The Phantom's Sword

Syndryl put down the meat stick he had in his hand and looked around. He'd lost his appetite the moment he'd sensed that creature nearby. He 'looked' around without turning his head, trying to pick out where it was coming from. He sensed two creatures with large wings, both of them had that scary feeling about them, but one more than the other. The one that had more Madness about them had a little child with them, holding their hand. And he was different. He looked different, but he felt the same. Syndryl didn't understand. "He's over by that stand," he told her. Serenity tilted her head. "Who is?" Syndryl paused, remembering then he'd never told her what he was feeling. "That creature with the wings. The one that met you at the lake," he told her cautiously. "He's...smaller now. But he still feels dangerous," he growled lowly. He started to rise from his seat, but Serenity grabbed his hand. "Don't make a scene," she said gracefully. "We'll go see him together. Be nice." With that, Serenity got up as well, wrapping her arm around one of Syndryl's to lead him through the crowd, leaving their plate their. They'd come back to it, if no one took their seat. "Where in the line is he?" she asked calmly.

Jasper watched Batsu get pulled away, and started casually after them. He had no reason to be in the line, but he supposed he'd stick around to prevent anything from happening. Batsu had seemed to get irritated when he'd realized there was a dragon nearby. Boreas didn't say anything on the subject, funnily enough. He glanced around the crowd, but didn't see the blond woman and the blind, black haired male coming towards the line. Not yet anyways.

Alice kept holding onto Batsu's hand, smiling up at him every now and then. "It's okay, I'm hungry too. You don't have to be embarrassed," she smiled sweetly. "We should get a lot of food, okay?"

Batsu was practically bristling. The scent of dragon was growing stronger the longer he stayed in line. His grey eyes met Alice's onyx ones as she kept a hold on his hand and spoke to him about food. Batsu wasn't really hungry anymore. What he wanted was for the scent of Syndryl to be removed from his nostrils. What he wanted was for the dragon to show itself so he could take it's soul. Yes, he no longer needed souls, but there was such an overwhelming need to take Syndryl's.

Serenity didn't know what Syndryl had meant by smaller until she saw a male with red hair and black wings that didn't quite look like the Batsu she'd met those two times. He really was smaller, and less intimidating. But he also looked like he was very much on edge. It seemed that him and Syndryl both knew the other was near, at least that's what Serenity's intuition was telling her. Usually it was not wrong. Her powers as a seer had grown weaker since her soul had started fading, but they were still there, even if it was just barely. Syndryl stopped walking once they were fairly close to the line. Serenity had nearly tripped because of it, but the black haired male caught her with a swiftness that could only come from someone who was not human. It seemed that he too had 'seen' Batsu. If he was in his dragon form, Serenity was sure he would've been snarling. As it was, his face was blank with a calm rage at the feel of the Madness inside Batsu. It was weaker than before, but it was still there.

Cross looked back when he heard Batsu's wings rustle. It was more out of instinct than anything though. He could feel there was danger in the air, as strange as it sounded. He'd conditioned himself to know when a dangerous situation was arising and now was one of those times. Instead of staying folded tightly behind his back, his wings spread out only slightly, as if he were ready to move at any moment. Whatever danger was going to come, it had to do with Batsu. "Alice." When the white haired girl looked at him and saw the expression on his face, she hurried to his side. While it looked like a blank expression to any other person, Alice knew when Cross wanted her to come to him just from the look in his eyes. She took his hand and stayed close to him, looking up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly. When she got no response, she followed his gaze to Batsu curiously. Was something going on?

Jasper was also curious. You'd think a dragon would be attracting a hellova lot of attention. Maybe Batsu's nose was malfunctioning. "Calm down man, there's no dragons around here, just people," he said with a small huff. He stopped looking around though, when he saw that familiar blond hair and those pretty blue eyes that he'd very nearly forgotten while in the Unknown. He'd forgotten how stunning Serenity was. But who was that with her? From the way she was leading him about, Jasper had to guess the guy was blind. That, and the blank stare the guy had was giving it away.

Serenity looked at the people in the line, her gaze stopping on a black haired male that looked strikingly familiar. This had to be her imagination. Jasper had been dead for centuries. This guy was just a coincidental look-alike. But the way he was looking at her...no, no, it just couldn't be him. Instead she turned her gaze to the red haired male. "Batsu," she called softly. "I didn't expect to see you here. You look different." She could only hope this was the same person from before. If not, this would be dreadfully embarrassing.

Batsu's appearance was in fact different, but if one got close enough, they could see that his teeth had turned sharp as canines and his wings were sparking with the start of a flame. He turned a grey gaze to Jasper when he was told to calm down. "Are you blind," the winged creature asked. "He's right there!" Batsu nodded to Syndryl with bared teeth. He hadn't noticed that Alice had left his side or that Serenity was right there. It was only when she called to him did he seem to chill out just a bit. "Serenity." He was silent for a moment before he spoke. "I found what I was looking for, that's why I look different." He didn't move forward though. Syndryl's smell was intoxicating.

Jasper frowned at Batsu's response. This wasn't good, the guy was reverting back to his old self, his wings were nearly setting on fire. "Let's go somewhere where there's less people, okay?" he said, glancing around. They were drawing a bit of attention. Jasper didn't want to get kicked out of town without even having the chance to talk to Serenity. He was glad that Batsu ended up calming down upon seeing the blond haired woman, but he still wanted to move somewhere else.

Serenity smiled when Batsu said he'd found what he'd been looking for. "Good. I'm glad that didn't have to be our last meeting then. Do you plan on staying around for a while?" She was trying to get over the fact that an exact replica of Jasper was standing next to the red haired male. If that wasn't Jasper, she'd completely embarrass herself, but if it was...well, she wasn't sure what she'd do if it was. They'd been on good terms before Jasper had died, so that wasn't the problem, but...the problem was, what was he doing alive again? She went to approach them so that she didn't have to talk from a distance, but Syndryl held onto her arm. She turned to him with an annoyed expression. "Will you cut it out," she snapped. At that, Syndryl let go of her arm in surprise, but didn't leave her side when she walked closer to Batsu. He wasn't going to be standing far away from her when this thing decided to snap.

Cross decided that it would probably be better to let others go in front of them, so he told Alice to tell the people waiting that they could go ahead. He was starting to wish that him and Alice had never accompanied those two. Because if Alice somehow got hurt in the crossfire, there would be hell to pay.

(Cross is badass and he hasn't even done anything.)

Batsu looked to Jasper with a somber expression on his face when the guy said they should go somewhere less populated. "I told you I didn't want to come in here," he complained lightly. He then looked to Serenity when the woman asked if he was going to stay a while. "We're actually here to see you." He looked to Jasper as if expecting him to give the details or hop into the conversation.

When Batsu said they were there to see Serenity, Syndryl only seemed more on edge. He didn't give a damn that Serenity had told him to cool it. He knew this thing was dangerous, and he was going to make sure Serenity was protected. It was no longer just a sense of duty that drove him, like it had been when he'd first made the contract with her. He'd been with Serenity for so long that he'd started becoming personally protective of her.

Jasper glanced to Batsu, forgetting that Cross and Alice were even with them for the moment. He looked back to the blue eyed woman when the red haired being mentioned they were there to see her. He tilted his head and gave a small grin. "Don't remember me?" He'd noted the look she'd given him earlier, and how she hadn't said a word to him. "I know it's been a while, but I'd thought we'd had something back then," he joked. "But yeah, we're here to see you, for a couple different reasons, actually. Can we go somewhere quieter though? It's kinda loud here," he said, giving a glance around.

Serenity blinked when Jasper spoke to her. It really was him. She nodded lightly at his question, smiling. Once he glanced around, she went up to him and wrapped him in a light hug. "It's good to see you again," she said, pulling back from the hug only to see that his face held a look of shock and was very much red. She felt a bit embarrassed herself when she remembered just what he'd used to be like. She hadn't remembered up until that moment that he'd practically been in love with her. "Sorry," she apologized with a smile. "Come on, I know a quiet place. Usually there'd be kids there, but not since the festival's going on," she told them, waving her hand for them to follow. She'd seen the other man with black wings, but hadn't paid him much attention, since she didn't know that they were with Batsu and Jasper.

Cross' wings relaxed a bit again when he realized no fight was going to start immediately. He gave Alice some money to go order herself some food from the stand so that they could take it with them. He was going to make sure that Alice ate, but knowing her, she'd still want to follow Batsu and that other guy around. Might as well let her get food first.

Batsu was beginning to very much dislike Syndryl. He'd already butted heads with the dragon once before, but now he had an even greater dislike for the creature. The red haired male smiled lightly when he saw Jasper's expression after Serenity hugged him. It looked like those two were going to catch up really quick. That amused him to no ends. Turning he looked to Cross and Alice and saw that the white haired girl was getting her food. It only reminded Batsu of how hungry he was. He turned his attention away, wondering if Jasper would tell Serenity about the man with the silver hair. Batsu had no intentions of telling her anything. He surely wouldn't tell her that he'd nearly taken the guy's life after she asked him not to. A wave of guilt washed over him and he looked to the ground to keep from showing it.

Once Serenity was sure the others were following, she started away from the festival and towards the park, which was less crowded, and even had a few picnic tables and benches around the area. She hadn't even thought about the fact that they'd been waiting in line for food. She didn't pay much attention to Syndryl, who was walking behind her. He was being ridiculous. If Batsu had wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already. She looked to Jasper as they walked. "So...it's good to see you and all, but...how are you alive? You died so many years ago..."

Jasper, even at this point, was still trying to wipe the redness from his face. He didn't think he could blush anymore. Looked like Serenity had proven that theory wrong. He looked at her, walking by her side. "Oh, I, uh, I have a debt to repay. I've been in the Unknown for a hundred years or so...probably more, out here. Otherwise I definitely would have come visit you and...er, well, you, anyways." 'Smooth move dumbass. You almost mentioned Felix. You don't even know if she knows if he's dead, so keep your mouth shut,' Boreas told him in irritation.

Serenity looked at him curiously. A debt? Clearly it was to someone who could resurrect him. And in the Unknown. Maybe it was Silence. "So, um...who's that little one on your shoulder?" she asked curiously.

Syndryl kept an eye on both Batsu and the other winged being, because they both wreaked of Madness, but the former much more than the latter.

Cross blinked at how much food Alice had gotten, but motioned for her to follow, since the others had already started away. She noticed his questioning look and smiled. "Some of it is for Batsu," she said happily, carrying the plate carefully.

(I love Alice. She's so adorable.)

Batsu was quiet as the two caught up with one another. His grey eyes rested on Syndryl who kept looking at him. Finally Batsu couldn't take it any longer. "What's your problem," he asked in a non too friendly tone. "Why do you think of me as a threat. You're a dragon!" The grey eyed male shook his head. "I understand you want to protect her but I would never harm her." It was true, he wouldn't. Serenity showed kindness to him when no one else would. Then again he hadn't given them a reason to be kind to him either.

Syndryl stopped when Batsu finally addressed him, turning his unseeing gaze upon the winged creature. It seemed that outburst had caused the rest of the group to stop as well, only Alice didn't seem perturbed by it as she munched a bit of meat off the stick like it was corn on the cob and watched with curiosity.

"My problem is that you wreak of Madness. Everything about you is dangerous because of it." His eyes narrowed when Batsu said he would never hurt Serenity. He wanted to revert to his normal form and rip this thing to shreds. It reminded him of Mekko with the way he acted. Like he was so innocent, so unknowing that he could bring about destruction at any moment. Everything from Kokoburo's Pass came to his mind when he was around this being. The Sirens especially so. A small, nearly invisible shiver ran down his spine at the thought of those evil creatures. If he were himself, his mane would have been spiked up by now and he would have been border-line snarling at the red haired creature. "Anything with Madness in it could lose control at any given moment. Whether you think you would hurt her or not has no prevalence to your capability," he growled.

Cross put his arm out to stop Alice from walking any further and his wings once more fluffed a bit with the threat of danger in front of him. If a fight started between the two he'd beat them both senseless until they no longer had the strength to fight. He would not put up with their problem constantly putting Alice in danger.

Serenity frowned at the two of them, blinking when Syndryl spoke. It had been so long ago, but she thought she knew why he was acting like this. "Syndryl...this isn't like back then. It's not running rampant like it was in the Pass."

"Yes it is," he snapped, turning his head towards Serenity. "You can't see it or smell it because you're only human, but it's everywhere, Serenity," he growled. He'd had enough of this. He was only trying to protect her and he was getting tired of being reprimanded for it. He felt like he'd been constantly on the defensive since the first time Batsu had shown up, like despite this creature's obvious danger, everyone was turning on him instead of the black winged creature.

Batsu's eyes widdened when Syndryl snapped at him because he had Madness. He'd know that he'd been infected with Madness, but he honestly thought he'd been released when he'd gotten his new body. He took a step back as Syndryl continued to drill him about something he couldn't control. The grey eyed male looked between Serenity and Syndryl before backing up. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm glad to have seen you again, but I've overstayed my welcome," he mumbled to Serenity. He turned to Jasper. "If you still want to travel you can find me outside." He then flapped his wings and started into the sky. A mixture of sorrow and anger flared inside him as he started off in the direction of the mountains.

Out of everyone there, Serenity seemed most shocked by Syndryl's outburst. He'd never been like this before. She'd never seen him so angry. "Look, Syndryl," she started, walking closer to the dragon. "I know you're trying to protect me, but you can't protect me from a danger that isn't there," she told him softly. "He hasn't done anything to prove himself a threat to me."

"Neither had Mekko," he growled. "It's better to get rid of a problem before it arises."

Serenity looked to Batsu as he said he was leaving. "Hey, don't..." Before she could protest any further, the red haired male was talking to Jasper, then flying off. She turned her gaze to Syndryl. "He wasn't going to hurt me," she said angrily.

Jasper glanced to Batsu and opened his mouth to say something, but the guy had flown off before he could. He glanced to Syndryl. That guy was a dragon? And what the hell was up with that thing's attitude?

"Go back to the Unknown," Serenity said quietly. When Syndryl looked to her in surprise, she shook her head. "You're being overprotective, Syndryl. There was no danger here and I won't have you driving people off because you smell Madness everywhere."

Syndryl shook his head. "I won't go back. I promised Felix I would look after you until he returns," he insisted. He was shocked that she would even suggest that he return to the Unknown so suddenly. He almost felt betrayed. Was she choosing to send him back for doing his job, for protecting her, even though he was doing it because he cared?

"Then cut it out. I mean it, if you don't...if you don't, our contract will be over, understand? Don't make something out of nothing."

Syndryl was silent for a long few moments, his dull blue eyes wide with shock. He'd very nearly taken a step back at how serious Serenity sounded about this. What did she expect of him then? To wait until it was too late? To wait until her head had been cut clean off her shoulders? She'd become something precious to him, didn't she get that? She'd become like a large sapphire among all the gold and treasure he'd possessed, worthy of being protected above the rest. The black haired dragon, however, didn't realize the mistake in his own thinking. That humans did not like to be thought of as possessions. Looking down, Syndryl finally nodded. His attention, though his head remained bowed, moved to Batsu, who was flying further and further away by the second. He didn't know if he should go after him or not. But before he could decide one way or the other, he found that the other winged being was in the air and headed in the direction of the mountains.



Alice tugged on Cross' coat with sad eyes once Batsu had flown away. "Go get him," she said sadly.

Cross looked down at Alice for a good few moments before speaking. "If I bring him back bad things could happen between those two."

"I don't care, he shouldn't be sad so soon after being born. I don't want him to think this world is a bad place," she said sadly, her black eyes tearing up. "This world is a beautiful place, he shouldn't go back to the Unknown. The people are very nice, it's just that mister dragon is from the Unknown too, and mister Batsu doesn't know it. Please go get him Cross."

Cross was silent for a moment before his eyes softened and he knelt down in front of Alice. "Go stay by Jasper, and stay away from that other man, okay..?" When she nodded, he gave her a tiny smile and stood back up, patting her on the head just twice before beating his wings down and lifting off into the air. He'd honestly missed being able to fly, because when he'd flown again for the first night after they'd left, he'd found his wings to be rather sore. Now they were fine though, and he was glad for it. He quickly made his way towards Batsu and stopped in front of the red haired being, his wings spread out fully to prevent Batsu from continuing on, but only for a moment before he had to flap them again. "Go back," he said simply.

Batsu didn't know where he was going, he just knew he had to get far, far away. He needed some time to think and figure out what he was going to do. For a moment he thought about taking his anger out on anything on the ground, and robbing them of their souls, but that would only prove Syndryl right. So instead he flew as fast as he could in the direction of the mountains where he could sit and calm down. His grey eyes were focused on the ground as he moved. It was a miracle he didn't run right into cross. He stopped when he realized the guy was in front of him. How had he caught up so fast. Batsu tilted his head to the side when Cross told him to go back. Just who was this guy? "I'll go back later...just not right now."

Cross' expression didn't change when Batsu said he wouldn't return right now. "The dragon won't cause you anymore trouble, if that's what you're worried about. And Alice wants to see you," he added. He paused. Should he stay with this man and figure out what was wrong? Would Alice be angry with him for not immediately returning. She had seemed to simply want to make sure this being didn't think the world was a bad place outside of the Unknown. "She doesn't want you to think this is a bad world to be in."

Batsu shook his head. "I don't care about Syndryl," he said with. A sigh. "What I care about is not causing a scene and bringing about trouble. You weren't around to witness what I did, because your conscious was buried beneathe mine." He looked to Cross with a somber expression. "This world may not be a bad one, but at the same time it's not exactly butterflies and rainbows either. If Alice wishes to see me then I'll be in the mountains were no one will see me as a threat." He was beginning to believe he should have stayed away until the memory of th God of Chaos had disappeared.

The raven haired man very nearly sighed at this creature's stubbornness. "If what you're worried about is Madness, then there's not much fear to be had out here." He paused and glanced back to the village. "That woman has it too, but I've not once heard of her losing control." He looked back to Batsu. "And if you're worried about losing control, I'll be sure to take you down before you get the chance," he said, his emerald green eyes focused on the other winged being. He was certain that he was faster and stronger than this being, both in the air and on the ground. He could drag him down if needed. Cross didn't actually realize how crude that statement had sounded. He paused for a longer moment. "Alice bought food for the two of you to eat. It's going to get cold if we don't get back soon."

Oddly enough Batsu wasn't worried about any of that. He just wanted a bit of time to think over what was going on. He didn't care about Madness, and as shocked as he was to hear that Serenity was infected as well, he didn't care to ask her about it, considering Syndryl seemed to be highly against it. The grey eyed male shook his head. "And I'm not worried about losing control either. I don't have a problem with control." He felt a bit threatened by Cross telling him that he'd take him down. Again, just who was this guy? The smaller winged male sighed when the guy mentioned Alice and her food. "Tell her I'm sorry, but I've seemed to have lost my appetite."

A silence passed over Cross as Batsu spoke. He could easily enough drag the guy back down into the village, but that would probably stir up some commotion. Not to mention, the guy would probably just leave again. He frowned lightly when Batsu said to tell Alice sorry. She'd be disappointed if he didn't bring Batsu back, but it would probably be okay as long as he didn't go back to the Unknown. He wasn't one hundred percent sure of what the child wanted, but he was sure that was part of it. "Just don't go back to the Unknown," he said curtly. Cross was really no good at talking to people. His requests never came out as requests, but rather, commands. He supposed he could let the guy go, but he was going to feel bad if he went back to Alice without him and didn't even make sure the guy wasn't going to go to the Unknown. His wings beat steadily behind his back, as if it was as natural to him as breathing. In fact, his wings were beating down at every third heartbeat of the raven haired male's.

Batsu waited for whatever Cross had to say. When he finally told him not to go to the Unknown Batsu nodded. "I'll be in those mountains if they need me." Which he doubted they would. He then started off, his wings losing feathers as he went. They usually only fell off when he was injured of sick. He was guessing it was emotional distress this time. Grey eyes scanned the area for a place to rest once he arrived in the mountains. When he found his spot he took a seat and sighed.

Cross nodded lightly when Batsu said he'd be in the mountains. "I wouldn't go too far," he said simply. "Jasper might still wish to travel with you." Which reminded him. He'd left Alice with that basket case. Flapping his wings powerfully down once Batsu had started away, the raven haired male soared forward towards the Gears. It wasn't that he was rushing because of his concern for Alice. On the contrary, he knew she had the capabilities of escaping if danger arose. He just loved the feel of the wind through his feathers. It was one of the few pleasures he commonly took advantage of.

Once he arrived back, Alice gave him an expectant look. "He's not going to the Unknown. He said he'll be in the mountains for a while." He nearly sighed when he saw the disappointed look on her face. He was good at fighting, not people. That was why he rarely took on 'messages' that including him negotiating through words.