Hello summoners! A little announcements before you read the chapter. After chap 13, I will be making three special chapters. The first two area two part Christmas and New Years specials (Just because I'm in a holiday mood ^^ ) and the third involves a special guest O.C. Want to now who this person is? Be patient and find out soon!

And now back to misadventures…

Chapter 12: Ressentiment

(Avril's P.O.V)

"So the urban legend is true…" Zero mutters while staring at the mirror, frozen in place, "The mirror does react in at midnight. This is…unbelievable!"

"H-how can you be so calm about this?! This is too much to be real!" Kiyoko shudders as shivers in fear.

I want to her calm down but quickly I noticed something really strange from the mirror. The waves it was creating was growing much larger than the last time I saw it. It there something coming into our world? Filled with great curiosity, I reached my hand over to the glass that was protecting the mirror and suddenly the waves began to grow even larger. It's not the mirror that's moving. It the glass moving itself!

Before I could touch the mirror again for reassurance, Kiyoko immediately grabbed my arm and pulled me away from it.

"What are you doing?! Are you trying to get killed out there!?" She yells at me.

"I'm sorry but I need to see if this was coming from the window or the mirror." I explain to her before resume back to what I was attempting. However, this time Kiyoko came in front of me and blocked my way.

"Oh no! We are not going inside that mirror! You have no idea where it might lead you!"

I actually I do.

"I know that! Usually the mirror would show you your fate but there something completely off about it. I have to know what's going on!"

"Hey! As much as I don't want to be part of this argument but Kiyoko has a point." Zero interrupts, "We can't just drop everything and start traveling to unknown places that we shouldn't-"

I found you!~

Before Zero could finish his sentence, dark feminine voice creep into our argument. We couldn't figure out where it come from until it was too late. Suddenly a pair of arms burst out from the glass and grab ahold of Kiyoko! She tried to scream for help but new pair of arms covered her mouth.

Kiyoko! No!

In an instant, Zero immediately grabbed Kiyoko's arm and pulled her away from the mirror as hard as he could. However, the situation got even worser when those two unknown things from the glass began to drag Zero along with him.

"Zero!" I screamed.

I tried grab Zero's arm to save him but he quickly yell to me, "It's no use, Avril! You have to find help as soon as you can! Don't you dare fail on me!"

After he had told me that both Kiyoko and Zero were pulled into the glass portal. I quickly run over to the glass and tried to go after but the had already returned back to it's original form.

Why…?

I fell down on my on my knees and stared fearfully at the display glass.

I could've save them from getting kidnapped by…whatever they were! So why didn't I!? …Of course. I didn't want them to know that was a summoner. But still! I could have done something!

As I kept thinking to myself, a pool of began a appear right in front of me. I didn't even notice that I was crying. I'm so... so…pathetic!

I have to go back…

(Aem's P.O.V)

12:15 a.m.

I've been gone for quite a while now. Since Master Avril left to spend time with Ms. Atomé, I decided to use the day for self-training. Surprisingly, it hasn't made me tired at all. Probably because I'm used to doing a ten thousand swords swings per day when I met Sir Will.

Heh. Old habits die hard.

Hopefully this walk to my house will make me drowsy enough for me to fall asleep as soon as I step into my room. However, those plans were soon changed once I saw Master Avril sitting on the ground in front of a furniture shop. What happened? Did someone made her upset? Filled with worries, I quickly rush to her side.

"Avril! Are you ok? What happened?" I asks her but ther was no reply. I couldn't see her face either, "Avril?"

"I have to go back…" I her mumble to her self.

"Go back where?"

"…to Grand Gaia…"

"At a time like this? Avril, the supermarket is close right now. Why do you-"

Before I could finished, Avril shot up from the ground and turn the opposite direction of my view. She stood there for a brief second and then began to walk the route to the supermarket. Did she not listen to was I just said? At an instant, I quickly ran up to her and grabbed her wrist to prevent Avril to go any further. However, all I got in return was screams and shouts demanding me to let go and violent struggle to make my hand release her wrist.

"Let go of me!" She screams at the top of her lungs.

"…No. I can't just let you go without knowing what are going to do." I told her blankly.

"I said let go!"

"Avril please… What happened to you?"

"LET GO OF ME NOW!"

With only her opened arm, she punched directly at my chest as hard as she could. I'll admit, it did hurt a little but I still stood my ground. Seeing what she had done, Avril slowly clam down and trembled.

"Aem…" She shudders to me, "I didn't mean to…"

"If this is what makes you calm down, then you can punch and kick me as much as you want." I reply.

After hearing this, Master Avril's head lean over to my chest and began to sob loudly. While doing that, she kept apologizing over and over. I didn't know what cause her to act like this but all I could do was pull her into a gentle embrace and stay like this until she was finished.

Avril… Please don't cry.

~*That morning at the La Veda Café…*~

(Avril's P.O.V)

"Dammit! What kind of units kidnaps two people from this world through a glass mirror?!" Grafl exclaims, slamming his fist into the table.

At around 10 a.m, I decided to hold an emergency meeting and tell them about the kidnapping of Zero and Kiyoko. It wasn't easy re-telling the units and Raphael how it all happen from my perspective. In fact, Selena had to hold my shoulders still whenever I began to cry in the middle of the story. I never felt that useless before in my whole life.

"Then our objective is clear that we have to return to Grand Gaia to rescue them, right?" Lava questions.

"Yes, but even if we were to go back, we still won't know where Kiyoko and Zero might be at." Will said before turning to me, "Avril, when you saw Kiyoko being pulled in, what did their arms looked like?"

I though about it for awhile before I answered. "The thing I could remember was one pair of arms with wearing dark purple sleeves with red trims at the end of the sleeves."

"I see…"

"This is waste of time." Shida said plainly, "This is obviously the work of Lily."

"Who's Lily?" Raphael asked him.

"Dark Arts Lily. A dark element sorceress from the ruined Bariura Empire. Her powers of sorcery were evolved far beyond any other sorcerer or magician. However, as her power increased, those around her moved farther and farther away, but without pause she continued to devote herself to her research. Her behavior deteriorated as she gave up relationships for power, and soon even within the empire she was seen as an outsider. If my theory is correct, she may be located at Cordelica Mine along with Kiyoko and Zero."

After hearing this information, I got off my seat."If that's the case, then let's get going! If Lily is behind all this, we can't let her do what she wants with Zero or Kiyoko. Let's go everyone!"

"Right!"

~*Brave Frontier*~

Thanks to Shida's information and and Aisha's navigations, Raphael and I began traveling through the Cordelica Mine in search for Dark Arts Lily. As we continue to traveling together, with of us stay silent and listen to the echoes of the our footsteps. My mind was still stuck on the fact that I got Zero and Kiyoko into this predicament. I should've been the one to go after them. I didn't want anyone else to help me. It's all my fault and I know!

"Are you feeling ok, Avril?" Raphael asks, breaking the silence.

"I'm alright. It's just…"

…I wonder...

"Raphael, can I ask you something."

"Sure go ahead."

"If you did something bad to were it ended up harming the people you care about permanently , what would you feel?"

"Hmm… I wonder where you got that scenario from."

"Raphael please!"

He sighed and answered, "You're not like that."

"What?"

"In a situation like that, you feel…useless and powerless. But that's not what you are."

I stop at my tracks.

"How can you say that?! Look what just happened! I let two of my friends get kidnapped by a power-craving sorceress all because I became… Argh! Why can't I do anything right?!"

Raphael immediately grabbed my shoulders to where I looked at him directly in the eye.

"Avril, calm down!" Raphael's voice was serious, " Listen to what you're saying! This isn't like you at all! You're not that kind person who would admit that!"

Raphael grip slowly loosens up.

"*sigh* Listen, you're not a useless all. You're strong, brave, passionate, very nosey at some point in time, and... You give off something really special to every person you meet."

I give off something special?

"Like what?" I asks him.

He gave me a smile. "Hope."

I blushed slightly when I saw him smile.

I give people…hope?

"…Stop it!" Zero's voice echoes through the mine. Are we almost there?

"That voice. It's coming from up ahead!" Raphael tells me.

"Let's go!"

We ran up and trace voice we heard.

Zero… Kiyoko… We're coming!