Vayne: I'm super sorry for the wait! You'll be glad to know this should be a big story, so look forward to it. Also, I'm bringing back a very, very hated character from one of my other stories (Can you guess who? XD) Anyway, sit back and enjoy!

Elsword: Lord Knight

Ara: Yama Raja

Chung: Tactical Trooper

Eve: Code: Nemesis

Rena: Night Watcher

Raven: Veteran Commander

Elesis: Grand Master

Aisha: Dimension Witch

Locked Away

Chapter One: Getting Ready for Disaster

Hamel, the city of water. It had always stood tall and proud and always shall. Countless calamities had befallen the kingdom, including a full scale demon invasion. However, the noble inhabitants stood tall and strong of heart against their trials. An age of peace now reigned, governed by the Queen, Delilah, and her son Chung. In the castle, Delilah and Chung sat in the dining hall one early winter morning. The snow blanketed the land, filling everyone with a festive mood. Delilah looked at Chung who was indulging himself on his hot breakfast.

"Chung, how have your lessons been?" Delilah asked.

"Okay." Chung answered. Every afternoon Chung sat in his room and was greeted by Eve and Ara. Eve had always been in the castle, and was loyal to the crown. She was like another mother to Chung, and his dearest friend. Ara was unique. She has a special pact with the spirit her family protected, Eun. However, after being accepted to the castle, she decided to give up her spear. She was well respected and proved a vital asset in royal counseling and in helping Eve with Chung's lessons. Delilah treated her like a sister, and extended the same family like respect for her other guards and close friends.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Delilah offered as she stood up, both having finished their food. Chung got up as well.

"Sure." They both left the dining hall through the back and headed out to the garden. They were soon greeted by a familiar face.

"Good morning your majesty." A tall elven woman greeted them warmly. She had a bow slung over her shoulder, and a sword on her side.

"Good morning Rena." Both said, returning the pleasantry. Rena was a diligent servant of the crown, and the head of covert operations. She was well respected in the city, and also well feared by the few foes who knew of her. When she sets her sights on a target, she does not give up until her job is complete.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Rena said, mostly to herself, as she turned around to look at the young crimsonette running up to them.

"Morning!" She called out as she reached them.

"Morning Elesis." Everyone replied. Elesis was a master swordsman, as well as her brother Elsword. Both have been high ranking guards for the castle for a long time, and dedicated their lives to protecting it and its inhabitants. Both were a menace with a great sword, making their heavy weapons dance in the air as they fought.

"Good morning. How's the day going?" Elesis asked with a smile.

"Quite well." Delilah said, then frowned, "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the vault?"

"Aisha kicked me out." Elesis said with a pout, "She's so dedicated she doesn't want anyone else helping with the vault."

"I see." Delilah sighed, "Well, she does a good job."

"Yup, and I get to relax." Elesis said with a slight chuckle. Rena looked at Delilah.

"Everything is ready for the party tonight?" She asked.

"Just about. Everyone just has to get dressed and the food has to be finished." Delilah closed her eyes in thought, "I think I'll get ready now." Delilah walked off, leaving Chung with Elesis and Rena. Chung sighed.

"Well, mom will want me to get ready too." As Chung turned to walk after her, he bumped into Eve, "Oof!"

"Oh!" Both lost their footing and Chung fell forward with Eve underneath him. They blushed slightly as Rena and Elesis laughed.

"My lord, I didn't know you had the hots for your teacher!" Elesis choked out between giggles. Chung quickly helped Eve to her feet, face red with embarrassment, and Eve quickly slapped Elesis across the face.

"Insolence!" Eve proclaimed before walking off in a huff into the hedge maze, thoroughly embarrassed and flustered. Elesis, a smile still on her face, rubbed her cheek.

"You deserved that." Rena said as Chung left for his room in silence. Rena heard footsteps behind them.

"Hey, why you slapping my sister?" Rena and Elesis turned to see Elsword walk up to them, a devious smirk across his face. He loved to tease his older sister at any chance.

"Watch it, or I'll kick your ass." Elesis growled and placed a hand on her great sword. She didn't like Elsword taking advantage of her at any time, and both knew full well who'd win in a fight. Elsword took a step back with his hands in the air.

"Whoa sis, I'm just joking around. You seen Ara anywhere?" Elsword asked, sighing as Elesis let go of her sword.

"I think I saw her at the pond." Rena said.

"Thanks Rena." With that, Elsword turned around and headed into the maze. It took him some time, and he admired the masterful work of the garden tenders as he walked. He remembered how he met Ara. After Elesis had left for Velder to become a knight and left Elsword all alone, he was wandering through the forest when he stumbled across a young girl, or at least he thought it was a girl. She had pure white hair and nine bushy fox tails sprouting from her rear. As he drew near, the tails vanished, and the white hair turned black. Unsure what to do, Elsword carried the mysterious girl back to Ruben, and left her in Lowe's care. She awoke soon after, and told him her name was Ara and that she had lost her home and was almost killed escaping. They each had no one, and Elsword was all alone in his family home, so he offered for her to stay with him. They became close friends, and sparred together in the cool summer nights. He turned the corner to the pond, and sighed when she wasn't there. He knelt down by the water, and ran his fingers through the cold liquid. He watched the calming ripples flow through the water.

"Well, fancy seeing you here." Elsword turned to see a tall, black haired man with a long sword by his side. Raven, former leader of the Black Crow mercenaries. He seemed cold and heartless at first glance, but he was heavily weighed down by his past. He swore to uphold the Crow's name, and worked tirelessly on his Nasod claw to turn it into a flaming weapon of destruction. With this power, he saved the queen's life in the country with Elesis's help on a return visit from the Elven kingdom. They were assaulted by what seemed a small army of assassins. If Raven had not stumbled upon them when Elesis was caught and knocked unconscious, Delilah would have met her end. After his display of combat ability, Delilah offered him a position in the palace as Chung's personal guard. He accepted, as he felt it was the right thing to do, which is what his late fiance always told him to do.

"Hey Raven." Elsword stood up, "How's it going?"

"Quite well. Saw Eve run by with quite the blush on her face so that was entertaining." Raven sighed, "Well, we should get to our places, guests will be here soon." Elsword groaned.

"Fine, hoped to find Ara before the party but...oh well." Elsword left the maze in Raven's company, and waited by the front gate to greet the guests due to come.

Elsword stood at attention by the gates, waiting for the next carriage. He hoped that a very particular person would not show up. He twitched at the thought of him. He looked up to see another carriage approaching, and when it stopped, he opened the door and helped them out. Raven swiftly came up and greeted them.

"Lord and Lady Danaley I presume?"

"Yes." The mistress replied, her silk dress a slight hue of pink amidst the deep azure weave. Both Raven and Elsword both respect Lady Danaley. Many people, even in the castle, did not treat Ara with much content. Lady Danaley however loved to come to the castle and see her, and has paid many visits to speak with Ara whenever she had free time, "Elsword, it is a true pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine my lady." Elsword said with a curt bow. She smiled and was escorted with her husband to the hall by Raven. Elsword smiled, Ara would be happy to see them. Elsword looked at all the vacant carriages littering the courtyard; it seemed as if everyone had arrived. However, he grimaced as he turned to see a black iron carriage rolling up to him. Elsword collected himself, and opened the door. A tall male with dark red hair stepped out, and he ran his fingers through a patch of azure above his left eye.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Elsword." He said smugly. Elsword grit his teeth.

"Good evening Duke Vikeas." Elsword said, nearly a growl. Vikeas just smirked and walked off to the castle, he had more important matters to attend to. Raven brushed by Vikeas, purposely bumping into him and not apologizing.

"You alright Elsword?" Raven asked.

"I don't trust him." Ever since Vikeas was appointed dukedom in Feita, he had paid frequent visits to the castle, and his very presence made Ara timid. Raven saw the look in Elsword's eyes, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay with her. I'll try to keep the bastard distracted. Although, I thought I heard him muttering something when I passed by." Both knew Vikeas, like usual, was up to no good. Elsword headed into the castle and began to work his way through the crowded hall to find Ara. He looked around, seeing Rena with the queen alongside Raven. Looking closer, he saw Vikeas there as well. Then he saw Lady Danaley at the top of the stairs, and made his way to her. She turned as she heard his footsteps

"Oh, hello Elsword."

"Hello my lady, enjoying the party?"

"Quite, just taking a break."

"Might you have seen Ara?" Elsword asked.

"Yes, she went out back." Danaley replied.

"Thank you. Enjoy the rest of the night." Elsword bowed before turning to leave.

"You as well."

Elsword headed down the staircase and through one of the archways into the back garden. Sure enough, Ara was sitting on the fountain, the pale moonlight gleaming off her soft skin. Elsword was dumbstruck for a moment, then collected himself.

"Hey Ara." Ara jumped slightly as Elsword surprised her. She turned to see him in front of her, smiling.

"Hey Elsword." Elsword sat down next to her. Ara stared at him in confusion as he did not reply and a strange silence filled the air. She shifted uncomfortably and waited for his response. But would it come? Could he find the words to say? He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, and saw her staring up at the moon, the silver sphere reflecting in her eyes. She was so beautiful; he had always seen her as such and so much more. Could he say it? No, not so suddenly.

"Ara?" She turned to look at him, "Would you like to have a dance?"

Raven was not comfortable. Vikeas was making no effort to leave the queen's company. In fact, it seemed to be what he wanted. Rena and Raven exchanged worried glances, then all four of them turned to see the dancers separate from the floor. Hand in hand, Ara and Elsword took the floor, and the music began anew. Slowly with grace and dignity they swayed from side to side. As the music grew, others joined in around them, everyone returning to their own dance. Raven suddenly grew tense, had he seen a gleam of steel? He looked at Rena, who made no motion, indicating she was not sure.

"How has it been around the castle majesty?" Vikeas asked calmly, ignoring a sharp glare from Elesis as she passed by with Chung, both moving to the buffet. Elesis despised Vikeas, as he had made moves on her before. Whenever he was visiting, Chung and Elesis stuck together like glue, as Vikeas would not dare make a move with the prince present.

"Quite well. Things have been graciously calm and Chung has been quite well. Although..." Delilah cast a quick look at her loved son, "He has been acting unusual lately."

"Oh? How so?" This piqued Vikeas's interest. Rena suppressed the urge to hit him for probing into personal matters.

"Eve and Ara had told me he's been strangely distant during his lessons."

"He's sixteen correct? Sounds like a rebellious phase begging to begin." Vikeas said with a chuckle. Delilah sighed.

"I knew it would happen one day."

Meanwhile, in the tunnels underneath the castle leading to the royal vault, a young girl ran as fast as her legs could move. She prayed she wouldn't be too late. As she ran, she cursed her weak body.

"Come on Aisha, move faster! I can't let this happen!" She yelled at herself, and rushed up the stairs to the main hall. She stopped, eyes growing wide as she heard screams and Raven yelling. She was too late, "No..." Hands on her staff, she bolted up the stairs.

"Elsword!" Rena shot an arrow at the red haired warrior as he ducked down, the projectile cleaning piercing into the head of an attacker. Elsword did not have his sword, and grappled with an assassin. He had lost sight of Ara, and could hear his friends. The vast majority of the party guests were assassins, or members of a cult. They were unsure, but Eve and Chung had taken the other royalty and Delilah to the main tower where the guards mustered. Elsword felt the assailant grow limp and he dropped him to the ground, turning to see Aisha.

"Catch!" Aisha hurled Elsword's great sword to him. He nimbly caught it and slammed the hilt against the forehead of an enemy sneaking up on him then pushed forward, impaling another foe. Raven effortlessly knocked attackers to the floor as he worked his way to Aisha. He knew she knew something given her tone of voice.

"Aisha! What's going on?!" Raven ordered and explanation.

"Where's Ara?! We can't let them find her!" Elsword didn't know who 'they' were, but he ran for the garden, assuming Ara fled out the back in the confusion. He turned to parry a strike from a pursuer and saw Raven chasing after him. They kicked the back door open, and saw a sight that chilled Elsword to the bone.

Ara was entrapped in a strange field of red energy, dark runes floating around her. She was out cold, and locked in her Eun form. Four dark sorcerers were around her chanting. Elsword tried to halt the spell, but was knocked back by a field. He got up to see Ara's tails glow, shifting colors. Raven saw a group of cultists on the opposite side of the field. One was a giant of a man, holding two massive swords. His armor was thick and made of black iron, smooth and sleek. Another was a slightly short woman with no visible weapons. She wore dark leather that was woven into links to provide further protection from blunt blows. The last was a cloaked figure, his or her face masked in shadow and providing no indication as to who it was.

"Ara!" Elsword tried to rush the mages again, but was knocked back. The others came, and all watched in horror as Ara's tails removed themselves from her. They slowly spun in a circle around her, the severed tails moving high into the air before they stopped. There was silence, no movement, when an ear splitting crack tore through the air as the tails rocketed through the sky into different directions, East, West, South, and North. The field was dropped and the mages quickly taken care off. The group stared down the three figures before them, but the cloaked man held out his hand they vanished from sight. Elsword walked over to Ara's lifeless body, and fell to his knees. His sword fell to the floor with a clatter, and he gently held Ara in his arms.

"Aisha..." Raven turned to the horror stricken mage, "What has happened?"

"Eun's seal...has be shattered. A great evil is in danger of manifesting in the world." All grew silent, holding their questions as Elsword picked up Ara's body, and solemnly walked into the castle. Rena went to go after him, but Elesis stopped her.

"Don't. He needs to be alone." Elesis sighed. Please don't do anything stupid.

"Why has this happened?" Chung said quietly, "Is there anything we can do?" Aisha then jolted, remembering something.

"Perhaps...if we regain her tails we can fix this." Raven sheathed his blade.

"Then we have a course of action. I will prepare for travel now."

"Elsword will no doubt want to join you." Elesis said, "I will stay here to protect Delilah."

"As will I." Rena said. Raven cursed in his mind. Rena would be good to have with us, but no matter.

"I'm coming too." Chung said, determined.

"Wait." They all looked at Eve, "There are nine tails. We should do our best to find more of the, before our foes. I suggest we split. I will accompany Chung."

"Very well. Elsword and I will move on our own. I leave tonight, so please inform Elsword." With that, Raven turned and headed for the armory. Everyone sat there, confused and grief stricken. Eve and Chung left to get prepared. Aisha returned to the vault for her duties. Rena left to inform Delilah and escort the guests to their carriages. Elesis just stood there and stared at the sky. A tear rolled down her face.

"Father...give us strength."

Vayne: How's that for a comeback!? Leave a review, favorite and follow if you really liked it, and check out my other stories if you so desire. Thanks for the support!