"They're weak." Para shouted to Àskérian from the ground. "The only reason they have advantage is they have more in number." He continued, trying to formulate a plan while Àskérian continued to fidget with the fae that held him in the sky.

Tiny lilac fingers with long nails dug into his skin each time he moved, making things worse. The fae holding his injured arm in place. the ebony leather from the long sleeves of his armor didn't stop their advances. He gave out a loud groan, trying to bite back the pain. Then his pain turned to anger. "LET GO OF ME!" He demanded, fidgeting harder.

The purple beings continued their laughter as Para stood and watched, feeling helpless. Sensing a presence behind him, he dodged just as one of the fae flew at him with a dagger in it's hand.

He managed to strike it with his blade. The creature grunted against the force before landing on the ground, it's body slowly disintegrated, leaving behind a stream of indigo smoke that shimmered before vanishing.

Not good. Para thought to himself. "Àskérian!" He yelled, "they have weapons now!"

Just as Para's words reached his ears, more fae appeared in front of Àskérian. In their hands were daggers, abnormal, misshapen and jagged blades, designed to inflict large amounts of pain, even though they were the size of normal knives.

Àskérian cursed under his breath.

Inside the violet atmosphere, Ardent's unconscious body drifted in place. The fae flew about her, filling the space with their laughter as the larger fae, the one that seemed to be the leader, appeared within the space.

"We finally have you angel." It cackled. "I will gain more power, just like last time. Lord Etah will give me more power once I get rid of you." It chuckled in a child like voice.

Ardent opened her brown eyes. Where am I? She asked herself. Suddenly everything around her shifted from darkness and she found herself in a familiar place.

Alexahnd.

Confused, she walked along the familiar cobbled roads of the village, faces she recognized, peaked between parted sheer curtains that hung in the black-iron shuttered windows of the historic buildings lining the road.

A young girl who had deep plum hair, ran out from one of the victorian houses and embraced her. "Lady Ardent!" She cried with a smile on her face. Her grape colored eyes beaming brightly.

"Hello Hiem." Ardent replied, hugging the girl back. I can feel this. Is this real? She thought to herself. Then, was everything just a long dream?

A woman's voice called from the house up the road, interrupting her thoughts. It was the house Hiem had come from, a brick building with a slated shingled roof that had pillars supporting a small white-wooden porch.

The woman was calling for the girl. "I gotta go. Have a good day!" She said as she turned and dashed away towards her house.

Ardent smiled. Why do I feel like I've done this before? Something wasn't right. De'ja vu washed over her, the feeling strange and unwelcomed.

"What a stupid girl." The large fae laughed as it watched Ardent's mind from the dark cloud she was trapped in, it could see into her conscience, invading every thought.

"She doesn't even realize she is slowly dying." It laughed. "First I will make you relive it, and once you are done, the poison in this atmosphere will have taken its affect. Then the cursed prince will loose another person he cares for." It cackled some more.

The other fae filled the space with their laughter as they flew about the ominous environment, joining their leader in cries of triumph.

In her mind, Ardent continued to walk along, unaware of the danger she was in. People waved at her. "Good day Lady Ardent. " A man said from a market stand, various fruits and vegetables set in baskets and bins. His uniform, overalls, a white t-shirt and heavy boots, spoke of farm life.

Children chased each other while their parents bartered for wares. "I'm going to catch you!" A little boy with brown hair called. "Just try it!" The girl he was running after yelled in laughter. Ardent recognized them as the children of the farmer.

"Good to see you!" A woman called as she hung damp clothes to a line that was strung from the nearest house. The line ended where it stretched to a black-iron post that stuck out from the grass at the end of the lawn.

"It's good to see you too." Ardent replied waving her hand in greeting.

Then, she heard it.

The loud roar of a dragon, cracked through the sky, stopping her in her tracks. The familiar sound brought on a realization that hit her with a strong force, she was reliving her memory. I have to wake up.

Before she knew it, she found herself fighting the dragon, just as she had done on that dark day. Wake up! Wake up! She commanded her body, but it seemed to protest and moved on its own accord as the memory played out.

People flooded the cobbled road in a frantic attempt to escape the threat. She didn't hesitate and ushered them towards the village keep, a bunker deep in the ground that was accessible by a door, hidden inside the town hall. Her heart as a healer, took over, removing all semblance of self-preservation.

As the last of the people were ushered through the doors, the sound of heavy wings flapping through the air, drew near.

While she spun around to face the threat, Etah landed on a steeple of the church, the building that now stood before her. She drew her sword, the metallic tang finding hold in the air as she released Illuminara from its sheath. King Alexander came to her side, his sword drawn as well. She became confused as nostalgia filled her. Why did it feel like she hadn't seen him in ages?

Her old squad members formed their battle formation around her, protesting that she shouldn't fight this battle. Nev fell forward, stumbling out of the church. Time sped forward, her body moving on it's own accord as it went through the motions of her memories; the wish, the Celestial realm and the stone castle she had wished for.

The day, Ellie, Jae, Micraspher and Sark decided to leave the realm. Going back to Gaia with King Alexander, not wanting to go to their village, getting lost in the forest, meeting the birb, being reunited with everyone.

One by one her memories played out as she sunk deeper and deeper into the trance, forgetting the outside danger. Her heart reliving the pain as it mixed with her confusion and made her forget that she was dreaming.

Then finally, she sat in the middle of her old village, holding onto a warrior's helmet. The buildings charred, bricks strewn about, lamp posts laying against the cobbled road, black from the heat of the dragon's flames.

"Gone. They're all gone." She sobbed the familiar words, yet couldn't place where she had said them before. She felt the pressure of guilt crush her heart until the soft organ broke again, bringing forth a torrent of emotion. She wept as the pain turned into numbness and then self hate began to rise, just as is had before.

As the last of her tears fell, resolve took over and she stood to her feet, emotionless, leaving the helmet on the ground and began to make her way through the village towards the forest.

She slowly passed the ruined buildings and market stands until the short brick wall that surrounded the village blocked her path and then, slowly, she climbed over it and crept towards the tree line, the rich mahogany trees casting shadows on the village.

Her body followed along the familiar, unmarked path through the woodland, pulled by an unknown force as the trees towering over swallowed her up.

Eventually, she came to an open field and stood still for a while, letting the cool wind that ruffled the leaves and the tall grass blow against her skin, making her heart colder and resolve stronger.

"Aedificate." The word rolled off of her tongue in a whispered breath. The ground below her began to shift as stones merged together around her, rising upwards as they came together, creating a stone tower.

Inside the tower, a concrete stairwell, one without a railing system, spiraled up the wall of the cylinder structure, leading to a small domed window that had no glass. The light from the sun trickled inward through the window, casting a soft pale gray glow to the darkness of the tower. Vines dug into the stone as if they had always been a part of the tower, deep red roses in full bloom clung to the vines that climbed upward, giving the place an ethereal feel.

In the center of the dwelling sat a stone alter, nestled upon a dais. "I had one mission and I couldn't even complete it properly." She said out loud, to no one in particular, perhaps the other angels and arches were listening. She knew they were watching. Watching her fail.

"I want to come home." She stepped closer to the alter, her footsteps the only sound in the isolated space.

"That's right. Feel the pain like before and cast the spell. Say it out loud!" The fae leader cackled, urging her forward, his words laced with the magic to compel. She had fallen into his trap, an angel's magic worked unless its countered magic broke the spell, but this time Àskérian was facing his own demise.

Outside the poisonous atmosphere, the smaller fae creatures lunged at the dragon knight, cutting him and leaving wounds in his flesh with the daggers. He cried out in pain as cut after cut was made into his skin, his leather armor shredding with each slice.

Below, Paradox winced at the torment the fae were putting Àskérian through. He decided it wasn't going to happen to him. Re-adjusting his hold on his sword, he angled it so the tip of the crystal blade pointed to the ground at his feet.

"Strengthen thyself, Light Bringer!" As Para's command rang true, his sword glowed a white light and then it shifted in form. In its place was a glaive. Like Light Bringer's sword form, the weapon's shaft was a deep amethyst hugh, and its blade gleamed in the sunlight, revealing a razor sharp diamond structure, a sapphire ribbon flowed in the breeze where the blade met with the shaft.

"You want to play, I'll play." Para chided the approaching fae. He dipped his glaive into the earth and the blade glowed again, pulsing white light through the ground.

The light seeped into the earth until random spots of light grew here and there around Para. He knew what they were; gemstones hidden within the ground. The gemstones broke free from the earth's surface, revealing emeralds, quartz and topaz crystals. Each stone still glowing with the light from his glaive.

With one powerful swing of his weapon, Para sent several gems flying outward in the directions of the fae surrounding him. "Rapti Sunt!" With the command, the crystals burst open in synchronized explosions, dealing a heavy dosage of damage to each creature.

The injured fae fell around Para and their bodies disintegrated into violet ash, just the like one before, indigo smoke rising from each lump of charred fae.

He aimed Light Bringer towards the sky, where Àskérian was still fighting the nasty creatures. The remaining gems that were left afloat around Para, shot forward towards his companion. "Contritione pervalida et pluviam!"

The crystals picked up their trajectory speed as they hurdled towards the fae tormenting Àskérian. They broke apart mid-air, each separating into tiny shards that gleamed in the sun. The shards flew and hit the attacking fae, missing the ones who held Àskérian captive.

"Thanks." Àskériàn grunted, his voice straining from the pain, and then came a slew of curses as more fae surrounded him.

"Darnit. They just won't quit coming." Para hissed as he too found himself surrounded by more fae. "It's like the whole dang fairy realm is here."

"COWARDS!" Àskériàn roared. "Just wait until I get free, you're all dead!" His mind went back to Ardent's ability to burn those who touched her, without actually summoning flames. "If we get out of this, I'm going to have her teach me that trick--" His words were cut off by a scream as the fae continued their onslaught.