The full moon has reached its zenith as it signaled the arrival of midnight. The wind that blew through the quiet and light-filled streets of Lothargien was cool and gentle giving the impression that the season of Autumn had finally began.
People would call this a tranquil scene that would tickle any poet's artistic hearts...that is if not for a certain group of people-to be exact, two people in that group, that totally ruined it;
"I said I am not going back!"
"Why you-! Get off your rear and walk already you stupid brother!!!"
"NEVER!!!"
A young man in ragged clothes and covered in bloodied bandages, Ashen, screamed as he stubbornly refused to be dragged along by a young woman wearing what looks like a form-fitting jumpsuit covered with pieces of metal armor reminiscent of knights and carrying two swords on her hip, Kallen Creed, who in turn refused to let Ashen go.
"Is this normal?"
"This is normal for the two of them milady. Please pay them no mind."
"Hmm...Meself had pegged the boy to be a loner...never expected him to be already married."
The 3 other people followed closely behind the two; Rosseweisse, who has now recovered, Bartholo, a companion of Kallen who accompanies her, and Jack, the old man Ashen and Rosseweisse met near the bridge, talked to each other amiably while looking at the rather obtrusive display of affection between their two bickering companions. If one could call that 'affectionate' at all...
"YOU! HELP ME OUT HERE JACK!!!", Ashen calls out to the brooding old man, desperate to get away from Kallen.
However, he only got a sly smile in return, "Sorry boy! Meself can't handle any more physical exertion. Meself is too tired to grapple with them girlie who is obviously stronger than meself!"
Hearing Jack's obviously devious answer, "YOU-! YOU BASTAAAAAAARD!!!", Ashen could only scream in anger as he was dragged away by Kallen who was all the while, grunting along as she did so.
The tranquil night continuing onwards without care to the wails of a weakened Ashen.
*****
"You sure are harsh old man."
"Really? Meself believes meself was being nice there."
So went the conversation of Bartholo, the companion of Kallen whom the trio had met at the alley and Jack, who was walking alongside him.
"Would it not be more easier if we had talked to both of them? I believe that Lord Ashen would just be more violent as time passes.", Bartholo said worriedly.
Jack chuckled, "Boy, if we did talk to them instead, Ashen boy would just stubbornly not cooperate. Heck, he'd probably run in the opposite direction the moment the chance presents itself. Besides, meself reckons that Ashen boy would be shutting up right about now so don't worry your silly little head.", just as he had said that, Ashen's screams started to die down, "See?"
"Well you are correct about him immediately fleeing if we did...Did he perhaps pass out?", Bartholo wondered.
"Eh?! Passed out?! Oh no!", Rosseweisse who heard that, tried to rush past them to go to Ashen who was now being dragged around silently.
"Whoa there girlie!", Jack however stopped her with his arm and immediately pulled her back.
"Mr. Jack!", Rosseweisse made a protesting face.
"Meself understands your concerns girlie. But right now you have to let him be. Ashen boy needs to be by himself with that Kallen girlie right now.", Jack advised with a knowing tone.
"What makes you say that?", Bartholo inquired. Apparently curious as to why Jack was being quite knowing for someone who just met Rosseweisse and Ashen for a few hours.
Seeing that, Jack smiled wryly, "Meself can't really explain it. Call it a hunch or instinct. Having lived thrice his age probably helps me understand him easier than you do.", he asserted.
Bartholo and Rosseweisse could only raise an eyebrow in wonder.
*****
"How long are you going to act like this, brother? It's been years already..."
"Like I said, stop calling me your brother. We are not related at all."
"Jeez...", Kallen sighs in exasperation.
After walking for a good 2 hours, the group find themselves at an empty playground in front of a convenience store. Kallen and Ashen who are cuffed to each other opted to remain in the playground while their other companions went inside to buy refreshments.
The moon was still shining brightly in the night sky above them and with it, the cool autumn breeze blew across the empty and silent playground turning the atmosphere solemn.
"Is what you said really true?", Kallen was the first to break the silence.
"...", Ashen however remained silent and simply sat himself on one of the swings while Kallen remained standing right in front of him.
"Brother-"
"How many times must I say it?", Ashen growled, fed up with how much Kallen called him her 'brother', "I. Am. Not. Your. Brother. Get it through your thick skull already.", he glared at her with upturned eyes.
Kallen was undaunted however and just glared right back, "Just tell if it is really the truth already.", she shrugged.
"If I tell you, then what? You gonna go and preach at me again?", Ashen asked in complete indignation. He really felt uncomfortable talking to Kallen. So much that he wishes he could just cut-off his hand and just run away as far as he can though he also believes that Mother Nature would simply interfere again if he does so which irks him.
"Because if it is the truth, you can no longer turn a blind eye to it. Brother, even the world itself is asking for your help, what more do you need to be convinced? Your hate for humanity is understandable, but-"
"But what? I hate humanity because I just hate them. Did I not make that perfectly clear before? Or was my protest to your sister not clear enough?", Ashen interjected in a bitter tone.
Kallen was speechless before him.
But he did not care and continued to respond to her apathetically in order to dissuade her from further involving him in whatever trouble she is in, "Whatever trouble you are in, leave me out of it. I have no intention of helping humanity at-"
"But the enemy will not stop from trying to kill though.", this time it was Kallen who interjected.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because humans are naturally born as begrudging people. They have the inherent instinct to payback their foes twofold for every misfortune they experience regardless if they are a virtuous one or not.", Kallen suddenly said something that Ashen found to be rather profound.
"Oho~? That's some wisdom there. Who told you narrow-minded brat that piece of wisdom?"
'That person might be someone I can get along with quite well.', Ashen thought.
"Who else would you hear such scandalous words other than from you, Brother?", she smiled coyly as she answered and causing Ashen's brow to twitch, "Afterall, you made quite a mess back in the highway in a not-so-subtle way and if the pursuers from before was any indication to you, it is pretty obvious that you are also one of their targets."
"Hah. All they know about me is that I have long hair and that I look like a dirty bum wandering the streets. I can just change my image and lay low for a while until-", as Ashen was saying his argument, Kallen thrusts a sheet of paper before his face and urging him to read it out loud;
'The Saint from the Vatican is at NB-0023. Upsilon team and Phi team have failed and suffered heavy casualties. Rho team has reported that the Saint is accompanied by a Guard who singlehandedly decimated Upsilon and Phi teams.
It is presumed that the said Guard is a a high-ranking one sent by the Vatican to accompany the Saint.
Be warned as the Guard is reportedly unconventional and would resort to tactics previously unused by any known Guard and is highly skilled at evasion.
HQ has issued a 'kill-on-sight' order regarding the aforementioned Guard and is of top priority alongside the assassination of the Saint.
Said Guard is described to be a young man with long ash-colored hair last seen to be accompanied by the Saint in the forest.'
"Hah! I can just dye my hair and-"
"Read on brother...", Kallen interjected and urged him to read till the end.
'Bio Scanners have updated data from the blood samples collected in NB-0023 International Highway. It is advised to have all deployed entities to be equipped accordingly.'
"Bio Scanner? What the hell is that?", Ashen scoffed.
"It is as it name implies. It is a scanner for anything biological.", Kallen put away the paper, "Think of it this way, it's like infrared scanners only that any data uploaded on it will be used to identify you as soon as you enter their range. No matter how hard you try to disguise, you cannot hide from it.", she explained.
A good amount of time passed before-
"WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY INVENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"
-Ashen snapped.
"What else if not to help track you down? I say, they are rather smart to invent such a thing!", seemingly feeling victorious, Kallen looked at Ashen's conflicted state smugly, "What are you going to do now brother? You are in no shape to fight them right? Are you just going to walk away and get riddled with bullets after this?", she snickered mockingly.
"Grrrr!", once again Ashen finds himself cornered and thus grits his teeth in complete vexation.
'First Mother Nature...now this dumb brat?! I thought I could just leave her in their hands after this and go away but-!'
"What about it brother? Are you coming with us or not?", Kallen asked him mockingly which further added to his vexation.
If he leaves Rosseweisse to Kallen and Bartholo who are Guards, then he can be rid himself of an annoyance but in exchange, he will have to face her pursuers alone and in a miserable state. There is also no guarantee that Mother Nature would have no say to that so he might also get some rather unpleasant 'words' from her.
On the other hand, if he lets himself be taken by Kallen, he will at least have a fighting chance against Rosseweisse's pursuers but in exchange, he will have to accompany Rosseweisse further and even end up seeing Kallen's sister again which will definitely cause him more problems.
Both options only have one pro but so many cons.
Options that he would rather not choose from if he could help it but...
'I don't want to die yet...'
The thought of dying scares him.
'But both choices will lead me to my doom! Don't I get an option where I get to live?!'
He makes a mental protest however no one answers him.
He is on his own.
"Hey dear brother. What's your answer?", Kallen smiled at him as she leaned closer.
'I so want to punch your face right now...'
Thinking so, he shrugs in resignation since now he has no other choice. He has to choose the lesser evil if he wants to live even for a little while longer.
"Fine, damn it! You win!", Ashen answers in a begrudging manner, "I'll come with you until I recover."
Hearing his answer, Kallen's sly smile turned into a cheerful one, "Great!", she exclaimed while doing a fist pump with her free hand.
'Tsk. She never changed even after all these years. Still just as cunningly pushy as ever...'
Ashen recalled a memory from long ago but soon dismisses it in irritation and asks, "Since you have that information where that nitwit is already known to be here, where are we gonna go next?"
"Hm? Oh right...", Kallen then moved to take a seat on the swing to Ashen's right, "For now, we will have to meet up with the rest of the Guard that was sent to accompany Lady Rosseweisse."
"And then?"
Kallen produced a small map from her pocket and unfurled it before Ashen, "From Lothargien, we will head for Galandre to the North and from there, take a plane back to the mainlands."
"Which mainland specifically? There are 193 countries in the world not including the newly established ones. So specify.", Ashen reminded.
"Of course it should be obvious.", Kallen pointed at a spot in the map, "We'll be going here."
When Ashen looked where she had pointed at, he grimaced, "Really? Of all the places to go to, you want to bring me there?"
"Well not you specifically but since you are with us, it wouldn't hurt to take a little detour after delivering Lady Rosseweisse to the clergy.", Kallen made an amused smile.
'Tsk...I really hate this kid.', Ashen stared crossly at the map and mentally cursed himself for being roped into agreeing to come with her, 'was she planning this from the very start?'
"Of all the places...why did it have to be England?"
At his words, he heard Kallen chuckle, "I'm looking forward to your and my sister's reunion, big brother Ashen!"
Seeing her beaming smile, Ashen could only sigh in resignation as the long autumn night approached its end and a new dawn to his unwanted journey was about to begin. The desire to punch Kallen burning within him as he looked at the pale white moon.