Chapter 11: Closure

Carolyn rushes over to Lance’s aid

“Lance, you’ve got burn marks all over your body! What happened to you?”

“Don’t worry about me, I think I’ll be fine… Aria, can you please tend to that man’s wounds over there?” Lance says pointing towards an unconscious Allen.

“Nonsense Sire! That’s the man that attacked Aria and kidnapped you in the first place, why extend your generosity to him?!” Fluffy asks baffled at Lance’s reasoning.

“He’s a childhood friend of mine, I’ll explain later, but you can say I’m the one to blame for all this. Please just tend to his wounds for me.” Lance replies as he winces in pain from his own wounds.

“Here, let me take care of your wounds too,” a concerned Carolyn says as she pulls out her first-aid kit.

“Thanks Carol, sorry for troubling y-“ Before Lance could finish his sentence Carolyn places her index finger over his mouth.

“Not another word Lance Bladerunner, it’s MY fault that you got kidnapped in the first place. And now look at you, you’re all beaten up… I feel like I’VE been the one troubling you.” Carolyn says trying to hold back her tears.

Lance then grabs the back of her head and places it on his chest giving her a light embrace.

“Don’t be silly. I’d NEVER think that. I blame my own weakness..”

“About that.. Sire, I’ve never seen you in such a state. Was that Hellhound guy really that powerful?” Fluffy asks.

Lance thinks back to his fight with Hellhound and how one sided the fight was.

“Very much so. He may even be on par with the Seven Rulers.” 

“I didn’t stand a chance against him.” Lance says as he pounds his fist into the ground. 

“As powerful as them?! I never would’ve thought. This could spell trouble for us in the future..” Fluffy says in astonishment.

Lance then thinks back to what Hellhound said.

“I assure you i'm not the bad guy; It seems you are still naïve about the world around you; I want you to join our organization: The Twilight; With your help we’ll be able to do more good for the world.”

“Something wrong?” Carolyn asks.

“No.. Just lost in thought."

‘Laaaance I think he’s waking up!’ Aria informs her comrade

Lance rushes over to Allen’s side.

“Hey! Glad to see you’re coming along just fine!” Lance says extending his hand out to his old friend.

Allen gets on his knees and breaks down into tears.

“Lance, you have every right to be angry with me. I said and did some unforgivable things."

"Calm down Allen. I'm not worried about all that. Tell me everything that happened."

Allen takes a deep breath.

 "Not too long after you left, Mother Jacquelyn was furious. As a result they had me locked up down in the cellar. At the time, my magic wasn’t strong enough to break free from the cell they kept me in so I continued to hone my magic till eventually I was strong enough to split the bars. However by the time I got up there the orphanage staff was completely slaughtered and the whole town was destroyed."

"Destroyed?! And what do you mean the staff got completely slaughtered? Don't tell me.. Was Alice..?" Lance asks beginning to fear for the worst.

Allen shakes his head no.

 "There were dead bodies everywhere, but Alice was nowhere to be found! I looked everywhere for clues but couldn’t find a single thing! After I lost Alice, I just didn’t know what to do with myself!  I thought that maybe if I had more money.. No.. If I had more power I’d be able to find all the answers I was looking for. I took any work I could find, no matter how shady it was.. Theft, Assassination, you name it. Eventually I lost sight of who I was. I was alone in the world, and had to do everything I could to survive."

Lance places his hand on Allen's shoulders.

"Allen, you're my best friend, if there's anything i can do to help I-"

Allen cuts off Lance before he can finish his sentence.

 "I stole! I killed! I even sold out my closest friend for this filthy money! Words can’t even begin to explain how ashamed I am! There’s no way I could face Alice now! It’d be better if I just died!”

*Pow*

 Lance gives Allen a right hook straight to the cheek sending him to the ground.

“That’s payback for back in the forest.” Lance says with a smirk

“Don’t say stuff like that! If anything, I’M the one to blame. You have every right to be angry with me. I wasn’t there when you guys needed me most. I can only imagine the struggles you’ve gone through while I was away.."

"No! You've always been there to come to the rescue when me and Alice were in trouble. I guess I didn't want any of that to change. When you didn't come that day, I realized how weak I was without you around. I needed a scapegoat, and you were the most convenient choice, I'm a terrible person."

"But that’s all in the past! You can repent through your actions from this day forward! I'm here now, and I'm with you every step of the way.” Lance assures his friend.

Allen begins to wipe off the tears from his face as Lance extends his hand out to his friend and helps him up.

“Why don’t you come along with us? We’re La Familia, the family! Any problems we face we tackle together. Plus I still have my promise to keep. We’ll look for Alice together and it will be just like old times!” Lance says with a big smile on his face

“But.. but I harmed your friends. I wouldn’t blame them if they wouldn’t want me around.” Allen says with a tone of guilt in his voice.

Aria floats over and looks intensely into Allen’s eyes for what seems like several seconds.

‘I sense no malevolence from him big bro. All the words he’s said have been sincere! I say he can join!’ Aria says to Lance with a wink and smile

Carolyn walks up to Allen and pokes him in the chest.

“I'm in no position to get involved, but you put Lance through a lot of trouble you know that?" She says visibly upset at his previous actions.

She then takes a deep breath

However you and Lance have been good friends since childhood am I right? Not only that but I think everyone deserves a second chance. Just don't take Lance's kindness for granted 'kay?” Carolyn says to Allen with a warm smile

Fluffy then struts over and hops on top of Carolyn's shoulders

“And I shall go and trust the judgement of Sir Lance, Miss Aria, and Lady Carolyn. But make no mistake. I am bound by duty to protect and serve the young sire! If I sense any intent of harm towards him from you than you shall feel the fury of Count Vanderbilt Leone V-“

“Much appreciated Aria, Carol, and Fluffy. So it’s agreed then, whaddya say Allen?”

‘Sire, you’re always doing this to me!’ Fluffy thinks to himself with tears rolling down his cheeks

Allen thinks back to the promise he made with Alice and Lance.

“You need to pinky promise. Both of you, that no matter what happens, we’ll be reunited again as a family.

“Very well, that’s a promise” Lance says gripping Alice and Allen’s pinkies with his own.

“Yeah a promise” Allen says as they all shake.

“Very well. Let’s do this together!” Allen says giving Lance and his new friends a thumbs up.

“Right on. Now whaddya say we get out of this dump? I’m starving!"

Lance then walks up to Carolyn

"You wouldn’t happen to have any more of that spaghetti would you Carol? That stuff wasn’t half bad!” Lance says as he rubs his belly.

Carolyn turns red with embarassment.

“Please no, can we just find a nice restaurant to eat at?”

‘Yeah Lance that spaghetti is dangerous!’ Aria says in disgust

“But you said you liked my spaghetti Aria!” Carolyn cries out in a tone of disappointment causing everyone else to burst into laughter.

As Lance and the gang begin walking out of Hellhound’s hideout they notice a room containing all of the prisoners captured by Hellhound.

“Here I’ll take care of this, I’ll meet you guys outside.”

Lance enters the room and notices a black key as well as a note on the table. He picks it up and reads it to himself

“Dear Lance Bladerunner,

 

These are all the prisoners my men captured while they were out raiding. I thought about what you said and perhaps there IS a better way for me to go about finding people for our cause. I would release them myself but I don’t think my companions would take too kindly to that. However if I accidentally left my key on this table and the prisoners escaped, then it can’t be helped then can it? I’ll call off my Blackwolves so the villagers shouldn’t worry about any further raids, although your companions dealt with my group quite handily. And the girl you and your friend are looking for, she’s currently under one of my colleagues who goes by the name of Priscilla Djokovic, her codename is Succubus. Even for us she’s a tough woman to get in contact with, but she was recently assigned to conduct business around the Ice kingdom Glacidia. She should be there in a months time. However a fair warning, she is impatient and quick to anger so be wary not to get on her bad side. I do hope you reconsider my offer, I can’t go into too much detail, but let’s just say we need all the help we can get. Until next time.

-Hellhound”

 

Shortly after reading the note it bursts into flames leaving no trace behind.

‘Wow this guy is as thorough as they come. Glacidia huh? Sounds interesting. Thank you Hellhound. Guess you aren’t such a bad guy after all.’ Lance thinks to himself

Lance then picks up the key and lets the prisoners out. He then walks out to himself and meets up with his gang

“What’s up Lance?” Allen asks his friend

“I got a lead on Alice’s location! First let’s head back to Isonomia so I can give report to Lord Alaster, then it’s off to Glacidia!” Lance says with excitement

“What? Really?! Sounds good to me.” Allen says with an eager smile.

“It’s been over 300 years since I’ve last set foot in Glacidia, I wonder how much it has changed since I last visited.”

‘Oooooh I love the snow! I can’t wait!’ Aria says with excitement

“Whaa?! Snow?! I’m not dressed for that! Can we swing by a department store? I seriously need some new clothes!” Carolyn begs the group

“No time to lose guys! Let’s get a move on!” Lance says as he runs ahead to begin the new journey.

WHEN ONE CHAPTER ENDS ANOTHER BEGINS. WHAT’S NEXT FOR LANCE AND HIS FRIENDS?