Well, it's been a long time, but I'm finally back. :D Wow; so much happened since I last updated this story (it's been over four months, after all)... Too much to mention all of it. :P I already did this in my recent story Fragments, but I guess the biggest thing for me to mention (or at least the only one I can think of) right now is this: I have a new poll on my profile, one that decides which of my stories will be updated/uploaded next. After this chapter of Blue Dragon Beyond has been uploaded, I'll be clearing the current results, so if you already have, please remember to vote again. Ah, and if you haven't voted yet, you'll probably want to, at least if there's a story you want me to update/upload. :P So, with that, I think it's an appropriate time for the review replies. ;)

Growlmon1: I had a similar reaction when I updated (then and now). XD Thank you; I'm glad you liked it. :) I know; I felt so bad for her when I wrote that. :( Ah, really? XD I wanted to bring her in, but I couldn't figure out where... I ended up having her show up there, because her arrival didn't really fit anywhere else. Thanks again. :D I'm sorry for the incredibly long wait, but it's finally here.

WindGoddess Rune: Yep! :D Finally, huh? XD It is. :) Sorry for the wait, but here's the next chapter. :D

Ultimashadow: Thanks! :D I agree with both you and Shu on that one. Still? I thought her going through that would've explained it for sure... You do know what it is that Kluke's going through, right? ;) But... I consider that OOC, so if what she's going through isn't a good reason for her behavior, let me know; I'll have to go back and edit it. Ah... Her being "soft" is the very reason I prefer the Game Kluke to the Anime Kluke. ;P (Kluke: I guess I'm not really offended...*sigh* I suppose that men just don't understand...) (Some do.) Yes, I did. :) *flails* A-ah, Ultimashadow, get up; you're embarrassing me! *calms, but blushing* Thanks, though; I'll do my best. :)

Prince of Tennis' Shaman: Don't forget your studies, An, but all the same, I'm glad you're here. XD (Jiro: You're a bad example.) (I-I'm trying not to be!) Alright... Ah, all in good time. All in good time... XD (Jiro: It's not funny...) O-oh, r-right, a-about that... I know - if things had happened differently, I think they probably would've been very similar people. I love Jiro in both the game and anime, too (Game Jiro just that bit more; the Anime Jiro only ended up as my third favorite because of Bouquet and Shu, but I forgot that those two were supposed to be tied, so he's actually kind of second... I should go fix that...). Me too. :( I, um, actually should have said more concerning the Anime Jiro... But I had been just a bit miffed by a certain sentence, so I thought it would be better if only Jiro replied. *looks away in shame* Ah, it is. :) Yes... *blushes lightly* I had wondered briefly if it was possible that Kluke hadn't gotten hers yet... But I figured by 14, she probably had. ;P And going by what the game says, it's almost certain that she has it (I'm pretty sure most girls have theirs at 16-years-old). Yes, it's an important thing to know about. Yep, certainly a good time. XD Yes. *nods sagely* Yeah... :( Thank you. :) That's good; all of the stuff I was hoping it would be. ;) I wanted to unveil Bouquet's history, but I didn't know the proper place... I was originally going to go with a flashback, but I thought that Bouquet telling the story herself would work better. I'm sorry the wait for the next chapter took so long; it's finally here, though. :D Ah, I know the feeling all too well (very especially with math). XP (Jiro: ... Very especially?) (J-just go with it.) (Jiro: I understand now why people jump from high things...) Yep, there's definitely a bit of jealousy (on Kluke's part, for a change). XD (Kluke: *blushing* Wh-who's jealous?!) Just that first time with Shu, though - despite her slightly rushed explanation, Kluke was genuinely angry at Nene even though she was looking at Bouquet. Kluke has a lot of sympathy towards Bouquet because of what happened to both of their families... Because of that, even if Kluke ends up getting more jealous of Bouquet in the future (it's certainly possible XD), their relationship will probably never be as hostile as it is in the anime. In fact, there's a good chance they'll become close friends. :) Still, the plot is young; anything can happen, so we'll see. ;) Ah... I see someone hasn't been reading my author notes. XD But, here are the ages for the current main group: Shu is 12, Jiro and Kluke are 14, Marumaro and Bouquet are 11, and Zola is 20. For the rest of the ages, just refer back to chapter 1's lower author note. :) Thank you - I'm not really sure if you meant Jiro and Kluke towards Shu, or Jiro's mother towards Jiro near the end, but that was what I wanted to emphasize in both of those scenes (you found one of my parallels! :D), so I'm very happy I managed to do that (no matter which scene it was that you meant). :) I'm sorry for the wait, but at long last, the new chapter is here! :D

And review replies are done! :D ... God, I missed writing this story so much. So, so much. But, I finally got to write it again... And it was so much fun. XD Also, two things have come to my attention. One: My underline hasn't been working for some reason (why didn't anyone tell me?). So, I'll be limiting my use of the underline... Two: Ultimashadow has alerted me to the fact that in the last two chapters, Kluke has been acting like the Anime Kluke. If you think so as well, please let me know - I consider that to be out of character, and if that's the case, I want to correct it as quickly as possible. And there's just one note that I have to leave:

Note: From this point on, thoughts are in italics without quotation marks. Sometimes whole sentences need italics for emphasis, so I'm going to stop using quotation marks during thoughts. That's going to be the case with most, if not all, of my stories.

And I think that's all I need to mention. So, here I present to you the long-awaited next chapter of Blue Dragon Beyond - read on! ;D

Chapter 13: Oikakeru (Chase)

"So where exactly is Nene's location, Zola?" Kluke asked after they had been going for a little while.

"Not that far from the Ancient Sphere's explosion point. A few miles northeast, to be exact. With the mechat, though, miles don't make much difference."

"Don't worry about it," Shu's tone was nonchalant. He did that mostly for Kluke's sake, because he was boiling inside because of what happened to both her and Bouquet. When he got his hands on Nene... "When we get close enough to him, I'll see him on the radar."

As Shu, Kluke and Zola continued to talk at the front of the ship, Marumaro noticed Jiro looking around nervously. "What's wrong, Jiro?"

"Bouquet's gone."

Marumaro shrugged. "She's probably down in the cabin."

"I'm going to go check on her," Jiro stepped away from the turret gun, then pointed to it. "Watch that for me. But don't fire it!"

He sighed. "Maro only did that one time."

"And I'd like to keep it at one time. If something happens, don't do anything but call me." With that, Jiro headed towards the ladder.

Both of her hands pressed against the window as she looked out of it, sitting sideways in her chair. Flying like this... It was just so amazing... She was actually hundreds of feet above ground... The whole experience felt extraordinary.

"Bouquet?" She jumped upon hearing his voice. "Why are you down here by yourself?"

"Oh... I just needed to think a few things through." She had been able to take her mind off of her worries when looking outside, but that had kind of brought it all crashing back.

"Want some company?"

She blinked, and then a small smile lit up her face. "Sure."

Jiro sat down in the seat next to her. "So, what were you thinking about, that made you come down here?"

She didn't really answer, save for a small noise of discomfort in the back of her throat, looking down.

"I'm sorry," Jiro said quickly. "I... That was wrong of me, to ask so abruptly like that. You don't have to tell me unless you want to."

"No, it's not that." She waved her hands in front of her. "What I'm worrying about is really bothering me; that's why I acted like that." She started fiddling with her hands. "But... Maybe it's better if I talk to someone about it." She looked over at him, managing a half-smile, before dropping her gaze again.

"If it'll help you feel better, I'm more than happy to hear you out."

Bouquet sighed; her apron was fisted in her hands. "I... I want to apologize to Shu. I mean, I know that I apologized to all of you before. But, I feel like I need to say something to him personally. He's my first real friend, and what I did... The only thing I can really call it is betrayal. I'm really nervous... and a little afraid, too. I don't want to lose our friendship."

Jiro laid a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about it. Shu is pretty forgiving." She couldn't really say what it was, but something in his voice sounded like he'd had experience.

"R-really?" When Jiro nodded, some of the tension left her. She continued by saying, "Alright, then... Thanks for listening." She giggled then. "I guess it's kind of silly, but that was the reason I came down here."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. If I was in your position, and I had only known him as long as you have, I'd be worried, too." He chuckled. "Then again, there isn't a lot that I don't worry about."

Bouquet giggled a little. "Do you worry a lot?"

Jiro full out laughed then. "You have no idea."

"Ow!" Kluke cried out in pain, clutching both the railing and her stomach. Here it comes, she thought. The pain. It was always like that for her when this happened - she would be extremely agitated and crabby for the first few hours, and then once that stopped, the stomach cramps started.

Shu whirled around. "Kluke, are you alright?!"

"Yeah," she croaked out. "Just fine."

"Shu!" Marumaro yelled at him. "You have to watch where we're going!"

"Oh," Shu flushed in embarrassment, then turned back around. "Right. Sorry."

Zola laid a hand on her shoulder. "Kluke, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Kluke smiled at her, nodding. "It's just, um... Just that 'time of month', if you know what I mean."

"I see." An understanding lit up Zola's eyes, as well as a good deal of female sympathy.

Kluke sighed, blowing a lock that had slipped away from the others framing the right side of her face. "I bet yours aren't this bad."

"No, but they were before I became a mercenary; back then I was mostly the same body type, but not as fit as after I became one."

"Really?" She was genuinely surprised; seeing Zola as she was now, Kluke had trouble imagining the older woman doing anything else.

Zola was about to reply, but at that very moment, Shu cried out, "Hey, guys, you might want to come look at this!"

"Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?" Bouquet had her feet up on the edge of the seat, her hands joined just below her knees. Jiro thought that Shu would be severely disapproving of shoes being on the mechat seats - he was always trying so hard to take care of the ship - but he hadn't mentioned it to Bouquet yet.

"Sure. What's up?"

"I was just wondering... Back in the Ancient Sphere, what happened after I went unconscious?"

For some reason, though Bouquet couldn't figure out why, Jiro blushed. "Well... I had been knocked out myself, but when I woke up, Kluke told me that you had tried to destroy Nene's machine. From the looks of things, I had guessed that it exploded. Then Kluke saw Nene, and she charged after him. He managed to get away through a hole in the wall, and Kluke almost fell out of it, but Shu managed to catch her. As he was pulling her up, I saw that you were lying on the ground, so I went to see if you were okay... Kluke and Shu came over there a few minutes after I did. Kluke started checking to make sure your heart rate was okay, and Shu... He was worried about you. Really, really worried. Kluke had to send him away, because he was distracting her. A few minutes later, Zola ran in and told us that the Ancient Sphere was about to explode. I, um..." It was here that Jiro floundered.

"You what?" Bouquet asked. "What happened after that?"

"I-I, um, I carried you..." His face became even redder, and it started to click in place for her why he had flushed in the first place. Regardless, he tried to continue. "Yeah. I carried you out and onto one of the air balloons. After a while you started moaning in your sleep, so Shu tried to wake you up. I told him not to, but he wouldn't listen. You woke up for a second and mumbled his name... You tried reaching towards him, but you fell unconscious again. Shu was pretty upset after that, more than he's been in a long while. He thought you weren't going to wake up."

Bouquet looked down, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After a minute, she sighed and stopped, seemingly like she was giving up on something. "I don't remember that at all... That aside, though..." She frowned sadly. "I feel bad that Shu was so worried about me. I didn't mean to worry him so much."

Jiro shook his head, smiling. "It's alright. Trust me, the fact that you're alive and awake is more than enough for him."

She seemed like she was about to reply, but then stopped. She blinked at him. "Wait a minute... You were carrying me that whole time?"

Jiro looked away, the red tinge returning. "Yeah, I did."

Bouquet looked down thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "Wasn't I heavy?"

Jiro turned his towards her again, slightly surprised - whatever he'd thought she might say, that had definitely not been it. "N-no... Well, maybe a little, but that's just for me. I don't have much in the way of upper body strength. If someone else had been carrying you, they would've had no problem. Also, I was kind of beaten up from the battle before, so I was already pretty exhausted."

Bouquet opened her mouth to say something, but she never had a chance - the mechat was jarred as something hit its side.

Kluke barely grabbed the rail, just managing to keep herself from spilling onto the floor - then winced as a wave of pain went through her abdomen; sudden movement like that was so painful for her stomach...

"Shoot! They're firing at us!" Shu looked off to the left, his hair blown around even more by the increased speed (if they were going to start shooting at him, he at least wanted to try and accelerate to get away).

Zola leaned over the entrance to the mechat cabin. "Jiro, get up here now!"

Marumaro hopped frantically from foot to foot. "Is it Nene?!"

"No, I don't think so." Shu kept his eyes trained forward, but he tilted his head slightly to the left to acknowledge Marumaro. "I think that's one of the mechats the Mecha Robos used to flee. I doubt Nene would leave himself so open. The other two mechats are probably guarding him further ahead."

"I agree," Zola nodded to him. "We can't let them get in our way. We'll fire if necessary, but we need to focus on getting past them and reaching Nene."

Kluke spun around when she heard someone grunting, then saw Jiro getting to his feet. "What's the situation?" he asked, trying to keep himself steady.

"We've got company." Shu jerked his thumb to the right, where the other mechat could be seen coming closer.

Zola turned around. "Jiro, can you handle the machine gun?"

"Leave it to me." He was already heading towards it.

Bouquet finished climbing the ladder leading to the cabin, crouching on the ground in front of the entrance. "Wh-what's going on up here?..."

Marumaro, who was closest to her, answered with, "We're under attack!" He stood on the tips of his toes, his fists waving.

"Attack by wh- ah!" She screamed, falling forward.

"Hang onto something!" Kluke urged her. "It's going to get pretty bumpy!"

"Shu, descend!" Jiro yelled.

"I'm try- ow!" Another missile jostled the mechat. Shu muttered something exceedingly uncomplimentary under his breath, then furiously jabbed the button to send out a wave of their own mechat's missiles.

They hit the enemy mechat dead on, but a retaliation was already on its way - a sweeping arc of machine gun fire was just a few seconds from them.

"Drop!" Zola ordered, hitting the ground and pulling Kluke with her; Jiro (temporarily abandoning the machine gun), Marumaro, and Bouquet followed suit.

"What the heck am I supposed to do?!" Shu cried out as the machine gun ammo hit the back of the mechat, quickly moving across the base of the ship. He flinched away as it got nearer and nearer; he was done for-

"Shu!!" Jiro outstretched his hand. Minotaur summoned, mimicking its user's motion, causing a Shield barrier to form around Shu.

The machine gun fire bounced off of the shield. Jiro and Minotaur simultaneously grimaced - damage done to a barrier always caused slight pain to the caster, though it could be worse depending on the type and severity of the attack.

The arc swept the mechat one more time, this time going in the opposite direction, before finally stopping.

"Thanks!" Shu called over his shoulder.

"No problem." Since it seemed momentarily safe, Jiro stood and unsummoned his Shadow.

Shu outstretched his hand, ready to hit the missile button with the side of his fist. "Let's get 'em, Jiro!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Jiro got in position to fire whenever the time came.

The enemy mechat banked downwards and out of sight.

"Hey!" Shu yelled in indignation. "Where are they going?! If they think I'm going to let them get away with hurting the mechat, they've got another thing coming-!"

"Shu!" Zola interrupted him. "Never mind them! Our priority is Nene! If they're running, all the better!"

Shu twisted to look at her, then over at where the other mechat had been, and then down, muttering curses that weren't exactly quiet. He lifted his head again begrudgingly and drove the mechat forward with increased speed.

Kluke knelt down, still holding the railing, groaning with pain. "Why did it have to happen right now?..." Whether she meant chasing Nene or the... other issue... was ambiguous.

"Hang in there," Zola put a hand on her shoulder. "You can go down into the cabin if you like. Now would be the time, before we encounter more trouble."

"No." Kluke clenched her teeth, bringing her head back up. "I want to be up here for this."

"Kluke, do you want me to try and use some White Magic on you?" Jiro offered.

She looked over at him, her smile only forced because of the aching. "No, it's alright. I already tried it. It's true, your White Magic is certainly stronger than mine is... But it if it was able to help this, the spell probably would've worked at least a little, and it didn't."

"How much longer do you have before the pain stops?"

"Ah... Probably an hour or so... It usually doesn't last too long." Her smile turned wry. "I'm surprised. We've spent so much time together, I thought you would've remembered how long it takes."

"I don't know how long it was since it started." He pointed out, grinning slightly; if Kluke was in better enough spirits that she could joke, she probably was feeling at least a little better.

"I see him on the radar!" Shu shouted suddenly.

Zola came over to his side hurriedly, putting a hand on the pilot's chair, leaning over so she could get a better look. "It looks like they're in a triangular formation. The two in the back are probably the Mecha Robo mechats, while the other one is the mechat carrying Nene."

Jiro stood akimbo. "Shu, do you have any visual yet?"

"Not yet," he replied. "But probably soon. He's pretty close."

Zola turned. "I know I've already asked Kluke, but anyone who wants to go below deck should go now. It's going to get pretty dangerous."

"Well, it's not like me or Jiro can go down there..." Shu muttered just loud enough for only Zola to hear.

"Bouquet..." She turned around when Jiro said her name. "Maybe you should head for the cabin. You're still pretty weak from before, and Zola's right - it isn't safe." Concern was written across his face, reflected in his eyes.

She shook her head determinedly, pigtails swinging until she stopped, gazing at him steadily. "I can't. After what Nene did to my family... I want revenge just as much as everyone else here. The last thing I'm going to do is run from him."

"But-" He lifted his hand up, then lowered it slightly. "... Alright. Just... Just try to be careful, okay?"

Marumaro pointed upward, on the tips of his toes again. "Maro will look after her!"

Kluke nodded. "I'll protect her, too."

Jiro was about to reply, maybe with a "thank you" or something related, but was interrupted by Zola shouting, "There they are!"

Three mechats could be seen at first, but the two behind the first one moved closer together to obscure the frontal mechat from view.

"Looks like your hunch about the two mechats guarding him was right, Shu." Kluke said.

"We'll see about that." Shu sent out a missile. "Jiro, fire whenever you're in range!"

"Ready!" Jiro set his feet.

The missile was fired down by opposing machine gun fire. Shu cursed and tried again, only to have the exact same thing happen.

Shu let out a frustrated noise. "How are we supposed to attack them if they keep countering like that?!" Besides, that was our strategy!

"We'll have to forget about attacking them for now," Zola told him. "Try and get us closer first."

"Okay!" Shu pushed on the controls; the mechat surged forward.

Just when they seemed close enough, the two mechats opened fire with the machine guns.

Jiro released the machine gun and put up a Shield that was only frontal. He cried out slightly as both waves of ammo hit the barrier.

"Jiro!" Kluke leaned forward from where she and Marumaro were trying to protect Bouquet.

"I'm alright." I hope, he added mentally.

Another wave of machine gun ammo hit the barrier, followed by two missiles. Jiro yelled again, the barrier flickering slightly.

"That's enough!" Shu pushed the controls forward viciously. The mechat charged forward blindingly fast - ramming straight into the back of the left hand mechat, shaking it considerably enough that they were unable to return the attack.

"Does this mean if I almost kill myself every once in a while, you'll finally do stuff when I ask you?" Jiro commented dryly.

"No, and don't even think about it," was Shu's absent-minded reply. Moving quickly, and hoping that he wasn't making a mistake, he backed up the mechat and rammed the opposing one again.

He barely had the time to blink before he saw that a Mecha Robo was manning the enemy's machine gun - and it was aiming right for his face.

Kluke leapt onto the railing, simultaneously bringing out Phoenix. "Oh, no you don't!" She had her Shadow blow a Windus spell at it; the Wind-element attack knocked back the Mecha Robo, also causing the machine gun to spin completely around. Quickly realizing that the right-hand side mechat's occupants might try the same thing, she used another Windus spell, mirroring her first results.

"Thanks, Kluke! That was awesome!" Shu cheered.

"You're welcome." Blushing lightly at his praise, she unsummoned Phoenix and dropped back onto the mechat floor - and immediately flinched in pain, grabbing her stomach again. Oh, Nene was going to pay for this...

"Shu, you have to move the mechat back!" Zola instructed. "There's no future in just striking them from behind!"

With a reluctant sigh, Shu tilted the ship so they were diagonal to the enemy.

"Shu, hold it still for a minute!" Jiro shouted. "I've got a clear shot on the mechat on the right!" Without waiting, he started firing with the machine gun.

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do...?" Shu muttered in annoyance. He was still too close to the other mechat to use the missiles, so he was essentially stuck doing nothing for the time being.

Jiro had been at it for only a few seconds before the other mechat pulled away, similar to how that first one had done; the mechat on the left side rapidly moved to block the one in front.

Shu looked off to the side. "Why do they keep doing that?"

Zola pointed. "We'll worry about it in a minute - move farther away from it so you can use the missiles and give Jiro better range."

"Got it!" Shu moved off to the right (the direction Zola had indicated), and almost immediately used another missile as Jiro attacked with the machine gun.

The enemy mechat didn't put up with that treatment for long - even sooner than the one previous, the ship retreated away from them.

Jiro narrowed his eyes. Why are they giving up so easily? It doesn't make sense...

Shu made the mechat rush forward, so it was level with the last opposition. He could see him, and that sparked off all of the memories, all of the hatred; he couldn't help his enraged scream. "Nene!!"

He saw the Ancient turn his head, smirking right at him.

Bouquet leapt to her feet. "You-!!"

"Bouquet, no!" Kluke grabbed her around the waist. "Don't." Still, she sent a glare in Nene's direction that she wished could kill.

Even from the distance, Bouquet managed to make out Nene shifting his gaze to her. "So," he began drawling over the noise made by the two mechat engines. "I see you're working for them now, my dear." (It sounded like Deathroy might have said "My dear! My dear!", but it was too noisy to be sure.)

She looked taken aback. "I-"

"Bouquet's not working for us!" Marumaro yelled at him. "Bouquet is our friend - we work together!"

"That's right!" Shu joined in. "And we're going to work together to take you down!"

"Hmph. I'd like to see you try."

With something akin to a battle cry, Shu pitched the mechat to the side; the metal coverings screeched as the two ships bumped together.

Jiro had turned the machine gun to fire, but too late - the Mecha Robo piloting the machine gun of Nene's mechat turned out to be Szabo, who lifted one of his pistols and shot.

"Jiro!" Kluke ran forward when he fell.

He clutched his arm, grinding his teeth - not a serious wound, but deep enough to hurt (enough for him to not want to move it anyway). He wondered if Szabo's attack had been meant to disable or kill.

"Jiro, are you alright?!" Kluke held his shoulder, looking close to tears.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You'll pay for that!" Shu snarled, unintelligible whether this was towards Nene or Szabo, throwing the controls to the right. Once far enough away, he fired off three missiles in succession.

Szabo fired all of them down with pistol fire, then fired directly at the mechat; the hole it left was twice the size of the ones caused by machine gun ammo.

Shu looked around when he heard Kluke scream Jiro's name - he was standing in front of the machine gun, prepared to use it. "Jiro, what are you doing?!" Shu yelled.

"I'm fine, Shu," Jiro replied calmly. "I've had wounds a lot worse than this. Bring us closer."

Shu started to protest. "But-"

"Don't worry about me," he interrupted steadily. "Who knows when we'll get another chance like this? We have to take advantage of it, and I'm not going to allow myself to hold us back."

Shu let loose with a few well-used curses, then flew the mechat close enough - about sixteen feet away.

"Shu," Jiro added. "Move the ship closer. And I need you to try as hard as you can to keep the ship steady."

"But, Szabo-"

"Trust me!"

Jiro, what the heck are you doing? Regardless of this thought, he brought the mechat nearer to Nene's.

Szabo immediately took aim. Just as the Robo fired, Jiro gave the machine gun trigger a hard jerk, his hand poised near his head in a similar to manner of one who's fired a bow. The machine gun and pistol ammo met in mid-air, perfectly countering each other.

"I could've done that the first time if he hadn't caught me off guard." He said this mostly to himself, but loud enough for anyone listening to hear.

Marumaro gaped at him. "How did you do that?!"

Shu and Jiro simultaneously smirked, both of them saying, "Artist's eye."

Szabo muttered angrily to himself. "Another brat to remember to kill..." How in the world had he been bested by two human boys (they weren't even grown... in fact, that first one seemed under-grown...)? And not even twenty-four hours apart!

Shu backed up for a second, just long enough to use another missile, before returning just enough for Jiro to counter Szabo if the need arose.

"Shu, we have to try something else!" Zola said from where she was crouched down. "The only thing this is accomplishing is a stalemate!"

"I know, but what do we do?!" He racked his brain for a solution, but was coming up with nothing. He looked around, hoping to find an answer - they were flying lower and lower as they went, and they'd be close to the ground soon. There were pillar-like mountains over here, though, so that would probably be more of a hindrance than a help. Well, he could do what he always did when he couldn't think of something: "Jiro, do you have any ideas?!"

"Kind of busy right now!" Jiro said through gritted teeth; he'd just finished countering a pistol attack from Szabo.

Shu groaned. "Great."

He went rigid as Nene brought his mechat closer - much, much too close. Nene chuckled, then said, "Having trouble, boy?"

"Get away!!" Shu slammed the mechat into Nene's, then pulled away slightly. "If you think I'm going to quit now, you're wrong! I'll defeat you if it's the last thing it takes you stinking, son of a-"

It was at this point, and most fortunate for younger ears, that Shu's rambling was cut off from Nene's ears by one of those previously thought of mountains.

This mountain was more like a slab that curved inwards, and took almost half a minute before the mechat reemerged, Shu's rant resuming and ending with, "-and throw you in!"

Jiro looked so utterly stunned, he seemed like he might fall over at any minute. "... My ears are burning."

"Shu..." Kluke started. "... Where did you learn how to say that?"

He was about to respond, but was interrupted by Nene. "That was fairly amusing, but I'm afraid that I'll have to take my leave now. I didn't come out here for nothing, after all."

"What-?!" Shu started, but immediately cut off as something happened that shocked him to the core.

Nene warped away.

"No!!!" Shu flew the mechat forward, passing through the place Nene's mechat had been only seconds before, as if it would cause them to warp away after him.

"He..." Bouquet started weakly. "He's gone..."

"No! He can't be!" Shu looked around frantically.

"Shu, can you see him on the radar?" Zola asked quietly.

Shu looked down - it was blank. "No, there's nothing." He swallowed, his voice muted as he repeated. "There's nothing..." He closed his eyes, then... "Agh!!" He slammed his fist into the mechat, directly above the radar. I... I let him get away...

Kluke dropped her head, looking at her hands in her lap. She balled up her skirt in tightened fists. "He could have left the whole time... But he stayed so he could laugh at us."

"Hey, guys! Maro sees something over there!" Marumaro hung off the side of the railing, pointing.

"What..." Jiro started, then stopped, unable to continue. It couldn't be...

"Shu, bring us closer!" Zola said sternly.

Replying with a nod and affirmative noise, Shu leaned forward, bringing the mechat to what had been seen.

Even up close, none of them could believe what they were seeing.

Pushing out of the ground, similar to the Glass Spires from just a short while ago, was a gigantic pillar of stone.

The Glass Spires weren't anywhere near this big, though, Jiro thought grimly. Just as he'd finished thinking it, out of the corner his eye he saw- "There!" Jiro whirled, pointing. "It's another one!"

"Over there, too!" Marumaro pointed to one coming out of the water - that stone pillar was much farther away, but they were so big, they were easy to see even from that much distance.

Kluke held a hand in front of her mouth. "They're all over the place."

Bouquet stood up, next to Kluke. "What's happening?"

Shu gripped the mechat controls. "This has to be Nene's doing."

"Yes. It certainly seems that way." Jiro continued by saying, "But, that's exactly the question: What is he doing?"

End of Rescue Arc

Chapter 13 done! :D And also, as you've noticed, the end of the Rescue Arc, which were the first 13 chapters. As such, it's now time to reveal the slightly-but-not-exactly-complicated pairing list for Blue Dragon Beyond.

Pairings (ordered by primary)

(final) Jiro x Kluke

(final) Shu x Sahlia

(final) Nene x Himiko

heavy Jiro x Bouquet (mostly one-sided on Bouquet's part, but sometimes goes both ways)

heavy Marumaro x Zola (mostly one-sided on Marumaro's part, but sometimes goes both ways)

medium Shu x Kluke

medium King Jibral x Zola

light Marumaro x Sahlia

light Marumaro x Bouquet

light Marutora x Zola (rare; only a temporary crush)

(hints) Shu x Bouquet (rare)

(hints) Jiro x Zola (currently planned, this only happens once, but more are possible)

Okay; there's the list. :) If you have questions about it, just ask me, and I'll try to explain it... Well, I'm quite pleased with this chapter, considering my long absence from the story - looks like I've still got it. ;D I did feel that some of the action scenes weren't very descriptive.. But, I've never been that good with action scenes. :P I know what's supposed to happen next, but I think I may end up having some transitional issues... Anyway, that's pretty much everything I need to mention. Please review if you can, and I'll try to update after 10 hits. See you soon! :D