Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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AN: and now the fun really begins! Okay, so they are in Shevat now and hopefully they can get to work on a cure for Cymosion. Did I spell that right? Anyway, this should be another interesting chapter.

Heh, popcorn rocks, I tell ya. I am also listening to Robo's theme from Chrono Trigger. Hee, it's such a happy, fast-paced theme. I likes me some techno. Dee, dee, dee!

I contribute my odd behavior due to the freaking headache that I currently have right now. I just LOVE headaches! Don't you?? Eh, that's sarcasm for the newbies.

Now, for the reviews:

Anime Monkey: Gideon's been in hiding from the flying monkeys. They can be quite scary ya know?

Yup. That's part of the reason. You get to see where Strife went this chapter… as well as to what his first name is. Lol Heh, you get to find out this chapter. Oh, and Yuki's back to her old annoying self!

Um, anyway, here's the next chapter!

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Solace

Miliené's temple is a temple that is located deep within the forests of the Wyndian region. According to ancient Wyndian religious texts, Miliené was the name of the Great Bird of Wyndia. She was the Goddess of the Winds and protector of the Wing Clan. It was said that her gift to her most favored clan was the ability to transform into a giant avian.

When the clan started to marry outside of their clan, some zealots believed that Miliené punished them by taking back her gift of transformation. They also said that though Miliené was angered by their actions not to remain pure, she did have mercy on the clan. She allowed the members of the royal family to be able to transform with the aid of a medallion with a large feather carved in the center called the Mark of the Wing.

The only problem was, when the bearer of the Mark transformed, they were trapped in the form of the Great Bird forever. Some say that it was Queen Nina Winlan's fault they lost the ability to transform, and so she was the one who became the guardian of the Mark.

Young Mina Windia would later take the Mark from her elder sister Nina, and use it in her place to become the Great Bird.

They say that the bearer of the Mark of the Wing was also Miliené's Avatar. The Mark was what allowed Miliené to choose who was worthy to receive her powers.

Miliené was never really worshiped in Wyndia as a major religion. She was more viewed as a protector of Wyndia. People worshiped Ladon as their god, but Miliené was their protector.

As it stood, the Temple of Miliené was to pay honor to the Goddess of the Winds. While most temples or shrines had an Avatar, Miliené's temple did not. In fact, shortly after the fall of Evarai, Princess Mina Windia vanished off the face of Aspara.

The temple did house one thing of great importance. One of the ancient Goddess Keys, the Sky Key, was being kept at the temple. No one was sure as to why the ancient key was their. A group of devout Ladonites came along a long time ago and deposited the key there for safekeeping.

While it no longer had a purpose, with there no longer being an Obelisk, the key was still very powerful in it's own right. It was once said that the key could control the weather of the world.

Of course, that was just a legend.

The key was the simple reason as to why Strife slowly made his way up the ancient stone steps of the temple. He was stopped by two guards dressed in silver and blue armor with the insignia of Wyndia on the chestplate, the avian with her wings outstretched as if in flight, holding an olive branch in one talon and an oak branch in the other.

Strife flashed his badge at the two men. When they saw the royal insignia on the badge, they stood down their weapons.

"An agent of Wyndia," one of the guards said. "To what do we owe this honor?"

Strife gave them a grim look. "I am hear for the Sky Key. His Highness has ordered me to remove the key before it can be taken by enemy hands."

"What… are you talking about?" the second guard asked.

"I cannot explain right now," Strife said as he pushed passed the two guards.

"W-wait!" the first guard yelled.

Strife didn't bother to heed the man's words. He was in a hurry and had no time for games. He walked through the main hallway and into the heart of the shrine. He stopped at the doorway.

An older woman with graying blond hair, dressed in white and gray robes was standing behind an altar. She drew her small wings close to her body and walked over to greet Strife.

"Priestess Evangeline," Strife said.

The older woman nodded. "It is a surprise to see you here, Virgil," Evangeline smiled slightly.

Strife flinched at the causal usage of his first name. "Virgil" just didn't sound intimidating enough to him. "Yes, I would believe that you were not expecting to see me here."

"Indeed, I was not. Are you here to pay respect to the Great Bird? Or is it something else that you seek?"

"I need to take the Sky Key from this place. King's standing orders."

Evangeline frowned slightly. "Why has the King ordered such a thing? Is something about to happen?"

Strife shook his head. "I am not a liberty to discuss that right now. If I do, then your people's lives would be in danger. I am simply removing the thing that will cause you harm."

"Someone is going to steal the Goddess Key," a statement, not a question. Evangeline always got straight to the point. Strife merely nodded. The older woman nodded and walked over to the altar and picked up the Key. She walked over and handed it to Strife. "Be safe, young one."

"Go with Ladon," Strife said as he pocketed the key and turned around to leave.

"Where will you take the key?"

"To Miliené's Avatar," Strife said as he walked out of the prayer room. Evangeline could do nothing more than stare at Strife's odd explanation.

Miliené's Avatar? But… wasn't Princess Mina Windia missing? And, who was after the Sky Key in the first place? Why would the King order it removed?

Evangeline sighed slightly and turned to face the large carving of the Great Bird. Ladon, what was going on?

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"Got up this morning on the right side of my bed! With all these crazy thoughts screaming through my head! I can't wait to see what this world holds for me!"

"Ms. Uzuki! Could you please quit singing long enough to allow Lady Saria to talk?" Leon was about at the end of his rope on this.

Despite the way she had been acting before, Miyuki had all of a sudden broken out into song. She giggled as she danced around Saria's office. Ryu grinned as Nina just held her head in her hand, looking embarrassed. Salla merely glance up from the book she was reading and Sari simply sat at her desk, patiently and calmly waiting for Yuki to shut up.

"Here in you I've found a friend! You'll be with me until the end! OH! It's a new day!" Yuki finally finished off the last chorus of her song and recomposed herself. She walked back over to where Nina and Ryu were sitting and sat down beside Nina on the large, plushed couch.

"THANK YOU!" Leon all but screamed.

Yuki winked at Ryu then turned her attention to Leon. "Consider that payback. Karma's a bitch, ya know?"

Leon stared at her blankly, then fought the urge to suppress a groan. What Yuki was really saying that she was going to annoy the hell out of him. It was her own sadistic form of revenge against what he had done to them.

Yuki smiled as she turned to Sari. "You were saying?"

Sari blinked, then nodded. She opened the journal that Wyatt had sent to her and then turned her attention to Ryu and his ladies.

"The Director and Representative Trustee of the Godwin Foundation has recently sent me a journal that he… found. It is apparently a personal journal of Aaron the Wise."

Yuki merely gave Sari a blank look. Sari continued. "The journal goes into great detail about the Cymosion virus. There is even a theory about a cure. What we have been able to piece together so far is that the combined blood of a Dragon and a being of Chaos might hold the key to create a cure for this disease."

"So, what you are basically saying is that a Dragon hybrid's blood would hold the key?" Nina asked. Sari nodded in agreement.

"So, what exactly is a 'being of Chaos'?" Ryu asked.

"Someone that has an innate to chaos magic," Yuki explained. "Someone that can cast it naturally, like a fairy."

All eyes turned to Sari. Sari nodded in agreement. "The scientists here in Shevat have already taken blood samples from me and have concluded what you have said, Yuki," Sari said. "We have the first piece that we need," Sari turned her attention to Ryu. "Ryu, we now need to take a blood sample from you."

Ryu grimaced. "Eh, is that really necessary?" Sari nodded. "Fine."

Nina turned to Sari. "Why do you need a blood sample from Ryu?"

"To analyze his blood. We have concluded that Cymosion is a blood borne virus. It can only be passed through the blood. Chaos energies, as those that are seen within fairies, seem to be able to counter the virus. That's why I haven't turned into stone. I am immune."

"Okay," Nina said.

"With Ryu's blood, we can tailor a cure to specifically fit Ryu. Of course, there are other ingredients to the cure, but we are still translating parts of the text." Sari explained.

Ryu nodded. "So, where do I go to have this done?"

Sari motioned for Leon, but thought better of it and gestured towards Salla. "Salla can show you where to go. Is that acceptable?"

Ryu glanced over at Salla and grinned slightly. "Eh, I guess…"

Salla stood up and placed her book down. She walked over to Ryu as he stood up and gestured for him to follow. Ryu gave Yuki and Nina a smile and followed the woman out of the office.

Nina grinned as she turned to Sari. "So, you think that this might work? We can really save Ryu?"

Sari nodded. "I do believe so," Sari's face fell. "If not, then Ryu is finished…"

Yuki nodded. "Not exactly something that you want to think about, huh?"

Sari hmmed in agreement. "Indeed."

"So, um…" Nina started to fidget in her seat.

"Yes?" Sari gave Nina an amused look.

"Well, I've never been to Shevat before… and I was just wondering if I can go look around the city for a little while?"

Yuki jumped up from her seat. "YAH! That sounds like a GREAT idea! Sari, is that okay?"

Sari smiled. "Of course! I feel honored that you want to tour my city," Sari gave Leon a sly smile. "Do you need a tour guide?"

Leon coughed slightly. The mere thought of having to spend another second with that psychotic woman was pure torture.

Sari noticed Leon's look. Yuki noticed too. "Yeah! Leon could give us a tour of the city! We can go to the kareoke bar and have a singing contest!"

Okay, he was done.

"M'lady!" Leon quickly said. "I have important business to take care of. If you will excuse me…"

And with that, Leon rushed out of the room. The three women looked at each other and started laughing.

"Yuki, that was just MEAN!" Nina giggled.

Yuki gestured for Nina to stand up. "Heh, heh. Sari, if you will excuse us, we are gonna go look around the city."

Sari giggled and nodded. She waved them off. "Have fun… and stay out of trouble Yuki."

"HA! Not a chance!" Yuki laughed.

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Ryu followed Salla down the long, narrow hallway that led to the labs. He realized that Salla didn't look that much different from when he last saw her. Ten years was a long time not to see someone. Many things could change.

Yuki was a Ranger and Sari was a governor. Salla and Demus worked for Sari and Gideon named a new heir to the throne of Dragnier.

Nina had also grown up. She had grown into a beautiful young woman. Nina may have been small, but she was still the most beautiful woman in his eyes.

Gods, how he had missed them all. He even admitted to himself that he had missed Salla, too.

Demus…? He still wasn't sure how he felt about that man. The desire for revenge and retribution was still strong after all those years.

Salla stopped outside of one of the labs and turned her attention to Ryu. She opened the door and gestured for him to come inside.

He followed suit. Salla filled the doctor in on what was going on. Ryu frowned as the doctor instructed Ryu to sit down on the table that was situated in the middle of the room. Ryu did as he was told. He never did like going to the doctor. It brought back too many bad memories of his mother being hospitalized and watching her wither in agony as the virus slowly crystallized her entire body.

Oh, and how could he forget when he had to be hospitalized when he started to show signs of the disease? He doubted he could ever forget how he felt when he was in Lahan.

The doctor walked over and instructed Ryu to take off his shirt. Ryu gave the man a confused look, but did so. The man then instructed Ryu to lay down on the table. He did and the doctor hooked up an I.V. in Ryu's arm. He glanced over at the man. "Um… I thought that you were just taking a sample?"

"I am," the doctor said. "But we are going to need more than just a syringe full. Please just be patient and all of this will be over in a little while." The doctor smiled slightly. "Just a precaution. We need to make sure that everything is all right. You have been infected with this disease for fourteen years now."

And with that, the doctor finished setting up the equipment and told Salla that he would be back in a little while and left the lab. Ryu suppressed a growl. He settled to just staring up at the ceiling.

Ryu sighed as he tried to lie perfectly still. He soon got bored with that and glanced over at the bag that was slowly filling up with his blood. He grimaced. He had never been too fond of the sight of blood.

"You don't like the doctor, do you?" Salla asked. She had sat down in the chair that was next to the table.

"Can't say that I do," Ryu grumbled as he closed his eyes and tried to block the look on Salla's face.

"Why are you here?" Ryu asked in an attempt to pass the time.

"I assume that Ms. Uzuki told you everything that Leon said?"

"She just told me the bare facts," Ryu replied. He took a deep breath.

"Well, okay. After the attack at Angel Tower by that man, I fled with an injured Demus. We had nowhere to turn to. Gideon had a death warrant out on my head, so I couldn't return to Dragnier. I could have simply gone into hiding, but I had Demus to worry about. He was quickly getting worse, so I had to think of something.

"I then remembered that Queen Valerie had an older brother named Victor la Crosse that was the governor of Shevat at the time. So, I came to Shevat and pled my case to him. He took mercy on us and allowed us to remain here. In turn, we swore that we would protect his daughter, Saria."

Ryu's eyes widened. "Wait… are you saying that Sari's father… was my mother's brother?" Salla nodded. "Then that means that… Sari and I are cousins?"

"It would appear so. Apparently, that is why Ladon has deemed her as one of the Destined."

Ryu frowned at the mention of Ladon. "Ryu?" Salla questioned.

"Eh, let's just say that I'm not a big fan of Ladon's right now. That's all I will say about that…" Ryu grimaced.

Ryu's eyes closed and he turned his head to the side. Salla glanced over at Ryu. "Ryu, there's something I want to ask you."

"Huh?"

"What… made you decided to become a mercenary? And why the alias? Did you not want us to find you?"

"No," Ryu grumbled. "I didn't want anyone dragged into my problems anymore. I was tired of people dying because of me."

Salla nodded. "I can understand that."

"Oh, really?" Ryu asked, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Heh, I became a bounty hunter because I was tired of playing by the rules all the time. I had to make a living somehow, and since I didn't know of anything else to do, it just seemed like the most logical thing to do."

"I see," Salla said. "Ryu… I know that you can never forgive me for what I have done to you. I know that you can never forgive Demus, either… but please… don't allow your hatred to consume you. Ryu?" Salla flinched when she saw the look on Ryu's face.

Ryu looked like he was in immense pain. Ryu's body jerked as he screamed. Salla ran over to Ryu and grabbed onto both of his shoulders and pushed him back down on the table. She frantically wondered what caused Ryu to start convulsing, but soon found out when she noticed that his arms began to crystallize.

Ryu screamed as his body started to crystallize. His head jerked and his eyes rolled up in his head. "RYU?!" Salla watched Ryu as his body flashed and returned to normal. Ryu moaned as Salla placed her hand on Ryu's forehead.

Ryu opened his right eye and looked at Salla. Ryu started to say something, but Salla silenced him by holding up her hand. "Don't worry, I won't say anything about this to the others. Please, just think about what I said about revenge, okay?"

Ryu scowled and jerked his head away from Salla's hand. He sighed and then turned his head back around and looked at Salla.

"I'm is not the type of person to just sit around and do nothing," Ryu said. "I know about the demon sightings, too. I have a bad feeling that we, as the Destined, are about to be dragged into some kind of fight…"

Salla could say nothing. Just what was Ryu talking about?

Were the demons connected to Myria somehow? Was this Cymosion disease created by her? The Seeker was one of her followers, and he's the one that infected Ryu with the disease to begin with. Was this her way of getting her revenge on Ryu? Was she trying to make sure that he was unable to fight back?

Only time would tell. All they could do was sit by and wait.

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Shevat was a paradise. Yuki and Nina had spend the past few hours roaming around the city, shopping at the various clothing stores that the city had to offer. The two walked down the busy street, shopping bags in hand, as Yuki read about the city from a brochure she had picked up.

"The brochure says here: 'The island is a tropical paradise, and is a very popular tourist attraction. It is well known for its natural and exotic beauty and generous hospitality. The cuisine is said to be up there with the best in the world. Mostly, the people that live on Shevat are Brood, but there are many other clansmen that have relocated there. Creeping clansmen find the island especially good due to the fact that there are so many raw materials for their world famous meals.'" Yuki recited as she and Nina paused outside of a local shopping center.

"I am sooo very happy that Wyndia is allied with Shevat!" Nina giggled as she eyed a cute blue dress in the store window. "I should have had Strife come with me to this place."

"Yeah, it's like a mecha for all kinds of cool clothing stores and anime shops!"

"No, Yuki," Nina grumbled. "We are not going toy shopping."

"Aw, come on!" Yuki whined. "I really wanna get that Magical Project S DVD!!"

"Uh, magical… what?"

"Magical Project…"

"Oh, be quiet!"

"Can we at least go to the used game store?? I wanna get that fighting game with that hot blond knight that is trying to get rid of an evil sword that once possessed him in the past, but now he is free from the blade's influence and is now pursuing…"

Nina held her hand up to silence Yuki. "Ugh… and here I thought that you have matured over the long years… I guess I was wrong…"

"Oh, poo!" Yuki grumbled as she stuck her tongue out at Nina. Nina, in retaliation, stuck her tongue out at Yuki.

The two girls were so caught up in their little battle, that they barely had time to notice an old man a little ways down the street being cornered by a couple of menacing looking men.

The two girls dropped their bags and ran over to where the old man was standing. They quickly got between the man and the other two guys and both girls struck a pose.

"Um… what are you doing?" one of the men questioned. He was apparently holding some kind of mechanical part for a machine.

"I will not allow such villainy go on while I am around!" Yuki yelled. She placed one hand on her hip and pointed with the other.

Nina nodded in agreement and also struck a pose. "As keepers of the peace, what you are doing is wrong! We will stop you!"

"You have no idea who you are messing with…" the second guy muttered.

"YOU have no idea who you are messing with!" Yuki shouted. "As the Red Ninja of LUV it is my duty to stop all villainy!" Yuki struck another pose. "I will stop you with my Rolling Heart Spiral LUV LUV Attack!"

Nina blushed in embarrassment as Yuki got into a battle stance. The two men had seen enough. That woman was just too damn crazy. The old man wasn't even worth all this trouble.

And with that, the two men dropped the stuff that they had taken from the old man and quickly walked off.

Yuki pouted when she noticed that her opponents had gotten away. Nina looked utterly relieved.

It was then that they turned their attention to the old man. He was a short old man with short, thinning gray hair. He appeared to be shorter than Nina, but he was hunched over, so it was hard to tell. He was dressed in a green and white jumpsuit, brown boots, and had a yellow scarf around his neck.

Yuki was the first to break the silence. "You okay, old man?"

The old man growled at Yuki. "Old man?! I will have you know that I am the great Professor! I am not just merely an 'old man!'"

Nina shrugged. "Okay… Um… Professor? What were those guys doing?"

The Professor growled. "They were trying to stop me from completing my greatest invention!"

"And that would be…?"

"My, only the most stupendous, the greatest, the most magnificent..."

"Get on with it..." Yuki mumbled.

"Okay, I'll explain it this way. The hopes and dreams mankind lost have been scattered across the universe!" the old man wailed, limbs flailing. "Likewise, there are giant robot parts that we have forgotten in the past floating around aimlessly in the universe!!"

"Um..."

"I am trying to build the ultimate robot!" the Professor snapped.

"Oh!" Nina said. "Okay... um that's nice. Yuki?" Nina grabbed Yuki's arm. "We need to go... now!"

"What?" Yuki asked, but was suddenly pulled away by Nina's sudden grip. "Um! Good luck on your giant robot Professor!"

And with that, the two girls ran off down the street. Of all the strange things that Nina had seen over the years, an old man wanting to build a giant robot had to take the cake.

To be Continued.