Final Fantasy: Agito(private/mature)

Ace prepared himself to back Sice up. He had never been strong when it came to one on one combat and his style was much better suited for a supporting role. As the soldiers took aim, Ace whipped out two of the cards he held in his left hand and held them between his index and middle fingers. A bright red magic circle appeared under his feet as a crimson mana like wind swept around his body. "Dry Eyes!" Ace commanded as he flicked the cards ahead of of Sice and towards the face of the two soldiers. On the backs the cards had faces, however once they reached the faces of the men the happy faces shifted into faces before releasing a piercing light which blinded both the soldier causing them to stumble backwards! They'd be at the complete mercy of Sice's scythe.

Sighing softly, Ace lowered his guard, but only for a moment. He was about to walk up to the dead girls when another wave of soldiers came rushing from down the hall. This time, they opened fire! Time seemed to slowed as the bullets came speeding towards Ace. The card wielder quickly threw another one of his cards in front of his causing a dim yellow light to consume his body. "Haste!" Ace yelled as the spell just affect just before the bullets hit! Ace quickly ducked and rolled out of their path, his body moving like a man who had been possessed by some sort of speed demon. Once Ace was on his feet, he jumped back til he stood besides Sice. "Hope you're ready for a ride." he grinned before casting another Haste spell, but on her. "Go, I'll back you up!" Ace yelled as he clapped his hands together and summoned a new hand from his deck of cards.

The events with Ace would have been laughable if there hadn't been the dangerous edge of danger as he crossed her weak bridge of ice. Her body was running on adrenaline now; most of her mana for magic had been consumed earlier that day. Despite her skills being fairly strong for someone in her class, it was known throughout the school that her mana levels were low. This proved it. The ice shattered beneath Ace yet the boy crossed by a hair. She released a breath of air, having had sucked it in when she noticed the bridge was cracking. She was relieved to see he made it unharmed.

However the students were not out of the woods yet it seemed.

Soldiers! Two men had appeared from around the corner with bodies thrown like sacks over their shoulders. The sight made Sice angry and suddenly sick when she noticed just who the men were toting with them. What had they done to those girls?! Sice felt her knees tremble but stood her ground. They would pay for that. Pay with their lives! Even if Sice had no reason to protect those girls this was a terrible thing to have happened. A torture she would not wish upon any of her greatest enemies. Sice's eyes were heavily dark now, narrow with rage. "HOW COULD YOU?!" She attempted to scream at the men with her body already in motion. The girl with silver hair took a proper fighting stance before the two of them and proceeded to call her weapon, Tundra. A silver flame erupted from the palm of both her hands and extended until they connected to one another. A metal bar was then created while the blade formed a moon crest before glinting metallic beneath the lights. The remaining mercury silver flames vanished as Sice whipped the scythe around wickedly before her, demonstrating her speed then brought it to rest on her shoulder, the blade high above her. "I swear on this scythe you will pay for the crimes you committed here!" Again she screamed at the men then launched herself forward at the closest of the two. Her scythe was brought down like a bolt of lightning, howling at it sliced through the air.

Ace had never imagined that simply going from one floor to the next would be so difficult. It didn't help that his body felt like crap and he had the biggest headache of his life. When they came to the staircase...or what was left of it, Ace let out a deep sigh. IF they couldn't cross maybe they could attempt to climb down? Those thoughts were quickly crushed though after Ace noticed the drop. Damn Militiess! Why the hell had they attacked anyone? There had been peace between all the countries for years. "Well...I guess we should turn around..." Ace mumbled and shifted his gaze over towards Sice. His blue eyes widened as he watched her create a path of ice for them to walk one. Having her around was definitely benefiting him. As she crossed, Ace couldn't help but wonder if the ice would hold his weight. He was sure that he weighed more than Sice and after watching her cross it looked like the ice had already begun to crack in certain places. Every bone in Ace's body told him to turn around. His mind screamed for him to listen to reason. Unfortunately, Ace found that reason was over rated. "Here I come!" Ace yelled as he got a running start. The blond bolted from the cement floor and rushed across of the ice. As he ran, the ice broke behind him far faster than what he had anticipated! Ace had just reached the other side right in time to avoid falling through the holes in the staircase. He bent over panting now. He couldn't help but laugh softly though. "Maybe today is my lucky day..." He smirked and looked up at Sice.

"This room is clear. Team 3 will split up and move out." Came dark voices from around the corner. Ace looked up just in time to see soldiers leaving a classroom. Both of them had girls over draped over their shoulders. At the sight of the students, the soldiers quickly dropped the girls and aimed their rifles at Ace and Sice. "Put your hands on your head now! Get on your knees!" they ordered. Ace's eyes widened and shifted over towards the girls. He recognized them! The two girls laying on the floor were the same ones who had been teasing Sice inside the ladies changing room. Their clothes had been shredded leaving their breasts and lower regions exposed. Blood tricked out from one's lips and mouth. The other laid in a pool of her own blood. Both had been raped and stabbed repeatedly. Ace covered his mouth and nearly hurled. No one...not even them deserved such a fate. "I said get on your knees!" the soldiers yelled again, their rifles pointed towards Ace and Sice. "Bravo Leader this is Bravo 3 over. We've encountered more students on the west wing of floor 3. One of them's a looker too..." one of the soldiers grinned. Ace let out a dark growl. Running wasn't an option, they had no where to go. He looked over at Sice giving her a nod. They wouldn't be taken captive, not by these murderers! Ace suddenly took an attack stance against the soldiers and whipped out his Joker's Deck! He shuffled his deck and drew four cards. A small smirk formed on his lips when he saw what he had drew. The fight was on!!!

As she was finally able to see clearly again, coming back around fully from her daze, Sice noticed out of the three of them she was probably the better of the them. Her injuries seemed less dire whereas Ace had blood on his face and Nine looked like hell just spat him out. With this realization Sice forced herself to regain feeling in her limbs, even if it was painful to move. She forced herself onto her feet and shook off any aid from Nine or Ace. At least she attempted to. She had just gotten to her feet and reclaiming her balance when a noise caught her attention. A distant rumble of another attack. And the crumbling ceiling! Sice barely reacted as Nine tossed her like a doll toward Ace. Her body crashed against his but this was no time for arguing. Her blue hues were narrow as she called for Nine as the ceiling collapsed around him. "Nine!" She cried, her voice drown by the loud roar.

Nine... There was no way that guy would die this easily, Sice's voice echoed in the depths of her mind. This wasn't a good way for Nine to go. She staggered to the fallen cement where Nine had been standing. She stretched her right hand out in order to place her palm on the cold cement when she heard it. Nine's voice! "Nine! You bastard!" She was glad he was alright however mad that she was beginning to think he was taken away from them. Sice listened carefully to what Nine said. They still needed to make it to the first floor. Of course she didn't want to leave Nine alone. What if the soldiers came back and found him? But there was no other way. "I swear Nine if your not there when we get there, I'll come searching for you myself and beat your corpse to a pulp!" Shaking her head Sice began to head the other direction. "Let's go Ace."

A short distance to the stairs seemed like an training course thanks to all the debris scattered here and there. Sice found it easier just to climb over and slip between large hunks of cement rather than to find another route. When the path they were on broke out onto a short flight of stairs Sice sighed audibly. "Imagine that..." Sice pointed to the stair case on which was broken in several different areas. In some places there were large gaping holes where steps would have been; the railing taken completely out as well. There was little to think about when Sice raised her right hand before her, murmuring words again and summoning molecules of water from the air and freezing them on the broken stairs. She created a small path of ice, big enough just for the two of them to cross safely. Sice was the first to cross. The girl walked onto the ice, bent her knees and allowed the gravity to simply push her down the ice slope and onto the next floor with ease.

The notion to actually try climbing had never occurred to either Nine nor Ace. The boys looked over towards Sice and moved to support her. "We'll have to be careful and take it slow." Nine suggested as he helped her up to her feet. Ace slowly stood too. All three of them must have looked like hell. As he looked around, Ace couldn't help but noticed how the world he had taken for granted was now falling apart. The ground shook once more as missiles slammed into rear of the campus nearly sending Ace back to the ground. "Lets hurry!" he yelled. Nine nodded and was about to take a step when the roof above suddenly began to crack. His green eyes widened as he shoved Sice roughly towards Ace just before the ceiling came crumbling down!

Ace let out a hard cough. Dust and bits of cement flew everywhere making it hard to breath. When the dust finally cleared all Ace could see was a large wall of rubble where Nine had stood. Ace's body suddenly went numb. Had the war just taken his best friend? There was no way...Nine...he was a survivor and far more talented than Ace. There was no way he'd die so soon! Ace refused to believe it. He pushed his deepest fears far into the back regions of his mind, however with each passing second those fears crept closer and closer towards the surface. "Ace...*cough*...can you hear me?" came the rough sound of Nine's voice from the other side. "Is Sice ok?" he called out. Ace blinked twice. A small laugh came from him lips as he placed his hands on the wall of rubble. "Yeah...we're both fine. We'll dig you out so dont move!" Ace yelled. "No, dont bother. This wall is thick. I'll find my own way to 1st floor. Sice, take Ace and get out of here before the whole building breaks comes down on our heads!"

Was this death? The eternal darkness blinding her made her feel vastly empty. Nothing laid before her. Nothing around her. Just the girl with silver hair dressed in the school uniform, sitting like a broken doll. Her head lulled to the side, locks of mercury silver tumbling over her shoulder and onto her chest. Still nothing resided here besides herself. Sice felt a weight on her chest. It was making it hard to breath. She still did not move. Suddenly it was gone. Removed entirely. Her chest rose to take in air. Then a faint light trickled in from the distance before her. A cool light to extinguish the heat that embraced her. Her eyes fluttered.

Sice groaned, hardly moving her lips. Everything hurt! Her head, her arms, her chest, her legs but most importantly, her entire body! It was a dull sore sensation but it existed every where like a thin body suit. Eyelids began to flutter as Sice slowly came back around to the sound of Nine and Ace talking about the situation. She only made out a few words, enough to know they were okay however. Orbs of sky blue gazed lazily out at the destroyed hallway. She coughed hoarsely. "Then we should climb.... down. We can't... sit here." Sice added with a weak voice. She was still too dazed to fully realize how dire the situation had become. Climbing down was probably impossible, but she did not know this. She began to lean forward from her upright position. An ache sprang to life in her back; she pushed through it. The only true injuries Sice took was a cut to her bottom lip which seemed to be done bleeding and a large scratch on her right shoulder. It had torn most of her sleeve off, crimson liquids still trickling from the flesh wound.

It was official, the world had gone to hell. The sounds of screams could be heard echoing from all directions. Ace's eyes slowly peeled open before closing. He could feel something warm running down the side of his face. Was it blood? Ace could hardly move to check. Everything was spinning. He could feel the very ground beneath him threatening to give way. "Ace...Ace can you hear me!!" Nine yelled. His voice sounded as if it were miles away though. Ace let out a small groan. Nine took that as a sign that he was alive and continued pulling his body back towards a wall that was still in place. He had just finished to doing the same for Sice. "W-Where...What...?" Ace whispered as his hand came to rest over his face. Slowly, he sat up, his vision still blurry. When it did clear he saw that Nine looked just about as bad as he did. "About time you woke up. We're under attack!" Nine yelled as an untold number of explosions went off all around them. "You mean...the ships?" Ace whispered, his mind still in a daze. "Fuck the ships! This is an invasion! Soldiers from Milities have been killing the teachers and carrying off the students...at least the ones they want." Nine stated as he took a moment to sit down and catch his breath. "I already fought off one of them. Ace...its bad. Milities sent in the best of the best. It sent in their L'Cie soldiers. I dont know much...but I remember reading that they were originally lab rats who were enhanced with all kinds of forbidden magic. They fight dirty..." Nine breathed as he held his chest. Ace blinked twice. Had the boy really fought off such an enemy and then dragged both him and Sice to safety? Ace's blue eyes shifted over towards Sice. He managed to crawl over to her and make sure she was at least still breathing. "What now?" he asked softly. Nine let out a huff and hung his head. "We need to get out of here. Just a moment ago another announcement said that all able bodied should make their way down to the first floor. How we get there...I dont know. The second and forth floors were taking out. Its a miracle that this one hasn't collapsed yet..."

The announcement. FINALLY! Sice released a sigh of relieve. She felt as if she had been holding that breath for decades now. At long last the barrier had been raised and caught the missile. Just in time too it seemed. Sice had instinctively ducked when she first took notice of the oncoming attack, putting her arms up to defend her head. But nothing happened. And now they were safe. She looked to Nine and Ace. They were deciding whether to return to class or not. It might be a wise choice, Sice thought to herself. To be caught out in the halls during an impending attack only made her nervous again. But the cards fate had dealt seemed to differ entirely....

Sice didn't see it coming. She wasn't prepared for this. Nothing she could have done would have prepared for this! The barrier was shattering, even broke when another attack was brought upon the now exposed school. When the missiles began to hiss as they neared it was already too late. The walls rumbled before they crumbled. The windows gave a whine before exploding into thousands of glittering shards of glass. The roar of the explosions gave off an eerie din like a dangerous thunder storm of fire and debris. Sice felt as if her body had gone completely numb. She could only watch in horror as everything began to collapse around her. Even as the pressure of the explosion knocked her off her feet several yards away and into a falling wall, she never felt any of it. She never heard anything after that. Then her vision went out. Darkness was all that was left. The empty void around her and the haze of heat was all she knew now.

Before blacking out entirely, even before she had been thrown back by impact, Sice whispered; 'Ace'.

Ace's fears were quickly becoming reality. He watched Sice shove Queen. The girl had nearly lost her balanced and toppled over. "Why you low class-" Queen spat, only to have Nine rush past her as well. "Wait guys. I'll come with you and see whats up." he smiled. Ace nodded and shifted his gaze over towards Sice. Half of him wanted to push for a fight between Sice and Queen. For the longest he had wanted nothing but to burn her tongue till it was black. Unfortunately, there was no time for such thoughts no matter how thrilling they were. Ace took in a small breath before rushing out of the class room. As he ran down the hall he noticed even more ships closing in, these coming from across the ocean. The school was being surround! Suddenly, Ace froze in his tracks! His eyes shot wide open as a missile came screaming right towards their floor! Was this it? No magic Ace or Nine knew would protect them from the blast. All Ace could do was close his eyes and brace himself for the hit.

As the seconds rolled by, Ace noticed that his body was still in one piece. He looked back at Nine who looked back towards Sice. Nine let out a nervous laugh and wiped his forehead. It looked like the school's magic barrier had activated just seconds before the missile had struck. A few seconds later there was an announcement from the Dean over the loudspeakers. "Attention students, please remain seated inside of your class rooms. I can assure you that everything is well. Our barrier has protected our school from invasion in the past and it shall serve us well both today and in the future. Believe in the power of our God, Suzaku. That is all."

"So...do we go back?" Nine blinked. Ace shurgged his shoulders. It looked like the teachers were doing something right. Just as Ace was about to turn back towards class something caught his attention. There were tiny cracks spreading throughout the barrier. Ace watched in horror as the cracks became wider and began to spread throughout the barrier. "Fuck..." he mumbled just before the barrier shattered! Nine stood frozen, his jaw hanging open. It only took a few minutes for the invading ships to launch a volley of missiles towards the campus. Ace looked back at Sice and Nine. It was like time had slowed as he yelled for them to take cover just before the impact...

Why would they lie? What reason could she possibly have to lie to them! Sice always figured if someone lies, they gain something out of lying. Anything at all. It was her theory. If this theory were to hold true, Sice had nothing to gain from this lie. Neither did Ace. But that was hardly the annoyance on Sice's mind right now. Queen had crossed the line and wandered into uncharted territories. Sice was on the verge of beating Queen senseless with not only magic but her fists. There was nothing to be afraid of when looking at Queen. The only thing she was good at was school. The rest of it hardly fazed Sice, even if she was the better of the two girls at magic. "I should beat you bloody-"

"Um guys... there's ships just on the horizon." Claimed a student.

Sice was pulled from Queen. As the other students ran to the window, Sice did the same and followed suit. She never reached the window however before laying eyes on the cloud of ships approaching. "This has gone too far..." Murmured the silver haired girl. It was time to talk to those teachers in person. Sice made her way back to the door, shoving Queen on purpose as she walked by. "The barriers still not up, we've got to do something or those ships will come straight at us with full force." Sice stated officially, mainly to Ace. "Oh and Queen, if you ever wanna be a bitch to me again, prepare your stupid sword. I'll take you despite the rules."

"Oh my..." Queen smirked as she adjusted her glasses once more. "You know, its no wonder you and Ace hit it off so well. They say losers attract other losers." Queen chuckled softly. Nine moved away from the girls and back over to Ace. "Whats going on here?" he asked. Ace sighed softly and rubbed his cheek. "We were eating at the ice cream parlor, you know the one old man Gaven owns? We saw on tv that Milities had launched a surprise attack and had already steam rolled through several other countries. Thats went the army turned the parking lot and surrounding stores into a bunch a rubble. So...So many people were burned alive..." Ace whispered softly. "Ludicrous, pure ludicrous..." Queen scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Had there been such an attack the school would be on high alert. I just got back from a meeting with a few of the teachers you harassed today William. There was no mention of any attack. There was however mention of lynching you." Queen smirked. Ace's right eye began to twitch. It was bad enough that no one, not even Nine, believed him. It didn't help any that Queen was purposely calling him by the name he hated the most. "I mean honestly, you goof off, you dont care about your marks, you insult the teaching staff...why should anyone take what you say seriously? Why should I believe the word of a clown and his trailer trash fuck buddy?" Queen asked, her brow raising as she now shifted her gaze back over towards Sice. An evil smile slowly formed on her lips. "Hun you might not know this, but its against school policy to fight unless properly supervised. However...I've had enough of the both you. Ace is an eye sore, an infection. During medieval times medics would cut off the limbs of patients to keep the infection from spreading to the rest of the body. I think thats exactly what needs to be done here."

Just as the tension within the class reached an all time high, one of the students shifted his gaze towards the window. He paused, his eyes widening as he rose to his feet and pressed his face against the cool glass. "Um guys...there's ships just on the horizon..." he stated. This caused all of the students except Queen to rush towards the window. Sure enough, the same airships that had attacked Ace and Sice not that long ago could now be seen heading for the school. The scary thing was that it wasn't just a few ships, it was an armada! Fear quickly began to race throughout the classroom. To make matters worse, the barrier had still yet to be raised. What were the teachers doing?!

Sice was exhausted mentally and physically upon reaching their homeroom class. Why wasn't anyone worried about the attack?! She felt her heart skip nervously. Choking on the thoughts that clouded her mind. Sice merely stood to the side as Ace and Nine discussed what occurred. Surely Nine would have an idea of what was going on. Perhaps the teachers were aware but did not inform the students yet? Sice took in another deep breath, her chest was hurting now with nerves. Everything will be just fine. Of course the teachers knew what was going on. A war doesn't just march up to the front doors unnoticed after all.

The familiar ringing voice of Queen made Sice's heart falter. Sice rarely saw Queen as she was much too good for the scythe wielding maiden. Then again Sice hardly had any comment toward the girl either. Besides perhaps Missy Prissy. Sice didn't understand why no one was listening to Ace. He wasn't lying. She saw it all for herself. Then it happened. Queen struck Ace. Sice's cold eyes darken as she stepped up to bat before Queen. "Lay off him." Her voice was low, demanding even. Now wasn't the time for this! "Ace is telling the truth. I saw it with my own eyes too. Everything is in flames past the bridge. Now either you can apologize to Ace and listen to us or I might just have to kick that bubbly ass of yours."

Ace was at a loss for words. There was no way that the students and faculty inside were unaware that a war was going on so close to the school. Ace knew that the people who ran the school were idiots, but he didn't think they'd be stupid enough to ignore an attack. Ace looked back at Sice just in time to see her spring to life and run towards the school doors. He followed her inside and was shocked to see that everything was normal. Students were walking around without a care in the world and so were the teachers. "Sice...lets go to the 5th floor, where our homeroom is." Ace suggested. There was just something about the false peace that loomed over the school that made Ace nervous. When they reached homeroom, class had yet to start. Ace walked right up to Nine so quickly that he nearly gave the boy a heart attack. "Where have you been? I thought you'd just step out for a few minutes but you've blown most of the day..." Nine blinked before shifting his gaze over to Sice and examining her clothes. "What happened to you two...?" Nine blinked again. "Long story. Look...has the Dean made any kind of announcement?" Ace asked. Nine shook his head and stood to his feet. "Ok seriously...what happened to you two? I thought you guys went on a date..." Nine stated as his eyes shifted between Ace and Sice. "It wasn't...L-Look we dont have time for this! There's an army heading straight for campus right now! They've already torched most of the cafe district across the bridge!" Ace yelled, which got the attention of just about every student inside the classroom. Nine quickly grabbed Ace by the arm and pulled him to the side. "Ace...you ok? I'm all for jokes but thats...well its a little..."

"Its ridiculous rubbish." Came a very stern hard spoken voice from the entrance of the class room. Ace frowned and turned towards the door. This was just great. One of the top people on his dislike list had just showed up. Ace's eyes narrowed slightly as a girl walked right up to him, her raven black hair swaying lightly behind her. "The teachers may put up with your games but I will have none of it William Scottsfield III." She spat harshly as she adjusted her glasses with one hand while using her other to shove one of fingers into Ace's face. Her name was Victoria Marry Roseworth, but everyone simply called her Queen on account she was both the President of the Student Council and the daughter of the Dean. For three years Queen had made it her mission to get Ace kicked out of school. Everything about him she detested. She wasn't that fond of Nine either, but his high marks made him impossible to touch. "Look BloodyMarry...I'm not in the mood to fight you. I'm telling you that there's a.." Ace stated before feeling the clash of Queen's fist strike him right where Sice had slapped him sending Ace back into another student's desk. "Know your place. How dare you call me by that name." She hissed, her golden hues nearly forming into slits. Ace let out a low growl and picked himself up. He'd never hit a girl, but Queen was pushing it. She thought herself to be an elitist. She held the top grades among the Juniors, her combat training grades made even some of the teachers envious, and she was without a doubt one of the strongest Mages attending the school period.
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Name: Victoria "Queen" Marry Roseworth
Age: 16
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Likes: Order
Dislikes: Disorder
Weapon: Golden Age(Long Sword)
Magic Style: Perfection
-Command: God Save
-+Spells:
Flare(Non elemental magic)
Execution(1 hit ko)
Binding Law(Cast Petrify)
-Limit Break: Dance of the Roses

They reached the bridge. It felt like an eternity they just spent running. Escaping the howls of pain that echoed through the town. The smoke filled air, whistling of bombs and fires. She wasn't sure how she had managed to make it this far with Ace. Now that they stood looking up at the tower that loomed before them, Sice felt weak. Her legs buckled with stress but she caught herself; now resting on one knee on the ground and panting. Her skin was coated in soot from the smoke and ash that drifted like leaves in fall. Not surprising that her hair had come undone again. Locks of wild silver hair swept across her brow and shoulders. She was in no mood nor condition to bother with it.

Her eyes, a shade resembling roaring ocean tides, flickered up from the untouched school over to Ace. "This doesn't bode well." She coughed out while climbing back to her feet. "I expected the barrier to actually be up by now." A part of her was relieved that the barrier wasn't up however. That meant they could still get inside. But did that not mean the school was truly unaware? Sice took a sharp breath suddenly. "What if something...happened?" She didn't wait for Ace to reply. Instead she raced forward with new energy and barreled toward the schools front doors.

"Follow me!" Ace yelled over the roar of the siren. He grabbed Sice by the hand and slowly led her out from under the table. The ground shook as several more missiles came crashing down close by. Ace let out a hard cough. The fires had spread to the parlor now. The last attack had actually hit the back of the building killing everyone who was in the kitchen. As Ace stood, he could make out what looked like burning bodies. This wasn't a sight for anyone to see no matter how strong they were. He turned to Sice, his hand gripping hers tighter. "Dont let go of me!" He yelled and raised his free hand to cover his mouth. Nearly everything had gone up in flames. The boring world that had come to know and hate had gone to hell.

A few hours later, Ace and Sice had managed to make it back across the bridge before the barrier had been set. How they had made it out of the parlor Ace had no idea. To his surprise though, the island seemed perfectly calm. There were no signs of attack though one could see clouds of smoke rising in the distance. Ace's uniform was covered in a mixture of dirt and smoke. He hadn't realized it, but while leading the two of them out he had been burned on his left hand and on parts of his neck. "Come on..." he panted and finally stood up straight. The two of them had litterally just ran for their lives. "We need to tell the teachers. The barrier should be up or something..." Ace stated, his face covered with smoke as his eyes shifted up towards the tower which contained their god like crystal.

The cone had entirely been devoured, Sice just crunching on the small piece in her mouth as Ace made a dash for the television. Sice had hardly paid attention to the announcement but seeing Ace react in such a fashion made her nervous. It wasn't until the siren blew that the silver haired young lady finally realized the fact of the matter. Something close to war was breaking out and here they were, outside the comfort of the schools protection. The windows shattered next. A spray of glass shimmered around Sice making the noise of a thousand chimes as they scattered to the floor. Sice hardly reacted when Ace brought her under the table with him. The only thing she could think of right now? Closing her eyes and wishing it would stop. The high pitched siren outside wailed in her ears, the faint sound of screams echoing around her. It needed to end!

Sice coughed roughly at the sound of Ace's voice. She hardly opened her eyes to look in his direction. The bright gleaming flames that danced wickedly around made it difficult to see much. The smoke also making it hard. "We've got to go now then! I don't wanna be stuck out here!" Sice admitted in a slightly frightened tone. This felt surreal. It couldn't really be happening. Right? "I can't even see!" She rubbed her eyes, the smoke stinging them now.

A wicked grin suddenly formed on Ace's lips. The thought of him and Sice terrorizing the country side was very, very appealing. "I think we'd make a good team. I could use my magic to blind our targets while you rushed in and stole everything in sight." Ace smirked. He wasn't sure if Sice was joking, but he took the idea seriously. He'd do just about anything to get away from the school and out of Suzaku. Ace was smiling at the very idea when his eyes suddenly shot back towards the tv. There was a news reporter who looked like she was in the middle of a battle field. "What the hell?" Ace blinked and ran over to turn the tv up.

"This is Jessica Parker reporting for SCN, I'm here on scene with the remains of our armed forces which were stationed at the boarder of Kogai! Earlier this week a country known as Milities declared war on all nations within Suzaku! As you know Milities is a country from the west located within the territory of Byakko, or The White Tiger. I...W-Wait...We just got word that The Milities army has in fact by passed Kogai! Our sources tell us that a massive armada had already blown through Rubrum and Anaze! We are told that the death toil is in the thousands. What has caused this hostile aggression? For years there has been-"

Ace's eyes widened as the tv suddenly went black. His eyes shifted over to Sice. Anaze wasn't that far away. If the Milities army had already defeated the forces there it meant that the enemy forces wouldn't be too far away from the academy. "This...This is a joke right?" Ace blinked. Suddenly, a loud siren bellowed throughout the small town. A second later a missile came screaming down from the sky above blowing up the resturant that was right next store to the parlor! The force from the blast caused the glass windows inside the parlor to shatter! Ace quickly went to ground. He crawled his way towards the table and pulled Sice under it. The sounds of explosions and violent screams filled his ears. It was all real. They really were under attack! "Sice!" Ace yelled as his eyes opened. He could see flames shooting out all around the parlor. "We've got to get back to the school! Once they raise the barrier we wont be able to get inside!"

"It bothers me because those girls used to be my friends." Sice said with an irritated gleam in her eyes. She wasn't mad at Ace, no he made up for his crimes against her with this ice cream cone that was now unfortunately melting in her hand. Sice quickly licked the drops before they made a mess. No she was mad at the girls. They used to be so close of friends, all of them. They did everything together. But now they think she's scary, mean and apparently overweight. That was what bugged her the most. But Ace was right, Sice began to realize. Who cares what they think now. They were never really her friends if they had half a mind to treat her so rudely.

Sice was just getting to the cone itself when Ace began to watch the television. She had never known much about the world outside their demented little school of magic. It was her home after all. But now and then she found herself watching the tv, longing for something else, just as Ace was doing now. "I could go for treasure." Sice added with a devious smirk. Her younger days, just before meeting Ace, had been filled with learning how to pick locks. Not once had she ever needed to use such a skill but it was nice to have on the side either way. The idea and fascination with treasure made Sice's heart skip. "We could become like...thieves or something, ya'know?"

Ace watched with amazement as Sice downed the first scoop of her cone. It had been a while since he had last treated her and had forgotten just how much she loved ice cream or anything else that was sweet. Ace listened closely to her reply. He knew that Sice had problems with the other girls and apart of that problem had to do with her weapon of choice. The scythe wasn't a popular weapon at the school and mostly used by the 'weird people' who were obsessed with death. Ace could sympathize with Sice and in yet he still failed to completely understand her. "I get that...but my question is why do you let it bother you? I mean, do you know how many people call me an idiot on a daily basis? I get called it all the times but its not true...well...not really." Ace smirked as he gave his cone a few licks. "When it comes to magic knowledge and combat you're one of the top students in our grade. You shouldn't let what those fugly girls say get to you. Besides...I kinda think...your scythe is cool. You know, when its not being pointed at me." Ace chuckled softly. He wasn't sure if his words would have any affect, but he had the chance to cheer her up he'd take it.

As Ace finished off his ice cream he sat back and let out a small sigh of content. His eyes drifted over towards a tv the parlor had displayed up in a corner of the store. The Suzuku army was promoting adventure, fame, and riches. It was a add targeted towards students were nearing graduation from the academy. "Life here sucks. Did you know that there's a country called Kogai that actually puts cheese on their hotdogs?! Chesse! This world is so messed up that its depressing. Also, why should I have to listen to bunch of old farts just to gain what the army is offering? The army is crap and everyone knows it. Somewhere out there...there's adventure just waiting. Fame and riches are right over that horizon." Ace smirked as he pointed out the window before turning back towards Sice. "I dont plan to graduate. I'm just here until I can get enough money together to go on a real adventure and leave this stupid school behind. Hehe, maybe if you play your cards right I take you with me." Ace smiled as he sat back in his chair. His eyes were filled with determination. No one would be able to talk to him out of what he wanted.

As they ran Sice felt free. Her hair, having slightly come undone again, skimmed her cheek and tickled the nape of her neck. Her heart was pounding like war drums. And yet she didn't stop to feel bad about hitting a teacher with her magic. Ice was least harmful if done correctly. Sice had just about mastered everything there was to know about using ice in magic. The one she used on the teacher was little more than creeping ice; she learned it in a defensive class. To bar or block the path of something. Most useful for animals of sorts. She jogged beside Ace, hardly concerned for her future days at the school.

They broke free of the school and bolted into the warm light of the world outside. The gentle kiss of the sunlight felt nice on her skin. Sice smiled as she held her arms out for the sunlight. "I'm sure you really are sorry, but only ice cream will make things truly better." Sice stated with a grin.

Once at the parlor Sice grabbed a table off beside a window. She was fascinated by bathing in light for the moment. Often her classes ran late, it was for her to get outside at this time. It felt wonderful. Ace returned with her ice cream, just as promised. Sice took the cone from him and began to lick wildly. The first to go was always the butterscotch! Ace's question was unusual. Sice had just licked her lips as he asked. Her eyes drifted away from him and to the window. The light was in her eyes, she couldn't really see anything beyond the glass but looked nevertheless. "I don't really know. Their hostile towards me and I pick up on that and return the favor. I think maybe it was when I finally told everyone my weapon was a scythe that they got freaked out. Now they point and laugh and call me names. If it was up to me, I'd kick all their asses." Sice stated firmly and continued to lick her ice cream.

The teacher saw the look in Ace's eyes. He was about to bolt. However before he could reach he found himself being bound to the wall by a growing sheet of ice. The teacher began to curse and scream! Both Ace and Nine looked back at Sice, their jaws hanging open. "You two were made for one another..." Nice mumbled to himself. Attacking a teacher was a huge offense worthy of expulsion. Ace let out a hearty laugh before grabbing Sice by the hand for the third time that day. "Hehe I think I'm rubbing off on you. It only took three years, but I'm wearing you down!" Ace stated with a wide grin. "Dont get cocky. You two better bolt and right now." Nine suggested. The ice wouldn't hold the teacher for long. Ace nodded and quickly led Sice through a series of halls, stairs, and closed doors. He knew every single inch of the school as well as the surrounding campus. One had to have such knowledge considering the amount of trouble he often got into. After a few minutes the two of them finally were able to make their way outside through a back door which only the maintenance crews should have known about. Once outside Ace released Sice's hand and turned to her. "Hey...I really am sorry about...well...just about everything." he replied softly, his eyes judging her own to see if she'd hit him again or not

When the reached the ice cream parlor, Ace walked right up to the counter and ordered Sice's favorite along with a single scoop of cookies n cream for him. After Ace finished paying he looked down at his wallet which was now completely bone dry. Sighing softly, he grabbed both cones and walked back over towards the table where Sice was sitting. "With this we're even." Ace smiled and sat down across from her. There was nothing like a cold treat to cure hostilities between two people. Hell, it was the only way Ace had avoiding being killed by Sice on multiple occasions. "Hey...can I ask you something? Why do you care what those girls think about you? Ever since freshman year you've been battling it out with them..."

Everyone was at long last gone. Away from her. Probably gossiping again. Sice was so frustrated now, she hardly had time to care any more. If she kept getting upset like this, she was bound to hurt herself instead of others. Which should be second on her 'worry list' come to think of it. Sice shook away the thoughts as Ace bothered to begin talk of ice cream once more. Sweets in general were a weak point for her. Ever since she was a kid. Some close friends of her would tease her about eating so much sweets or claim they were jealous of her figure for having eaten an entire carton of ice cream to herself. It was when the other girls, the mean ones, tried to poke fun at her was when Sice got pissed. She slowly looked at Ace. He was being honest. Did he really feel as bad as he looked? "You know, that sounds great." Despite all that they had just gone through in a matter of minutes, a cone of ice cream sounded better than any thing right about now. She already knew what she was going to order. A sugar cone with cheesecake flavored ice cream with butterscotch topping and sprinkles. The sprinkles just made it look cute.

One problem after another it seemed however. Nine's voice caught Sice off guard. Hesitantly she looked at the raging teacher approaching them. "I'll handle this. I'm already in enough trouble it seems." Once more Sice rose her hand into the air, collecting a shimmering blue light around her finger tips. She murmured a command once more before a small orb of sky blue light launched itself at the teacher. It struck him in the center of his chest. First there was nothing then came a large rumbling crack. Ice jolted from the spot on his chest and engulfed the mans arms and hands in a thick layer of pure ice. The ice continued to stretch, it reached until his arms were straight out at his sides; the ice had begun to climb the walls on either side of him. It would keep him stuck there for at least a few minutes. "Let's go." Sice encouraged Ace with a smile.

"I KNOW, I KNOW!!!" Ace yelled and put his guard up thinking Sice was gonna hit him a second time. With his luck it was possible. Nine shifted his gaze between the two of them and scratched his head. He knew that Sice was a hard nut to crack and although Ace pretended not to care, Nine knew otherwise. "Alright thats enough." Nine stated, his deep voice commanding the attention of the girls behind him. "Shows over there's nothing to see here." he yelled and began breaking up the group. Ace let out a deep sigh and rubbed his cheek once more. He saw how embarrassed Sice looked and knew that he must have really done it this time. His eyes shifted over to the side before moving back towards her. "Um...I still wanna treat you to some ice cream...you know...if you wanna skip the rest of classes." Ace replied softly. Suddenly, that cheerful smile he was known for came beaming back. "Alright how about you get a triple scoop on me? I know they've got your favorite flavor." Ace smirked. Nine looked over his shoulder and let out a small chuckle. His smile soon dropped as a group of teachers came marching down the halls. Word had spread about Ace's pranks. "If you two are gonna leave you should go now!" Nine yelled. "You, Ace dont move!!!" The teacher bellowed, his face crimson red with pure rage.

Already, after just having released most of her frustration on Ace, Sice was feeling the twinge of guilt. She didn't really mean to hit him so hard but Sice was that way. She had a hard time controlling herself when she was in the heat of the moment. Thus the girl wearing a jacket of ice yesterday. Again their bodies clashed and all thoughts of guilt seemed to wash away. She was never going to let him live this down nor forget this day. But suddenly there was a noise outside the door. Sice quickly turned to face Ace when the door swung open. She had lost all balance at that point with the blinding light outside and thus spilled out across the floor of the hallway. "Ouch..." Groaned the silver scythe wielder.

"Oh look at who Sice is making out with!" Came the familiar voice of a girl in Sice's class.

Sice's blue eyes grew large but dark like a night sky. Everyone was outside! Listening! Making rumors! Even Nine was there, continuing to make things worse with that smile of his. Sice nervously looked around before panicking. This day just gets worse and worse! Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Ace was kind enough to help her to her feet, which she hardly noticed. Instead she was worried about the girls. Mad at them for accusing her of such an act with Ace! "It's not what it looks like!" Claimed Sice pathetically. No one listened. "Ace this is your fault!" If she hadn't noticed the mark she had left on his cheek Sice was sure she would have struck him again.

For a moment, Ace thought he was going to get off easy. However after seeing the flames which roared within her eyes all hope vanished. With terrified eyes he watched as she reached out and began to choke the life out of him! Ace did his best to loosen her grip, but it was kinda hard since the space they had between one another was already tight. Ace tried opening his mouth to apologize, but everytime he did he felt his body either slam against the walls or the door. All the noise had actually created a small crowd right outside. The crowd grew even larger as the painful sting of Sice's slap echoed throughout the halls followed by a loud scream from Ace. Her hand print would never go away, that was for sure. This was maybe the 10th time he had been slapped by Sice. He found that with each time the girl summoned even more strength than before.

Ace rubbed his cheek. It wasn't like he had groped her on purpose. It seemed no matter what he did he always ended up pissing Sice off somehow. "Ok Ok just let me move..." Ace grumbled. His attempt to move out of her way though only caused their bodies to press into another even more. Suddenly, the door was pulled open with a hard jerk causing Ace and Sice to fall out. Standing just outside the door was Nine and a few other students. "I was wondering how long it would take you two to make out..." He smirked. Ace let out a deep growl as he rose to his feet and turned to help Sice up. She'd never forgive him for this. Already rumors were spreading about their 'fun time' in the broom closet. Today just wasn't his day..