At long last I have returned. Hello.

You know, scratch being dramatic and withdrawn. I am excited to finally have this new chapter out! It has been a while.

Big thank you to those who answered my plea for help! Mana (I'm glad you enjoy LinkRoy's relationship! It's one of my favourite parts in the storytelling. And your English is great!); Rosebud1991 (Thank you for your opinion); SSBBswords (I am trying to take your advice, starting with the new chapter. Can I just say your "...Roy is always weird so whateeeever go away and leave me alone kthx" comment just about killed me? Perfectly portrayed, I couldn't have put it better); Lycoris-nova (Isn't innocent!Roy irresistible? I must say he is tempting me to continue the story in that direction. Thanks for reading); and ThePervinErmin, my real-life reviewer (muwah!)

To the new readers, welcome and thank you for clicking!

To the veterans, you've been my strength for this new chapter. Please enjoy the effect of your reviews!

"Roy, what do you think about..." Marth's voice came out gently, hesitating as if his throat hurt or he was trying not to frighten away a shy creature. His eyes were still closed, although when Roy looked up he could see them roving about beneath the lids. A pause.

"What?" Roy stared from the swivel chair.

Marth's brilliant blue eyes opened and stared back at him, hard. Like he was calculating.

"What do you think about the fae?"

Marth searched Roy's face for a sign of recognition; a flicker in his eyes, a thoughtful expression, or merely a blink, anything.

The redhead gave him a more blank look than even a bored white cat could manage. "The what," he rasped before clearing his throat and repeating. "The what now?"

"You know, elves, fairies, wraiths, mer, etcetera?"

Roy's eyes narrowed as he stared, trying hard to comprehend the meaning of the question.

The older boy sighed, tucking a loose lock of blue hair behind one pointy ear, and took on an incredulous tone. "Return of the Fae? Mystery Otome? Zeiva Productions' new game? Please tell me you didn't forget my latest obsession," he intoned with a mock-upset look. "You and Link did help me buy it."

He cringed inwardly at the younger teen's confused face, but kept up his light-hearted mask. Obviously the ginger wasn't sure whether to buy the drastic mood change.

"Right," came the slow answer. "Weird that you're into dating sim, though. Isn't that for girls?"

"Hm," Marth leaned back again, smiling at his friend's close-mindedness. "It is aimed at a girl audience, mostly, but a lot of guys play. I don't play much of anything usually, just liked the description and art style. It's not bad, more fun plot and action than the usual twitterpation-based otome."

"Huh." At least Roy seemed somewhat distracted by the blather, for which Marth felt grateful. Roy's attention span had to be the shortest in Pheraen history, a fortunate flaw, if the oxymoron made any sense. As long as he could remember the redhead had always been the quickest to switch tracks, forget grudges (except that goddess-awful one with Link), and change topics. However his quickness had its drawbacks. He was the first to notice if someone was depressed, to hell with attempts to mask it.

In some cases it was a good thing, it really was. But still.

"Well, what's it about?" He was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly. "You wouldn't like something tasteless, I don't think, so it's got to be good."

The blunette waved a hand in the general direction of the other boy. "Behind you, you can have a look at the case." He collected his describing abilities while the younger one did as instructed. "It's a story about a young fae - an elf in this case - who gets stranded in the human world in an attempt to find the Excalibur, which is in this game defined as a shapeshifting weapon, changing to suit the skills of any who holds it. It's also an ancient talisman, old legends describing it as 'the lost power to save,' the one thing which may timelessly protect the world of the fae.

The legends also tell that when a human was once brought into the fae world, he mistook the sword for an ordinary weapon, and left with it in his possession. It was never recovered, although many tried.

So this kid left the fae world to find it, and then these are his adventures within the human world," he nodded at the thin case in Roy's hands.

Roy looked interested now. Turning the case over to look at the back, he admitted, "Does sound kind of fun, I probably wouldn't be patient enough to play through the whole thing though. Any luck finding Excalibur?"

Marth shook his head. "False leads all over the place, plus it's annoying that I keep having to play through his chats with potential romantic interests," he couldn't hold back a small rueful grin.

"Make Link finish playing it for you in his free time. He likes the whole gaming thing."

"If he had the free time for it."

"That's right.." Roy sighed, currently gazing up at the ceiling. His blue eyes roved about as though they were reading a story invisible to all others. He was leaning back in the chair, one foot on the edge beside the knee of his other leg, the one which stayed down as legs should when one sat upon a chair. "Wonder what his job's like?"

Marth resisted the urge to reprimand the chairsitter. Better not to sound like a mother. He tugged distractedly at a thread sticking out of his sleeve. "Helping his father at the bakery, he said. It's probably his way of letting his father know he hasn't been abandoned by his son at least, despite the divorce." Realizing the significance of what he'd just said, he looked back up. Sure enough, the other's blue gaze looked reminiscent of frost once more. "Roy..."

"Don't you 'Roy' me," thus addressed boy snapped. "You guys really do talk more without me. If only someone would like to let me know why."

Marth rubbed between his eyebrows. "Look, I was just letting you know. No point in turning it into a mountain. I'm not looking for a fight. If I was, I'd be playing the game to which belongs the case you're nearly snapping in two, from the looks of it," he said, suddenly feeling very tired.

The case was set back on its shelf in a hurry. "I don't get you, Marth." Roy stood up, shoving his books aside, and left the room. The blunette made no move to stop him, just sighed yet again and returned his eyes to his textbook.

It's not like I mean to push you away, he couldn't help the slightly resentful pang. It didn't help that Link and Roy didn't talk much, each waiting for the other to say something like the idiots they were. Maybe it was time to force another get-together again. But.. he didn't know if he could. He felt exhausted and confused.

One of the fae? It seemed ridiculous, but that could explain the ears. Marth rubbed at a pointed tip meditatively. He'd always wondered about them. Then again, how long exactly was always? To tell the truth, he couldn't remember much beyond five or so years ago.

"Don't worry, Roy," he smiled wryly. "I don't get myself much either." And he wasn't even sure how much he wanted to know, at that. More likely than not it was a mutation of some sort, one he was really making too big a deal out of, but he couldn't help the niggling feeling that it was important and if ignored could become a huge problem. Strange mutated ears are a huge problem indeed, Marth, he mocked himself, then groaned and covered his face, slender fingers digging deep into his blue hair.

"Who am I kidding..." His eyes stared sightlessly into the darkness provided by his hands. Images from recent recurring dreams stood out well against the black.

A cliff edge overlooking a vast vale, a stream passing through the middle, mountains on all sides.

He'd been having weird dreams for over a month now, though at first it was fun. His dreams used to be boring and monochromatic, but now burst with colours and images of fantastical creatures. What's more, he felt like he knew them.

"Marth, are you still stuck in this world of yours?" An incredulous voice which belonged to another man with pointed ears. Not Hylian. Like his own, he realized with a start.

"Me?" He questioned. "Looks like you're the one stuck in an odd world." Frowning, he studied the stranger.

The person smiled. The look of it made Marth feel he was being pitied, an unpleasant sensation. "You still haven't remembered? What are you wasting your time on?"

That stung. The blunette gritted his teeth but was silent, looking away again over the greenness of the valley. It wasn't interesting at all, being treated like a child caught wasting away school hours, especially not by someone who acted like they were familiar when they weren't.

"How long are you going to search for 'it'? You've been gone for days. Weeks. It's been a month, I told you this was a bad idea." The stranger's face had suddenly darkened.

Marth took a step away from him. "Could you leave me alone?" he asked in a chilly tone, trying to keep his nervousness at bay. Even in a dream, it could be extremely unpleasant to associate with quick-tempered people. Not to mention tall handsome ones.

"Stop fooling around, Marth. Just come back already. Can't you see this hunt is hopeless?"

He shot a glare at the man. "Come back where? You're awfully specific."

The stranger watched him quietly for a moment. Marth vaguely noted that his eyes were blue as well, a piercing gray-blue nearly as light as Roy's ocean blue. "Here," he stated softly, gesturing toward the vale and beyond with a sweep of an arm. "Home."

"When you say 'home'..." Marth shook his head. "Smash City, in Pherae.. that's where. I haven't a clue where this is."

A wistful shimmer passed through that person's eyes. "You can't stay away forever. I won't let you simply disappear like that. Like he did. This's where you should be, what you left Altea for." Seeing the blue-haired teen start and stare, he nodded, continuing. "That should trigger something. Don't you remember Altea?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, this isn't triggering anything!" Marth said desperately, one of his hands held to his head, where he felt a painful throb at the name. "As long as I remember, it's been Pherae, even if another city."

"Just how much do you remember?" The man's lips twisted a little, as if at irony.

"Stop it, just stop," what was meant to be an annoyed reprimand came out in a pleading tone instead. There was pressure building behind his eyes, and he heard a rushing noise in his ears. If the man said anything else, he couldn't hear it, not over the screaming in his head.

The first dream had been easy to dismiss, just as with any nightmare one wakes up from panicking and sweating. But that was the problem - it was just that. The first. From then on these dreams just kept coming, persistent. Thinking about it was stressful to the point of depression.

"Ughhh," moaned Marth pitifully, rubbing at his face like rabbit washing. "I need a roommate who'll keep me sane."

"Maybe a cat?" suggested Roy's voice. The blunette yelped inwardly, outwardly looked up at the speaker.

"I expected you to sulk longer."

The statement went ignored. "Cats would suit you pretty well, I bet. How about it?"

"Perhaps.." he considered. A cat seemed a logical choice, as they were calm and much friendlier than either of his friends were at the current moment. "Know any?"

"Mom brought in a stray a couple days ago, but I wouldn't have thought to mention it if you hadn't complained. She's gray, with a couple white stripes across the back, and about this small." From the amount of space between the hands demonstrating, she was either a small adult or adolescent, Marth judged.

"Temperament?"

Roy made a face. "Heck if I know. What do most strays act like on their first week?"

Point taken. With a nod, he decided aloud. "I'll take her, at least for now. But if she doesn't take to me, she's going back home," he warned.

"Right," the redhead agreed brightly. Marth felt wary. He could have sworn his friend had his fingers crossed behind his back.

A pause lasted perhaps twenty seconds before Roy plunked into the chair once more, causing a squeak from the dilapidated seat. He pulled the books back toward himself again, but even as his gaze flicked back and forth over the pages, his mind was obviously elsewhere - a discomforting notion for the room's owner.

This study session was a bad idea, Marth thought, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. For more than a month the three hadn't hung out at all, and for the first time he wasn't sure how he managed it earlier. How did he always keep the younger ones pacified? Right now, his brain was working so badly he couldn't even calm one, for goddess' sake.

Working badly? Scratch that, his brain wasn't in working condition in the least.

He was constantly arguing with himself inwardly now, too much to focus on every other creature's meager problems in addition to the world wars going on inside his mind, triggered by those thrice-bedamned dreams. They drove him mad until he was ready to tear his blue hair out with the roots and then go Google everything and anything he could find on the mysterious "fae." Pointed ears, occasionally lacey wings, slender build, bright eyes often blue. So vague, all too vague. He couldn't find anything that matched perfectly.

For the thirtieth time, he was staring rudely at the stranger - a habit he knew he really should quit. But there it was, those ears just like his own. Pointed. Short. Pointed. Short. It kept running through his head like a chant. Why? Why were they like his?

"Similar, aren't we? Odd you haven't remembered why yet. It's been a week, and still you stubbornly refuse to think."

Marth scowled. He hated being unable to figure out a tough math problem, but this was worse by ten times at the least. After all, it was simple. Easy enough for a kindergarten-level Link, but at the same time way too hard.

It made sense, didn't it? The fae, and this guy, they were just like Marth. There was such a painfully obvious connection.

On the other hand, admitting to such a thing would he to admit that his dreams were something real, which was impossible and would therefore prove him to be demented. He could not let himself just lose like that. His mind was stronger than these dreams!

"Who is 'he?'" he demanded, ignoring the jab. "You keep mentioning 'him,' this mysterious person who disappeared, god knows where, whom you consider lost."

The stranger shrugged dismissively. "That's better left forgotten, as he will never return."

An answer which wasn't an answer at all, Marth thought sourly. He wished he could understand what was wanted of him, why this.. this weird elf guy was after him all the time. Annoying was not the word, but it was disconcerting, disturbing. Since he was stuck in this place every time he dreamed, he was forced to acknowledge that it wasn't a natural occurrence.

Not that it wasn't somewhat enjoyable. The scenery was refreshing, and the cool breezes were indescribable, like healing to his warm skin. All throughout the vale was a measure of peace, the soft noise of the stream nearly nonexistent among all the other sounds of wild life.

Oddly familiar small winged cats bounded past, muttering quiet things under their breaths; large drab-coloured butterflies clicked past, wings making a snapping noise each time they touched; somewhere far off, a hoarse shrieking call sounded, from a huge bird too large to see all of at once; and within the trees a creature half eagle and half lion lurked. Instinctively, he listed their names, although he didn't know the place or its inhabitants.

Leep, magfliths, a roc, and a gryphon. Although he could have approached them at any moment, he preferred to act like he hadn't seen them.

If he got attached to this strange world? What then? Marth knew he'd get even more depressed, and he was already pretty bad now.

Remembering those earlier dreams made Marth decide all over again that he needed an anchor to keep him in place. Something or someone which would further attach him this world, before he'd lose himself to the other one entirely. By now, he was quite close to losing.

A cat, he mused. Perhaps that was exactly what he needed. An utterly normal animal.

"These creatures..." Marth stared at the ground when a winged horse, a pegasus, examined him curiously. "Do any of them belong to you?"

The man considered his question a moment before answering with a smile, "No, not really. They're too wild to keep, more like your neighbors in the human world, you know? You can't claim any of them as your own, however you can call upon them for help, and you know them all by name. Not a name you've given them, but rather a name they offer to you as you offer yours."

As the blunette thought about it now, it struck him that there was one more thing he need to know about this cat. From the kitchen there came the inevitable mind-breaking beep, signalling the end of the study session. He placed aside his homework and stood, stretching his stiff muscles. He glanced at the other boy.

"Does she have a name?"

Roy looked up, gazed blankly for five seconds, and shrugged. "I didn't ask."

Well, there you have it. Still short, but a bit longer than the first.

If anyone hasn't yet answered which pairing they support, but would like to, please do.

Also! New question: Who do you like better so far, Marth or Roy? (I'd mention Link, but he hasn't had any real stage time yet.) Or perhaps someone prefers the stranger..?

Leave a review, save a magflith? Kidding, but please review!

Fye