The Way Back

~Kari & Kentaro~

*He swings a leg at Kentaro, slamming him into a wall, and then proceeds to shoot several purple lasers from its mouth at the same time that arc over to Kari from different directions, like serpents.*

=====
~Crowley & Creed~

Fahren: <That can only be done through ancient dark magic that is more likely to fail and hurt the caster than not when performed by those unexperienced in such arts. The wound is too wide to be closed with magic, I might have to fuse something in to block it.>

=====
~Lucien~

*Arriving at the kitchen, he sees the front door closed. A pretty middle aged woman with long black hair tied in a low ponytail, midly tanned skin and blue eyes turns from the counter to face Lucien, smiling. She's wearing a white apron over a simple short-sleeved white dress with light blue stripes nearing the bottom and the sleeves, as well as a sky blue bandana on her head.*

Mrs.Daelph: <Good morning! Lucien, right? Allina asked me to have you for breakfast. I'm Sora Daelph, her mother, nice to meet you.>

"Lucien Mistilteinn, nice to meet you as well Mrs. Daelph" he bows respectfully. "And oh? Did she leave for Master Fahren's home already?"

---

"What if two people tried healing at the same time?"

*Kari runs off. Kentaro staggers away from the wall, firing at Bahamut ZERO's neck.*

*Crowley's eyes light up.*

Crowley: <Yeah... what if we did that?>

~Kelphy & Derek~

*Kelphy is sitting up in the laboratory with Derek. It's been quite a while since Kari and Kentaro dropped down, and they can hear the sounds of the battle occuring deep down in the distance.*

Kelphy: <I hope they can find a way out... Whatever it is they're fighting seems to be very powerful.>

=====
~Kari & Kentaro~

*The serpent beams move faster and arc over in front of her, shooting at her whole body. The shot's impact pushes Bahamut ZERO back. Now with a hole through his neck, he fires a laser beam at Kentaro.*

=====
~Crowley & Creed~

Fahren: <Seems unlikely, though at this point anything we can try is worth trying.>

=====
~Lucien~

Mrs.Daelph: <Oh... you didn't talk? She left just a minute ago.>

*Kari casts Heal on herself and the Jade Rabbit upon impact from the beams. Kentaro uses Gale Shield.*

Derek: <Then we can hope that they'll be successful in taking it down...>

*He turns to Kelphy and scoots closer to her.*

Derek: <The bright side is, that gives us a chance to talk.>

"Then I should probably catch up to her if you don't mind me leaving so soon?" Lucien asks.

---

"The only other healer I know is Allina..."

~Kelphy & Derek~

*She widens her eyes in surprise and her face goes red.*

Kelphy: <W-What about?>

=====
~Kari & Kentaro~

*The shield shatters upon absorbing the damage. Bahamut ZERO spreads his wings almost to the ceiling and red energy orbs form at their tips, firing several lasers down upon the three. The Jade Rabbit deflects the first one that heads for Kari back towards Bahamut ZERO, damaging his neck even further.*

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~Crowley & Creed~

Fahren: <It's one of the rarest types of magic nowadays. There aren't many people with a natural talent for healing magic, even among priests and priestesses. The only other way to use this magic are my Arte Crystals, but I'm afraid those wouldn't be strong enough. I remember when Princess Kelphy wanted to learn healing magic several years ago...>

Blonde Thiefess: <We know you're the dude who trained that maniac who destroyed Capital Sephira. You trained the princess of Alda, too?>

Fahren: <The princess trained with me quite a while before I even met Crone. I didn't train him so much as help him master a few minor spells that helped him reach the magic world. His real powers... he's had them for a much longer time.>

*Fahren continues observing Spade's wound, frowning slightly.*

=====
~Lucien~

Mrs.Daelph: <Well, of course not. Do visit some other time, though. Good luck!>

"Thank you, I will!" he runs after Allina after waving goodbye.

---

"What about using the power of an aeldi to bolster his latent mana and speed up the natural healing process? Its dangerous but I know the ritual to bind an aeldi to person. It's a one way process until the person dies. Then the aeldi is freed. The Crives did it with Shadow."

*Crowley sits back, confused at the talk of magic.*

Derek: <Kelphy, I love you. I want you to love me too. That's all I want.>

*He's being extremely blunt.*

~Kelphy & Derek~

*She just stares at the floor for a few minutes without saying a word. Then, she looks up into his eyes.*

Kelphy: <I-I do. But...Alda...and Sephira...>

=====
~Crowley & Creed~

Fahren: <This is probably a fatal injury. He'd be draining the Aeldi's mana for years, weakening it. Not just that, the spell is extremely hard on the container, and he is in no condition to undergo such stress.>

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~Lucien~

*Walking out, he sees her exiting a shop down the street wearing the new clothes I described in her updated sign-up form. She stretches her arms and smiles to herself.*

Derek: <An alliance can be formed, Kelphy. Compromise.... it'll be good for both of our kingdoms.>

"Hey Allina!" Lucien waves to her as he sprints to catch up.

---

"I refuse to give up on a way to save him Fahren!" Creed nearly yells in the old elf's face.

*Crowley nods.*

Crowley: <Same for me.>

~Kelphy & Derek~

*She reluctantly nods, and then smiles.*

Kelphy: <...A-All right.>

=====
~Crowley & Creed~

Fahren: <He didn't seem like a very friendly person to me. What does it matter so much to you?>

*He looks at Creed and Crowley peacefully.*

=====
~Lucien~

*She widens her eyes in surprise and waves at him with both arms.*

Allina: <Goodmorning! I... I didn't expect you to be up so early.>

"I woke up to a door slamming and thought the house was under attack" he blinks slowly and looks at her. "You look pretty Allina, you know this, yes?" he says as if it took a minute for his brain to engage the 'I'm totally into Allina' button.

---

"Because if it can be done lives should be saved! Has your old age made you that calloused Fahren!?" now he is yelling at Fahren.

*Crowley thinks in his head for a moment.*

Crowley: <Because I don't like seeing people suffer like this. It's not abnormal to try to save someone's life, is it?>

Derek: <Thank you...>

*he nods solemnly.*

~Kelphy & Derek~

*She looks at him, not quite sure what to say.*

[What should I say now...?]

*Without even realizing it, she has moved her right hand to his and is holding on to it tightly. Upon noticing this, she blushes even more.*

Kelphy: <O-Oh, I'm so sorry!>

=====
~Crowley & Creed~

*Fahren smiles and nods.*

Fahren: <Let's not give up. He was so eager to help Crowley when he saw he was in danger, it is only fair we do our best to save him too, isn't it? I think this is a good enough reason to find Allina.>

*He closes his eyes, a glowing white magic circle appearing on his forehead.*

=====
~Lucien & Allina~

*She blushes and smiles uber awkwardly.*

Allina: <O-Oh, thanks Lucy! I thought I needed some new clothes to go with the hair, haha. Well... I'm leaving to Master Fahren's tower now. It's not too far from here.>

"With Shadow's mana I can probably use the shadow walk now. I had a difficult time using it before but with the aeldi's power it should be simple enough to get us there... if you want to..." Lucien blushes a bit too.

---

"You knew where Allina was?" Creed blinks incredulously.

*Derek smiles and shakes his head.*

Derek: <There's nothing to be sorry for. In fact, I enjoy it quite thoroughly.>

Crowley: <Who is this... Allina?>

*Kari casts Heal on Kentaro who fires at the dragon's wounded neck.*