A/N: Here is Chapter 9!

Chapter 9: Aurica and Curses: The Zodiac Curse

'Am…I dead? Have I reached Heaven…?'

Aurica slowly opened her eyes. She looked down and saw that her lips are touching Lyner's! She got up, her face red as a tomato. She looked around, they were on a airship.

"We… were saved?" Aurica gasped. Lyner got up and looked around. "Looks like it." Lyner sighed in relief. "That was close." A familiar voice said. "You can pay me back with a month's supply of Dokkoi Sets." Lyner immediately recognized that voice. "Krusche!" Lyner shouted happily. "I knew something bad was gonna happen when I saw Tenba arguing with the Church, so I followed you. Heh, I didn't expect to perform a miracle. And I saw you and that girl kissing." Krusche grinned. "W-What?!" Lyner gawked as his eyes turned white dotted. Aurica looked down in embarrassment. "Well uh, thanks. I thought we were gonna die." Lyner smiled. "Well, there is a slight problem." Krusche frowned. "What is it?" Lyner asked. "I can't control the ship." Krusche replied. Cue record scratch. "…What?" Lyner gawked. Aurica was silent. "So, we might go to heaven after all." Krusche stated grimly. Lyner was silent. "Hang on to something, Aurica!" Lyner panicked.

Krusche's airship crashed landed on a nearby area.

The three members of the party stared at the crashed airship. "…I'm sorry…" Lyner apologized. Krusche turned to Lyner with a smile. "Don't be. I made this decision on my own. What matters most that we're all ok. That's a miracle to me." She stated. "…You're right. Aurica… are you okay?" Lyner asked in concern. "…I'm alright." Aurica sighed. Krusche took a good look at Aurica. "Misha, you grew tits!" Krusche smirked. "…Wow, you're mean." Lyner sweat dropped. "I know. I blame it on my dark sense of humor. So you're a pretty wild guy aren't you? You changed Reyvateils like I changed… well, forget it. ..Shame on you." Krusche shook her head. "First of all, eww! And second, it's not like that at all!" Lyner protested. "I don't know… I heard stories…." Krusche smirked. "Okay, that's enough. So where are we?" Lyner asked. "Falcon's Claw. It's a floating dragon's nest that's isolated from the Wings of Horus." Krusche explained. "So… what do we do now?" Lyner asked. "We might as well look around. Who knows what will happen." Krusche suggested. Lyner nodded and turned to Aurica. "Aurica, who knows what will happen, so I need to rely on you for Song Magic." He said. "Um… right." Aurica said uneasily. The three began walking.

(Meanwhile… in another world…)

The Sohma family and Tohru Honda was enjoying their vacation at the Sohma beach home. Tohru was playing volleyball with Kyo and Yuki. Kagura was spying on Kyo with a drool on her face. And the rest of the Sohma family were doing things like watching T.V. And Shigure writing his stories. (In this story, Akito is female. Like in the manga. )

Yuki was about to hit the ball till he felt something.

"Oi! Damn rat, what's wrong?" Kyo asked in annoyance.

"I feel something… Something powerful." Yuki stated.

"Huh?" Tohru blinked. Suddenly, a white light covered the area and the Sohma Family and Tohru were gone!

(Back in the Ar Tonelico world…)

"Lyner…" Aurica began. "What is it, Aurica?" Lyner asked. "…Thank you for saving my life when Bourd pushed me off the airship." Aurica smiled a little. "You're welcome. If Krusche haven't come, we would have met a early end." Lyner smiled. Suddenly, a white light appeared.

"Could this be a dimensional gate opening?!" Lyner gasped. "A what?" Aurica blinked. After the white light cleared, the Sohma family and Tohru appeared in front of the three party members.

"Holy…" Krusche gasped. "Oi! Where the hell are we?" Kyo demanded. "Um… hi." Lyner waved nervously. Aurica hid behind Lyner while Tohru looked at Lyner with a cheerful smile. "Hello! What's your name?" Tohru asked nicely. "Tohru, what the hell? You don't even know him!" Kyo frowned, earning him a whack on the head by Yuki. "Stupid cat, he may know why we ended up here." Yuki stated. "Um… Let's not start a fight here. My name is Lyner Barsett." Lyner introduced himself.

"Name's Krusche Elemia." Krusche smiled. "Um… my name is Aurica Nestmile." Aurica introduced herself shyly. 'Wow… she is shy. I wonder why she is so gloomy.' Hatori thought to himself. "My name is Tohru Honda. It's so nice to meet you, Lyner, Krusche and Aurica." Tohru closed her eyes and smiled. "Name's Kyo Sohma…" Kyo glared suspiciously at Lyner and his two woman party. "My name is Yuki Sohma. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Barsett, Miss Elendia and Miss Nestmile." Yuki bowed politely. "I'm Shigure Sohma, and I'm glad to be with fine ladies like you." Shigure smiled charmed. 'Pervert.' Kyo and Yuki thought themselves annoyed. "I'm Kagura Sohma, Kyo-kun's future wife!" Kagura squealed as she grabbed Kyo and swing him around. 'That girl scares me…' Aurica gulped. "My name is Momiji Sohma. Nice to meet you!" Momiji beamed. "I'm Hatori Sohma, the doctor of this family." Hatori smiled warmly. "Yo what's up? Name's Hatsuharu Sohma." Hatsuharu showed a cheesy grin. "My name is Ayame Sohma, Little Yuki's big brother." Ayame smirked at Yuki twitching at him. "Name's Hiro Sohma." Hiro introduced himself. "Kisa Sohma." Kisa introduced herself shyly. "Ristu Sohma." Ristu bowed politely. "Isuzu, but call me Rin." Rin put her hands on her hips. "Kureno Sohma." Kureno introduced himself. "And I am Akito Sohma… Boy, you and your two girlfriends better not butt in our secrets or else… you won't remember us." Akito warned dangerously and coldly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Krusche frowned, she doesn't like this woman already.

"So how did you get here?" Lyner asked. "Um… well, we were vacationing till a bright light engulfed us and next thing we know, we ended up here." Tohru explained. "I see… You and your family are in another world." Lyner explained. "Another… world?" Kisa blinked. "I see… that explains the energy surge I felt." Yuki nodded in agreement. "Hey, why don't you come with us? We can use some company." Krusche offered. After the Sohma family debated for 12 minutes with some persuasion from Tohru. They agreed and joined Lyner's party.

The walk lasted for 10 minutes. Soon, Lyner and his party came across some ruins. Krusche noticed it. "Guys! Look over there!" The party looked at the ruin. "It's some kinda ruin. Let's check it out." Krusche suggested. "Waste of time…" Akito growled. "Yeah, I ain't going into some ruins. Who knows what lies in there!" Kyo agreed with Akito for once. "Don't be a wuss! How about a hug from someone who acts like a mother figure like me to change your mind?" Krusche begin to hug Kyo. Kyo panicked. "Wait, no, stop!" 'Oh no!' Tohru gasped. It was too late! As soon as Krusche hugged Kyo… Poof! Krusche blinked as she saw Kyo vanish in thin air. Then something came out of Kyo's clothes. It was a cat. "What… the… crap?" Krusche muttered. "Look what you did!" Kyo's voice came out of the cat, correction, it was Kyo as a cat. "Did that cat… just talk?" Aurica gasped. Akito turned to Lyner and his party with a cold glare. "This is why you shouldn't butt in on people's secrets. Hatori… prepare to erase their memories of us!" Akito ordered. "But…" Hatori began. "Have you forgotten I am the god of the Sohma family? Do it now!" Akito snapped. "Erase our memories?! We can't let you do that!" Lyner gritted his teeth in anger. "Wait Akito! Please don't. Sure they know your family's secret. But we're in another world! So they won't tell anyone!" Tohru pleaded. "Yeah. Your secret's safe with us!" Krusche agreed with Tohru. Akito was silent for 1 minute then she muttered "Fine…" "Phew…" Lyner sighed in relief. "So how did Kyo turned into a cat?" Aurica wondered. "Let me explain. A long time ago in our world, the Sohma family was cursed and were possessed by the animals of the Zodiac, including the cat. When a family member is hugged by the opposite sex or has too much stress, they turned into the animal that possessed them. It wears off for awhile. But when they reverted back to human form…" Shigure stated as another poof appeared and they saw Kyo again, but he was… "They turn back into their human forms naked?!" Lyner gawked and sweat dropped. "Eww!" Krusche covered her eyes. "Well get used to it." Kyo grumbled as he put on his clothes. "Anyway… We're not going in there to fool around, we might find a way out of here." Krusche pointed out. "I could have thought of that." Kyo sweat dropped. "Stupid cat…" Yuki muttered. "Well sitting around here won't help. Let's go explore it." Krusche suggested. "…Alright, let's go." Lyner agreed.

The party explored the ruins. Lyner got some new items and Grathmelding Recipe Cards. Eventually, they came across a statue of a woman. "Ohlalala! I think I'm in love!" Shigure has hearts in his eyes as the party stared at the statue. "So what's this statue of?" Lyner asked. Aurica stared at the statue. "I'll go check it out." Krusche volunteered as she walked up to it and inspected it. Aurica turned to Lyner. "It's… a statue of the Goddess Tyria…" Aurica explained. "Who's that?" Tohru asked. "She's the Goddess we worship at our church. Long ago, she supported humans and helped keep the world peaceful. In addition to Goddess Tyria, there are Goddesses Eoria and Goddess Frelia. Together, they are the Trio of Elemia. They aren't just a myth, they really do exist." Aurica stated. "Goddess Tyria…" Lyner whispered. Krusche turned to the party with a frown. "I didn't find anything." Krusche stated. "Crap…" Lyner sighed. "Up ahead is a dead end. We won't find anything there." Lyner said. "Well, this bites." Kyo frowned.

The party were outside the ruins. "Damnit… there's no way off this island." Lyner frowned. "Let's get some rest. I'm beat." Krusche suggested.

The party build a fire. "Maybe we can gather wood to make a signal fire. Someone might see it." Hatori suggested. "…Sounds like a long shot." Lyner agreed. Aurica look down to the ground. "Aurica, I'm sorry I got you involved in this." Lyner apologized. Aurica looked up. "It's all my fault. Misha and I shouldn't have been on the Church's airship." Lyner said sadly. But it's not your fault, Lyner. I wasn't fast enough… that's why he caught me…" Aurica said sadly also. "That's not true. He could've grabbed anyone if he want to." Lyner assured her. "…You really think so?" Aurica asked. "Aurica, where are you from?" Lyner asked. Aurica gasped and was silent for 30 seconds. "…Sorry, you don't have to tell me if you want to." Lyner chuckled a little. "But we're interested in where you're from!" Momiji pleaded. "I'm… going to get some fresh air…" "Alright, but don't wander too far." Lyner told her as Aurica got up and left for some fresh air.

"She's the total opposite of Misha." Krusche stated. "We can tell. She's trying to avoid people." Yuki nodded in agreement. "Well, that part's obvious." Krusche agreed. "I wonder why?" Lyner put his hand on his chin. Krusche was silent for 15 seconds. "I been meaning to tell you… You're really friendly to Reyvateils, you know that?" Krusche asked. "What? Really?! …I thought I was just treating them normally." Lyner scratched the back of his head. "No, there is really something different about you. I trust you, so I'll let you in my secret… Lyner… I'm a Reyvateil too." Krusche said. "Huh?!" Lyner, Kyo and Hatsuharu gawked. "…Just kidding!" Krusche grinned, Lyner, Kyo and Hatsuharu sweat dropped. "That's not funny!" Lyner growled. "…Sorry." Krusche apologized. "I thought you will be nice to me if I told you I was a Reyvateil. I didn't mean anything by it. Don't take it seriously. You shouldn't tease girls. Otherwise, you'll end up having to pay a million leaf to a girl who thought you really love her." Krusche advised. "Bah…" Lyner sighed. "Oh I'm sorry. I forgot. I'm just a Melder who specialized in airships." Krusche frowned. "That's not true. But, you can fix my airship, right?" Lyner asked hopefully. "Sure, if we get the hell outta here. We have to figure out how to do it, first." Krusche nodded. "…Right." Lyner realized something. "Oh yeah. There's something I been meaning to ask you… Is there an airship I can use to get to Platina?" Lyner asked. "Screw that! If you try to fly up there, your ship will be destroyed by sparks from the Blastline." Krusche protested. "…That's what I figured." Lyner sighed. "But my dream is to build a airship strong enough to go through the Blastline. I'll get past the Blastline and out of this world someday. …Just like Luke did… a long time ago…" Krusche stared at the sky. "So who is Luke?" Kagura asked, the party notices Aurica coming back. She stared at the party. "Whew, I think we got enough rest. C'mon let's go."

The party went south. Suddenly, Lyner noticed some familiar faces. "??! Zoey?! Bridget?! Renee?!" Lyner gasped. "Lyner!" The three girls shouted happily as they ran up to them with some Church knights. "What are you three doing here? Did… you come here to rescue us?!" Lyner gasped. Then Radolf appeared. "Lyner! Thank the Trio of Elemia you and Aurica are alright!" Radolf sighed in relief. "We thought you were goners. But thanks to Zoey and her friends, they know where you are. I don't know how, but when I saw your crashed airship. They were right!" "Thanks Zoey! I owe you big time!" Lyner smiled. "Aw it was nothing." Zoey rubbed the back of her head and smiled. "Come on, let's go." Radolf said. The party headed back to the Church airship.

Lyner, Aurica, Krusche, Tohru and the Sohma family are saved! Next stop, Nemo!

TBC

Next time: Dive Lyner Dive! 2: Aurica Level 1

Me: Next time, Lyner, Zoey and her friends and the Elric Brothers will dive into Aurica's Cosmosphere after meeting Bishop Falss and seeing Claire, so stay… (Gets whacked in the head by Don Leon.) Ow!

Don Leon: Scoundrel! That's for putting Aurica in danger with a cliff hanger ending last chapter!

Me: But who could have… (Sees Lyner walking slowly away.) LYNER!!! (Gets out Excalibur from Final Fantasy 1)

Lyner: Crap! See you next time! (Runs away with me chasing him)