A/N: The very first bit of this story that I wrote was the scene in Estelle's room. That is where all of this nonsense came from.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.

Flynn sat bolt upright, gasping, fingers curled around the hilt of a sword that wasn't there. He looked around his darkened living room as his breathing calmed. He was on his couch. That was a good sign. He could remember now having let Karol sleep in his bed. When he pinched his arm, it hurt. Even better. He really was awake.

Images from his dreams flooded his mind, one after the other, no matter how hard he tried to dismiss them. They felt incredibly real, but real in the way that news footage was real, something he had watched, but not lived through.

He stood up shakily and fumbled for his phone. He needed to talk to Yuri.

Incredibly, he got through. Yuri didn't normally answer while he was off being secretive, but the call was picked up after the third ring.

"Yuri?"

"Wrong."

The voice on the other end was female, and Flynn nearly dropped the phone. He knew he hadn't misdialed.

"Who is this? Where's Yuri?"

"He's unavailable. Get up to Estelle's penthouse, now. Oh, and we're gonna need Fionn for this—" Her voice became suddenly muffled, as if she'd lowered the phone or turned her face away. "We don't have time for you to insist on trying to protect him! We need someone to fight in Vesperia's place!"

Anxiety twisted Flynn's stomach into knots. Why was this girl who had Yuri's phone talking about one of the people from his dream? Worse, what could have happened to him that would have been terrible enough to keep him from fighting? Flynn could hear the casing of his phone creak under the pressure of his grip. In his mind, he couldn't separate Yuri from the bloodied and dying figure of Vesperia from the end of his dream.

The girl's voice returned, speaking low and in a rush. "We need Fionn, not Flynn. If you can't manage that, then don't bother coming." With that, the call went dead.

There was no conceivable way he could ignore her orders. He was halfway out the door when he remembered that Karol was tucked into his bed and turned back, just long enough to jot down a quick note telling him to stay put. He raced to the elevator bay, jabbing impatiently at the up button until the car with penthouse access opened up for him. He had to buzz Estelle's apartment before the elevator would actually take him up, and he barely resisted pacing during the interminable ride to the top.

On Estelle's floor, the door to her apartment opened before he could knock, revealing the brown-haired girl he'd seen hanging around Yuri and his other new friends. He recognized her from the dream. Her name was Rita.

"Where—?"

"They're in the bedroom. Don't startle Estellise."

Young as she looked, particularly in the bizarre, mismatched outfit she wore, her aquamarine eyes were hard as she stared him down. Flynn heeded her instructions and walked quickly but quietly down the hall to Estelle's room.

The door was standing open, and he paused just inside to take in the scene before him. Stretched out on the bed, dressed in the same black outfit and red scarf he had been wearing when he'd showed up on the fire escape hours ago, was Yuri. He was pale and unnaturally still. He had never been a composed sleeper; dozens of childhood sleepovers were evidence of that. The only time Flynn had ever seen him so motionless in his sleep had been during Yuri's hospital stay after the car accident that had killed his parents.

Someone was kneeling next to the bed, but Flynn barely saw them. He had eyes only for Yuri, and his breath caught in his throat as he willed him to move: to roll over, throw out an arm, take a deep breath—anything! He was so still, so terribly still, and there were splashes of deep, dark red on the sheets around him that Flynn couldn't allow himself to think about. His coat was torn over his stomach, the edges of the fabric sagged, damp and glistening. The smell of blood turned Flynn's stomach and Vesperia's face swam before his eyes, devastatingly similar to Yuri's.

Rita shoved past him into the room, forcing him to brace himself one-handed against the doorframe. It helped ground him in the present, and he swallowed back the memory and his fears as best he could. A flash of green light caught his eye, and he turned to the corner of the room where Rita had taken a seat on the floor, her back to the others. Before her, floating in midair, was a shining display of light shaped into a language Flynn had never seen before, not in his current lifetime, at least. He looked away as some of the words began making sense to him, too overwhelmed already with everything that was happening.

The third person in the room still knelt beside the bed, undisturbed by their presence. Her hands were extended over Yuri and radiating a soft light. He thought at first it was Estelle, but her hair was styled differently, and Estelle wasn't the type to be wearing armor. The longer he looked, however, the more he recognized the girl at the bedside. He knew her, and he stepped forward, one hand outstretched.

"Estellise."

For just a moment, Fionn's memories had overlapped with Flynn's, and he hadn't been sure if he was seeing Estelle the college student or Estellise the princess. He didn't even realize he'd called her by that name until he saw her flinch. She glanced back over her shoulder and offered him a tiny smile that held only an echo of her usual cheerfulness.

"You remember now, don't you?" she asked softly.

As she pulled her hands away from Yuri, the light faded, and his face contorted in pain. Flynn took an involuntary step forward. He still didn't completely understand everything, but he could see that whatever Estelle had been doing had been helping Yuri. He didn't want her stopping even in order to explain, not until Yuri was no longer hurting.

"It's all right, Flynn. I won't leave him injured. You can help."

"I can't." He didn't understand, didn't know how. He couldn't look away from Yuri, from the blood that he suddenly saw everywhere: skin, shirt, bed sheets. When Estelle thrust her hand forward to offer him a small, golden disk, he could see that the blood was on her hands, too, dark and vivid. Hesitantly, he reached out to take the disk. It felt familiar.

"It's your blastia. The cuff Vesperia—Yuri—is wearing is his. They enable us to assume the guises and abilities of our former lives."

He met her eyes. "This will allow me to help Yuri?"

Her smile grew and warmed. "Yes. Put it on and state your title. When you change, there will be a memory—"

Flynn didn't wait for her to finish explaining. He knew where the blastia went, and clipped it over the center of his chest. The title came to him easily, as well. It was something he'd earned through hard work and discipline. Something he'd been proud of beyond measure.

"Bearer of Chivalry, I am Captain Fionn."

"Hey, Captain! I hear you got yourself engaged to my sister."

He turned to see Vesperia approaching down the garden path, sword in hand as always, lips twisted in a smirk.

"Come to offer congratulations?"

Vesperia drew his blade, tossing the sheath carelessly away. "Maybe if you defeat me."

"Seeing as I don't recall ever having lost to you, I'll take that to mean your blessing of the match is assured."

"I wasn't kidding." Raising his sword, he took a step closer.

"You can't honestly want to fight me over this."

Even as he said it, he knew the truth. Vesperia was deadly serious about the duel. It was apparent in the glint in his eyes, in the way he held himself so very still. He always went still just before a match, his composure completely at odds with the whirlwind of force and grace that he became during a fight.

There was nothing for it but to give in and accept the challenge.

He hadn't expected Vesperia to be so against the engagement, but his feelings shone though in the way he fought. He was angry and unsettled, and that translated to aggressive, unfocused attacks. Finding an opening was difficult, not only because he was normally quite skilled, but because once he got started striking out and dealing blows, he didn't let up. It took patience and a careful eye to spot the coming pause, the second Vesperia would need to adjust his grip or shuffle forward. Once that chance presented itself, the match was as good as over.

Stun him, press forward with a flurry of slashes, dodge or block the wild counterattack, keep him unsteady because mobility was one of his greatest strengths, knock him off his feet and….

"It seems I win again." Fionn quickly moved his blade from where it had been aimed over Vesperia's heart and reached down, offering a hand. "Are you all right?"

The smile Vesperia forced onto his face was huge and as false an expression as he'd ever worn. Granted, it wasn't the sort of thing that would be noticeable to anyone who didn't know him well, but after years of friendship and rivalry, to see him make that face while offering congratulations on the engagement was like a slap in the face. Fionn let him walk away after that, too stunned to do anything else.

They never spoke about it. They never had the opportunity.

Estelle was supporting him when he came back to the present. Shaking his head, he backed away.

"I'm sorry. I tried to warn you. The memories can be very strong when we transform." She looked him up and down approvingly. "The uniform still suits you."

He was dressed in blue and white with milky armor over his arms and legs. Eight smaller golden rounds surrounded the blastia on his chest. A scabbard was hung from the wide belt cinched at his waist, and he drew his sword, recognizing the way it fit in his hand and the weight of it as he made a practice swing.

"You won't need that to help Yuri."

The gentle reminder nearly caused him to drop the sword. Yuri was badly injured. How could he have forgotten that?

Focusing once more on his friend, Flynn knelt beside the bed the way Estelle had. He felt a flash of bitterness over Yuri's disapproval and his lies, and he rubbed a hand over his face, trying to distinguish between feelings from that surge of memory and his own real anger over the fact that Yuri had hidden so much from him. Flynn had some answers now, and he would get more soon. First, though, they needed to help Yuri.

Estelle joined him next to the bed. "We're going to cast a healing spell. Hold out your hands over him and repeat after me."

Following her instructions, Flynn soon found the same soothing light coming from him and easing Yuri's pain. Pleased with himself and very much relieved that it was working, he smiled a little, relaxing as Yuri did.

For a few minutes, everything was quiet. Flynn found that continuing the spell took a great deal of his concentration, so he was unable to think back over everything he had learned in such a short time. He watched Yuri, instead, seeing the color come back to his face, hearing his breathing ease and become deeper. Through the magic, he could feel how badly Yuri had been hurt and how much of the damage the spell was reversing. They were almost finished when Estelle spoke up.

"The three of us are finally together again."

There had been something strange in her voice and, when Flynn looked over at her, he saw how her smile trembled. She blinked and a tear escaped, trickling down her cheek. With that, her composure shattered and she curled into herself, crying. Flynn, the healing spell already slipping away from him, pulled her close and held her, knowing that these weren't tears of happiness. Not sure what to say, he simply stroked her hair and let her cling to his tunic.

"'Together again,'" Yuri echoed.

Estelle gasped and looked up at him, wiping her eyes, her smile faltering but genuine.

Wincing, Yuri sat up on the bed, pressing a hand over his ribs. "If you two don't mind postponing the wedding just a little longer, we sort of have a world-devouring monster to deal with."

"It's about time you woke up." Rita dismissed her glowing display with a careless wave as Yuri got to his feet and snatched up a sword lying nearby.

"You try getting shishkabobbed by that thing and see how long it takes you to recover." He shivered and headed for the door.

"Yuri, wait."

Pausing only long enough to help Estelle up, Flynn hurried to keep him from leaving. He'd just been laid out by an awful injury. It was almost unbelievable that he would be on his feet so quickly, never mind trying to run off to save the world. Surprisingly, it wasn't Yuri who objected to being stopped.

"Flynn, he's right. We have to go."

Incredulous, he looked back at Estelle. She was standing beside Rita, more serious than he'd ever seen her. Like Yuri, she held a sword. Flynn had no doubt that she knew how to use it.

"You remember the Adephagos, don't you? You remember what it did to our world. It's come back. We cannot let the past repeat itself. I won't ask you to fight—"

"I'm going."

Yuri laughed, catching Flynn's attention. His eyes glittered, and there was a challenge when he spoke. "You remember how to fight?"

"I won't just sit by while you shoulder this. Either of you," he added, looking back at Estelle.

"Same old Fionn."

"Knock it off, Yuri. It's creepy to hear you call me that."

He'd expected some sort of snarky comeback. Instead, Yuri just stared at him, surprised, then turned away and walked out of the room. Estelle came forward to lay a hand on his arm.

"When we take on these personas, we use their names. It helps if we can put some distance between them and us. For Yuri, especially…."

Though he still didn't like it, he nodded his understanding and let her lead them out to the spacious living room. Floor to ceiling glass windows provided a view of the terrace and the city beyond. Yuri…Vesperia…was already hurrying through the door leading onto the terrace, and Flynn couldn't tell if he was eager to get back to whatever fight had nearly done him in, or eager to get away from the confrontation he had to know was brewing between them. To have been keeping a secret like this, when Flynn should have been involved from the start, when he could have been there to help, maybe to keep Yuri from being so badly injured…!

"What did I miss while I was out?"

He wasn't looking at any of them as they spilled out into the night. Instead, his face was turned up toward the moon and the awful thing that was wrapped around it. Flynn stopped in his tracks, unable to move faced with what he saw in the sky. He knew the nature of the monster engulfing the moon and he feared it. It had no care for life or death, no regard for pain or fear of anything that might be greater than itself. It was nothing but an appetite fit to devour worlds and it had come in search of a feast.

The city hadn't failed to take notice of it, either. How could they? Flynn could hear shouts and screams, horns and sirens. The sudden cacophony of cars colliding reached them, and he saw Yuri flinch. He wanted to go stand by his side, but he couldn't, not after all the lies and not when Yuri was trying so hard to be strong in the face of a foe too horrible to be believed.

The noise of a panicking city rose up and reached them, but remained muffled by distance. Shouting voices were indistinct, unintelligible. The sounds blended into a strange sort of white noise, an aural fog that blanketed the city. Though she spoke softly, Estelle had no trouble making her voice heard.

"Alexei's spell was very complex, and it took Rita time to be able to shut it down. In the meantime, more of the Servants of the Adephagos came through. We fought, but…some of them got loose into the city."

Yuri made a move as if he was going to go running off—and maybe he was, Flynn thought, remembering how he'd leapt so easily from the fire escape—but Rita shoved forward and spoke up.

"Don't even try it, you idiot. Did you really think we'd let them run loose? Judith, Repede, and the old man have been tracking them down ever since we brought you back here. They've all ganged up on the last one."

"All right," there was a cautious optimism in Yuri's voice. "So, what's the bad news?"

Rita's shimmering display appeared suddenly before her, though only Estelle leaned close to look. Flynn didn't like how the symbols kept slipping into recognizable words, and Yuri had eyes only for the creature eclipsing the moon.

"The Adephagos was using the spell Alexei cobbled together as a conduit to get its servants here. Just because it's big, doesn't mean the laws of time and space don't apply. It can't get here immediately, and to do so at all, it's going to need food. It's still partially locked away, and it isn't strong enough to pull itself all the way into our reality just yet. Those things it sent were extensions of itself. They would have gobbled up whatever they could get and returned that energy to the main body."

"Then it's trapped up there?" That was too good to be true.

"Only temporarily. It's going to pull itself out, even if it has to eat the moon to get the power to do so."

"Pretty big jawbreaker," Yuri muttered. He must have been feeling better, to be able to joke.

"It isn't funny, stupid! To stop the Adephagos, we have to shove the ugly thing back into the hole it's trying to crawl out of and close the universe up after it. And to do that…we're going to have to reactivate Alexei's spell."

Yuri whirled on her. "Absolutely not. That spell is what was bringing it through in the first place! It was using Estellise like a battery."

"Don't you think I know that? I've already been through a hundred other ideas! If there was anything else we could do, if I thought I could put together something in time myself—"

"Rita, it's okay." Estelle calmed her with a touch and moved between her and Yuri. "This is the way it has to be. We discussed it while you were unconscious. In order to seal the Adephagos, we need the power of Dein Nomos and a Child of the Full Moon. Alexei's spell was already set up to incorporate both."

"I've been studying it," Rita put in. "I can make it work."

"You want us to patch Estellise back into that thing?"

"I don't want to, but we have no other choice!"

Sick of being left out, Flynn stepped forward. "How dangerous is this?"

Rita eyed him askance and said: "Extremely," at the same time Estelle said: "Not very."

"I think we need to discuss our strategy."

"This is the strategy, Fionn. Just because you were a captain, don't think you can order me around! I'm the mage here, and I'm the one who knows what's going on when it comes to magic. The only way we are going to push that thing out of our world is by recreating the spell that sealed it away in the first place."

He met her stare evenly. "That seal drained Princess Estellise's life energy. It took all she had to complete it."

It was Rita who looked away. "That's why I didn't want her doing it," she muttered.

"It'll be all right," Estelle said. "When we first cast the seal, we were fighting to push the Adephagos entirely out of this world, and it was already strong. It's grown weak over time, and it isn't even fully free. We can do this." She took Rita's hands in hers. "I believe in you. You can make it work. And everyone else will be there to support me."

"I don't have any magic," Yuri said. His hand drifted up over his chest and Flynn saw once again Vesperia sagging, speared by a monster that had snuck up behind Fionn. He clenched his fist as Yuri seemed to realize what he was doing and let his hand fall quickly to his side.

"We'll need you and Judith for defense anyway," Rita said. "Once I get the spell going again, it'll be a two-way conduit. More of those servants might come out. I think we can still seal up the Adephagos if one or two of them are free on this side, but you'll have to protect us and keep them out of the city."

Yuri nodded. His sword rattled a little as he clenched his fist around it.

It was a bad idea. Flynn could feel it in his bones. What was that old saying about the definition of insanity? That it was doing the same thing over and expecting different results. Yuri was still pale. Estelle had just used up who knew how much of her power to heal him, Judith was expected to be the only other backup, and she was apparently already off fighting and wearing down her strength. There was too much that could go wrong.

"I don't think this is—"

He was interrupted by the chime of a phone.

"Hold that thought," Rita said. She checked the text she'd just gotten and sent back a response. "They're finished with it. I told them to meet us at the tower."

"Wait! There must be some other way."

"We're doing this with or without you." Yuri's voice was colder than Flynn had ever heard it, and hard with determination that would not be reasoned with. "Estellise has found the resolve to do what's necessary to protect this world. I plan to stand by her until the end."

"I know you don't like it," Estelle said gently, "but it really is the only way. I'm not asking anything of you that you aren't willing to do."

She stood tall and confidant, her unearthly armor softly gleaming. She was every inch the princess Flynn had seen in his dreams, and he almost lost sight of his friend Estelle beneath it all. He went with them when they went out into the city. What other choice did he have?

On the very top of Zaude Tower, Flynn was politely introduced to Raven and Judith, thinking it a bizarre and almost out of place bit of normality as they shook hands. The moon hung low and heavy above them, as if the weight of the monster curled around it was dragging it closer to Earth.

While Rita began her preparations to activate the spell, Estelle took charge of explaining the plan to Raven and Judith. They both had their doubts. Everyone on that rooftop remembered what had happened last time. Yuri had slipped away from the group. He was kneeling beside one of the building's vents, petting Repede and talking quietly to the dog. He paused every now and again and looked for all the world as if he was actually having a conversation. Maybe he was. Flynn drifted away from the others to join him.

Yuri didn't acknowledge him, but that wasn't much of a surprise. He got moody when he knew he'd been in the wrong. This was probably the worst thing he'd ever done, though. They'd been best friends for as long as Flynn could remember. They were supposed to trust each other. He watched Yuri and Repede as they held their private conversation until he couldn't stand being ignored any longer.

"Can you understand him?"

Yuri met his eyes. He must not have liked what he saw there because he quickly looked away again.

"Sort of. It's easier when I'm like this, but when he wants me to know something, he makes himself clear."

"Is he the one who first told you about the past? You started changing right around the time you adopted him."

"It's…complicated. He made it easier to figure things out."

"Must be nice, having a friend who'll clue you in." Yuri didn't respond, didn't even seem to flinch, though it was difficult to tell with that damned scarf covering half his face. "You must have had a reason. Aren't you even going to try to defend yourself?"

"No." He looked up again, finally willing to face Flynn. "When this fight is over, I'll ask for your forgiveness, but I'm not going to beg. I made my choices. I'll live with the consequences."

"Yuri—!"

"Hey!" Rita waved them over. "Let's get moving! Some of us would like to get to bed before dawn!"

Carefully dusting himself off, Yuri stood up and went to join them, Repede at his side. Flynn let it go, because it wasn't the time to argue. All he had was the hope that the past wouldn't repeat itself and that they'd have another chance.

Rita arranged everyone with brusque commands. She, Raven, and Flynn were stationed around the antenna that rose from the roof. The men were directly across from each other. Dein Nomos was opposite Rita, standing straight up where its point had been sunk into the concrete. Estelle stood at the base of the antenna. She looked calm, but her hands were clasped tightly over her chest. Yuri, Repede, and Judith were instructed to keep well back.

"All right, listen. Here's how it's going to work: I'm going to activate Alexei's spell, and it's going to recognize the four of us and Dein Nomos. We'll be locked into the working. We need to pull power from the sword and feed it slowly to Estellise. Her job is to use all that magic to force the Adephagos back through the rift and seal it off. You three stay back until things start coming through the conduit. At that point, you won't be able to disrupt the spell, anyway. Keep in mind, we can't keep this going for long or it'll take too big a toll on Estellise. Understood?"

"How big a toll?" Flynn asked.

Rita glared. "Do you know what the difference is between magic and life energy?"

"No."

"Neither does the spell, after a point. We just have to be quick, and everything will be fine. Everybody ready?"

She waited a moment, maybe hoping that someone would have come up with an alternative, then slashed her hand over her display and the rooftop around the antenna was suddenly awash with bright, red light. The force of the sudden flare of magic was enough to send Flynn's cape flapping out as if caught by a strong breeze. He could feel the power surging around him, seeping through his skin, slipping in with every breath he took. It filled him up until he burned with it. He had to do something with it before it blew him apart.

"Pass it on to Estellise, you idiot!" Rita's hands flew furiously over her display. "I'm trying to moderate how much is pulled from Dein Nomos, but it won't do any good if you don't let go!"

He looked to Estelle and saw her reaching toward the heaven amid a blinding pillar of light. Reaching out to her, he could feel the magic building within himself straining, spilling down his arm. She was drawing it all to her, and all he had to do was channel the energy, let it eke away some of his own to make it easier on her.

Flynn stopped fighting against the intrusion of the spell, and the magic leapt from him. Estelle couldn't quite hold back a small scream as it hit her, but she never wavered. She gathered everything coming her way and sent it straight up and slowly, a tentacle as big as a mountain range let go its hold on the moon and disappeared back into the void it had emerged from.

Repede barked a warning of things to come, and Vesperia spotted the servant of the Adephagos as it forced its way through the pillar of magic. He took a deep breath, grinning unpleasantly at the little shocks of pain remaining from his last encounter with the things. He wasn't going to fall for that trick again.

The monster slipped entirely out of the magic and skimmed down the side of the pillar. Vesperia rushed forward to meet it, determined not to let it harm one hair on Estellise's head, but it didn't seem to notice her at all. Maybe she was of no interest while imbedded in the spell. Either way, it went straight for Vesperia and was met with an unpleasant surprise.

"Pyre Havoc!"

Fire sprang forth, blazing along his sword and leaving trails in the air as he attacked. The ghostly creature reared and was knocked back, leaving itself exposed. Vesperia sliced it to ribbons, beginning with the tail, too quick for it to pull itself together again before he thrust his sword up into the strange core in its body. It shuddered as it faded away, but made no sound, and he smiled grimly as he stood up.

"That's the best place to hit them," Judith called. She had her eye on another one that was starting its descent. "Rita thinks it's what connects them to the Adephagos." She launched herself into the air, power gathering around her spear. Her target never made it anywhere near the roof. Her landing was perfectly graceful, and she took a little bow as Vesperia clapped.

"I'd tip my hat to you if I still had it."

"We'll check the fairgrounds when we're done here."

Growling, Repede charged around to the other side of the antenna. One of the servants had slipped out where they couldn't see it. Good thing Repede's senses were stronger than theirs. Vesperia and Judith traded looks as more and more dark forms budded from the pillar of magic.

"Guess it's not the time to be playing around," she said with a smile.

"Bet I get more of them than you."

"You're on."

He lost count after the fourth one. They were coming through too quickly to concentrate on anything aside from hacking them to pieces and dodging strikes. Something about the spell seemed to be shielding the others, but every now and again, one of the servants would notice that there were a handful of defenseless targets, and then Vesperia would have to race to finish off the monster he was fighting or even simply run away to protect his friends. He wasn't used to splitting his focus that way. Everyone had always been able to manage perfectly well on their own when they could fight, but now that they had a job to do, Vesperia couldn't only focus on the opponent in front of him. He took hits from attacks that should have missed him by a mile because he kept looking over his shoulder. Having started off still recovering from an injury that probably should have killed him, the fight began to take its toll on him much sooner than usual. He was tapping into reserves he didn't know he had, forcing himself to keep going because he couldn't save the world from what Alexei had unleashed. All he could do was protect those who could.

Azure Edge, Wolf Strike, Frigid Blast…he used every arte he knew and still the Adephagos sent its servants through in a desperate attempt to gather the strength it needed to fight back. Vesperia only knew the spell was working by Rita's shouted encouragements. He felt as if weights had been strapped to his arms and legs. Blood flowed freely over and between his fingers, visible in the rips in his gloves from where he'd punched through core after core. He couldn't guess at how many of the things he'd destroyed with fist or sword or the heel of his boot and still he kept fighting. He pressed himself, sought for that bottomless well of energy that fueled Vesperia, and fought on out of sheer stubbornness when he found that the persona he wore had nothing else to give. The world was reduced to the monsters and the unconditional need to wipe them all out of existence.

Rita's voice broke through the trance he was falling into, and the dismay there pulled his attention back to the spell circle. He cursed himself, nearly tripping over his own two feet in his rush to turn, to get back to the others who had been relying on him for protection. He stumbled, counting his friends, searching for the cause of Rita's alarm and seeing nothing wrong with any of them. Then, he looked up.

Up close, its flesh was the dark red of drying blood, smoky and translucent and utterly, horribly alien. It was something that had no place in a safe, sane world. It was a nightmare created to devour all the good dreams and, after that, all the dreamers. The Adephagos wasn't going back into its prison without a fight. It had forced a piece of itself through the conduit.

"We have to get rid of it!" Rita screamed. "Estellise can't complete the seal with part of it still out here!"

Judith was in the air in the space of a thought, her spear a blur of cold steel and crackling energies. It passed through the Adephagos' flesh as if it was no more than air, and did just as much damage. The tentacle pushed a little further through and Estellise crumpled to her knees.

"Please…hurry…!" Sweat poured down her face and her arms were shaking uncontrollably.

While Repede did his best to keep the servants at bay, Vesperia and Judith concentrated as much of their attacks as they could on the Adephagos. Hits from their weapons did no good at all, and the energy of their artes only barely made it flinch. Working together, they were able to hold it at bay, but they weren't gaining any ground. They were tiny things compared to the vastness of the Adephagos, and they were worn down. One final attack had them at their limit. Judith was down on one knee. Vesperia had to use his sword as a prop to stay on his feet.

"Not sure we're…strong enough…to beat this thing." Judith was gasping for breath, glaring defiance at the undulating mass of flesh.

"Can't let it end here. Can you handle the small fry? Gonna hit it with everything I've got."

She nodded and drew a deep, steadying breath. When she stood, she swayed a little, but Judith was a warrior to the bone, and she strode toward the remaining servants like crushing them beneath her heels would be the easiest thing in the world.

Vesperia rested a hand over his blastia. If magic and life energy weren't that different, than artes couldn't be far behind. He had plenty of energy to feed into one last arte, something he'd learned with Fionn in that last year they'd had together. They'd never thought that they would need something so strong, but that had been before the Adephagos had suddenly appeared to devour their world. It hadn't done much good back then, but perhaps now the scales were tipped just far enough in their favor to make a difference.

"Vesperia!"

Hearing that name from the last person he'd expected, his head shot up, eyes drawn directly to meet Fionn's gaze. He really was Fionn now, every inch the proud captain of the Lunar Empire, and he smiled at Vesperia with eyes like a sunny summer sky.

"I know that look in your eyes. Do you really think I'd let you have all the fun?"

"You have to maintain the spell. Keep feeding her the power. She'll need it as soon as I push this greedy bastard back through."

"Let me help you. Even if you say no, I'm going to do it, anyway."

Vesperia couldn't help smiling. "Never could win against you."

Raising his sword, he watched as Fionn did the same and he put his faith in his oldest friend. Fionn could do anything. With a shout, they slammed their swords point first into the roof.

A second spell circle materialized immediately, lines drawn from their focused energies. It spread to cover the roof, and the servants fell back, weakened just by the strength of will powering the arte. They struck in concert, slashing at the Adephagos from two different directions and it writhed as it finally felt whatever passed for pain in its terrible alien flesh. All of a sudden, Fionn was at his side, the other half that Vesperia so desperately missed. They held their blades out, pointing straight ahead as magic flowed into them, called forth from the workings they stood upon and from their own determination to put an end to this threat to the world. Vesperia called up everything he had, everything he was. If this failed, they wouldn't get a second chance. He didn't even have to look to know when Fionn was ready. Acting as one, they unleashed all the force stored within them, a tempest of rage and righteousness that swept forth in a blaze like a shooting star.

The Adephagos didn't stand a chance against such an attack. It was forced back through the conduit, and Estellise screamed, drawing on power freely offered up by everyone present. Raven and Judith, Rita and Fionn, and lastly Vesperia and his sister Estellise: all of those lingering ghosts let go at last to drive away the evil that had once cost them everything. That ancient entity was chased back into the dark and sealed away, far from the life it craved so badly.

With the Adephagos gone, its servants crumbled to dust and faded away. The magic of the circles dimmed and died. Dein Nomos lay in pieces, shattered, its magic entirely depleted by the working. Yuri dropped to his knees and saw the others sag as well, drained and exhausted, back to their normal, everyday selves, but victorious and alive. He smiled, and laughed weakly. Repede padded over and flopped down next to him, licking feebly at his fingers as Yuri ruffled his fur.

The moon beamed serenely down upon them, and if there were a few new trenches dug into its surface, that was a matter for other people and another day. It hung full and bright in the sky, finally at rest. Gazing up at it, Yuri realized that the mercurial presence of Vesperia that had sat heavy in the back of his mind for months was gone. All that remained were a few faded memories from a life he hadn't lived. He was wholly himself once again, and it felt good.

"We did it," he murmured. "Flynn, we—"

The smile faded from his face as he saw Flynn hurrying to Estelle's side. He watched them kneeling there together, worn out and shaking so badly that Estelle could barely get a grip on his sleeve. He had to look away before the bitterness welling up in his throat choked him.

Somehow, they made it back through the city without attracting any of the sort of official attention they'd been lucky enough to avoid over the past several weeks. They didn't talk on the way back, either too busy mulling over their own thoughts, or worried that they would be overheard. Though Estelle was walking at his side and was likely a much more ready source of answers, Flynn found his attention drawn to Yuri's presence trailing a few steps behind them. Ears straining for the sound of his footsteps, he had to continually quash the urge to look over his shoulder and make sure Yuri was still there. He should have been angry at him. He had a right to be, after everything he'd been hiding, after he'd jumped off the fire escape like he had. He wasn't, though, at least not right then. Flynn had gotten a glimpse of Yuri's face as they were leaving Zaude Tower, and he was a little afraid that if he looked back, Yuri would still be wearing that expression. He hadn't looked like someone who had just helped to save the world—almost the opposite. He'd looked defeated.

Their footsteps echoed loudly in the front entrance of the apartment building and they filed into the elevator, three humans and a dog, silent and tired. Estelle pressed the button for her floor and turned the little key that granted her access. Having long before noticed that Yuri saw Estelle home on the nights they came back late, Flynn was surprised when he hit the button for the eleventh floor.

"I need to check on Karol," he said quietly. His words hung awkwardly in the air, garnering no response.

There was a soft 'ping' when the doors opened up to let him out. Estelle caught him by the arm and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you."

A weary smile tugged briefly at the corners of Yuri's mouth before he stepped out, Repede close behind. He had a spare key to see himself in, and Flynn left them to it as he escorted Estelle home.

"You must have a lot of questions," she said, softly.

He smiled despite himself. "That's an understatement."

"I know it's late, but if you'd like to come in—"

"Thank you, but I think all of us could use a good night's sleep. Are you free for lunch tomorrow, though?"

"Of course."

The elevator pinged again, and he walked her to her door. Pausing with one foot inside, she looked up at him.

"Flynn…please don't be angry with Yuri. It was my decision not to tell you."

Somehow, he doubted that. He wished her good night without arguing the point and rode back down to his floor. Yuri hadn't bothered locking the door behind himself, and Flynn found him standing beside the bed, looking down at a sleeping Karol. Repede was stretched out at the foot of the bed, and he yawned as Flynn stepped into the doorway. The note from earlier was still exactly where he had left it. It seemed like Karol had slept through everything.

"You can stay over tonight," Flynn found himself saying. "If you don't want to wake him."

"Thanks."

The flat tone of Yuri's voice didn't sound right. Carefully, he climbed onto the bed, not even bothering to slide under the sheets as he curled up next to his little brother. As he turned to leave, Flynn paused in the doorway and looked back at Yuri's still, dark form. He kept watch there for a long time, until he was certain Yuri had drifted off, before quietly making his way to the couch to try to get some sleep.