Chapter twenty eight

"Who made you leader, Stupid King?!" Judar yelled. Sinbad had pretty much taken over their group, leading them and deciding what to do, and when. They'd been heading towards MWS' headquarters for a while now. It seemed as though the building was on the other side of the world, although the map said it wasn't much farther.

"I'm a king!" Sinbad snapped back.

"Not here!" Judar reminded, waving around them at the barren town. "Besides, Kouha's a prince, he could lead too, couldn't he?!" He pointed to the prince, who was now wide-eyed.

"Don't bring me into this..." Kouha raised his hands in defence, backing away, "I'm not part of this..."

"Could you two stop fighting for one minute?" Muu asked, his voice so full of annoyance he actually sounded calm. Yunan looked amused standing behind the half-Fanalis.

"It's not my fault Judar can't act like an adult," Sinbad crossed his arms.

"Says the one who claims to be a mighty king~" Laughed a muffled female voice.

All five men jumped and looked around wildly. "Neah?!" Sinbad called.

"I'm inside of my grandfather's pants," Neah said, then frowned, "that doesn't sound good, does it...?"

Judar patted his pants, and pulled out the Eye of the Rukh he'd received, "Neah? What the hell?"

"Hey~" Neah smiled inside of the small ball. The men crowded around the magic tool, all bombarding the magi with questions. "Woah, woah, slow down, guys," She chuckled.

"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked, grabbing the magic object from Judar, "What happened? We thought you were dead!"

"I'm fine," Neah assured him. Judar yelled something along the lines of, 'give that back, you asshole!' to Sinbad in the background. "I'm in the prison with everyone else from this time."

"Are all of the magicians and metal vessel users there too?" Muu asked, pushing an angry Judar aside.

"No, they're in another area," Neah shook her head.

"Is that my Muu Alexius?" A booming voice asked on Neah's end.

Neah looked back at the djinn, "Yes it is."

"Who the hell is that?" Judar frowned. He was practically climbing on Sinbad just to see the magic tool.

Neah turned back to the magic tool, "Muu's djinn, Barbatos."

"You mean the djinn are there?" Kouha asked, wiggling his way into the frame.

"Yeah, they're here. All 72 of them," Neah confirmed.

"How did you manage to call us?" Yunan asked.

"Another magi here made a makeshift magic tool," Neah explained. Sinbad wondered if Yuki was there as well, but decided not to mention it. "We're going to break out of here, we just need a plan," Neah continued.

"Right, what's your plan?" Muu questioned. "We're heading to MWS' headquarters now."

"You are? Good. If you're there, we can trap them easily."

"What about the Elites?" Sinbad reminded.

"Uhm," Neah looked to the djinn and other magicians around her. A few of them shrugged, none of them seeming to have an idea. "We'll figure it out...somehow."

"If the metal vessel users use their Extreme Magic, it should work," Yuki spoke up, his voice quieter to the other end of the call.

"Who was that?" Judar asked, leaning forward to see better.

"Yeah, that could work," Neah nodded to Yuki, who wasn't in the frame.

"Neah?" Judar tried to get her attention, his annoyance returning, "What, are you cheating on Sinbad already?"

This caught the magi's ear, "What?"

Sinbad rolled his eyes and sent a glare at the male magi before asking Neah, "Who are you talking to?"

Pretending Judar hadn't said anything, Neah moved the magic tool so her and the two magi beside her were in the frame, "This is Yuki and Adna, they're both magi from this time." Adna waved, while Yuki politely nodded his head. "You'll be able to meet them more formally later, right now we need a plan."

"I think what you mentioned earlier will work," Muu spoke, "but how do you plan on escaping the prison?"

Neah bit her lip in thought for a few moments before an idea came to mind, "The guy who usually guards this place is a total slacker..." She smirked, "It shouldn't take much to get the main door keys off of him."

"Ok, that works," Judar said. Then he asked, "Any tips on breaking into their headquarters?"

Neah chuckled, "It's really not hard, I walked right in."

"But by now they must have some sort of security up, right?" Adna asked.

"Probably," Neah looked at the magi, then back to the Eye of the Rukh, "Just be careful, and stay hidden. Judar, Yunan, I used Sharrar Magd, but I don't know if it'll work with a group."

"We'll figure something out," Sinbad spoke.

Neah nodded and added, "The prison is really far underground. When I was first here, the Archives were on the bottom floor, and I was taken even farther after fighting the Elites. We'll try to meet you halfway."

"We'll need some time to get everyone out, though," Yuki reminded.

"And doing that will surely set off alarms," Yunan added.

"Hmm..." Neah tried to think of another way. If they broke out, the building would lockdown, meaning Sinbad and his group needed to be inside the building before that happens. "Just make sure you're in the building somewhere, and when the alarms go off start attacking."

Yuki nodded in agreement, "You shouldn't run into the Elites, but if you do, go at them with everything you've got."

With everything settled, and everyone on the same page, they ended the call with a simple goodbye, and some teasing from Neah, "Don't kill each other before you get here, Gramps, King Idiot."

A few minutes after the conversation, breakfast ended and everyone went back to their cells, Adna hiding the makeshift Eye of the Rukh from the guards. In their cell, Yuki -with a troubled look on his face- asked, "Neah, do you love King Sinbad?"

Neah, shocked at the question, answered too quickly, "Of course I don't! Are you insane?! Where did this come from?" Why is he asking this?! Neah frowned.

Yuki remained calm, "You mentioned having a complicated relationship with him, and during the magic call you seemed to flirt with him a lot."

"Flirt?" Neah echoed, her frown deepening. She started at Yuki for a few moments, unsure how to respond. Her frown turned into a smirk as she tried to turn the topic around, "Where the hell did you learn how to flirt? Cause what we were doing surely isn't that."

"Me?" It was Yuki's turn to be surprised. "I-uh-I don't know? I mean, Focalor has tried to teach me a few things but..."

Neah laughed, "Oh my god, you are so innocent! I'd ask how you're so oblivious, but being cooped up in here can't give you many life experiences," She waved around at the small cell.

"Wait, are you avoiding my question?" Yuki saw though her plan.

"What question?" Neah tried.

"Do you love King Sinbad?"

"No, I don't," Neah shook her head. "I just like to mess with him, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Yuki pressed.

"Why do you care?"

"Well, I fear that if you fall for him like that, you will just get hurt," Yuki admitted. "All I hear from his former djinns are that he was a great man, but I don't think that is all. But besides that- he's from the past. You'll be destroying time if you do anything."

"I know, I know," Neah waved him off, "He just interests me." She laughed a bit, "You actually think I'm leaving this time again?"

"Well I hoped you wouldn't..." Yuki voice became quiet. "It would hurt time a lot..."

Neah smiled a little, "You mean it would hurt you a lot."

"I never said that," Yuki looked away, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

"Sure, sure," The female's smile turned into a smirk. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving." She messed up the blond magi's hair with one hand. Her smile faded and she asked, "Did you seriously think I'd love an idiot like him?" Although the thought of liking the king had crossed her mind several times before.

"I don't know... Even Judar mentioned you two dating," Yuki reminded.

Neah laughed, "And you'd take Judar's word on something?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying," Yuki frowned, shaking his head, "Nevermind."

"Are you two done having your moment?" Adna's voice, laced in amusement, asked from the back of the cell. "I'd like to sleep."

Neah jumped a bit and her face flushed pink, "A-Ah yeah...Sorry..."

Yuki smiled, "Come on, let's get some rest. There's a lot to do tomorrow." He looked at Neah for a few moments, and frowned. He hadn't had time before to actually look at her, this was the first time he'd noticed her rukh. He grabbed Neah's wrist as she got up, "Wait, Neah, I have one more question."

"What is it?" Neah paused and looked back at the magi. Adna pulled her blanket over her head and mumbled something incoherent about 'lovebirds'.

"Why are your rukh black?" Yuki glanced Adna's way, giving the lump of blankets an apologetic look.

"My rukh?" Neah frowned.

"Yes, why did you fall into depravity?" Yuki asked, not breaking eye contact with her.

Neah looked away. Yuki was still holding her wrist. "Isn't it obvious? After our parents died, and you were captured, I was alone. I've spent my entire life trying to think of a way to defeat MWS. They all deserve to die. All of them... Don't you think so too?" Neah looked back at the blond. Yuki remained quiet, "Yuki?"

"Is defeating MWS all you can think about?" Yuki asked.

"I...I guess?" Neah shrugged slowly. "I hate them. I'm not going to stop fighting until they're all dead. Even the Elites." The female could feel the familiar anger boiling up inside of her again.

"What about when they're dead? Who will you hate after that?"

Neah was taken aback, "What do you mean?" She turned so she was facing Yuki completely.

"I've learned from the djinn that your anger will never go away if you're fallen. You'll just keep hating and hating, and eventually everything you still care about will be destroyed."

Neah laughed lightly in surprise, "Woah, Yuki, don't you think you're over thinking things? I'm not like that." Yuki held her gaze again, his eyes filled with concern and seriousness. Neah shifted her weight, "It's not like I'm like Hakuryuu or Judar...I'm..." She wasn't sure what to say. She was just like them, filled with an undying hatred for the world. Remembering everything that happened in Judar and Hakuryuu's future, the magi swore, "I won't get that bad..."

"But you will," Yuki moved his hand on her wrist to her hand. "I don't want you to get like that, but it will happen."

"I-I won't!" Neah insisted, she tried to wiggle her hand from his grip, but he held her tighter.

"After we defeat MWS, what will you do? The world will need a leader. As a magi, do you think you are capable of picking a trustworthy King's Candidate?" Yuki questioned. "You've learned about the Old Days, you know what will happen if you choose wrong."

"I know!" Neah snapped. She sighed and looked at her feet, "I know... I just..." She looked at Yuki again, "How are you so good at this? Everyone in here trusts you... They all already see you as their leader. You're so bright and smart, you haven't freaked out once. You give everyone hope... I can't do that."

"Yes you can," Yuki squeezed her hand with both of his. "Your life has been anything but easy, but I believe you can become a great magi, and leader. You just need to let go of this anger."

"What good will that do?" Neah's tone was hysteric now. "I need to defeat MWS, nothing else matters. What's driving you to fight, Yuki? Hatred is the only thing that's keeping me going."

"You shouldn't be fighting because you hate MWS. You should fight because you want to save everyone here. To save the future." Yuki continued, "Wasn't that your original motive? To save me and everyone?"

Neah clenched her jaw, "Yes...but-"

"But you've been blinded by your hatred," Yuki finished for her. "Fight because you want your future back, not because you need revenge." His expression softened, "Alright?"

"Okay..." Neah nodded, tears starting to stream down her face. "Okay..."

Yuki smiled softly, "Good. We need to get to bed, I'm sure Adna will be mad at us for staying up so long."

Neah laughed through her tears, "Yeah, okay..." She wasn't sure she could do what Yuki was asking. Forget about her hatred? Give up on avenging her parents? Something like that was impossible. Neah was sure her hatred wouldn't disappear. She was too angry. But a small part of her wanted to believe Yuki was right. That it's okay to move on, to look towards and fight for the future. There was a very small light inside of her, and it was growing, giving Neah hope.

~

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G.K Chesterton