Hey, a new chapter! …Right, let's get down to business.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Edit: I've fixed the chapter. Enjoy.

The first thing Yuri was aware of, when he came to, was the fact that parts of his body feels…like he had been trampled by a Brute a few times (or maybe shocked by the Giganto Monster numerous times). That and…he couldn't help but notice how…strange everything feels…

He wasn't sure what exactly this strange…thing is, but he tried to get his mind off of it (even though a part of him is telling him that something felt that something…isn't right). Right now, he tried to make some sort of…sense. Such as: What the hell happened earlier? And where the hell is he?

Before he could think of opening his eyes, he used his other senses to try to 'see' where he is. Through his sense of smell, he smelt something…fragrant, like… flowers? The only thing he could think of is the flowers from Halure's tree; they DO have quite a powerful scent. He also picked up a coppery scent of something – something familiar, and his befuddled brain couldn't remember what it is.

Through his sense of hearing, he could hear the sound water dripping into something with more water, along with rattle from…armor, he guessed; yet way does it sound…loud? Well, it isn't loud enough to make his ears bleed, but it did make his ears hurt a little…

Through his sense of taste, he tasted something…bitter. Did someone fed him a gel? …Maybe a…Miracle Gel by the taste of it.

Through his sense of touch, he felt that he was lying on something soft…while lying on his, rather, bare stomach; as evident when he heard armored boots walking up to him and placed something wet upon his back, gently rubbed away at something.

Finally, he decided to use his fifth and final sense: sight. He cracked his eyes open. Everything started off blurry at first. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get his vision to clear. Slowly, it did so. Once they did, he groaned.

The wet something stopped rubbing his back when he did. "Yuri, are you okay?"

Huh? Whozzat…? He thought dumbly. After blinking again, he shifted his head a little to try to look at the source.

He saw a familiar blue eyed blonde, clad in blue, his forearms gauntlet-less as his right hand held a wet rag. "…Flynn?" He let out, blinking-

Then he suddenly frowned. He slowly moved to push himself up, nearly failing as his arms felt like jelly (since when did they do that?) and managed to sit up, ignoring Flynn's protests about not sitting up right now. He managed to sit up, his legs crossed yet he didn't dare put his back onto the wall – even though his back felt fine now, he noticed – and looked over his friend. And narrowed his eyes a little. "…Is that blood on your uniform…?"

"…Huh?" His friend let out, confused.

The dark haired male blinked. "Can't you see it?" He asked, look at his friend for a moment before returning his attention to what caught his eye. "It's right there, next to your Bodhi Blastia," he even poked at the spot to confirm what he saw.

Yeah, he could diffidently see it; it nearly blended into the dark fabric of his uniform around his chest but managed to spot the (somewhat faded) blood stain against the dark blue out-line around the circular part on his chest.

Although he himself looked serious, Flynn still looked confused, blinking a little. "There is?" He let out, as he tried to look over the front of his uniform. He even took it off and held up close to his face. And blinked in surprise. "Hey there is…" The blonde looked over his friend a little, blinking a couple of times.

"…What?" The dark haired man let out, suddenly unnerved by his friend's staring.

The Commandant shook his head. "It's nothing." He put his blue/white uniform behind his chair – which seemed unlike him. Flynn always hangs or put up his clothes when he's done with them – and returned his attention to his friend. "Anyway, how are you feeling Yuri?"

Immediately, Yuri sighed. "Like I've just got pummeled by a Giganto Monster…" And it felt like he was; every part of his body felt…sore. He looked over his friend, and asked, "By the way, what happened? Why are we in your room?" He added slowly as he looked around the place.

A small moment of silence settled in. "You don't remember?" Flynn asked slowly.

At that, Yuri was immediately suspicious; but he kept his face straight as he looked back at his friend and asked, "Remember what? What do you mean?"

The blonde seemed to ignore him and rubbed his chin, staring at him with his blue hued gaze. "You honestly don't remember?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew what you were talking about," Yuri retorted dryly, palming his head. Damn…why does his head hurt? Did he get a concussion or something? No…he didn't feel any throbbing around his head – a Miracle Gel would've cured that. Those things are like their namesakes after all – it felt…more like it was a headache or something.

"Yuri-" The dark haired man winced, hearing a slight ringing sound, when his friend spoke up.

He grunted in pain and covered his ears. "Dammit Flynn," he grunted, cracking an eye open to glare at his friend, "did you have to shout like that?"

The blonde blinked. "What do you mean? I was talking normally."

Yuri dropped his hands to stare at his friend, dumbfounded. "What?"

Flynn was about to open again, then paused. He rubbed his chin again for a bit, and:

"Yuri, how's this?"

The dark haired male blinked. "Yeah, that…It didn't hurt my ears as much."

"That was because I was talking as quietly as I could," the blonde answered.

What…

WHAT? ?

Okay, there's no way in hell that's normal. Sure he had seen a lot of things normal people wouldn't, well, normally see. But… super hearing? That ain't right.

Wait…

Now that he thought about it…

"Yuri-?"

The dark haired male shushed his friend and closed his eyes, and just…listened. He could hear the water running at the Lower Quarter, could hear the dogs barking, the gentle hum of the city's Barrier Blastia, the footsteps of other people – probably his friends – walking in the hall, everyone's breathing, their heartbeats...even Flynn's. Yet…he felt this strange…feeling. He wasn't sure what it is, but…he felt something…in the air. He wasn't able to describe it great but…it felt sort of like mist – an invisible mist that licked around him and everyone else. The mist felt – well, not really felt, he couldn't touch it touch it with his fingers – thicker around some things than others…

He opened his grey eyes and looked at Flynn. "Hey…have you always felt like…soup broth?"

Flynn looked at him oddly. "Huh?"

"Seriously, you feel…weird," he let out, not sure how to describe it. "In fact, the whole place feels like soup…except for a hint of what felt like pudding and juice…" He muttered softly to himself, crossing his arms with a thoughtful look.

He didn't notice his friend was giving him a look. "…Soup broth?" The blonde repeated, though keeping his voice low for Yuri's ears.

"Hey, it's the best I could describe it," Yuri retorted, giving his friend a bored look. "Besides it…feels weird."

Flynn didn't say anything but he nodded. A moment of uncomfortable silence went by before the blonde spoke up once more. "Yuri…are you absolutely sure you don't remember? As in…what occurred between our talk and right now?"

Yuri gave his friend a strange look then rubbed his chin. Yeah…he did recall telling Flynn about what Alexei is doing, and was there when his charming lieutenant informed him that he was promoted to Commandant. After that, he checked on his friends. And then… And…then…huh? That's odd, how come he couldn't remember what happened after that? As for that matter, what happened to his shirt? He thought as he looked at his bare chest, his brow raised a smidge. He didn't think he got injured earlier when they followed Estelle and Alexei towards Baction Shrine all the way back to Zaphias…

…And now that he thought more about it, that strange, prickly sensation on his back is gone. Yes, he did notice earlier, but didn't pay any mind to it at first. But now…it didn't hurt; not like someone – or rather something – was pushing something in between his shoulder blades. Now it didn't feel like he was…trapped within himself-

…Okay, NOW he was getting off topic. The main topic is his memory.

He shook his head. "No…I can't remember what happened during that time – well, besides checking on my friends that is."

Flynn gave him a look – a type of look he makes when he was thinking about something. Yuri had seen that look many times while growing up, even during the time when they were in Niren's Brigade before they took on that bastard Garista after their captain died – and Yuri could see the gears working in his head through the blonde's eyes. Then he sighed. "Yuri…I'm going to show you something," he said, though he seemed…hesitant when he added, "But…" he shook his head and continued, "Just don't freak out, okay?"

The dark violet haired man blinked. "What do you mean?" He asked as Flynn dug into his pocket. Then the blonde pulled out-

His eyes went wide. "…Flynn…" He lifted a shaky finger as he pointed at what was in his friend's hand. "What…is that?"

'That' just happened to be a small piece of feather, looking a bit translucent, and in the color of bluish-purple, but…leaning more towards blue than purple. But…why is his heart pounding in his chest? Why is his blood running cold? Why couldn't his body stop shaking? What's-?

Everything that happened to him after he talked with his friends up until waking up in Flynn's bed played back in his head. And he watched helplessly as he recalled the momentary blindness, to the uncomfortable warmth that made him paralyzed and forced him to fall to the ground, to the pain of his own blood that seemed to boil within him and hearing the voice of his friend during the whole time…to the point of seeing wings out of his back…

~o~

To say that Flynn was unnerved when he saw his friend freeze up completely when he saw the feather was an understatement. But that was nothing compared to seeing his friend starting to shake uncontrollably after a moment. "Yuri?" He let out in concern, putting the translucent feather down. "Yuri, what's wrong?" He bit his lower lip; he was starting to think that showing Yuri that feather isn't a good idea after all.

He tried to reach out to his friend again. "Yuri-"

Before his hand could touch Yuri's skin, the dark violet haired male jerked and hurryingly scooted away from the blonde until his back was against the wall. He was panting heavily, his pupils dilated with his arms against the wall, and beads of sweat were on his face as he stared at the feather sitting there. But the blonde saw something else within Yuri's eyes. Something he never thought he would see:

Fear. Denial. And some other emotion he couldn't identify.

But it didn't deter Flynn to try to calm the dark haired man. "Yuri, Yuri, please calm down!" He said as slowly stood up, but not daring to try to touch his friend. Yet.

However, the dark haired man didn't seem to hear the blonde. And it unsettled him. "Yuri, SNAP OUT OF IT!" He shouted and the other man winced before he covered his ears and curling into a ball. Flynn quickly put the feather away – just in case because it seemed to be the cause of his distress – and went back to try to help his friend. "Yuri…" He let out, moving closer to his friend, "Yuri, are you…okay?"

The dark haired male didn't seem to budge. He didn't so much as flinch when the blonde put his hand on his shoulder. And the blonde had to admit, that unsettled him – again. The last time Flynn had seen the dark haired male like this was-

Huh?

The blonde blinked. Is…is he hearing his friend…humming? Yes- it was that song within his mother's memento. The only time he heard the dark haired male hum that was when- was when he was…scared. But that was when they were kids! Did that feather somehow terrified him-?

Flynn wanted to smack himself. No, it wasn't the feather! The wings-!

"Yuri! Yuri, snap out of it!" He exclaimed, shaking the dark haired male lightly at first. Then he shook him again, roughly, when he didn't seem fazed. "Yuri!"

The Commandant gritted his teeth, scowling. Dammit- He hated seeing his friend like this! Yuri- Yuri wasn't supposed to be the vulnerable one here! He wasn't supposed to feel pain; not supposed to get upset over- EVERYTHING! And-

"God-dammit Yuri, STOP IT!"

That managed to jerk the dark haired male out of his stupor, and he stared into the blue eyes of his friend. And for once, Flynn didn't care if he used one of those 'forbidden' curses. He was more concerned about his friend's emotional – and perhaps mental – state.

"…Flynn…?"

"Yuri, you can't just- you're not- Dammit Yuri, I can't stand to see you like this!" Flynn shouted, shaking his friend once more, "It's bad enough after…that incident four years ago!"

Yuri opened his mouth to say something. "But-"

Yet Flynn cut him off, continuing with, "I know it was bad back then…it's just…" He sighed. "I'm just as shocked as you were when those…popped out," he didn't say 'wings', that'll probably make Yuri feel worse, "and…well, yes, it was a little bizarre, but-"

He shook his head and released his friend. "What I'm trying to say is that…" He trailed off, not sure how to continue this.

"What?" The blonde couldn't help but wince at Yuri's flat response.

Flynn looked over his friend – ignoring the glazed look in his eyes – then sighed. "…The point is, I was a bit weirded out by…what you could possibly be – but you're still my friend, regardless of…what you might be."

Yuri just stared at him.

"…Okay fine, so it was corny," Flynn admitted, making a bored look, "But what do you WANT me to say?"

Yuri shrugged. "Who knows?"

Flynn smiled softly and shook his head. At least Yuri's old self is back…a little bit of it anyway.

But on to the more pressing matters. "By the way Yuri…how long has…that been going on?" Flynn didn't elaborate on what 'that' is.

Yuri actually had to scratch his head as he thought about it. "I dunno…I guess it all started when we first visited Yormgen…sometime before you caught me in the act."

Flynn narrowed his eyes a little. So this was before Yuri killed Cumore? However:

"Then how come you didn't tell anyone else – especially your friends – about that?"

"Hey, I honestly thought that the weird…pressure on my back would go away after a while," Yuri retorted, "That and a lot of crap happened – which, I'm sure you know."

Flynn looked at his friend with a bit of a scowl. Wait, pressure? "You mean it only started off as a sort of…pressure?" The blonde blinked.

"Sort of," the dark haired man replied, "It was kinda…like someone was pressing something in my back; along with a weird…prickly sensation."

The Commandant sighed. Leave it to Yuri to hide things from his friends – especially ones that involve his body. Honestly, there are times where the blonde could be frustrated with his friend; always the one to worry about others, and not himself – of course, the blonde is the same in a way. But, still…

"You could have at least told someone about it," he said, frowning a little, "Instead of just…suffering alone."

Yuri adverted his gaze away from his friend. "…It's surprising you know," he said, making a bitter chuckle, "that the Commandant himself is still socializing with a freak."

Flynn recoiled at the word. "You're not a freak-"

"Of course I am!" Yuri nearly shouted, "Just…" he let out a frustrated sigh, "Before all of this, I've thought that I was a human. But now…the wings, the super hearing and sight, along with this weird…mist-y feeling in the air… What the hell am I then…?"

Silence flit by them, neither of them saying a thing for a few moments. Until:

"Well… I do know what you are." When Yuri looked back at him, Flynn said, "You're still my friend Yuri. Even if you just suddenly sprouted wings, you're still my childhood friend; and you're still Yuri Lowell. What you are doesn't make you who are you are."

After a moment, Yuri let out scoff, as if he found it funny. "What is it with you making corny speeches today?"

"Well, at least you still have your sense of humor," Flynn smiled a little, not at all perturbed by the statement. Then he looked at his friend, "But I'm serious about what I said. Even if there's something that all of us didn't know about, even if your body, well, changed, you're still the Yuri I know. And…please, don't forget that."

It was another moment of silence as the two childhood friends stared at each other. Then, Yuri chuckled a little before he smiled softly – a genuine one that he makes for those he trusts and cares about. "Sure, whatever you say Commandant."

At the title, the blonde blushed. "Yuri, please don't call me that. It's…still hard to get used to."

"What, you mean that you're already used to being called 'Captain'?"

"That's not the point."

"So?"

Flynn made an annoyed sound at the back of his throat, closing his eyes so he won't see Yuri's smirk. Then a question popped into his head. "By the way…" He began as he opened his eyes once more, "Are you…able to bring them out?" At Yuri's blink, he clarified, "The wings?"

Then the dark haired male blinked again before he looked over his shoulder. "Uh…I dunno. This is a first for me."

The blonde rubbed his chin a little. "Well…after you passed out, they disintegrated. Maybe they respond to your body in a way?" He guessed.

"Hell if I know," Yuri said, "I'm just glad that I didn't make a scene where I was at. That would've been much, much worse."

Well…yeah that much is true. It would've been a truly awkward scene if there were any witnesses; not to mention disastrous. But still…

A rather strange idea went into his head. "Well…call this crazy, but try to bring them out."

"How?"

"Um…I don't know…maybe, think about it?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Alright." He scooted up a bit so that he could make some room.

A few moments went by after Yuri closed his eyes. At first nothing happened. He opened one of his grey orbs to look at his friend. "Are they out?"

"No. Try to concentrate."

Yuri once again closed his eyes. Not even a moment went by before he suddenly let out a sigh of content before – as bluish-purple feathers appeared from his back – the bluish-purple wings appeared from his back – stretching out a bit as he did with his arms. The blonde couldn't help but be in awe of the lustrous and magnificent appendages.

The dark haired man opened his eyes and noticed the look the blonde was making. He looked over his shoulder to see the wings flapping idly behind him. "Hey, what do you know? It worked," he noted, with the same expression in tone that he used when he found out that his bounty was raised to ten thousand gald.

For some odd reason, seeing the wings gently flapping behind his friend, Flynn had a sudden urge to…

"…Uh…why are you poking them?" He heard Yuri ask, as the blonde is, indeed, poking the wings. To his surprise, they were…solid. His eyes widened in wonder, running his fingers against them, feeling the small feathers.

'How in the world can they be solid?' He thought, looking over the wings, 'They seemed to be made out of Aer.' Somehow, though, Flynn had a feeling that they're made of…something else. What exactly is it, he isn't sure. But maybe he could-

"Whoa!" He let out when the wings suddenly disappeared. And from the grin that Yuri had on his face, the blond had a feeling that the dark haired man had done that on purpose.

"What do you know," he said, "I guess you can put those away the same way you pull them out."

Flynn made a mock glare at his friend. "Very funny," he said dryly. Then he noticed a particular look his friend had made. Flynn immediately frowned.

"No."

"Wha-?"

"No Yuri, you can't try to fly," Flynn said, "And knowing you, you would use those to terrorize the knights."

"What me?" He asked in mock surprised, "Why in the world would I want to do that?" Flynn made a look telling his friend that he's not fooled. "...Okay fine, killjoy. But I will use it to scare the crap out of Leblanc and his cronies."

Flynn shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Hey, it's your choice to hang out with me," Yuri shrugged.

Flynn sighed.

~o~

"NO-!" Was all Yuan could manage – as he ran in with his subordinates – before the group escaped on the Rheairds. He bit back a curse. Dammit! He nearly had Lloyd in his clutches.

But…that's fine. From what he figured, they're probably heading for Tethe'alla to help the now unresponsive blonde chosen.

Though, honestly, the blue-haired half-elf didn't think that they would be able to help her – now that she's in the self-preservation state. He was surprised that she didn't attack the others when they were near her.

As he made his way back to his office, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in a grimace, putting his hand over his injury. Damn, Kratos really got him good that time; it didn't help when Lloyd hit him at the same spot, as well. It was a last ditch effort to kill his friend so that he could unseal Origin – if that boy hadn't warned him-

He shook his head. That was in the past right now. All he could do is focus on the present…

Once he was in the comfort of his own office, he sat in his chair with a sigh. He found his green eyes over at the small photo frame lying face down on the desk. After staring at it a moment longer, he hesitantly reached out to it then gently picked it up. When he saw the picture, he frowned, this time in sadness.

He sighed. 'I'm sorry Sophia…' He thought, placing the photo down in the same position it was, 'It's simply better that...that he shouldn't get involved...'

The ancient warrior covered his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes. How long has it been? 15 years? It…honestly didn't like it. On the other hand, maybe that's what happens when you lived for 4000 years… Lives and time just come and go, and Yuan barely realizes it. Or notice it.

But at the moment, he doesn't care. He had to focus on the now instead of the past.

They had failed to stop the Chosen of Sylvarant from completing the Regeneration Ritual at that infernal tower. He knew that it's completely useless to try to kill her in that state – it might be possible that the girl would be as strong as he. The soldiers would be completely wiped out before they could touch her… Again, it would be foolish to try to cure her-

Wait.

The blue haired half-elf raised his head from his hands. They had stolen the Rheairds…

Then…Then that means… Yes! He knew how to get Lloyd now!

Yuan stood up from his desk and headed to the communications room.

Yes, yes! He would be able to help them with their cause! He thought as he grinned a little.

…Yet, why couldn't he push back the unease that was building inside of him?

Hm…this seems rather short; or rather, it FELT short...but… I think it'll do.

Yeah, I'm trying to focus around different point of views to see how it'll go. I think I've got it down so far.

There are many questions left unanswered: How did Yuri get his wings? Who is Sophia, and what is Yuan's connection to her? I'd love to answer those, but where's the fun if I just spilled the beans?

Again, please tell me if I got their characters right, especially Yuan's. I have to warn you, it's been a while since I've played Tales of Symphonia, so my memory might've been a bit…sketchy.

Um…review?