The fateful reunion..

Tensions never ceased between the groups. Even when all seemed peaceful, someone’s actions would disturb that peace. In this case, it was Benkei’s. The group from Ovale were extremely defensive of Anna, threatening to attack and kill Benkei because of his actions. There was no telling what would have happened if Kane had not intervened, but it was clear that Benkei did not agree with their response. How could they attack him, with such lethal intent, for harming Anna, unknowing of Benkei’s past or situation? Yet, defend the demon from The Galatians for harming them and others? This was something that Benkei alluded to with his words as he walked away.

Kane turned to the Ovale group, most specifically Biggs, who seemed to be the most reasonable one amongst them now. ”….Looks like he has a point.” He said. Both Nir and Stella watched Benkei walk off before looking at Anna. ”Please don’t hold this against Benkei! He is a kind soul and very passionate! When I was healing him earlier, he did the same to me! So he’s not trying to hurt you intentionally!” Nir quickly turned to Stella. ”He did!?” Nir questioned. Tobias cleared his throat loudly, attempting to explain the situation before things escalated between Nir and Benkei. ”I was there! I saw it. It seems that Benkei may suffer from some trauma. Perhaps this causes his severe alertness, and rather extreme responses.” Tobias said.

”Listen, it doesn’t matter what’s going on with Benkei right now. We’re not going to be fighting each other over this.” Kane said, cutting in with a serious look. ”How quickly do you think they’ll ge this done Biggs? We’re in enemy territory, and currently, we’re sitting ducks. Now, I don’t know if you know, but you—the demon, has laid waste to an entire Duran post. I’m sure some escaped and alerted their command. You’re smart enough to know what that means….” While Kane continued, Van looked over to Benkei.

Benkei had expressed himself in such a way that he would eventually walk off. It isn't wrong to say he too had felt a way, being threatened in the situation he was in. He had posed questions that no one had thought to ask themselves. It is also fair to say that Benkei may very well have past traumas that would allow him to make involuntary movements. Grabbing Anna's arm and squeezing it, could be a trauma response. Of course, without a proper explanation one would believe he had attempted to do her harm. Just like when the Ovale group attacked the Galatians. Conceptual wise it was the same but the two scenarios were very different.

Kane had mentioned that Benkei had a point to be made to which angered Shinji. Before he could say anything Biggs had threw his hand out stopping Shinji. Stella had prompted herself into adding on that they shouldn't hold Benkei's actions against him. The young man would turn away, pouting.

Now Kane would address Biggs on the matter of the demon. How much longer before they can retreat from this land. They were in enemy territory for quite some time. "Our master is extremely skillful and has always been able to pacify the demon. It shouldn't take that much longer and then we can leave from this place." Biggs would answer.

Benkei walked off siding by the hillside pondering over the situation "wasted so much time and the Oracle still hasn't been recovered......how many days has it been since then " benkei sat down sighing and clenched his hands together. Benkei would rub his head "all these days seemed so blurred together and I can't keep it all together " benkei would think back to the young man at the tournament who fought with everything he had despite the odds and gave his life. Benkei would also think of the gentle giant who strength was amazing and died proving he was more hero than monster.

Kane crossed his arms. Looked like they were stuck there until the old man was able to pacify the creature. ”Alrighty, I’ll take your word for it.” Both Tobias and Kira, however, were a bit too anxious to just simply wait patiently. ”Biggs, my boy, I suppose we also have a method to quickly escape as well?” He asked with an awkward smile on his face. ”I mean, Duran is quite technologically advanced. Their airships would pose a problem no?” Kira had been visibly shaking. She was already worked up over the demon, and this wasn’t helping. ”Hey! Grandpa! Please!!! You’re totally messing up my vibe here!”

The old man lowered his head as he was scolded. This was only comedic to Stella, who giggled at the two. Nir aslo smiled, but his eyes caught onto Benkei. He followed behind him, sliding down the cliffside as well. ”Hey Benkei! Wait up!” Nir called out, reaching the pondering monk. ”I’m sorry about what happened up there..”

Through the deep dark crevices' of Virgil's sub-space, there had not been a shred of hope in finding him. Or so it seemed...

In the far distance, there had been a faint light. It looked exactly like a campfire in a forest. Remi and Nostradamus had grew closer to that light. Upon their arrival, Virgil's lifeless body had been sitting upright, in the center of a large birdcage. The cage was big enough to fit the young man comfortably inside. The light that they had seen was actually emitting from Virgil's body itself. "We made it." The young woman let out a sigh of relief. Nostradamus would inspect the cage before making any other moves. He would notice that the cage was opened quite a bit, with the tag torn. It was still able to hold the door shut however, there had been traces of black smog seeping through, that would encircling Virgil. In fact, this is the same black smog that was within the sub space. This was none other than the demon's influence.

"We shouldn't waste anymore time. Remi!" Nostradamus had been zealous to get things done. She had heard the old man and would move accordingly. Misra had been gathered by the old man as Remi had been at the door, hand on the seal paper. She was waiting for Nostradamus to command her. It would be long now before the old man would speak once more. "Now!" At this moment, he had gathered enough Misra for his next move. Remi had then ripped the seal clean off. She had then rushed to open the door and then immediately closing it right after. Nostradamus would quickly release the Misra, creating a barrier. Simultaneously, the black smog had violently rushed in to enter the birdcage. Of course it was met with Nostradamus' barrier, unable to pass.

This was the time for the young woman to shine. From her satchel, she'd pull out some beads. 108 to be exact. She would get down to her knees as she focused her Misra. Also, she would begin to say a mantra. "Om Lam Shaanti, Om Lam Shaanti..." She would repeat this phrase as many times as the number of beads she held. Of course the demonic mist from beyond would not allow for this to stand and would continue to violently, rummage through the sub space. Fortunately for Remi, Nostradamus had been there to protect her while she performed the mantra. Her sole focus was to chant until Virgil returned to his former self. With Nostradamus around, she felt safe and had nothing to worry about. This was only possible because the man before her is someone she could trust with her life.

On the outside, Miranda had continued to battle the demon. She had only a few cuts and bruises on her. Regardless of that, the demon couldn't get much of an edge over her. She had outclassed the demon in every way possible. She had a saddened look on her face. It looked like she was also in pain. Not physical but emotional. She had raised Virgil since he was young and for a parent to see one of their own dying a slow death was truly a pain many do not know. The demon had once more charged Miranda but something was off... She took notice and was prepared to counter but that is when the demon would keel over from some kind of pain. Thick and heavy Misra would seemingly leave it's body. The demon would change and the body would transform back to his original human form. He would fall to the ground but not before Miranda could slide down to her knees and caught him before hitting the ground. She had held him in her arms with a smile on her face. "Welcome back," she would say as he lay unconscious. Nostradamus and Remi would appear through the same portal that they entered earlier. "You did amazing, Remi." Miranda would say as the two would touch back down to the outside world. Remi had a bright smile on her face.

Benkei sighed as he sat at the edge of the mountain pondering. Nir had approached benkei as he apologized for the action of the other group "it's fine I do not know what is wrong with me to begin with, something about the interaction with Virgil really set me off like...... something inside me". He look at nir "maybe I'm a monster as well like I was born for war " he laughed but he truly believed his own words even if he tried to laugh it off

As much as Benkei wanted to mask his emotion with laughter, Nir could see right through the facade. He could tell that Benkei’s troubles were surfacing, whatever they were. ”Listen Benkei, you’re not a monster…..and you certainly weren’t born for war! So don’t say that about yourself. I can see that you care about many things, and that you have such powerful passion.” He placed his hand on his shoulder, smiling. ”You’re a human, just like me. And us humans go through things, and may show emotion, but what matters is we always persevere.”

During their talk, Remi and the older man had suddenly returned. They appeared from out of a portal, most likely generated by the old man. The demon had collapsed, transforming into a young man who looked very familiar to the others. Tobias and Kira were the first to take notice. ”Hey! Isn’t that…” Tobias squinted his eyes, ”Yes, didn’t he participate in the tournament!?” Both Kane and Van also looked over, with their suspicions verified. ”Heh. Would you look at that..”

Nostradamus and the others had just arrived to where the other group was. Remi had been beside the older man, while Miranda had Virgil on her back. He was still unconscious. Kira was the first to notice the one on her back was Virgil. It would seem the suspicions of Kane and Van were correct as well. Biggs would run up to Miranda, relieving her of holding Virgil. Anna and Koji would also run to their side. Shinji had also came to their side. Biggs had lay Virgil down on his back. It was revealed the large gash on his chest from the earlier attack from Kane.  "I know this may be much but could you possibly heal his wound?" Anna had a panicked look on her face. She had already been exhausted due to her healing. "I can try but..." It looked as if the little girl would cry. She had already known that her current power was not enough to heal this wound. Anna would place her hands over the wound and begin the healing process. The overwhelming pressure was too much. Her knees felt weak, arms would tremble, her focus was completely off. Anxiety had gotten the best of her, that is until Nostradamus had put his hand on her shoulder.  

"It is alright, little one. You have done an amazing job healing the others to full health. You are exhausted and with your particular healing, it takes a lot out of you mentally. Do not focus on healing the wound. All you need to do is focus on not letting the wound get infected. Once we reach Arcadia, we can take him to a hospital and care for him there." The old man would try his best to console the little girl. With a smile and all. His words were able to reach her. She gradually felt less pressure. A burden no child should have bore. "O- okay.." She would say after a deep breath. Anna's focus became much better but the amount of healing she's done has cause her a lot of mental strain. She would not be able to sustain this for long.

"Now then..." Nostradamus would clear his throat. "Everyone please listen to me. We will now be headed to Arcadia through teleportation. But before we go, I must create a teleportation circle large enough to fit us all. In the meantime, gather all of your belongings and meet me back here." The old man, once everyone left to gather their things would begin to draw up a large circle. There were many lines that would intersect with one another. Also, many characters were drawn out a well around the circle's edge. Miranda had stayed behind with Remi and Koji. Anna had continued to sustain Virgil's life force. Biggs and Shinji had rushed off to gather the cart. Once they got everything in order, they would return to Nostradamus and by that time, the teleportation circle should be finished.

Benkei would listen to nir and thanked him "something is wrong with me but I appreciate your words my friend.....you always seem to say the right things at the right time" he would look at nir "are you a psychic being !" Benkei would jokingly make fun of nir. As he spoke he could hear a commotion back with the group "maybe we should go back ?"

So the demon turned out to be Virgil, which had already been suspected by Kane and Van. The attack it had sustained earlier was not healed, and so Virgil had taken the damage. Those on the cliff watched as Anna had been tasked with healing him, as much as she could. ”Who would have thought that it was Virgil...” Tobias said. ”I still can’t believe it! He was that monster this entire time!” As they spoke about the identity of the demon, Stella walked past them, sliding down the cliffside. She walked over to the young girl, kneeling down by her side. ”Here, let me help you.” Stella said with a soft smile, aiding Anna in healing Virgil.

Kane followed behind, tapping on Tobias as he walked by. ”Alright you guys, time to go.” He slid down the side, Van, Kira and Tobias following behind. ”You sure this is a good idea Kane? Shouldn’t we be looking for The Oracle, and not wasting more time?” Van asked. ”Relax! This old man will help us. Trust me on this one.” Kuro floated behind Van, unable to help himself from chuckling. ”Yeah, relax Van! Hehe!” The young man quickly glared at the spectre. ”Shut up!”

The conversation between Nir and Benkei was coming to an end, with Benkei questioning if they should return to the group. Nir nodded, ”Yeah, let’s go back. I’m glad I was able to help here.” He said with a smirk on his face, patting Benkei’s back. ”Now let’s see what we’re missing.” The two returned to the others, finding them standing in formation. As Nir approached, he could see Virgil laying on the ground. The realization had hit him at that moment. It was Virgil, the young man from the tournament! ”Virgil….” This was why the Ovale group protected the creature so much. ”There you guys are!” Kane yelled out, having retrieved his coat and hat prior to the two walking in. ”We’re just about ready to go! Right old man?” He yelled again, looking to the older man. ”Kane my boy!!! That is no way—“ Tobias was said before being cut off by Kane, ”Yeesh! I mean, sir!”

After some time, the teleportation circle has finally been created. The were multiple runes surrounding the circle within it's own boarder. Inside the circle looked like multiple intersecting lines. Everyone had gathered along with their belongings. It would be long now before Nostradamus had conjured his Misra. "Be sure to keep all hands and feet within the circle. I won't be responsible if something goes missing." The old man would say with a little chuckle. Misra would emit from the markings, shooting up into the sky. It was a bright light that would cover anything within. The surge of Misra would suddenly vanish. The markings as well as those inside were completely gone.

On an island fortified by the mountains that are well over 1000 feet high, a beam of light shines down on the islands lowest point. It would seem that the island consisted of a single city. The rest of the land were open and filled with forests. At the highest point is a volcano. It is much further from the city which rested at a much lower point. This was were the transportation circle was as well as the dock. The island itself looked to be as beautiful as you can imagine a paradise to be.

"Hey look, someone's using the circle." A young man dressed in blue, white and gold would say. Next to him an older man with similar colors would get from his seat to look. They were stationed in a small gate house. It was to observe the transportation circle. "Oh yeah you're right. Looks like he's come back." The two would wait as the light would fade, revealing Nostradamus and company. They are at sea level, allowing the others to view Arcadia from the bottom up. "Here we are friends. Welcome to Arcadia."

As nir and benkei returned back to the group he could see Virgil lying unconscious on the floor "Virgil!!!!" Benkei wanted to run up to him but it seems they were all preparing to part "what's going on where are we going " it seems they were all preparing to go to another location "wait shouldn't we ?" As he spoke they were all placed in a circle and even van would speak was benkei was thinking that no more time should be wasting and now the Oracle was priority number 1 but kane shut them down with ease "I agree with van we should make haste ! " Even as they all gathered there things they immediately were transported to unknown parts even benkei had never seen "what in god's name is this !" As he looked around in a unfamiliar location all could be heard was Nostradamus voice " Arcadia ....."