About ten minutes later, Gaspard came out on his own, a sad look on his face. Haruko crouched down beside him. "Hey, Gaspard-kun. I heard you've been kind of down lately."

Gaspard blinked. "Haruko?" He sniffed. "Hi…"

Haruko smiled kindly and spread his arms. "Why don't you tell me what's been bothering you, eh? We're friends, right?"

Gaspard shook his head. "No… I've already given Haseo enough trouble over me. I don't want you to have to…"

Haruko cut him off. "I don't know about Haseo-dono, but I like trouble a lot." He smiled. "You're my friend. I'll always be around if you need me."

Gaspard smiled sadly. "Thanks, Haruko. But I'm really okay now."

Atoli smiled. "Well then, do you want to come to a field with us? We could use a third member, and it looks like you could still use some cheering up."

Gaspard lit up. "Yeah! I know just the one, too! There's a special quest happening today!"

Haruko rolled his eyes. "I don't know… the quests have been getting kind of lame lately. I mean, 'Kick the King Chim Chim!' How dumb can you get?"

Gaspard shook his head. "No, but this is a special one! A one-day only event! And I heard they brought one of the old C.C. Corp staff members to program it!"

Atoli smiled. "That sounds great! Come on, Oniichan!"

Haruko laughed. "Okay, okay. The old quests were amazing sometimes, so if it's a veteran programming it, it can't be all bad."

Gaspard nodded. "Okay! To the Quest Shop!"

At the Quest Shop, the Event NPC bowed politely to them. "Welcome! We have a special one-day event available. Would you like to participate?"

Haruko nodded. "Yes. The three of us will be participating as a team."

The NPC bowed again. "Understood. Registering you now for the quest, 'Rare Master'."

Haruko turned to the other two. "Well, let's get ready!"

Gaspard nodded. "Yeah…"

Atoli gave him a thumbs-up. "Let's go!"

The NPC returned. "You are now registered. Proceed to the field Δ Sacred Prosperous Offerings to begin the quest. Please keep in mind that you will only have until the end of this day to finish."

The three friends looked at each other, nodded, and dashed off to the Chaos Gate.

Δ Sacred Prosperous Offerings was a wide, grassy space. Tall trees dotted the landscape. Haruko looked around warily. "Leukos?" he muttered softly.

Atoli blinked. "Oniichan?"

Haruko waved his hands. "It's nothing. I was just startled; this isn't a typical field design, is it?"

Gaspard grinned. "No way! I wonder what the event here is?"

"I'm glad you asked!" called out a voice. The three players looked up to see a tall, armored figure grinning down at them from the tree right next to them. Silver hair framed his face.

Atoli blushed. "Handsome…" she muttered.

Haruko stared. "It couldn't be…"

The figure continued his speech. "Welcome, to the Hyrulian Forest, where the 'Rare Master' quest will take place. In this event, you must… Wait… It's you!"

There was a blur of motion, and suddenly the figure vanished. Haruko grinned and swung up his katana just in time to catch the charging player. "I knew it!" he said, forcing his attacker back. "I should have known just from the event's title that it was you!"

The other player raised his katana. "I should have known you'd show up here, Haruko!" White wings unfurled from his back. "All right… Defend yourself!"

Haruko met his next charge head-on. The force of their strikes threw both players back. In perfect unison, they roared and charged each other, katanas flying in wide arcs. The blades clanged off each other, moving so fast that they seemed to be silvery blurs.

Gaspard stared. "Amazing… I've never seen Haruko fight like that before…"

Atoli shook her head. "Who is that, though? He's beautiful…"

The two players clashed once more, flew apart, and charged.

"Disaster Sword!"

"Lateral Moon!"

The players flew by each other, striking with their best arts attacks. A wind seemed to blow past them for a moment, and then both fell to one knee, laughing. Haruko turned. "I see that time has not made the 'Azure Sky' any less clear… Balmung-sama."

Balmung laughed again. "And it seems that the 'Emerald Wind' has only become sharper, Haruko. So, you've come to enjoy my event?"

Haruko sniggered, then fell to the ground, laughing. "You? You really programmed this event? Oh, this is going to be hilarious!"

Gaspard stared. "It's really him! Balmung of the Azure Sky!" He paused. "Wait… weren't you famous for coming up with really weird events?"

Balmung grinned. "That is so. I am the subtle administrator, Balmung." He pouted. "Well, former administrator, anyway. C.C. Corp wanted to try and garner some more attention for 'The World', so they asked me back to program an event for them. So, here I am."

Haruko laughed again. "So, what's the prize this time? A sailor uniform again?"

Balmung blinked. "Of course not. That was the prize for a Valentine's Day event. Of course, I can't say more. You'll see when the event ends- but I guarantee it's an amazing rare item."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "That's what you said about the Valentine's Day prize."

Balmung shrugged. "I still don't get why that was so unpopular."

Haruko sighed. "When you get fashion ideas from a gaming magazine, expect people to give you weird looks…"

His words fell on deaf ears. Balmung had noticed Atoli, who was blushing redder and redder by the second. "Ah, a fair young damsel. What is your name, milady?"

Atoli blushed. "Um… I'm Atoli."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Atoli… you're redefining what the word 'red' means over there. Then again, Balmung-sama has that effect on girls."

Balmung laughed. "So do you, from what I've heard. Where on earth did you get wings, anyhow?"

Haruko shrugged. "They came with my third form. I guess whoever at C.C. Corp programmed it remembered my roots."

Balmung shook his head rapidly. "What am I doing? I need to explain the event to you." He smiled. "Very well… This is a treasure-hunting quest. Beginning with the first clue, which I shall give you in a moment, follow the trail of rare items and clues to the end of the forest. Deliver the items to the Fairy Spring, and claim your just reward!"

He smiled and handed them a piece of paper. "Good luck to all of you," he added, and leapt back up into the tree.

Haruko unfolded the paper and laughed. "A beet is neat, but a gourd is adored," he read aloud. "That idiot… he hasn't changed in three years." He shrugged. "Okay, we need to find a pumpkin, then."

Gaspard pointed. "There, right under that tree there!"

Sure enough, there was a pumpkin sitting underneath the tree. Haruko raised an eyebrow. "Don't pumpkins usually grow on vines?"

Atoli giggled. "Who cares? You said yourself, Balmung creates very weird events."

Haruko shrugged. "Well, yes, but that's just because he's kind of an idiot."

Atoli shrugged, and dashed over to the pumpkin. "Well, let's see…"

With a bright flash, the pumpkin exploded, sending Atoli flying through the air. Haruko dashed over, dove, and caught her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Atoli sat up and giggled. "Yes. Your hard head broke my fall."

Haruko laughed and stood up. "What was that all about?"

A piece of paper fluttered down. Atoli caught it and read it. "Haha… did you really fall for that, Haruko? The real clue is this: This treat is sticky, but it's oh, so tricky/ For a bear, to get up there." She blinked. "A bear?"

Haruko blinked. "No idea. But a sticky treat, high off the ground…"

Gaspard grinned. "I know! It's honey!"

Atoli blinked. "You're right! But… what about the bear?"

Balmung's head popped out of the tree. "A British author named Milne once wrote about a stuffed bear with a penchant for honey."

Haruko twitched. "Balmung-sama, how many people do you know who've read that book? I mean, Winnie-the-Pooh? Come on!"

Balmung laughed. "It's a classic!"

Haruko shrugged. "In America and Britain, certainly, but this is a Japanese server! More to the point, it's a children's book!"

Balmung grinned and withdrew his head. "Your friend figured it out without knowing the book. I just needed a reference to flesh out the couplet."

Haruko ran a hand down his face. "He just keeps getting more and more idiotic…"

Atoli giggled. "Okay, so we'll have to find a beehive!" She and Gaspard ran towards the trees.

Haruko groaned as he followed them. "If he's built in something to do with a balloon, I'm going to kill him…" he muttered.

After about a minute of searching, Gaspard pointed up into the trees. "There!" he shouted. "But… how do we get at it?"

Haruko raised his staff. "A wind spell should get it down."

Atoli shook her head. "You might damage it. We need to break the branch it's on without breaking the hive."

Haruko nodded. "Lei Zas, then. It's a compact shot. Atoli, would you like to do the honors?"

Atoli giggled, and then raised her hand. "Here goes… Lei Zas!" A ball of light flew out of her hand and cut the branch neatly at the point where it joined the tree.

Haruko caught the falling beehive deftly and grinned. "There!" He shook it, and paused. "Sounds like there's something inside…"

Gaspard rubbed his chin. "Maybe we're supposed to break it open?"

Haruko shrugged. "Let's try it, anyway. We can always find another one if we're wrong." He spiked it on the ground, and it split apart. A bright light shone out, and the three players covered their eyes.

Atoli was the first to recover. She blanched. "Aah! It's a giant bee! I hate bees!"

Gaspard pulled out his grimoire. "Looks like we'll have to defeat this monster in order to get at the treasure! Let's go!"

Atoli raised her staff. "Got it!"

Haruko grinned and whipped out his twin blades. "All right! Charge!"

Under their combined onslaught, the monster quickly crumpled. As it vanished, a treasure chest appeared in its place. Haruko kicked it open and withdrew a golden object and another slip of paper. "A gold honeycomb… I guess that qualifies as rare. I wonder if it does anything…" He shrugged. "Well, on to the next clue!"

For about an hour, they wandered through the forest, following Balmung's simplistic (yet very enigmatic) clues to the various points. Balmung, for whatever reason, kept poking his head out of various trees and offering advice and random bits of chatter. Eventually, however, they reached the Fairy Spring. Haruko scratched his head. "I don't know what he was thinking, swiping the name from Zelda… but it does fit the place pretty nicely."

Balmung popped up from behind a rock and smiled. "It does, doesn't it? To be honest, I was up against a deadline at the time. And then I though, 'Everyone likes Zelda, right?' So, here we stand."

A small rock flew through the air with a low whistle and bounced off of Balmung's head. Haruko laughed. "Come on… 'Everyone likes Zelda'? How on earth do you manage to be that much of an idiot and still exist?"

Balmung laughed. "This from a guy who openly refers to himself as an idiot?"

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Of course. My idiocy is part of my natural charm."

Balmung blinked. "Natural charm? You're talking about charm to me? Me, the great Lord Balmung, the ultimate lady killer?"

Haruko snickered. "I have my own fan club, Balmung-sama."

Balmung twitched. "I have girls following me online and off!"

"So do I. If I get so much as a cut on my leg, I get mobbed by girls."

"So? I get mobbed by girls just for showing up."

"I've had girls fall in love with me just because they saw me surfing."

"Surfing? Pah! Girls fall in love with me when I glance at them."

Haruko grinned wickedly. "I have a girlfriend. And she gave me my first kiss."

Balmung jerked backwards and put a hand over his heart, as if he'd been shot. "Curse you, Haruko! You win this round!" He grinned wildly. "Congratulations! I'm… still single." He pouted. "I'm jealous, darn it!"

A high, cold laugh echoed around the space. "A girlfriend, huh? What's her screen name? I want to make sure it's her when I PK her and send you the screenshot."

Haruko's hand stole to his side. "She doesn't play 'The World', Bordeaux. Now, what do you want?"

Bordeaux jumped down from the top of the spring. "It's a game. What else? I want to have fun." She drew out her blade, a twisting sword studded with what looked like thorns. "And so do my friends," she added.

A ring of Kestrel members slowly emerged from various places and advanced on them. Bordeaux sneered. "I'll play with you four in a minute. But first, I have some unfinished business to attend to." She turned to where a young Cleric stood, trembling beside her dead teammates. "Come on, let's have some fun!" she shouted.

Haruko stared. "Mayako-san!"

Mayako caught sight of Haruko, and her eyes lit up. "Haruko!"

Bordeaux charged. "Die!" she yelled.

Haruko seemed to flicker, and suddenly he was between the two players. "No. You die." He reached for his katana. "Disaster Sword!" he yelled, drawing the blade and slicing through Bordeaux in one clean motion.

Bordeaux flew twenty feet in the air, crashed down, and swore loudly. "You won't get away with this! Punishment Squad, forward!"

The ring of PKers let out a collective yell and began to charge. Haruko and Balmung backed up against each other. "I count fifty," Haruko muttered.

Balmung laughed. "Think you can handle twenty-five?"

Haruko shrugged. "Might be a bit tough, having to protect Mayako-san into the bargain." He drew his twin blades and prepared a ready stance.

Balmung nodded. "True. But even so, we'll certainly make a dent in their forces."

Haruko grinned. "Of course. The 'Azure Sky' together with the 'Emerald Winds'…"

Balmung laughed. "There is nothing that can stand before those two united. Let's go, Haruko of the Emerald Winds."

Haruko nodded firmly. "Let's go, Balmung-sama of the Azure Sky." The two leapt apart, swords raised, and shouted a battle-cry to the heavens.

Balmung immediately sliced his way through a knot of five PKers and stood by Atoli and Gaspard. "Don't worry, milady," he said calmly. "I'll protect you and your friend." He swung his blade straight upward and tossed another PKer into the spring.

Haruko, meanwhile, bobbed and weaved around his opponents, striking them down with quick slashes and counter-attacks. He soon made his way to Mayako and stood in front of her, blades at the ready. "I've got these guys, Mayako-san. Can you handle healing?"

Mayako nodded firmly. "Okay. But first, please keep them away while I revive my teammates."

Haruko gave her a thumbs-up. "You got it."

Balmung dodged a PKer, struck him down with a single blow, and then stumbled as another one hit him from behind. "Argh! Where are all of these people coming from?"

Haruko twirled gracefully and spun around, killing two enemies at once. "This place has changed a lot since you left. Player killing is absolutely rampant now." He dodged back just as a blade crashed down an inch from his nose. "My guild does what they can, but there's just not that many of us. And Moon Tree used to be absolutely spectacular at keeping them under control, but things have been getting steadily worse and worse. Even Zelkova-sama can't keep them fully under control anymore." He charged and swatted away another PKer who had tried to attack Mayako.

One of the dead players stood up and sighed. "That's true. But hey, we all have to do what we can, right?" Zelkova drew out his black scythe and smiled.

Haruko blinked. "Zelkova-sama? How'd they manage to get you?"

Beside him, Kaede stood up and groaned. "They took me by surprise, and then managed to overwhelm Lord Zelkova with sheer numbers. Disgraceful…" She drew out a wooden katana and glared around.

More PKers appeared over the ridges, spurred on by furious yells from Bordeaux. Haruko sighed. "You three should try and fight your way out."

Zelkova blinked. "What are you talking about? I'm the Guildmaster of Moon Tree. I can't leave someone at the mercy of Kestrel."

Kaede nodded. "Yes. And it would be best if we all fought together."

Mayako raised her staff. "I'll back you three up, so do your best!"

Haruko twirled and struck a charging PKer out of the air. "Okay, let's do it!" he shouted, grinning.

Behind him, another Kestrel member charged. Haruko tried to spin around, but couldn't do it in time. He winced as his attacker's blade descended.

A moment before it struck him, a long lance appeared out of nowhere and skewered the attacker. A loud laugh split the air. "Foolish player killers! Prepare for your doom at my hands!"

Haruko's eye twitched. "Is that who I think it is?"

An enormous man in golden armor appeared behind the stricken PKer, grinning broadly behind a red visor. "Haruko! He of sparkling eyes! The Slow Doberman, Piros the Third, pledges to fight by your side until his life expires!"

Haruko laughed and shot another enemy out of the air with a Lei Zas spell. He twirled his staff. "And as always, Piros-san, I pledge that your life shall not expire so long as you fight by my side."

Piros laughed. "I apologize for not arriving sooner, but Lord Balmung's clues were difficult to decipher." He dashed off towards a new group of Kestrel members.

Haruko nodded. "We're doing well. At this rate, Haseo-dono's record of 100 PKers in one night is going to be trampled into the dust."

A sudden impact flung him all the way to the other side of the spring. "Don't get complacent, Haruko. This isn't your average raid!"

Haruko's eyes flared. "Gabi-san! So, you've progressed from not caring what your guild members do to joining them in doing it!"

Gabi blinked. "Huh? I didn't understand that. It is my policy…"

Haruko cut him off with an Ani Zot spell. "You've been a thorn in my side for too long, Gabi-san."

Gabi snorted. Without seeming to move, suddenly he was behind Haruko, his massive orange broadsword raised high. "This is the way of 'The World', Haruko. If you don't want to die, then run!" He swung downward at an impossible speed.

A red-furred blur darted in between Haruko and Gabi, and swung up a broadsword of its own. "Not so fast, Gabi. Nobody raises a blade against Haruko and lives to boast of it."

Haruko blinked. "Akiko-kun!"

Akiko leapt back and drew his scythe. "We got word of a big Kestrel raid about half an hour ago. They've been sitting here for hours, picking off everyone who comes through." He sighed. "It's a pain, though; everyone keeps getting lost in this crazy forest. So far it looks like I'm the only one who made it through."

Haruko nodded. "All right. I'll leave Gabi-san to you, okay?"

Akiko gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. I'll finish with him quickly."

Gabi snorted. "A mere lieutenant against me? Pathetic!"

Haruko dashed off around the spring. "Akiko-kun is more than enough to defeat you, Gabi-san."

Akiko nodded. "And Haruko has more important things to attend to. Now, face me!"

Gabi snorted and charged. Akiko lightly sidestepped him and drove a pair of slashes into him with his scythe. "Besides… it says a lot that an assistant Guildmaster is better at being a Guildmaster than you are."

Gabi spun, snarled, and charged him. Akiko met him head on with his broadsword and set up a loud ringing as their blades clanged off of each other.

Meanwhile, Zelkova had managed to get separated from Kaede and was backed against a wall, fighting valiantly but slowly losing health. Mayako lay crumpled against a rock, already devoid of health because she'd focused on healing the others. Kaede, meanwhile, fought next to Piros at the center of a knot of enemies, furiously trying to break through to Zelkova, and although every stroke Balmung made defeated another PKer, he was being slowly but surely overwhelmed by a tide of them.

It was into this fray that Haruko charged, and broke into like a storm. Twin blades whirling, he carved a path right to Zelkova, who sighed with relief and took shelter behind him. "Mayako's already down," he said softly. "We're taking hit after hit. I'm not sure we can pull this off."

Haruko nodded grimly. "The rest of my First Unit is on the way, but in this forest there's no telling when they'll arrive. Where's Mayako?"

Zelkova pointed to a knot of PKers who had clustered around Mayako, leering and taunting her. Haruko gnashed his teeth. "They'll regret that. Come on; let's go get her back on her feet."

Zelkova nodded. "Right. Anyway, we can't leave her to the mercy of those Kestrel guys." He twirled his scythe and knocked down three enemies at once. "Out of our way!" he shouted.

Haruko leapt into the air, dashed forward, and cut down another enemy behind the other three. He whipped out his staff. "Zan Rom!" he shouted, and blew another two PKers away.

Zelkova charged past him. "Heavenly Wheel!" he shouted, swinging his scythe in a massive arc that was able to wipe out an entire group in one attack. "Come on, almost there!" he called.

Haruko cut down one more Kestrel member and broke through to Mayako's side. "Hang in there, Mayako-san," he said softly.

Zelkova broke through the line as well and took up a guard position. "Haruko, you take care of Mayako. I can hold them off for a while."

Haruko nodded, handed him a Healing Potion, and turned to Mayako. "Rip Maen!" he called out, raising his staff.

Bordeaux charged in, laughing. "Just as predicted!" she shouted. "Disaster Sword!"

A sphere of light flew in and knocked her flying just before she reached Haruko. "Whew! Just in time!" a voice called.

Haruko blinked. "Atoli! You're okay?"

Atoli nodded. "Yes. Balmung's been keeping his promise."

"It's getting more and more difficult, though!" Balmung called out. "I'm starting to run out of health! Where are they all coming from?"

Bordeaux laughed. "All Kestrel's come out today to have some fun! Your pitiful handful of fighters has no chance against the 5,000 members of our guild!"

Gaspard cowered behind Atoli and Balmung. "Why does this have to keep happening? Why can't people get along anymore?"

Haruko's eyes flew wide. "Of course… that's what's been bothering you, hasn't it, Gaspard-kun?"

Gaspard sniveled. "I just want to see… the 'World' that I remember again…"

Haruko's eyes softened, and he lowered his blade. "Don't worry. One day, we'll bring that 'World' back. Everyone from Canard, and Moon Tree, and the Twilight Guardians… together, we'll bring it back."

Behind him, Mayako rose shakily to her feet, took stock of her surroundings, and quickly cast Pha Repth on Balmung. She swung up her staff and began to block another enemy attacker. "We're getting swarmed…" she muttered.

Haruko raised his blade again. "What is any of this supposed to accomplish?" he growled. "Why are you all doing this?"

Bordeaux laughed and charged him. "Why not? It's fun! And you're supposed to have fun in a game, right?"

Haruko blocked her first strike, and responded with a Sword Dance that drained her HP to zero and tossed her into the spring. "Exactly. And as long as you keep ruining other people's fun, I'll stop you."

From the other side of the spring, Gabi let out a loud laugh. "Stop us?"

Akiko knocked him flying with a Twin Moons attack. "Precisely. Now, get lost."

Balmung, meanwhile, took full advantage of his newly restored HP to carve his way through the enemy and get into the shelter of a large boulder. Atoli followed close behind, and Gaspard dashed in between them and hid behind them.

Negimaru saw him running and laughed. "Come on, Grein! Let's get that little Canard wimp!"

Grein grunted wordlessly, but charged along with Negimaru. Atoli flung herself in front and whirled her staff, desperately trying to block their combined onslaught.

Gaspard stared as Atoli ducked and blocked, to no avail. Every third hit made it through and struck her hard. She grit her teeth, but kept fighting. Gaspard cringed. "Why? Why does it have to be this way?"

Balmung looked back. "Atoli! Hang on!" A laughing PKer grabbed him from behind. Balmung struggled in his grip, slashing at anyone who came within reach. "Let me go! I won't let you stop me from saving her!"

Gaspard stared. "Everyone's… fighting so hard… why?"

Atoli fell to one knee, badly wounded. "Because… we want to see that 'World' too, Gaspard."

Balmung nodded gravely. "For that… we'll fight no matter what!"

Haruko shouted a battle-cry and plunged through the wall of PKers surrounding them. "And we'll give everything we have! In the end… our battle will end when 'The World' is the way it once was. And it's a battle we will win!"

Gaspard's face tightened. "Everyone's fighting so hard…" He raised his head, eyes blazing. "Then I'll fight too! Vak Don!"

Fireballs fell on both Negimaru and Grein, who paused in their attacks. Atoli struggled to her feet and took out another enemy with Lei Zas. The hole she opened was enough for Haruko to break through, just as Gaspard broke Balmung free with a Gan Bolg spell. The two winged PCs charged Negimaru and Grein. Balmung's sword fell, Haruko's twin blades flew up, and the two Kestrel members collapsed to the ground.

Haruko ran to Atoli. "Are you all right?"

Mayako dashed through along with Zelkova and knelt by her side. "She will be now. Pha Repth!"

Atoli stood up slowly, her health fully restored, and gave Haruko a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Haruko sighed. "That's good."

A PKer leapt at him, but was impaled on a lance in mid-air. Piros and Kaede darted through the hole, panting. "There's too many of them!" muttered Kaede.

Zelkova nodded. "Well then, let's use 'that', Kaede!"

Kaede blinked. "You mean an Awakening? Can we do it?"

Zelkova grinned. "Sure! With all the healing that Mayako's been doing, our Morale bar should be way past full!"

Kaede nodded. "All right, then. Beast Awakening!" A bright orange aura shone around Kaede, Zelkova, and Mayako. Zelkova grinned. "Go for it!" He and Kaede charged, so swiftly they seemed to blur. Their weapons flew in arcs swifter than the eye could track, and PKers flew in all directions as the two attacked. Frightened, several of the enemies broke and ran, and many of the others began to look fearful. Mayako clenched her fist and charged in after them.

Haruko grinned. "Atoli! Gaspard-kun! Us too!"

Atoli nodded. "Got it!"

Gaspard raised his grimoire. "I'll do what I can!"

Zelkova and Kaede leapt back, their auras fading. "We're out of power," commented Zelkova.

Kaede nodded. "Haruko! We'll leave it to you!"

Haruko pulled out his own staff. A yellow aura shone from all three players. "It's over! Divine Awakening!"

Balmung watched in awe. "So that's the famous Divine Awakening… the ultimate power only possessed by third-stage Adept Rogues."

Haruko rose into the air, as in real life Sora grinned madly and began mashing every button he could reach on his controller. Energy flew out of Atoli and Gaspard and merged with him. He stretched out his hand, and a gleaming staff materialized out of white energy. He thrust it forward, and a glowing magic circle appeared on the ground in front of them. Glowing runes appeared in the air all around him. Haruko laughed insanely and raised his arm in a swift motion. "Holy Burst!" he called.

Pure white energy exploded out of the ground in the center of the magic circle. At first it shone only in the very center, but soon the beam expanded to fill the entire circle. A massive burst of white light surged out, and everyone covered their eyes.

After about a minute, the display cleared enough to reveal a cloud of dust, and not a single PKer in sight. Other than Gabi and Akiko, who were still fighting, the rest of Kestrel had either fled or been obliterated by the Divine Awakening. Seeing this, Gabi, panting and obviously hurt, cursed and warped out. Akiko grinned and followed suit.

Haruko whistled. "Man… we're pretty scary, ne? Everyone all right?"

A general murmur of assent broke out. Piros sat gingerly up and laughed loudly. "A close call indeed, but we have repelled them! Fine work, everyone!"

Gaspard turned to the spring. "And now to finish our quest!"

Balmung walked over to them and bowed low. "Thank you, everyone. Even I couldn't have driven them off myself." He grinned sheepishly. "You saved my event."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "From Kestrel, certainly. But who's going to save it from you?"

Gaspard kicked a pebble into the spring. Instantly, a shimmering light appeared over the water. "You have done well to come this far, adventurers," it said in a soft voice. "Please, display the proof of your accomplishment!"

Haruko shrugged and drew out the treasures, one by one. He held up the first one, the golden honeycomb they'd found at the beginning. "Should I throw it in, do you think?"

The light bobbed, as if nodding. "Yes, that's right. Toss them all in."

Haruko shrugged and tossed each item in, one by one. The light shone brighter with each item, until at last it seemed to shatter like glass. A pale-skinned, beautiful woman floated downwards, clad in a short red robe, and balanced lightly on the surface of the water.

Haruko stared. "She's beautiful…"

The woman opened her eyes and smiled. Her white hair blew in an invisible wind, and shimmering dragonfly wings unfolded from her back. "Well done. You have come far, and solved many difficult puzzles."

"Difficult?" muttered Haruko under his breath.

The woman continued. "Now, the last test. What have you gained from this? What has all of this work brought you as a reward?"

Haruko glanced at Gaspard, and then over at Atoli as she came up beside him. He grinned. "That's not difficult at all. The answer is happiness."

The fairy smiled. "Correct." She floated towards Haruko, who shrunk backwards. "Wait a second… Ack!" She swooped forward, put her arms around him, and kissed his forehead.

Haruko blushed furiously and sank to the ground. "Oh man… Shizuka's going to kill me…"

The fairy giggled and vanished, leaving a treasure chest in her place. Haruko approached it warily. "And now for another of Balmung-sama's extremely odd prizes, no doubt."

Balmung laughed. "Actually, the kiss was the extremely odd prize."

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Inspired, no doubt, by Aura-sama."

Balmung laughed harder. "True enough. I never understood in the slightest why she did that to Shugo, though."

Haruko joined in his laughter. "It's Aura-sama. Who knows?" He kicked the chest open, and withdrew three weapons: a pair of twin blades, a staff, and a grimoire. "Hey, one for each of us!"

Balmung nodded. "Of course. It's a team quest, after all, despite what Piros seemed to think. So it's designed to give each team member a rare weapon."

Haruko examined his new weapons and gave them a few experimental swings. "This is actually pretty nice… I take back what I said; you're not such an idiot after all."

Balmung chuckled. "Oh, yes, I am. Are we forgetting the Tanabata incident?"

Haruko gaped. "Of course not! I spent the whole time picking off anybody who I didn't think would treat Rena-chan with respect!"

Balmung blinked. "The prize was a date, right? You weren't trying to win it?"

Haruko shrugged. "I was already friends with her. What would I need a date for?"

Atoli blinked. "Date? Huh?"

Haruko rolled his eyes. "Balmung-sama's idea of a good Tanabata event was to randomly select one girl to play Orihime, and let all the guys race across a big lake to compete for a date with the girl. And Rena-chan ended up being selected."

Atoli giggled. "Wow… what a goofball."

Balmung grinned. "You got it! And actually, didn't I win that event?"

Haruko bonked him over the head with his staff. "No! Shugo-kun won by an inch, but Rena-chan saw you and practically swooned."

Balmung nodded. "True… perhaps I should have stayed a while longer. She did seem very happy to see me."

Haruko blinked as a short-mail message came in. "Oh… Alkaid-chan says she's waiting at Morrigu Barrow. I'd better head over there." He raised his new twin blades. "I'll see you all later, okay?"

Gaspard nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about me, Haruko. I won't lose hope anymore. I know we'll see that 'World' again."

Haruko smiled as he warped out. "Yes, indeed we will."

Author's Notes:

...

Balmung for the win. That's all I have to say.

Okay, just kidding... Oh, and I apologize for that couplet... I know even Balmung isn't that much of an idiot, but it was the best I could come up with. So, this scene was pretty fun. First, I got to use Balmung, who's always fun to work with, B, there are several Legend of the Twilight references mixed in for those of you who read the manga, and three, it's a quest and then a massively extended fight scene. Love those... Oh, and Piros and Zelkova are fun to use too. Especially Piros... he's just so ridiculous.

Sorry that this chapter ended up being so long, but there really wasn't anywhere to break it... and likewise, sorry that chapter 13 was so short. Hopefully, Friday's update will make it up to you guys. It's a good bit, and it has Alkaid in it. (And if you figure out what that last bit is referencing, you're officially a nerd like me. )