Even without Magicka, the Lurkers weren't hard to kill. But this behemoth! I narrowly dodged getting crushed by its war hammer, as I try to find a way to kill it. It seems to respond more to physical attacks than power attacks, but I can't whack him forever with my staff. Against such a thing, its just a stick. There will be no intervention by any of the other CPU's because time stopped in this city for everyone but me. And I just realized I couldn't leave the field to boot (that little shield type thing that stopped me from hearing the battle. But unfortunately that's only one way).

Rawrr! It shrieked. The only saving grace is that it looks like a Daedra, so it was possibly summoned, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember how Rei Ryghts banished that Frost Atronach. Not like it would help me anyway, considering I have no power... power! That's it!That Lurker thing might not respond to my magic attacks, but what's to say it won't respond to another Atronach.

I looked through my inventory, and came across a scroll that I haven't even thought of until now. Miraak might have stopped time, but who's to say that it works on everything that enters an area. Please work!

"Try this!" I shouted. And I used my Storm Atronach scroll. It screamed and immediately started attacking the behemoth. My Atronach was kicking butt. I used my staff as well, but the Storm Atronach was doing the most damage.

"I am definitely taking a week off after this, to regain my Magicka. I'm useless without it" I said absentmindedly as the Storm Atronach attacked the Behemoth. When it looked like the Atronach would win, it disappeared.

"Aww come on, I thought that was only game logic!" None of the Frost Atronachs disappeared. The Behemoth regained itself and charged me. I'm keeping my other scrolls for later emergencies. Except for this fireball. I took it out of my inventory and waited. When it looked like it was going to kill me I used it, and it died.

"Seriously" I said as it fell on its face "A fireball? You mean that actually worked?" I never get that lucky.

I looked out and saw time moving again, except everyone suddenly halted. There was an explosion and I flew into a Cultist. I looked at the shrine, and only rubble remained. Good.

I incapacitated the Cultist, and watched as the remaining Cultist forces were driven off or captured or killed. The whole thing was over in an hour. I collapsed, suddenly, after I knew the battle was over, spent. I didn't get knocked out though, I just fell asleep. I talked with Rei Ryghts for a while, and that helped rejuvenate me a little. When I woke up, it was dark. Nepgear was speaking to me, but I didn't hear the first time, and almost went back to sleep

"Joshua!" She yelled.

"I'm up" I sat up.

"Thank Goodness. I thought we would have to carry you" Not if I had anything to say about it...although I always woke up in a girls room after being knocked out, so how did I get there.

"Joshua, stay with me" She said, alarmed.

"I'm alright" I got up, and was surprised when I didn't fall, apparently that was Nepgear's fear as well.

"Come on" she said "Everyone's at the Castle"

"Are they waiting for me too" I said.

"Well yeah, you're the guest of Honor" Nepgear replied.

"I don't think I deserve that much credit" I inputed.

"You're just being modest" Nepgear took my hand and dashed through the streets.

"Hey, you do know what this looks like?!" I said "And could you please slow down, I can't run that fast right now"

"Don't worry, Blanc asked me to do this, and I know you can run faster than these speeds" Nepgear huffed.

"That was before I almost died, Nepgear" I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't back down.

We finally reached the Castle and the guards snapped to attention, as we zoomed past them. Nepgear didn't stop.

"Umm, were here, you can stop now" I said as Nepgear ran through the halls. She didn't appear to here me.

"You can stop now Nepgear, really we're already here" she still couldn't hear me.

We zoomed down the halls, until we went into a massive room, like a ball room. I wasn't dressed for this but that didn't matter-ah!.

I tripped and Nepgear let go, as she tripped and landed into someone. I think it was Neptune.

I fell flat on my face, and rolled a few times, before landing again on my face. Any small talk that was in the room ended at this scene. I didn't have the wherewithal to be embarrassed so I just brushed it off nonchalantly.

"Hey Nepgear" I said through the floor.

"Yes Joshua?" she answered timidly.

"So we understand each other in the future, I hate the taste of floor"

"Yes Joshua" she said, in a small voice.

"You could have stopped once we reached the castle. Didn't your mothe-ah Neptune teach you not to run down hallways like a mad woman?"

"I wish she did Joshua" Nepgear replied.

"I see" I said, as I got up. I almost fell on the ground again. For a second, I thought I was looking at Aurora, but her hair is longer and half pink, half blue. The woman in front of me has short hair, blue colored like Rom's with strands coming down in front. She was swinging an Axe, like that Axe was nothing more than a stick. The Axe disappeared.

"What the hell are you looking at, huh?" she regarded me for a second, before smiling "You better like what you see, dunce cap, or we'll have problems" she stopped hovering as I regained my composure.

"White Heart" I said, like that was the only thing in the world "You're alright"

"Of course I'm all right, what shit-head told you I wasn't?" White Heart held out her hand, and I took it, and her and hugged her right then and there.

"I don't care if Miraak is right, and you hate me" I said and I held on to her, to the shock of the whole room "I wanted to do this since I first saw you" I sat there with her in my arms, waiting like a mad man for her to return it. And she finally did, and it was the greatest feeling in the world.

"That asshole's a liar, and you make sure he knows it" She said...and she kissed me, full in the mouth. That lasted forever, and would have lasted longer if Neptune didn't say something stupid.

"Are you just going to glue yourselves like that forever, or are we going to start this party?" she said, filling up a glass of...pudding?

White Heart sighed and extracted herself.

"You are an ass Neptune" she remarked, and deactivated HDD "There, you happy now?"

"Well this is supposed to be a party, I didn't know it was a wedding or whatever" Neptune said, as she ate her pudding.

Blanc sighed, and lit up as the twins went to her. I never got to hear what was said because Noire approached me.

"That didn't take long" she replied "I only stayed here for that by the way. I honestly thought she would kill you"

"You wanted that to happen?" she blinked.

"No stupid, I just thought that would happen that's all. You don't know Blanc like I do, and no one else in the world would have tried to pull a stunt like that. Especially with all of Lowee's nobility present" Noire brushed her hair back as I took in the scene. There was a lot more people here than I originally thought and not all of them are happy.

"Wow, I didn't know there was an aristocracy here" I mentioned.

"Oh yeah. All the nations have them, but in mine and Neptune's case they are wealthy businessmen. And you have just broken an unspoken rule. We've been alive for...awhile let's just say. And in all that time, as much as many have tried, no one has ever done what you did. Not even close. If anyone else tried, like I said, they would have died"

"You mean to tell me that no one has ever been in a relationship with any of you?" I was honestly surprised.

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Uni told me some things herself from the time you all went to Apothecary"

"It's Apocrypha" I said.

"Whatever, you're just as much a virgin as we are, so you have no room to talk" She glared at me.

I am seriously going to have a talk with Uni later, there are some things she should have kept to herself and I shouldn't have to tell her what those are.

I pondered things while Noire left for whatever reason. Say what she wants, I know she wanted a break. The party lasted for hours, but the people in the room, seemingly on purpose, kept Blanc and myself apart. And it really looked like she wanted to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk to her. Which was to say, a lot. Eventually, it ended, and the guests that were staying, were all shone to the guest chambers. I was deliberately left out, and it never dawned on me that I was going to be shown to my room, or that I would have a permanent spot in the castle. By that time it was told to me that Blanc and the twins had already retired.

"This way" Financier said, briskly. I followed her to a part of the castle that I was familiar with, but not in a room that I had ever seen before. All I knew was that this was the same wing as Blanc and the twins. I felt honored honestly.

"Here you are then" she turned to leave

"Wait" I said "I need to talk to Blanc-"

"The Lady has already retired for the night" Financier went to close the door.

"Then Mina will do, can you get her for me, its important"

"What could be so important, that you want me to wake the two most important persons of Lowee?" Financier was close to yelling, and I knew that a portion could hear her. This was deliberate, she hated me.

I huffed "This is" and I took the Sharicite out of my inventory and showed her.

She gasped, shocked that I would have it.

"That was assumed destroyed or stolen" she said.

"I said I'd get it back, or did you hate me that much that you'd forgotten" I blurted, before I could stop myself "I'm sorry that was uncalled for"

"I'll get Mina, wait here" Financier hurried away. I sighed, and I heard a door creak shut. I turned, it was the opposite of Financier's path. Someone was eavesdropping.

Mina came a few minutes later, with a very apologetic Financier. They were both happy to have it back and they told me such.

Finally I got in my bed, and went to sleep. Rei was just as tired, so she didn't say much to me, and welcomed the sleep. Half way through the night, I felt really rejuvenated, like a huge portion of my power was restored. I almost woke up...almost ruined it, but I didn't. I was content...and I was in love.