So incredibly sorry for the delay everybody. But I've finally got it! Hope it doesn't tick anybody off. This one is kinda a short chapter compared to Without the Mask. Speaking of which, the next chapter in that one introduces a character (MU of course) that you haven't had a chance to meet. I didn't put this one in the character list because I didn't think I'd be adding him/ her to the story. He/She will also be in this story but I think I have a long way to get to him/her.

Chapter 9: True Mission

Clef stood in solemn silence, bracing himself against the wind that seemed to be urging him toward the open door. His mind had quieted, almost silenced itself, except for the sporadic indefinite ideas that would dart through, speaking a thousand words in a quick breath.

Umi rounded the corner then bent over and braced her weight on her knees as she panted. Where is he? She stood straight then looked along both sides of the dock. Heh, no way he'd be in that crowd. She looked the other way and let out a long exasperated sigh. "There you are." She didn't need to convince herself that she'd run enough already so her feet set an easy pace. Hopefully he won't sense me until I catch my breath. She smirked, I must be in pitiful shape!

Why did I come here? Clef thought as he closed his eyes. True Zeri's here, but so is her... so is that other man. No doubt she's with him. So why did I come here? It's not like I can get her to change her mind. The look in his eyes as he opened them would have been enough to slice through stone. Did I not persuade myself that he is the better half to make her whole?! His frown deepened. As the Master Mage of Cephiro I have barely the time for friendships... not for love!

Umi sighed as Clef turned to head back into the city streets. There he goes again.

Umi broke into a brisk run to catch up when a blood curdling scream reverberated out of the Alshestare's hull.

"Zeri!" Clef cried then sprinted through the entrance. His mind flashed back to when he had tried to get down the narrow shaft before. The sweeping collar that extended past his shoulders almost caught on the rungs of the ladder. I can't be delayed!

Umi watched Clef dart for the entrance. She ran to the Alshestare, but didn't see him inside. His cloak, headdress, and shoulder collar lie discarded on the floor and his staff slowly sank through the metal grating. Someone was running on the floor below. Umi ran inside, slid down the ladder, and listened for the sound of feet. Another scream blasted through the passage followed by a second outcry then an angry howl. Light flashed from the corridor on Umi's right. What the hell's going on?!

"CLEF! GET OUTTA HERE!" The voice was Zeri's.

Anger boiled in Umi. Now what the hell is she doing to him?! Shielding her eyes, Umi ran for the source of the light. Everything came from a small hatch in the floor: the scream, Zeri's voice, the angry howl, and Clef's growl.

"Cresta!"

"Get out of here!"

"Go Zeri!"

Umi clenched her teeth and fed off of her anger. She cast herself to her knees and turned her face toward the light beneath her. Clef knelt in the center, staff ablaze. Zeri coward behind him, clutching a bleeding arm. The only thing Umi could see was the contrast of Zeri's black hair with the white light.

"Go Zeri!"

"Clef!"

"Idiot!" Umi hissed as she reached down and snagged a fistful of Zeri's hair. Zeri cried out as Umi pulled her up as if her weight was equal to a kitten's. "The man says 'Go!' then you better get!" Umi drug Zeri out then shouted back: "I got her Clef! Get outta there!"

"Umi?!"

Whatever Clef was fighting howled in fury as Clef catapulted himself from the hatch. With a quick wave of his staff the absent grating set itself in place and blocked the blow by the creature below. Clef faltered and collided with the wall, panting heavily. What the hell was that thing?! I've never had that kind of trouble detaining a beast before. That power... this thing is no mere animal. It's a vessel.



"So let me get this straight," Ferio began as he got up from his chair and paced. "You mean the thing that attacked you is Lendogo? Your lover?!"

Zeri, who had been sitting quietly weathering Ferio's anger, nodded solemnly.

"Some love," Umi muttered to herself from the far corner. She had changed into her armor and had her rapier within easy reach.

"He wasn't like that before," Zeri protested.

"Then there's something you're not telling us is there?" Clef asked as calmly as possible. Ferio's attitude seemed to be contagious.

Umi looked at Clef. The spider-bots had carried off his robes, shoulder collar, and headdress so he had on a completely different attire. His headdress consisted of only three lavender jewels on a bed of gold secured by a blue headband. His robes were now black; the sleeves flared and cuffed in navy blue. The rest of his outfit was white and blue. (Picture the OVA outfit.) She thought this outfit looked better. It made his eyes stand out more.

"Yes," Zeri said coldly, "but it's something I'm not about to tell."

"Then you will never leave this room!" Ferio boomed.

"You cannot hold me," Zeri growled.

"No..."

"But I can," Clef said as he stepped up behind Zeri ominously. "Though I will detest every moment of it."

Zeri sighed, defeated. "Very well, what do you want to know?"

Ferio sat down, trying to feign a calm expression on his face. "What sort of creature lurks in the bowls of the Alshestare? Clef and I spoke before you arrived."

Zeri spun in her chair and shot an icy glare at Clef who stared back at her blankly then walked back to the corner. He could feel the sting of her eyes burning into his back.

"Clef described this creature, whom you call Lendogo, as having immense demonic strength. Zeritolokido... where did this creature come from?"

"Firstly," Zeri began as she slowly turned back around in her seat, her eye never leaving Clef until the last moment. "This creature you speak of is nonexistent. Lendogo is a very sick man... physically and sick in love." She sighed, "I met Lendogo seventy five years ago when he was a small child. He looked up to me as a teacher and mentor. I was the only mother figure he had. But then... as the years progressed and he grew into his prime, the look in his eyes changed. I have seen the lust in a few of my crewmen's eyes, but Lendogo seemed to offer something they could never hope to possess; a genuine affection. From the age of thirteen to twenty four, he steadily pried his way into my heart, and I into his. Realizing one night that I was practically immortal due to my heritage, he couldn't bear the thought of leaving me alone for eternity. He came to me and pleaded with me to do something. He threw out random things: "we'll go to an alternate dimension where time stands still." "Whatever change must be done let me do it!" "Make me one of your own." The last suggestion was the only one I thought might be possible. I tried to dissuade him from the process, knowing it would feel like dying hundreds of times by biting knives. He endured it well... until about five years ago..."

Ferio cocked his head in the silence. "Please, don't stop there."

"Now my tale returns to nip at its own tail. To tell you what I believe to be the cause of his new transformation I must ask Clef to do me a favor." She didn't look at Clef after she said it, but Ferio lifted his gaze.

"What?" Clef asked, back still turned.

"I don't think you'll believe my story unless you see it for yourself. I need you to use your magic to let the others in this room see my hell."

"I will believe you Zeri," Clef said. Umi looked at him from the other side of the pillar that separated them. His skin was pale and his eyes were quivering.

"So will I," Umi spoke up. To Ferio: "And besides, you're fairly good at telling when someone's lying aren't you?"

Ferio nodded, "I do seem to have a knack for such a thing."

Umi heard Clef let go of a small, quiet sigh. "Thank you Umi," he whispered in relief.

She smiled, knowing a reply wasn't needed.

"So then," Ferio said seriously. "Continue."

Zeri sighed, "Two hundred years ago, I had been captain of the Alshestare for one hundred thirty nine years but I still didn't have the experience to know when not to answer a distress call. We picked up a lone pilot of a scrapped merchant ship. As soon as the man, called Yarko, laid eyes on me he was immediately wary. He wouldn't allow me to touch him to see to his injured arm. My suspicions took root when I saw he was the only survivor in a crew of twenty and had been picked up off of a deserted planet anyway. But the wintry emptiness in his black eyes confirmed my fears.

"This 'man' best fit the description of a Heldye of ancient folklore." To Clef: "Remember when I told you of the demons of the fifth circle?"

Clef nodded, "The creatures of the fifth circle were the epitome of death and gloom. But that's just legend."

"Did not the legend of your fabled Magic Knights come true?"

Clef bowed his head, "Yes, it did."

"So has ours... and I have the proof."

"Where?" Ferio asked. "Besides the hellish nature of Lendogo, which I still don't see has any connection to this, there is nothing I sense from nearby."

"Lendogo is the reason why I'm here Prince. To save him from the evil breed in me, I have come to find a way to Sesque, from there, to the Temple of the Ardoneh."

"The Ardoneh?" Ferio retorted. "They don't exist."

"No," Clef said gravely as he turned, head down. "They do exist, but their light is nearly impossible to attain."

"Nearly," Zeri emphasized.

"An evil in you?" Ferio leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "As far as I'm concerned you were born with black hair and eyes."

"No," Clef corrected. "Zeri was born pure and untainted. Something happened before she returned."

"Two hundred years ago as I said," Zeri repeated impatiently. "Look... all I need is a map and I'll be out of your hair for good."

"I'm sorry," Ferio said as he shook his head. "I still don't believe it."

"I'm not lying to you am I?"

"For all I know you could have so much practice with the art that even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"Don't you believe what you see?"

"That too can be feigned."

"Really....?" Zeri said as she leaned over the table. She reached up and pulled the hair back from her right eye as she opened it.

!!!PREVIEW!!!

Chapter 10: Switch in the Map Room

He turned to a circular, mirror like device lying flat on his desk. Waving his hand over the reflective surface a silver light shot up then fanned out. "Forgive me for disturbing you so late at night commissioner," Clef began.

A man's voice yawned in reply. "Not at all Guru," he said. "You should know by now we don't sleep here."

"Nevertheless, I'm sure you might have been working on some other project."

"Not really... but the one you requested earlier is ready for testing."

"It'll have to be field testing."

"Oh I don't think it's ready for that yet Guru."

"It'll have to be."



Well, that's that. Plz review and I'll slap up the next chapter as soon as I can get my mind off of Without the Mask.