So Kiryll has found himself dealing with the Wilders, a family that's crucial to saving his life. Yet now he realizes that they consist of the same type of people out to hunt his kind. How in the world is he going to get help from them?

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The place that he was brought to was a big area. In fact, it looked more like a gigantic ballroom than a dining hall. With the dangling chandeliers, the marble flooring and the pillars marking the arch windows, he was surprised that no one tried looking inside the building yet. As Kiryll and Zelos entered the room, everyone was sitting down and already in a deep discussion with Zelos' father (which was, as Kiryll noticed, nothing more than a sense of bragging about his latest hunts).

"Ah, there's my son!" He looked up. "We were wondering when you were going to show up!"

"Let's just say my companion here had a fascination for this place." Zelos stated, pointing at Kiryll. "I had to pry him here."

"Oh, don't do that! Let him wander! He would've found this place when he got hungry." The father turned toward him. "I've heard a bit about you from your friends here. Kiryll Nightroad, am I correct?"

"Um…yes, that's me." He blinked.

"Nothing but praise from your companions. You've saved a few nobles, gotten your name well known…you're really something." He grinned. "You must be a powerful individual, and yet you still want my help."

"Yes. He's actually much more powerful than I am." Kiryll stated. "Than most of us…"

"And this man has nothing more than a Key Crest and no sign of CACI." Zelos' father grinned. "Either he's a powerful human or has a way to bypass CACI. So what I can propose to you is how to hasten the disease."

"There's a way to do that?" Flynn blinked.

"Yep. The only problem is that we Wilders are the only ones able to use it." He answered. "But if you're willing to, I'll teach it to my son here. That way he'll be of use to you."

"This method could be used on all herons, right?" Leon blurted out.

"Yes, of course. I've used it all the time."

That didn't seem to go well with the others. Kiryll turned toward his companions (especially those of heron blood) and realized that most of them went completely pale. He wasn't surprised to see that Zelos had been one of them as well. He looked down as he began to think through just what happened.

"You'll only use it once, Zelos. It may be worth a shot." Kiryll whispered. "But…"

"…"

"…I won't force you to take the offer." He continued. "We'll find another way to stop Guede."

"No. This is the only way to save you." He stepped forward. "How long do we need?"

"Just the whole day. Nothing big." He answered. "But enough about that. We should eat now. We'll begin the process once we're done."

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When he meant the whole day, he meant the whole day. In other words, everyone was going to have to spend the night at the manor.

No one wanted to stay in the Wilder mansion more than they wanted to, so they all ditched off into Meltokio streets when they had the chance of being alone. As always, the area was crowded with people waiting for a sale or just being tourists.

Wow…this place really is huge. Two main squares and they're already filled up to the brim with people. Kiryll looked around. This has to be the liveliest city I've ever seen. I don't think even Zaphias has a candle against it. "Hey guys, do you know where-?"

It was around that time that he realized that he had wandered too far from the big group. He smacked himself in the face, wondering just how dense he was to do something like that, and then shrugged. They were all going to meet up back at the Wilder mansion sooner or later. He might as well wander and hope no one tries to kill him or hunt him down or something.

Actually…finding at least one of them doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Sighing, he decided that all he could do was wander and hope that he found someone with a familiar face. As he walked through the streets, he stared at all of the tall buildings that people were living in and just how nice they looked. He couldn't help but wonder how much they cost. Turning a corner, he saw two familiar people talking to each other.

Vanguard minions?

He panicked, and hid behind the wall as they were talking. With his heron senses, he was more than able to hear their conversation from such far off. Hopefully, none of them would walk through and see that the Wild Card was just a few feet away.

"Hey, did you hear? They're saying that the Wild Card's in this city!"

"Wait, the Wild Card? You mean that heron with the silver hair? Who said that?"

"One of the guards. He said he came in with this huge entourage or something and went to the Wilder mansion."

"The Hunter mansion? I thought that he was in league with the Star Order or something."

"At this rate, they're going to get him in no time."

"Oh-hoh-hoh…not if we have anything to say about it. I propose that we get ourselves that long awaited promotion!"

"What, like a RAID?"

Kiryll paled before he began to stroll away as casually as he could. If the Vanguard was in the city, he was going to have to hide as soon as he could. Not only that, he was going to have to warn the others that they're on the prince hunt yet again. He darted his head around and realized that he was being followed.

Crap…they found me.

He quickened his pace, and heard that they started up as well. Before he knew it, he was in a race for his life. The people were more than willing to get out of the way as he tried his best to stay away from the Vanguard soldiers. Finally, he found himself in the middle of the square. He spread his wings and began to fly into the air.

"You're not going anywhere."

Two gunshots rang out, one going through one of his wings and the other hitting his side. Hurt, he spiraled from the air and crashed into the ground. When he looked up, he saw a young woman with long, blond hair point two guns to his face. Two soldiers swarmed next to her, but they didn't wear the Vanguard crest.

"General Legretta! Is that him?"

"Yes, this is the Wild Card. Van will be pleased."

Van…the God Generals! Kiryll froze. They're part of the Oracle Knights!

"Excuse me, but what are you doing with our prize?"

He looked up to see that the Vanguard had swarmed in as well, led by none other than Alice herself. Kiryll tried to take the opportunity to run when he realized that he was completely surrounded by the troops. He couldn't run out if he tried.

"The Vanguard…so you must be the half-elf Alice, aren't you?"

"I'm blessed to know that you know my name, Legretta the Quick." Alice said sarcastically. "However, that man belongs to us."

"I made the hunt, first of all. Naturally the Wild Card belongs to the Star Order." Legretta looked up. "What does a bunch of anarchists want with such a power, anyway?"

"Our wants are just as important as yours, you know. In order for our new kingdom to prosper…we need him."

"That's enough. I've claimed the Wild Card, hence we are done. Soldiers! Take him away!"

Kiryll looked up as he saw two of the Oracle Knights grab his injured body and hoist him up to his feet. Instantly, he saw two Vanguard Knights charge from nowhere and attack them. Suddenly, a fight broke out between the two warring armies. Kiryll took the time to squeeze out of the mess, only to be grabbed by two Vanguard Knights who were waiting outside the mob.

"Don't you think you hit them too hard, Arche?"

"Nah, he'll be fine! Now YOU…hah, I never knew that you could punch that hard!"

"I got it from Yuri…never thought that I actually needed it."

Kiryll could barely recognize the voices when he could see someone waving them onto what seemed like a ship. It was only after he was thrown in that he realized that he was sent back into Ad Libitum. He sat down just as Arche threw off her Vanguard mask.

"Man, you would've thought that the Vanguard would be subtle about running around the city!" She chuckled. "I hate to say it, but if they're seriously trying to save their country, they're on a bad start!"

"Just be grateful that Legretta was there as well. If it hadn't been for the conflict, we wouldn't have been able to get him out of there." The other one removed his helmet, revealing him to be Flynn. "Still, the fact that they were able to find us so easily…"

"It's the Wilder family…" Kiryll leaned back on his chair. "I…overheard a few of…the Vanguard soldiers. They're…in league with the Star Order."

Everyone darted their heads toward Kiryll in shock when they saw that his face was getting paler and that he was sweating uncontrollably. He looked up to see that Estelle was holding his forehead and moving his hand, revealing his gunshot wound to the world.

"He's been poisoned." She panicked. "Hold on, Kiryll! Recover!"

She began to glow in a bright white light as mana flowed through his body. He closed his eyes, expecting that he was going to be better. Instead, he opened his eyes and realized that he still had his cloudy eyesight. He shook his head, forcing Estelle to try again. After a few minutes, it became clear that this poison was definitely not something that's curable with human standards.

"What's going on? None of my spells are working!" She stepped back.

"It's the Star Order. They obviously found a way around healing artes." Leon folded his arms. "Maybe his Persona can cure it."

Kiryll nodded as he concentrated on his hand. After a few long minutes, his mind became too cloudy, and he sighed. Looking at his hands, he noticed that there was no tarot card in sight. Was something wrong with his summoning skills?"

"His skills are sealed…" Arche gasped. "And the fact that Estelle kept using Recover on him means that it's passing healing artes as well."

"All right, then we only have one thing we can do!" Stahn slapped his hands together. "Estelle, you're a heron right? Don't you have a Persona or something?"

"No, I don't!" She stood. "I've already tried summoning one, but nothing happened!"

"Dammit…OK, Estelle? I'm pretty sure that his body can still accept First Aid spells! You make sure he doesn't pass out on us!" Stahn darted his head toward Luke. "Hey, what about you?"

"Who, Zaou-Gongen?" Luke answered with a shocked look on his face. "Yes, I have a Persona, but I don't think he has a healing arte!"

"Oh, come on!" Stahn held his head in confusion. "There has to be SOMEONE!"

"Astrid…have you had any contact with Zelos?" Flynn turned to her. "Maybe if you can call him back onto the ship?"

"I tried that already. He's deep in his training with his father." She panicked. "Oh man…his Persona Clotho has the Mutudi ability as well. At least it would allow Kiryll to use his Persona too!"

"Zelos is going to be back on the ship by tomorrow…" Yuri held his head. "All we can do now is keep him alive until then."

"Estellise, how is he holding up?" Rita leaned over her.

"He's still hurt." She stood up. "If only I had a Persona…"

"All you can do now is make sure that he's still alive when Zelos comes in tomorrow morning." Luke shook his head. "Damn, isn't there something we can actually do?"

"All right, we go on a hunt! Estelle, we're going to get him to his room! Everyone else, spread out!" Arche shot her hands out. "Ask every single heron on this ship if they have a working Persona with a healing arte!"

Everyone ran out to the inner reaches of the ship as the girls hoisted Kiryll to his room. He was barely conscious when he was lowered onto the mattress and the covers were thrown over his shivering figure. He looked up and realized that Arche was telling Estelle something, causing her to leave the room.

"What did…you say to her?" He asked.

"I asked her to get you cold water and a towel. You know, the usual things we bring people with fevers." Arche grinned. "How're you holding up?"

"Just dandy…" He grinned back. "I'll live the night."

"Hopefully. We have no idea what kind of poison Legretta gave you in that bullet." Arche leaned over. "Seriously, if you need anything, Estelle will be here to help you."

"Well…maybe some small talk…would be nice." Kiryll laughed as he coughed. "Ow…that was too hard."

"Small talk? Well, I guess leaving you alone is a bad idea." She grinned. "So…what do you want to talk about?"

"Um…I've been…thinking about this for a while, but…" He looked at her. "How did…you meet Jade?"

"Dad? Oh well, that's a pretty strange story, actually." She laughed. "He was in the Lone Valley in Sylvarant around the time that I was trying to find the Wind Spirit Sylph. We ran into each other and he saved me from a couple of monsters. It was weird: he was a human, yet he had so much magical talent that I didn't even know humans had."

"It's…probably because of…his heron blood." He grinned.

"Yeah, probably." She grinned. "I think I was annoying him, since he had that air of 'back off!' around him. But before I began to think about it, he suddenly adopted me as his daughter. To this day, I still have no idea why."

"Well…that was nice of him." Kiryll laughed. "I never saw him…as a father."

"Well, me neither. And he isn't a very good one either." Arche laughed. "Still, he has this way of giving off a support vibe the same way lazy dads do. It'll be a while before he warms up, though…"

"Just…give him time. He'll warm up…eventually."

"Yeah…I hope so."

Suddenly, he heard a snap in his mind. Instantly, a figure of a tarot card formed in his mind. It held the image of two eyes and a black flame, hovering in front of a blue background that held cross patterns. He was still glowing, catching Arche's interest.

"I AM THOU…AND THOU ART I." It was Arche's grown voice. She actually sounded pretty. "I, THE MAGE OF ELVEN BLOOD, WILL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."

The glowing faded, leaving Kiryll alone. He turned to see that Arche's face had gotten wide in shock. She obviously wondered just what the hell happened in the last few seconds. Kiryll grinned and chuckled to himself, a clear indication that he was alright.

"I'll…tell you later." He answered.

Arche was about to argue that she wanted to know now when he suddenly started to cough rapidly. He covered his mouth, only to realize that he was coughing blood. Arche stood in a panic before running out of the room to get Estelle. The poison was getting worse.

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The plot thickens! Not only is Zelos' family Hunters, but they're in league with the Star Order, an organization after Kiryll! Man, didn't they learn that a stressed-out heron is just as useful to them as a rock? Come on, give him a break…