What happens when an unexpected guest arrives in Airyglyph? Who can Albel turn to in his time of need? This story features total silliness! I fixed some of the errors. Thank you, BlueTrillium for pointing those out.

Disclaimer: I only own the copy of the game I have…nothing more.

Warning: Complete OOCness!

One Crazy Summer

Albel sat at the desk and turned the letter over. The words could no longer taunt him if they were facing the cold wooden surface. The news he had received was, by far, the last thing he needed. This was going to be the summer from hell. And hell would be arriving within the hour.

His eye twitched. He stood and paced the floor. For once in his life, Albel needed help. If he had to deal with this situation on his own, his very sanity would fail him. But who could he turn to? The citizens of Airyglyph would do nothing. The king? He would only laugh and tell Albel to deal with his own problems.

He was really left with only one option. But would she help? Sure they had fought together, but that was almost a year ago.

Erring on the side of caution, Albel swiftly walked out of the castle. He had just exited out of the eastern gate when the call of death filled his ears.

"ALBY! OH ALLLLLLLBY."

He took off in a full run through the Traum Mountains. Hell had arrived in all its annoyance.

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Nel arrived in Peterny with time to spare. Since she refused to take a leave, and get some much needed rest, the queen had sent her to be the escort of some very important guests. They would be arriving in Peterny by the evening.

With nothing to do but wait, she went to train in Duggus Forest.

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Albel raced across the dirt path. His mind was focused on one thing and one thing alone.

Must not kill, must not kill, must not kill, must not kill…

His torment followed him at a distance of 500 feet. The wind did an excellent job of carrying the excruciating cries. The noise behind him was enough to frighten away even the beast that normally dwelled in the mountains.

"ALBY, OH ALBY. WAIT UP WILL YA!"

He quickened his pace.

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Nel had been training most the day. She would need to head back before long to welcome her guests. But first, she wanted to clean herself a bit. Being a fighter required getting dirty, but as a lady she had to be presentable.

The forest had an abundance of natural springs. The fresh spring would do just the trick to refresh her. Luckily, she wasn't far from that very spot.

Within no time she located the spring, undressed, and started her soak in the cool water. The day had been a very good day indeed. First she got to fight her heart out, and now she sat back and relaxed. If the queen could see her now then maybe she could be spared more lectures on taking her job too seriously. She closed her eyes and smiled.

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Roger would prove he could be a man at all cost. He would track through very inch of the forest and find the treasure. He just wished he could understand the ancient text better. He never was one for riddles.

He had decided to rest a bit, finding a rock to lean on, when his eyes spied something of great interest. On the ground, a very short distance from him was a neatly folded stack of women's clothing. And not only any women's clothing, but that of Nel Zelpher herself.

He peered around the rock slowly. He at once spotted the red head asleep in the spring. This was too much. He almost gave his position away, suppressing the gleeful cry in his throat.

Moving silently, he lifted the clothing. His hands shook with excitement. Just then, something black fell out from between the folded items. He lifted it to his eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Between his fingers was the thong worn by his goddess.

He could contain himself no longer. "WHOA BABY!"

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Out side the shop in Kirlsa, two old women were doing their shopping when Albel ran by them. The two looked at each other before turning their heads in the direction the young swordsman had come from.

A younger girl was running the same path. She stopped in front of the ladies and bowed. She was wearing a huge smile on her face. She giggled before pursuing her current activity.

"ALBY. YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER YOU KNOW."

As the girl ran off the two old ladies laughed.

"Just like old times," one said to the other.

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Nel jerked her head up at the familiar voice. Immediately her eyes locked straight on Roger holding her private garments to his face. Her blood took a sudden temperature change well past boiling.

She jumped out of the spring. "YOU! When I get my hands on you…"

"UH OH!" Roger jumped up and fled.

Nel grabbed her cloths (all but the thong still tightly clutched in the soon to be dead Menodix's hand). She clumsily dressed as she gave chase to the cretin.

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Clair stood outside the mansion. It had been a busy day and she was long past ready for her lunch break. The Village of Arias had been quiet most the day, but quiet never seemed to last long.

She barley caught a glance at the purple clad swordsman as he streaked through the street. He had to be running at the fastest recorded speed in all of Elicoor.

She was given just time enough to blink when she was confronted by a girl. She had blonde shoulder length hair which was decorated with several small black braids. She wore a purple tank top with a matching purple skirt. Her gloves and even her shoes were purple. She appeared to be somewhere around the age of 15.

The girl bowed her head at Clair. She giggled and then took off in the direction Albel had just gone.

Clair couldn't do anything but stair into nothing for a while. Had she just seen Albel the Wicked being chased by a young girl?

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Roger was overwhelmed. His treasure hunt had indeed yielded a truly priceless treasure. He would never let his new item out of his sight. But first things first. He had to make a clean get away.

Up ahead he noticed Peterny come into view. Perfect. All he needed to do now was find a place to hide; and in a city the size of Peterny, that shouldn't be too hard.

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Fayt and Cliff stood in the center square of Peterny. They had just been transported off the ship and both were glad for the open space. Compared to the cramp ship, this was nice.

"We got here a little early." Fayt looked around.

"Yeah. Looks like we'll just have to wait…"

Cliff was cut off when Roger slammed into him, sending both of them to the ground. "Outta my way ya big lummox!"

Cliff pushed the boy off. "Who you calling a lummox, pipsqueak?"

The boy stuck his tongue out at Cliff.

Fayt, turning away from the street, helped Cliff to stand. "Hey, Roger." Fayt's voice lacked any enthusiasm. He crossed his arms over his chest. "What'd you do this time?"

Roger hopped from foot to foot. "I aint don't nothin'." Roger peered around Fayt in time to see the red head charging toward him. "Well, gotta go." He took off, nearly loosing his balance.

"What was that abou…"

Fayt was stopped in mid sentence when something hit him from behind.

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The Palmira Plains were quiet. Its population was disperse and few. The wildlife which lived there had been enjoying a nice day. That was, before Albel raced through. The man drew his katana. Between breaths he chanted.

"Made promise. Must not kill. Must not kill. Promise. Not kill."

The Plains Spider watched with its many eyes as he passed by. The creature hadn't had enough time to attack. Lunch would have to wait.

Or would it? Not long after one potential victim passed, another stopped. The young girl caught sight of the spider. She bent slightly, hands on her knees.

"OHHHH, WHAT A CUTIE!"

As she reached her hands out to grab the spider, a sudden fear overcame it. It backed up, helplessly looking for somewhere to hide.

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Nel had been so obsessed with catching the little tailed pervert that she didn't even see who she had hit. One second, she was gaining on the boy and the next she was falling. She rolled with the fall and came quickly to her feet.

She scanned the streets, finding no sign of Roger.

"Nel?" She was about to continue her search, but the sudden mention of her name stopped her.

She turned to notice Cliff standing and Fayt sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. She straightened her stance and shook her head. Could it be that out of all the people she could have run into (literally) it would have to be none other then the guests she was to welcome?

"Oh, sorry Fayt."

Cliff was laughing as the boy stood up. "So, that's what Roger was running from."

"What'd he do?" Fayt asked as he dusted himself off.

"Doesn't matter now," She answered. "You're a little early."

"Yeah, we found a short cut. You could say Cliff here had another hunch." Fayt looked hard at the older man. The hunch had gotten them there earlier, but he would have to tell Cliff to keep his hunches to himself in the future. The trip had not been the most pleasant, to say the least.

Nel was about to speak when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up in time to see Albel running straight at her, his katana unsheathed. She grabbed for her knife but had no time to draw it before the swordsman was almost on her.

"Must not kill. Must not kill. Must," He thrust his katana out, blade up, as if offering it to her.

She looked cautiously into his eyes. His right eye twitched and he seemed not to see who she was. She eased the katana out of his hand.

He stood frozen, his bladeless hand still out. "Must not kill…" he finally looked at her. "Kill… KILL AMANDA." At that he took off down one of the side streets.

Nel looked at the katana. It was hard for her to believe that the swordsman would give up his precious sword. She turned to see that Fayt and Cliff were just a baffled as she was.

"What's up with him?" Cliff scratched the back of his head.

Before Nel could attempt a response, Fayt chimed in. "What's that?"

He pointed. The others looked. Skipping up the street was a young girl dressed in purple. She looked at the trio and her eyes lit up when she saw the katana still in Nel's grip.

"OHHH," she exclaimed as she skipped up to Nel, her gaze transfixed on the blade. "THAT'S ALBY'S." She looked around. "WHERE IS HE?"

"Hey, kid," Cliff suppressed the urge to yell at her. "Stop yellin' will ya."

She looked at him. Her large reddish-brown eyes blinked. "Oh, sorry." She smiled and bowed.

"Who are you?" Nel asked as she lowered the katana to her side.

The girl watched the blade drop before turning her attention back to the red head. She kept smiling.

"How rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Amanda Nox. I'm sorry but I must be going. Big brother decided to play a game of hide and seek." She turned and totted off. "OH ALBY. WHERE'D YA GO?"

The group gasped. "Hey," Fayt yelled after her. "You've got a spider on your back!"

She stopped and waved at them. "Oh, it's okay. He's been defanged. Aint he just the cutest!" She squealed before turning and trotting off.

That's when they noticed the spider wasn't on her back, but tied into place. Its legs were bound in groups of two and secured over both her shoulders. She looked like a kid with a school book bag, only it wasn't a book bag.

For a while, the three stood in silence. Then Nel spoke up. "Did she just say that she was Albel's little sister?"

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Albel crouched in a dark corner. His thoughts repeated the phrase he had been trying desperately to hold on to.

Must not kill. Made promise. Must not kill Amanda. Must not kill.

He whimpered. He had truly found his living hell.

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Night had fallen over the town. Roger peeked around the boxes he had been hiding behind. It had been hours and there was no sign of Nel. Feeling brave, he ventured out.

He slowly made his way down the street and toward the center square. That's when he noticed Albel peering around the corner of a house. He stopped and stared. It wasn't like the guy to be acting so weird and he was outside his territory.

Maybe he was stalking Nel. That had to be it. Roger now had a mission to stop him and protect his lady fair. He marched right up to his back.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Albel nearly jumped out of his skin. In one swift movement, the man turned, grabbed the boy, and took off running to the far end of the street. Roger had been tucked under his arm and facing backward. He watched as the street moved at an incredible speed under him.

Albel finally stopped. He was breathing hard as he dropped Roger on the hard ground. Roger jumped up. "What was that for you oaf!"

Albel growled at him. He looked to be sleep deprived and on the edge of delirium. "Must not kill Amanda. Kill Roger…yeah, kill Roger." He thrust both his hands out like a zombie and went for the young Menodix.

Roger dodged him and ran. He didn't know what was going on, but Albel was defiantly scaring the hell out of him. According to the rule book, a real man never runs from a fight. But the rule book never said a man couldn't run from a psycho sleep deprived zombie like monster.

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"Sorry, miss. No spiders are allowed at my inn." The innkeeper was becoming frustrated.

Amanda held the spider in her arms and petting it softly. "Hey, this isn't my pet mister. This poor little guy's an orphan. Have you no compassion? I couldn't leave him out there to die! Besides," she started to giggle. "He is just sooooooooooooo cute."

She held the spider out to the clerk. He fell back against the wall, his arms over his face. "GET IT OUT. GET IT OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh phewy! Come on, Cuddles. That mean old man doesn't know anything." She stomped to the door and turned to the clerk who was regaining his composure. "You just wait," she shook her finger at him. "I'll go get my big brother. He won't let you get away with this."

She left, slamming the door behind her.

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Nel lay awake in the bed. She looked at the katana sitting on the nightstand by the bed. Her mind was recalling the events from earlier.

First Albel shows up in a completely detached state. He ran straight to her. He gave her his sword. If was almost as if he had been looking for her. It was like he was asking her for something. But what? Help? Did he need help?

They hadn't even spoken to each other since the events from a year ago had ended. So why would he travel out of his own homeland to find her. No, maybe he didn't. She was just interpreting it wrong. He had no need to seek her.

She surprised herself. Could it be she just wanted to see it that way? Did she want him to be there to see her? That's absurd. No, that wasn't it. There had to be another answer.

Maybe it had to do with the girl. She had said her name was Nox and that she was looking for her big brother. Maybe Alby was her pet name for him. Nel laughed. If that really was Albel's sister, then they were as different as night and day.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the innkeeper scream. She jumped out of bed. Sounded like her assistance might be needed down the hall.

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It took a few seconds for Albel to realize Roger had gotten away. He stood still and dazed. He desperately needed sleep. In a state of half awareness, he looked around. Deciding on a spot, he took a few ragged steps before falling into the flower bed.

He closed his eyes. Yes, sleep at last.

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Roger stopped running when he reached the center square. He looked back, but Albel was nowhere in sight. He let out a long held breath.

Walking (like any man would), Roger started for western gate when something caught his attention. A girl sat alone at one of the tables. It was late so the only conclusion Roger could come up with was she needed help.

He trotted up to her and sat at the table. "Somethin' wrong ma'am?"

She turned to him; her large reddish brown eyes gleamed. "Oh hello there." She smiled. "I'm just waiting for my brother, that's all. Hey, want to meet Cuddles?"

"Cuddles? Uh, sure."

Amanda lifted the spider and sat it on the table. Roger jumped back, almost knocking his chair over. "Whoa…it's a spider."

She giggled. "Yeah, poor thing. They won't let him stay with me at the inn. He's just a harmless cutie and everyone treats him like he's a monster or something." The spider was shaking. If spiders could talk then this one would be begging Roger to put it out of its misery.

Roger eased back into his seat. If a girl could be so fearless with a huge spider, then a man shouldn't have any reasons to be afraid. He still didn't like it. He gulped. "Hey…Cuddles."

Amanda squealed, making both the spider and Roger jump. "Oh, that's soooo sweat! You two get along wonderfully!" She put the spider back in her lap and looked at Roger.

She rested her chin in her hand as she leaned on the table. She smiled as she batted her eyes.

"I'm Amanda. You sure are quite a fella. What's your name?"
Roger could never leave a damsel in distress. That was a clear violation in the rule book. But this girl was really starting to scare him. She was even scarier then Albel had been.

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After talking to the innkeeper, Nel's curiosity was at a peak. So, the girl was still around in the city somewhere. This was Nel's chance to find out what was going on with Albel.

She set out. Within minutes she was at the center square. It didn't take her long to notice the girl sitting at a table with Roger. Even from a distance, Nel could see that Roger wasn't comfortable.

She smiled as she quietly sneaked up on the couple. In the shadows of the night, she found a good spot to eavesdrop.

"Sorry miss, but it's really late and I really must be going." Roger sounded nervous.

As he stood, the girl stood. "Oh, I understand," she replied as she swung the spider on her back.

Roger started to leave. She followed. He turned. "Well, so long."

He was about to take off when she grabbed him by the collar. "Oh, you look like the strong type. Maybe you can talk some since into that mean old man at the inn."

Nel giggled as she watched Amanda drag Roger down the street and toward the inn. Roger was waving his arms around, frantically looking for something to grab a hold of. Served him right for taking her private garments. Looked like Amanda was doing a good job at tormenting him.

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I tried to warn you this was total silliness. Yes folks, nonsense at its best

Next chapter - more Insanity