You guys want to know what happened after I posted chapter 35? I looked at the total word count for FTaBV (195,620 at the time) and wondered "Huh. I wonder how many pages that is." And then copied and pasted every chapter into a single Word Document. Minus the author's notes, we have 175,400 words and about 352 pages my darlings! And you've stuck with me through it all! How are you not sick of me yet? Apparently about 20,000 words were just me rambling!

…I wonder how many pages it'll be once I add the omakes. :)

Angelic:

Angelic, m'dear, I'm ALWAYS insanely happy and smiley when I'm writing! Also, in response to your comment on the last omake: Yes, I am evil and proud of it. And yes, I'm aware that the MAJOR DEVELOPMENT in that omake makes it too relevant to just be an omake and more appropriate for the main fic. Sadly, since the previous 35 chapters have all been strictly Letha's point of view, the sudden switch to third person following Yuri wouldn't fit. Maybe most readers wouldn't mind, but the discrepancy in styles would severely offend my sensibilities. In short, I chose what I believe to be the lesser evil.

FlameUser64:

A new face/name! Happy to see I'm brainwash-I MEAN entertaining new readers just as well as the old loyal addicts. About the incident in the ghost ship, there wasn't anyone buffing Letha up with spells, rather one of the rare cases where I'm implying/she's assuming that her bodhi blastia has something to do with it. Perhaps there's reasons that shouldn't work. Perhaps Letha doesn't know those reasons. Perhaps I don't know either and it's a case of writer's fail caused by never actually playing the game. OR it's me being evil and leaving it up to you guys to guess if I'm planning something. I could even just be messing with you all right now.

I'm a terrible, evil person. You all don't even know the half of it yet. :D

...Yet another rambling author's note...

Listening to: Far From Home by Vic Mignogna. This song is like the theme song of every SI character ever!

x x x

Chapter 36: Instruction

x x x

"And here we have the scrappy young guildswoman-"

"Stop with the random title changes already!"

"-Letha Vitae of Brave Vesperia!"

"I am so gonna kick his ass," I grumbled as the crowd cheered at my entrance. I waved back to them, trying to appear more confident than I felt.

"And the last minute entry that amazed everyone with an overwhelming victory," ...Yuri didn't mention anything about overwhelming, "Ludwig Vitae!"

My anxiety for the fight to come notwithstanding, I smiled happily when I saw Ludwig enter the arena. Here was the one person in this world I felt perfectly at ease with. The one who knew the most about me, knew I had many secrets, and was content to let them be. Even to the point that he helped me cover up my origins. "Uncle Samaritan," I greeted him playfully. "I never would have thought you'd join the tournament."

"Likewise," he returned with a faint smile. "Although you don't seem all that surprised to see me here."

"Yuri saw your fight."

"Ah, the young man from before," he nodded slowly. "Your new friends all seem to care for one another very much," his tone was approving. So it puzzled me when I realized the look in his eyes was one of sadness.

"It's a heartwarming reunion between uncle and niece! But will the bonds of family survive the trials of battle? Or will they be torn apart in bloody conflict?"

"Don't make me come up there!" I shouted up at the announcer. He was making this sound dangerously like the Jerry Springer show or something.

"Did you always have such a temper?" Ludwig asked with mock disapproval while drawing his jian. He left his own dao sheathed on his belt.

"Some people just get to me way too easily," I responded sheepishly. Hesitating for a moment, I settled on taking both Gemini out. Ludwig had skill, and his skill made him both strong and fast. Since I couldn't hope to match his skill or his strength I'd have to bet on being faster. Aikido would probably be fastest, but with just that I wouldn't have a hope of cornering him into admitting defeat.

"Fight!"

For Ludwig it was a simple matter of pushing off from the ground hard with his back foot to launch himself forward and close the distance, sword extended towards me. With a small noise of surprise I stumbled a bit as I barely managed to dodge sideways. A careless flick of Ludwig's wrist sent the tip of his sword to chase my retreat, forcing me to pull back even further.

He did not follow up this exchange, instead returning to a ready stance with a shake of his head. "You hesitate still when the fight begins," my 'uncle' chided. "You never make the first move, and there is hesitation before you respond. Just now my attack was straightforward and predictable. If you had moved first, you could have headed me off and dealt a grievous first blow."

I felt my head and spirits droop at his criticism. He was right, I could even envision how I should have acted. I should have moved forward at the same time, if not first, caught and deflected the jian harmlessly to the side before it had all of its momentum and power, and used the opening to strike at nearly any part of his body. If he didn't react in turn fast enough, that could very well have ended the fight.

"An opportunity lost," Ludwig reiterated, "but not one to dwell upon. Except as an example to learn from." I nodded mutely, and raised my daggers for the next assault. It seemed this would be a fight, a test, and a lesson all for the price of one.

This time I was the one to rush in, pulling up short with a horizontal slash of Gemini Right, Gemini Left held at the ready as if to follow up with a stab when its twin was blocked. The jian flashed from side to side to block the first and intercept the second, only to waver in the air as if confused when neither was there. I had pulled my arm in so that the strike fell short of the sword, a maneuver accompanied by some sliding footwork that spun me around to Ludwig's side and then nearly behind him.

Gemini Right dove in again to make a shallow cut, one meant to mark where a much more serious injury would be on his collarbone or even his neck if I'd been so inclined. But it was stopped with the ring of metal on metal, Ludwig's sword somehow appearing at just the right angle to guard his exposed shoulder. "Good! Much better than before, though somewhat lacking in efficiency!"

Before I could try again Ludwig stole the lead with a flurry of attacks. His jian swept through the air and stabbed from all angles, its dance resembling the swift and deadly strikes of a stooping hawk. It was all I could do to dodge and deflect, sometimes forced to outright block his attacks (something very contrary to my style and mindset). Several times his sword slipped through my defenses and the flat of the blade would smack me in silent chastisement. At least I managed to never let those painful slaps hit any vital areas.

It ended when a deft twist and slash cut a bleeding line across my wrist and sent Gemini Left flying from my grip, clattering somewhere too far beyond my reach to be of anymore use. "Do you yield?" Ludwig questioned as I pulled my wounded hand in close to cradle against my chest, traces of blood smearing on the vest. "If such a small degree of pain is too much for you, you'd be better off finding a place to settle down in peace now."

"Me? Settle down?" I tossed Gemini Right to my left hand and drew Oberon with my right. "You're talking crazy now."

"Good girl." This time the smile on his face reached and warmed Ludwig's eyes. "When you fear neither pain nor death, all limits are removed from your path."

It struck me as an odd thing to say, though I could (sort of) understand what he was getting at. It comes up a lot in stories with a lot of fighting and action; if you're not afraid of the possibility that you could be killed, you would not hesitate. That acceptance actually raises the chances of surviving a dangerous situation, as the difference of a few seconds might be the difference between life and death. But...why bring this up now? Why not back when he was first teaching me? It was as if he believed I was about to get involved in something so dangerous that any mistake could kill me.

There was no more time to consider his words, however, as he attacked again viciously. Viciously, no more stinging slaps whenever his jian sneaked in through my defenses, instead he began leaving shallow cuts behind. Very small ones, each forgettable on its own, but once combined resulted in a fair bit of blood loss. I needed to think of something to turn the tables fast.

I attempted a few artes, they were all moves I'd picked up after my lessons from Ludwig, so he wouldn't know about them. Star Stroke and Afterimage both knocked him back, but after the first time using each he wouldn't allow me to retreat an adequate distance to pull off the ranged attack and would catch my dao on his sword before I could complete the close quarters arte. Pierce simply couldn't make it through his guard without me losing an arm in the process. Ludwig never used any artes of his own either. It was all pure swordsmanship, and if I was going to win it would have to be through strategy.

With Oberon I was more willing to actually block instead of deflecting an attack. Though I still preferred not to take the heaviest blows directly. It was a reaction Ludwig knew to expect from me, and perhaps I could take advantage of him knowing my style so well. When the jian next descended on me from a higher angle, I used my dao to divert the sword to the side and encouraged it to continue in its swing until its point nearly brushed the ground. Ludwig allowed this, as he always had before, knowing that as long as he retracted the blade or redirected its momentum fast enough I wouldn't be able to use the opening it created.

I stomped down on the jian with my right foot, careful to do so in a way so that I stood on the flat of the blade and didn't drive my heel into its edge. It stopped the sword and its dance just like that. In his surprise Ludwig wasn't able to keep his grip on the hilt when the jolt of my foot snapping the blade downwards tugged it abruptly out of his hand.

I had disarmed Ludwig.

Despite the accomplished glow I felt from this achievement, I couldn't afford to take a moment to celebrate. I swung both Gemini Right Turned Left and Oberon up to slash diagonally up across his chest. A deep cut was not my intention, again I tried for something shallow to mark what would count as a more serious wound.

Since I'd thought the fight already over, what happened next flashed by too fast for me to register what exactly had happened. Sunlight blazed off of metal for less than a second, my remaining Gemini flew away who knew where, and I found myself lying on the ground with Oberon pointing at my throat and Ludwig's unnamed dao resting just above my heart.

"The moment of perceived victory is when one is most vulnerable," was all Ludwig said.

"...You went easy on me. Except at the end."

"Even at the end. If I had not, you would be dead." Ludwig's voice was cold and emotionless. I didn't like it, it felt like someone else entirely had beaten me and not my 'uncle' and teacher. It left a knot of resentment in my throat, though I tried to swallow it and forget about the bitter taste as I rolled over and pushed myself back up. Damn, I'm still gonna feel this fight tomorrow.

The announcer had been chattering away to the crowd (I'd tuned him out like an annoying radio station DJ) which in turn was making a chaotic racket at the sudden turnabout that ended the fight. I kept my head down, not wanting to look at any of them, and tried not to listen too closely to any of it. Having so many people witness my failure, I did not like it. Irrational stage fright made rational by getting my butt kicked in front of an audience. I welcomed the distraction of Ludwig reversing his grip on Oberon and presenting the dao to me hilt first.

Accepting the return of my weapon, I gave Ludwig a respectful bow. Habit from my lessons back on Earth which carried over to the lessons from my 'uncle'. Bow and thank your sensei. He nodded at the familiar display of gratitude before reaching out to ruffle my hair a bit. "Come, do not be so down. You have made good progress on your own."

"It doesn't feel like much, but thank you..." It was then that a coliseum henchman came up to ask Ludwig if he wanted to rest before the next fight. I took the opportunity to track down both of my daggers. Since I'd lost, they're shouldn't be any objection to me watching the last fights, right? Maybe I could even go join the others up in the stands...

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we'll be jumping directly into the semifinals! Competitor Ludwig Vitae has waved the customary resting period, so in just a few minutes the excitement can begin!" Just before I left the arena, I looked back over my shoulder at my 'uncle'. He was standing passively; hands loose at his sides, head bowed slightly, eyes closed, and I could barely detect the rise and fall of his shoulders that indicated very deep breaths.

Yuri, of course, was waiting just inside the corridor. My money would bet he hadn't been that far away, what with his tendency to sneak past guards and spy on tournament matches.

"Hey," I greeted a bit lamely, "looks like I can't beat him after all."

All that got me was a noncommittal, "Hmm." Yuri was looking right past me, staring hard at Ludwig. Nonplussed, I watched him for a moment and then waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked and his eyes refocused on me standing in front of him. "Sorry. Wasn't listening."

The admission surprised me, "...Well I know you of all people can't be scared of a fight, so what's up with you?"

"Hmm, just have a few...questions I'd like to ask your uncle..."

"Questions?"

"Yeah, like how someone even more proper than Flynn could have raised such a wild black widow." That wisecrack earned him a jab in the shoulder.

"Ha ha, hurry up and get your butt kicked by my uncle." Yuri flipped his fingers in an almost salute (more like a mockery of one) followed by a wave as he strolled out to confront Ludwig. I jogged back to our waiting room, hoping to retrieve my bag and find my way to where the others were watching before the fight ended.

Surprisingly, there was somebody standing outside the room when I got there. Nobody I recognized...but he looked so bland that he probably wouldn't have stood out in my mind if I'd met him before. "Uhh, can I help you?"

"Ah, Lady Vitae," ...I've been called some really weird things today... "I have something for you."

"Wait, what?" I looked warily at the package wrapped in brown paper and twine he was holding out to me. My mind started playing semi-humorous images of a newly formed fan club vying for my attention. Which were more like horror/comedy images, as what sane fan club would be formed after seeing me fight in a coliseum match?

"Before the last fight, your uncle arranged for this to be delivered to you in the event of his victory," he informed me plainly. "Had you emerged the winner, he was to come and reclaim it himself."

"O-kaaay," I finally accepted the package, which he looked quite relieved to be rid off. With a polite bow and rehearsed, 'have a good day,' he left as fast as could be considered professional. Figuring he was just in a hurry to get back to work or whatever, I brought the package into the waiting room so I could sit down while opening it.

With a Gemini I cut away the twine, then had an OCD moment where I tried to remove the paper whole instead of just ripping it off. At least there wasn't half a roll of scotch tape getting in the way. Once I'd finally gotten it all off the paper dropped from my hands to crumple forgotten on the floor.

In my lap was a book. A manual, to be more precise. There was no title, but when I flipped it open the pages were filled with black and white diagrams demonstrating techniques with the dao. "Oh..."

…

The people in this world were too good to me.

Later I'd have to study it more thoroughly, but I hadn't forgotten that Ludwig and Yuri were probably trying to thrash each other that very moment. I wanted to see every second I possibly could of that. Slipping the dao manual into my bag, I rushed off to find the entrance to the audience seats.

x x x

They had started. My progress through the rows of seats to rejoin my friends made me the target of a whole slew of curses and jabbing elbows from people who did not appreciate me blocking the view. Jeezus, was this what it was like to come late to a football game? Good thing I never cared enough for sports to willingly put up with this.

But I could live with it this time. The curses and pointed elbows just rolled off my back as I squirmed through the small gaps until I popped up suddenly between Karol and Estelle.

"Woah!" Heheh, my sudden appearance surprised the little Ace.

"Oh, Letha! I'm glad you could join us up here!" I could barely hear Estelle over the noise. God, I hate being in the middle of screaming crowds.

"Yep, well, they don't really set up front row seats down there," I could finally devote my attention to the two men fighting it out. Yuri was in the middle of a series of artes and complicated sword maneuvers. From my experience with the man, I could tell Ludwig was having some trouble keeping up with them all, but covered for it well if you didn't know the facial tics to look for. "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Judith supplied from the other side of our gathering. Her voice carried without her raising it over the screaming fans. How do some people manage that? "They've finished testing one another, I think, and-"

Her voice was finally covered by the audience's collective groans of sympathetic pain when Yuri's fist planted itself in Ludwig's solar plexus. I think it was the solar plexus. Curse the peanut gallery seats! Not close enough!

"That had ta hurt," Raven winced.

"Nah," I shook my head, "If Ludwig had just a second to see that coming, I bet it didn't land as solidly as it looked."

"Solid enough," Rita remarked, and indeed it seemed so. Ludwig and Yuri had put some distance between themselves, neither looking like they were in a hurry to reengage.

"Huh, I'm not sure who I should root for," I grinned a bit, "Though since we're on a job, I suppose I should be hoping Yuri wins." They still hadn't got back to fighting yet. Actually, it looked like they were talking...

"Of course Yuri will win!" Karol asserted with vehemence. "Yuri would never lose!" Repede barked, as if backing him.

"Not that we don't think your uncle is strong," Estelle was quick to put in. "It's just..."

"Don't worry, I get it," I assured her. I hadn't really been paying attention to what they'd been saying anyway. Something about Ludwig's stance and what little I could see of his expression was worrying me.

Whatever they were talking about, it seemed serious. Yuri was having one of his rare moments where he was giving visible cues of how angry he was. Amazing, the normally polite and likeable Ludwig had pissed Yuri Lowell off in only two brief meetings. I couldn't begin to imagine how that had happened.

Ludwig suddenly exploded into motion again, apparently catching Yuri by surprise. The two were locked in a standoff when Yuri just barely managed to block the jian from practically beheading him.

"Yow! They do know they're not supposed ta be playin' for keeps, right?"

Concerned about the escalating hostility, I stared hard at the fight and resisted even blinking. What was going on? When Ludwig actually disarmed Yuri I involuntarily gave a frightened gasp, momentarily convinced someone was about to die, but it seemed he didn't execute the move correctly as his own jian was lost in the process. And then, like in my own fight, the tables were abruptly turned as Yuri rushed Ludwig with an unarmed charge and a blue wolf's head of aer.

Ludwig was thrown back by the force of the attack, and that appeared to be the end of it. My fingers dug into my palms as I chewed my lip worriedly. Ludwig...

"And Ludwig Vitae is down! Is this the end of the seasoned warrior's run?"

"I swear," I growled, "if I ever meet that guy on the street, I'm gonna smack him one." I didn't even know why the guy bugged me so badly anymore. He just did. On principle.

Yuri was saying something. Dammit, I really wanted to know what they kept talking about down there. At least Ludwig finally got up, and didn't seem too badly hurt. Though there was no telling how much he might be covering up from pride and sheer stubbornness. I did, however, believe that if he really wanted to he could keep going.

But Ludwig was leaving the arena. "Well what do you know! It seems Ludwig has admitted defeat at the hands of the next generation!" Why? What was this all about? Some sort of testing the new batch of heroes crap? Men are so confusing...

Yuri was still obviously angry. Whatever he said was enough to make Ludwig stop for a moment, but not turn around. No, I frowned as I considered what I knew about my 'uncle's' personality, he won't turn around because he's...ashamed. Or something. Ludwig was the type to look you right in the eye, it took something he felt really bad about to break that. Like Sophia's death.

Whatever it was all about, Ludwig shook his head and left a very irate Yuri glaring at his back. The younger swordsman only left off his evil eye when his escorts came for him. Must have been a desperate attempt to keep Yuri from sneaking off again. Might as well have left him alone, now that everyone else was eliminated Yuri should be content to wait for them to announce his match with the champion.

Oh goody. Yuri versus Flynn time. Or it would be, soon enough.

"Heeey, Letha!" I realized with a start that Raven was trying to get my attention. "Geez, how'd ya start day dreamin' in a place like this? Can hardly hear myself think with all the noise."

"I'm sorry, I was distracted..." I murmured. They probably didn't even hear me over the crowd.

"We asked if you wanted to go see your uncle," Estelle apparently repeated.

"Oh," I blinked while considering the question. Well, as fond as I was of Ludwig, there wasn't an urgent need to go talk with him again. Not after that last lesson/beating. Though I would like to find out what was up between him and Yuri... "No... I doubt I'd be able to catch him anyway," I decided.

"Catch?" Karol said in confusion.

"He had someone deliver this to me after our fight," I pulled out the dao manual to show them. "If he hadn't already decided to leave once he was done, he could have just given it to me himself."

"That's considerate of him," the princess practically snatched the manual out of my hand despite the cordiality of her tone. As a fellow book lover I could empathize, but wow... "But it's a shame that you didn't get a chance to say goodbye." Nobly she held off opening the book to inspect its contents long enough to search my expression for signs that I might be hurt by my uncle's abrupt departure.

I just shrugged, "He left me a present that speaks louder than words," I nodded at the book in her hands, giving unspoken permission. Immediately she opened and started leafing through it, like I had not that long before.

"Letha, this..."

"Ludwig never formerly trained me to use a dao before," I explained, "Just the daggers. I've been fighting based on what I've seen him do, and what I know about swords in general. As you've probably realized," my shoulders rose and fell in a careless gesture, "my skills have got nothing on what Ludwig can do with either of his swords."

"Don't put yerself down like that."

"You did quite well considering all that."

Raven and Judith's words made me smile, though I only half believed them. Yeah, they wouldn't say it if they didn't believe it, but the words carried a slight ring of customary platitudes given to sooth the loser. I wouldn't say as much out loud though.

My manual was passed around, though only Judith and Estelle gave it any more than a cursory look, and then returned to my bag. I thought to double check and see if the others had their things with them, since we wouldn't be here much longer. And to my relief everyone had at least a small bag, pouch, or whatever that we'd each taken to keeping on our persons at all times. Sure, I was the only one who knew we'd beat town quickly, but the others had learned that the possibility always existed. Though Karol's and mine looked the most packed for such eventualities.

Yes, we live and learn.

"It just keeps getting better!" the announcer's voice split through the air with what I would assume must be a blastia enabled speaker system. "Now it's time for the main event!" Yuri slowly walked into the coliseum arena, turning and looking around at the audience. His eyes first sought out our group, the ease of which suggested he'd marked their position during a previous fight.

The announcer was still going on. "Allow me to introduce... The current and undefeated champion of the coliseum!" From the opposing entrance, the one Yuri had just turned his back on, a figure emerged. Sunlight reflected off of well polished armor and blue uniform, sword, and blond hair.

"What...?" Estelle gasped.

Karol reeled back as if punched, perhaps he would have fallen over if I didn't shift to the side so that he was supported by my own body. Repede was growling and whining.

"It's the heartthrob with the steely gaze! Flynn Scifo!"

"Oh, I am definitely calling him that next time we talk to him!" I grinned. Suddenly, I felt a lot less animosity towards that announcer...

Flynn, meanwhile, pulled up short with an expression of pure surprise we could see clearly up in the nose bleed section. For his part Yuri's expression darkened for a moment upon hearing the champion's name. But the neutral-casual look returned soon enough as he turned around and bounced his katana off his shoulder. The very picture of being comfortably prepared and confident.

Brief conversation between them, as they realize someone has not been entirely honest (*coughREGAEYcough*), but between the old friends it took very few words. Both were readying weapons (and shield in Flynn's case) with an eagerness that hid any trepidation from the clueless audience. "Men of the coliseum! Let the flames of your valor burn bright! It's time for the final showdown!"

The ensuing battle was different from Yuri's fight with Ludwig. While that had appeared to be in the guild veteran's favor most of the time, even when Yuri was pressing the attacker's advantage, this one felt as if it could go either way. Flynn always knew just when to guard Yuri's attacks, and when they were feints that could be ignored. Yuri always anticipated where Flynn's sword would come from next, and knew when it was safe to directly block or better to nimbly dodge.

Thinking about it, even though the two had that whole light-and-dark, yin-and-yang thing going on their fighting styles made clear differences in their basic...stats. Flynn had higher raw strength. He must since he was always burdened with the weight of armor. That constant source of endurance training made him the stronger with formidable toughness.

But this meant that Yuri, in his light clothes and nonexistant armor, had greater speed and agility. This was accentuated by his occasionally acrobatic feats, sword flying from hand to hand as necessary while fists and feet were used nearly as often as steel. Trying to keep up with Yuri would wear Flynn out faster.

Still, anyone who knew anything about the game would know that Yuri freely admits he'd never beaten Flynn. At anything. So maybe despite my observations, a drawn out fight would work against him... Not that we'd get to enjoy a long, drawn out fight between them. They were allowing it to remain at a stale mate for the time being so that they could talk over their swords, but even before they decided how to wrap it up without trouble...

Any second now...

"Yuriiiiiiiiii...Lowell!" Zagi's insane screech actually silenced every spectator for a moment. The tri-color hair man practically threw himself down the the rows of seats, people scrambling to get out of his way since he would definitely just run over anyone in his way. But the thing I didn't anticipate was that he came from directly behind where we were sitting.

We were a bit too shocked to stop him, and probably couldn't even if we'd tried. Karol yelped and fell backwards over Repede as the assassin shoved between us. His left arm made contact with mine, and I staggered at the sudden ill feeling that overcame me.

"Ugh!" I doubled over at the sudden nausea and suffocating pain in my chest. What the hell?

Not noticing or caring (why would he?), Zagi flung himself from the stands to land in the midst of the competing friends. "What do we have here! Has someone arrived to steal the spotlight from the stars of the show?" An edge of bewildered panic seeped into the announcer's voice.

In my state, I couldn't pay any more attention to events than that. Hunched over, I groaned and buried my face in my knees and arms. Why did I feel so sick after Zagi passed us by?

I did register the cries of shock, surprise, fear, and pain coming from all over. All seemingly in response to something Zagi had said, or done. Wasn't paying enough attention.

"Woah! What is that?" Karol's voice was right next to my ear. Meaning it was considerably louder than I would appreciate at the moment. A small, gentle hand touched my back. Probably Estelle, checking on me.

"It's a blastia!" Rita identified whatever everyone was so worked up over. "I can't believe he'd try to use it like that...!" Right! Duh moment, Yuri hurt his arm the last time they fought! And Zagi gets a weird blastia arm in the time between that fight and his showing up here!

"I've got a bad feelin' about this."

"That blastia...!" Judith exclaimed with more shock than normally anything could elicit from her. ...Bigger duh! The blastia arm was another of those screwed up ones her father invented.

It seemed that while I'd never reacted to regular blastia in any way, something about the Hermes...Hoplon blastia (wait, was there a difference? I couldn't remember...) gave me aer sickness. Yay for new discoveries...

"Judith!" The gentle hand left my back as Estelle cried out. And I could sense the sudden empty space around me as the entire group pushed its way down the stands in pursuit of each other. Groaning, I forced myself to get a grip and go after them.

"...Oh screw this, I'm outta here!" the announcer announced his desertion as a handful of monsters came bursting out of various entries. Audience members screamed in fresh wave of fear. Wait, they aren't supposed to get out until after we fight Zagi, aren't they? Apparently, Zagi's initial demonstration of his new toy sped up the schedule just a tiny bit.

Monsters were between us and Yuri, so we had to trust he could handle the crazed assassin on his own for the time being. We'd first try to do something about the hoard of monsters already trying to force their way out of the lower levels of the coliseum where they'd been confined. The first one I found myself squaring off against reminded me of an unholy cross between a praying mantis and a Sinspawn boss I could vaguely remember from Final Fantasy X. Yaaay...

It swiped at me with a bladed arm that wasn't so much serrated as it was toothed. Large, conical points that reminded me of pictures I'd seen of the inside of an orca's mouth. I avoided the hit by moving in very close to the monster. Such an action was inherently accompanied by a horrified reaction of 'giant disgusting bug, eww!' but fortunately that just helped matters as I viciously Pierced it in the vitals with both Gemini before it could do anything. Bug juice sprayed out on my hands.

"Ewww," jerked the daggers out of the exoskeleton and dashed off to find my next target. Maybe Bugspawn wasn't dead yet, but it would be soon and not at all dangerous in the meantime. The arena had already become very full, monsters swarming everywhere and demanding all of our attention. Yuri and Zagi were focused on their own fight, but occasionally a katana or knife (though the way he used them reminded me of tonfas) would direct itself against a monster that was unfortunate enough to interrupt.

Poor monsters. Never get between a crazed fanboy and the object of his obsession.

"Argh!" In my distraction a nasty lizard-dog hybrid had bitten my leg! It growled triumphantly as its jaws shifted to bite through the bone of my shin. Its teeth came together so hard I could hear them click.

I heard it, but didn't feel anything. I stumbled backwards and my leg went right through the jaw that had a split second before been firmly clamped on it. Other than some holes and bleeding from the initial bite, my leg was unharmed. Permeability again. Shut up, go back to killing things, and be grateful for it.

I'd be much more grateful if Nevi was there to answer some questions. I do NOT like NOT understanding my own body!

Barely conscious of my own angry and frustrated thoughts, I cracked the hilt of Gemini Right against the skull of the monster that had realized it was no longer chewing on my shin. The blow was enough to rock its head to the side and upwards, giving me a clear shot at its throat. I grimly severed it with Gemini Left.

Maybe I still had issues to work out when fighting people, but monsters I could at least be ruthless with. Their world was a simpler one, one of pure survival, no mercy, and no unending vendettas. Circle of Life in all its bloody glory.

...Time to stop thinking depressing, cynical thoughts.

It was basically a giant free for all. At some point early on, Flynn found a way up into the announcer's box (killing some monsters on the way up) and gave commands for his knights to suppress the monsters and evacuate the spectators, who were milling around in such a panic that they weren't doing a very good job at getting out on their own.

I think we all kinda gave up on joining up with Yuri to beat down Zagi. Or at least I gave up. Instead I settled on fighting back to back with Raven, giving the archer cover so he could shoot off arrows and artes without fear. There were just too many monsters, and often enough we'd lose sight of the others. I could still hear Zagi's psycho laugh though. That was pretty creepy. Like expecting the Joker to come springing out at you.

There was a blast from the area I'd last seen them. The ground shuddered from the shock, knocking me off my feet, and I coughed and spat as dirt was thrown up in a dust cloud. Movement in my peripheral had me scrambling up and around, but it turned out to be Zagi running away from the battle. His expression was a mix of pain and utter fury as he clutched his blastia arm in close. So, Yuri was two for zero. Or, no, three for zero. Almost forgot about the first meeting in the castle.

Judith was in pursuit of Zagi, but was cut off by a group of monsters that apparently thought numbers would give them the advantage. They were wrong, but Judith for once looked supremely frustrated as the delay was enough for the assassin to escape.

Then a flare of blinding light, a surge of heat, and another blast came from another area of the arena. Looking over in startlement, I saw a very bewildered Rita gaping at a scorched circle of ground with a smoldering heap of charbroiled monster in the center. Her expression screamed 'Did I do that?'

Estelle had been right beside her, presumably acting as the mage's covering meat shield, and was equally astonished. She reached into her own bag (I mentioned we all carry some sort of bag, right? Yeah...) and withdrew the red chest from the Atherum. While I couldn't hear anything from that far off, circumstances and game knowledge told me that Estelle had put two and two together. The only thing that was different from any other fight, was the box. So it was the best guess fro what could have thrown off Rita's casting.

...Still a crazy leap of logic though.

And then Regaey mugged Estelle.

Well, no. But he freaking appeared like magic from the mass of monsters and knights and dust still getting kicked up and just swiped the chest. And just as randomly, he practically vanished again into said list of chaos. Repede was hot on his heels fortunately. Judith gave chase as well, actually using her spear to pole vault onto a Bugspawn's back and then leap off and away from the fighting.

...Why can't I be that epic?

"Come on!" I grabbed Raven by the wrist and tried pulling him along in the direction Judith had gone.

"Why do ya guys always hafta run everywhere?" he whined, but kept pace with me as we slipped through the gaps between monsters. When we'd won free from the mess, I saw the others had all been thinking the same way. Yuri came out of a particularly thick knot of monsters with Karol close behind, while Estelle and Rita were lagging a bit to make sure we were all coming.

"Judith and your puppy dog already took off," Rita informed Yuri shortly.

He gave a curt nod, "Yeah, I heard," and continued his run out the door.

"A hero's work is never done..." The archer sighed and gave me a significant look, as if expecting me to make my own wisecrack. I just ignored Raven and ran after the others. "Wait up! Hey!"

"You'd think an old man like you would know to save his breath for the hero's work instead of the complaining," I called back to him.

"You'd also think an old man an' hero'd get some more respect!"

We ran full tilt through the corridors, not so much knowing which way Regaey took as trying to head him off before he could get out of the building. But that was an exercise in futility as it would take a full scale, guild enforced lock down to do that. So closer to say trying to catch a glimpse of him before he got totally lost in the city (and by extension, the wilderness outside the city).

It was gonna happen. As we burst out off the main entrance, we saw Judith already coming back. She shook her head when she saw us. "I lost him."

"...He's pretty good at running away."

Seriously. If I didn't know he was Yeager in extremely convincing disguise, I'd be wondering just how the hell an old guy could move like that.

"Repede is still after him," she reminded us, not yet willing to give up the chase. This was nothing more than a temporary set back.

"Hopefully he won't lose the trail." Though Yuri should know best out of all of us how likely, or unlikely, that was. Not wanting to push our luck, we immediately followed Judith in the direction she believed Regaey to be traveling in, hoping to meet up with the hound and get back on the right track.

"But what's the deal, anyway? Why would Regaey...?" Karol looked around as if one of us knew the answer. Oh wait.

I didn't meet the boy's wide eyes as Raven followed up on the question with, "Think he set us up somehow?"

"Looks that way," Yuri agreed. "He used us to keep Flynn from carrying out his orders." The hard set to Yuri's jaw said just how little he liked being duped and used as a tool.

"Orders...?" Estelle looked troubled at the word.

"Relax, it doesn't look like he's here to recapture any princesses. He wouldn't go through the trouble of entering the tournament for that."

"Well, then what could it be?"

"Good question. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was hurting Regaey's plans." I began to mentally drift off as the others continued to debate Regaey's motives.

So...next up, was those caverns. On the way back, they'd be blockaded by the knights. Flynn's orders right now, maybe they had something to do with the early stages of that? I think that's what the game leads you to believe. I dunno... Though it won't really matter for awhile. We have some Giant Talking Chicken hunting to do.

When we reached the city's exit, it didn't take long to find Repede. He was pacing impatient little circles and looking back as if wishing we'd hurry up. When he saw us he trotted back to show us the scrap of material caught in his teeth.

"Is this...?" Judith delicately removed the fabric from Repede's mouth. It was a scrap of khaki cloth.

Yuri smirked triumphantly. "Repede'll be able to follow his scent with this." The dog barked, tail wagging as if he was very pleased with himself.

"We've gotta get that case back!" Rita's eyes flashed dangerously. The case had piqued her interest. Nothing on heaven or Earth could stop her.

"Yeah, there's that too." I eyed Yuri askance. What was with that 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that detail' tone? It sounded like he was more interested in instructing Regaey in how impolite it was to use people. Instruction that would use a sharp sword as a teacher's aide.

"Guilds don't take kindly ta backstabbin' cheats." Well, sounded like Raven was in a similar frame of mind.

Even Karol seemed extremely solemn, "That's right." Well, at least he didn't have quite the bloodthirsty vibe the other two had. Though that was mostly from Yuri.

Well, Judith diffused the atmosphere with the reasoning that we'd have a good chance of catching him since the mountains needed preparation to cross. Before long we were hot on his tail with Repede's nose tracking him. I was the only one who had any idea that it wouldn't be so simple.

x x x

*Sylph is banging head on the wall* Why must awesome fights be so hard? How does R.A. Salvatore do it?

Uggh. Fight scene overload. If the fight between Yuri and Ludwig seemed a bit disappointing, that's in part because I'd already written it once, and felt too drained to describe it again. So, yeah, somewhat better version in the omake that should be going up soon after this. And it'll again convince people that I am evil.

But YES! Finally out of Nordopolica!

...With this chapter, count goes up to pages: 365 words: 182,658. Still without the omakes.