Yeah...I got nothin...
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       They were too late. The king was already dead when they got there and of course Astrin was there, standing near him with a terrifying look on his face. "You...you actually killed him?" Ara said in disbelief. Astrin looked over at them, just then noticing their presence. There were several guards around him but they just stood there and did nothing which baffled Ara. "You've turned them into puppets. You would actually dirty your own hands to carry out your foolish goals. You murderer! Do you know what you've just done?!" Add angrily shouted.

        Ara knew that he didn't get this angry very often so there must have been some sort of underlying cause of his anger. "Oh please. You were going to do it if I hadn't. You still have the poison don't you," Astrin said. Add frowned but he knew Astrin was only partially right. Add reached into his pocket and pulled out the vile of poison but Ara noticed it to be a different color and Astrin must have noticed as well because he surely had something to say about it. "What did you do to it?! That's impossible. You couldn't have had any time to reverse its affects!" Astrin said.

         Add just stared down at the vile that he held with slight confusion. It was glowing, no pulsing with light and it shimmered slightly. The color was now a golden yellow and the liquid was much thinner that it previously was. "Is that even the same stuff?" Ara asked. "Yes, it is. It seems the healing waters changed this poison into a potion of healing," Eun's voice said in her head. Ara was relieved to finally be hearing Eun's voice again. She was worried that Astrin had done something to her.

        "No matter. These guards will turn you in as the culprit regardless and I will take Ara," Astrin said. The guards began to walk towards them. "You aren't taking anyone and I'm not going anywhere," Add snapped as he stepped in front of Ara and pushed her behind him. "I can fight too you know," Ara muttered, not knowing whether or not Add heard her or not. Astrin laughed. "You've already lost, boy. I've been planning this for almost a year now. There are only but a few guards who aren't under my control at this point and the servants fear me. I could take over all of Hamel and eventually the entire Senace kingdom and you'd be powerless to stop me," Astrin said.

        "Unless I kill you," Add said, being completely serious. Astrin seemed shock by Add's statement and did some sort of hand sign to stop the guards in their tracks. "You'll only be dooming yourself. If I die, my control over everyone disappears and they go back to their normal jobs meaning they'll arrest you for the death of the king. Both you and Ara would be killed," Astrin said. "Unless we escape," Add said, his dynamos sending out sparks in response to his murderous thoughts. "You can't. All of Senace will be looking for you," Astrin said, a hint of fear present in his tone.

        "You're the reason Chung can't get better. You've taken over innocent lives. You killed someone just to take their place and wouldn't hesitate to threaten or kill others. You tried to steal my mother and now Ara. You intended to turn the Senace kingdom into your footstool so that you can become a tyrant. I'm sure no one will miss you," Add said, a slightly crazed look in his eyes as he stared at Astrin after putting the vile of healing liquid in his pocket. "You wouldn't be able to actually take a life. You aren't that type," Astrin said, finding a bit more confidence. Add kept silent and Ara knew this to be true.

        Add wasn't really the type to kill. He'd told her about how he'd spared the life of a man who had tried to kill him for his secrets on nasods. Add was certainly good at threatening people but he was no killer. His glares could probably kill if he had such an ability but the absolute worst he could do was a brutal beating. Before Add could say anything else, Helputt threw open the doors with more than several guards coming in after him. Helputt was in his full armor with his cannon as well. He might have been shocked by what he saw if he'd had time but Astrin did another hand symbol, turning all of the guards and their weapons on Helputt.

        "So nice of you to show, Helputt. You know, you're actually part of the reason why all of this is happening. Ever since you became the White Colossus of Hamel, people have been looking up to you more than they do me. It's sickening really. They don't see how weak you really are compared to me. You let your emotions get in the way of your decisions far too much," Astrin growled. Helputt tilted his cannon, taking aim at Astrin's face. "You killed the king," Helputt said, his hand waiting to pull the trigger.

        "Not exactly how I wanted it to happen but yes, I did. Add was actually supposed to do the dirty work. I gave him the poison but he got distracted and made me have to do things myself," Astrin said with a shrug. "You're under arrest and will be punished accordingly," Helputt said. "Who's going to take me in? The guards? They're practically all under my control at the moment. Oh and you have a certain little weakness too. It was foolish of you to leave him unattended like you did," Astrin said and he snapped his fingers.

         From what Ara thought was the kitchen, two guards emerged with an unconscious Chung being carried between them. Add and Ara both were about to shoot forward to save him but Astrin held up a hand and the guards that were closest to them were instantly surrounding them. "I wouldn't try any of that if I were you two. That goes for you two Helputt. You see, if I really wanted to, I could end this boy's life in an instant and I'm sure you know that I wouldn't care. Besides, you have no idea what kinds of things I could do to a poor defenseless boy such as him," Astrin said as he took Chung from the guards and cradled him much like he had done Ara.

       "I'll kill you," Helputt growled as he charged forward anyway. He easily bulldozed through the guards using his cannon. Astrin frowned at this but didn't seem threatened at all. He did some more hand symbols and Chung woke up only to be sent into a near death state, much like the one Ara and Add had just saved him from. This one was much worse though and Astrin had let the boy go, letting him fall to the ground gasping for air that wouldn't come. Then Astrin unsheathed his sword and held it dangerously close to Chung's neck causing Helputt to stop in his tracks although he wasn't very far from Astrin.

       "Why don't you get down on your knees and beg for your son's life," Astrin said with a smirk. It bothered Ara greatly but Helputt did just that. "Don't harm him any further," Helputt begged despite Chung obvious not wanting him to do so to which Astrin grinned. "Take the helmet off. I want to see your pitiful expression," Astrin urged and again Astrin obeyed. Satisfied, Astrin performed a hand sign that released Chung from his uncomfortable state. The boy coughed as he regained air and Helputt didn't hesitate to reach for him and pull him into a hug.

         "Pathetic," Astrin muttered as he walked away from the scene and towards Add and Ara. He eyed Add, his blade slightly dragging across the floor. "You're next," he said as he walked towards them and made the rest of the guards who weren't now surrounding Helputt come towards them. "Ara...run," Add said as he backed up a bit. "I'm not leaving you in the hands of that murderer," Ara growled. "I'm not letting you stay here. Someone has to get word to the Red Knights," Add said as his dynamos circled in front of him.

        "I'm not letting you die. He'll kill you. You aren't as swift as me when I'm using Eun's power. I won by luck or maybe because he wanted me to last time. He's using everything at his disposal now," Ara said as she took hold of Add's arm and pulled him back with her. "You don't know that. I can't let him harm you because if he does, I just might lose it," Add said just as Astrin began to quicken his pace. No more words were exchanged for several missiles had been fired and they exploded in several different areas, sending smoke and debris everywhere.

       Ara didn't hesitate to act. She pulled Add aside, sensing Astrin's movement as he tried to attack Add through the smoke. Her senses began to sharpen and she could actually see a little through the smoke. She pulled Add again but this time, he didn't move with her and he stayed put. "I need to finish this," he said to her. "No you don't," she said as she shook her head at him. Add pulled Ara to him, embracing her in a hug. "I'll be okay. You save everyone else. It's your second chance. Now let me take mine. I should have dealt with Astrin when I was a kid," Add said and just as he said these words, he let her go and used his dynamos to send a shockwave in every direction. It cleared some of the smoke a bit and allowed Add to see Astrin who was still searching for him to kill him.

        "I believe we should allow albino boy to buy us some time. Saving the others wouldn't take too long so we could come back and help as soon as we get them outside of the castle," Eun said. Ara nodded and headed back towards Helputt and Chung who were actually nowhere to be found. "They're already heading out," Eun said and turned Ara to where she could see them. "Then we can stay and help Add," Ara thought.

        "No. Albino boy wanted to do this alone. You should respect his wishes and at least make sure that Helputt and Chung make it out of the palace without any problems. Helputt's fighting method puts Chung at risk with all of the smoke that he disburses too. You can help him by attacking close range so that he can provide you with support rather than raining missiles down everywhere," Eun said. Ara had begun to head to the door once she'd started talking again.

        "I won't need your power this time. I want to do this with my own strength and ability," Ara said as she ran after Helputt who was carrying Chung. "I suppose you can but don't expect to be able to do all that you did the first time. Those techniques come with my ability until you learn to do them yourself," Eun said. Ara just nodded as she continued to run and caught up to Helputt and passed him. There were now mages among the guards that attempted to attack them and Ara had began to despise mages. She quickly stuck Eun's hairpin in her hair, not caring if it was crookedly placed, and began to attack.
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I need to finish one of my books...this one isn't going to be done any time soon...until next time you extraordinary readers!