Duran awoke to the sound of someone showering: he pretended to be asleep until he heard Silver come out of the bathroom, and yawned loudly.

"Oh, good morning, Duran. Did I wake you up?", Silver said softly, noticing Angela was still asleep. "I had a nightmare… You died, and I couldn't revive you…" She sat down at the table, sighing. "Duran, I'm glad it was only a dream, but…"

"Sssshhh…", he silenced her, making sure she didn't look before dressing. "It won't ever happen... Hey, who's the present from?", he said as he noticed the new armor and weapon at the foot end of his bed.

"Hawk, Nikita and Jessica. They got me this beautiful armor, the names of all the stuff are on the back of the note. Mine's called a Reflex Armor, and the sword's a Silver Sword, I think… Oh, looks like they spent more on you!", she said as she eyed the shield Duran had picked up. "It's beautiful!"

"Isn't it? …I didn't know they had shields in the armor store… Otherwise I would've gotten one sooner." He took off his old armor and put on the new stuff, including the shield, which he buckled onto his left arm. He then noticed his newly washed shirt. "Did Hawk keep his promise?"

"Yeah… 'cept the fabric's not what I'm used to, but hey, I can't complain, it's a present. I like them.", she said as she held up one. Duran noticed the fabric was very thin, and…

"I don't think those will hide much…", he said as he walked over to her.

"What makes you… oh dear!", she exclaimed as she noticed the nightgowns were indeed see thru. "I… I can't wear this! It's totally inappropriate!" She caught a stray thought of Duran - I wonder what she would look like in one of those - and started blushing. "I guess I have no choice… but that means I'm getting dressed after you fall asleep."

"Naturally", he said, meanwhile screening his thoughts from her. This trip suddenly turned more interesting… That thought enraged the fairy - "Duran! Keep your mind on searching for the Elementals" - but unfortunately Silver's fairy had heard as well and was now telling Silver. The blush she already had, deepened.

"Duran, that's improper!", she exclaimed, waking up Angela.

"W-what's improper?", the Sorceress asked the two of them, still half asleep. Duran didn't answer, and Silver showed Angela her new nightgowns, not mentioning any of the dialogue she had had with Duran.

"This is. They're a present of Hawk, and I can't complain. And this provides me with a problem - I can't wear them, but I still have to!"

"Uh-huh… Be glad, I don't wear anything but my underwear. You saw when Hawk entered!" The mage made a disgusted face. "I'm still shocked he was so…"

"Rash?", Silver completed. "Well, seeing as I'll have to wear them, Duran'll just have to cope.", she continued with a wink in Duran's direction. "Now, where are we going to today? …I know! Let's go to the Beast Kingdom!"

"Beast Kingdom… Luna, eh?" Angela grinned as she got up, holding a blanket in front of her while heading to the bathroom to get changed. "Hey, doesn't that Kevin guy live there?"

"Kevin? Yes… didn't think of him for a while, I guess. I wonder how he's been doing…", Silver said in deep thought. "I hope he's okay."

"Okay then: Beast Kingdom it is!", Angela said as she disappeared into the bathroom. Duran nodded half-heartedly, but in his heart he felt a pang of jealousy again. After all, Kevin was close with Silver, almost as close as he was with her…

Booskaboo was very happy to see them again, if his slow swimming was anything to go by. The fact that they had to go all the way around the continent didn't help either, but Duran enjoyed the time they spent lying around on their giant friend's shell since it gave him the chance to talk to Silver mentally since their class change.

"Duran", Silver's voice called out in his head, "Do you have a bad feeling too?"

"Why's that? You have a bad feeling about going to Beast Kingdom? …Maybe we shouldn't go."

"No, it's not that… I feel we should go there, but I also feel a very real threat… I don't know how to put it, but I feel you'll be in danger there."

"In danger?", he said mentally.

"Yes. …Well, not that I'd let anything happen to you, but it's just… this feeling's so real…"

"Hmm… promise me, Silver, not to worry about it. We'll deal with any danger when we face it, okay? Just concentrate on finding Luna and the rest will come naturally."

"Like you're focusing…", Silver retorted, snickering mentally. "But I like it when you're not focusing.", she added with a warmth that heated his very blood.

"Likewise", Duran answered, and suddenly he realised that the mental gesture she made was the equivalent of an embrace, one which he was subconsciously returning. He opened one eye, looking at Silver and noticing how she lay stretched out, her new armor showing off more bare skin than her previous one, with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Silver, are you awake?", he asked her out loud, sliding closer until he was next to her.

"Uh-huh…", she replied dreamily as she still felt the warmth of their mental embrace just as he did.

"Good, keep it that way", he said as he laid down next to her, basking in the feeling of her presence both physical and mental. It seemed only a few minutes later to them that they arrived at the coast of the Moonlight Forest, which was covered with the same cloak of eternal darkness as the rest of the lands. It chilled them, especially Silver, who was least dressed of the three. As Booskaboo swam off, they walked towards the forest, after passing a statue that moved as they approached - as if it was letting them pass.

As they went into the forest (they didn't pay much attention to the village since they had already bought new supplies in Deen before leaving), the first thing they encountered were two Werewolves that howled to the full moon before charging in for the fight, brandishing razor sharp teeth and vicious-looking claws. Silver drew her new silver sword and killed one by cutting its head clear off after having dealt it serious damage, while Duran and Angela were battling the other one. Duran gave it the final blow and looked behind him to see that Silver was okay. He still wasn't used to the newfound strength she had as a Gladiator, a strength that almost surpassed his own, but it was getting normal to turn around and see her fight was long past. Again, she smiled as she looked him directly in the eye.

"You seem to have had fun with that beast", Angela remarked as they continued walking the path. Silver nodded.

"Yep. He was strong, a worthy opponent. …Oh boy!", she shouted as they rounded the next bend in the road, seeing a Werewolf, a fully transformed wolf and a blood red bat. Silver charged in immediately, taking care of the Werewolf while Duran took on the Bound Wolf and Angela got to fight the Grave Bat. Suddenly, Silver leapt up again and disappeared, now startling even Duran and Angela. First, the Werewolf yelped, having been hit by Silver's invisible sword: then, both the Bound Wolf and the Grave Bat growled in pain, and then, out of nowhere, Silver leapt down again, impaling the Werewolf on her sword. After she got back onto solid ground, the Werewolf passed out at her feet, mortally wounded. Angela was grateful for the help, and her opponent yielded to her attacks shortly. Duran had a bit more difficulties, but he decided the time was right for an attack charm of his own.

"To the powers that keep me true and strengthened I implore: strengthen me once more. Give me the power to bring down my foe, before he can harm me or my loved ones. Give me the strength my ancestors had, and the skill passed down from father to son in swordsmanship… Silver, may I be as skilled as you…" The next thing the Bound Wolf knew, he was hit three times by Duran's superb sword skills. A faint yelp was all it could utter before falling down dead. Duran grinned as Silver dusted herself off and came over to him.

"Wow, that was the most precise attack I ever saw! You're certainly a Knight to be reckoned with!" Angela agreed, smiling as she checked her new staff for any marks her opponent could have made on it, seeing none. "But let's not hesitate!", Silver continued. "We should go here now… this is the path they were protecting, so I guess this is where they don't want us to go. Watch out Beast men, here we come!", Silver shouted as she walked ahead, followed closely by Duran, and less close by Angela, but all three with the same determination to find Luna and get to the Mana Stone of Moon before it was too late.

Somewhere deeper in the forest, Kevin went to the grave of his best friend, Karl, after having class changed at the Moonreading Tower.

"This is weird… I can walk outside in night without transforming. Maybe it because of class change!", he concluded as he found himself rapidly nearing the open space in the forest where he had given his friend a proper burial. And indeed, as he rounded the corner, he saw the provisory wooden cross he had made to mark the wolf pup's grave. Kevin kneeled down in front of it and closed his eyes to stop the tears from flowing.

"Karl… me wish you were here. The world is in danger, and Kevin can't do a thing! Why Beast King wanted me to kill you? Why he let me kill only friend? …But Kevin have made new friends! Kevin has special new friend, Silver, she has a soul like yours - wild, free, kind to Kevin. I like her… huh?" The Monk opened his eyes again to scan the environment. "Methinks someone's coming here…" He hid in the undergrowth, and just in time, for the next moment, the Death Jester passed.

"…you saw them? I mean, who would be foolish enough to walk right into my trap, ehehehe? I'll go take a look. Oh, and keep an eye open for that coward pup your King calls his son. I saw him in the forest a couple of times…"

"Don't worry…", a deeper voice said - Lugar, Kevin knew. "He won't live much longer anyway…" Kevin followed them from a distance, back to the Moonreading Tower, where a few unfortunate mages were held in the light of a magic trap. Kevin recognised them as Altenan - he had seen the crest a few times before. But Kevin wasn't prepared for the onslaught that followed. One spell and two shrieks later, the mages were lying on the ground lifelessly.

"Ah, a soul for my Master…", the Death Jester said, his mask bearing a gleeful expression that contradicted his vile intentions - and then he cast the spell that separated soul from body, and Kevin could look no more…

Greetings again, my trusted readers...

I bring you another chapter. The next one is to come next week, regardless of my progress in typing. I have also updated my Lufia 2 fanfic, for those that are interested.

Greetings for now, and have fun reading...