Albaric was marching towards them with a clear resolution.
Kalandra turned to Ace quickly. "Disarm him!" she exhaled rapidly.
"I can't," Ace breathed in deeply, "His holy magic won't let me,"
"Then we're done here," Kalandra spun around, "Obviously he's not in the mood to listen and I have no desire to face off against the sword saint,"
She retreated into the shadows, disappearing completely. Ace was left alone. He drew his sword reluctantly.
"Albaric, please just listen," he entreated, but it was no use.
Albaric's swords came down like lightning. Ace realised at that moment, that in all their training, Albaric had been holding back. The first hit unbalanced him. He was barely able to raise his sword in time for the next. The pressure was so immense, the sword trembled in his hands.
"Albaric!" Ace yelled. "Will you at least let me explain?!"
"I don't want to hear it!" Albaric returned coldly. He kicked straight forward. Ace was sent tumbling across the ground. He looked around the shroud of dust and for a moment saw nothing. He came to his feet just as another strike crashed down from above.
"Them I can understand, but YOU!" Albaric snapped.
"It's not what you think!" Ace enjoined.
"If you wanted to take off with Clover, I could have understood that," Albaric wavered, "but now you come back and attack Rena?! She's the one who gave you your freedom,"
"We weren't..."Ace started.
"Look around!" Albaric screamed.
Surrounding them, both knights and sisters were sprawled out across the courtyard. Some of the trees had been torn from the ground. The tower was ablaze and the ground was decimated. Sister Rena was barely standing.
"Clover always brings out the worst in you," Albaric gritted his teeth, "but this time, you've gone too far,"
"I...didn't mean for it to be this way," Ace stammered. "It was ..."
"That's not good enough this time!" Albaric released a flurry of blows, each heavier and deadlier than the last.
Finally, Ace could feel his grip slipping. As Albaric raised his sword and the last blow came crashing down, Ace let his sword drop. He held up his hands in defeat. The blade stopped just in front of his face.
"Pick up your sword!" Albaric fumed.
"No," Ace reflected, "I didn't come here to fight you!"
Albaric marched forward irate, "I SAID PICK UP YOUR SWORD!"
Ace inhaled deeply. He saw a glint of the necklace around Albaric's neck. If there was no reasoning, he had no choice. He reached out and snatched the necklace. However, Albaric's reflexes were quick. He grabbed Ace's hand in mid-air just as the chain snapped. He stared down at Ace in disbelief, but it didn't matter. It was enough just to be holding the necklace. Ace could feel the wall around it lifting. With the last of his magic, he sent it as far as he could.
The necklace was gone.
"What...what did you just do?!" Albaric uttered. His eyes narrowed sharply. He took Ace's arm and threw him to the ground. He glanced back at the knights with a barely tempered passion.
"Take them!" he barked.
The moment Ace hit the ground, a shudder of pain descended over him. As the guards dragged him up, in the distance he could see Michael and Bird being apprehended. Ace's eyes came back to Albaric but he was too angry to look at him.
Ace was roughly thrown into the dungeon with the others.
He keeled over cradling his arm. There was shooting pain down his shoulder. Across from him, Bird was still passed out cold. Ace couldn't tell whether Michael was conscious or not.
The cell was pit black aside from one candle in the passageway. It was deathly quiet. A single drop fell from the ceiling. It was cold against Ace's skin. He sank back against the wall and closed his eyes. It was a surreal place, either by design or coincidence. One could scarcely think of anything but their fate in the depths of the dungeons.
Was this how Clover felt all alone down here?
Whether he had passed out from pain or exhaustion, Ace couldn't tell. It felt like hours passed. In his moments of wakefulness, he wondered what would happen now. For the time being, everyone was safe. He couldn't say the same for them.
Finally, Michael let out a long sigh. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah," Ace replied slowly.
"What happened?" Michael questioned.
"I managed to get the necklace, but..."
"But then Albaric got you," Michael surmised. "Where is the necklace now?"
"I'm not sure," Ace confessed, "I didn't know what else to do. My magic was running low. It took the last of my power just to get it from him. It could be any place I've been. The island, the northern hideout or worst-case scenario it could be back in the tower,"
"Perfect, just perfect,"
Michael walked unsteadily towards Ace who was still clutching his arm. He had broken out in a fever from the pain. He appeared to barely be able to look up.
"What happened to your arm?" Michael rubbed his nose.
"I don't know," Ace breathed uneasily, "Albaric threw to the ground and now I can't move my arm,"
"And they say I have a temper," Michael added drily. "Show it to me,"
Ace took off his shirt with difficulty. Michael inspected Ace's arm and shoulder.
"I've never...seen him so angry," Ace said, in short gasps of breath.
"I have," was the only answer.
Ace glanced up at Michael's face. His cheek was marked bright red where Albaric had connected. There was still dried blood under his nose.
"It's dislocated but you should consider yourself lucky," Michael scoffed. " Albaric has always sympathised with the sisters. We should have seen it coming,"
"Can you fix it?" Ace breathed uneasily.
"I don't have enough magic to set the bone so It's going to hurt like hell," Michael replied drily.
"Do it," Ace returned.
Michael laid a hand on Ace's back then paused. Ace didn't say anything. Michael took his cue and didn't ask any questions. With his other hand, he pushed firmly. There was a cracking sound as the bone slotted into place. Ace let out a grunt and slunk back.
"Your tolerance for pain is impressive," Michael commented.
"I've had some practice," Ace answered wryly. His eyes slowly peeled up, "Bird hasn't woken?"
"He hit his head badly. I did what I could but I don't think he's going to wake any time soon," Michael took in a breath, "What happened with Kalandra?"
"Took off," Ace breathed painfully.
"Of course," Michael chuckled. "She's such a b..."
"I'm what?" Kalandra stared down at them both from the other side of the cell.
"You're lucky that you're cute, Michael. If anyone else finished that sentence, I would have slit their throat," she added with a condescending smile.
Ace and Michael turned startled. Kalandra was standing in the passageway. Her face was covered in shadow. Michael rose quickly and came to the bars.
"...You bitch!" he snapped unrepentantly, "If we weren't in this cell.."
"Save it,'' Kalandra pressed a finger to his lips with a smile, "Your mad wizard act doesn't scare me, so pipe down before you get us caught."
"You just escaped by yourself?" Michael brought his voice to an indignant whisper.
"Oh, cry me a river," Kalandra returned, "You should be grateful I came back. Where's the necklace?"
"I sent it somewhere. Someplace we've been, but I don't know where," Ace staggered to his feet, "You have to find it, Kalandra,"
"Humans," Kalandra remarked irritatedly, "So careless,"
She turned to leave. Michael grabbed her hand.
"Wait! Where are you going?" he entreated, "You can't just leave us here,"
"My magic can only take me a short distance and it's running low as it is," Kalandra batted the hand away, "I can't get the necklace and save you. You're on your own,"
Without further delay, she disappeared into the darkness without a trace. Michael rattled the bars angrily.
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted her!" he lamented.
"Kalandra will find the necklace," Ace said weakly.
"And what if she does?" Michael argued, "No one will believe us now!"
"Albaric will," Ace slid back against the cool stone wall.
"Albaric just dislocated your arm! What makes you think he's going to listen to you now?" Michael contended.
"You're right, he won't listen to me," Ace struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Then it's hopeless!" Michael shook his head in disbelief.
"He won't listen to me," Ace exhaled, "but you've been his friend for years. You know him better than I do. You can reason with him,"
"What are you talking about?!" Michael began to ramble, "Haven't you been paying attention? I'm the one who said I didn't want to be friends with him anymore. How's it going to look if I start acting friendly now? "
"Michael!" Ace exhaled sharply. "Just stop with all the pretences and be honest for once!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Michael returned.
"You want to be his friend and he wants to be yours. You're not children." Ace threw his head back with a groan. "Figure it out!"
"No, no! This isn't going to work," Michael insisted, "You have to...Ace? Ace?!"
Michael nudged Ace but he didn't respond. He slumped to the floor unconscious. He shivered feverishly. Michael covered his face in his hands and groaned. He lay a hand on Ace's forehead. It was boiling hot.
"Gods!" he lamented, "I should have quit while I was ahead,"
Michael began to cast the magic. A stream of healing energy soothed Ace's convulsion. After a few minutes, the fever broke and Ace became completely still. Michael left out a cough. He turned forcibly as blood spluttered from his mouth. He took his hand from Ace's forehead shakily. Wiping the blood from his mouth with his hand, Michael stared down Ace's sleeping face.
"That's all I can do," he said aloud. "Now wake up quickly. I can't do what you want me to."