coronation was to be cancelled and they'd have a private one within the castle, now how could that not rise any suspicion from the people? They'd done the public coronation for centuries now, it was a symbol of the royals' willingness to show the people that they were open and weren't afraid to admit that they were human too and not just some ruling monarch. They way the new family had done it just showed that they had no intention of connecting and caring for the people at all. And how the kingdom went to hell in a gift basket so easily was enough proof of that.
Vladmir , or Vlad as he wanted people to call him, sighed. He watched the troops run around in circles on the field just below the small hill he sat on, there wasn't any good forms of entertainment these days and the young man just wouldn't take silence in so casually since his friend wasn't even there anymore, sure silence is nice, but he preferred to have shared it with someone close. He looked out of place in the facility, since everyone else was donned in a soldier's uniform, he on the other hand wore a black cloak with silver lining, it was open and he wore a dark blue trench coat inside, there was a small black hat tipped a little bit on the side of his strawberry blond hair. His red eyes scanned the bunch of jar heads below him, contemplating whether or not to try and break their focus with a little trick.
'Nah' He decided against it. The last time he did that, Ludwig was about ready to bite off his head, he can't help it, it was always so much fun to mess with such a serious officer like him. It wasn't his fault, lately his friends haven't been around as often as they could before, take Ivan for example. Now he was just left with babysitting trigger happy morons who can't seem to think about anything else but serving the royal family, he once suspected they were under some sort of mind control but he didn't detect anything of the sort. Of course he was still rebelling against them, he's a free spirit and he isn't gonna start acting like a puppet if the monarchy suddenly asked him to, he knew the only reason he still wasn't banished or executed was because of his power and….
"Come to think of it…it's been a while" He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes when a slight breeze hit him. The rain was moderately calming down now, it wasn't as much of a downpour as it was earlier, but he didn't really mind it. His senses caught a slight tingling sensation, a shiver passed through him as he opened his eyes to see what made him feel as such, his eyes scanned the area until he caught the sight of a small white flying thing in the distance "Oh?" He stood up from his spot and jumped into the air, letting the rain hit him, upon closer inspection he realized it was a paper messenger doll, one carrying magic he could recognize.
His hand reached out to catch the doll, but it naturally dodged and shocked him as he was not the intended receiver of the message, Vlad was surprised with how weak it felt. He swiped it up with his small hat, the doll instantly started to thrash in it's containment- but it was paper, come on it can't do much in a hat despite it's size- Vlad landed back into the hill he previously occupied and took out the paper doll from his hat. It struggled and electrocuted him but he could barely feel a thing "You're losing your touch Arthur…" He smirked. But he was concerned, usually when someone tries to take one of Arthur's paper dolls and was not the intended, they'd get knocked out by the electrocution that could take down two adult giants. But this one was weak, it lead the mage to wonder if something happened.
'Ludwig, it's Arthur…' He glanced back down at the doll who started to convey the message in Arthur's voice, so it was supposed to go to that guy huh? 'I found that resistance you lot have been talking about..erm but it's not what you think. This is a huge blow to my pride, just so you know, but I'm…stuck with them for the mean time, if it wouldn't bother you, could you send a few of your men to come fetch me?' Then silence came next. Vlad chuckled, burning the doll, looks like he actually had something to do today, dear Luddy and his fruitloop patrol doesn't need to know about his friend's predicament, he was nice that way, he knew how much Arthur hated asking for the kingdom's help.
He conjured up a paper doll of his own, gave it instructions to tell Ludwig that he was off to hunt of phoenixes, then without a second glance at the base he went off into the forest to look for any sign of his friend's magic lingering in the air, he could follow the doll's trace but it was too weak for it to last for too long, so he had to improvise.
It couldn't be that hard can it?
"l….A..fr….Alf…..e…" Darkness. All he saw was darkness, everything hurt, he didn't want to move, or he couldn't move, he couldn't tell the difference. It was hard to breath, his lungs felt like it was burning, he tried to take in a deep breath but nothing came, no life sustaining air, no relief in his lungs. He started to shake violently, fear welling up inside him. Oh God he was going to die here wasn't he?! No! that can't be! He needs to save the kingdom! He has to be a hero! Wait…was that a bright light? "Al!...!...fred!...alfr…." He could hear someone calling him, it sounded just like Matt…."ALFRED!"
The swordsman was brought back to the world of the living when someone struck him on the face, causing his head to whip to the side. His eyes widened in shock, trying to register back into reality he blinked twice before lifting his hand up to his now reddening cheek "Ow" He turned his head to look at whoever dared to do that to a cool hero like him. His eyes were still blurry and he couldn't make out who was looming over him, the person groaned and reached to the side, a pair of glasses were shoved into his face "Mattie? What were you-" Matthew helped his brother up before he could finish, he had a dreading look in his eyes "Alfred you stopped breathing!" He blurted out.
Alfred's eyebrows shot up, stopped breathing? "I thought I lost you! I thought you died! Goddamn it you bastard!" He was instantly pulled into a shivering hug, he felt something wet drip into his shirt. Alfred mentally whacked himself for making his brother cry "Hey hey, shh, Matt I'm here. There's no need to be upset broski" He rubbed comforting circles on his brother's back, a small attempt to comfort him. Matthew sighed, breath shaking, he pulled away and rubbed his eyes with the back of his jacket's sleeve "God….we should really stop travelling at night…." Alfred chuckled, ruffling his brother's already messy hair "Yeah sure, where's the others?" Matthew motioned for him to follow, they walked down the ravine, careful not to trip on the random rocks appearing, it was foggy inside the ravine, a small stream of water flowed in the middle. It was damp and cold, certainly not a place most people would pick to visit that's for sure "When I woke up it was already morning" Matthew started "I couldn't find our horses, although that black stallion Gil and I rode is still here, Yao was already up and tending to our wounds, he told me it was surprising how we didn't die from that fall, an absolute miracle he said…you weren't there and I panicked when I saw you like..like that" Matthew rolled up sleeve of his now ruined jacket, the other one was long gone, Alfred noticed the bandages wrapped around his brother, but they didn't look like they were covering severe injuries, only cuts and bruises.
The swordsman looked up and almost dropped down to the ground in shock. They came from way UP there?! No wonder Yao said it was a miracle that they didn't die from a fall that high. His peripheral vision caught a small glow up ahead and a silhouette running around with something in it's arms, once they were close enough, Alfred saw that the glow came from a small fire and the silhouette was Yao with his medical kit "Oh! You found him aru! Let him sit down, I need to check his injuries" Matthew cleared an area and told his brother to sit down as he went to check on Gilbert, Alfred did as he was told and sat down on a small boulder nearby while Yao fixed up his medicines.
The doctor approached him calmly "Okay Alfred, I need you to do some tests-"
"Aw dude! Can we take the test later? I don't really want to think-"
"No! not that kind of test Alfred, I just need to see if you can move your limbs" Alfred nodded, flexing his arms and legs in response "Hmm good, okay now try your fingers, all of them to your thumb" The swordsman did just that. Yao nodded and took out a pocket mirror, he adjusted to the little bit of light from above and directed it to Alfred's eyes, his pupils constricted "Your eyes don't seem to have a problem either…" Yao marched right up to him and checked him over for any injuries "Odd, you don't have much but a few scratches aru…but I'll get you some medicine just in case" With that said, the doctor went on his way to look through his kit, leaving the swordsman to his thoughts.
'Aren't I lucky?' Alfred smiled, whatever watched over him really took a like- "MICHELLE!" He shot up from his seat, panicked. It caused Yao to jump as well, the kit flew into the air and landed back on the ground with a thud scattering all it's contents to the ground "Aiyah! Alfred what are you doing?!" The swordsman ran up to him and shook him by the shoulders "Michelle! Where is she?!" Yao raised an eyebrow and shoved the swordsman off him "What are you talking about aru?! Michelle? Who's that?!"
"THE FAIRY!" Alfred sounded almost frantic, Yao hummed "I think I need to check your mental state Alfred…." The swordsman groaned and looked around for the little blue lady, sadly she was no where to be seen "God…Michelle…I-" He felt like crying, if it wasn't for something stirring in his hair, he paled, if it was a bug he'd freak "Augh, Al? what time is it?" He instantly perked up to the sound of the voice, he reached up to his hair and grabbed hold of something, pulling it down to eye level "Chelle!" The little fairy sleepily smiled and cracked one of her eyes open, Alfred held her by her wings then set her down on his palm "Oh haaaaiii~aaahhh" She yawned, unaffected by their situation at all.
Yao stared wide eyed at the fairy, he almost dropped the bottle of herbs he held on to if he hadn't quickly slipped it into his pocket "A-Alfred, how did you….w-when did you…." He trailed off, watching the blue dressed fairy settle into sleep on his friend's hand. It would be an understatement if he said he was amazed, he's only ever caught a glimpse of faeries, read about them too, but he'd never seen one up close and personal. The doctor could have wanted to ask her questions if only she were awake "How; I don't know. When; we were getting close to the dragon's keep and she followed me out of the arch trees. Plain and simple dude! Isn't it cool though?" Yao nodded numbly.
"Y-Yes…" He looked into his pocket for anything that would cure hallucinations, he's sure Alfred gave him some sort of rare disease "She'll be staying with us! So you guys better be nice" At that moment, Matthew came in again to find the same thing Yao was currently staring at on his brother's palm "Uh…Yao?" The doctor ripped his attention away from the fairy and at Matthew "Yes?"
"Do you have anything for hallucinations? Because I swear to God I saw that exact same fairy at the inn" Alfred laughed and carefully tucked Michelle back into his shirt pocket "Naw! Michelle's real dudes! Come on, you guys are surprised to see a fairy when we practically live in lala land?" The two exchanged glances and exasperated sighs "No Al, you know cause….yeah fairies and faeries exist and all but seeing one so close isn't actually normal" Matthew took off the bandage from his arm and tossed it into the crackling fire near them, he was feeling better anyway "She must have been the one protecting you aru, remember you didn't have any injuries at all! Which was supposed to be impossible, but seeing as though you have a fairy with you…" Alfred suddenly realized something, he ignored the small chat his friends were having "Dudes…where's Arthur?" sudden fear welled up inside him, was he okay? Was he safe? Did he….
Alfred shook away his thoughts, he's just scaring himself. To his relief, Yao and Matthew didn't give out any hints that something bad happened "He's unconscious with Gilbert over there" Yao jabbed a finger behind him, Alfred looked over his shoulder and saw the two rested on separate blankets, Schmidt wasn't too far behind his master, resting on the smoothest area he could find. The stallion looked up for a second before resting his head on the ground again "We removed the ropes binding his arms so he'd be given a more comfortable position to recover, he doesn't seem to have severe injuries, though the ropes on his legs were gone when we found him not too far from where we are now aru. I think he tried to run but passed out after a few minutes" A groan from behind them caught their attention, Gilbert slowly sat up from his position, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before his vision cleared.
"What the- OW!" He gripped on his arm and felt something wet slip into his fingers, he brought his hand up to eye level and grimaced when he saw a familiar red "Gott verdammt…ugh, what happened?" Matthew knelt down to his level and unwrapped the bandage on his arm to see the damage "Ouch, it's opening up again" Yao nodded and took out a fresh new supply of bandages from his bag "You're lucky it wasn't your head aru" The doctor knelt beside Matthew and started to disinfect the wound. Gilbert winced at the sharp pain then looked up, he whistled "We fell from that height and didn't die? Awesome!" He looked beside him "But I don't think this guy looks awesome right now.." He was referring to Arthur, out of all the rest he had quite a number of injuries, but not enough to kill him. Alfred looked away.
Matthew tsked and stood back up "No, not awesome. I tried looking for a way out ever since I woke up, and nothing. At this rate I don't know if we can even make it to Avia in time" "mmfph…." Alfred and the rest stared at his chest pocket, Michelle stirred in her sleep and popped her little head out "Al? where are we?" She sleepily lolled her head around, taking in what she saw "Are we in that Avia place yet? It doesn't look good…." Gilbert raised an eyebrow, his eyes darted from one person to another in confusion "Guys? What're you looking at?" Matthew looked at him in a way he thought he was crazy "You can't see her?" Yao asked. This brought up everyone's attention, even Michelle's "See who? I can't see shit in Alfred's pocket thing, is there like a bug in there?" Michelle gasped, she flew out of Alfred's shirt pocket and right in front of Gilbert's face, but the other's confused expression didn't waver. She waved her hands around, shouted, anything to get his attention. But nothing worked "Uh hello? It's not nice to keep the awesome me waiting for an answer!...why are you guys staring at me? Oh I get it! You're overwhelmed with my awesomeness right? Kesesesese! Well I'm flattered~"
"You…can't see Michelle?" Alfred pushed, all eyes on Gilbert. The albino looked around them back at his friends "Michelle? Was she with us before or something?...is she hot?" He laughed. Michelle's wing's drooped, she flew back to Alfred with a sad expression "He can't see me?" Her voice cracked. Alfred frowned and comforted the little fairy "Gil, you can't see her? She's a fairy!" Gilbert simply rolled his eyes "Aw come on! You guys believe in that shit? There's no such things as fa-" Matthew clamped his hand over Gilbert's mouth while Alfred and Yao kept Michelle from, almost, hearing what Gilbert said "SHH! It's dangerous to say that in front of a fairy! They'll lose their power!"
"Mhgmfphs!" Matthew pulled his hand back in disgust when he felt the albino lick it "Eeeew! Did you just seriously lick my hand?!" Gilbert smirked and stood back up "You wouldn't have let me speak anyway" Matthew shot him a disapproving look and wiped his hand on his shorts. Gilbert laughed and looked behind him when something pushed him slightly, he smiled widely when he saw who it was "SCHMIDT!" He happily hugged the horse. Schmidt neighed and stomped his foot a few times on the ground, also happy to see his master unhurt "You're okay! I knew an awesome horse like you wouldn't let me down!" Gilbert grinned and petted Schmidt then proceeded to run around as the animal chased after him. The rest of them on the other hand were having a small meeting.
"Okay, we need to find a way out of here and fast, I suspect if we get out of this ravine today then travel without a break later, we'll be back on track" Michelle listened into the conversation, interested with what they had to say, Yao glanced at her then back at the meeting "What about Michelle? She's a fairy right? Maybe she could, I don't know, teleport us out of here?" The fairy raised a hand to which Matthew nodded to "I can't do teleportation spells, plus I still feel drained" She stated in a matter of fact voice. The group sagged at the revelation "Well if Michelle can't do anything right now why don't we try climbing?" Matthew shook his head "I tried, it's too slippery and it'd take us all day to climb out of this ravine" They thought for a while, looking around for anything that could help them, so far all they saw were rocks and more rocks "Augh…" Looks like someone else is about to get dragged into the conversation as well. Arthur grimaced, he felt sore all over, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair 'Wait..what?' He was wake now, looking at his free hand, he looked himself over and saw that nothing was binding him anymore, he could have jumped for joy if it were not for the people he labeled as 'blithering idiots' staring at him "Oh bloody hell….I'm still here? With you lot?" He struggled to stand up but found his cloak was caught on something, a part of it was wedged in between two rocks, he pulled and tried all he could to get it out, but it wasn't going to slip any time soon "Bugger this" He removed his cloak and discarded it, it was dirty and tattered anyway.
"Oh mornin' Arthur!" Alfred greeted with his usual goofy smile, Arthur glared at him but he couldn't look away from the idiot. He looked around to inspect his surroundings, just as he thought "I told you to stop but did you listen? Now look at where we are you imbeciles" He crossed his arms and shook his head at them, like a parent would if their child did something wrong "Hey you're a mage right dude? You can poof us out of here!" To Alfred's disappointment, Arthur shook his head "I'm afraid it's not that easy, after being exposed for so long to that rope infused with phoenix feathers my powers aren't exactly stable. And furthermore why should I help you if instead I should be arresting you?" They were interrupted when Gilbert suddenly screamed -in a manly way thank you- then a stressed Schmidt suddenly galloped into view. The animal frantically ran around and kept jerking his head behind him.
The group exchanged worried glances, then followed the distraught animal to wherever Gilbert got himself into, though Alfred had to drag Arthur since the mage didn't move to see what happened. Schmidt lead them near a giant hole in the ground, they peered into it to find the albino flat on his back, groaning "Guh, I should really stop falling into holes…" Schmidt jumped into the hole after his master and nudged him a few times to stand up, Gilbert gripped onto the horse for support, feeling his knees wobble when he tried standing up "Gilbert how the hell do you get yourself into so much trouble in one day?!" Matthew shouted into the hole.
"What?!" Gilbert cupped his ear, indicating he couldn't hear him. Matthew rolled his eyes "Should we? We're already far down the ravine, I don't want to go in deeper" Alfred complained, Arthur on the other hand already jumped down, something caught his interest inside the hole, he passed an equally confused Gilbert and the two of them ran in the same direction along with Schmidt. The swordsman shook his head in disbelief when he realized that the mage wasn't beside him anymore "What the hell Arthur?! God…" He jumped down as well and followed the other two, leaving Yao and Matthew alone "I don't think this is a good idea aru" Matthew nodded in agreement, but they ended up jumping down together anyway. The hole was dark, the only source of light came from up above where they jumped. It looked as though they were at the entrance of an underground cave "Guys! You gotta see this!" The two heard Alfred's voice shouting out. Yao and Matthew stood close to each other then followed the swordsman's excited laughter "Al what-"
Matthew stopped mid-sentence and gaped at the sight before him, Yao included. They stared in awe. They were right, it was an underground cave, but this one had crystals of different colors stationed almost everywhere, each of them glowing their own colors or switching. The ceiling, floors and walls had crystals sticking out like sharp daggers, the cave had a weird glow but at least they could see what was in front of them, it was still rocky but a little bit leveled. The cave was huge, enough to fit a big cathedral in it, there was a waterfall up ahead, and a little stream flowed through the cave. Arthur, Gilbert and Schmidt were already far from the group that just entered, the mage was looking closely at the crystals while Gilbert just played around with ones he saw were loose "These are elemental rocks…" Arthur muttered, standing up. Alfred, Matthew and Yao joined them after a minute of walking to their location, also eyeing at the crystals.
"Did you say elemental rocks?" Yao asked, he heard what the mage said. He touched one red crystal, it felt warm, he concluded that this was a fire stone. Arthur nodded, turning over a cold blue rock in his hand "Yes, it's the second time I've seen them, but not as many" Alfred wolf whistled "Wow, who would've thought there'd be a whole mother load of them in here" Matthew eyed the crystals that had a shattered top "Judging by the looks of it Al, I think someone already did" A gust of wind, a strong one, flew over their heads, they looked over at Gilbert who was pointing a clear crystal at them "I thought that would've been lightning or something but that was still awesome!" Arthur marched up to him and slapped the crystal out of his hand "Hey! I was-"
"Don't do that you twat! If there are elemental rocks here then there must be a guardian! They know when you've used one of the crystals!" Gilbert was about to retort, but Matthew lifted his hand up to silence the albino "I think we should listen to Arthur this time guys, he knows a lot more about this than we do" The mage blinked, shocked that someone actually agreed with him, he sent Matthew a thankful glance then turned back to the albino "Exactly, so if you don't want to face whatever guards these crystals then I suggest you refrain from touching them" Gilbert rolled his eyes, he doesn't like being told off like a child "Anyway, we really need to find a way out now guys, we can't stay down here forever" A cackle. They tensed and regrouped, going into their defensive stances, the laughter echoed through the cave like a broken record, creeping the group out even more. A shadow appeared up ahead of them, Alfred and Gilbert got their swords ready while Yao took out his trusty dagger and Matthew readied his bow and arrow. The shadow started to shrink down to the size of a man, and the laughter was starting to die down, the group readied themselves for whatever was coming next.
"Or can you?" A man, older than them, came out. He had light brown hair, save a few white ones, light brown eyes and a happy smile on his face, he wore some sort of armor that they couldn't recognize, but some parts had dents or holes in them, and underneath he wore some sort of red woolen tunic, then slippers for his feet "What do you mean 'or can you'?" Arthur was the first to question. The man laughed again but this time a good hearted one "I've been here for centuries now and I'm not complaining" The group swallowed. Centuries?! "Who are you?" Alfred asked, lowering his sword. The man smiled at them and began to approach them "I don't know, after all these years I can't really remember, but you can call me Rome. I'm the guardian of the elemental stones"
"Wait a tick, you're the guardian?!" Arthur lowered his defenses, so did the group. They were expecting some sort of horrifying creature like a giant, Cyclops or maybe even a dragon. Not some middle aged man in tacky armor "Yes!" Rome happily answered. The group looked at each other in confusion, Gilbert on the other hand started laughing "HAHAHA! For a second there I-I was-haha- worried! Oh Gott! Hahahaha! An old man? Pfft! As the guardian? Kesesesese!" Rome on the other hand didn't look offended at all, instead he grabbed a huge boulder and flung it near Gilbert's head, it whizzed passed him at an inhuman speed and crashed into the wall, creating a mini crater. The albino immediately shut up and paled at the sight "I know, I don't look like much but this old man still got it!"
"Wait a sec dude, are you immortal?" Rome nodded at Alfred's question, he was now standing in front of the group "Yep! Ever since back then, when I was chosen, I've been guarding these little rocks that everyone seems to want real bad, but you look like a nice bunch of young men and…er women?" He was looking at Yao, mildly confused, Yao huffed and shook his head "I am a man aru!" Rome laughed "Ah okay si, forgive me. Ahem, as I was saying, you all seem like good people, so I won't beat you to a pulp as long as you don't steal an elemental rock okay?" They all nodded stiffly, somewhat afraid of what this 'Rome' character was capable of "But we have to hurry, I think it's coming near" As if on cue, a scratchy animalistic like roar rattled the cave. They looked around cautiously, as well did Rome "What exactly is coming near?" Matthew asked. Schmidt shook his head and galloped towards his master, tense and afraid, Gilbert eyed him curiously "What? You being a pussy now Schmidty?" The horse huffed at his master and pushed him to the side, the albino laughed before standing back up beside his horse "Come on, I know a safe place to head to for now" Rome turned heel and started to walk into an opening, the group hesitantly followed after him "Hurry up or the spiders will get you"
"Spiders?!" Alfred looked behind them, thousands of little creepy crawlies suddenly emerged from cracks or holes on the wall, they scattered around in a frenzy after the roar had rattled the cave. The swordsman shuddered, it was like watching a black sea of little balls with legs scamp about in a messy manner. They started to approach the opening they went into, Alfred's eyes widened "Aiieeee!" He ran as fast as he could, he couldn't see the group anymore, the spiders started to climb the walls as well. Alfred ran until he spotted Arthur up ahead waving at him "Come on you sorry git! Run faster!" there was a huge gap in between them, it went from the floor and into the roof. Alfred took in a deep breath, he ran faster until he was close enough to jump.
He leaped from on end to the other, almost knocking into Arthur if the mage hadn't stepped to the side. The spiders simply crawled upwards, or downwards, unable to jump the gap like Alfred had. Arthur tapped a panting Alfred on the shoulder "Are you alright?" The swordsman nodded and waved him off "Yeah dude, totally fine" Michelle popped up from Arthur's mess of hair "Oh my God Alfred! I'm sorry I wasn't there! I thought Arthur was you" She flew down and landed on Alfred's shoulder "Haha, that's okay Chelle, I made it didn't I?" She leaned on his cheek and giggled "You're so cute sometimes" Alfred blushed and rubbed the back of his neck "I'm not cute…" He mumbled.
Arthur glared at the fairy, he felt a sudden growing dislike for her, more than he already had for the fairy. He gripped on Alfred's wrist and pulled him towards the group up ahead "Whoa Artie, what's gotten into you?" Arthur ignored him, he didn't know either and he wasn't about to tell the idiot that. They neared the group who was talking to Rome in an open space up ahead "Al! you shouldn't lag behind like that!' Matthew scolded him. Arthur let go of the swordsman and walked beside Yao, the doctor didn't question it. Alfred frowned at the sudden loss of the mage's hand "I know Matt, sorry"
Matthew sighed, he couldn't take all this stress at once "It's fine Al, let's just promise to stay together this time okay? If Arthur hadn't noticed that you were gone, we would've left you by now. Jeez, and people say they don't notice me" So Arthur was the first to notice huh? Somehow that made the swordsman feel somewhat happier that the mage realized he wasn't with them 'I knew he cared' He thought happily. They went on with their little walk with Rome, with the elder sharing stories of what had happened in 'days of old' most of them listened intently while some just droned him out. It didn't take long until they reached their destination "Here we are!" Rome announced, gesturing at a cave. There were the usual elemental stones hanging around but some were cleared off most areas, there were piles of books, maps and scrolls scattered on the floor, a small fire – lit up with fire stones- stood at the center 'Well cave within a cave I guess' Matthew thought to himself as they entered. Rome plopped himself down, near the fire, and gestured for the others to do the same. After settling down, Rome decided to speak up "So what brings you folks to this place?" he asked.
"Well actually we didn't want to go here, we were running from a bunch of dicks that just wouldn't leave us alone" Gilbert answered for them, he was lying on top of Schmidt. Rome made a soft 'ah' sound in return "I see, then what were you doing before these people chased you? You aren't thieves are you?" Rome meant it as a joke but the group took it as something that would endanger their safety with the immortal "Ah! No! we're not! We were on our way to help some friends in a town called Avia" Yao said. Rome's expression turned serious, he hummed in thought "I see, were you going to stop the squadron there?"
"How did you know?" Matthew asked. Rome smiled at them "Well, two weeks ago, there were people crossing the bridge above the ravine and I happened to heard their conversation. Interesting, those young men, it surprised me with how far into the future this world has gotten" He said it in a way that sounded dreamy. To be honest, Rome had always wanted to get out of the cave again after staying here alone for so long, he wanted to see what had happened in his absence, he always had visions of the outside world, but he'd rather see for himself. This information, however, sparked a shining hope inside Matthew "Did they say anything important?!" he asked, nearly invading the elder man's personal space. Rome looked down, suddenly pulled away from his thoughts "Oh? Uh well they said something about a flying machine"
"We know"
"Okay uh…did you know that they were planning to declare war on all magical creatures?" That made silence wash over them. The kingdom has done really insane things for the past few years now, but this one is down right psychopathic "W-War?...on all magic?" Matthew stared at the ground, this was absurd! Why would the kingdom think they could suddenly take on all of magic? Weren't they using magic too?
The royal family was insane, they really are the worst. Why would they suddenly declare something so stupid! So crazy?! So…so- he couldn't think of any words to describe the family anymore, he's used so much already. But to try and wipe out something that's been with them since the beginning of time? That couldn't be done so easily "Those fuckers!" Gilbert shouted, startling the group "What the fuck?! Declare war on all things magical?! Those bastards lost their minds!" Rome frowned, sensing the sudden dread "I'm sorry but that's what I heard. They want to wipe out all the magical creatures, any trace of magic afterwards will be destroyed" Michelle on the other hand started to cry on Alfred's shoulder "N-No! they c-can't! what have we done to them to deserve something like that?!" She wailed. The swordsman tried to comfort her, shushing her and whispering soothing words "Michelle don't worry, we'll never let them do that okay? Shh shh, I'm the hero remember? I'll keep you safe"
The fairy sniffled and gripped on to Alfred's hair, sobbing quietly "This is bad aru" Yao spoke up after getting out of whatever trance he was in when he heard the news "This is on a whole new level, now it's really important that we get to Avia, help Lukas and the others, then get to the kingdom" Matthew didn't hear it, he was busy drowning in his own thoughts and worries. He felt like he was about to explode, all the stress, that horrifying news and responsibility suddenly weighed down on him, same went for Alfred. They really had to stop the kingdom at all cost, the Marauders be damned! They can't worry about those guys now, an even bigger threat is on it's way.
"We have to find a way out now!" Alfred said, standing up "Those bastards better watch out! I'm never letting them carry on with their plan! As the hero it's my duty to protect those who need my protection! And guys, I can't do this alone, a hero need s his sidekicks right?" Despite Alfred's annoying hero-sidekicks comment, everyone agreed with his first statement "Rome!" Said person looked up at him as he stood up "Yes?"
"Do you know a way out of this cave?" Rome stood up as well, but he cautiously looked outside first before turning back to the group "Yes but it's guarded" They were about to get the answer to their unasked question. The same scratchy roar from before echoed in the cave, the group looked towards the mouth of the cave they were in as something multi colored, huge and scaly slithered on the ground. Alfred paled "Oh shit"
A/N: I'm sorry it's a little rushed because I'm leaving soon and tests are coming up, meaning no computer for a while. Also thank you lovely people for reviewing! you guys make my day 3