Don't ever underestimate the power of...wait what was I saying again? Nevermind, here's the next chapter...
____________________________________

        "We still have to be cautious. We don't know if Raguel is after us or still fighting Elsword," Ara said as she followed behind him. Add heard her but he wasn't really too focused on her words at the moment. Since Ara had found a spare cloth and formed a makeshift bag out if it, Add had only been left with the responsibly of making sure Paradox's sphere was kept safe. He nor Ara knew what it was but they knew for sure that it would allow them to get Paradox back and they weren't going to let it out of their sight.

         "Hey, he'll be alright. As long as we keep that thing safe, he should be back in no time," Ara said likely noticing Add's concern. Even so, Add couldn't keep his mind off of the matter as he and Ara carefully made their way back towards where they assumed Elsword was still fighting Raguel. At least Add hoped he was. After what happened to Paradox, Add wasn't sure if he would be able to come to terms with Elsword's death if the boy had even died. Ara was suddenly standing by him and had shot her arm out in front of him making him stop.

         Add took the message to be an indication of a threat but Ara didn't seem to worried about whatever she'd noticed. "I know you aren't an enemy. Show yourself," Ara said loud enough for whoever was out there to hear her. "Dang it! I wanted to surprise you guys," Elsword's familiar voice said as he became visible while being carried piggyback style by Lua. "Elsword! And Lua, you're alive! I though that creep killed you!" Ara exclaimed as she was about to go up to them but Add stopped her, catching hold of her arm and shaking his head at her.

         "How do we know it's really you two and not another one of Raguel's illusions?" Add asked. He couldn't afford any slip ups no matter how distracted his mind was. "I can't prove anything but Lua killed Raguel and saved my life. I was so close to losing but then she shot some arrows and gave me my sword back. He was caught off guard and I almost got him but Lua beat me to it. I'm telling you, arrows are very brutal," Elsword said grinning like an idiot despite the wounds he had to show from his battle with Raguel.

         He was nowhere near the level of damage that he was at last time but seeing him with so many cuts, some of them still bleeding, was still a reminder of Raguel's mercilessness. "Are you okay?" Add asked him. "I'm okay. A few scratches won't keep me from moving on. I'll just need a little time is all," Elsword replied. His choice of words stung a bit but Add believed him for the time being. "He was struggling so I helped. Also, Ara, you left this so I thought you might want it," Lua said before letting Elsword get down and disappearing into the vegetation that she'd appeared from.

         She returned shortly with Ara's spear in hand but Add wondered how she'd even brought it with her while carrying Elsword. "Thank you...I...I'm sorry I didn't go back for you. I thought you were already...you know," Ara said refusing to meet Lua's gaze. "Cheer up, kid. You've got plenty of time to make it up to me. Besides, I got my revenge when I got rid of Raguel. He'll never terrorize another human again," Lua said.

          Although Add was relieved to know that they wouldn't have to worry about finishing off the mission, he was quite curious as to why Lua had called Ara a kid and apparently Ara was too. "Kid?! I'm no kid!" Ara pouted as she pointed at Lua accusingly. "Compared to me you are. I'm way older than I look," Lua said with a slight smile. "Hey, Add...where's Paradox?" Elsword suddenly asked. Add immediately looked to the glowing sphere that he was still holding.

         "He's in here. Raguel got to him but he'll be okay," Add said, holding the sphere for Elsword to see. "Wait that means Paradox isn't human! There's no way a normal human could do something like that!" Lua said with genuine surprise. "You just now realized Paradox wasn't human? He traveled tbrough time. Seriously Lua, I expected better from you," Elsword said shaking his head at the elf who still seemed shocked. "It's getting late. We should head back to the tent or maybe just somewhere safe before we run into anymore trouble," Ara suggested.

          "Let's go then. I'll lead the way so you guys won't run into any traps. I know where the majority of them are," Lua said. Add suddenly realized that she was being a bit more friendlier which slightly bothered him. He shook the thought away and waited for Lua to lead them back to the tent. Ara held out a hand to Elsword but he only stared at it for a bit. Add noticed then that he was nowhere near being okay. "Elsword...?" Lua said but the boy fell forward where he sat before she could say anything else.

          All three of them panicked and were by Elsword's side in an instant. "I'm okay...I've got this," Elsword muttered as he tried to get back up only to fail. "Take it easy, Elsword. You need to let us help you. We're a team remember," Ara said as she took hold of his arm while Lua got his other arm. The girls lifted him up and Ara ended up carrying him. The trio travelled in silence on the way back to the tent making sure to listen for Elsword's soft breathing since he'd fallen asleep.

         It seemed to Add that his adrenaline had run out and he'd finally gotten the recoil of his actions. "I'll see if I can get the spirits to heal him a little. You teo get some rest. I'm sure there are things you two saw in that place that can't be unseen," Lua said before she entered the tent. Add's attention was immediately caught by Ara as she pulled his jacket sleeve. "You should get some sleep. I'll have Eun watch over the sphere. We'll tell Lua about the Nature El and give Elsword his share of seals afterwards okay," Ara said.

        Add nodded and handed Ara the still glowing sphere that Paradox left behind. "You need to rest too though," he said suddenly having second thoughts. "We've been through a lot these past two days. I think this last night should be spent resting. I'll be okay so don't worry about me. We'll figure things out tomorrow so we can get back to Ryu and Miss Grace," Ara said. That was when Add truly realized the gravity of their situation. "Ara...we can't go back," Add muttered in realization.

          "What do you mean? Of course we can. All we have to do is..." Ara was saying but she must have realized what Add meant for she cut herself off. They stayed silent as they processed the bews and let it sink in. "You two okay out her" Lua asked as she peeked out of the tent at them. "We're perfectly fine," Ara lied with a smile. Add suddenly envied that ability of hers for he couldn't easily hide his true emotions like she could and likely looked stressed from Lua's perspective.

         "If you say so. I'm making tea if you want any. Elsword's still asleep. He's doing well so far. Don't stay out here too long or the spirits will start reading your memories and taking the form of those of your past or present," Lua said before disappearing from sight. Ara didn't hesitate to continue their conversation. "What are we going to do. We can't stay here. If we change too many things in history or get too attatched, we'll just be messing things up even more than they already are," Ara blurted out but she was only loud enough for Add to hear her.

        "I don't really know. Time travel isn't a trivial matter. It takes time to gain the ability to traverse through it. If we wait long enough, Paradox will return and he can take us back but you're right. We can't stay here. We'll need to separate ourselves from Lua and Elsword. The more they know, the worse off things get so they can't know about this," Add said. Now there was just the matter of where they'd go.

          "If we head towards the next town or city, I'm sure we can figure something out until then but I didn't bring any cash with me so we'll have to find work," Ara said rather thoughtfully. Add actually hadn't thought about such things yet. In order for them to survive, they really were going to need some money or at least a few spare tradable items. "We'll worry about that when we get to it," Add decided since he didn't feel like stressing himself out any more than he already was. Ara nodded in agreement and began to head to the tent so Add followed after her.

         Lua didn't ask amy questions and went ahead and gave them their share of tea which Add was grateful for. No one really said anything for a while since everyone was too tired to bother and Elsword was just asleep. "I'll be back you two. I'm going to go visit the Tree of El for a little bit. If Elsword wakes up, let him know," Lua said. "Sure thing but...might I ask why you're being so much nicer?" Ara said out of pure curiosity.

          "I don't want to be like Raguel, despising humans for my own selfish reasons. Not everyone is bad and will ise spirits to their advantage. You four taught me that. If it weren't for Elsword, I wouldn't have realized that I use spirits for whatever I want all of the time. Paradox showed me that the spirits decide for themselves who they choose to like and you two taught me what a friendship really is. I've never seen two people care so much about each other's well-being. It's sort of...heartwarming. I wish I could have been a good friend for Amelia and Lime. They might have lived," Lua explained with a slight smile.

          How Lua had known about Lime and Amelia's deaths was beyond Add but he was a bit more concerned with Lua's observation. "It's true that friends care about one another but Add isn't just my friend. That's why our friendship is unbreakable," Ara said with a smile. At this, Add found himself holding his head down in embarrassment as his face burned with heat but he wasn't really sure why he was so embarrassed. Ara was just stating a fact.

         "I know but still...I need to do better. I'm going now though. If I keep talking, I'll miss my opportunity. The Tree of El gets dangerous when the night is at its finest," Lua said. She gave Elsword one last look of concern before leaving the tent. Out of boredom, Add began to bother with his dynamos while Ara seemed to ne having a conversation with Eun. Add only knew this because she would have an expression change without even having said anything.

         "Hey, Add, if you want to go to sleep now, you can. Eun's about to take over for me so I can keep watch over Paradox's sphere," Ara said. "Okay," Add muttered. He really was tired. He glanced at Ara seeing her smile at him a bit and then she suddenly pulled him into a hug which confused him. "We made it out of this one alive. Next time will be the same except there won't be any mishaps. I just know it'll be easy," Ara said as she hugged him.

        "But Ara, we don't even know what we fixed or if we even fixed anything," Add said with a sigh. Ara released him from the hug and laughed at him a bit. "I thought you of all people would have figured it out. Raguel obviously didn't belong and so now all we need to do is bring Rena back," Ara explained. Add facepalmed for not having thought of such things causing Ara to laugh again. "Okay, that's enough talk for now. I'm getting tired so I'm letting Eun take first shift. You get some rest too okay," Ara said.

        Add didn't get the chance to say anything before Eun's features appeared along with Eun's full consciousness. What surprised Add was that Eun pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. "Eun, what are you doing?!" Add yelped. "Ara trusts me to take over for her. Now go to sleep," she replied before simply laying on his chest as if he were a pillow. As strange as it was, Add eventually couldn't fight the sleep that had been attacking him and so he drifted into a relatively peaceful sleep.
____________________________________

Another completed chapter! Until next time you spectacular readers!