Brown hair danced in the air as the owner looked around the small forest. He wasn't lost. He was just slowly making his way to the small town that had sheltered him after what happened. That's right. This was the boy from the town of flames, Tempesta nera. His sword purred at his side as he glanced at the paper in his hands.

"A war? I hope this is a Myth..." The boy sighed as he put it away and continued on the trail. He was almost there. Just as he reached the crossroad, he was nearly taken out by a group of soldiers that was racing to the right. He paused as he looked down the road they disappeared down. Then two others trodden up on their own rides.

"Hey." He instantly looked up at them. Oh shit- He pulled his sword and gulped. "Hey!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Who do you think you are?"

Suddenly, a dragon struck at the trio, catching them off guard. Tempesta blocked the attack while the other two ran off. He winced a little before jumping away. He had to run. He instantly bolted, the dragon following behind. His agility helped him as he used the trees to bolt away from the larger creature. He paused to take a breath when he was pushed behind a boulder.

"Hey-" He was hushed.

"Quiet-"

He closed his mouth as the dragon neared them. Due to them hiding really well, it backed away from the chase. Once the dragon had disappeared, the second person stood up. Tempesta stood up as well and scanned her, noting the interesting armor. She hummed.

"You're welcome." He blinked before he smiled.

"Yeah thanks-" His mind started running back to the soldiers from before. They came from this way- He excused himself to race for the town nearby. The other person looked to call out to him, but he was already running.

Meanwhile, the female had fallen silent as a dark glow escaped her hand.

"Wait... this means... he's..."

~~~

Tempesta's blade cut down the remaining soldiers in the town as he searched for survivors. He found a few, but they all said the same thing. They had taken his best friend.

Tempesta pushed his rage onto a wall, his sword hissing as it clashed with the brick wall. The mayor of the town waited until he had tired out to approach him.

"Tempesta. This is not your fault." He lowered his head as he sheathed his sword. "You can redeem yourself.

"Rosa's probably laughing."

His adopted Sister, Rosa bianca, was a knight of Bale. A very talented one. And she was going to laugh when she heard about this. The mayor placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but what did she do? You returned and protected the survivors. And you can do more by going after them. Rosa's got nothing against you." He weakly smiled as she laid a blanket over his shoulders. "Rest first. You need it."

~~~

By sunset, Tempesta had reached the prison that was holding his best friend. He silently slipped past the guards before he started trying to make his way around the place.

Before he found his friend, he found someone else.

"Get off me!"

He slipped over before pausing to see the Bale symbol. That better not be Rosa. His blood ran cold before his eyes caught blue hair. All was good. No bloody sister on his battlefield. He pulled out his sword before racing forward, clashing with a guard to defend some unarmed Bale soldiers that were still not his sister. His eyes flashed before lighting zapped the guards. The blue haired soldier spun his spear before crushing a few others. He then turned to the unarmed group.

"Go!" They ran off before the spear was pointed at Tempesta. "Who are you-" Tempesta hushed him before a shout filled the air. His sword hissed as he swung at an incoming guard. The Bale guy whipped around as more guards neared them. Tempesta growled.

"This place will be in flames when I'm done. Light it up!" Lightning hissed from the blade as he cut down the group near him. Without a second thought, he sent the lightning at the group across the small bridge. The Bale knight had merely taken out one guard when Tempesta jumped over him and sliced the other three down. That's when the duo clashed weapons.

"Who do you think you are?" Tempesta kept his mouth shut. He was way too angry to be dealing with this. The blue haired male growled. "Alright... don't answer me." Tempesta would've swung at his head if the familiar aura of his friend hadn't flashed on for a sec. Instead, he broke the clash and sheathed his sword.

"Tempesta nera. A mercenary from Selen." He properly looked the knight up and down as he lowered his spear. "I know you're from Bale. I don't suppose you're from the Elite Squadron under Rosa." The knight finally broke the tension with a faint chuckle, sliding the spear into his sheathe.

"Is that why you were hesitant to talk to me? Cause I wouldn't go near that knight without 15 castles between us." Tempesta gave a weak smile at that. "Saturn. Leader of the First Knighthood of Bale. I work directly under King Pearl." There was a heartbeat of silence as Saturn turned to where the shout had come from. "I don't think those knights made it. I'm sure that was the sound of them getting attacked." Tempesta sighed.

"Well... I have to get going. Good luck." Saturn turned on his heel.

"Where are you off to?" Tempesta stopped his retreat. "No one just cruises in here and doesn't have a goal. Especially a Merc." Tempesta shrugged.

"I could say the same thing about you but... I feel a lecture getting shot at me." Saturn chuckled as Tempesta sighed. "I have a friend that got grabbed. I gotta go get him out of here." He paused as Saturn put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me join you then."

"I handled it so far very well."

"Yeah, I know. It's the leaving I'm more worried about. You may have the strength to deal with this place, but they'll come in waves once you even start to leave." Tempesta hummed at the thought. "I'll follow your lead and then we'll push back out." He nodded at the thought.

~~~

They did find the cage. After finding the key in another room, Tempesta silently struck the guards outside the cage before a soft voice alerted them.

"Tempesta?" He glanced at the cage to see a smile crossing his friend's face. He smiled before going over and unlocking it. The smaller boy instantly jumped into his arms. "You're here! I was so worried!" Tempesta smiled.

"Good to see you too, Onyx." He placed the smaller boy down to cup his face. "I'm glad you're ok. Let's get you out of here." Onyx nodded as he grabbed Tempesta's left hand as they went over to where Saturn was. While they were reuniting, he had knocked out a few guards.

"Have your weapon pulled. They now know we're pushing for the exit." Tempesta pulled his sword out as he glanced at Onyx.

"Keep your head down just in case, ok?" Onyx nodded rather hesitantly.

~~~

During the push out, Onyx finally answered Tempesta's mental question. He was wondering why Onyx was so hesitant in hiding behind him until he saved Saturn with an accurate arrow slamming into the guard's shoulder. The Bale soldier took the moment of shock to take out the three guards near him while Tempesta took out the rest.

"What was that?" Tempesta couldn't answer until Onyx went over, Bow in hand.

"Sorry." The taller boys glanced at him before Saturn paused.

"Nice shot." Tempesta shot a look at him before kneeling down to his best friend.

"You didn't have to shoot." Onyx hummed.

"I... I don't want to be on the sidelines anymore. I know you don't like it, but I'm old enough to handle myself." Tempesta stayed quiet before Onyx countered his incoming thought. "And before you say anything. I wasn't able to stop an army from ambushing the town. I can handle myself now." Tempesta sighed.

"Alright. But stay behind me. Archery isn't the best frontline weapon." Onyx huffed as they continued.

~~~

Saturn held the line against the overlord of the prison, Archie, while Onyx fired at the other guards. Tempesta sliced a bunch of guards before assisting in defeating Archie. Once the two taller boys had pushed him off, Onyx yelped.

"Incoming!" Saturn's eyes locked onto the horses nearby.

"Over here!" Onyx joined them as they headed for an escape.

~~~

Tempesta hummed. Saturn fell asleep against his back while Onyx sat in front of him. They were originally on two horses, but Saturn's got shot down. After knowing his fellow knights were probably dead after getting caught, Tempesta grabbed the knight on instinct and pulled him to safety. Saturn couldn't stay awake with them, so Tempesta allowed him to rest against him. Onyx finally spoke.

"Nera?" He glanced at his best friend. He gently touched his face. "You've softened up from before." Tempesta hummed.

"Nah. I've just been dealing with Rosa." He then brushed the smaller boy's hair out of his face. "You've toughened up. I remember when you wouldn't let go of my hand whenever I was home." Onyx blushed a little.

"First of all, you have soft hands. So that's not fair." Saturn made a soft noise behind them, something about dealing with idiots. "Second of all, you were the one holding my hand. Whenever I went wandering, you grabbed it to pull me back to the group."

"I think you're making up excuses."

"You've softened up, Nera. Admit it."

"Over my dead body." Saturn made another noise, this time to hush them. The duo giggled softly before Onyx paused.

"But I mean it. Before, you would've saved a stranger." Tempesta glanced back at Saturn as he mumbled something under his breath.

"It's more of the fact that he lost a group of people back there. I guess he didn't deserve that fate." Onyx hummed.

"You softened up, Nera. Nothing you can say will change my mind." He then paused before reaching back and gently touching Saturn's Arm. "He's wounded... When we go to rest, I can heal him." Tempesta nodded before hearing yelling. Saturn woke up as Tempesta gulped.

"Onyx, is your aim enough to shoot one of those guys off their rides?" Onyx was able to climb behind Saturn as the Knight rubbed his eyes.

"What's happening?" Onyx notched an arrow before aiming. With an excellent shot, he managed to lessen the numbers from 3 to 2. He then gulped before Tempesta pulled him in front.

"Hold on tight." The horse neighed proudly before picking up speed, gaining distance from the guards.