Hikaru: Gah, late again! Sorry! I've been playing a lot of Radiant Mythology … and Valkyrie Profile. Heheh.

--

Jay manually shut down every single light-giving mechanism in Poppo's workshop, shutting off all other manner of machinery as well. Although Soltis undoubtedly had machinery of its own, it most certainly wouldn't be anything like machines on Melfes.

After all the machines had been turned off along with the lights, Jay came to the grand gaet graveyard, where his elemental friends were waiting.

Hoseia's voice came out of the darkness.

"Are you ready?"

Jay nodded, then remembered that Hoseia probably couldn't see the action in such darkness.

"Yes."

Jay felt Reno and Nievia's powers at work: Reno dimmed whatever small amount of light there was, and Nievia drowned out warmth so that it became immeasurably cold. Jay's hands, nose, ears, and feet went numb, and his breath rattled in the frigidity. He drew out the dark moonstone, closing his eyes and his hands over it. He imagined the place Hoseia described—a huge continent with magnificent silver buildings, submerged in Deep Sky, an unrelenting deep sea of clouds …

The power within the moonstone pulsed, like a heartbeat, and just like a duct, Jay felt the surrounding area change …

--

"Crystalen!"

Searing chill and countless pillars of ice formed in the altar room, engulfing everything in their path in quick succession, a frigid wildfire. All Senel could focus on was the intense pain in his lower body, that he couldn't move his legs or even feel them.

He opened his eyes to see the Arcadians that had helped him before charge in, throwing spell after spell at Galcian and Ramirez, who seemed to forget he was supposed to be killing Senel.

Senel rolled over onto his front, using his arms to slowly and painfully crawl across the floor, toward the Blue Moon Crystal, whose brilliant aqua light shone to Senel like a beacon of safety.

"Senel!"

Footsteps, and someone crouched beside him. Soft feminine hands caressed his shoulders. It was Fina, although Senel wished it were either Stella or Shirley.

A warm light washed over Senel, and gradually the pain in his legs and feet disappeared, tingling as they came back online. Senel groaned, pushing himself off the ground. Fina's eyes were lined with worry, wet with tears.

"I can't believe you're alive … the Elders finally found you …"

Senel got to his feet, seeing Ramirez and Galcian battling with the Arcadians Fina had allied herself with. Eyes wide, Senel noticed the youth in blue pitting blade on blade against Ramirez, who attacked ruthlessly and systematically. He guessed sheltered little Rami was more at home fighting swordsmen who had no formal military training.

The man in the long red coat had a pistol, and was shooting alternatively at Ramirez and Galcian, throwing in the occasional ice spell. The redheaded girl with the braids and an oversized bladed boomerang provided backup support with different Lunar magic, the most useful being the Green and Silver ones.

Fina still stood by Senel, rather awe—or dumb—struck. Senel tightened his bracers, preparing to help the youth wearing the blue jacket.

"Fina, back me up."

The Silvite woman nodded, stepping a ways back so as to be out of the line of fire. Her familiar, a little shape-shifting creature of Silver origin, floated around her head.

As Senel snuck around the battleground still slick with films of ice, trying to get close to Galcian, he heard Fina invoke the Moons:

"Moons, grant us thy blessing!"

Immediately Senel felt the effects of the spell—his limbs surged with newfound power, his eres brimming.

Once he maneuvered behind Galcian, Senel knelt and delivered a low sweeping kick, getting Galcian to fall forward. The oversized sword Galcian wielded clattered away on the floor. In a lightning-quick fashion, Senel wrenched the Admiral's arms behind his back, one of his feet pressing against Galcian's back.

Senel concentrated, but the Silver power of his crystal wasn't coming to him. He couldn't cast any spells. By this time Ramirez saw what Senel had done to Galcian, and with wild abandon he yelled, charging right for him—

Senel wasn't thinking straight, but when Ramirez came charging at him, sword poised to stab, Senel at the very last moment threw himself to the side, out of harm's way.

A deafening silence prevailed.

Ramirez stood, stunned. His sword was stuck to the hilt in the back of his very own lord Galcian. Dark red blood seeped out from underneath Galcian's body.

Ramirez fell to his knees, jaw laxly open. He yanked his sword from Galcian's body, throwing it aside. He threw himself at his lord Admiral, screaming,

"No!"

Without warning Ramirez's Silver crystal began to shine, silver blue needles quickly forming in midair—

"Oh, no …" Senel whispered, terrified.

The redhead girl shouted, "Everyone come here now!"

Senel scrambled to his feet, grabbed Fina by the wrist and sprinted to the red-haired woman, hearing the snick of the needles as they neared completion in number—

"Eternes!" Ramirez screamed.

Senel instinctively ducked, but the red-haired girl shouted, "Delta Shield!"

A bluish silver, translucent barrier similar to the one Senel had conjured before shrouded every Arcadian and Senel and Fina. The innumerable needles dissolved upon contact with the shield. Senel's jaw went slack. They were granted temporary immunity from Silver magic!

Senel dashed forward, Ramirez's earlier words ringing in his ears:

Only a Silvite can end the life of another Silvite.

Senel grabbed Ramirez's silver blade, and in one thrust impaled Ramirez through the heart. When Ramirez fell on the dying body of his lord, he smiled, a single tear rolling down his face.

Ramirez's body slowly dissolved, engulfed in a silver light. The light extended to Galcian's body as well, and together they disappeared altogether. The only things that remained of them were Ramirez's sword … and his Silver Moon Crystal.

Senel bent down and picked it up. It shone with a forlorn silvery white light. Closing his hand over it, Senel turned to the Arcadians.

"It's over."

Senel did not remember much of Ramirez, but it still stung to strike down someone he'd known in his childhood, and a fellow Silvite at that. Sighing, he sat down, head hanging low.

His voice was barely audible. "Thank you for help. Your world … is no longer in danger."

The youth dressed in blue opened his mouth as if to say something to Senel, but the redheaded woman stopped him, a hand on his arm. Reluctantly the youth's gaze dropped down, and he turned to the exit. The redheaded woman and the man in the red coat followed suit.

Only Fina remained, rooted to the spot as she stared after Senel.

Senel looked up at her, and his heart ached when he saw the tears rolling down her face. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't have the faintest idea how. They had known one another in childhood, but they were completely different people now.

They were absolute strangers.

Fina broke the fragile silence.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked, her voice low.

Senel sighed, squeezing Ramirez's Silver Moon Crystal. He'd been thinking about that for a long time, and he knew what his answer would be. This world and the Great Silver Shrine was too foreign, too alien for his own liking. He missed his own world, back with Will, Shirley, Stella, Chloe, and everyone else …

"I'm … going to return the planet on which I lived before the Elders found me. The world where I grew up."

Fina's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "And … you're just going to abandon the Elders? Abandon the Shrine?"

Abandon me?

Senel stood, the silver crystal in his hand pulsing, as if the heart of its owner resided there. His own head began to hurt; he felt a headache coming on. Eyes narrowing, Senel tore the gold circlet from his head and threw it to the ground.

Fina stared, jade green eyes wide as it clattered across the floor.

"I … am no Silvite!" Senel shouted, the hand holding the crystal shaking as he tightened his grip on it. "I'm no Ferines, no Orerines, and I'm sure as hell not a damn Silvite either!"

He didn't mean to get angry, or to insult Fina or the Elders, but the anger Senel had kept bottled up the entire time exploded and he couldn't stop it. He turned to Fina, whose hands were clapped over her mouth in immense shock.

"What were you going to do?" Senel demanded. "Return to the Shrine? Surely you don't want to spend the rest of your life cooped up in some space colony with a bunch of old men who should've died long ago!"

Fina still couldn't speak. Senel inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. When he spoke this time, his voice was much softer.

"I'm just me. My own self. No one has any right to dictate who I am. I have … to stop pretending to be someone I'm not."

He looked at Fina. She still couldn't speak. For someone who was raised on the Shrine, hearing the Elders' ancient Silvite beliefs for as long as she could remember, this must be a very radical idea indeed.

"How about you, Fina? What will you do now?"

Fina opened her mouth to speak, but an entirely different voice echoed throughout the room. With a start Senel dropped Ramirez's Silver crystal, and he recognized the voices—

"Pity. It seems the Silver Civilization really has met its end. Very well. All must return to the nothingness from which it was birthed. Senel, go to Zelos."

"Elders!" Fina shrieked. "No, Senel, don't do it! The Elders will call the Rains!"

But Senel couldn't move. Not of his own accord, anyway. He tried not to, but as if he were a mere puppet with a puppeteer pulling the strings, Senel picked up Ramirez's crystal, and turned toward the sealed Silver Gigas—Zelos.

Senel spoke through gritted teeth, trying to fight the impossible hold the Elders seemed to have on him. How the hell could they do that, take control of someone from the Great Silver Shrine?

"You … promised!" Senel screeched, inching toward the altar that contained Zelos. Funny how a sphere only four feet in diameter could contain so much power …

"You promised you'd save Auldrant! I promised Tear I would!"

Elder Prime's grave voice echoed throughout the room.

"Never fear, young Senel. We'll do that first, and after that, Arcadia as well as ourselves will return to our initial state of nothingness …"

The Great Silver Shrine was right beneath the Silver Moon. If the Elders called the Rains from every Moon, the Shrine would be eradicated in the line of fire. Tear, Kratos, Lloyd, and Yuan were still there … !

"Kratos, Tear, get the hell outta there!" Senel screamed, his hand extending toward the Silver Gigas.