A/N: I know people are looking for the pairings; THEY’RE COMING DON’T WORRY. But please also bear with me because there’s a lot I want to do with this fic and getting them together quickly would shorten the entire story. It’s really more of an adventure story than it is romance. Don’t get upset please! DX Also, I made a poster for this story! This is the doodle I promised you, aintyoufunny. XD Sorry for the fail-ness of the drawing…it’s been years since I last used a tablet. I CAN DRAW BETTER THAN THIS I SWEAR. Oh wells…

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The trio-turned-quad said their goodbyes to GD and T.O.P in the morning. As they were about to continue going along the road, however, they saw Daesung running toward them in full hunting gear.

“If you’re heading to the Sapphire Towers, I know a shortcut!” he called, beaming and pointing toward a path behind the inn.

Eunhyuk turned Fishy around and plodded toward the hunter. “Really? That’s awesome!”

“Thank you so much!” Henry added, who was still trying to balance his instruments in one arm, causing him to ride in a zigzagged fashion. Kevin floated along beside him, and Kyuhyun (still not very awake) blearily nodded.

“It’s no problem,” Daesung of the perpetually-present-full-face-smile grinned. “I’m going towards there anyway.”

So the…uh…group-of-five proceeded to follow the path into the forest again, with Daesung in the lead.  It was a gorgeous day, complete with birdcalls and blue skies and sunshines, but no one actually cares about that because it contributes nothing to the story.

Every once in a while, Daesung veered off the path and shot something (not necessarily hitting it, which was a little unfortunate because the thoughts only count when you don’t have mouths to feed), and the others would shrug and follow. For instance, every time Daesung heard any faint rustling that could possibly be an edible animal, he went into stealth-mode (not to be confused with Eunhyuk’s ninja-mode) and dropped to the forest floor to stalk (read: crabwalk to) whatever made the noise. It was good thing that none of them turned out to be people, because that would have been just awkward.

And, at sometime along the trip, Henry pulled out his violin and started playing. Kyuhyun and Eunhyuk couldn’t tell him to stop, because Daesung and Kevin had immediately begun to sing along and didn’t seem to be planning on taking a break anytime soon. Such is the cruelness of reality.

It was around noon, meandering back to the path after a particularly long detour (courtesy of Daesung), that the group realized something was off.

“I feel like we’re missing someone,” Eunhyuk scrunched his face into an expression of extreme contemplation.

Kyuhyun looked around. “We are?”

Henry gasped and jumped a little in his seat, making Steve grunt in annoyance. “Oh no, we’re a quad again!”

“Quick, do a face count!” Kyuhyun yelled, animated for the first time since their battle planning back in the Wolves’ fort.

“Isn’t it ‘head count’?”

“No Hyukkie, we know how many are here. We need to figure out who we’re missing.”

“Where’s the floaty guy?” was the only thing Daesung said.

Henry just about started bawling. “OH NO! MY ONLY FRIEND, WHERE IS HE?! KEVIN!!!” He morosely dragged his bow over his violin, creating a mournful melody that truly expressed his anguish.

Kyuhyun groaned. “Damn it, we lost him. Siwon only knows what that kid will get himself into on his own.”

Instead of actively looking for the boy, they all took a moment to mourn their loss. Eunhyuk patted Henry’s back comfortingly. “It’s okay, Henry. Maybe we’ll find another friend for you.”

“But Kevin could speak English! And he could fly!” Henry wailed at the same high octave he was playing his violin at. “I won’t ever find a best friend like him again…”

Eunhyuk shook his head in regret. “That’s the way life is. I’m sorry you had to experience it at such a young age.”

“…I’m not that much younger than you.”

“Oh, how you’ve been deluding yourself, young one,” Eunhyuk sighed.

Kyuhyun looked as sympathetically as he could manage at their youngest companion. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any means of looking for him. We’ll just have to send him our best wishes and move on.”

“KEVIN, HERE ARE MY BEST WISHES TO YOU! I HOPE YOU MAKE IT OUT FINE AND SAFE AND FIND SOME OTHER ENGLISH-SPEAKING FRIEND TO KEEP YOU FROM GETTING LONELY!” Henry cried toward the heavens (or tree-tops, since that was all they could see) and sobbed into his horse’s neck.

Eventually, they all recovered…somewhat. Henry was never quite the same. But that was the only incident of any consequence that happened during the journey. Once the towers came into sight, Daesung bid them farewell and left dragging along the buck he’d finally brought down.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Sapphire Towers weren’t actually sapphire-colored. Like most run-down towers, it was kind of gray-ish and made of bricks that had definitely seen better days. The vines of ivy growing on it were blue, though, so maybe whoever named the towers wasn’t completely out to mislead people. But the trio didn’t dwell too much on its coloring because they had more pertinent things at hand.

After a careful survey of the towers, they found that all doors on the ground floor had been heavily sealed with blocks of wood, locks, and what seemed to be magic chains. Yeah. Magic chains. Whoever organized this whole thing had tried way too hard to make things difficult for potential rescuers. The only window they could find was a good six stories above them, so Kyuhyun took to shouting at it.

“Hello?!” he called. “Is someone there? Preferably someone pretty, single, and looking for a dashing prince to save them?” He ignored Eunhyuk’s scoffing behind him.

Sure enough, the figure of a young woman with long hair appeared at the window and bent over to look at them. “Here!” she called. “I’m Princess Seohyun! Who might you be?”

Kyuhyun looked visibly relieved. “I’m Prince Kyuhyun of the Kingdom of Idyllic Vacation Spots! I’ve come to find my One True Love!”

Seohyun leaned on the ledge and rested her chin on her hand. “Well, the only people here are me and my servant, Sungmin. Oh yeah, Sungminnie, come over here!”

Another head poked out of the window. Even from a distance, they could see the delicate face and soft black hair of the man, and Kyuhyun’s breath just about stopped.

“Is there…any way you have for us to get up there?” He asked distractedly, as if in a trance.

The two in the tower exchanged glances. Sungmin frowned and looked into the room, not finding anything that could potentially be useful. Seohyun thought for a few moments.

“Oh, let me throw down my hair!” she suggested after a while, brandishing her long, luscious locks.

Kyuhyun eyed her hair warily. “But wouldn’t that hurt? I’m pretty sure I’m heavier than you.”

“Unless you have super-neck-muscles,” Eunhyuk added.

Seohyun put her hair down dejectedly. “I didn’t think about that…” She looked at Sungmin for help again, to no avail. “Yeah, I guess we’re all out of ideas.”

“Really? That’s…all you got?” Eunhyuk raised an eyebrow.

“Yup. We’ve been stuck here for years, and no one’s ever shown up. It’s not like the evil witch gave us ropes or ladders or anything.”

Kyuhyun slumped on his horse. “Kevin would be really useful to have to right now,” he mumbled.

“Yeah,” Eunhyuk agreed.

Henry burst into tears at the mention of his lost best friend.

***

Meanwhile, Kevin was facing a whole different dilemma. One minute they’d all been following Daesung off the path, and then he’d gotten distracted by a particularly colorful butterfly. When the butterfly disappeared and he finally looked around, the others were nowhere in sight.

In other words, Kevin was completely and utterly lost. Plus, these woods held bad memories for him. Why did stuff like this always happen to him? Had he been an axe-murderer in a past life? Or a mafia boss? Or, even worse, a clown??? No, he couldn’t have been a clown. He wasn’t that nasty. So what did he ever do to deserve this? He despaired.

At least it was still light out and he still had his magic books?

He tried floating up above the trees to see what direction he should go in, but since he was directionally impaired, it was no help at all. When he came back down, he heard rustling and twigs cracking and his heart dropped.

Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. Kevin panicked. He couldn’t afford to be assaulted right now. “C-come out and face me!” he stuttered, whirling around frantically.

Someone grunted from behind an ominous-looking tree.

“Don’t…don’t underestimate me! I’m a magician!” Please go away, please go away, please go away…

Kevin got ready to attack just as the unknown person emerged, pulling…leaves out of his hair?

“Perhaps you would be able to magick a new horse for me? Mine own just ran away. I fear my quest will be difficult without a trusty steed.”

All Kevin could do was stare, forgetting all about feeling threatened. This was the most…interesting person he’d ever seen, to say the least. It wasn’t that his face was funny-looking or he was dressed oddly or anything, but something felt…different about the guy (and it wasn’t the stiff, scripted way he talked). When he thought more about it, it was probably the holographic box above his head that contained red and blue bars that proudly proclaimed “Lv. 21” on the side. He wasn’t close enough for Kevin to see very clearly but he thought the rest of the print said something like “EXP” and “gold”.

“Why, you’re certainly dashing, stranger. Oh, where are my manners? I am Eli from RPG Town, also known as the Town of Origin.”

“…Where?”

“You know, the place that you get reset to whenever you fail a level?”

“Um. Not…not really? Sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Eli seemed unaffected by and even accustomed to his confusion. “Ah, no matter. What’s in a name, stranger? More importantly, what’s your name?”

“Kevin!” he grinned, realizing that the man had been speaking in English the whole time and immediately feeling a sense of companionship with him.

“I am delighted to meet your acquaintance, Kevin. And I can’t help but notice your distressed demeanor. What’s been ailing you?”

Kevin slumped. “I lost the group I was traveling with and now I have no idea how to get out of these woods.”

“Is that all? Where do you need to be?”

“They were headed toward the Sapphire Towers, but don’t know where those are.”

The man chuckled, emitting…sparkles. And…holographic roses? “Fear not, I can aid you on your quest there. So please smile; your face shines when you do so! A smile such as yours recures the wounding of a frown.”

“Oh my Siwon, really?!” Kevin started tearing up. “How do I keep meeting such wonderful people? You would do this for me? You really are amazing…”

Eli gave him a bright, white grin. “The very instant that I saw you, my heart flew to your service. I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”

“Um, Eli, are you quoting Shakespeare?”

“…Of course not. Why would you ever suggest that? I know not of this…Shakespeare character. At all. Never heard of him.”

Kevin eyed him suspiciously, but dropped the subject. “Alright, lead the way please!”

Seeming a little relieved, Eli pointed toward the way he had come from. “The main path is just beyond those shrubs. It will lead us to your destination.”

“Yay!” The magician leapt forward excitedly and floated to the bushes.

Eli watched him go and followed with a gait only a video game character could pull off. “Did I ever love until now?” he sighed dramatically. “For I swear that I’ve never seen true beauty until today.”

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Another A/N:THE PLOT THICKENS (finally)!!! Sorry if it wasn’t very funny… Anyway, starting now with the appearance of Eli, I’ll being using quotes from Shakespeare (although I’ll be paraphrasing some of them to stay consistent to the language of the rest of the story). I just love the way that man said things. XD Try picking them out every chapter! A full list of the quotes used will be credited when I finish this story. Anyone who can pick out every one correctly before then will get a oneshot from me (because Shakespeare’s just that cool). :)