A Powerful Foe! Lafarga the Swordmaster!
Pained whimpers and gasps filled the empty chamber. Bubbles, darkness, little room. Such had been the nature of Princess Emeraude's imprisonment at the hands of High Priest Zagato. Her days consisted of silent weeping, witnessing the plight of the Magic Knights, yet being unable to assist them on their quest.
"Hurry..." The captive Pillar begged between gasps. "Please come quickly... Please hurry... Legendary Magic Knights...!" She pleaded, tears spilling from her eyes, as they had for the longest time now. "Please hurry, before it's too late..."
As her words faded once again into quiet cries, the image of her captor materialized. High Priest Zagato stood before her in a projection so perfect it was almost as if he was there in the room with her.
"Are you feeling any pain?" The High Priest questioned coldly, catching the attention of his prisoner.
"Won't you... Please stop?" Princess Emeraude pleaded. "Please... Stop this... If you continue, our world will finally fall to ruins..." She sobbed, her tears falling from her eyes and onto the back of her hand.
"I'm afraid my heart... Is unchanged." Zagato revealed, eliciting a gasp of shock from his prisoner. "Even if all of Cephiro crumbles to nothing, even if everyone in this world were to die, my heart would not waver." With those words, there was a moment of silence between captive and captor. Once this moment passed, however, the latter spoke up once again. "Princess Emeraude."
"Zagato..."
Another pause. More silence. What either party was thinking was unclear, until the High Priest spoke once more. "Sea God Selece. Wind God Windam. Two Rune Gods have already been revived by those children from another world. Two still remain. The scarlet Rune God that resides in the Fire Shrine, and the golden Rune God of the Thunder Shrine. Neither of them have been revived." Zagato explained, just in time for a new figure to approach from behind him. One that Princess Emeraude knew quite well...
"Oh, it's you!" The Pillar stated. "Lafarga..."
"That's right." Zagato confirmed. "Lafarga was the captain of the guard that protected you in the castle." He continued as Princess Emeraude's eyes examined the captain. His knee-high blue boots, grayish uniform cleverly blending into a bulking aquamarine chestplate. Said chestplate's pauldrons only made the master swordsman look more imposing with how big they were, partially casting a shadow over his arms to make it hard to tell at a glance that the brown coloration was just his sleeves.
"Of course, when you were the Pillar that supported Cephiro, there was never much of anything to protect you or the castle from. Lafarga and the rest of the guards were employed to combat the occasional monster or two." Zagato explained, even though he knew Princess Emeraude knew all this. "And of course, Lafarga was known as the strongest swordsman here in Cephiro. So tell me: Do you think those mere children you summoned to become the Magic Knights will stand a chance against him?"
"No!" Princess Emeraude begged, hoping her most loyal guard would hear her pleas. "Please, Lafarga! You mustn't!"
"Your cries... Are useless." Zagato revealed, earning another gasp from his captive. "I have cast a spell on Lafarga that controls his heart. A fate quite similar to what that boy may meet, should his curse not kill him instead."
"How... How can you do such a cruel thing!?" Princess Emeraude demanded. "Please, Lafarga! You must wake up right now! Lafarga!"
Yet the captain remained unmoving, as if he had never even seen the Pillar. Zagato then cast his hand towards the image of Lafarga, his cold voice echoing through the nearly desolate chamber. "Go now, Lafarga! And when you return, bring the corpses of those three girls, and the boy alive. I wish to see what fate Alcyone has chosen her curse to give him..."
The former captain bowed, understanding his orders. And then he turned and began to walk away. "You must not do it Lafarga!" The captive princess pleaded. "Lafarga!"
Yet her cries fell on deaf ears as the former captain continued to walk towards his targets, prepared to crush them like ants beneath his foot...
To say Cephiro had gone to shit would be an understatement the size of an inverted skyscraper. Just days ago, Cephiro had been a beautiful land full of life and wonder, blue skies, green grass, glistening oceans. None of that was there now, the sky was cloudy and dark, the grass had withered away, the trees had died, the lakes and rivers had dried up, leaving nothing but a rocky, barren wasteland behind.
Luckily for the Magic Knights, this made moving around much easier, as now they didn't have to run between trees or through bushes trying to keep track of Mokona, who kept bouncing along and humming a little melody like absolutely nothing was wrong.
"Are we going the right way, Mokona?" Hikaru asked, stopping briefly. The fluffy familiar bounced along a few more steps, then turned back, hopping a bit in confirmation and continuing along.
Meanwhile Umi, Fuu, and Logan all stopped a little ways behind, still keeping Hikaru within their sightlines. But unlike her, each of them was panting and out of breath, unable to run any longer.
"You can tell we are reaching a higher elevation... Because the air is getting so much thinner..." Fuu noted between gasps.
"No wonder... My head's spinning..." Logan muttered, sitting himself against a nearby boulder jutting from the ground, wheezing and coughing slightly. At the same time, Hikaru had noticed them all falling behind and ran back up to them to try and encourage them to continue on.
"Logan, Umi, Fuu, you can't give up yet!"
"Hikaru... I love you... But, like... I can't... Fucking breathe..." Logan snapped back between wheezes.
"He's right..." Umi agreed. "How do you still have energy?"
"Aren't you tired, Miss Hikaru?" Fuu questioned.
"Yeah, of course it's hard!" Hikaru admitted. "But what's driving me on is that both of you were able to revive Rune Gods already! So now it's either mine or Logan's turn to find a Rune God! I have to do my best so that I'll be prepared when my time comes up! Don't you remember what Ferio said? According to the legend, there are four Rune Gods."
"Oh yeah! That's right! There's supposed to be one for each of us!" Umi remembered.
"So basically, we just gotta find these last two Rune Gods, and then we can become the Magic Knights." Logan summarized, getting back on his feet.
"Just like what Miss Hikaru says, we must do our best and not give up!" Fuu said with a smile.
"So come on! Let's go!" Hikaru concluded. Now that everyone had caught their breath and had rested up slightly, it was easy for them to keep up with Hikaru as she ran to the cliff face Mokona had stopped at. It wasn't like the puffball to just stop, even at a dead end like this. "Is something the matter?"
Mokona turned to face the four teens, his (mostly) permanent smile twisted into a look of disgust and horror as he chirped a response, motioning down to a gigantic monster with a humanoid-reptillian body with bat-like wings growing from its arms. Long ears blended in with sharp horns, adorned by long, ash-gray hair.
"A monster!" Hikaru confirmed.
"Oh my gosh..." Umi trailed. "It looks like it's eating something down there!"
The monster then paused its feast, looking back at the Magic Knights, allowing them to get a better look at its prey.
"It appears to be some sort of animal..." Fuu said with slight relief.
"Yeah, it is..." Hikaru agreed as the monster stood up to its full height, glaring daggers at the heroes.
"Did we ever stop to think that talking so fucking loud might turn us into Mr. Monster Guy's next meal?" Logan asked sarcastically as the beast roared, spreading its wings and taking flight, aiming right for them. "Well, it at least gives me an excuse to use the new shit I have." Logan sighed, pushing the girls backwards and drawing the Master Sword, holding it above his head and aiming for the ground. As the lizard bat swung its claw at them, he slammed the blade down, using the power that Windam had gifted him to shove the girls and Mokona out of the way, while launching up to the monster's height at the same time.
At the apex of his flight, he slashed directly at the monster, hoping to cut it in half in one fell swoop. However, the monster was faster than he was, raising its wing to block the attack. He still pierced the membrane, but the blade didn't go much deeper than that. Also, instead of blood, there was a strange purple gas that spewed from the wound and directly into his eyes. "AH! FUCK! MY EYES!"
As Logan hit ground in a kneel, trying to stop the burning in his eyes, the beast continued its assault, diving down, talons outstretched to attack while he was blind. "Logan! Watch out!" Umi called, summoning her own sword and stepping between the beast and her comrade, launching her sword out to graze the former's cheek. The monster screeched upon feeling the pain, putting a claw up to its injured cheek. Upon seeing the purple blood staining its palm, the beast roared again, this time focused on Umi. "This is one creepy creature! Alright, let's finish this!"
"Umi! Wait- Oh, for fuck's sake!" Logan cursed, the pain in his eyes finally fading, allowing him to see again just in time to watch Umi charge the bat-lizard and nearly be blown away by the gale force winds it created by repeatedly flapping its wings. Eventually, the force was too much, and she flew back into the same boulder Logan had been sitting against prior, dropping her sword in the process. Seeing its opening, the bat-lizard swooped down, straight for Umi.
"Umi!" Hikaru shouted.
"Miss Umi!" Fuu called, catching the girl's attention just in time to see the monster's shadow overtaking her, its talons reaching for her. Umi screamed in alarm as she felt the talons wrap around her shoulders, and her body left the ground as the beast flew away.
"Umi, no!" Hikaru cried, holding her hand out to cast a spell. "Flame Ar-"
"Bad idea, toots." Logan interrupted, putting her hand down. "From this distance, you might hit Umi with your magic instead."
"Your boyfriend is right." Fuu agreed, approaching Umi's discarded sword. "We must bring this to her at once." Fuu decided, picking the blade up, only for it to turn into the same magic water substance that Umi's magic used, trickling right through her hands and landing back on the ground, reforming into a sword.
"What the hell...?" Logan muttered.
"Then it looks like we have no other choice." Fuu declared, drawing her sword at last and sprinting for the escaping bat-lizard. While she didn't have the best throwing arm, she did have superior aim. Throwing a sword shouldn't be too much more different than shooting an arrow. It took Fuu less than a second to line up a shot, considering the extra weight of the sword, the lack of fletchings for accuracy, the wind and weather conditions and so on. "Miss Umi! Use this!" She instructed, hoping she had the power to make the shot.
Her sword flew through the air, initially seeming to be a little far to the left, intentionally so as the wind blew it back a bit towards Umi. Much to Fuu's relief, she was right on the mark, the sword was primed to strike Umi square in the chest until she stuck her arms out and caught the flying weapon. However, almost immediately, she seemed to be struggling to hold it. And the bat-lizard shrieked, loosing altitude as if it suddenly gained several pounds.
However, said bat-lizard did not end up dropping Umi, nor did she keep her grip on Fuu's sword, dropping the blade to the ground below and right back into its owner's hands.
"UMI!" Hikaru shouted, watching the bat-lizard escape with her friend. But unbeknownst to them, there was acutally somoene waiting to intercept it. From their distance, it was hard to see. One moment, the beast was escaping with Umi, and the next, there were several slashes and gleams of light, and the beast exploded into a dark mist, allowing gravity to bring Umi back down to the other Magic Knights' level, all four of them crashing to the floor after the three that weren't in danger of becoming Mr. Monster Guy's next feast tried to catch the one who was.
"Hey, Umi." Logan sighed in relief upon seeing her safely on the ground. "This is usually the part where I make some snarky comment about angels falling from heaven or some shit, but considering you were about to become one and my girlfriend is right here, I think I'll pass."
"Smart move." Hikaru assured him.
"Are you alright?" Fuu questioned.
"I think so..." Umi reassured her as the four of them stood back up, about to search for Mokona to continue their journey until Umi spoke up. "Hey, Fuu. Your sword... Isn't it heavy?"
"Not at all. It is as light as a feather."
"Hey, Fuu? Can I borrow it for a second?" Hikaru wondered.
"Sure." Fuu agreed, handing the sword to Hikaru. The second her hands stopped making contact with the blade, Hikaru was struggling to stay upright, dropping the sword within seconds. It hit the floor with enough force to create a sword-shaped hole in the ground. "How peculiar. The sword feels extremely light to me..."
"No way! It's the heaviest thing in the world!" Umi countered.
"Umi. Catch." Logan suddenly requested with absolutely no warning, tossing his own sword to Umi. Once she finished panicking at the sudden flying weapon, she caught it with ease. The instant she touched it, the sword lost all color and radiance, simply turning jet black. While she didn't drop it, it seemed quite weighty.
"How do you fight so well with this thing?" She asked. "It's heavy and unbalanced!"
"How strange..." Logan muttered. "Do me a favor. Stab me."
"What!?"
"You heard me. Stab me right in the stomach. I wanna test something."
"O- Okay..." Umi conceded, leveling the blade with Logan's chest. She then shoved it forward, highly expecting to just hear him scream out in pain. Yet she just felt a bit of a jolt in her hand, making her drop the sacred weapon. Looking up, said weapon's owner was completely unharmed.
"Okay. I think I get it now." Logan declared. "We can't use each other's swords. Umi, when Fuu tried to pick up your sword to give it to you, it melted into that water stuff and fell right through. When you and Hikaru tried to carry Fuu's sword, it suddenly got too heavy to even stand with. And when you tried to use mine, it went all dull and powerless. If I had to guess, Presea designed each of your weapons just for you, and my sword is linked to me in a similar fashion."
"I suppose that theory would make sense..." Fuu conceded. "In any case, did you happen to notice the person who defeated that monster for us, Miss Umi?"
"That's right!" Hikaru realized. "We forgot to thank him!"
The sound of heavy footsteps alerted them to someone approaching. While it was hard to see through the dust and darkness, they could tell that it was the man who had saved Umi. None other than the former captain of the guard, Lafarga. He said nothing, simply staring at the Magic Knights with a cold, blank expression.
"Thank you very much for saving our friend Umi!" Hikaru called, yet Lafarga remained silent, unmoving.
"I wonder if something's the matter..." Umi muttered.
"Perhaps he is rather shy..." Fuu guessed.
"Uh... Not to be rude, but a 'you're welcome' would suffice..." Logan stated, unnerved by the former captain's cold attitude. Just then, Lafarga drew his sword and charged directly at Umi. She yelped in shock, barely managing to draw her sword and block the attack in time. Yet a single push from the former captain sent her flying a few feet back.
"Umi!" Hikaru called, turning away from Lafarga, allowing him to rush at her. However, he wasn't exactly the quiestest mover, and so she heard him coming and parried the strike. Before she could counter, Lafarga went in for another attack, pushing Hikaru back with a flurry of blows.
"I gotcha!" Logan declared, aiming for Lafarga's side, yet the Swordmaster elegantly backflipped up onto a nearby ledge, giving Umi the time to finally get up, and the Magic Knights to catch their breath. "Alright, what's the big fuckin' deal!? Who the hell are you?!"
"Swordmaster Lafarga." The former captain stated.
"Swordmaster?" Umi wondered.
"I defeat all enemies, using only my sword."
"Are you one of Zagato's minions?!" Hikaru demanded.
"Why are you attacking us?" Fuu asked.
"Because my mission... Is the annihilation of the Magic Knights."
"Then why did you save me from that monster earlier?" Umi questioned.
"If that monster had killed you, I would be unable to accomplish my mission."
"Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense!" Umi groaned, only for Lafarga to swing his sword directly downwards, shooting a beam from his sword that the Magic Knights barely managed to avoid before it hit the ground, exploding and creating a hole where they had just been standing.
"The ground!" Umi gasped.
"He didn't touch it... Yet it crumbled like sand!" Fuu exclaimed.
"Wind pressure!" Hikaru realized. "It's the wind pressure from his sword!" She revealed, just in time for Lafarga to continue his slamming motion, sending more gusts of pressurized wind out, hoping to essentially blow the Magic Knights up. While each of the Magic Knights dodged the four strikes intended for each of them, it certainly wasn't easy, with almost every attack being a near miss.
"It's no use! He's just too strong!" Logan called, only for Fuu and Umi to be hit by a blast, burying them halfway in a pile of rubble. "Dammit!"
"Umi! Fuu! Are you two okay!?" Hikaru asked, not wanting to take her eyes off Lafarga for too long. She glanced at them just long enough to see them pick their heads up to look at her, confirming that they were alive. At least for now. Yet another shout from their opponent alerted the two remaining heroes to Lafarga's movements, launching another blast straight at Umi and Fuu.
Thinking fast, Hikaru and Logan got in the way of the pile of rubble, holding their swords out in an attempt to cut through the pressurized wind and at least weaken it to a point it wouldn't hurt the two fallen allies. While this plan did work, it came at a cost, slicing deep into their skin at multiple points, drawing blood that began to run crimson (and a bit of purple from Logan's cursed arm) down their bodies.
"If we don't stand our ground..." Hikaru started.
"Then he'll kill the others." Logan finished, both combatants getting up once again. Lafarga, seeing his opponents still conscious, let out another gust of wind. "Is that all you've got!?"
"Run for it, you two!" Umi pleaded.
"Please! You must save yourselves!" Fuu begged, not wanting to see her friends injured. Yet the two Magic Knights stood firm, barely blocking another fatal strike. By now, both could barely stand, Hikaru digging her sword into the ground to use as a support, and Logan draping his arm around her shoulders.
"Well, shit..." He chuckled. "This doesn't look good, does it...?"
"I know..." Hikaru agreed. "But we can't just give up!"
That brought another chuckle from Logan. "Reckless determination, even now..." He then sighed and shook his head. "So, this might be it, huh?"
"It could..." Hikaru conceded.
"Well... Before we go and sacrifice ourselves in a blaze of glory, can I do just one thing?"
"Huh?"
"Just look at me. For a moment. Please."
"Uh... Okay..." She obliged, turning her head to face him. Already he was quite close, using her as support. And this wasn't even the closest they'd been since coming to Cephiro. All the times they'd comforted each other, held each other. All the battles they'd been through. It all very well could end right here, right now. But that fact was in neither of their minds, blue eyes met red, and Hikaru finally realized what was happening just before he closed what little distance there was between them.
Both of them had felt like everything was a dream several times since arriving in this world, but this? This felt surreal. They'd both seen it plenty of times before, whether in movies or between their parents, hell, even from Fuu and Ferio. They'd even tried to ask Fuu what it was like, but she'd refused to tell them. But here they were. In this brief moment, there was nothing. The imminent threat of Lafarga, their mission to save Cephiro, the curse, their friends, not even Cephiro itself was in their minds.
Then they parted, having dropped their doubts somewhere they wouldn't be bothering to find anytime soon.
"T- That was-"
"Yeah. Same. Figured that if today's the day I'm probably gonna die, I'll die on a high note. Oh, and Fuu?"
"Y- Yes?" Fuu asked, still awestruck by what she'd witnessed.
"If I die and you get outta here, tell Ferio he can one-up me in the afterlife." With that, the still rather young couple turned back to Lafarga. "Now, let's show this guy just what we're made of!"
Now Playing: What I'm Made Of - Sonic Heroes
Despite the pain wracking their bodies from their injuries, both Magic Knights were able to leap high into the air, far above the Swordmaster, Hikaru's sword roared with flames, and Logan's crackled with electricity as they both swung down upon their opponent, meeting in a deadlock.
"Miss Hikaru! Logan!" Fuu shouted.
"Come on, you two! Use magic!" Umi pleaded.
"Not today!" Logan denied.
"Our opponent is a swordsman! We have to fight him with our swords!" Hikaru explained.
"We have to make sure we can become Magic Knights along with you guys, so the four of us can go and kick Zagato's ass and save Princess Emeraude!"
It was then that Lafarga's eyes widened, finally showing a hint of emotion within the fire and lightning. "Princess Emeraude..." He muttered, his grip on his sword weakening. A vision flashed in his mind. A man, a girl. A dark hallway. But then it faded just as quickly. Yet that moment of hesitation allowed his opponents to win the clash, pushing him away, rolling in opposite directions and forcing him to choose which to focus on.
Remembering his orders from Zagato to capture Logan alive, Lafarga turned to Hikaru, letting out a battle cry and bringing his sword down upon her. Yet she held him off, beautifully parrying his strike as he saw a shadow pass over him, feeling the wind pulling him back. "Heads up!" Logan called, having thrown himself above the former captain, who was now being pulled right back to where the boy had taken off from. As gravity took effect, Logan plummeted back to the ground, Lafarga just regaining his balance after the force of the wind pulled him away from Hikaru. Hearing the voice and seeing the shadow fall, Lafarga looked up just in time to see Logan's boots planting themselves directly onto his face, kicking off and jumping in a direction the Swordmaster couldn't quite tell at the moment. "You're lucky I wasn't wearing my sneakers! Those woulda hurt!"
"You insolent pest!" Lafarga cursed, launching another powerful gust of wind towards him. Yet Hikaru came in from the side and knocked him off course, causing the blast to miss completely.
"What's the matter with you, anyway? Why'd you back off when we mentioned Princess Emeraude?" Hikaru asked. "Did you do something to her!?"
That name again. Lafarga backed off, clutching his head. More visions. "The... Princess..." The vision of the hall and the girl again. He could make out her face a bit clearer now. A voice. "Lafarga! Please, help me!" But once again, the vision faded as he recalled Zagato's orders. Kill the girls, take the boy. Simple. Taking his hand away from his head, looking up, Lafarga swung his sword, hoping to hit Hikaru with it and end her there. But once he looked, he barely stopped his blade before cleaving Logan in half. Damn, these two were smart.
"Hm, so you don't want to kill me..." Logan realized. "Heh. There must be some good in you then!"
Good. Was he not good? He was Lafarga! Strongest swordsman in all of Cephiro! Who was this kid to believe he was not good?! He was the admired and respected captain of the guard! The guard of...
The vision returned again. The face almost clear now. He could make out beady, sky blue eyes, flowing with tears as the tall, dark man carried the girl away. "Princess Emeraude!" He could hear himself shout, running forward. But when the vision cleared, he found he was charging at his target again, arm outstretched. Lafarga tackled his opponent to the floor, attempting to wrap his arm around the boy's neck to render him unconscious for later transport to Lord Zagato.
Yet the former captain continued to struggle, the boy's left arm slowing him down considerably. Was it magic? Will? Determination? Or was this boy actually this strong? It didn't matter. As soon as his other hand joined his left, Logan began to push Lafarga off of him, forcing him to stumble back into Hikaru.
"You didn't answer my question." She informed him. "Did you do something to Princess Emeraude or not!?"
Princess Emeraude. The vision came back. He could see it again. He was charging at the man. Why did he look so familiar? He could see the girl's face clearly now. Tear-stained, young. Pleading. He swung his sword at the man, letting out a scream, watching the vision shatter as he felt something stop him. Hikaru's own sword coming into contact with his. And then his hand was empty. His sword whipped through the air and embedded itself a ways behind him, out of reach.
Outmatched, outplayed, delirious and disarmed, Lafarga could only watch as Logan came back from the left side of his peripheral vision, holding out his sword and pressing it against the right side of his neck. Hikaru did the same, crossing her sword above her comrade's to hold it on the left of his neck. Nowhere to run. Lafarga could see that clearly now. If he moved forward, he would cut his throat. Same if he went left or right. And if he attempted to step back and retrieve his sword, there was nothing stopping these two children from taking his life then and there.
End Track
The dark hall again. This time in full, crystal-clear vision. "Princess Emeraude!" He roared, charging at the man he now recognized as High Priest Zagato, a man he had once respected. His strike was blocked by a blast of smoke, and Zagato's cape, which shielded himself and the Pillar. Despite this, Lafarga's body would not answer to him, and he charged the High Priest again, bellowing the Pillar's name. A simple extension of his hand, and the former captain was tossed back into the wall at the far end of the hallway.
"Captain of the guard Lafarga." Zagato declared within the vision. "I see that you are a faithful servant to your master..."
"Ngh, Zagato... Why are you doing this...!? Why are you trying to take the Princess!? Tell me what you're planning to do with her!"
"Unfortunately... That is none of your concern." Zagato stated coldly, pointing at the Swordmaster, casting a fire spell that felt far too real to be just a hallucination. Said hallucination shattered one last time as he screamed in agony, flames engulfing his body quickly as he drew his hand back from Hikaru's sword, which had in and of itself lit on fire. Yet said flames did not seem to bother her...
Within the inferno, it finally came back to him. Zagato had kidnapped Princess Emeraude. He had tried to stop him. And he had failed. The last thing he remembered was being knocked unconscious by Zagato's flames. He heard the sound of a sword slicing through air, noticing a faint blue light above him, and then a torrent of water extinguishing the magic flames.
"Where... Where am I?" Lafarga muttered, still steaming from the dousing of the inferno. Looking up, he saw two people, a girl and a boy. Both bleeding and heavily injured. Yet they both readied their swords as he stood up. Yet he had no fear as he ran straight for the former, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Where is she!? Do you know what has happened to Princess Emeraude!?"
Hikaru gasped in shock, seeing this sudden change in someone she was certain was an enemy just moments ago. And Lafarga did the same, letting go of her and stepping back, clutching his head in pain again. "I must save Princess Emeraude!"
"Save the Princess?" Logan asked. "So you're not one of Zagato's minions?"
"The Princess..." Lafarga muttered. "I serve and protect Princess Emeraude, the Pillar of Cephiro. It is my job to serve and protect her so that her prayers will never be interrupted. So that peace and order will always be preserved! I tried to stop Lord Zagato from taking her! But... I..." He stopped his monologue, truly takin their wounds. "How did you get those wounds? Was... Was it me?"
"In body, yes." Logan admitted. "But I won't hold it against you. You were under Zagato's control. 'Sides, I got one hell of a first kiss out of it~"
Hikaru simply elbowed him. "Is now really the time for this?!"
"Did you expect anything different?"
Hikaru just sighed, smiling despite herself. "Yeah, you're right..."
"Hello over there!" Umi shouted, still trapped in the pile of rubble. "If he's not one of Zagato's minions, do you think he could help us get out of here!?"
"I forgot they were there." Logan stated, walking over to the two trapped Magic Knights.
"I heard that!"
Roughly an hour later, once Lafarga had gotten Umi and Fuu out from under the rubble and the latter had finished healing everyone, it was already time to bid farewell to this new ally. "Here you go." Hikaru said, holding the captain's sword out to him. Yet he simply stared at it for a moment before accepting it, sliding it back into its sheath.
"I'm... Sorry." Lafarga stated, the emotion genuine in his voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry about the flames." Hikaru told him. "You didn't get burned?"
"And I'm sorry about using your face as a springboard." Logan admitted. "Hopefully I didn't knock any teeth out..."
"You didn't." Lafarga revealed. "Don't worry about me, I've had worse injuries. Now, if you don't mind, who are you four?"
"The four of us were summoned here from Tokyo by Princess Emeraude. And we're going to become the Magic Knights." Hikaru explained, taking the Swordmaster by surprise.
"The Magic Knights? The Legendary Magic Knights? Is it true?"
"We're not quite there yet." Umi admitted, holding Mokona (who had conveniently materialized out of nowhere while Lafarga was digging her and Fuu out).
"Eh, but we're almost there." Logan added. "Just two more Rune Gods to go, and Zagato isn't gonna have anywhere left to run!"
"So... What are you planning to do now?" Fuu wondered.
"Only those from another world can become Magic Knights. However, I will now commence my quest to search out and rescue Princess Emeraude as well." Lafarga said. "I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to you, I have been set free from the nightmare that was Zagato's evil spell. I know we will meet again." The captain concluded, turning on his heel with enough force to kick up a circle of dust with his cape.
"Lafarga!/Mr. Lafarga!" The four teens called, only for the man to vanish in the dust.
"Son of a bitch just Batmanned on us..." Logan muttered. "Well, that just means it's time for us to get a move on, too! I mean, we can't just leave Princess Emeraude waiting now, can we?"
"Yeah!" Umi agreed, with Hikaru and Fuu nodding alongside her.
"Pupu, pupuu!" Mokona chirped, ready to lead them on to their next destination, and bring them one step closer to reviving all four Rune Gods and completing their quest...
Word Count: 5,630
the answer is crush 40. anyway yeah. shit happened. i reworked the lafarga fight because people wanted to see logan actually use his sword for once (the magic knights have a bad habit of magicking problems away) and hikaru's sword still needed to make kentucky fried lafarga to break him free. oh well, just an excuse for probably rushing a relationship (leave me alone) and putting crush 40 in because literally everything they touch turns to gold.
ok byeeee-