Hey guys! Back again! So today we'll hopefully start to move on from the stalemate of progression the arc has been in thus far...Maybe. Some people have pointed out that the arc isn't to the point enough, and I agree 100%. It's just the two timelines make it hard to have much progression in either without the chapter being 6000+ words, you know?
That being said, enjoy!
Nine years after the Kronos incident
"Say ah!"
"Elise knock it off!"
"Aw don't be such a downer!" Keita growled and once again pushed the fork away from his face, making Elise pout. "You're no fun."
"I don't want you feeding me!" Keita hissed to her, making her snicker. "Like jeez Elise, grow up a bit!"
"Where would the fun in that be?" Keita rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
"Sometimes I honestly wonder why I fell in love with you." He said. Elise nodded.
"Same." She said with a smirk. The two sat in silence for a bit at this, Elise silently laughing at embarrassing her boyfriend and said boyfriend being a little irritated with her. After all, it was far to easy to get him riled up regardless. She looked over at him with a smile, which made him look away from her.
In the end, Elise had chosen him.
Although the offer from Katsuchi and Tetsu was awfully appealing, she stood by her decision to stay. It pained her to know Kronos my be defeated by someone other than her, but if it happened it happened.
"Stop it." he said. Elise smirked and sidled up closer.
"What do you mean?" She asked innocently, pressing herself against him. "I'm just offering you my apologies."
"This is not how you apologize, Elise!"
"Why not?" Keita was now going from embarrassed to bright red as Elise got closer. "Does my closeness bother you?"
"With your father giving my a dirty look it sure as hell does..." Elise looked up to find that her father was indeed staring at them from across the guild. She smirked in his direction and held Keita closer, causing him to gulp nervously.
"Elise you're gonna get me killed..."
"Aw stop, Daddy's a pushover."
"I somehow doubt that!"
"Trust me, he won't do anything. Why would he? Not like you're doing it."
"Still, this is getting uncomfortable." Elise sighed and moved away from him, allowing the boy to take a deep breath and gather himself.
"I hate you sometimes." He said frankly. Elise laughed.
"Good." She answered. "Spices up the relationship."
"I'm not sure what you consider spices but hatred is one of them you're a little..."
BOOM!
Elise and Keita both jumped as the doors to the guild hall were thrown open. Elise looked over to find quite the sight.
Katsuchi, with Tetsu slung over his back, walked inside.
"Help..." He croaked out into the dead silence of the hall. "Please...Tetsu's...Please..." Katsuchi collapsed to one knee, Tetsu dropping lifelessly to the floor next to him. Elise sprung from her seat and ran to the men, looking down at Tetsu. The man looked horrible, bloodied and bruised.
"No..." She whispered, bending down. "No...Please..." She felt Tetsu's neck, and found a very slow pulse. The Iron God Slayer was just barely clinging to life. "Wendy! WENDY!" Before long the healer of the guild ran forward, and took a quick look at Tetsu.
"My God..." Wendy whispered. "He's nearly dead..." Elise started to slowly panic.
No...Please not Tetsu...
"Keita!" She cried out. "Help Tetsu up to the infirmary!" Keita sprung up immediately and went to get Tetsu off of the floor, carrying him upstairs towards the infirmary with Wendy right behind him.
Not another life lost...
Elise looked back at Katsuchi, who looked barely any better than his friend.
Lost because of him...
Elise clenched her fists.
I should've gone with them!
Elise paced back and forth in the infirmary as Wendy worked, slowing biting off each and every one of her nails. She occasionally stopped to look at Tetsu as Wendy worked, but resumed pacing after only a few seconds.
"Elise..." Elise promptly ignored the call from Keita and continued pacing. She stopped, looked at Katsuchi, who was sitting on a seat in the corner staring down at the floor, and resumed pacing again.
Elise didn't know what had happened. Tetsu was nearly dead, Katsuchi looked horrible, and Kronos was no doubt at fault for it.
Was this her fault?
Would she have been able to stop it had she gone with them?
I should've... I knew I should've...This is my fault...
Elise looked up as Wendy sighed and leaned back into her chair.
"Well?" She asked nervously. Wendy wiped her brow and looked over with a small smile.
"He'll live." She reported, making Elise breath a sigh of relief. "The wounds he sustained were brutal, but he held on just long enough. He'll be just fine soon."Wendy stood, walked over to Elise, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I take it you three need a minute?" Elise nodded, and Wendy went to leave. The door opened and closed, leaving Elise with the conscious Keita and Katsuchi, and the unconscious Tetsu. silence enveloped the room, and Elise just stared out the window for a bit.
Finally, Elise found her words and turned, walking towards Katsuchi. She knelt down in front of the man, staring at his bloodshot eyes.
"Katsuchi." She spoke, her voice shaky. "...What the fuck happened?" She stared up at the Fire God Slayer for a moment or two, as he stared straight downwards. After a few minutes, Katsuchi exhaled and clenched his hands together tightly.
"We found Kronos alright." He whispered, making Elise's stomach turn. "The bastard was just on his way out when we blew our way in." The man swallowed hard. "Wave after wave of peon attacked us...They didn't stop for so long, but...Eventually it was just us and Kronos..." Tears started to drop from his eyes as his body shook. "We had no magic power left for when he faced off against us...He was too powerful."
"...Kat..." Elise whispered, bringing the God Slayer close and hugging him as he started to cry.
"Tetsu was next, he said..." Katsuchi continued shakily. "S-Said he wanted to make me watch him die...As penance for our betrayal so many years ago..." The man broke into a sob. Seeing Katsuchi like that made Elise incredibly upset. "H-He...He started to torture him with our own magic...And Azzie's...And Icas'..." The sobs grew louder, and Elise felt insurmountable anger building up inside.
Kronos had killed her friends.
He'd killed Azzie.
He'd attempted on Tetsu's life.
He'd broken countless people to a sobbing, whimpering mess.
This had to end.
Elise broke out of her angry trance as Katsuchi started to laugh.
"There's an upside though." He said, sounding more confident. Elise released him and looked at him closely to find a twinkle in his eye and a smile plastered painfully on his face.
"What do you mean?" Katsuchi laughed some more and leaned back into his seat.
"Once he was done with Tetsu, he tried to escape." The man looked up. "And he got a face full of my fire." He then laughed even harder. "Just because he knew my magic didn't make the metal parts of his body immune to it...I must've melted it up pretty bad." Elise stared at Katsuchi for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Did he...?" the question need not be answered, everyone in the room knew what she meant to ask. Katsuchi looked up again.
"No." He croaked. "Bastard escaped...Although I can guarantee with the damage I did he ain't gonna last much longer." Elise watched as Katsuchi met her gaze.
"So...?" She asked. Katsuchi nodded.
"If we track him down, it's the end for him."
It was relatively easy guessing where Elise had disappeared to. Keita had watched his girlfriend get up and disappear from the infirmary at Katsuchi's insistence the next hunt would be their last.
Keita himself felt very unsure of the ordeal, but Elise herself must've been tormented. He could only guess what she thought knowing Tetsu had gone through such pain. Probably the same things she thought initially, and even still, about her own friends disappearing.
And as Keita approached the cemetery where Elise gazed own at the five gravestones, he knew full well he was going in blind. He walked in the gate and towards her, and she remained unmoved.
"...Why?" She asked, making him pause. She looked down at her feet. "Why, Keita?"
"Why what?" He asked weakly. She turned her head over her shoulder in his direction, but her bangs obscured her eyes.
"Why won't this nightmare end?"She asked. She turned to look back at the graves. "It's always something...my friends, Kronos, Katsuchi and Tetsu...Always something."
"Elise..."
"If I'd gone with them...I could've stopped it."
"Then why didn't you?" Elise looked back at him in surprise, but Keita had had enough. "I would've gone too."
"Yeah, but..."
"No, no buts." Keita interrupted. "Answer my question. Why didn't you?"
"I-I thought that's what you wanted."
"What I want is for you to be happy." Keita replied. "And if you going would've avoided this and gotten Kronos for hood, I'd have agreed in a heartbeat." Elise looked back at the graves, and Keita moved closer. "So what stopped you?"
"...I was scared." She answered. "I still am."
"Of Kronos?"
"No...Of what came after." Elise whispered. "What if we did get him? What then, huh?"
"..."
"What was I going to do then? Just go back to normal? Just be me? I don't know. After all, he's..."
"Not this crap again." Keita hissed, making Elise turn back to him. He glared at her. "You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Letting one event define who you are as a person." he crossed his arms. "What happened when you remembered the rape and torture at Phantom Dove?"
"..."
"You tried to convince not only me, but yourself, you weren't strong enough to move past it. And look at you now! You haven't let it break you."
"That's different..."
"How?" Keita stepped closer, and held her gaze. "Something horrible happened, and you had to move past it. And you did! And then Kronos happened. And for the past nine years, you've let that experience define you. Would I be correct?"
"..."
"My sister was only partially correct in saying you being unhappy was your idea of penance." Keita continued. "You think that holding onto what happened, letting it be the deciding factor in what you do, is how you'll repent. You hunted for him because of what he did. Our relationship, our love is a byproduct of what he did. Katsuchi and Tetsu wanted your help because of what he did. Your friends disappeared because of him and Azzie's dead for the same reasons." Keita made her look up with a hand on her chin. "You can't move on because of what happened. I should've said something sooner if I'd known this would happen"
"...Keita..."
"Not only that, but you've stopped acting for yourself." Keita stood tall. "You've hunted him for your friends. You gave up the hunt because you thought your friends would want you to be happy. You chose to stay here because you thought it was what I wanted."
"..."
"Well it's time." Keita said. "You need to move on. So as I see it, you have a choice. A, you could go after Kronos with Katsuchi and I and end this nightmare once and for all. Free yourself from your past by killing the man who started it all. Or B, you can ignore all of this and continue to be haunted by what happened. What are you going to do, Elise?"
"...I don't know, Keita...I can't..."
"Elise, I know this is hard. But right now you and you alone have the deciding power. This one time, don't think about what your friends, family, or anyone else wants of you. What. Do. You. Want? Will Kronos die by your hand? Or will more people continue to suffer because of him?" Elise stared at the ground for a long time, a breeze rolling past. "Kronos...He's the last anchor of your pain, Elise. Will you sever the chain? Or hold on because it's all you know now?" Elise remained silent, before she took a shaky breath.
"I want this to end." She whispered. "I'm...I'm done with this. With him."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely." She looked up. A fire was present in her eyes, a fire Keita remembered from eight years prior when they;d promised to find Kronos in the first place. "I want his head."
"So what are we going to do?" Elise took a deep breath, gathered herself, and looked at Keita with redefined purpose.
"I'm going to end this." She said. "We're going to get Katsuchi and end this. His time is up."
"You sure." The look Keita received lit a fire in his stomach. Elise smirked.
"I'm sure. Let's do this."
Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident
"This it?" Nashi asked, the five standing in front of a small house.
"Yep." Ultear answered. "My namesake's house."
"Anyone inside?" Simon asked Drake, who's ears twitched.
"Nope." He answered. "Empty." Damien rubbed his hands together.
"Good. Let's do this and get the hell out of here." Ultear nodded and reached forward, placing a hand on the doorknob. As per Nashi's expectation, the door was locked. Ultear jiggled the knob, but nothing happened.
"Damn, locked." She said, turning to Drake. "Guards?" His ears twitched again.
"Nope." He answered. Ultear cracked her hands and raised one up.
"Ice Make: Lockpick." The group watched as a small icy lockpick appeared in Ultear's hand. The woman also fashioned a small knife of ice, and turned to the door. "Make sure no guards or anyone else sees us."
"Can do." Nashi said. the group did their best to avoid looking suspicious, which was pretty damn hard, as Ultear jiggled the lock and tried to pick it.
"Damn it...Shit...Where's Elise when you need her?" Ultear asked, fashioning a new pick as her other one broke. She paused. "...Sorry, wasn't thinking."
"Just hurry up." Simon muttered. Nashi did her job and made the group look as inconspicuous as possible, taking a newspaper from nearby and pretending to look through it with Drake. She pretended to be intrigued by some random article, as did he.
"Anything?" She asked him.
"No." He replied, his ears moving occasionally. "We're still okay. No one around us is suspicious either. Just don't make it obvious."
"Fairly easy." As the four covered Ultear as she cursed, Nashi wondered how long they'd have to wait for the girl to find what she needed. Or if they'd get caught.
"Got it!" Nashi turned to find the icy tools disappear, and Ultear creaked open the door. The five slid in as quietly as possible, and regarded the house quietly.
"So, now what?" Drake asked.
"Search the house." Ultear replied. "It's a small notebook with Arc of Time written on the front. I have no idea where it could be, so split up. Drake, keep an ear open in case something happens."
"Can do." The group split up to search the house for the book, and Nashi wandered down a hall into what appeared to be a bedroom, Drake close behind her.
"Think it's in here?" She asked. Drake shrugged.
"Dunno." He answered, more focused on not getting caught. "Anywhere." Nashi did a quick search of the room. She looked in the closet, under the bed, on the bed, in the drawers, the bookcase, anywhere she might find it. She sighed and lowered the two books in her arms back down.
"This is stupid.' She stated. "I can't find it."
"Must not be in here." Drake told her. "The others might find it, so let's go check somewhere el...!" Drake's eyes widened, and Nashi raised an eyebrow as she stood up.
"What's the problem?" She asked. His face drained of color and, in a whirlwind of movement, Drake grabbed Nashi by the arm, dragged her to the closet, threw her and himself inside, shut the doors, and placed a hand over her mouth. She made a confused sound, but Drake hushed her.
"She's back." Drake whispered to her, making her freeze. "Ultear's namesake just walked in." At this, Nashi made herself stand perfectly still as she too picked up on the sounds of a woman walking around outside, humming a tune to herself. Had the others heard her enter as well? Had they hidden themselves? One could only hope.
Nashi started to sweat a bit as the woman entered the room, which made her back up into Drake's body to get away from the doors of the closet.
And at that moment. Nashi realized something.
Drake was...Well, his hand was not where it should've been. And in the dark closeness of the closet, Nashi became acutely aware of it.
"D-Drake...Your hand..."
"Shh! She's in the room."
"Y-Your hand..."
"Nashi it can wait!"
"You're squeezing my boob!" Nashi felt Drake jump in surprise and quickly release her, his arms falling away from her.
The closet suddenly felt very crowded.
It felt like an eternity Ms. Milkovich was in the room mumbling about looking for something, before finally it appeared she was leaving. Once Nashi heard the front door of the house open and close once more, she burst the doors of the closet open and freed herself and Drake. She covered her chest and turned to look at him, finding her best friend looking profusely embarrassed and not looking her in the eye.
"I..." He started. "I'm so sorry...I was really focused on her leaving that I didn't...I didn't mean too..." Nashi was sure that she'd never seen Drake so red or at a loss for words.
"I-Its fine..." Nashi replied. "You were just nervous is all..."
Of all the times silence had come over the pair, Nashi was sure this was the worst. Neither had any clue what to say to one another, and it was a horrible feeling.
"Nashi! Drake!" Both turned as Ultear burst into the room, Simon and Damien close behind. Ultear brandished a small book at them. "Got it! You guys okay? She almost caught us!"
"Almost..." Drake replied weakly.
"Y-Yeah..." Nashi agreed.
"Why're you guys so sweaty?" Damien inquired, making them both stiffen. "You look like you ran a marathon." Nashi realized she was, as a matter of fact, sweating pretty badly.
"Nerves, obviously." Simon replied. "She walked in here, after all. They probably almost got caught."
"Exactly!" Nashi answered, laughing and looking at Drake. "Right Drake?!"
"Y-Yeah! Right on the money!" Both fake laughed for a bit before realizing they were looking right at each other and looked away.
"...W-Well, let's get on with this." Ultear said.
Nashi was sure she'd never bolted away faster.
"Are you done?" Damien asked, Nashi slouching deeper into her seat.
"No, not yet...none of the spells describe a mist..." Ultear said, flipping a page. Nashi wasn't sure how long she'd spent sitting in the study of the house waiting for Ultear to finish up, but it was too long.
Thankfully Drake had taken up a position out of the study to watch for activity outside the house with Simon.
It wasn't that big of a deal truthfully, but the moment was so awkward and out of the blue neither had reacted smoothly. Nashi had never been groped, and Drake had not meant to do it. Couple that with the fact they had to remained pressed up against one another for far to long after wards, it just felt so awkward now.
"No...No..No..." Every no that escaped Ultear made Nashi less and less hopeful. Would they even find it at all? "No...No...N-Wait!" Nashi and Damien perked up as the girl looked at the book closer. "This may be it!"
"Describe any white mist?" Nashi asked.
"Kind of...Not exactly a great confirmation but I'm near the end of the book." Ultear regarded the spell closer. "It looks like a power magnification technique." The three present in the study grew into a confused silence.
"Uh, so why was he...?" Damien asked, scratching his head.
"I...Have no idea." Ultear replied. "Why was he trying to somehow magnify Nashi's power? That makes no sense."
"So I'd have an easier time kicking his ass?" Nashi asked, lightening the mood a bit. Ultear shrugged.
"Whatever. We got what we came for so let's get the hell out of here."
"How will this work, exactly?" Damien asked. Ultear paused as she paced the book back where she found it.
"Use it and hope for the best, I guess." She answered. "I don't have much to go on as to Kronos' intentions, so..."
"True." Nashi agreed. "Let's just hope we don't end up to far back or too far forward." The three left the study, and Nashi was enveloped by her thoughts. Would they make it back? Was the time travel a two way street?
Or would they end up some time else?
Only time, funnily enough, would tell.
So some fun times in this chapter! I'm doing my best to speed it along, trust me. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!