AN: Sorry for the wait, but here's the second last chapter for you all to enjoy~

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Chapter 9:

Hawkeye panted quietly as he waited impatiently for the knight to finally fall, in an overly dramatically manner, to their knees and crumble into nothingness. Those knights were a tough bunch, alright. Especially with that annoying shield.

But when they weren't taking a battle stance, they were slow and cumbersome. Just meandering around the battlefield without much focus. Made it easy to simply slip behind them and attack their backs. They were completely vulnerable there.

That reminded him. When they got out of this dump and back to their mission, he needed to keep a close eye on Duran's backside. Ah, he meant back. Ya know, being valuable-vulnerable there!

After a few short, but still agonisingly long seconds, the knight finally succumbed to defeat and dissipated in a plume of dark purple smoke.

And there on the floor, somehow glinting despite the lack of light, was a silver key.

Finally, his third key.

"We mustn't delay! We need to return to Duran immediately!"

Hawkeye jumped at Undine's sudden voice causing his ears to ring. He soon uttered a sigh, however. He wasn't used to having Elementals chittering away in his head, piping up unexpectedly. How did Duran put up with them?

"No time!" Undine chimed in again. "Hurry!"

The obvious panic in her voice prompted Hawkeye to tense, his grip on his weapons tightening. Had something already happened to Duran?

"Several flowers have already blossomed."

What? Damn it!

Hawkeye snatched up the key and placed it into his pocket with the other two keys. As he turned and sprinted down the windowless hallway, he kept one hand on his pocket to ensure the safety of the keys, and the other wielding his knife. Just in case some idiot decided to stand in his way.

He really wasn't in the mood for any surprises.

The hallway was agonizingly long. No windows. Just half hanging, ruined portraits and a ratty, torn red carpet. It was unsettling to think that these halls were the ones that Duran had endured in his nightmares.

The door at the end of the hall was closed, but Hawkeye had no trouble throwing it open and stepping out onto the landing.

"Hey, sorry for the wait, but I'm back~"

"Me too! Back with keys!"

Hawkeye had wanted to make a grand entrance, but he didn't mind sharing the limelight with Kevin.

Still entangled within the vines and chains, Duran managed to defy his bindings enough to twist around to look over at them. His face was surprisingly pale and he looked unnervingly tired. But he did have a relieved smile on his face.

However, he suddenly tensed and grew ridged as he threw his head back. And released a scream of pain.

That...was a sound he had never, ever heard from Duran before.

"What? What happened?" Hawkeye demanded, swallowing back his panic as he leapt down the stairs.

In a flash of light, Faerie quickly appeared and fluttered hastily over to him. "It's the flowers! They're draining him of his energy! Oh, if only Dryad was here. She could remove them..."

What? Had Duran been in pain the entire time?!

As Duran fell limp against his bindings, allowing them to restrain him without struggle, the sound of sharp, quick footsteps was heard. The resounding metal clang with each step revealed that whoever was approaching at a brisk, determined pace wore a heavy suit of armour.

Another knight?

"I didn't expect you two to actually succeed..."

Hawkeye unsheathed his knives and immediately narrowed in on the direction of the voice. Just as he had suspected, a knight in a mishmash of coloured armour. They, likely that of a man, stood in the foyer before the opened entrance doors and several feet from where Duran was being held.

"And who's that supposed to be?" Hawkeye muttered as Kevin bristled next to him.

"Agnar," Faerie explained, her voice a mix of fear and surprising bitterness. "The one responsible for all of this."

Was he now?

"Hey. We've got the keys. How do we use them to release Duran? Tell me!"

Agnar stood stock still. Unnaturally so. "That's something for you to work out. Better do it quickly."

Just as he said that, Duran uttered another pained scream. Chains rattled and vines rustled before the sound of harsh panting followed.

Despite knowing to never turn his back to an enemy, Hawkeye whirled around and stared up at Duran.

He really wished he hadn't.

A light sheen of sweat dampened his skin. Beads dripping along his arms. His face was flushed, and yet was still pale. His breathing was short, harsh as he hung limply, submissively against his bindings.

And his eyes...his eyes were hazy, glazed over. Likely in a desperate attempt to focus on speaking with the Elementals. To ignore the pain.

The see him in such a state. To hear him scream...how much pain was he in?

How many flowers were left to bloom?

"Don't understand," Kevin said, his voice both confused but angry. "Why? Why are you hurting Duran?"

"Because he is a swordsman."

Hawkeye faltered. Was that it? "Why such hatred for swordsmen?"

Agnar shook his head, the helmet rattling unnervingly with the movement. "It is not the swordsmen I detest. I loathe the ones who pull the strings of knights. Those who demand knights and soldiers to devote their lives for the selfishness of others. By taking away the knights, these selfish leaders are forced to fight their own battles. Forced to face their responsibilities on their own. Face the consequences of their own actions and not force them upon others."

"Ok, so..." Hawkeye drawled, high-key sceptical. "You're making those people pay by taking away their knights?"

"Don't...don't lie," Duran suddenly stated, his voice tired but still holding a sense of determination. "You're bitter because you've lost your skills as a swordsman, so you're actively stealing those skills from others."

Wait, what?

"No, can't do that!" Kevin shook his head frantically, angrily. "Duran's skills are his! Not yours! He trained hard himself. He's strong."

A flash of blue from the corner of his eye prompted Hawkeye's instincts turn in its direction. While in the short process of turning, a loud scream was heard once more. And he immediately knew what it was.

A flower had bloomed.

"No, that's the seventh flower..." Faerie whispered, on the verge of tears. She soon turned her fear into anger and she whirled around to face Agnar. Though she was far from intimidating, her voice was still heartbreaking. "Stop it! You're going to kill him!"

"Death is far better than a life of slavery," Agnar responded coldly, callously.

"You don't have the right to make that decision!"

Hawkeye would have launched himself at the guy if he hadn't heard the low growl from his right. He risked a quick glance in Kevin's direction, immediately recognising that he was trembling. Twitching. His hands clenching and unclenching.

"No," he muttered with a harsh shake of his head. "No, won't let it. Won't let you take Duran. I won't."

Kevin suddenly threw his head back on a growl as he transformed into his beastman form. "I won't!"

Before anyone could react, including the stoic Agnar, Kevin lunged forward.

And delivered a powerful, and oh-so satisfying punch to the guy's helmet.

Agnar flew backwards several feet, the metal of his arms scraping and clanging as he slammed into the solid wall behind him. He slid down the cracked wall to the ground, clearly stunned. He sluggishly reached for his sword that rested upon his back and staggered to his feet.

Kevin, however, wasn't satisfied with a single punch.

He was angry. To put it mildly.

Perfect. Time for Hawkeye get to work, too!

"Kevin!"

Kevin suddenly reached behind him and snatched a small leather sachet. "Here!" he shouted as he threw the bag at him.

Hawkeye instinctively caught it, trusting that it contained the keys he had gathered. He spun on his heel just as Duran released yet another ear-splitting, heart-wrenching scream of pain.

Damn it, that was the eighth flower to bloom!

Just five more to go. He couldn't waste any more time!

"Hold on!" Hawkeye shouted up at Duran as he paused before the flowerbed of vines and chains. "I'll figure this out!"

Somehow...

Listlessly, Duran continued to breathe raggedly as he turned his head slightly to the side to look down at him. Though he was in obvious pain, though he looked pale, though his eyes were glazed and unable to focused; he somehow managed to give him a small smile.

"Don't...Don't worry about me. Do what you have to do. Th-there's still a few more flowers left to bloom."

That...

Idiot. Trying to act brave when he was in pain.

Where could the locks be?!

"Th-they came from the flower bed," Duran panted breathlessly. "Check...check there."

Hawkeye wasn't fond of gardening, but he was used to digging through dirt in order to find hidden treasure.

With the use of his knife, Hawkeye hastily slashed at the grass and flowers, stabbing at the dirt in a précised, searching manner. Hoping desperately that he would hear the sound and feel the impact of something solid.

...Aha, found one!

Stabbing his knife into the dirt, Hawkeye grasped the chain with both hands and pulled with all his might. The chain only gave away slightly, but it was enough to reveal a familiar and oh-so incredibly relieving sight of a pad lock.

It was a normal looking padlock. Silver and flawless. Other than the number and, surprisingly, a name. He didn't know who Leonhart was, but he knew what the number stood for.

With one hand on the chain, the other hastily dug through his pocket. He had found the number five key himself.

Hawkeye wasted no time grasping the key and shoving it forcibly into the padlock. It slid into place easily and as he turned it sharply, there was a satisfying click. And the lock popped open with barely a noise.

The chain then dissipated into a display of shimmering white light. As it did so, Hawkeye heard a small sigh of relief from Duran above him.

Finally!

Ok. Just had to do that six more times and Duran should be free of the chains. The vines? Well, hopefully with the chains gone, they'll be easier to deal with.

Hastily digging through the ground around the other six chains, Hawkeye felt the vines cut through his gloves, breaking the skin in cuts and scrapes. But he ignored the mild stinging sensation. It was nothing compared to the pain that Duran had suffered through already.

Two more flowers had bloomed as Hawkeye removed four chains. Though it was hard not to look up toward Duran, he kept his head down. And focused at the task at hand.

Only two chains left.

Three flowers left.

As Hawkeye focused on getting the second last key out of his pocket, he heard a loud crash behind him. Abruptly remembering that Kevin was engaging Agnar in a fight, he risked a quick glance over his shoulder.

And smirked.

Kevin had a hold of Agnar's leg and was effortlessly hurling him around. Literally. Slamming him into the floor, breaking a few floorboards. Throwing him into walls, breaking yet more plaster.

Hawkeye wanted to laugh at the sight. Kevin was honestly pummelling the ever-loving crap out of Agnar. Totally warranted. And a shame he couldn't participate. By the time he got Duran freed and checked on him, the battle was likely to be over.

With the sixth chain dealt with, Hawkeye hurried over to the seventh. Which, ironically was labelled as seven, too. It appeared to be the main chain. The one that was most restricting.

Just one more left.

Blood from the cuts on his hands smeared the otherwise flawless silver lock. He paid little mind to the name engraved upon the metal and hastily slid the key inside. He half expected some kind of resistance. Something just to scream them over because that was what enemies like Agnar tended to do.

Instead, and thankfully, the key clicked into place readily. And the chain dissipated in the seconds following.

Finally! Only the vines left!

Grasping both of his knives, Hawkeye leapt to his feet. With a series of well-aimed slashes, he cut through the vines effortlessly. As his knives cut through the vines, they turned black and slowly disintegrated into ash.

And finally, Duran was free.

Hawkeye winced when Duran fell to the ground in a rather undignified heap, lying on his back as he breathed heavily. He was unlikely to have been hurt from the fall, though. If he could survive being shot out of a canon without a scrape, them a seven-foot drop should be a piece of cake.

Still, Hawkeye scrambled over to him and slipped his arm around his shoulders. "You ok?" he asked as he helped Duran to sit up.

Duran didn't answer at first. Too busy trying to catch his breath and gather his wits. He then did something quite surprising; he turned toward him and though it appeared to take a lot of effort, slipped his arms around his neck. And clung onto him as he rested his chin upon his shoulder and leaned heavily against. "Hawkeye, thank you."

Hawkeye didn't hesitate in hugging Duran back. "Don't mention it."

"You may have released him, but this is far from over!"

Agnar's shrilled voice caused Hawkeye to wince and for Duran to tense in his arms. Hawkeye kept an arm around Duran's waist as the swordsman leaned back slightly to look over in the direction they heard Agnar's voice.

Despite the pure pummelling he had received from Kevin, the dints and scrapes in his armour a clear physical sign of that, Agnar was still on his feet.

The guy was tough, no denying that.

"I will have his skills," Agnar threatened lowly. "I will have him."

Hawkeye swallowed back a growl as he unconsciously pulled Duran closer toward him. "Not a chance."

"Kevin, take him outside!" Faerie suddenly instructed frantically. "His power is contained within this mansion!"

"On it!" Kevin quickly returned.

"This isn't over!" Agnar bellowed. Clearly enraged, and yet there was no denying the hint of fear in his voice.

"Yes it is!" Kevin simply retorted.

With barely a pause, Kevin dug his claws into the Agnar's chest plate, piercing the metal easily. He then did a half turn and hurled the armoured knight over his shoulder. And out the opened front doors of the mansion. The rattling of metal and steel was heard as Agnar unceremoniously rolled and tumbled along the grass and dirt outside.

With another loud growl, Kevin wasted no time in jumping out after him to continue the battle.

Honestly, that kid was something else.

As he helped Duran to his feet, the swordsman suddenly snared one of his hands with his. "Hawkeye, your hands..."

For the umpteenth time in the last five minutes, Hawkeye winced. The cuts on his hands had thankfully clotted, so wasn't bleeding fresh blood. Allowing him to nonchalantly dismiss Duran's guilt. "Don't worry about that. Worry about yourself for once."

Duran stubbornly shook his head as he reached down and picked up his sword. "I'll worry about that later," he said and drew in a long intake of air before releasing it slowly. "Come on, we've got an enemy to fight. Can't let Kevin have all the fun."

"You got it~"