So Astrid and her group have infiltrated the home of Edgar Wallace. Now all that is left is to find the source of the voices that she is hearing and hopefully find Kiryll and his companions. Hopefully, they are not too late, and hopefully I end this filler section ^_^

------

The inside of the mansion looked similar to any other mansion that Astrid had ever entered (aka two at the most), with a huge lobby with stairs in front of her, adorned with two statues. There weren't any voices in the lobby, making her extremely confused.

"I'm sorry to hear that they haven't returned to you. They didn't seem busy." Edgar sighed. "I especially liked the one with the long blond hair. He had such life in him."

"Stahn? Really?" Astrid looked confused.

"I think that was his name." Edgar grinned. "Not to mention his SWORD…that was a fascinating treasure to say the least."

"God, leave it to Stahn to show off Dymlos like that."

Astrid blinked, wondering where that voice was coming from. Unlike the others, it was clear and unhindered, as if the person wasn't dying at all. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Leon had held his sword as of holding a person's mouth shut.

"Come to think of it, isn't that sword the same as his?" Edgar looked at Leon.

"What, are you interested in this?" Leon lifted the blade. "I'm sorry, but Chal is my pride and joy."

"Of course it is. It's a rare treasure from Hraesvelgr, hence the clinginess from the ones proud enough to say that they own one." Edgar sighed. "But…come to think of it, all four of them had some form of treasure on them. Like the white-haired boy and his cross…"

"You sound as if you're jealous." Zelos grinned.

"Well, when you're among the rich, you can't help but notice the values of the items the poor hold." Edgar laughed as though it was a joke. "Isn't that true, Chosen?"

"You and me both!" Zelos laughed with him.

"And what about you, girl?" Edgar turned to Astrid. "Are you their maid?"

"Huh? M-me?" She blinked.

"She's our traveling companion." Leon said without turning to her. "She's related to the white-haired man that came here, and we volunteered to help her look for them."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry that I can't help you." Edgar grinned. "Oh, here we are! I hope that you're hungry, cause we're just starting a party!"

Astrid couldn't help but wonder if Edgar was expecting them. As they entered the room, she saw that it was in fact a party. There were people walking around and dancing, having a merry old time. She turned to look at everyone, only to see that they have all separated and were now mingling with the others.

I should probably blend in or something…

Suddenly, a voice came to her mind. It seemed muffled like before, but it was being covered by the loud music and the chatty guests. As normally as she could, she wandered the room and tried to hone onto the voice, but she couldn't get a hold of it.

Maybe it's just me. She thought. I guess I'll go into the party.

Straightening her outfit, she slowly eased herself into the crowd. The people looked dressed to party, nothing compared to the simple red dress that she would always wear. Turning around, she saw Zelos chatting up a few girls like he was used to it (he probably was).

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

She turned and saw that Luke had approached her, a glass of water in his hand extended to her. She felt herself blushing as she took the drink and shoved it to her lips, too scared to respond. She nodded.

"Man, what luck that we get into this building when there's a party going on." Luke sighed. "It's going to make finding the others easier, but it's so much harder to get out of here."

"Y-yeah…" Astrid looked at the doors, blocked by butlers and guards.

"I even tried the bathroom excuse. Apparently they have them built in the room." He turned around. "Man, I wish Tear was here…"

"Tear?" Astrid looked at him. "Oh, you mean that woman that was with you? The one with the long, brown hair?"

"Yeah, that's her." He grinned. "She's really elegant when she dances. But the truth is that she's really shy about it."

"Oh…" She stared at him. "Are you two…dating?"

"Hm?" He blushed. "Uh, well…it's not really OFFICIAL, but…"

She felt a strange pain stab through her chest. She couldn't explain it, since she barely knew much about him other than the fact that he's the heir to the throne in Kimlasca, but it felt as if she loved him all her life. Turning away, she saw Leon bow in front of her, freaking her out.

"Shall we dance?" He asked, hinting at a form of a smile.

Astrid had no idea what to do. After a split second, she concluded that it was just to talk about the mission in the only form of secrecy that they can get and took his hand. As elegantly as she expected, they were pulled onto the dance floor and blended in with the group.

"Luke already checked out the doorways. We can't leave." She said, figuring that she'll start.

"The windows are blocked too. Apparently Edgar was expecting something from us." Leon said, spinning her perfectly.

"Maybe not us. Do you think he was expecting something else?" Astrid barely kept her balance from another spin.

"Unlikely." Leon looked at the other dancers. "What's strange is that we haven't even noticed these people enter through the door, and it seems as if the party just started."

"So it's not just me?" Astrid stumbled but kept her balance.

"No. He's obviously waiting for us to do something before he strikes." Leon held her hand. "But what is he waiting for?"

"Maybe he's waiting for the both of you to kiss or something."

"Chal!"

Astrid stared at what just happened. That clear voice had echoed in the air again, closer than before. What was stranger was that Leon had responded to it, as if he had heard that voice as well. Confused, she turned to the sword, noticing that it was glowing just barely.

"Did…did your sword just talk?" She blinked, staring at it.

"Huh?" Leon looked confused.

"I heard a voice…just now." Astrid blushed. "It talked about…us kissing?"

Leon's face went red, something that made Astrid panic. He grumbled something to himself and looked as if he wanted to smack his sword, but then he stopped as if something caught his attention. He looked back at her.

"You…heard Chal?" He was slowing down.

"Is that the name of your sword?" She asked. "It…sounded like a man."

"Hah! So she can hear me! She has the potential of wielding me…if of course you allow it."

"But…I can't wield swords." Astrid turned to Chal. "I'm a mage, remember?"

"Oh yeah…sorry about that."

The entire time, Leon was shocked about the turn of events. It was strange, since she thought that he saw this coming. Instead of stopping like expected, he continued with the dancing like this hadn't happened.

"You did hear Chal." He answered. "Only people able to wield Swordians can hear their voices."

"Swordians talk…that means Stahn's sword talks too." Astrid blinked. "Wait, can't Kiryll hear them too?"

"Yeah, but that's because of his Wild Card status. That power allows him to hear them nonetheless." Leon looked at Astrid. "How you can hear them…"

"Maybe the fact that I can hear the voices of the dying also allows me to hear Swordians?" She looked at him.

"I can't say for certain." Leon nodded. "For now, we just have to focus on finding Kiryll and the others."

Astrid nodded as the song ended. She felt Leon slip from her fingers and walk away from her, leaving her confused as to what to actually think. Turning around, she saw a butler nodding toward her.

"You must be tired." He said. "Lord Edgar asked me to escort you to your room."

"But I'm not." She said, confused.

"He insists."

She turned back to see that Leon had vanished into the crowd, and Luke was nowhere in sight, so she ended up following the butler out of the room. As she walked behind the chandelier, she gasped as she passed a statue that looked exactly like Yuri.

"Ah, that." The butler nodded. "When they were here, Lord Edgar insisted that he create statues in memory of them, since he loved their figures and believed that there should be renderings of them."

"So he loves statues of people that visit his home, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

Astrid had no idea what to think. Instead, she kept the statue in her memory as she followed the butler out of the room and into the bright hallway.

------

The room that she was escorted to looked small and fancy, normal for a mansion guest room. The door closed behind her as she wandered in the room. There was no signal that there was a nightgown, instead showing a beautiful red gown lying on the bed.

Why is that there?

She picked it up and carried it to the mirror. It seemed as if it was fitted for her, down to the details that she wanted in a dress. She was about to put it on when she heard a muffled voice again. It sounded familiar, but it was quiet, almost impossible to hone onto. Confused, she dropped the dress back on the bed and headed to the door.

There's no one outside…?

Opening the door, she saw that the hallway was dead quiet and dark, as if it was already late at night. Since she was inside a cavern, it was impossible to determine whether or not it was in fact night time. Holding her staff tightly to herself, she walked quietly in the darkness, holding the wall for balance. The statue of Yuri was the only thing echoing into her mind.

Maybe I should wait for Luke and the others… She shook her head. No, it's too much. They're probably waiting in the ballroom for me.

Finally, she found the door that was the ballroom. She quietly pushed it open, hoping to hear for music and partying. Instead, she saw that the room was dead empty. In fact, there was no indication that there was a party at all. Then she heard the muffled voice again.

"If only I can move…what the hell did he do to me?"

That voice…it's definitely Yuri!

She quickly and quietly ran through the hall to the other side, recalling from memory where he was. Once she found the statue, she closed her eyes and leaned towards it, hoping that she can hear any type of voice in the darkness.

"That Edgar…no…that man…I can't believe he can even do this type of spell…"

"Yuri…" I'm right. All the statues are human!

She dug into her pockets for a Panacea, but found that she was fresh out. She began to wish that Luke was there with her. Hopefully he was smart enough to have a Panacea with him. She shook her head to force the thought out of her mind as she went to fish from her memory any spells that can clear out Petrification.

"You're hopeless…"

She turned and saw Leon and Arche walking through the shadows. Leon held the one bottle of Panacea as Arche held his sword. She couldn't help but smile as he splashed it on Yuri. Instantly, she heard the stone sizzle away from his skin and he fell to his knees. She jumped to his aid, only to see him turn to her.

"Astrid?" He looked at Leon. "So…you guys were curious."

"That was easier than I thought." Astrid stood. "I thought Edgar would have more security when it comes to his human statues."

"He obviously knows that we found out his secret." Leon folded his arms as he tossed Yuri his blade. "He'll be going after us, no doubt about that."

"What about the others?" She panicked. "Zelos and Luke? Not to mention-"

"I saw Arche's statue on the way out." He pointed at her. "Most likely that they'll get them."

"Do they even have Panacea bottles?" Arche asked. "We all know you have an overabundance of them…"

"I personally gave them one. I missed Astrid by a few seconds." He turned to Yuri. "Now we have to get out of here before they find us."

"I agree with that."

As Arche helped Yuri to his feet, they dashed through the ballroom and into the hallway. They nearly crashed into Stahn and Zelos (who was lucky enough to get Dymlos before being saved) before dashing into the lobby.

"So Luke is in charge of Kiryll…?" Arche asked.

"He should have him by now." Zelos said. "What's taking him? And do you think he has the cross with him?"

"I have it." Stahn lifted it from the armor around his neck. "Kiryll thought there was something fishy so he left it with me."

"Why you? It would've been easier for them to get it from you." Zelos asked.

"I don't question Kiryll's deep logic."

They finally found themselves in the lobby where they saw Luke standing there at the top of the stairs. What confused them was that Kiryll wasn't with him. Leon quickly dashed to him with anger on his face.

"I thought you were supposed to get Kiryll!" He said.

"I was! I actually went there!" Luke gasped. "But when I got there…he was gone!"

"He broke out?" Yuri asked.

"No, not really."

The lights fell on them, revealing Edgar and another man at the entrance of the building. The man had long, dark red hair and looked as though his clothes came from the stars themselves. Behind him was the statue of Kiryll.

"That's him! The guy that turned us into statues!" Arche gasped.

"Creed Graphite…" Leon bit his lip. "I knew that it was you the minute I learned of your statues."

"Please, don't use my name. I'm better known nowadays as Star the Scarlet Devil." He said with a deep voice.

"A God General?!" Stahn panicked. "That's just great! What the hell is a man like you doing with this guy?!"

"Just for this man." He tapped Kiryll's statue. "I must admit that it was easier than I thought…getting access to him."

"You're not leaving with him!" Astrid lifted her staff. "You're going to have to go through all of us!"

------

More filler to come? No, say it isn't so! Sad, I know, but it's true.