"No, sis! You're gonna be fine!"

"M-Max..... Mom and Dad? Are they...."

"T-They're just fine! And so will you!"

Erica looked up at me and smiled the best she could. She could easily tell that I was lying. Slowly, she put up her hand and rested it on my cheek. "R-Run.... Go to the next village...."

"You're coming with me!"

"Sorry.... I don't think I can move.... I can't feel my legs...."

"I'll carry you!!"

"Wh-whatever happens.... Just know... I'll always.... Lov...lo...."

"Erica...."

Erica's hand then dropped down to the ground.

"ERICA!!" I cried out as hard as I could over the body of my sister. "D-Don't leave me!! You can't leave me!! Get up.... Please. GAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

****

"GAAAAHH!!"

Max shot up from the bed, panting. He was covered in a layer of sweat. Looking around, he realized he was still in the Samiet village. Max ran his hand over his chest, settling it over the X shaped scar.

"..... It was a dream."

He knew perfectly well that that was no dream, and it wasn't the first time he'd seen it in his sleep. It was a memory of the day that changed everything.

****

"Aw... My head." Allisa moaned as she dragged herself through the village.

Once again, she had another dream, or rather, a memory. And this time, her head ache she got after seemed to last longer. Seemed to be going through some kind of period where she had one every night, similar to what happened when she acquired Azure Flame. What she could piece together so far was that some elf from Avalon, came to her world and encountered Arthur. That point in time, he was king and had the Knights of the Round Table. There also seemed to be trouble between him and this cardinal, la Point. This latest one was the elf, Rina, explaining to Arthur and the round table of her world, and the chaos it was in. And when Arthur made his decision, she woke up.

Wish he could just tell me what's it all about.

She recalled during her meeting with Arthur that he mentioned that there was something important that he forgot, probably something regarding the first visions she had, going back to her 13th birthday. Those ones were so blurry that he couldn't make out anything. What she could piece together from the fragments was some kind of battle; one, which she could guess, was where Arthur met his end, a tragic end by what she saw. Being honest, that wasn't something she wasn't looking forward to.

As she strolled through the village, she caught sight of someone who would usually be still asleep at this hour.

"Max!" She called out.

Max was sitting at the edge of one of the plateau, staring blankly into the water. ".... Huh? Oh, morning."

Allisa took a seat next to him. "Surprised to see you up. Usually you'd still be in bed." She joked.

".... Oh, is that so?" He responded slowly.

"You ok?" Allisa asked. She noticed that Max didn't seem himself. He seemed more tired and fatigued than usual.

"Yeah, just a bad dream." He replied wearily.

"What about?" Allisa pried. "Must have been pretty bad to get you up this early."

"Its nothing," Max replied. "Just... something that happened in the past."

Allisa took it as a sign that she shouldn't pry any further. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't really have a good night either."

"A bad dream?"

"Mmm... I guess you can say that. It was one of those flashbacks."

"Flashbacks."

"Remember..." Allisa pointed to her head. "I told you about it three weeks ago." After the events regarding the Alchemist in her hometown, she explained to Max, Yuki, Melvin and the hunters about her dreams, and about her sword form she got during her battle with the Homunculi. She also told them about her meeting with King Arthur during her confrontation with the knight Galahad.

"...Um...." Max muttered to himself as he thought. "Oh... you mean those memory things you have."

"Right," Allisa said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Though I'd have to explain everything again."

Max shot an irritated look at her. "I'm not that dumb. I can remember everything you said."

"Oh really?" Allisa returned a sly look at him. "Who's memories are they?"

Max went slightest as he thought. "....Um.... That.... King guy.... No, maybe a hero... Don't tell me I got it...... Oh! Arty, King of.... Something!"

Allisa tried not to laugh as she realized that he basically shortened Arthurs name. But in the end, it was no use.

"What?" Max asked slightly embarrassed. "Wh-Was it wrong?"

Allisa finished giggling before answering. "...no, close enough."

Max grinned at her. "See. I can remember."

"Yeah, just."

Max flustered and looked away quickly, stroking his cheek awkwardly with one finger. "S-So... You had one last night?"

Allisa nodded as she stared at the water below her. "And the night before. And the night before that one too."

Max looked back with a slightly shocked look. "Seriously? Three nights in a row?"

Allisa nodded again. "It happens every now and then. Sometimes I won't have them for weeks. Then out of the blue, they start up again. And each one I have, my head hurts afterwards." Allisa then brought her legs up and huddled close. "I'm.... actually scared of them.

"Just.... Seeing someone else's life happening before you, like it's your own, just knowing that at the end won't be a happy, fairy tale ending."

Max remained silent as Allisa huddled herself closer.

"It makes me scared, that what happens at the end, will happen to me."

Max then placed a hand on Allisa's shoulder to comfort her. "Well, whatever does happen, you'll always have us by your side." He then gave her a goofy smile. "Me, Nel, Melvin, Cliff, and that Sword bastard."

Allisa smiled back at him as she began to uncurl. "You're right. Sorry."

"Oh, it's you two." A voice came from behind them. It was Dora, one of Rodger's friends.

"Oh... Dora, right?" Allisa said greeting her.

"Yep." She nodded with a smile. "See your still here. How long are you staying?"

"Three days." Max and Allisa answered together.

"Until some road gets unflooded." Max finished.

"Oh right. Guess it is that time already," Dora took a seat between Max and Allisa. "Oh, mind if I ask you something?"

"Um, sure." Allisa nodded.

Dora leaned back and tilted her head to Allisa's lower back, and did the same to Max. "What's it like not having tails?"

"...?" Allisa looked at her back where Dora was looking. "Um... normal, I guess..." She didn't really know how to properly respond.

"What's it like having a tail?" Max countered.

"It's normal for me," Dora said, wagging her raccoon tail. "Sorry, but I always wanted to ask a human that. Never really get the chance since you don't see many humans around here."

"Yeah, I heard," Max said, looking around. "As far as I can tell, we're the only ones here."

"Oh, you don't have to worry, I'm not a human hater or anything," Dora said quickly, shaking her hands. "In fact, I find humans so fascinating."

"R-Really?" Allisa replied awkwardly. "We're um... not that special."

"Oh... not about humans, like, you’re how you're different from us. It's like," Dora trailed off twiddling her thumbs. "I've kinda been curious about the human world. You know.... Your cities, boats, technology, magic, oh, and I heard there are these warriors called Knights and Samurai who are supposed to be really powerful, Oh, and your food and what you guys like to eat and... and...." Dora rattled her head as she tried to think.

"I guess you've never really seen it, huh?" Allisa summed up.

"Yeah.... when I grow up, I'm gonna be like Rodger's pa, Graham, and leave the forest and explore the outside world," she said.

"Graham?"

"He was an explorer, one of the few to leave the village, and kinda my personal hero. Makes me jealous that Rodger has such a cool dad. He went all around the world and saw so much. Whenever he came back, me, Fred and Rodger always loved hearing about where he's been and what he's seen. Oh... and is it true that there's a place where there's sand everywhere?"

"Yeah, that's the Quintara desert," Max replied to her. "But.... That's not somewhere you wanna go. Trust me on that."

"I don't care. I wanna see it, the sand sea that stretches for miles and miles."

"You sound a lot like Rodger," Allisa said, recalling his declaration at the dinner table the previous night.

"Well, I made a promise to him and Fred." Dora raised her hand forwards. "About a year ago, Rodger's dad was killed. You can imagine how heartbroken Rodger was. To cheer him up, Fred and me built a monument for him. There, the three of us made a promise to Graham that one day, we'll all leave the forest and see the world our hero saw."

Allisa felt moved by Dora's declaration.

"So you guys don't really go beyond the forest?" Max asked.

"Nope." Dora shook her head. "I'd say three in every 10 years or so ventures beyond the forest, and most who do go to Cataka, mostly cause there's not many humans."

"Are humans really that hated?" Allisa asked, picking up on a context that seemed to be implied since they arrived.

"Well, I got nothing against you guy's, but yeah." Dora nodded. "My Mom and Dad for one, really hate you guys. In fact, if they knew I was talking to you guys, I'd be sealed in my room for days."

"Oh!" Max and Allisa muttered when they heard that, considering if they should take the invitation. "M-May be we should-"

Dora shook her head. "I don't care what they think. You guys saved my friend from being reckless again, so you guys aren't bad in my book." She then sat up. "Anyway, would you like me to show you around?"

"I-Is that ok?" Allisa asked.

"You guys are stuck here for the next few days so someone better show you around," Dora said grinning. "Plus, I still got a lot of questions to ask."

"Ok, sure," Allisa said as she got back to her feet. "You coming?" She asked Max. "It'll help get your mind off things."

"...Um... yeah, good idea."

Sightseeing and growing attention

Nel sat atop the walls of the village; overlooking the field of fissures they had passed through the other day. Because no sunlight could penetrate the heavy tree coverage, it was difficult to tell what the time of day it was. Based on her body clock, she guessed it was early in the morning.

The group was effectively stranded in Sterland Village for the next 3 days until the road to Cataka cleared. It wasn't as though they were on a tight schedule or anything, but Nel would have preferred to arrive at their destination by now. By her reckoning, if they hadn't been shipwrecked, they would be in Tattora by now. Then again, things never seemed to be simple for them, and since not even she was willing to brave the forest again to catch another boat, Nel figured that it wouldn't be a bad time to relax for once, something she wasn't good at. So she tried to relax by sitting on top of the walls and stare out into the field before her.

"Hey there." The voice came from the hermit who was guarding the gate when they had arrived. "See you're stuck here until the road's unflooded." He chuckled.

Nel let out a sigh. "Looks that way. I'm guessing it's common knowledge."

The man nodded. "You still needed to find the chief so you can have a place to stay." He said with a smile. "My name's Bush. Bush U. Pluper."

"Nel Zepher."

Bush walked to Nel's side, overlooking the field. "You seem different from the other humans I've seen." He said. "You're not a wizard, since I see those often, but you're also not your standard human warrior, aren't you?"

"I'm an assassin."

Bush raised his eyebrow. "An assassin? I thought as much. Though this is the first I've seen of your kind."

"What gave it away?"

"The way you look," Bush pointed to his eyes. "In my age, I can tell what kind of people they are. Those eyes you have, even if you try to hide them which you are, even now, are the eyes of someone who has killed, over and over again."

Nel was a little surprised that Bush got all that, just by looking into her eyes like he claimed.

"That swordsman, he had a similar look, but it shows a bit more on him. The other two, that Salamander and wizard, their eyes are full of life, but also have a faint sadness in them. And that other girl.... well, her I can't figure out, but she seems lost and confused."

"That's incredible," Nel said in amazement. "All that just by seeing their eyes?"

"Just something I picked up. Even if they try to hide it, people can pick up others' hidden emotions within their eyes."

"Mmmm," Nel hummed as she looked forward. "So I'm just as cold as I thought."

"Oh, have I upset you?" Bush asked.

Nel shook her head. "It's not like I hid the fact I'm an assassin." Her gaze drifted towards her covered tattoo on her right arm, the inverted sword with two drops of blood, the symbol of the Crimson Blades. "Taking lives is part of my business."

"You don't seem that much of a killer to me."

"That's to do with training and to never take pleasure or experience joy in ending someone's life. It prevents me from being just a killer."

"Quite a cynical way to view it."

Nel let out a sigh. "I don't mean any offense, but it's not something you could understand." She said bluntly.

"I suppose not." Bush agreed. "You're not a bad person in my book. In fact, I should thank you for bringing Rodger back safely."

"No problem. Though, we did have an ulterior motive in helping him."

"Nonetheless, I thank you." Bush bowed slightly. "That boy can be a lot of trouble. He reminds me of Graham when he was that age."

"Graham?" Nel recalled hearing that name before. "Oh, his father?"

Bush nodded. "It's been a year since his death. It's been tough on him, but it's good to see the boy back to his old self." Bush let out a large sigh. "Since then, he's been going off into the forest to train, coming back all battered and bruised, all trying to live out his dream of leaving the forest like his father."

Nel kept her gaze forwards. "And you haven't tried to stop him?"

"How can I?" Bush let out a long sigh. "Even if I seal the gates, he'll just jump over the walls."

"Hm, good point. He doesn't seem the most patient time if you ask me."

"You can say that again." Just then, someone else just came onto the walls and was storming towards the pair. "Uh oh. Looks like they're back."

Nel looked at the newcomer and saw that he had a strong resemblance to the large boy that she saw the other day. His manner of dress was the same as well as the fact that he had virtually no neck, indicating that this man must have been that boy's father. "Who's that?"

"Adem. One of the leaders of the anti-human league."

Nel didn't like the sound of that and judging by the man's angry expression, she had an idea what he was doing.

"Adem." Bush waved. "Didn't know you were back."

"Don't give me that!" Adem snapped, pointing at Nel. "You best have a good reason for letting humans into the village!"

"We just want to get into Cataka," Nel said to him.

"Like I'll believe that!" Adem snapped. "Why would you come here just to get into Cataka? Seems very suspicious to me!"

"The border was closed and we were given some bad directions from a drunk," Nel responded, almost cursing herself for taking this route rather than going back and getting on another boat.

Bush almost laughed at Nel's woes. "...A drunk?"

"Long story...." Nel moaned.

"And so you just happened to wander here?" Adem pushed on. "No way you just stumbled here on your own."

"Rodger bought them," Bush said to him. "They helped him out on one of his trips." He turned to Nel. "Isn't that right?" Nel nodded to him in return.

"...That trouble maker again!" Adem boomed. "Just like Graham! For Goddesses' sake." He then turned and waddled away.

"Sorry about him," Bush said to Nel.

"He's one of the people who hate humans."

Bush nodded. "The Anti-human faction. He's one of the leaders." He let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, more than half of the village is prejudiced towards humans, and around a third of them are part of the faction."

"Anti-human faction?" Nel didn't like the sound of that.

"I'm sure Gimdo has mentioned something about it. There’s a group that are opposed to humans, and wish isolation from all human culture, meaning that none are allowed beyond the forest and all humans within the forest are expelled, or in the extreme cases, killed."

Nel watched the man disappear down the stairs that led off the wall.

"Don't worry too much. "So long as you don't cause trouble, you'll be fine. " Bush reassured.

"That's what I'm worried about," Nel said, as two hot-headed individuals in her group came to mind. I really hope they don't do anything stupid.

****

Melvin found himself sitting at one of the plateau edges, staring down into the lake below. As he paired deep into the glowing water, he could make out the occasional man-made ruin submerged within the water.

"Yo." Rodger then came up behind him.

"Oh, morning." Melvin nodded. "You feeling better?"

"Cause I am." Rodger boasted. "After all, ya looking at the next big adventure to set foot outa this place."

Really is full of himself. Melvin thought to himself. "Hey, when I was looking at the lake, I saw some ruins." Melvin pointed down. "Was there some kind of city here?"

"Maybe," Rodger shrugged. "I don't really know that kinda stuff."

Melvin took another look at the ruins. "Kinda look like they pre date the war of Saruin. I know some things about ancient architecture, but not a lot to ascertain who it belongs to."

"Wow. Ya real smart."

Melvin stroked the back of his head. "Well, I am the brain behind the others. Without me, they'd all fall apart." He bragged a statement he knew wasn't entirely true.

"Well, that's a good thing given that ya the weakest outta them."

Melvin froze in place for a split second before turning sharply to Rodger. "What do you mean 'Weakest?!'" he snapped.

"Well," Rodger looked up and down Melvin. "To start with, you're a puny human kid. Ya got no muscles or any kinda upper body strength by the looks of it."

"Hey! I happen to be a powerful wizard for your information! I can use powerful magic!"

Rodger let out a 'ppvv.' "Please. Everyone knows you humans can't do magic properly without some kinda stick ta help ya out."

"It's called a wand," Melvin said as he got it out of its cylinder casing. "And it's because of this, I can perform up to level 3 spells, and I have an S class familiar."

"So, That still makes you the weakest." Rodger continued, sneering at him.

"Don't compare me to those monsters!" Melvin responded. "And I'll have you know that I've beaten countless foes with my magic." Although he could only think of two, the girl from the rats and the yoyo boy he defeated on his own. Then there was Frosh the homunculus but that wasn't really a victory (to him at least).

"Well anyway," Rodger said. "Which one of you guys is your leader?"

"...Leader?" Melvin had to think about that. Technically, they were all accompanying Allisa as the chosen of Excalibur, but she was the last person they would call their leader. "Why'd you ask?" He said as he continued to think about it.

"I was thinkin, you guys are going on an adventure, right?"

"Well, yeah."

Rodger looked excited as he spoke. "Well, it's like this. I was thinkin that I should go with you guys."

"Oh um.... Huh?!" Melvin's arms dropped as he heard Rodger's proposition. "You... wanna come with us?"

"Yep." Rodger nodded with a wide smile. "So I need to ask your leader if it's ok to tag along when ya leave in three days." He then trailed off in thought. "Think it's that big guy... really hope not..."

"Um... Why us?" Melvin asked quickly. "If this is about what you said last night why don't you go on your own?"

"Ummm...." Rodger awkwardly pushed his fingers together, as if a little embarrassed to say what was on his mind. "I... Well... I don't really know anything about the human world... or anything outside the forest. So, ya know, I figured it would be better if I hitched up with you guys."

"umm...." Melvin thought on Rodger's question.

"Ya don't have'ta answer now," Rodger said, "I'm sure you guy's would need to talk this over and stuff." He then walked past Melvin. "Well, gotta see my old man. See ya later." He then ran off into the distance.

Melvin looked back to the house where they were staying. He wasn't sure if the others were in or not, but this was something that he needed to tell them.

****

"...Um... M-Mister human."

Yuki looked back and saw a rather droopy boy standing behind him. "Um... Who were you again?"

"Fred. We met yesterday."

"Oh yeah, one of the squirts friends."

That morning (if it was morning) Yuki decided to explore the village more since he'll be staying for the next three days. Walking through the wooden huts and bridges, he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. While not the same as his actual home, it still had that feeling that he hadn't felt for quite some time.

"Did you need something?" He asked Fred impatiently.

"Well, um.... I was kinda wondering, could you tell me about the human world, please?" Fred pleaded.

"No," Yuki replied bluntly.

"Wha... Why not?"

"Don't want to." Yuki walked away, continuing his exploration of the village. It didn't take too long for him to notice that Fred was tailing him. "Quit following me!"

"Could you tell me about the outside world?" Fred repeated, rephrasing the question.

"No! Now go away!" Yuki walked a few parses forwards with Fred still following him. "What do you want from me?!" Yuki yelled, losing his temper.

"For you to tell me about the outside world."

"Screw you! Ask someone else!" Yuki then took a few more steps before realizing that he was still being followed. He let out a sigh and turned. "Why do you wanna know so badly?"

Fred stared up at Yuki, who towered over every person in the village. "C-cause I always wanted to know about the outside world from a human."

"Well, your talking to the wrong guy." Yuki began to walk off. "Ask the kid, or Nel or the Big Guy. Or better yet, go see it for yourself." As he walked, he saw another boy standing before him, one with bug glasses.

"Why that's so typical of human behavior. So rude." The boy said, speaking in a rather cynical and condescending tone.

"GA!" Fred let out a gasp. "R-Redwol!"

"How ya doing, snoopy." The boy named Redwol said to Fred. "Quite brave of you to pester around a dangerous human."

Yuki studied the boy, trying to remember where he'd seen him before. "Um... Who are you again?"

Just then the large boy with no neck appeared behind Redwol. "My name is Redwol M. Caden, and this is Gura E. Kailen." He gestured to the boy besides him.

Yuki looked back to Fred. "Who are they?"

"The Awesome Frogs," Fred replied.

"Oh... What?" Yuki looked towards the two in front of him. "What kinda stupid name is that?"

"Don't insult the name, human!" Gura yelled.

"Sorry, just sounds so.... Lame."

Gura reached for a massive mallet that was strapped to his back. By instinct, Yuki lowered his center of gravity and hovered his right hand over his sword. A mass of onlookers started to gather as the tensions grew.

"Now now, it's ok Gura," Redwol said to him, "even a human wouldn't be that stupid to attack a child in the middle of town."

"M-Mister human!" Fred stuttered, trying to disarm the tension.

Yuki then relaxed. "Don't worry. If it came to it, I would have used the back of the blade."

"So you'd draw you were still going to draw that sword?" Redwol said.

"Shut up, it's a reflex," Yuki said, trying to look for a way out from the three kids around him.

"A reflex?" Redwol continued. "That's quite a killer instinct you have. Typical of humans."

Yuki groaned at the boy constantly referring to him as 'human.' "Can't you get to your point?"

Redwol kept his gaze fixed on Yuki as he spoke. "You're not welcome here. You best leave."

"I can't for three days," Yuki responded.

Redwol turned away with Gura. "You've been warned."

Both then walked away.

"Hoooo..." Fred then collapsed to the ground as the tension began to ease off. "T-That was scary."

Yuki let out a sigh. "What was that about?"

"T-They just don't like humans. Their dads are also the heads of the anti-human faction."

"Anti-human? Never heard of something like that before." He took a step forward and was about to walk off until he realized that Fred was still behind him. "Go away!" He then continued walking off, with Fred still following him.

****

"Seriously? He wants to come with us?" Cliff exclaimed.

"Yep, that's what he said." Melvin nodded.

After his talk with Rodger, Melvin had gone to look for the others and ran into Cliff somewhere near the chief's residence where they were staying.

"Why us? Can't he go on his own?"

"He said he doesn't know anything outside this forest so he wants to go with us."

"And you said no, right?"

Melvin let out a sigh. "How could I? He seemed really fired up on the idea."

Cliff also let out a sigh. "I can imagine. Doesn't seem like the kid to take no for an answer." He then looked at Melvin. "We have to say no. Kid's personality aside, we're on an important mission. We can't just say yes to anyone. And I'm from Terra, Allisa too, how do we explain that to some kid who never flew past the branches of this haunted forest."

"I know that." Melvin groaned. "You seem to complain a lot."

"It's called getting old." Cliff groaned back. "Starting to turn into an elder." He cursed with worry.

"Na... he's more cheerful. You're more of those hermits who hate kids."

"Watch it," Cliff said pointing a finger at Melvin. He then looked up with a troubled face. "Looks like the chiefs in trouble." He nodded in the direction of the house. In front of it was Gimdo, who seemed to be in an argument with another man. The other man resembled the boy Steve from the other day.

"Wonder what's that about?" Melvin said. He then began to walk towards the two before Cliff grabbed his arm.

"What're you doing?"

"Don't worry, just eavesdropping," Melvin said in a hushed voice. When Cliff released him, Melvin sneaked towards the two and ducked behind the nearest barrel, keeping his ear tuned to the argument.

"..... Did you stop to consider who these people are? They could be bandits for all we know, or worse, part of these invaders!"

"Just the 6 of them? Hardly an invading army."

"Don't get smart with me! They might be spies for those Celtic Hoard bandits."

"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on them, Dorian? They just want passage into Cataka."

"No good will come of this, Mark my words!"

The argument then seemed to end on that note. Melvin stuck his head out to see what was happening and saw that no one was there. "Huh, There gone."

"So?" Cliff stood behind him. "What was that about?"

"Not sure, I think I just got the end of that," Melvin replied. "But, I got a feeling it had something to do with us."

"What are you doing?"

The two looked behind them and saw Gimdo's wife Hellina with a basket strapped to her back.

"...um..." Melvin moved away from the barrel. "T-Taking a breather."

"Looks like you're spying."

"A-Anyway." Cliff interrupted. "We saw your husband arguing with someone about us."

"Oh." Hellina let out a sigh. "That's gotta be Dorian. The leader of the Anti-Human faction."

"There's an Anti-Human faction?!" Cliff said, not holding back his surprise.

"That doesn't sound good." Melvin gulped.

"I really don't think we're gonna last three days."

Graham's grave

Just outside the village, in a small meadow was a small grave, made out of loose rocks with roots holding it together. The name carved on it was Graham F. Huxal. Before it knelt Rodger, who had his hammer placed on his knees.

"Yo pops. Been a while." He said to the grave. "Guess what, some humans came to the village. They're a bit strange, and some are jerks, specially that big guy and swordsman. But in a fight, they're really cool."

Rodger then went into more details about what he'd been up to, recounting his bet with Steve, to when he met up with the humans.

".... Oh, and, this gonna sound sudden, but I've decided that the time has come to leave. I'm gonna join them. Cause I need to ask them first, but like you said, once a man makes up his mind, he never goes back on it."

"Rodger!"

Rodger turned to see Dora coming towards him with Allisa and Max walking behind her.

"Oh, hey guys." Rodger got up and ran towards them. "What ya doing here?"

"They wanted to look around the village so I showed them around," Dora said, pointing over her shoulder at the two.

"Yo kiddo." Max waved.

"Morning." Allisa greeted.

"Hey guys, come to see my pa?" Rodger asked as he approached the pair.

"Oh, is that your dad?" Allisa looked to the grave where Rodger had come from.

"Yep," Rodger nodded, looking back at the grave. "The three of us put it together. It's not much, but it helps to commemorate my old man."

Allisa and Max went in closer to inspect it while Dora stayed close to Rodger.

"So this is the grave you guys made for him?" Max asked.

"Might not be a monument or nothin, but Dora and Fred worked really hard on that."

"It's nice," Allisa said. "Dora told us about your dad. He was an explorer?"

"Right." Rodger nodded. "Told us stories about his travels when he returned."

"Yeah, Dora told us some of them," Max said.

"Your dad sounds like quite a guy," Allisa said.

"Yeah." Rodger nodded. "Though he wasn't around much when I was little, he's still my role model. The only person that had the balls to leave this place," Rodger stood before the grave once again with Dora, "and it's been my dream to leave this place like him and explore the world. Now my chance has come."

"What do you mean?" Allisa asked.

"Well," Rodger turned abruptly to face Allisa and Max, "I made up my mind to go with you guys."

"......eh?" Both Allisa and Max stood silently at Rodger's declaration.

"...Um... By with us... you mean, when we leave....?" Allisa asked.

"Yep." Rodger grinned at Allisa. "I'll be tagin along with you." A very long silence followed.

".....WHAT!!!" Dora let out her surprise with a large exclamation. "You're not serious are you?"

"Totally." Rodger nodded.

"No no no! You can't!" Dora protested.

"Why not!"

"You... You just can't!"

"...um.... Wh-When did you decide this?" Allisa asked, still a little shaken.

"Yesterday," Rodger said.

"Then you should think more about it!!" Dora continued. "Come one, you're 9."

"So. That wizard kid's my age and he's with them!"

"He's got a point." Max interrupted.

"...Wha..." Allisa took Max's arm and dragged him with her while Dora continued to state her objections. "You're not considering this, are you?" She whispered to him.

"Why not? We saw he can take care of himself." Max replied.

"Yeah, but what about me, and Cliff?"

"What about you?"

"We're both from Terra you idiot! How'd we explain that to him?"

"Oh," Max then looked over at Rodger. "Hey! Ever heard of Terra!"

Allisa berried her face thinking 'you idiot,' as Rodger turned to Max.

"No, where's that?"

Max turned back to Allisa. "See!"

Max looked back to Rodger and then back to Allisa. "Alright. So what do we do?"

"...."

"Gotta turn him down if that's it."

"I know...." Allisa looked round at Rodger, who was still arguing with Dora. "We.... Um..... we could..... You tell him."

"Why me?" Max asked, surprised.

"Cause I can't tell him, I'm bad at this stuff."

"So why do I have to do it? I'm not exactly an expert at dealing with this sort of thing either."

"Hey, what are you two doing?"

The two looked to their left and saw Yuki standing nearby.

"Yuki?" Allisa waved, feeling a little relieved.

"What're you doing here?" Max asked.

Yuki pointed his thumb at Fred beside him. "This brat won't leave me alone." He said with an annoyed tone.

"H-Hey." Fred greeted.

"Been trying to get rid of him but he kept on following me. Eventually, we ended up here."

"Wow, sucks to be you," Max said giggling.

"Watch it pyro!"

"Oh hey, Fred." Rodger waved at Fred.

"Great timing!" Dora said quickly. "Please talk some sense into this idiot!"

"Hey! It's my decision in the end!" Rodger continued.

"No, it's their decision! Not yours!" Dora protested.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked Allisa and Max.

"Nothing!" Rodger said. "I was just saying that I've decided to tag along with you guys when you leave."

"Wha-You are?" Fred muttered, taken back by this sudden declaration.

Yuki had a face of shock and worry. "And you said no, right?" He asked Allisa and Max in a desperate tone.

"....Ummmm." Both looked away as innocently as they could, pretending not to hear the question.

"No way!" Yuki yelled, pointing at Rodger. "He's not coming with us!"

"This ain't your decision!" Rodger yelled back at him.

"The Hell it is! Why the hell would we want a brat like you! I can barely cope with the big guy and the Pyro!"

"Isn't that going a bit too far?" Allisa said, trying to defuse the situation.

"And don't get me started with you!" Yuki grunted to her.

"What's wrong with me?"

"What isn't? Apart from your life being something outta lame comedy-"

BAM!!

"Wha-what was that for!" Yuki muttered on the ground, rubbing his head at the spot where Allisa had hit it with the flat edge of her sword.

"You're not exactly a joy to be around either," Allisa said.

"You can say that again," Max said.

"....Y-You're not seriously considering this are you?"

Again, both Allisa and Max pretended not to hear the question.

"Y-You're leaving?" Fred finally asked.

"No he's not!" Dora replied before Rodger could say anything.

"Could you stop deciding things for me!" Rodger snapped at her. "This what we wanted when we were kids! Why are you trying to stop me?"

"Cause you're not ready to go out on your own!"

"That's why I'm going with them." Rodger pointed at Allisa, Max and Yuki.

"But what about us!" Dora snapped. "Did you think about how we'd feel?"

"....."

Dora took a step back as she calmed herself down, looking like she was about to cry. "We promised we'd see the world together, the three of us."

"...Dora..." Rodger inverted his gaze. "That's not what i...."

Allisa, Max and Yuki stayed where they were as they watched the situation. "S-Should we do something?" Allisa asked the boys. However, the boys seemed preoccupied with something else.

"Notice it too?" Yuki asked Max, Pushing his sword up with his thumb.

"Yeah." Max clenched his fists while he looked around.

"G-Guys?"

Suddenly, there was a sound of a gunshot. In that instant, Yuki pivoted and sliced the incoming bullet in half with his draw. Allisa jumped back in surprise, while Rodger, Dora and Fred turned to see what was happening.

"Whoever there, come on out," Yuki said.

A man's voice came from the forest. "You cut a bullet. Not bad dude. Looks like you got some skills."

Suddenly, in the branches above, something burst from it, somersaulted and landed in the space between the samiet and human trios. What had landed was a human, wearing a long, gray trench coat, long flowing bleached hair with two revolvers in his hands

"And you are?" Yuki asked, keeping his sword at the ready.

The man got up in a rather stylish way. He had quite a handsome face, almost like a supermodel from Allisa's world, wearing a white shirt under the coat along with smart pants.

"Names Waze." He said while reaching his gun in the air in a pose. "An officer in Celtic Hoard!"