Frozen Storm: Searching for the Water Prison

Chapter 1
Mochina Island was experiencing a normal day, besides the fact that a huge event was taking place. It was the king's birthday and everyone was preparing to celebrate this occasion.

"Okay so we got all the food and decoration?" Zero asked while looking at a list together with Alice Hotaru.

"Yep...All ready and waiting to be dealt with." Alice replied after looking at several mages looking at the pile of decorations.

The Twilight Phoenix Guild have the honor of hosting a huge meal for the royal family at their mansion. Markus however who is possibly the closest friend of the king isn't anywhere to be found.

Setting foot in the city of Mochina island was a fairly tall, slim, and fit man with a rather youthful face. His short raven-black hair with a dark blue tint hanged near his cheeks to frame his face. The newcomer didn't seem to be searching for something, just looking around with his eyes kept half-way opened as if he didn't really care what they did for the birthday of the king. Even though this newcomer didn't try to pull attention to himself, the onlookers couldn't keep themselves from wondering why someone would wear a long, black robe over his normal uniform that was prone to attracting attention when he seemingly didn't want any attention drawn to himself.

Markus who was walking around the docks noticed the guy's power and looked towards him. "Yo kid! New to the island?" He said holding a pack of red flakes in a small white bag. "Red Rock?" Markus offered some of the flakes.

Looking to where the voice came from, Lancelot slowly tilted his head towards Markus. "I am not a kid." Looking at the offer of the flakes he called Red rock, he carefully pulled out 2 of those red flakes that he cautiously observed before eating both of them at the same time.

"Sure....So what ya doing here?" He asked waiting for the man to react to the heat. "Sorry to ask but outsiders are treated with suspicion due to the current war."

Markus gestured to two police officers and they backed off and went back to their patrol. Markus then looked back to the man. "Also need a name." He said throwing a hand fall of Red Rocks into his mouth and crunching down on them. "If you willing occupation and magic if any."

Trying to ignore the heat of the flakes, Lancelot gave the officers a short glance from the corners of his eyes before returning to the man in front of him. "Lancelot is my name, and who might you be? As for what i am doing here, you can say i am searching for a very precious one to me." His voice was casual, almost relaxed just as his body appeared to be.

"Markus Hotaru....The Infamous Storm and the Storm Phoenix Slayer." Said Markus bowing his head slightly. "I'm the guild ace to The Twilight Phoenix Guild me and my friend Zero Asahi formed a few years ago.....Well if you looking for someone my guild and i would be happy to help once all this celebrating is over."

Hearing Markus call himself the Storm Phoenix Slayer, Lancelot removed his robe almost unconsciously while starting to release his magical aura around himself. "Storm Phoenix Slayer you say? Then return Blizzardo to me unharmed this moment!" Taking a deep breath as he gathered ice in his mouth, he released it in a large blast of ice aimed towards Markus, while afterwards covering his arms, legs and chest with a protective layer of ice.

Markus simply blocked the ice by countering with a concussive blast of thunder. "If i did take one of the Ice Sisters it would be if they went feral.....I live by the code set down by the Phoenix King runt...." Said Markus charging up his next attack. "Besides the Ice Sisters haven't been seen here for decades!"

The surrounding people in the dock spoke up in defense of Markus knowing he'd never do something like that or betray his home. "Leave him alone punk!" Said one of the guards readying his sword and fire magic.

"Big sister would never go feral. Last i saw of her was a group that captured her while claiming to do so on orders of the Storm Phoenix Slayer." Concentrating magic around his left fist, he gave a punch to the ground followed by raising his left hand with which he punched the ground to release a blow of diamond dust around himself as the ground underneath them became slippery. Part of the dust and ice-cold floor was for when they would try to subdue him while it would also make it easier to clear the crowd if needed. "So give her back, or I'll do whatever i need to do to make you listen to reason."

"Why would i take her then? And even if i did i wouldn't get someone else to do it...." Said Markus as he dodged and levitated himself in the air. "Calm down and listen dude....Whoever did it was lying. Why would i capture a creature these people around you revere as envoys of the gods?....Why would i betray my home?"

Pulling out a pair of wings made of ice, Lancelot started to release enough power to encompass them in a small radius, putting projectile based weapons out of the game. "As for why you would capture her, maybe so they would worship you as a bringer of peace?" While speaking, he gathered ice and snow around his hands to make them look like claws in case he needed his claws.

Markus burst out laughing at Lancelot's words. "My my, you are somewhat ignorant to the key point of deception." Said Markus as he floated down. "I have no reason to act against the Phoenix Nobles....I'm focusing on killing Daimon the Dark Slayer and the fake.....Wait a second! I may know who really took Blizzardo....Dark Storm my doppleganger."

Raising an eyebrow at what Lancelot heard, he pulled the power back to a level that would just protect himself from projectile weapons. "Phoenix nobles? Big sister never told me about that she was a noble..." The name Daimon though, did sound familiar to him. "Daimon? Isn't he supposed to be the king of drakes or something along those lines?"

"Daimon is king of Blackwood Island." Markus said pointing to the massive island behind Lancelot way in the distance. "And yeah you "sister" is one of the 5 Ice Ladies....Some reason there are 5 of them.....The other nobles never figured that out."

"So why not destroy that king? Just ask Blizzardo and her sisters and they can probably deal with it for you after all. The middle one is usually grumpy though when i was able to meet them thanks to Blizzardo." Releasing the ice around his hands, he folded his ice wings slightly around himself as if to protect himself from the different directions.

"Nope point....Plus i want him myself....And i plan to wipe out every inch of his kingdom and those who follow him personally." Said Markus as his face went dark and grim and lightning ran up his arm. "Besides if i remember correctly, Bolterus told me that the 2nd oldest of the sister is a bit too aggressive....."

"She is only aggressive when provoked, at other times she is kind. She even taught me a few things while keeping the middle one friendly too." Cupping his hands together, he created an ice-cone with the purest of white snow that was filled with the same pure ice as the cone was made of before trying to give it to Markus. "Here, some ice to cool down. But besides the middle one, i only know them as one of the most kind sisters you'll ever meet."

Markus gestured to his half empty bag of Red Rocks. "I'm good...But thanks....Okay look, i'll give you a hand finding Blizzardo but at the moment i need to host a big feast for the king....You can come as my guest if ya like." Said Markus as he started to walk back to the guild.

"I can help with the ice for the feast if you want, but reading up on the information your library has over phoenix's would be good as well while you finish up with this celebration for the king." Picking up his robe from one of the chairs nearby, he put it on again before walking towards Markus and his guild.

"I mean actually join the feast... Phoenix Slayers are kinda revered here... You'll enjoy the food anyway." Said Markus looking back. "Besides, it would be rude for a guest not to enjoy the food we got.

Actually joining in with the feast for a king? Not to mention, a feast with humans? Stopping while thinking of that, he looked at his own wings for a moment before dissolving them in the air. "Sure, although i don't have anything that is fancy enough for a feast with a king..." Reciting something while keeping his voice low and his eyes closed, Lancelot seemed to relax a bit. Opening his eyes again when he was done with reciting, he kept them halfway closed as a friendly smile adorned his face again.

"Your human as well...Despite the fact you were raised by a phoenix.....And don't worry about that i'm going like this, the king is an old friend and he's oddly relaxed for his title." Said Markus finishes his Red Rocks. "Plus he'll love you! Mostly cos of your position as what a lot of the holy men refer to as a Blessed Mage, but also 'cos of your attitude."

"Those holy men need to learn more from their teachers, not the ones from this generation but the very first ones that created their religion..." Finishing his own ice slowly, he released a soft sigh on how energetic this Markus was. "Are you this energetic thanks to Bolterus his teachings or because you try to impress the others around here with your energy?"

"Here phoenixes are revered as the envoys of the 5 gods and guardians of the elements......Phoenix Slayers were raised by them....So it's understandable that we'd be revered in a similar manner....They normally just leave us to our own devices but do treat us with a degree of respects....Well only me to be honest as i'm the only Phoenix Slayer on the island......" Said Markus as he smirked. "And i don't try to impress people.....I'm here to defend my hope, family, friends and to kill Daimon.....That is it."

"Just ask help from the other phoenix's and that Daimon is dead in no time." Stopping when he saw some kids playing while their parents seemed to be paying no attention to the kids, he started to wonder a few things. "Why are their parents not keeping a closer eye on them? They can hurt themselves with those sticks."

"No need....I will kill him. I don't need the phoenixes to help me of my guild." Said Markus look back at Lancelot. "We learn from our mistakes.....If they hurt themselves they learn not to play like that again....It's the same as when you trained with Blizzardo."

"Well, i never got hurt by the training with her. She even kept always an eye on me to protect me." Disappearing from behind Markus while reappearing behind one of the kids, he grabbed hold of the stick that one of the kids was swinging down on the back of one of the other kids. "Don't attack others in the back, it is not nice."

"I could tell....In combat you get hurt.....I'm curious to see your reaction to getting hurt in a fight." Said Markus as he watch Lancelot.

Seeing the kid glare towards him, Lancelot froze the stick before snapping it in two. One of the parents even walked towards him, asking for an explanation why he interfered with the kids. "I merely made sure this kid would not attack someone else in the back. I even made sure that the ice would not reach the kid"

"This is what real life is like....This is what you must learn to survive in this world." Said Markus smirking and waving off the mum. "This is what you should've learned.....What i learned the hard way." Markus ran a finger down the long scar going across the bridge of his nose.

"Big sis never wanted to teach me those things, being rather over-protective as Snowie calls it." Seeing the kids and their parents leave the area, Lancelot looked at Markus again. "Who gave you that scar if you don't mind me asking?"

"Bolterus...My phoenix parent....To show me what to expect in this world....He hated doing it but it was a fair lesson." Said Markus smirking a little. "Now I've got at least 100 scars from various weapons and magics.....A lot are from Daimon and Dark Storm who use a type of Lightning and Fire Magic that i can't absorb...."

"Hmm, Bolterus sounds like someone that big sis would not like... She is not a fan of delivering scars to teach something. " Making another ice-cone with some ice, he started on it while waiting until they would go to his guild again.

The two eventually made it to Markus' guild hall which was a huge mansion baring a chest on the front gate similar to the one on Markus' belt buckle. "Welcome to my family home and guild hall!" Markus said with a proud tone. "Make ya self at home and if you wish to help out feel free to do so."

Looking at the mansion, Lancelot knocked on some of the pillars before looking at the rest of the mansion. "How do you keep the heat or the sun away in here if i may ask Markus? And sure, i can arrange the ice part for that feast."

"The dining room's windows face north......Very little direct sunlight from there." Said Markus smiling at the progress of the decorations and looking worried when he saw both Zero and Ellena appear from the back garden. "This will be interesting...."

"Mind if i use the dining room as my bedroom then while i stay here?" Seeing how Markus his smile turned to worry, Lancelot didn't get why the meeting of 2 guild mates would be something that warranted a look of worry. "How interesting?"

"We got spare rooms above it so you can use one of those....and painful interesting." Said Markus before he vanished with Zero and Ellena split up to find him.

"He'll be fine.....He just blew off his role in setting the decorations up...." Said a voice from behind Lancelot. "He does that a lot when not doing a job or going through with a personal job."

Behind Lancelot stood a giant of a man wearing dark clothes and had a neutral expression on his face.

"What was his job in setting those up then?" Turning towards the man behind him, he held his right hand up. "I am Lancelot by the way, and who are you?"

The man pointed up to the lights where covers were placed projecting the royal crest of Mochina Island. "I'm Titan....One of the S-Class Mages of the guild...." Said Titan still maintaining his neutral expression. "Why are you here little one?"

Dumping some shaved ice on Titan his head, Lancelot started looking for the stairs towards the guest rooms upstairs. "I am here on the invitation of Markus."

Titan walked off without a reaction to the ice. Meanwhile Markus was still running from Ellena and Zero. He eventually climbed into the room Lancelot had picked out and hid under the window.

"Yo! Keep the noise down. I gotta avoid those two till the feast begins." Said Markus peaking over the window sill.

"Why are you avoiding them in the first place? Just do those lights that you are supposed to do and they get off of your back right?" Lancelot his voice was strangely impassive during that question, as if it seemed only normal that they would leave him alone after finishing up those lights.

"They done but it the fact i avoided doing in the first place." Said Markus as he stood up as the two passed the window. "I decided to wander around the docks and relax before tonight.....They're just annoyed i ducked out of my role....They know i don't like doing that kinda thing."

"Then why do they want you to do those things if they know you will just duck out?" Said Lancelot.

"In hopes i'll actually do them." Smirked Markus as he looked out the window only to be dragged down by Titan who got roped into the search of Markus. "Crap!!"

"Seriously why do you keep doing this Markus?!" Asked Ellena looking highly disappointed by her husband's actions. "We give you these jobs so you don't cause problems during days like this!"

"I don't cause problems...I just bring old ones to light." Smirked Markus as he stood up and brushed himself down. "I'm sorry though."

Ellena sighed and hugged him. "Lets just get everything ready and enjoy the evening. Who the walker you brought along?"

"Oh that's Lancelot the Ice Phoenix Slayer.....Kinda weird but he didn't get out much it seems" Said Markus looking up at the window.

Jumping from his current room to land next to Markus, Lancelot brushed the dust away from him after the landing. "That would be incorrect Markus, big sis only allowed me somewhere inside to sleep or change clothes. For the rest of the time i was out in the open." Turning his eyes to Ellena he made a light formal bow towards her. "I am Lancelot by the way, who might you be milady?"

"I'm Ellena and don't be so formal around here....It's nice to meet ya though" Smiled Ellena as she looked at Markus. "I see what ya mean....He hasn't really adapted much has he?"

Markus nodded with a smirk. "He's ok though....Gonna be fun to see he reaction to the king's attitude." He said walking to the back door. "Oh he's just arrived by the way."

"What??!?!??!?!?!" Said Ellena shocked. "You could've told us he was approaching!!"

"I was avoiding you and Zero....." Said Markus as he opened the doors to getting the king.

"Ellena, mind explaining why you didn't think of the fact he was avoiding you before asking why he didn't tell? Or does he has some telepathic magic too besides the magic taught by Bolterus?" Making an ice-cone with shaved ice, Lancelot made sure the shaved ice would taste like strawberry ice before giving it to her.

"Ya know, i don't really know myself....And no he doesn't. The only magics he knows are his Slayer Magic, Sword Magic, Telekinesis, Requip Magic, Repair Magic, the guild's unique magic and Unison Raid." She said taking the ice-cone and finishing almost instantly. "Anyway lets enjoy the meal and you can meet the rest of the guild members not on jobs.

Everyone gathered in the massive dining room around a long grand table covered in food and drink. The king sat at the head of the table with his two bodyguards standing behind him. Markus and Ellena sat in the seats just in front of him on ether side of the table, Lancelot sat next to Markus as the other sat down the king looked at Lancelot.

"Who's he?" Asked the king looking at Markus.

"His name is Lancelot, he's the Ice Phoenix Slayer....Seems he's after the phoenix who taught him....Dark Storm has apparently kidnapped her, so after this we're going on a hunt." Said Markus taking a sip of his drink.

Standing up to make an formal bow with his right arm in front of his chest as the left remained straight, Lancelot started to introduce himself as he slowly straightened up again. "Good evening milord, i am Lancelot. An Ice Phoenix Slayer like Markus already said." Taking his seat again, he pulled his glass up to eye level, sniffing a bit before placing it down again. "Markus said he would help me free big sis after this dinner, so hopefully she will be free soon again... It is boring without her up there after all, even if it would mean being able to do things that big sis prohibited in the first place."

"It's nice to meet ya kid....But i feel i must give you some advice." Said the king as he bowed his head in return. "Firstly trust Markus....His methods are weird at times but he does get the job done. Secondly you need to live a little, not to disrespect one of the Ladies of the Ice but you need to experience life in our world to get through as a mage."

"He's right Lance...." Said Alice who was sitting a couple seats down from Lancelot and Markus. "You need to grow and you can only do that by going through life and making mistakes."

The feast went on with the usual chaos of the guild. several arguments broke out over the power difference between Markus and Lancelot and another broke out about who was the best looking female member of the guild, the king just laughed at the "entertainment" going on around him.

Slipping out of the feast after finishing his own meal, Lancelot went to lie down at the roof so he could enjoy the stars while listening to the sounds and arguments of the ones below him. Why did these people kept telling him to live a little? He was already living, otherwise he would've died already right? So why did they mention to live before being able to get stronger...

Eventually Markus appeared floating on a platform of wind. "You okay Lance?" He asked stepping onto the roof. "Why'd ya slip out? Not much for crowds?"

Sitting up so he could look at Markus, he actually chose his words carefully this time. "Crowds are not really something i like, even with Blizzardo her sisters or other phoenix's i didn't like to be in a crowd."

"I assume your also thinking about what we all said?" Asked Markus as he sat on the edge on the roof. "The only reason we said that cos you need to experience things outside what you've been taught and learn from them.....You need to learn how to flow with things.....Absorb all information and adapt. Blizzardo seemed to have kept you a little sheltered from what really happens in this world....At the moment the entire region is at war.....That's why i think the kidnapping of your sister has something to do with that."

Markus then looked to the distance. "There is one place strong enough to hold her.....The Water Prison....It was made to hold a very powerful Drake that tormented the archipelago.....It suppressed the magical energy of whatever is put in it......It's location was lost to time but I've got a rough idea it's location." He said as he pointed to a small speck on the horizon. "There....The Isle of the Hawk.....It's occupied by the Oracs a race of brutish yet honorable warriors."

"If the entire region is at war, i can't blame Blizzardo for being protective. " Looking in the direction that Markus pointed to,Lancelot tilted his head slightly upon hearing the name of the water prison and the Oracs. "I've heard of the Oracs. Savages with a feeling for honor that is not fitting for their brute actions according to Snowie."

"Wars happen....Someday you'll get caught in one either way." Said Markus look at Lancelot. "Oracs are a very loyal and trustworthy race to their allies.....We've had a few Oracs join our guild in the past, they never stay long though."

Markus stood up and walk forward onto the wind. "Blizzardo may have tried to protect you but doing so can be just as damaging....." He said before lowering himself down. "If ya wanna rejoin the party feel free to do so...."

"The war will not be capable of reaching home as long as all the lady's of ice as you call them are free..." Looking with a bit of longing to the stars as Markus started to lower himself again he kept his voice low. "Who is that girl with red hair and the swirling tattoo by the way Markus?"

Markus popped back up. "That is Alice my twin....She's a bit nuts but fun to be around." Said Markus as he started to lower down again. "Oh yeah just remembered we got a new guild candidate just show up wanna see what kinda power she got?"

"Your sister huh..." Smiling softly, he stood up to follow Markus. "Sure, i am curious what the damsel can do. Maybe you could even introduce me to Alice?" How this Alice and Markus where brother and sister was weird, especially considering how they didn't look like each other but when going for the smell of them, he actually could picture them as brother and sister...

"After i test this new girl.....She apparently wants to fight me...." Said Markus gesturing to Lancelot to follow him. "I warn you though my sis is nearly as deadly as i am and has just as deadly a temper."

"If i can handle big sis and her sisters, i think i can handle her temper as well." Following Markus, Lancelot went with his fellow slayer back to the feast, returning to his former seat as Markus got ready to test the new guild candidate and her powers. Gathering some ice again, he made a new ice cone to eat and to hide a small booby-trap in the field that they would use for the test. Nothing big, just making the floor slippery enough to make one fall the moment they would step on it.

"Okay everyone lets head to the arena to see this kid's abilities." Said Markus as he led the group out to the back. "Watch the ice as well....."

They all gathered around the arena the girl landed and took up her stance instantly. The stance was relatively unknown among the crowd, although Markus recognized it instantly. "Yotohama Style Kenjutsu based off Hotaru Style Kenjutsu." He said looking at the stance which involved the girl resting the scabbard across the top of her forearm as if holding a baby, with her legs paced apart to give her good balance. "Lets see how well you've mastered it."

Markus reached up and a wooden sword flew into his hand. "This is a Steel Wood Bokken....." He said taking a simple stance.

"Ya sure you wanna use that?" Said the girl edging forwards slightly. "I'm not exactly weak ya know."

Markus pointed behind her to a huge mountain that towered over the estate's ground. "That's the result of my power....." Said Markus as he looked at the mountain's horn like peak. "I'll be fine."

"How the hell did you do that!?!" Asked the girl shocked.

"Drake attack... The Black Wing Lord decided to attack and i killed him at the cost of the peak." Said Markus before dashing forward stabbing the bokken forward. The girl just dodged the attack that through air pressure created a small explosion behind her.

Tapping Ellena on her right shoulder, Lancelot didn't even appear to be amazed at what Markus was showing and telling, he knew of how strong a slayer could become if they wanted to fulfill their purpose as a phoenix slayer. "Did Markus ever learn to be humble from his teacher?" Keeping an eye on the girl, he tried to memorize the different motions she would use for that so called yotohama kenjutsu style in case he could use it to supplement his own techniques.

Ellena smirked still watching the sparring match. "It's the only way he can really show his power without risking innocent people...." Said Ellena. "Even his magical power is dangerous to release as he doesn't have that great control...."

Markus kept on the offensive as the girl tried to fight back showing great skill with a blade but also showing she had a lot to learn. "Not bad.....You need to angle your left foot when using the Snowball Cut." Said Markus as he dodged a downward cut. "The technique is designed to act as a start to the Avalanche Technique."

The girl then twisted round into a lunge forward followed by a full downward spinning slash. Markus defended himself against all the attacks only just being caught by the last attack.

"Not bad kid...." Said Markus as he slowly twirled the bokken around his hand and attacking from behind despite not even moving. "Illusion Sword: Reaper Surprise....." Said Markus after landing two blows one to her shoulder and side.

The girl stayed standing despite having a dislocated shoulder and possibly cracked rib. "Going a bit rough on me huh?" Said the girl with a smirk.

"If i was going all out you'd be dead......" Said Markus opening his guard. "Try your luck...."

The girl dropped her scabbard from her now useless left arm. She then charged leaping above Markus and launching a wind blade at Markus who broke it with his head showing only a small cut. She then came down with a powerful lightning coated lunge at his face, a huge explosion erupted from the two.

Resting his head a little bored on his knuckles, he didn't see the use in testing that girl this way. "Can't he just finish the fight quickly or let her fight someone more along her level Ellena? She is hopelessly outclassed after all with how much he is still holding back." Spinning a small snowball on his ring finger he continued. "Control can be learned with enough patience, maybe someone with enough patience can learn him how to control his magic better?"

"This is to test her fighting spirit and willpower....Anyone can walk away from a fight but to know that victory is hopeless yet to keep fighting is true fighting spirit." Said Ellena looking at Lancelot. "I doubt someone who's been trained the way you have would understand."

The dust cloud cleared and all could see Markus holding the sword in his hand with the girl being held up still in the air. "Not bad kid.....Your in." Said Markus which caused the guild members to cheer. "Doc help the kid out...."

"The name is Yukie Homatsu!" Said the girl using telekinesis to sheath her blade. "what about my little sister?"

"She's in as well...." Said Ellena smiling.

"Try fighting against a phoenix Ellena. Until one learns how to slay them, victory is rather hopeless while they still practically force you to continue. Or did you meant something else with that fighting spirit?" Releasing a sigh, Lancelot turned his attention back to Markus. "Shall we go Markus, or do you need to finish up with something first?"

Markus floated up to the ledge and kicked Lancelot in the face. "First apologize to my wife.....Here we don't talk to anyone like that especially when you don't know how strong they are!" Said Markus charging both his arms with lightning. "I doubt your abilities though.....Even Blizzardo knew how to fight and would if needed.....She created the Ice Caves as proof of that."

Rubbing the place where he got kicked, Lancelot coated himself in a small protective layer of ice in case Markus would hit him again. "She knew how to fight yes, but she also insisted one knew how to control their power properly first before learning how to fight. And from what i understood of your wife, your control is not really great." Giving a small bow to Ellena was all she got by way of apologize before turning back to Markus, increasing the density of his ice on his back. "And yes, i learned how to fight already from her too. So mind apologizing for doubting my ability's?" As he spoke, he already started gathering snow around himself in case it was needed.

"You say you can fight....I doubt you can fight well." Said Markus taking out a small crystal with the colors of fire. "Shall we test that? I don't want to carry you around as dead weight as we try to find Blizzardo."

"You doubt i can fight? I doubt you can actually control your power." Disappearing with that last word, Lancelot appeared again in the arena with his arms crossed as he actually had his eyes fully open this time. "I hope this arena can handle something, or else it might get destroyed in the process."

"Active all 4 protection Lacrima...." Said Markus appearing in the arena. "My control is greater than they think....Lets just see what happens."

Markus fires several blasts of lightning at Lancelot moving around the arena while doing so.

Lancelot created a shield in the shape of a phoenix wing as he kept track of the several blasts followed by a few movements with his arm out to send feathers made of ice at the lightning blasts to cancel them out with an equal amount of force followed by another barrage of ice feathers at Markus.

Markus vanished and appeared behind Lancelot slamming his elbow into Lancelot's back sending him forward to be kicked in the back sending him flying. Markus followed this up with a Storm Phoenix Scream. After that he pulled out the fire colored gem again and squeezed it causing a massive amount of fire to engulf him which he absorbed activating his Burning Storm Drive. "Now we have some fun...." Said Markus putting the gem away. "Don't expect any help from the others 1st rule of the arena is no helping the combatants. We fight alone till one gives up or runs out of magical power."

Blocking the scream with a new shield, Lancelot landed on hands and feet before revealing his own wings as he slowly stood up. "You apparently have some twisted idea of fun then Markus, if a fight is what you deem to be fun." His arms, legs and chest became covered by a protective layer of ice the moment he stood up again, and released his own drive form causing icicle type markings to be engraved into his skins, caused diamond dust to appear from his eyes and 5 feathers to grow on his forearms.

"I never learned to expect help from others besides Phoenix's so that is easy." Taking a deep breath, he covered himself with his ice wings before releasing a thick ice-cold fog that covered the whole arena in a matter of seconds. "How do you like this?" Using ice-shift the moment the area was covered, his question appeared to come from all directions at the same time. The first purpose was to remove the sight of Markus so that he would need to rely on his sense of hearing, touch and smell. The second purpose was in the cold, since who ever would go into the fog would gradually start to cool down, and could even get killed by freezing to death in the fog. For Lancelot, the cold was nothing since he was used to the cold temperatures of his teachers, but those who where not used to it would freeze to death within 8 minutes if they didn't find a way to remain warm.

Markus dropped to one knee placing a hand on the ground and closing his eyes. After a few seconds he smirked opening his eyes. "I hear your breath, your heart and i feel your steps." Said Markus in a grim voice. "You should've learned that a Phoenix Slayer's senses are inhuman....I can also see your soul."

Markus coated his legs with fire and lightning before rolling forward and spinning on his shoulders creating a massive vortex of fire and lightning the technique cleared the fog by evaporating it. Markus then charged at Lancelot launching a barrage of dynamic kicks throwing fake kicks and jabbing punches the attack continued with the fire and lightning mixed in to create more damage. "I find the thrill of combat fun not the idea of killing unless it's two certain people....." The feathers on Markus' arms twitched as he launched a powerful ball of fire and lightning at Lancelot.

Hiding in the protection from his wings, Lancelot waited until Markus would use something besides martial arts before dissolving and appearing behind Markus, wielding a blade of what looked like pure ice. "Hyousetsu" While speaking that single word, he lunged forward to Markus his back while keeping the temperature 1000 degrees below zero while keeping his wings protective around him.

Markus smirked seemingly taking the hit but in reality he used an unarmed version of one of sword techniques. creating an illusion of himself but in reality moving behind Lancelot where he had a defensive blind spot. Markus landed two blows to Lancelot's back and threw him to the ground holding a flaming lightning sword to Lancelot's neck. "Not bad Lance....You've have skill in your magic but you lack a sure goal." Said Markus powering down and dispelling the sword offering to help Lancelot up. "With the right training from another source you could be a powerful mage."

Standing up on his own, he dusted the dust and sand from his clothes after dispelling his own blade. "I only got the most basic fighting techniques taught to me, the rest is what i figured out on the way from home to this island." Outside that scream and wings, almost all of the techniques where things he figured out without help or training after all.

Markus smirked "Lets go find her....But first we need to check the archives, they'll give us some clues." He said before looking to Becca. "Go to the palace and request some Royal Guard support.....The Sentinels will do.....Ellena grab ya gear, we'll need you as well."

"What about me?" said Zero looking at Markus.

"Fine you can come as well." He said smirking. "We'll need your researching skills to hunt down some clues to the prison's location."

"That won't be difficult!" Said Zero sarcastically.

Rubbing the fingers of his left hand together for a few seconds, Lancelot dumped some snow on Zero his head before sealing his drive form together with placing a small seal on his second origin. While it would boost his ability's greatly when kept active the whole time, saving it for later and using it as a trump card for later was the smarter choice after all. "No being sarcastic or moody Zero, or else it is time for you to cool down."

"You'll understand the reason for that sarcastic remark when we get there Lance." Said Markus leading the group towards the archives.

They eventually arrived at the huge building that housed the archives and went down into the bowels of the building, there they found the giant room that houses the history, knowledge and ancient magic of the archipelago.

"Only place i know with more information is the Magic Council Archives." Said Zero as he walked to a desk ahead of them. "Shogi! I need all the books, scrolls and items referencing the Water Prison and it's location and set up a Finder for me will ya?"

The old man at the desk nodded and scurried off to fulfill Zero's request.

"What are the magic council archives and that council themselves actually?" Looking around, it resembled the library that his big sis kept in their homes but there where more books than at home from what he could see... Going to one of the desks that had a comic with a phoenix on the cover, Lancelot carefully opened it to find a lot of pictures inside. "Weird book is this, why all these pictures instead of describing them with words?"

"The archivers remember all these books by those pictures.....And the Magical Council try to manage magic and dark guilds......They do their best but they have so some real issues at times." Said Markus sitting on a chair in front of the desk. "Mochina Island and the rest of the archipelago don't really listen to them.....We prefer to do things our own way and the region has remain relatively stable for centuries cos of it....We just let their guild inspectors come in and check all the guilds are up to their standards....Well we sometimes fake it then go back to normal business once they leave."

"Magic can't be managed by a group, it can only be managed by yourself... So, what is the purpose of that council then?" Placing the comic book aside, he pulled a book to himself with a single rose on its cover. Opening it, he was glad there where no pictures inside and took a chair while starting to read in it.

"What i mean by manage it is stopping forbidden and black magic from getting out into the public.....They also stop Dark Guild from gaining too much power....Or at least try to." Said Markus examining the cover of a near by book. "They also arrest fugitive mages for various crimes like start guild wars or murder."

"The council is basically like a magical government. They set the rules for guilds, laws for mages and enforce both so mages don't cause any more problems than we already got with all the Dark Mages running around." Said Ellena as she remained several statues placed at the ends of each bookcase. "How many of your clan is honored here Markus?"

"All of them from the first member of the clan to my father....." Said Markus

After finishing the first chapter, Lancelot closed the book with more interest in that council at the moment than the book. "So basically, that council is a weaker version of phoenix slayers? Break the rules or go crazy and punishment is delivered, or did i got that wrong? "

Markus burst into laughter. "Yeah that's a somewhat misguided view of it. The Council are basically the magical government they make sure mages go by the rules and don't go around causing massacre after massacre.....Phoenix Slayers just kill the rarity that is a feral phoenix who've gained whats known as The Black Feather.....Just so you know it's a kind of illness that causes a phoenix to go mad....Strangely enough the Phoenix Lords and their parents the King and Queen of the phoenixes are immune to it. It's still rare but not unheard of for a regular phoenix to get the illness." Said Markus taking a more serious tone. "Also Phoenix Slayers aren't unbeatable....We have weaknesses like your seeming lack of physical combat....Mine is experience and human error."

Zero then returned with the books and card to use the item he requested. "Okay lets get this done we got 30 books to get through." He said dragging the trolly to the desk with the books piled up on it. "Anyone got a theory on how we'll find this place?"

"Map.....My guess is that among the clues and symbols we'll find is a map and a way to use the map." Said Markus standing up and smirking. "Remember the Red Star Job?"

"Yeah but that was luck! Besides that was sunken treasure....That's like a rule to have that kinda thing." Said Zero.

"I already told you why i lacked combat Markus..." Picking up an old history book from the pile, Lancelot started reading about the Oracs and their country. Call it a hunch or something like that, but he had heard stories about them from his sisters.

"You should really think about learning some degree of fist fighting....There is always someone who can counter your magic, either by an item or their own magic." Said Markus following Zero to The Finder a large dirty gold desk with a large glass case at the top of what seems to be piano keys. "Okay Zero place all the books in and we'll try and piece together what you can find."

"Got it....." Said Zero as he placed the books in a row and played the keys creating a dull melody. "He's right Lance....I can copy any magic out there yet i still practice unarmed and armed combat just in case someone can seal my magic....And if you fight The Sensei you'll end up having to focus on that anyway."

"The Sensei is the oldest member of the guild and probably one of the most dangerous....He's an amazing sealing mage, he uses a tactic that seals your magic or one part of it and keeps doing that till you have no more magic to use. So that's why nearly every guild member trains to fight without magic." Said Markus leaning on the far end of the Searcher.

"Though some are better than others." Smirked Ellena while she looked at Markus. "No one has beaten you yet Storm.....Not even Sensei and he's got 2 more decades of combat experience over you in combat."

Markus smirked and just shrugged just as Zero finished scanning the books. "Okay Zero put anything that looks like a clue on the left and anything that looks like pieces of a map on the right. Also bring up a map of the Archipelago in the center we'll see what we can find there." Said Markus turning his attention to the large image that appeared over a large swimming pool like section of the device.

"Fighting without being able to control your power is worse." Pulling Ellena on her sleeve, Lancelot pointed to a chapter in the history book about the Oracs sealing enemy's of pure energy in a mountain of ice. "Are they searching for something like what is described here or for something else?"

"Markus can control the bulk of his power.....Just when he unleashes it fully he has trouble regulating the damage capacity." Said Ellena looking at the page. "No that wouldn't work on a Phoenix....Thats for spirits and phantoms."

"Your reading about the Ghost Caverns.....They banish their most evil spirits to a prison of ice and pain." Said Zero pressing more keys trying to recreate the full map. "The Water prison was build in a hidden island and went deep into the ocean, hence the name."

Hidden in the ocean, while also not on any known map... Thinking back to the different story's his sisters had told him when they tried to scare him, he tried to recall a small verse of it. "From left to right, take 39 to 43 steps, just like a crab if you want to see someone's fear for ice, Start from 56 feet, to 60 feet till you can't go further to see the island of fear. Run away quick like there is no life, for all one can find is a never lasting darkness..." Trying to remember if that was the whole verse, Lancelot went to Zero while repeating the lyrics a few more times in his head. "Maybe start from the left, 39 to 43 steps, while going with the height of 56 to 60 feet in that map? Only song i remember with numbers and words in it."

Zero smirked and put in the correct coordinates something worrying. "Hmmm this might be a problem...." He said standing up pressing two more keys. "See that red line? That is Morkina territory.....They're not the friendliest of nations within the archipelago."

"Hmmm Should be interesting when we land there....." Said Markus smirking. "Just remember we're not there to start a fight!"

"Okay so your not coming then?" Asked Ellena crossing her arms and smirking at her husband knowing that even though he says they wont' start a fight he will in some capacity.

"Oh i'm coming!" Said Markus looking at her. "I'm curious to see what their doing.....I've got my suspicions about their motives."

Dumping some ice on Markus and Ellena their head, Lancelot pointed towards the Morkina territory on the map. "Mind telling me something about these Morkina's?"

"Not much to tell they're a semi-isolationist monarchy.....They have spies in every other country in the archipelago......Some members of the council and myself think they're secretly on the side of Daimon as they haven't lent much aid to the war cause." Explained Markus as brushed the ice off his head and shoulder. "Their king is an arrogant paranoid little dog.....Same goes for his spymaster Sosetsu....."

"We've done a few.....semi-legal jobs to check out things before the war officially started." Said Zero as he did the same. "It's amazing what you can get away with when you have a former Magic Council member on the job."

"Semi-legal jobs? Don't you just mean breaking in, stealing and other illegal things Zero?" Touching the glass with the map on it, Lancelot whispered Blizzardo her name softly before turning towards Markus, Zero and Ellena. "Lets just go and force them to hand big sis back to me okay?"

"Spy work don't worry. Technically they're semi-legal mainly cos we snuck into military bases and the palace." Said Zero.

"Yeah but they don't have her....The Prison is in their territory but it's not under their control." Said Markus. "We don't want to start a 3 way war...Mochina has a strong army and navy but we won't last long in a war like that."

"You are forgetting something Markus." Carefully combing the ruffles out of his robe, Lancelot  looked at Zero for a bit before turning his eyes back to his robe. "How to force powerful leaders of a country to do your bidding without it resulting in a war..." Finishing with his robe, he looked at Ellena this time. "Maybe you know what i am getting at Ellena?" If frontal assaults would not work, sneaking around and hiding their victims until they arrived at their targets. And once there, they could probably 'persuade' them to cooperate with them.

"Nope the king is as Markus said the king is arrogant and paranoid....The only reason he's giving the minimal support her's giving because the King threatened to send Markus with the best Wolves in the Royal Guard to execute him......He won't let us through without a fight no matter how minimal." Said Ellena checking her magic revolvers. "Either way we're gonna have a bit of fun before we get to the prison....Think of it as a warm up for the real fight."

"Please....Their army is poorly armed and trained.....Only decent members of the Spymaster's thugs and their wanted in the other kingdoms within the archipelago....." Said Markus looking at Ellena.

"Face it Lance either way your gonna have to pull your own weight on this....." Said Zero spinning round on his chair. "If you want your sister back your probably gonna have to kill.....Luckily we'll mostly be facing fakers so they're not truly human."

"I'll never understand that definition of fun i guess, how can fighting be fun." Throwing a snowball in Zero's face, Lancelot started to walk towards the exit. "The name is Lancelot, not Lance. And when are we going there?"

"We just find the adrenaline rush of combat fun......" Said Zero as he caught the snowball with a magma coated fist. "We'll be going in a few minutes we're waiting on some friends."

Just as Zero finished his sentence two more people came through the door Yoshi and Axel. "Ok from now on this is a Special Job guys....." Said Markus. "That means we need to keep things as low key as possible."

The group burst into laughter at what Markus said. "Markus you know that won't happen!" Said Axel taking a drag of his cigarette. "But we'll try.....So we're rescuing one of the Phoenix Nobles? Gotta say it's an honor to meet one of them at last."

"Oh thats right Axel is always on a job when Bolterus visits." Smirked Ellena as she followed Markus and Lancelot out the door with the others following behind. "So what we using from transport?"

"Airship!" Said Markus with a smile. "About time we took a trip on one."

"Fair enough." Said Ellena.

"Why not just fly to them or use a normal ship to reach our destination?" Pointing to Zero as he froze Axel's cigarette, Lancelot didn't see why they had to go with a ship made to ride the air instead of the sea. "Just let Zero here memorize how you and me manage to fly, all three of us carry one of the others and with the correct fine-tuning, we should be able to arrive at our destination within a day or two right? And i hope you do know that smoking is bad right?"

"Yeah well we haven't been on one for ages. Might as well besides it's a good to rest up before the fight." Said Zero shrugged a bit before walking out the door towards the Airship docks. "Plus they serve the most epic beef noodle."

Markus chuckled "That is true....They also serve great crispy beef stir fry." Said Markus following Zero.

Shrugging over how Markus and Zero spoke about noodles and beef, he just hoped that the food on board was edible and nutritious enough to last until the next meal.

They arrived at the Airship Docks and got the first flight to their destination. Once onboard Markus got a table that could fit all of them and the food he was going to order. "Ok i want basically everything on the main course page except the Coloto Stir Fry....I hate tomatos....Also we'll take 5 Mochina Sake and a glass of milk." Said Markus to the waiter who nodded and went off to tell the cooks. "Okay once we get there let me do most of the talking...Mainly talking to you Lance....The local military and leadership may not have anything to do with this....We don't want to start a huge issue in the middle of a war......We can deal with that after we've freed Blizzardo."

"My name is Lancelot, not Lance okay?" Placing almost the same order as Markus, with the only difference being that Lancelot also ordered the recipe's with the tomato's. "Besides, if what you said is correct Markus, then that king and his army would cower in fear at the prospect of facing not only you five, but also an unknown warrior who is traveling alongside of you."

"No offence Lancelot....But your not much of a warrior.....I mean a warrior willing fights when needed and kinda enjoys the thrill of combat." Said Yoshi as he sat waiting for his food and drink. "You can always tell a warrior by the look in their eye....You ain't got that look."

"He's right....." Said Axel stubbing out his cigarette. "A warrior's eyes tell the story of his fighting life.....It shows the hardship they're soul has endured and how it's strengthened."

The food arrived and several waiters placed the food on the table and were forced to put several food carts around the group as there was too much food for the table.

"Ok lets focus on the food!" Said Markus grabbing some chopsticks and picking up a bowl of rise. He quickly picked out a large chuck of the crispy beef and devoured it quickly before moving on to some ramen.

"Think they'll change their minds if they get impaled by my ice the moment we landed then?" Looking at the chopsticks, he chose the normal cutlery over the chopsticks as Lancelot began to dine with the grace of a noble.

Yoshi chuckled a bit before digging into the food as well fighting a little with Axel over the BBQ'd ribs before having most of them stolen by Markus. "Need to be quicker than that boys." Said Markus as he stripped one after the other in one fell swoop. "Lancelot just for the sake of argument here. But your not a fighter in fact your a borderline pacifist......You don't have the killer instinct to refer to yourself a warrior so please don't. Also i doubt if push came to shove you'd be able to do whats gonna be needed on this.....'Cos ya gonna have to kill people today."

"Thats a bit harsh babe..." Said Ellena with a piece of beef hanging out her mouth which she quickly swallowed.

"It's the truth.....I don't expect many of Daimon's goons to survive this and most likely we're gonna do the work.....Until i see him willingly kill a faker or cultist i'll keep my doubts about his combat abilities." Said Markus quickly grabbing a fish from Zero. "Yo waiter this isn't made properly.....It's still got the venom gland in."

"Oh my! How did you know?" Asked the waiter paniced.

"The venom from the Gobo Fish gives off a sickly sweet smell that is distinctly different from the sweet chili sauce you put on the squid." Said Markus handing the plate to waiter. "If my friend ate that he'd be dead within 2 minutes from heart failure and brain hemorrhagic......If that happened....Your's and the cook's jobs would be the least of your collective worries...."

The waiter nodded and rushed off. Markus smirked and returned to his food.

Placing his cutlery back on the table, Lancelot looked with a thoughtful look towards Markus as his wife seemingly tried to get Markus to soften up a bit. "Being able to do what is needed is a basic instinct all living beings have, so why doubt that i could do what is needed?" Picking up his wine-glass, he swirled the liquid inside of it before taking a small sip of it before continuing. "Since when is a killer instinct needed to be a warrior or a fighter though? One who is engaged aggressively in conflict can already be called a warrior, you can even read it up if you don't trust in the definition i gave you. Then again..." Showing a small smile as he waved a waitress to him for a napkin, Lancelot eased a bit back in the chair. "I have my doubts about the mere idea of you actually being capable of using that brain of yours if you measure combat ability's by how easily one kills others. Frankly, it is distasteful to kill without the need for it existing."

"The only worry i have is that Blizzardo has raised you in such away that your animal instincts have been blocked.....Also the only reason i fight is to protect those who can't if i must kill then i am willing to wipe out all who threaten the weak, the innocent and especially my family.....I don't enjoy the kill as i've said many times unless it's someone like Daimon but i will not regret my actions after.....That is what breaks a warrior's soul.....A warrior must be able to end a life without regret when the kill must be made....They must be in touch with the animal instinct to kill and destroy......Blizzardo is a powerful phoenix noble but she is known for teach Phoenix Slayers who rarely perform their duties to kill feral phoenixes and dark mages." Said Markus as he finished his drink. "I respect her power and choice of path i just have a dislike for pacifistic ideology....I find it as a method of blinding people to the truth of humanity and nature....That truth is simple....War and Peace are two sides of the same coin, we will not escape that even in death."

"War and Peace are only two sides of the same coin as long as people believe that there is no other option to fight. Fighting only breeds more fighting after all, which breeds hatred as you probably know. Acting on that way of thinking, it would only create more chains for a long chain of hatred." Placing the napkin he got from one of the waitresses on his lap before taking another sip of his wine. "Why would we kill feral phoenixes or dark mages when we could just detain dark mages, and try to help phoenixes regain their sanity though? By killing them, they won't get a chance to repent for their sins, nor do they get to repay others for all the damages they did. Same with killing a phoenix that went feral, detain it and try to help it regain their sanity, which might even help in figuring out why some go feral and why others appear to be immune to it. " Tracing a simple circle on the borders of the wine-glass, Lancelot briefly looked outside through a window. "If Bolterus would go feral for example, would you kill him or would you try to help him regain his sanity?"

"Blizzardo didn't explain that illness did she? Feral Phoenixes can only be cured by killing them and allowing them to be reborn as a new phoenix. Thats like the most well known trait of a phoenix and you don't even remember it.....And to quote a famous archipelago wise-man. "The world is made of dark and light, without either or the world can not progress....War and peace are aspect that we can not escape no matter how hard we try humans will always seek a cause to fight for.....While war is never a good thing to go through it can be done for good causes, and with that peace will always follow no matter how short." He said that after fighting in the Archipelago Civil War 400 years ago and became a war hero." Said Markus as he places his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl. "And on the subject of Dark Guilds....We'll show you what Daimon does soon enough, if he has taken the Water Prison you'll get an idea of his darkness.....Sad thing is there are many more like him in the world of mages....." Markus looked at Ellena who was trying not to cry.

"That Bastard destroyed my home.....Killed my family and done much worse to those who were caught.....I will do anything to end him and let his victim's souls rest....." Said Ellena trying not to cry. "That is why we formed this guild.....To kill Daimon and his followers and make sure no one else like him rises to power....."

"My reason for hunting him down is that he wants to rival Zeref....Who was bad enough, we don't need another one come into the world." Said Zero looking at Lancelot. "No matter what you say your not gonna stop us...If you try you will regret it....We'll consider you an ally of Daimon and his guild even if you are a Blessed Mage."

"I'm after him for betraying the Phoenix King and killing hundreds of innocent people to further his own power......He killed Bolterus' brother to gain his current power....Betraying the path of a Phoenix Slayer and insulting the heritage given by the phoenixes." Said Markus clenching his fist causing a flicker of lightning appear. "At the end of this i will have his head and remove his filth from the land of the living."

"I never said anything about standing in the way did i Zero?" Dissolving the flicker of lightning through the removal of oxygen by freezing the air surrounding it, letting the ice dissolve as quick as it came. "And while i do remember that little tidbit of information, big sis and her own sisters some times pondered if there would be a better way to cure them, besides killing them. Giving their knowledge, they probably tried to find a second cure just like humans try to have more than a single cure for every disease" While Lancelot wanted to cleanse the dirt on the reputation of the heritage each phoenix slayer carried by killing the traitor, he also knew that using force to kill the target would only give rise to more evil. "But by killing the darkness he embodies, the balance would also switch to the light until it recovered by either the weakening of the light or until another one embodied the darkness..."

" The Phoenix King has tried....Many times over the centuries." Said Ellena as she looked at Lancelot still teary eyed. "The illness breaks their minds far beyond the magical or physical level.....Luckly if you kill a phoenix they always come back, unless you destroy their soul.....As for the fighting evil......

"Thats the reason people like the Twilight Phoenix Guild live....We fight against that darkness and will do so till the end of time and reality......Now lets think of our plan of attack." Said Markus finishing the final plate of food. "The Water Prison has legendary traps and is designed to be unescapeable......But i like to think of it as difficult, now mystical creatures are kept at the very bottom......We'll need to get to it as fast as possible....."

"We got no idea about the layout though....." Said Ellena whiping the tears out of her eyes. "We're going in blind."

"I know fun idea ain't it?" Smirked Markus "You know i prefer these kind of jobs....It's a good way to test the tactical ability of the people involved."

"I guess...." Said Zero sighing abit.

"Hey i'm up for it!" Said Yoshi flexes in arms.

Markus smirked at the group. "Perfect. Okay first we'll need to deal with the political crap....Remember no killing these guys no matter how freaking annoying they are...." He said finishing his drink. "We don't want to cause another war without evidence."

"Won't be much of a war though....Their army is fat and lazy." Said Yoshi smirking. "Was chatting with a Hawk the other day...The most training those guys get is dealing with some drunk mercenaries or rebels.....And in all honesty both those factions are lacking in talent."

Wiping his mouth and hands with the napkin, Lancelot raised his right hand casual as to draw Markus his attention. "No offense, but i hope you don't plan to use force or threats to make them comply during the political stuff Markus. If so, let me handle the political stuff then. With the correct words, accompanying the right behavior, we could even get to their king without giving them any reason to attack us or start that war." Sipping the last bit of wine from his wine-glass, he motioned the waitress for a refill. "You might be a good fighter when it comes to it, but political fights are a bit more tricky and more dangerous to pull of without using a single negative word or implication. One wrong implication can have more negative effects than one would probably think of. Which is probably why some phoenixes teach how to fight political fights, instead of the fights that a soldier does." Stopping the waitress as his glass was filled for three quarter, he waited until she was gone again before finishing. "Besides, you said it yourself right? If it would come to a war, Mochina would not last long. So let me handle the political stuff okay?"

"Despite my attitude towards combat i do try to avoid it with allies.....Besides they fear me and my guild for our.....Unique attitudes." Said Markus smirking at Lancelot. "Besides they won't listen to some no-name mages despite his upbringing....The culture of that island's nobility is arrogance."

"You can give it ago if ya want Lancelot....But i doubt they'll listen to ya, Markus is right you have no reputation in the archipelago." Said Yoshi taking out his lucky pocket knife and running his finger along the side of the blade. "With luck we'll get free passage through the island and surrounding water."

"Show me a politician that is not arrogant, corrupt or both and i'll show you a life with the world peace i told you about." Smiling, he drank the whole glass empty in one gulp. "While it is true the ones taken in by big sis and her sisters don't really kill a lot, don't think they don't train us to defeat our opponents. The difference is just which battlefield we fight in."

"Not true peace.....But these guys are more arrogant than the norm...." Said Markus as he looked out the window to see a large storm cloud forming. "Hmmm interesting."

"What up?" Asked Ellena as she also looked at the storm

"It's a little early for the storm season. Don't you think?" Said Markus holding his hand up towards the storm. "It feels weird...."

"I've got the feeling as well...." Said Yoshi. "Something is off about it."

Looking outside, Lancelot created a small orb of ice outside to see which way the wind was blowing. "That is a man-made storm, or should i say slayer-made storm." Waving to the storm he looked at Ellena. "While Markus is out, having fun during his fight, would you mind giving me the documents, papers and other things with information over the people from Morkina? To win battles in politics, one needs all the information they can get after all."

"It's man made but not slayer made...." Said Zero as he smirked. "I know Slayer magic...I've mimiced enough."

"Errr not much to know Lancelot......The real problems are The Spymaster, King and head of the military." Said Ellena. "The people are generally okay they don't care about the opinions of the leadership."

"What can you tell me about those spymaster, king and head of the military then? And Zero, he can still have fun during that fight right?"

"Not a lot to tell you about....All three are equally arrogant and stuck up....They think they're the best around and will use any level of force to prove it. Most people don't challenge them as they fear what will happen to their families." Said Ellena looking at Lancelot.

"What fight?" Asked Zero looking a little confused.

"Never mind Zero, forget it i guess?" Thinking for a moment over what Ellena had told him, his grin only widened. "All three think they are the best right? If so, this could turn out easier than expected that way."

"Yeah but they're hot tempered so they may turn conflictive at any time....Especially with you Lancelot, they fear Markus' abilities greatly especially after that drake he killed on the mountain back home....They saw that from their castle and recognized the lightning used." Said Ellena looking at Markus who was walking back.

"It was just two young storm phoenixes fighting." Said Markus as he sat back down.

"Just as long Markus or others who might pose a threat, simply by being there is kept out of sight, they probably won't be so hard to deal with. Besides, if they try going after my family, they'll just die trying." Hearing what Markus said about the two phoenixes fighting, Lancelot raised his eyebrows lightly. "How good is that spymaster of them actually? And before i forget though, how do they treat phoenix slayers and phoenixes in general there?"

"Well like a lot of the other islands in the archipelago they treat us as blessed mages....However they fear me out of knowing what i'll do if they dare to enter the slave trade again....Oh and also do dealings with Daimon.....They still haven't rebuilt that fort." Smirked Markus thinking back to the explosion he caused. "Also their spymaster is very good but he thinks he's better than he really is....He'll know about your arrival on the island and possibly your magic."

"Markus is gonna be there Lancelot....They won't even open the doors for you, Phoenix Slayer or not so stop trying to avoid it....." Said Ellena getting a little annoyed at Lancelot's ignorance towards the situation. "We do things here a lot differently than other regions of the world."

"Fine, let him be in sight then." Lancelot released a soft sight at how they acted.

"Yeah, here you blow up forts, destroy parts of a mountain and use the fear generated from those shows of power to make others comply to what you want for something resembling peace..."

"A warrior must use all he has at his hands to protect his home and family......" Said Markus looking at Lancelot. "A man called Jin the Peaceful wrote that 500 years ago....He was a powerful swordsman and wrote the rules on being a good warrior for most of the archipelago....And that fort needed to be blown up as it was used to hold political prisoners and future slaves....."

"Trust us if you took on a Drake you'd need to destroy....Or in your case freeze a portion of the island...." Said Ellena. "Don't mistake the use of our power as a tool of fear. The people don't fear us it's those corrupt leaders who fear us.....All three of us spent years as vigilantes hunting down and killing crime lords, dark mages and tyrants....Our reputation alone made similar leaders nervous about us becoming public mages.....Hence our nicknames....The Infamous Storm, Sure-Shot and The Memory all came from our time as what people call here Shadow Mages."

"The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” Lancelot answered towards Markus while keeping his eyes on the sky outside. "Big sis usually said that when asked why it was better not to fight. Fighting and all might be what is needed in times of war, but in times when peace reigns, even if it is a cease fire, it is better to refrain from fighting lest the fighting starts again."

"Well good thing we're at war then huh?" Said Markus smirking slightly. "Or have you just been ignoring every time we mentioned our little war in this region of the world?"

"I haven't been ignoring what you said about the war, but i also have only seen signs of peace on the island besides that mean boy i met during the walk to your guild." Lancelot still didn't get why it looked like it was okay for that kid to potentially harm someone else without a reason for that hit in the first place.

"Thats cos the army and navy hold the lines well enough that it's hardly reached the island....." Said Markus. "And that kid had a reason you just can't see it....."

The airship arrived at the island and as the group set foot on the land they were met by members of the local Royal Guard.

Looking at the soldiers that awaited them, Lancelot tried to find the leader so that he could speak directly to the leader while hiding his disappointment about how they looked, most of them appeared overweight and the ones that did not appear as fat as the others where rather old it seemed. "Which one of you is the leader of these royal guards gentleman?"

"He's not here....These are what you'd call the public faces of the Royal Guard.....The true Royal Guards are right behind them." Said Markus pointing behind the group to the three young well build and strong looking men walking up towards them. "Yoshihiro! Hows the eye?"

"Missing.....After your last....Visit." Said the man with one eye.

"Well you shouldn't have been protecting slavers.....I hope your not now." Said Markus pushing past the group of fat weaklings. "Or you may be loosing more than an eye."

"Oh this'll be fun." Smirked Ellena sitting on a crate. "Try not to wipe out too many soldiers this time...."

"We're here to see your king Yoshihiro.....Now i'd like to be taken to him now." Said Markus walking up close to Yoshihiro.

Releasing a sigh, Lancelot leaned with his back against a crate as he tucked his hands in his pockets. "Sure, lets forget the ice-user was supposed to do the negotiations..."

"Quiet no name...." Said Yoshihiro as he glared at Lancelot. "I'm talking here......Follow me Markus you may meet the king...."

Yoshihiro led Markus towards the palace leaving the others in the company of the royal guards.

"Well guess we'll have a look around and see how much this place has improved...." Said Yoshi as he stood up scaring the first group of royal guards.

Freezing the feet of the remaining guards to the ground, Lancelot straightened his posture while simultaneously lowering the temperature in the surrounding. "Ellena, who is teaching those guards manners? Pigs?"

"We did tell ya....You have no reputation here so your a no name faceless mage that they don't really care about." Said Ellena smirking a little. "We've all done things that make us feared and respected by the archipelago's people, so they listen to us here."

"Thats the way this island works....Mochina has a more respectable attitude to people, we go by honor, justice and martial strength." Said Yoshi taking one of the stuck guard's sword and examining it. "They have no decent blacksmiths here either....."

"You also told me that they respected phoenix slayers and all Ellena, but if that was respectful behavior, their teachers where pigs indeed." Seeing the guards trying to get free again, Lancelot froze them up to just below their nose so they could at least keep breathing. "Which reminds me, why is your nickname sure-shot?"

"Well they don't know you so they don't yet." Said Ellena. "I'm called Sure-Shot cos of this...."

Ellena pulled out her her revolver and shot a fly out of the air without looking.

"So either that spymaster is not as good as you said or he didn't tell anyone?" Looking at the fly, Lancelot shrugged a bit at her marksmanship. "Nice shot by the way, do you ever miss a target?"

"Probably didn't tell anyone....And i rarely do." Said Ellena holstering her guns. "Depends on the speed of the target and what guns spell i use."

Nodding by way of confirmation, Lancelot leaned on the crate again while yawning a bit. "So, any idea's on how not to be bored by waiting on Markus?"

"Not really...This place isn't really the best place to go pub crawling....The booze is weak and the women boring." Said Axel taking a drag of his cigarette. "I speak from experience just so ya know."

Freezing Axel his cigarette, Lancelot looked at Ellena. "Mind teaching me some fighting moves then Ellena?"

"Well Markus is the best to learn from, he created the fighting style me, Zero and he uses.....Besides he understands your magic better." Said Ellena smiling at Lancelot.

Axel sighed and walked off  "Come find me when we're moving out or something happens...." He said lighting another cigarette.

Freezing Axel's cigarette before he got out of sight, Lancelot created a ice-copy from a crossbow in his right hand while making a solid snowball, sturdy enough to withstand being thrown against the wall in his left. "Maybe some shooting practice then?"

Ellena shrugged "Sure why not? Lets find a clear spot so we don't hurt any innocent person by mistake." She said before getting up and looking for a clearing away from the people.

Looking around like Ellena, Lancelot went towards one of the shipyards, freezing the locks before shattering them to pieces to open the door. "Is this building good enough Ellena?"

"Yeah this an old warehouse....the owners probably got arrested for some stupid reason and lost their home." Said Ellena as she pulled out her revolvers. "Okay the more impressive the trick shot the more points you get....Yoshi your the judge."

"Sure." Said Yoshi leaning against the doorframe. "Try not to hit me..."

Taking a quick look at the surroundings, Lancelot dissolved the snowball, placing an arrow on his crossbow. "Trick shot you say?" Making a second crossbow, this time with the arrow already on it, he first aimed one crossbow before stretching his other arm straight to the side of himself. "Snowie thought me a few of those, with this being the easiest one to pull of with arrows." Shooting the arrow at a slight angle to ensure it would ricochet, he shot the second one without watching. "Anything that flies can ricochet, might even work with airships given the right speed and all." Turning to look at his arrow, the second one was in the middle of the first while remaining stuck in the wall.

"Not bad....Buuuut i've got better." Ellena pointed her guns at the ground and blazed away before stopping and holstering them. "Wait for it...." Suddenly the shots she fired errupted around of the ground and arcing into eachother creating a series of firework like explosions.

"Ohhh i like Ellena's....Had a touch of flare and bravado." Said Yoshi clapping.

"Well, lets see how you find this one then." Placing arrows on his crossbows again, Lancelot aimed at Yoshi while smiling. "Now be a good boy and don't move an inch okay?" Changing his aim to the roof, Lancelot charged a bit power in the arrows before shooting them, followed by two arrows fired at Yoshi. The first thing one would notice would be that the arrows were pinned to the ground right in front of Yoshi, while at the same time pulsing a bit. After a few seconds, the pulsing stopped, exploding outwards, covering Yoshi in snow while the surroundings got pierced by several ice shards. "Sorry for the ice though Yoshi"

Yoshi melted the snow and ice with a quick pulse of his God Slayer Magic. "You lose points for that...." He said as he moved to another spot.

Ellena smiled and fired several shots that exploded in the air creating an image of Markus that looked amazingly real. "Decoy Shot" She smirked. "Made a lot of jobs so easy."

Looking at the decoy shot, Lancelot first loaded his crossbows again, aiming them at the roof again before lowering his arms again. "Is he strong, Ellena?" His voice soft,like a whisper while he closed his own eyes. He missed his sisters, their warm feathers and their warm attitude after all. Bringing his crossbows together to form a single crossbow with two arrows, Lancelot fired both against a steel wall that exploded on impact, revealing a girl with an almost mystical beauty,slightly shorter than Lancelot with brown hair, eyes blue as the clearest skies and a warm smile adorning her face, before dissolving after a few seconds.

"Who the decoy?" Asked Ellena looking a little confused. "No he's just an image used to move guards away from an entrance or prisoner.....We also use him to set up ambushes."

"I see..." Was Lancelot his only response as he dissolved his own crossbows, tilting his head lightly as if listening before turning his attention back to Ellena with a sad smile. "Big sis is not a decoy though."

"She won't be....Markus will make sure she'll be free even if he dies and doesn't come back." Said Ellena holstering her guns. "Say what you will about Markus he is loyal and sees the phoenixes as his unofficial family due to his ties with Bolterus."

"I've not known Markus to give up on friends of family in any situation....He won't back off during any problem either." Said Yoshi as he put his hand on Lancelot's shoulder with a smile. "He'll even let them use him as a punching bag if it'll help them."

"Punching bags are not supposed to be living, living punching bags are more suited for target practice after all." Lancelot looked to the door from the corner of his eyes, walking away from it after seeing that a few fat men in soldier clothing went inside. "Mind taking care of them, or should i freeze them like i did with the others?"

"Nah we're fine....They won't try anything until they get word to, but they won't anyway." Said Ellena. "And sometimes people need to let out all the anger, hate and sorrow they have and seeing as Markus will heal from the injuries long before he could reach the doc's room he's more than happy to take it."

Suddenly a huge explosion erupted from the direction of the castle. "Looks like talks went south." Said Yoshi in a calm manner as Axel arrived.

"Lets go!" Said Axel as he ran towards the castle.

"Does he really need our help though with coming out of there alive? It's not like they have red lacrima or something like that in their arsenal right?" Lancelot his voice was strangely calm as he froze the guards to the floor again.

"Well we might as well enjoy the show no? Besides gotta find out what happened in some way, why not just go and see for ourselves." Said Yoshi as he raced just ahead of the group.

They arrived at the main hall of the castle after barging through a few dozen guards to see Markus sitting on a pile of unconscious guards. "Yo guys...Just escalating the negotiations." Said Markus with a smile. "The king was just about to allow us passage through his waters to the Prison's location...Which he somehow knows about himself, now i wonder how thats possible my lord...."

The king began to sweat like a pig. "I-i i didn't say i did!" He exclaimed nervously.

"You said it was just past Volten Point a few minutes ago...." Said Markus getting off the pile of guards. "Now Daimon's forces control the prison....Ironic no?"

The spymaster stood in front of Markus with his sword drawn. "Not one step closer...Death Storm...." He said with a one eyed glare.

"King Tokomoto you are under arrest for treason to the Crescent Archipelago....Any who aid you are considered equally guilty and are subject to the same punishment....How do you plead?" Said Markus pointing the sword away from him.

"Not guilty! Spymaster kill him now!" Shouted the king as he tried to escape.

"Lancelot be a good sport and freeze him in place." Said Ellena smirking a little at the fat king's attempts to run.

"Oh, i will do more than just freeze him in place. That piggie dared to help capture big sis after all." Freezing both the spymaster and the king on the floor, Lancelot let the ice pierce both of their hands and feet while letting the ice encroach the body until only the nose, one ear, both eyes and mouth were still free. "Lets see if this will make them more honest..." Slowly piercing the left ear of the spymaster and the king, Lancelot made sure to keep them alive while letting them experience the pain of their ear being pierced.

"Still not guilty, or are you two ready to be a bit more honest now before i'll do something to those eyes hmm?" Both the voice and face remained neutral, only raising his eyebrows lightly when a few extra guards came in, freezing them on the spot.

"Lancelot your doing it all wrong....Let me educate you on how to get infomation out of a spy." Said Markus as he summoned his red sword pulling the Spymaster out of the ice. "Ok now listen i'm gonna give you three chances to tell us why your helping Daimon...If i don't get that infomation i'll first cut off your feet, then hands, then nose, lips, eye....But i will leave your ears so you can only hear everyone's reactions to what you look like."

"Try it, i still won't talk." Said the spymaster with an arrogant confidence.

"Fine then....You've wasted your chances." Said Markus as he cut off a foot. "Gonna tell me?"

"Never!!" Screamed the spymaster in pain.

"You guys may wanna leave, this will get rather nasty...." Said Markus readying his sword again as Ellena led the group out of the hall and closed the door behind them.

"Why did we have to leave if he was going to educate me on how to get information from a spy?" Freezing the several doors and hallways that where connected to their location, Lancelot released a soft sigh while making sure the other soldiers would not be able to get closer by closing all possible pathways with ice. "If either of them did something to hurt her, i'll make sure they'll regret the day that they tried to hurt her."

"I'm sure he'll make them regret it long before you will...." Said Ellena as they heard a scream of pain and fear from behind the door.

Eventually Markus opened the door dragging the king out and holding a scrap of the Spymaster's cape with something round and heavy in it. "Lets go....Tell Zero to contact the Minister of War to send the exiled warriors to occupy the island...Also tell him to send an envoy of the king to explain the situation..." Said Markus as he tossed the king down to the ground. "I'm sure they'll be glad to see this scum's head roll...."

"And the reason?" Asked Ellena before she kicked the king in the face hard enough to break his nose.

"Power, pure and simple. This scum and his goons wanted more power....So they joined the very man they swore to help destroy." Said Markus as he help forward the object in his other hand. "The Spymaster however was the worst....He gave them the location of the prison and the means to enter, he gave those means to me rather quickly after i removed his remaining eye."

Making a ring of ice closing in around the kings throat and lowering the body temperature of that fat king, Lancelot crouched to look him in the eyes. "Did you or any of your goons hurt the phoenix you were sent out to capture?" Placing one hand on the kings head while placing a single thumb on one eye, he slowly applied pressure to it while waiting for answers on his question. If that piggie hurt big sis, he would pay for it with his life.

Markus pushed Lancelot back. "Relax kid....They only gave them the location to the prison....This moron wouldn't have the nerve to attack a Nature Guardian....." Said Markus as he dragged off the king. "We'll wait for the exiles to arrive meanwhile Lancelot come with me."

Taking a deep breath as Lancelot closed his eyes, he stood up and went after Markus while covering his own body with a layer of ice. "I am not a kid Markus, and where are we going now?" Making an ice-cone to eat, he offered the second one to Markus as they walked.

"I'm good....I'm gonna teach you how to fight...." Said Markus as he led Lancelot to a beach with several large rocks. "Okay this looks like a good spot to train."

Scratching behind his head while finishing his ice-cone, Lancelot looked at their surroundings. "Why teaching me how to fight? Can't you just teach me how to freeze the blood or liquid in the body or something along those lines to stop the opponent?" Starting on the second cone, he pulled out one of his wings to hold his ice for the moment. "Fighting is rather messy after all, hurts a lot of people too."

"And freezing the person from the inside out doesn't?" Asked Markus leaning on one of the rocks. "Gotta learn fighting can't be avoided in this world....It's one of those base instincts that can't be removed."

"Freezing someone from the inside out can be without pain, it just depends on how one freezes others from the inside out." Finishing the second cone, Lancelot didn't remove his wing, only folded it to his side. "Freezing someone from the inside also has the benefit of disabling the opponent without damaging them, nor would they feel pain."

"Ice does more damage than you think....Ever heard of frost bite?" Said Markus as he smirked a little. "Trying to avoid fighting is pointless cos guess what? Your gonna need to fight to save your sister because my team WILL NOT carry you on our backs."

Markus then walked towards one of the rocks. "Whats the difference between Strength and Power?" Asked Markus as he placed his hand on a rock. "What makes power different from the application of strength?"

"Ice is my expertise remember? Frostbite is one of the first things one learns to use when learning how to apply ice to physical area's." Making another ice-cone, Lancelot raised an eyebrow at Markus his question. "Strength is known as a consistent, slow, exertion of force over a period of time, someone highly trained in strength would usually have huge muscle mass such as a bodybuilder. Power is similar to strength, but it includes one other dimension: Speed. The basic equation to that would probably be Strength x Speed = Power. Power can also be seen as explosive force exerted on whatever one needs power for."

"Sort of....Strength is the raw physical power, no real control." Said Markus before punching a rock, totally destroying it. "This is strength.....My strike was still fast but had no control, no focus."

Markus then moved to the rock next to it and did the same but punched a hole through it that ripped through the sand and stopping in the grassy embankment behind several meters away. "That is power...Strength focused into one unstoppable force.....That is what my style promotes, now you can combine the two to create a truly destructive force but it's difficult to find the balance."

Walking towards one of the rocks near himself, Lancelot placed his hand on the rock as if he would simply push against a rock the size of a car. "Strength, focussed in one unstoppable force translates to power huh?" Moving the hand on the rock and pulling it back just a little bit, pushing the arm forwards, hitting the rock as if he tried pushing through it. The moment the palm made impact with the rock, the front remained unharmed, but the other side of it was blown away to pieces. "Something like that, or more like that hole you did?"

"Not bad either works....Mine was easier to give an example." Said Markus as he walked over. "Now can you apply that in a fight? Redundant to have that skill and not be able to fully use it in a fight."

Letting go of the rock, Lancelot only gave a small shrug. "Never tried it in a fight. Hurting others is not something i prefer to do, even if it is for practice."

"As i said before i only enjoy inflicting pain on those who deserve it....Like the spymaster i really enjoyed that." Said Markus before unleashing a barrage of kicks and punches at Lancelot. "No magic just unarmed combat ok?"

"I didn't say you enjoyed inflicting it either way Markus." Making a small barrier to block the punches and kicks, Lancelot gave a short look at his wing before dissolving it. "you would've have to teach me the basics first then, most of my fighting experience comes from matches with snowie."

"I did say no magic didn't i?" Said Markus with a smirk. "If you've had sparring matches with her then you should know the basics.....I just wanna see what you know already."

Relaxing his body while appearing to focus on his breathing, Lancelot made a circling motion with both arms, finishing with his right foot lightly moved forwards while his arms appeared to be without any kind of strength placed in them. "You never had a match with one of my sisters, i assume? Come attack me without magic if you want to see"

"They didn't tell you Bolterus is the best fighter among the Phoenix Nobles i take it?" Said Markus holding his guard with a confident smirk.

Releasing the tension from his feet and legs, Lancelot removed his coat before returning to his previous stance."They did tell that actually. Big sis got angry at the other 5 for teaching me how to fight, so they taught me how to fight without fighting."

"To fight without fighting is a good method but pointless in the long run....." Said Markus as he moved with blinding speed around Lancelot creating after images. "Ghost Walking: Technique 4...."

Keeping Markus out of his territory, Lancelot kept his body relaxed for whatever Markus would try. "Depends on how it is applied, some even managed to change people to the positive side of the world."

"Yeah but removing one problem before it starts can lead the way for something a lot worse....The guild stopped a potential problem before Daimon and now we're at war with him." Said Markus as he continued the technique. "Thats what you need to be ready for....If you can stop a war from starting expect an enemy a lot worse than your last showing it's ugly head."

Markus dashed out from the wall of after images striking from Lancelot's blind spots before retreating back into the wall.

"But is that other enemy really that much worse than the previous one, or does it only look to be that much worse? With Daimon, it is a central focus point while with that other potential problem, it could've been a much wider problem. " The moment Lancelot felt something touching him, he went with it through graceful, fluid movements to keep any damage from occurring. "Use your defense for your offense, by turning the powers and forces of the opponents' against them. That is how i was taught to fight."

"Daimon is much worse than Varkone....Daimon kills anything or twists it into monsters....Varkone was just a tyrant who we disposed of by exploiting his fear of the Nitikin People." Said Markus as he continued his after image technique. "That tactic works well but it can drag the fight on longer than needed...Most experienced fighters know that tactic and can counter with their own application of the technique...."

Markus switched up making a turning slide to charge at similar speed but becoming invisible to Lancelot's eyes.

"But Daimon is a single target, where-as a tyrant usually has an army that one needs to take care of before the leader can be defeated." Losing sight of Markus, Lancelot simply closed his eyes while using the feelings from when Markus touched him to grab Markus his wrist with his own left hand, while aiming for the throat with the right hand, pulling his hand back before it could hit while releasing the wrist at the same time. Taking a few steps back to regain some distance, he opened his eyes again while some remorse was on his face. "Can we stop this needless test? Didn't you say it yourself? A slayers senses are not human, so trying to bait me into attacking won't work."

Markus smirked and flipped Lancelot over using his wind magic, then creating a sword made of lightning and made it hover above Lancelot's neck. "Never trust your opponant.....Only rely on non-magical combat if the enemy has a way to negate your ice attacks." Said Markus standing over Lancelot. "You have skill but fighting on the defensive wastes time especially when you need to save someone quickly and effectively....Get sloppy they die, take too long they die. And once the plan i thought up takes full effect you will need to move quickly and effectively or you won't see your sister ever....."

"Don't bring sis into this, it is between you and me." Freezing the very air around the lightning blade, dissolving the lightning and ice afterwards in steam, dissolving himself before reappearing on one of the rocks behind Markus with wings folded around him in a protective manner. "Just help with releasing her, and we'll leave you alone Markus." Dissolving his wings, disappearing from his location to appear next to his coat, he looked at Markus with a tired expression before dissolving again, as he went back to the airship.

Markus followed him. "Hey, you asked for my help....Got an issue with that go home and we'll send ya sister to ya when we're done." Said Markus sanding in front of the airship door. "I like you kid despite your annoying ideaology, your a good guy.....We promised to help and thats what we'll do, thing you need to realize that life isn't what you think, when we enter the prison you will see things you'll wanna forgot.....Don't remember those moments they will define you in the future. But most of all you will need to kill!"

Just then a group of Mochina Militia appeared from the airship. "Hey Markus!" Said the group's leader. "The Exiles are here to guard the island."

"Perfect! Where the Royal Guards sent with you?" Asked Markus looking around. "I'm sure Zero asked for some to aid in managing the island."

"They're en route...Apparently they're preparing supplies to be loaded onto their airship." Said the militia officer.

"Oh okay....Well deploy your men around the island and secure it....Don't be afraid to arrest any loyalists to the previous regime." Said Markus to which the officer saluted and deployed his men.

"I have many issues with how you do things, but i don't trust you, or those others with big sis, with your wife maybe being an exception, so i'll stick around until then." Looking at the leader, Lancelot released a small sigh. "Don't you want to live in peace and serenity with your wife and maybe some kids without worrying when disaster strikes again? As long as people force others, there won't be any chance at peace."

"Lancelot i've been all around this world in my training and life....I've seen the best and worst of humanity and have found that through hell heaven can be attained even for a few fleeting moments....When i'm with my friends and family i'm at peace, i have no fear or worries." Said Markus as he smirked over a memory. "My guild is built of people who've experienced the same things i've seen....We're around to break the waves of hell and chaos, we take the brunt of the attack...."

"Taking the brunt of the attack may be nice for the ones who are protected that way, but it won't give you peace since you and your friends get damaged. Every single drop of blood shed that way is a waste, that blood could be used to save others in hospitals or on the fields themselves." Lancelot gave an absent look to the soldiers before returning his gaze back to Markus. "When can we continue our trip though?"

"We're all fine with that....If we die to save someone else then we gladly give our lives." Said Markus walking down the ramp. "Soon i've just detected something that'll be intresting to see."

Markus rushed off gesturing for Lancelot to follow him. He eventually stopped on a rock within the forest overlooking a clearing with the sound of growling emitting from there.

"Hmmm a Devil-Wolf pup and some Crozen Apes.....Lets see how this plays out." Said Markus laying on his stomach watching the little pup holding his own against the apes that dwarfed it easily.

Watching the pup fight against the apes, Lancelot made a small circling motion with his left hand as the apes disappeared while the pup landed on the ground, confused where the apes went to as it jumped towards the apes. Watch and learn Markus." Was Lancelot his only response while the mother of the pup went to her pup. While it seemed like the mother was rather harsh in how she treated her own pup, there was also a sense of serenity and peace in it. "You all might be fine with giving up your life to save others, but what about the ones that hold you or your friends dearly? They would be saddened by losing you or other precious people."

"Yeah well look behind ya....Never touch a Devil-Wolf pup without being known by the pack." Said Markus as he rolled onto his back. "There is a reason they're not hunted at all......Oh and a lot of the guild mambers have no family, all killed by Daimon or people like him."

Behind the two mages was a large back and ghost white wolves with two black tuffs of hair shaped like horns, in front of the pack was the largest with a cross shaped scar covering his face

"Thats Wraith....The biggest Devil-Wolf alive, he's an old friend from when i last visited here." Said Markus as he stood up and bowed to the large wolf. "My advice is bow to him and back away."

"I would be saddened by those deaths though." Turning around to see the wolfs, Lancelot tried to clear his mind again. Looking Wraith in his eyes after a few deep breaths, he held his hand out calmly while keeping eye-contact. "I didn't touch your pup, otherwise there would be some sort of scent on me" Lowering the amount of energy that could be felt while simultaneously covering his skin beneath the clothing with a protective layer, he even took a small step towards them, resulting in getting bit by the Devil-wolf Wraith. "Relax, i am not your enemy." Trying to stroke the wolf gently, it took a few steps back as it released his arm.

Behind Lancelot, Markus was giving one of the most evil and grim look he could give to the wolf. "You lucky Lancelot.....Devil-Wolves are called so for their insane protective nature." Said Markus as he looked at the large wolf. "Nobody hunts them for that reason....Even i don't fight them, mainly due to my respect for them, but you should've left the pup he could've easily dealt with those apes."

"No need to glare at it for biting me." Turning his back to the wolves, Lancelot went to the ridges again. "Maybe he could, and maybe he could not. What mattered to me was that there was no reason for the small one to fight without help of his pack. If they where indeed that protective as you said, they would've intervened with it which they did not."

"I was glaring at him to stop him from ending your life....." Said Markus as he stood up and patting the wolf on the head. "Devil-Wolf pups are known for being more brutal than the adults."

Grinning, Lancelot revealed his bare arms, both glittering very faintly with the sun on it. "Never go near a strange animal without at least covering your skin with protection, otherwise they could potentially hurt you." Listening to the surroundings with his eyes closed, he pulled out his snow wings. "Let me show you something now okay? "

"Go for it....Doubt we can stay long.....Zero sent me a message via his archive magic we're almost ready to raid the prison." Said Markus floating on a platform of air.

Freezing the platform of air for a few moments, before dispersing it again, Lancelot looked at Markus from the corners of his eyes. "It's more fun going there with wings, like our teachers usually do."

Markus brought out his wings. "I enjoy the wind walking." Said Markus.

"But wind walking is more like normal walking. But i have no doubts that you can't keep up with your wings." Closing his eyes while taking a deep breath in, releasing the air in a slow manner afterwards, Lancelot took to the skies with speed close to the 500 mph while flying almost straight up. While the atmosphere got thinner, it also got colder until he stopped at the last possible point with ice forming on his clothes and body. Surrounding him were clouds of the purest white while the sky above him was almost like a black velvet cloak with diamonds in appearance as the sun was setting in front of him while the moon could be faintly seen on the backside of Lancelot.

Markus smirked and flew into air at high speeds a lot faster than Lancelot as his element gives epic speed. He caught up with Lancelot flying on his back. "Yo!" He said as he sped off ahead, Markus also left a trail of sparks as he moved with great agility through the cloud.

"Show off." Was all Lancelot said while simply floating in the air while watching the moon come up slowly. Dispersing the sparks by reducing the temperature to slow the atoms, he simply enjoyed the serenity the scenery had, besides the loud noises and flashes Markus made with his apparent desire to impress Lancelot, which only served to annoy the ice user instead.

"Hehe sorry....." Said Markus hovering next to Lancelot his wings making a low pitched buzzing noise. "So what do ya wanna show me?" He looked down at the lights below him and smiled. "Looks like the people are celebrating the removal of that arse from his throne....." He smirked and looked at Lancelot nudging him. "Ya did good today with that....I was worried you'd lose it and go too far without letting me find out what i wanted to know."

Placing a finger to his lips as a sign to be silent, Lancelot made a motion to the surroundings. "This is just a small part of it, but up here it is normally peaceful, with a relaxing sound." Waiting a few more seconds keeping his eyes closed, he gave a single snap with his fingers to freeze a part of the water in front of the island. "smugglers tried to flee under water, we can't have that happen right? Besides, i told you before remember? Killing does not solve anything, it only brings forth more killing."

"I only kill those who deserve it....Slavers, Daimon, Monsters, Zeref if i get the chance and so on." Said Markus as he looked down. "Smugglers i just scare and beat around abit...Advantage of being able to heal from any injury short of decapitation."

"We actually can heal from decapitation and wounds like that. You would still feel the pain and all, but you would be able to resurrect just like a phoenix." Looking at Markus his wings, Lancelot just shrugged. Probably not his fault for making such loud noises.

"Yeah thats wrong.....Only when we kill a feral phoenix and absorb a portion of it's soul can we do that.....Currently if we're decapitated we're dead." Said Markus flying ahead of Lancelot. "So to gain a degree of true immortality you need to kill."

Markus then stopped. "Ok we got the go ahead....Zero and the others are waiting for us." Said Markus turning around to look at Lancelot. "We're meeting them and peir 14 on the western dock."

"Killing to gain immortality is too high a price to pay if you ask me." Nodding at Markus, Lancelot tried finding the energy and noise of the others as his wings dissolved. "Lets go then." Waiting until he got a decent speed through the fall, he unfolded his wings while using his warp to land behind Zero, almost slipping by the sudden deceleration. "Lancelot is present to leave."

"Okay the plan is simple..Sneak in, disable any watchers they got and get the VIP out....If they have her in a Containment Cube we'll need to defend her as she'll be weakened." Said Markus as he landed.

"So Defender Plan 25?" Asked Yoshi sitting on a crate. "Don't we need some more....fighters for that?"

"We'll be fine...." Said Markus cracking his knuckles. "And we're using Defender Plan 26....That will help work with our current team."

"We know the security forces....Fakers and Zealots mainly potentially one of the big guns leading." Said Ellena whiping some blood of her hands. "The Zealot we found was very helpful."

Freezing Yoshi's boots to the floor, Lancelot softly pulled on Ellena her arm. "What is defender plan 25 or 26?"

"It's simple, we create a ring around who ever we're protecting and cover several points to avoid the mission failing." Said Ellena as she smirked at Yoshi's frozen boots. "Ya gotta stop doing that."

"So why the circle if several points are already covered?" Lancelot gave a small shrug over the frozen boots before walking to the boat for the travel. "Lets free sis okay?"

Markus sighed. "We create the circle to cover the points... Try listening." He said as he walked towards the boat they acquired to get to the prison's surface entrance.

Lancelot just shrugged "Maybe better explaining what you mean Markus? By creating a ring around someone and covering several points, it would imply that the covering of the points and the circle are connected in a different way than what you just said."

"The tactic is simple; we'll surround the VIP and move with them as we get to where we need to go. While we're moving we keep an eye out for any attacks from around us or above." Said Axel adjusting his shades. "We basically use ourselves as a wall of flesh and pain....It's our standard tactic for bodyguard jobs for officials and royalty."

"Yeah we've gotten a few jobs guarding royalty from small countries that don't have a dedicated royal guard." Said Ellena helping Lancelot into the boat. "It should work well in this situation."

"See, that is a better explanation after all." Freezing the shades to Axel's head, Lancelot went to the railings of the boat. "That way, you don't have to adjust your shades that much Axel."

Axel sighed and used his sound magic to shatter the ice. "Seriously, stop doing that!!" He said annoyed as the others laughed.

"Ok we're going in from a blind spot around the back we'll scale the cliff and sneak in through a side entrance hidden from view....We'll the view of normal eyes." Said Markus. "Once we get in we'll need to find the watcher control room and disable it, then assualt the holding area and find Blizzardo."

"Guard count?" Asked Yoshi.

"Ellena? You got the intel?" Said Markus looking to Ellena

"500 minimum." Said Ellena checking her sword and guns. "So enough fun for all."

Placing his coat on a coat hook in a cabinet, Lancelot covered himself with ice while hiding his face at the same time with it. "I really should learn something to store my clothing..." Covering both his feet and hands with claws of ice, he stretched his clawed hands for a bit.

"Ya won't need those for the start if the plan goes well." Said Markus as he sat on the bow of the ship. "We're just gonna take out....as in kill any guards in our direct path."

"Then we're gonna run out taking down as many as we can." Said Yoshi laying on a long crate getting a bit of a rest before the mission started.

"Why kill if you can paralyze them with lightning?" Freezing a few spots on the crate Yoshi was laying down on, removing the ice as quick as it came, the crate collapsed under Yoshi's weight while Lancelot kept looking to the area they were heading too.

"Fakers are created by Living Magic so an illegal spell....Plus they're called Fakers for a reason." Said Markus as he smirked at Yoshi's freezing. "So you not wanting to end life kinda works with these guys as they are not really alive by a technicality."

"Depends on the definition of being alive i guess." Lancelot breathed out inedible while creating a light cloak of mist around the ship. Onlookers would only see them coming if they actually looked at were they where at that point in time, while hiding them from the sight of casual onlookers.

"Anything with a true soul is alive.....These don't, they're man made creatures to fill the void of man power." Said Yoshi. "I've seen first hand how they make these things and trust me it ain't nice....Luckily they don't have to kill people to bring these things to our world."

"Define first what a true soul is and what it is not, before saying that anything with a true soul is alive. What makes a soul true or false after all? " Lancelot his voice sounded rather absent, as if he was not really paying attention to the conversation. Noticing the cliff getting closer, Lancelot froze the water surrounding the boat to bring it to a stop without the need for an anchor while getting ready to fly up and freeze the opposition up there. "Lets go okay?"

"A true soul knows what is right and wrong....These things follow orders without question or remorse...." Said Markus hopping onto the cliff and grabbing Lancelot's leg. "Climb only....They have guards watching for airship and flying mages....They get a lot of mages using some form of flying magic around this area....Cheaper than getting an over priced boat ride to a colony."

"Fair enough with what defines a soul" Lancelot glanced to the top of the cliff while lengthening his claws at the same time as his wings got changed into an extra pair of arms and hands to use while climbing.

Chapter 2
The group reach the top of the cliff with Markus leading the way. At the top though was a lone guard Markus grabbed his leg fatally electrocuting him and throwing over the cliff into the water.

"Okay make sure you clear an escape route to here.....Zero did you bring the toys?" Said Markus as they gathered at the top of the cliff.

"Lacrima mines are ready and waiting." Said Zero patting a bag he had at his side. "I'll plant them at the right path to the door....That way any flanking forces trying to cut off our escape will have a nice surprise waiting."

Walking to the door, Lancelot gave a short look at the construction of it before freezing it to the core followed by a simple ice-push so that the door falls to the ground.

Markus grabbed Lancelot and pinned him to the door frame. "Do you know the meaning of stealth?" He asked with a growl to his voice. "You do realize they can kill your sister with a simple gesture with the prison cells they have in here? They can rip her soul apart within seconds!"

"Seriously Lancelot think before you act....We're meant to be sneaking in here." Said Ellena as she looked around. "I think we got lucky here..."

Remaining strangely calm under Markus his treatment, Lancelot disappeared from his grip, only to reappear behind the man. "If they kill her, i won't detain them but i will destroy their very atoms by letting them feel how cold absolute zero can be." Lancelot gave a brief look to the skies before before applying a very thin layer of ice on the walls and floor tiles he could see. "I might not wish to kill, but you said it yourself that they are not alive. One can't kill what is not alive..."

"Either way don't do anything until we find her... I'd like to try and save her." Said Markus rushing off into the dark, with the others following behind.

"That's the idea from the start if i remember correctly, saving her from those bastards." Making a small piece of ice on the corners as they went in the dark, he kept a connection with those little pieces. The bits of ice served a few purposes, with one of them warning him from others following him.

"Let me remind you despite the fact i said it a few moments ago... They can kill her in seconds and as we don't know where she is in here we won't be able to save her... So don't do anything till we find her and we make our moves towards escaping..." Said Markus as he grabbed a guard snapping his neck and tossing him into a box. "So no freezing doors off their hinges..."

"Markus lets split up." Said Ellena as she looking around a bit. "I'll take Lancelot and you take Zero."

"Guess i got Axel then." Said Yoshi patting Axel on the shoulder.

"Okay. Zero, link us all up... We'll keep in contact through telepathy." Said Markus waiting for Zero to make the mass link.

"Do any of you actually know how sis looks like if we are going to split up?" Freezing a few locks to keep others from intruding, Lancelot looked curious at the rest. "And i didn't freeze a door of its hinges, i only froze the hinges to the point that the hinges couldn't hold the door anymore."

"We can sense magical power ya know....Besides you know what she looks like so we'll find her first no doubt." Said Ellena. "And that still counts as off the hinges."

"Lets focus....Everyone search the place and don't be afraid to have a quick bit of fun." Said Markus as he rushed off with Zero.

"I prefer down the hinges, but okay Ellena. Lets see if this little trick will do the job." Taking a deep breath, Lancelot placed his right hand on the floor to connect all the pieces of ice to each other, in essence making each point the central point from where his information could come. While interweaving the several lines, Lancelot kept making new bits of ice from where new lines could be started until he experienced some kind of backlash, destroying his whole network of lines which in turn made him fall backwards as if he got punched to the face with enough force to knock him down. "That was a mean way to block access, gave me a headache too with that seal, not nice at all."

"Bet ya anything a guard will find that." Said Yoshi running off with Axel.

Down the hallway Markus and Zero went down the two had already beat several guards and found several prison cells. The cells were large glass cubs with strange and ancient monsters and demons trapped inside, frozen in time.

"Oh wow a Northern Black Drake.....Thought that species went extinct a couple hundred years ago." Said Zero examining the creature which only returned a glare.

"How'd ya think they found the weaknesses of that species?" Asked Markus walking to the door opposite of the one they entered.

"Yeah i see ya point....If we're going to blow this place when we leave what about the things in these cells?" Asked Zero following MArkus.

"Time will catch up and they'll be turned to dust.....Even Drakes can't survive aging that fast." Said Markus as he checked the hallway. "We may have to hunt the demons though....Shouldn't be too hard though."

Standing up while shaking his head in an effort to clear his head, Lancelot made a few ice-bits in the room. "I hope you can crack that mean seal when we get there Ellena." Running towards the place he felt that seal, he continued with making more of those ice-bits at the corners.

"I'm sure Markus can figure something out....Zero has copied some seal breaking spells in his life so that might help." Said Ellena killing two guards and hiding the bodies. "Slow down, rushing this will get us caught and we'll fail this."

Stopping by a closed door, Lancelot placed his left hand on the door knob while looking towards Ellena. "If we get caught, we can just freeze them right? By freezing them, we can deprive them of oxygen which in turn can cause memory loss. Which in turn would mean that they forgot about ever finding us." Freezing the locks this time, Lancelot opened the door without making a single noise. Inside the room they saw jars filled with green looking water, while several parts of different body's could be seen inside the jars. Most of them where filled with rather normal things -as far as those things could be called normal that is- while some also held claws, canine teeth and bird beaks.