Karol: "No!"
Nathan: *He tightly held onto his sword and watched his arm glow a shade of blue.* "Double-"
*The ball shot past Nathan's arm in mid-swing and smashed into his chest, blasting him off his feet.*
Nathan: "Grth-" *He flew into Karol and they both rolled onto the ground, hitting into a large crystalline structure.*
Karol: "Owch!"
Nathan: "Ah-" *His face hit into the crystal, causing a splatter of blood to appear around his face.*
Tyson: *He smirked at Nathan as Karol cushioned his collision on the crystal.* "Fufufu, did you squish the child?"
Karol: *He coughed into Nathan's chest.* (It hurts-)
Tyson: "FLURRY STYX" *He pushed forward and shot another ball of wind into Nathan's back, causing the crystal to crack behind Karol.*
Karol: "Wha!-" *He squealed with a loss of breath and tried to push Nathan off of him.*
Nathan: "You're not the only guild that has lost!" *He shouted and leant off Karol, glaring over his shoulder to Tyson.* "You aren't the only one! It's not all about you."
Tyson: "Fufufu. My guild is my everything. Each member has different reasons for being in the guild. Mine, is to never be alone."
Karol: *He noticed the blood on his shirt caused by the contact with Nathan.* "Are you ohkay?"
Nathan: *He looked down, noticing the blood.* (He must've punctured an artery? I don't understand why I'm bleeding so much over one attack-)
Tyson: "I will kill the child and then I will kill you-"
Nathan: "Nobody lays a hand on Karol, or they're dead." *He pulled an angry face at Tyson, causing the skin in between his eyes to wrinkle.*
Tyson: "That's exactly how I feel about my members." *He cupped his hands, causing another green glyph to spiral in front of him.*
Karol: "S-Stahp-"
Nathan: *He focused his attention to Karol.* "Run." *He mumbled so only Karol could hear.*
Karol: "N-No-"
Nathan: *He reached to his side and picked up his sword.* "Go!-"
Tyson: "FLURRY STYX" *He pushed forward and watched a ball of wind hit the back of Nathan's hand, causing the sword to spiral in front, jabbing into the crystalline structure behind Karol.*
Karol: "Eek!-" *He leant to the side, closely avoiding the sword as if he wasn't allowed to touch it.*
Nathan: "It hurts!" *He shouted to himself and glanced at his fingers, noticing blue swelling around his knuckles.*
Tyson: "Fufufu. You use a sword and your dominant hand is now broken, what to do now?"
Nathan: *He overcame the pain, allowing him to look at Karol in a serious-like manner.* "Go now! I'll keep him engaged."
Karol: "No-"
Nathan: "Please.. For once, just listen to what I have to say?"
Karol: "..." *He looked confused, as if he didn't know what to do.*
Nathan: "I'm so tired-"
Karol: "We've been twaining all day."
Nathan: (That's right!) *He thought to himself with widening eyes.*
Tyson: *He flashstepped above Nathan and Karol, landing on top on the crystalline structure.* "…"
Nathan: (What should I do? He was right.. My dominant hand is broken.)
Tyson: *He stared at Nathan and Karol from a bird's eye view.* (These pitiful guild members killed one of our own?) *He purposely swayed his whip downwards and silently wrapped it around Karol's neck.*
Karol: "Ge-i-?!" *He instinctively grabbed the whip with both hands even though he couldn't see what it was.*
Nathan: *He stared at the whip and suddenly lunged forward, desperately grabbing the whip.* (He flashstepped behind us?)
Tyson: "Look at you, lunging towards the whip in desperation regardless of your wounds." *He smirked.*
Karol: "Girhk-"
Nathan: *He tried to loosen the whip from Karol's neck.* (No luck!) "Karol!" *He glanced at the sword which stuck out of the crystal in arm's reach.*
Tyson: "Fufufu." (It's useless.)
Nathan: (Am I an idiot?!) *He quickly reached over Karol and grabbed the sword, trying to pull it out.* (It won't budge!-)
Tyson: "It's enjoyable when I get entertainment before a kill."
Nathan: *He frowned and thought to himself, suddenly getting an idea.* "Hard Blade."
*An aura the same colour as the metal grew around the sword, cracking the crystal around it.*
Nathan: "Grr-" *He pulled the sword out and slashed to the side, causing sparks to flash off the whip above Karol.* "Huh?"
Tyson: "Our whips may be like leather, but they're hard as steel due to the sheer level of Neurons we invest in it."
Karol: *His face started to turn blue, as he took small, awkward breaths, as if he was a fish on land.* (Is... This it? Won't I get to see you Daddy? Mummy?)
Nathan: "Karol?!" *He violently tried to saw the whip off Karol.*
Tyson: "That brat is good as dead. I'm a gentleman of my word-"
Nathan: "Ougi."
Tyson: "Fu?" *He sounded intrigued, intensely watching Nathan with excitement.*
Nathan: *He raised his vibrating arm, watching its image warp like a snake.* "Air Slash."
*Nathan slashed the sword to the side, watching swirls of sparks travel up the whip.*
Tyson: *He quickly let go of the whip and leant back, watching the sparks continue to spiral into the air.* "Was that an Azure Burst?" *He looked back down and quickly grabbed the whip, continuing its python-like grip around Karol's neck.*
Nathan: (Nothing?) "Double Slash." *He swayed to each side and chipped a piece of leather off the whip, catching Tyson's attention.*
Tyson: (He managed to cut into the highly condensed Astragon layer by a sword alone?!)
Karol: "K-..." *A red vein in Karol's left eye suddenly burst, causing a small red blotch to appear.*
Nathan: "Karol! I can't lose you too!" *He shouted on the top of his lungs, causing Karol to suddenly grab onto Nathan's arm.*
Karol: (I can feel your Neurons-)
Nathan: *His eyes started to water.* "Please, let Karol go-"
*A heartbeat-like pulse thumped through Nathan's body, causing him to look at Karol in shock.*
Tyson: (Did their Neurons sync? Is he trying to prolong the boy's life by sharing some of his Neurons-?)
Karol: *He dropped his head back onto the crystalline structure, as his started to lose control of his limbs.* "...-"
Nathan: "No!" *His arm reverted back to normal, allowing him to violently grab onto the whip with both hands.* (I can feel his heartbeat slowing down through his Neurons!)
Karol: *He noticed a red dye fill in a part of the crystal where Nathan's sword was embedded, triggering a flashback.* (Everything is going white?)
--
*Nathan sat with Trevour outside Silver Wind Island, enjoying the night's breeze under the bright moonlight.*
Nathan: "What you mentioned about Karol, Trev."
Trevour: "Yes?"
Nathan: "Truth is, I'm hard on him because I care a lot about him."
Trevour: "Pardon me, my good sir?"
Nathan: "If.." *He looked down, listening to the waves crash against the rocks.* "If I had someone like me to push me, to motivate me, to.." *He formed a fist, causing Trevour to place his hand on his shoulder.*
Trevour: "It's fine, sir."
Nathan: "If I had someone like me, to help guide me in the right direction, be tough on me, protect me-, just-" *His eyes started to water.* "I just.. I don't want him to be sad."
Nathan: *He paused for a moment.* "Yeah."
Trevour: "That's really noble of you, sir. It's a shame your intentions don't come across as such."
Nathan: "He doesn't need to know how I feel."
Trevour: "Heh heh." *He withdrew his arm and looked up to the moon.* "Much respect, Nathan. Much respect."
--
*Karol opened his eyes and intensely stared at Nathan with wat
ering eyes.*
Tyson: *He frowned to himself.* (Since they synced their Neurons, the boy's death is taking longer than it should-)
Karol and Nathan: "Hi-Ougi."
Tyson: "What?!"
----------
*Rachael sat on a long wooden dock and watched the waves chop against the wood with an emotionless face.*
Rachael: "I used to like listening to the lively sounds of Silver Wind Island, but now it's distracting." *She listened to the faint chatters in the background.*
*Rachael looked down with watering eyes and shook her head, triggering a flashback.*
--
Trevour: "Well, if you don't mind me asking, boss. Could you tell me more about this Ashton gentleman?"
Rachael: "Ash?" *She spoke on her breath and looked down with a smile.*
Trevour: *He noticed Rachael's strange behaviour, causing him to stutter in understanding.* "What shall we do after this quest? Check and see if Lezard has found anything out about-?"
Rachael: "Ash, he's my partner."
Trevour: "Partner?" *He sounded intrigued with a slight essence of sadness.*
Rachael: "Yeah. The most kind hearted person you'll ever meet.. He's the reason why I want to go back to Earth."
Trevour: "Oh.. He means that much to you?"
Rachael: "Of course. I guess you could say, I'm hopelessly in love with him."
Trevour: "In.. In love?" *He sounded surprised and confused, as if he didn't want to hear it.*
Rachael: "I usually don't like talking about Ashton or how I feel to strangers, but-" *She looked at Trevour with a widening smile.* "We're friends now, hey."
Trevour: "Y-Yeah, friends heh heh.. You really love him, don't you, boss?"
Rachael: *She nodded her head.* "There hasn't been a day where I haven't stopped thinking about him.. That strong urge to protect and be protected by him, just thinking about him makes me feel all warm and safe."
Trevour: "Boss?"
Rachael: "I.. I love him more than anything else, he's.. He's my will to keep going."
Trevour: "..."
Rachael: "Sorry to bore you, hehe, I know some guys aren't really fond of this talk."
Trevour: "Oh, it's fine. I asked, remember? Heh heh."
Rachael: "One day.. One day, I'll get to see his lame smile once again."
Trevour: (I.. I love him more than anything else, he's.. He's my will to keep going.) *Rachael's voice echoed inside his head, causing him to discreetly form fists.*
Rachael: *She noticed a warp in the air, causing her to slow down.* "I think we're here."
Trevour: "Right you are, boss." *He sighed and mentally prepared himself, allowing him to smile in a happy-like manner.*
Rachael: "Thanks for the chat, Trev."
Rachael: "Trevour?"
Trevour: "Oh-" *He coughed and nodded his head.* "Anytime, boss."
Rachael: "Hehe." *She giggled and stepped through the warped air, causing her image to fade out of sight.*
Trevour: "Ashton.. He must be an amazing person to win the heart of someone like Rachael." *He spoke to himself and followed Rachael through the warped air, causing his image to disappear.*
--
Rachael: "There's no questioning it.. Ash is my Soulmate. But.. Why do I feel so... Crap?"
*Rachael looked down, staring at her warped reflection in the water with an emotionless face.*
Rachael: "Even though I want to, I just can't. I can't cry. The tears won't come out."
*A warm sea breeze blew down the dock, blowing Rachael's hair to one side.*
Rachael: "How stupid am I? I never knew Trev felt that way about me. I saw him like a brother-"
*Rachael triggered a series of flashbacks of Trevour saying heartwarming stuff, causing her to form a fist.*
Rachael: "How hard must it have been for him? All the things I said, all the things we did.. Trev-"
*The wind blew down the dock again, causing two bait-like tins to rattle together.*
Rachael: (Armour?!) *She gasped in disbelief and quickly turned around, intensely staring at the tins hanging off the dock by a piece of string.* "I thought-"
*Tears started to run down Rachael's face, cueing her to sob with quivering lips.*
Rachael: "Trevour... Ashton.." *She started to take deep breaths, as if she had trouble breathing.* (The air-.. It's thick-)
*Rachael felt her chest and formed a fist, causing her shirt to wrinkle.*
Rachael: (I'm strong, I'm a strong person. Keep yourself together, Rach-) *She started to cry, causing her to quickly cover her mouth.*
*Rachael used her free hand to wipe the tears away.*
Rachael: "My friend.. He was like, this world's Ashton. He'd go out of his way to help people, just like Ash. I know it's bad to compare people, but I'm comparing how good they are-"
*Rachael suddenly triggered flashbacks of the warriors, each Black Brigade member and several other bandit-looking people.*
Rachael: "He did not deserve to die." *She spoke with a growing frown, as she attempted to keep her cries quiet.*
*Rachael suddenly held herself and looked down, rocking back and forth.*
Rachael: "I don't have either of you-" *She tilted her head up, causing her tears to glisten in the sun's light.* "Trev... Ash.."
----------
Tyson: "It doesn't matter if you can Hi-Ougi, nothing will release the boy from my whip's grip!-"
Nathan: "I feel it, Karol!"
Karol: *His awkward smile faded, as his face turned a dark blue.* (Naf-)
Tyson: "Fufufu, what is a child and his weird uncle gonna do-?"
Nathan and Karol: "Blood Bath."
Karol: "Ahhhh-" *He screamed only a small squeak, due to the lack of air in his lungs.*
Nathan: *He noticed Karol's pain, causing him to look confused.* "I'm not in any discomfort-"
*Karol's body suddenly burst into a miniature explosion of blood, causing Nathan to shout in shock and to drop his sword.*
Nathan: *He looked up at Tyson with unimaginable rage.* "What have you done?!"