Shadow Souls

by ariescelestial

Continues after the game. Yurice? Halley refuses to go to the City of Darkness, while Alice and Fox Face are going in-as guests of the clan!

27. Poisoned Ambrosia

Disclaimer: I don't own Shadow Hearts. I do own Pers and Kain and Syth, who should make a return next chapter.

**

Author's Note: Yuri may be a tiny bit OOC. Not in his actions, but his narration. He uses a few words that may or may not be above his vocab level. I may or may not be nitpicking here. And Fox Face actually gets his own piece this time, see how I handle that -.-.

This chapter contains cannibalism, one f-word (pretty sure), a woman and a kitsuune in a sexual situation (at least, the kitsuune thinks it's sexual) and heavy sappiness and stupidity in one part (or the most part). I've warned you.

**

[Keith]

Margarete was leaning against a thin tree. In her hands she held the two daggers Lamia had given her. The dagger of crystal shards glimmered, showing a multitude of rainbows. "Yes?"

"Is anything wrong?"

"Not at all." Idly she tossed the rose blade up into the air, catching it again by its handle. "Just got bored."

"Hmm." I watched as she tossed both daggers up. Margarete was obviously in no hurry, so I took my time to gather my words. "Margarete, earlier today Aquila-"

"I don't want to talk about that," Margarete interrupted.

"Why not?"

She sighed, shaking her head of blonde hair. "Because, Aquila wasn't me. I had nothing to do with her. So whatever idiotic nonsense she spouted, I don't care."

"It wasn't idiotic," I said.

"Whatever." She raked a hand through her hair, tugging on it slightly. "Look, if she said anything, I'm sorry."

"'If she said anything'? Margarete," I asked, " Do you even know what she said?"

Margarete shook her head. She bit her lip and said, "No...but she just wasn't taking anything seriously. Whatever she said, she probably didn't mean a word."

I remembered Aquila Rose sitting in my arms, tracing hearts. She'd looked up at me and plainly said, "I love you." Tapping my nose with her finger she had asked, "You love me, don't you Keith?"

Having adjust to her odd behavior, I had only sighed, "Please..."

"It's alright if you don't want the others to know. I'm good at keeping secrets." She had giggled at this juncture. "Don't you trust me?" Her eyes had darkened in a look akin to disgust as she observed my silence. Then, with a cry of frustration, she had pounded my chest hard, three times.

"I think she meant it."

Margarete shrugged, pushing off against the tree with one foot. "Does it matter? We're two different people. Nothing she said applies to me."

"But you have the same soul, don't you?"

Margarete looked away. Catching a few last raindrops on the blade of Aquila Rose, she said, "Mm, yeah, and do you think Lamia and I are the same?"

"Close."

"What?" she demanded, turning on me with an outraged expression. "Close?! We couldn't be further apart!"

Her temper reminded me of Lamia's outburst towards Halley. "No. You both can lose your tempers quickly, for starters." She gave me an icy glare. "And you can both be cold. You both favor practicality. Decisive too."

"Maybe, but she's psycho. She just went after Halley for no reason."

It had been odd, seeing a mirror image of Margarete threatening Halley with a dagger. But Lamia had said something... "She wanted to know where he'd been when Sarah died."
"Sarah's the angel," Margarete muttered. "I think Lamia was her bodyguard."

"That would explain why she was so upset," I offered. It didn't explain something else. "How could she think Halley had anything to do with it? He wasn't even born."

"No...but if there's a look-alike for me, Yuri, and Alice..."

I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache starting. "It's possible that Halley has a look-alike?"

"Maybe. But then, they were talking about who was reborn-it sounds like Lamia was reborn as me." She frowned "Or that her soul was reborn and formed a new persona-me."

I chuckled. I could see Lamia being a preincarnation of Margarete. They had the same temperament "Do you think I'm a reincarnated one too?"

"Maybe we all are," Margarete said. "Mnemosyne and Lamia said...lessee...Lamia...Tiresias...Asher...some 'M' guy...Sarah...Hyuga..." But then she shook her head. "Mnemosyne said herself too. But that makes seven."

I shrugged. Perhaps Mnemosyne was reborn in a different place. Maybe none of us knew her. "You've seen Asher, right? Whose look-alike is he?"

Thoughtfully, she raised Aquila Rose and stared at one of the jeweled eyes. Slowly she shook her head. "I can't think of who she looks like. And Halley doesn't look like Tiresias. Actually, he's an Earth class, so..." She stepped closer, looking me over. She smelled of roses." You do look a bit like him...barring family resemblance...very like..."

Her eyes had become a stormy blue as she looked closely into my eyes. I shifted, uncomfortable with her proximity, and she pulled back. "Sorry." She turned away and occupied herself with storing the daggers in a small leather pouch.

"No, it wasn't that."

But it seemed Margarete wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. After steadily observing anything but me, she said, "Let's check with the others. And look, the sun's setting."

Red rays spread across the ground. They dazzled y eyes, capturing my attention. I thought I saw the silhouette of a man, walking away. I hadn't noticed the passage of time, and heard faintly Margarete's voice. I shook off my sudden lethargy and went to meet her.

**

[Fox Face]

I searched the area, looking for a suitable hiding place as Alice lit the surroundings with her magic. Just as a precaution, although it might have been pointless. From smell, I could tell we were the first to pass here in some time. There were no footprints in the ground either. This whole land smelled of death. "Lovely," I muttered.

"This place is so strange." Alice turned around to face me, her short skirt rising in the twirl. I tried not to smile at the black panties' greeting. Being short had a few advantages. "I wonder why. Tripura wasn't like this..."

"Might be because Light, Darkness, opposites..." I shrugged, which was actually ducking my head. "You're more sensitive to it?"

"I suppose."

There was a large cluster of bushes, just beginning to grow blackberries. I directed her towards them, following at a nice pace-close enough to see the panties peeking out. Happily I swung my tails to the rhythm of her skirt.

Alice sat down by the bushes, fingering a small berry. "Oh!" she said, surprising me, "I remember-I forgot to ask Yuri!"

My tails drooped. Ego'd only been gone for ten minutes and Alice was talking about him. I tried to sound cheerful though. "Ask him what?"

"How I could've given you a body," she said, puzzled. She pouted at me. "Since I forgot to ask him, could you tell me?"

I grinned at her adorable pout. "Alright, alright. When's the first time you remember me appearing?"

"In the sewers, at Fengtian."

"TI first came the night you two met." Her eyebrows rose in surprise. I figured as much. "I fought Yuri and beat him up."

"He told me it was a monster..."

"Yeah, well, he probably thought it was true enough." Then I cursed myself for sounding bitter. "But I could appear from the moment you two met. It's because of your Light magic."

Her crystal blue eyes had a puzzled look. "But the only spell I could do was cure!"

"No, not your spells. Your power," I told her. "I tapped into your powers. But it wasn't enough."

Alice shook her head, her white-blonde hair beginning to fall out of her braid. "Then, how..." Her eyes lit with comprehension. "The Malice?"

"Right. So it was your powers and a bit of Malice. But now that your powers have increased, I don't need the Malice." I shrugged.

"And...the Graveyard. You said you would explain."

This was awkward. But I had agreed to tell her. I faced away from her, gazing at the unripe blackberries as though searching for a snack. "I...did hate, but I also took pleasure in you."

"Why?"

"I hated everything that had to do with him." I was sounding bitter again, but I couldn't stop it. "I hated all of you, just because you were on his side. But I liked you, because you gave me a body, and because you scared him." I glanced at Alice. Her hands were up near her mouth and her eyes wide with surprise. I turned away again, finding it easier to not see her reactions. "'Cause, you know, Ego-Yuri didn't have a clue who or what you were when he rescued you. And then he finds out you're a Demon Eyes and that you're making it possible for all the monsters he's ever killed to take a shot at him...He wasn't even sure at first if that was intentional or not. And of course, that you were letting dad take a crack too-"

"Why your father?" Alice shook her head. "I never really understood why you took the appearance of your father. Was it just to disguise yourself?"

That was kind of hard to answer. I thought about it, and then decided that maybe it'd be easier just to tell her everything. "I'll tell you, but it'll take awhile. First off, I'm a graft." I turned back to her and saw her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "...Do you know what a shadow soul is?"

"No."

I clawed at the ground as I tried to think of a way to explain. Then realized I couldn't think of a good way. "Well...basically, Hyuga made me. Well, no. Shit. That's wrong. More like, he tried to make Yuri have certain qualities."

"'Certain qualities'?"

"The big thing was he was supposed to be more forgiving of himself. But, you can't just wipe away other qualities. Like Ego-Yuri-" I kept slipping- "If something goes wrong, he blames himself." Alice had a dubious expression and I amended, "Something serious."

"Alright..."

She sounded uncertain. "Am I explaining this right?"

"Hyuga created you, but not you, more like you were certain new qualities in Yuri, but that didn't keep Yuri from also having contradictory qualities."

"And you're sure you understand?"

"I think so."

I sighed, but then it was better than talking to Yuri. Buy now I would've either been getting a blank stare or a knuckle sandwich. "Alright. Now, a graft might or might not take. Usually by five years, you can tell if it's going to work or not. More often not." Hyuga explained this all to me when I'd first met him, shortly after Ego had rejected me again. "If the grafts are rejected, they're usually destroyed in the process. But Yuri and me got along fine."

Alice laughed. "Hard to imagine."

I shook my head. "Well, we didn't have any reason not to, really. Usually, the only time we differed was when he was busy beating himself up. And then I would comfort him, so...he actually liked me."

"Then why separate?" Alice puzzled.

Sighing, I rested on my stomach, putting my head on my forelegs. "We separated the night mom died. That was when I was actually born."

**

[Yuri]

For nighttime, it was sure crowded. I turned up the collar on my trench coat self-consciously. Still people kept glancing at me. I stared down a group of men, then saw a pretty girl watching me and winked. She looked surprised at this and, still confused, blushed and smiled. I grinned at her reaction and continued down the street, searching for a store.

"Rumor is Nemesis failed."

"He didn't fail, Lamia did. To turn back...those people have always been cowards, but now they're traitors. So what's he going to do now?"

I looked at the speakers; a gangly boy, tall and lean, and an older man, wearing a coat that bulged slightly over his hidden daggers.

"Kera said he's starting back soon. Maybe there'll be a war, you think?" The boy smiled at the thought. "Well I'm gonna go tell everyone." As he turned away, I saw steel flash.

How many people here are armed? When I looked carefully, I could make out small bulges and places where weapons might be concealed on many of the passersby. Were all these people fighters, or were they just paranoid...?

"Hey," I called to the man, getting his attention. Carefully I asked, "Excuse me, but do you know where I could buy some food?"

He raised an eyebrow, but gave me directions to a store. He then took off in the direction the younger man had gone. I shrugged and started walking the other way, deeper into the city.

On my left side there was a high wall and on my right, buildings crammed together. Eventually there was a gate in the wall. I looked through the bars and saw guards standing in front of what must have been the clan's palace. I stared at the vine-covered building for a few minutes before pulling myself away and continuing.

**

[Fox Face]

Alice was silent now. She gave all her attention to me, making me nervous. "Well...the night mom died...you can imagine how upset he was. We were both upset, but he was tearing himself apart, blaming himself for mom's death."

"Yuri told me," Alice said quietly. I nodded, remembering the day in the ruins.

"I tried to do what I was supposed to do...comforting him. We both knew he couldn't have done anything. But he didn't want to listen...I tried harder, and then he just snapped. And then..." I smiled weakly. "My first memory of being separate was being thrown in the Graveyard with him screaming at me, telling me he could've, should've done something, that he'd promised Dad. That I was a coward, that he wouldn't be a coward anymore. He had to be a man. He had to take 'responsibility'."

Hearing the last word aloud, I winced. I was being too harsh on Ego, in front of his girlfriend, no less. I didn't want Alice to get mad at me.

But as I thought, Alice's hand scratched between my ears. It felt nice. I leaned closer to her, brushing against her shoulder.

"After that I was trapped in the Graveyard. It was my first time being aware of myself as a-a-" I didn't have the words to describe it. Looking back on our childhood, I could not say I had participated in it. I was more like an observer, except-no, I hadn't been aware enough to observe. I'd recorded childhood in vague memories of when Yuri and I contradicted each other. "I should've been destroyed, but it'd been too long. I had become permanent. So I was just in the Graveyard, incomplete, hoping...that Ego would come back for me. But he never did. He'd completely forgotten me."

We were half sitting down, half lying on the dirt. Alice's hand petted my side. "And then what did you do?"

Distracted by the pleasurable contact, I looked up at Alice. The moonlight made her a goddess with the appearance of silver hair and violet eyes. She was very beautiful.

Gradually the petting slowed. "Is something wrong?" I realized I'd been just staring at Alice.

"N-Nothing." I looked away from her, trying to remember what I'd been thinking of before her touch had distracted me.

"You said Ego had forgotten you...Ego is Yuri, right?"

"Just a name I made up for him," I explained. There was a cool night breeze and I felt wide-awake, but the same wind was lulling Alice, making her eyelids droop although she tried to hide it. I smiled at her stubbornness. "So I tried showing myself to him in his dreams. It didn't really work. Most of the time he wasn't lucid enough. When he was, as soon as I mentioned mom's death, he started going on about me being the weak part. Finally I just thought, 'I've had enough. He wants to punish himself? Fine, I'll help him. I'll prove he's the weak one.' So I used his worst fear."

Her voice was full of skepticism as she asked, "Your father?"

"Do you know what we did that winter?"

"No," she said quietly, mindful of my sensitive ears.

I gave a snort. "He waited the whole winter for dad in the village. We left when the snow was melting and he finally realized dad wasn't going to come back. And that...the entire time, he was both praying dad would come back and hoping he wouldn't. He didn't want to be left alone by dad too. He wondered if dad would be mad at him. And as his father, I told him he would. I wanted to see him break down and cry. Instead he tried denying that I was dad and went searching...

"We were both pretty crazy," I said. It struck me as a massive understatement. "I was going insane in the Graveyard and dragging him down with me. When we met you...it'd long passed the point of me caring how it ended. As long as it ended-as long as I wasn't trapped in that damn graveyard-I didn't care."

"That's why you tried to kill Yuri?"

I nodded and then rubbed my head into thick blue fabric, wanting comfort. I could feel those emotions returning, the constant aching pain...the pain had been there the whole time, but just thinking about it made it stronger. Alice was always calm and peaceful. I...I wanted that peace. "If he died, I'd be destroyed, most likely. Most of my traits are taken from his persona. So if he died...I couldn't exist...that was really all I wanted. I'd lost hope of being accepted long ago."

"If all you wanted was to be destroyed..." Alice trailed off, afraid to suggest the idea. As if I hadn't already thought of it.

"Whey didn't I destroy myself?"

She nodded.

"I tried to. But I was made by Hyuga, and he never let me. I was pissed off at him sometimes too, for that. But later I found out-without a body, personas have no concept of time. He'd thought Yuri and me were only separated for a few hours. I told him to replace hours with years, and you should've seen him." Hyuga had cursed himself for being such an idiot, immediately reminding me of Ego.

"He must have been surprised," Alice mused.

"Yeah. And so, then when the Seraphic Radiance...well, I thought I'd won. D'you know how close he was to being done? You came pretty late."

She was silent and I realized how cold that had been. We were both lying on the ground and she rolled away, onto her back. I stood up, wondering if she was angry. She quickly shook her head at my questioning look. "I know...I came really late. I saw Yuri's...your...grave. I was so scared for him," Alice said, reaching up to her cheeks, "I started crying. And then you hit me." She shook her head. "You hated weeping."

"I was being an ass," I said, flicking my tails. "I shouldn't have hit you. Just...I was so damn mad that you were trying to save him...I thought you were an idiot. I didn't understand because I thought he was a worthless coward. Even when you told him to accept me, I thought you were saying it only for his sake. When I joined with Ego though, I realized I was wrong. I didn't hate you anymore. I started to...I started to like you." Now she smiled, then laughed, and I stared at her. "What?"

"Oh, oh...it's nothing. You reminded me of something."

"What?" She didn't answer and, almost unconsciously, I began growling. "Alice-"

"Now, now, don't be angry." She was still chuckling as she sat up and scratched my chin. She knew how to distract me. I stopped growling immediately. "Nice doggy."

"Oh great, my woman thinks I'm her dog," I complained.

Alice smiled, letting me know it was all a joke. She patted my head. "Good dog."

"Anyone but you, and they would've lost their hand by now."

"Even Yuri?"

"No," I admitted. "He would've lost the whole arm."

She laughed and lay back down. I followed, rolling on my side and finding myself next to her. She continued petting me, which did feel very nice, so I let her.

"He'll be here soon, right?"

"Two or three hours?" I guessed, looking at the night sky.

"I hope so..." The petting slowed a little over the minutes, then stopped.

"Alice?"

"I'm awake," she said sleepily. "But...let's just get an hour or two in...." Her arm slipped down to around my ribcage, her left arm already wrapped, like I was a pillow. I chuckled at the thought, then looked around. The bushes would hide us from view and if anyone came near, I'd heard them. Confident we were safe, I closed my eyes.

**

[Yuri]

I shifted the bag of food on my shoulders, my left hand playing with one of the Nightbird claws. Now I knew why these people carried weapons. I'd already had to teach two jerks a lesson. Now I glared at anyone who passed me in the street, daring them to just try screwing with me.

All I wanted to do was get out of here and find Alice and Fox Face. Doubtless they were either sleeping or cuddling together. I felt a stab of jealousy, but then reminded myself that Alice considered him the same as me. So if she did get cuddly with him, to her it was the same as cuddling with me.

It still pissed me off like hell.

I was passing the large stone wall again when I noticed some vines climbing over it. They were black, seemingly dead, but when I touched them they seemed alive. I felt a strange sense of foreboding before the Flare Brooch grew hot. I grinned, wondering if it was reacting to something on the other side. The vines made a good ladder as I climbed them. In a few seconds I was on top of the wall, quickly dropping to avoid being seen.

The Flare Brooch burned stronger, almost painful. But my hand dropped from my shirt as I saw the garden. The planets were fantastic, with a variety of flowers springing up. It was the first bit of color I'd seen in this city. A weeping willow's leaves touched the surface of a large pond. For some reason, it reminded me of Keith and Margarete. At first I smiled, but then I decided I disliked the thought. Shaking my head, I proceeded to the building. This side was made like an open hallway, with steps leading up to the building and pillars supporting the ceiling in place of a wall.

Hotter. I touched my trench coat, feeling the heat. I grinned, feeling excited for some reason. There was something important here. Walking down the hallway, I turned left.

**

[Fox Face]

My head was starting to buzz. I dismissed it as just my ears, caused by the agitation I was feeling.

It'd started when I tried going to sleep. Alice had shifted very slightly, but enough to bring her thigh into contact with my fur. It'd gone downhill from there.

Her arms were warm and still wrapped around me. Her breath was light and feathery as it entered my left ear, and somehow the smell of blackberries was making it even worse to endure.

I was fully aware that there was a very attractive woman besides me, that she was a virgin, and that something should be done to remedy that unfortunate condition. Only four things stopped me: Alice was asleep; I was a kitsuune; Alice would hate me forever; and Ego would skin me. Alive. And then pour salt on me.

My tails twitched uncomfortably. I wanted to move away from Alice, but I didn't want to wake her up. I tried waiting it out, but eventually I had to move or go insane. I tried to roll onto my feet but Alice's grip tightened. Still asleep, she pulled me back down and even closer, her breasts pressing against my back. I moaned. This was cruelty to animals.

I scowled when I thought about that. If it were Ego with her, Alice would never let him lay down next to her. Close, maybe, but not next. Was she only letting me because I was a kitsuune? It probably wasn't intentional, but...

Maybe it was because I did act a bit like a kitsuune. And I never objected to her petting...though Ego probably wouldn't object either. But I could see how she might be confused.

As I thought, I felt her skirt bunching up as she shifted again. I first felt the lace, then the smooth silk, and the heat underneath. I whimpered as I realized it was the panties. This was going to be hell.

**

[Yuri]

I peered around the corner, watching the guard. He was finally moving. I grinned childishly and stole across the hallway. I turned left again, searching for the doors. The same doors as the temple. It was rather easy to find them; their ornate designs made them stand out from the plainer ones.

I pushed them open, quickly stepping inside and shutting them. The pitch-black darkness made me fumble. Finally I found a candle suspended from the ceiling and lit it with Inferno's fire.

There was a painting across from me. The light was so dim I could barely make out the portrait of a dark-haired man. There were more candles in two rows and I decided to light those first.

Once finished, I found a room full of portraits, both men and women. Most were dark-haired and dark-eyed, though there were some exceptions.

As I walked through the room, I noticed something strange. Every ten or so paintings, there was one of the same man. There were small variations-like a different style of clothing and hair length-but they looked so much like the same man.

So much like me.

I continued moving on. Something was drawing me forward, beckoning me. I wanted to find it.

At the end of the room there was a portrait of a man with sharp red eyes and a half-smile, closer to a smirk. I scowled and then turned right to a picture of an ordinary man. Nothing about him was anything special.

I turned completely around and then stopped. In large, ornate letters, there was a name under all the paintings. The name under this one: NIS.

Slowly I looked upwards. Nis was an anorexic woman, robed in a tight black dress. Seated, her hand rested on a bulge in her stomach. She was pregnant.

Nis's hair was braided in three thick parts, falling over her chest. She had a twisted smile and knowing expression. Her eyes commanded my full attention when I saw them. They were not dark like the others, but amber. The paint on them still seemed wet. They were bitter and triumphant, like poisoned ambrosia.

I pitched forward as a migraine began. I could see the painting still as I looked at the floor. I stood as I knelt. I was very small.

"Nis."

I turned with a glance at Keith. He towered over me, even though I was standing. No. I was kneeling. What the hell is going on? I wondered, covering my eyes with my hand. Maybe that would stop the vision. It didn't work.

"This is my mother," I said, looking at the painting. I shook my head. "Nis...I hate her."

"How can you hate her? You've never met her," the vampire pointed out.

"I don't need to," I said. "She gave birth to me."

"No," I said. "Mom...not Nis...." The pounding increased and I put a hand on the ground to keep myself up. I couldn't think, too absorbed as the scene began to change and Margarete's disapproving expression appeared.

**

[Keith]

Margarete had a disapproving frown as she looked down at me. I was lying down, the end of her ponytail tickling my face. My shoulders were tight against the confines of a coffin. Margarete pressed down on my chest when I tried to sit up, and closed the coffin lid. I heard a pounding noise. "Margarete? What are you doing?" I asked.

"You have as much emotion as a corpse."

The lid refused to open. She was resting her weight on it, and my arms were pinned, ineffectual. "Is this some joke?" The hammering noise only continued, and I felt angry. "Woman! Answer me!"

"You're not really living. When there's trouble, you escape to your coffin. So why don't you stay in there forever?"

She was nailing the coffin shut! "Margarete, let me out!" Normally I didn't feel the slightest bit of fear at being in a coffin, but being nailed in was a much different matter. "Margarete!" She didn't respond. Panicked, I pushed against the lid, but the nails held it secure. It occurred to me to use magic. The spells failed to come. Had she stripped me of my powers? No, Margarete didn't know how to do that. The pounding continued.

"Tiresias, open up!"

The coffin lid flew open, hitting the surprised woman. I quickly sat up and observed Mnemosyne's cursing.

"A dream?" I wondered, then looked around. I was in a crypt, large coffins arranged five on each side. There was the flickering light of torches to seem them by. All of the coffins were ebony, with a small golden device on them in the shape of an angel. The angel had wings coming from its head.

"Why do I bother with you people?" Mnemosyne grumbled. She went to the next coffin and pounded, shouting, "Tiresias!" She tried to pry open the coffin but soon swore and gave up. "Tiresias!"

The coffin slowly opened and a man emerged with blond hair and hazel eyes. He lazily yawned, stretching in a suit stained dark red in places with blood. "Yes, Mnemosyne?"

Her dark eyes narrowed at the man. "I've been yelling for you a while."

"I didn't notice."

She rolled her eyes, and then assumed a more sober expression. "Come to Hyuga's spirit world. Something's wrong with him."

My curiosity was aroused and I quickly leaped out of the coffin. Noticing my actions, the Asian woman sighed. "Yes, you'd better come too. The other one might be affected."

"What exactly is the matter?" Tiresias asked.

"You see him and tell me!"

Tiresias shook his head, following Mnemosyne's march through the ancient crypt. "Why does it seem you can never deal with these things?"

"Hey, I can handle two souls in one body, one soul in two bodies-"

"That was your fault," he murmured.

"The point is I can deal with it! But you people are all impossible. You're either indifferent, a smart-ass, a damn fool, or you're trying to break an oath you agreed to!"

Tiresias chuckled at Mnemosyne's tirade. "Let me guess. I'm the ass, Methuselah is indifferent, and...Hyuga must be the fool." He raised an eyebrow. "So everyone else is breaking the oath?"

"Asher invaded Lamia's spirit world and tried to tell Margarete everything. Sarah gave Alice a dream to get around the bonds. Lamia...well, Lamia hasn't broken the oath yet, but she encouraged Margarete to kill Yuri."

"I can see how that would be problematic," Tiresias returned. Flipping a loose length of blond hair over his shoulder, he continued, "But Asher? Mia and Sarah I can see, easily. Asher?"

"Many things happened after you died," Mnemosyne said softly.

I caught up to the two and stopped Mnemosyne, standing in front of her. "What are you talking about?" I demanded, too curious to wait any longer. "What happened? Are we all reincarnations?"

She smiled. "So you figured it out."

Tiresias must be my preincarnation, I thought, looking on the man. It was clear that we shared many features: sandy blond hair, green eyes, and a similar build, both of us having broad shoulders. There were slight differences, but nothing glaring.

"Don't stare," Mnemosyne said, her chains clinking as she grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. "There'll be plenty of time later. Right now, Hyuga's..."

We exited the crypt, entering a pure darkness. I looked around in amazement, wondering why I could see when there seemed to be no light. Both Tiresias and Mnemosyne walked purposefully, knowing where they were going. I followed them.

I shivered slightly at the piercing cold, but neither of them minded it. I tried to put it out of my mind and continued on. Still it clawed at me and I began to slow a little, not noticing until Mnemosyne turned and motioned for me to hurry. Picking up my pace, I could see our goal. There was an outline of two darkened doors, with a flat, harsh blue light coming from the crack between them.

"Hyuga!" Mnemosyne pushed the doors open, revealing a graveyard. We proceeded down the temple steps; I glared at the masks before seeing that they were all frozen in place. The air here was thick and stifling, even more so than it had been in the crypt.

Tiresias frowned, murmuring, "Is this...really him?"

"No, that's him, the lunatic hanging upside down," Mnemosyne countered. I looked where she point and saw, next to a small white tombstone, a towering gray one. Around the top, two bare shins were wrapped, suggesting that someone was indeed hanging on the other side.

Tiresias fell in step behind Mnemosyne, but I walked ahead of them both, wondering what the devil Yuri was doing.

I'd forgotten it was Hyuga. His pants were rolled about his knees, his shirt down around his armpits, showing his lean physique. Messy brown hair fell away from his head. He stared at me with Yuri's amber eyes. "You're not Tiresias."

I shook my head. "My name is Keith Valentine."

"So you're of the clan." His near-yellow gaze shifted from me to the footsteps behind. He frowned and then stuck his tongue out a Mnemosyne.

"You deal with him," she told Tiresias.

"Why are you being rude to Mnemosyne?" Tiresias inquired.

Hyuga frowned. He released his hold on the gravestone and fell, pushing himself off the ground with his hands to land nimbly on his feet. Turning around to face us, he pointed at the woman. "She's not Mnemosyne."

"And why do you think that?" Tiresias said patiently.

"Because she doesn't look like Mnemosyne. Mnemosyne has brownish-blonde hair and brown eyes and they're shaped-"

"Is it my fault I was reborn Japanese?!"

Hyuga folded his arms stubbornly, reminding me very strongly of Yuri. "Yes."

"Damn you for being right," the woman grumbled.

We heard a slam and looked around. The doors were closed; I noticed two steel gates, both of which were shut; there was no one in here but us. I turned back to Hyuga and observed his smile. "Did you do that?"

"No," he said. His hand held the fabric of his black shirt, twisting it. "He did. I'm just waiting for him."

"Him?"

Again I heard the noise and spun around. But everything was the same as before. "Who is he?"

I was still looking outward, observing the doors and the gates, when it happened again. Yuri appeared in his familiar brown trench coat at the furthest gates. He gave a short cry of frustration and burst out of the gates, causing them to crash together when they closed.

He didn't want to be here, but Hyuga was waiting for him? "Are you making him come?"

"No. He wants me here."

Mnemosyne looked at the man with some concern. "Why don't you recognize me?"

Hyuga's eyes flashed and then darkened. "You're not Mnemosyne!"

She flung up her hands angrily. "What do I have to do?!"

"I think I might know...how old are you?" Tiresias asked Hyuga.

"Eight years old; you know that Tiresias."

I stared at the grown man in disbelief as Mnemosyne pronounced, "That settles it, he's lost his mind."

Hyuga looked angry at this, the amber flashing again. Tiresias grabbed his shoulders. "Calm down. Look at yourself. You're not eight."

He did look down at himself, looking long at his hands, and finally said in a confused voice, "But I'm nine."

"Nine?"

I hear the banging noise again. I decided to leave Hyuga to Tiresias and Mnemosyne, who knew him better, and see what was wrong with Yuri. As I walked towards the gates, I noted the sheen of the green Earth symbol on a grave.

Yuri did not keep me waiting long. The Harmonixer pitched headlong into my arms, trembling. "Fucking hell..."

"Are you alright Yuri?"

He looked up at me with intense amber eyes, brighter than even Hyuga's. "Keith?" He sounded confused. He was certainly not all right, and I helped him back onto his feet. "You are Keith, aren't you?"

Were both Hyuga and Yuri going insane? I tried not to show my doubt. "Yes, it's me."

Now his eyes darkened to a soulless black. "Where's Hyuga?" His eyes roamed the Graveyard, searching. He walked forward briskly, passing me by-and then he stopped. "No. No." He turned back to me. This time his eyes were a dark brown with flecks of amber. "I'm fused," he told me. "With Lobos. This isn't the time."

I did not understand why he was fused, but from the way he said it, I didn't doubt the situation was urgent. Seeing his torn expression, I nodded to him. "Yes. This isn't the time."

He nodded, still seeming confused, but he stormed out the gates for another try at...was he fighting? It'd be a messy situation if he was; and poor Alice! She probably had to deal with both foes and her baffled companion.

"Odd," Mnemosyne commented. "It's almost the same things as Margarete. Except, Lamia didn't seem to be affected."

"You mean what happened in the City of Water?"

"Yes...Margarete kept going in and out of her spirit world, and now Yuri's doing the same."

"In the City of Water?" Tiresias asked, drawing near. I looked at the bloodstains; there were six that were particularly large. "So they're reacting to their elements?"

"Perhaps, but then..." Mnemosyne trailed off, her face paling. "Hyuga!" Hyuga didn't answer, so she stormed up to the mound again, followed by Tiresias and me. "Hyuga!" Even when she was standing only three feet away from him, he didn't say anything. "What is it now?" she asked, exasperated.

"Why are you calling me that? I don't have a name."

She frowned but nodded. "Alright. I'm sorry. But if Yuri's in the City of Darkness in this condition...." She shook her head. "Where are you?"

"We saw Mother," Hyuga said.

"You're in the palace?" Mnemosyne demanded.

"Of course we are. I live there."

Mnemosyne looked as though she would either cry or slap him. "Well, that explains why he's fusing," she said gloomily.

**

[Yuri]

I had recovered from my weakness long enough to stand. Headache pounding harder, I had focused on Nis's eyes again.

Visions came and went, vague impressions of touch and sight and hearing. They didn't make any sense but left me wanting more, to understand.

There were footsteps. I paid no attention to them, but then realized they were actually from outside.

"Someone of the clan."

"Huh. But everyone was in their chambers."

The doors were slowly pushed open. I turned to look at the guards, fully aware of my strange clothing and amber eyes. Both of them were armed with a spear, but they were polite rather than hostile.

"Sir, do you have business with the clan?"

"No."

They exchanged glances and walked forward to meet me. "Sir, what is your name?" the light haired of the two asked.

There was no name to give them, nothing that would be recognized. I shook my head, hoping to satisfy them some other way, preparing to fuse if I couldn't.

And then they caught sight of Nis's portrait. Both looked horrified as the resemblance registered. I fused into Lobos as the dark-haired one gasped. "You're-"

I formed a large sphere of rock and threw it at them. The rock shattered on impact, knocking the men down along with a few portraits. I ran past them on all fours. The doors were still open and I bounded for the outside wall. But then the wall's shadow lengthened, forming arms and claws that grasped at my paws. A new enchantment?

I turned, growling at the man who was trapping me in this garden. He chanted, strengthening the spell. I could feel the darkness tainting the earth element of the garden-

A man was kneeling, chanting as his fingers probed the earth-grass began to sprout-

Graves? In the Graveyard? I spun around, wondering what I was doing here before remembering to leave.

Somehow Lobos had gotten me into a hallway. I cursed and turned, to find myself facing twenty-some guards. It didn't take me long to figure out there was a good reason for Lobos's decision. I started running again. Turning a corner, I skidded, bashed my side into the wall, and cursed the stone floor. Poor traction sucked for running. Again I felt myself pulled into the Graveyard, fighting to keep myself out.

Doors began to fly open along the hallway. "What in Hel's name is going on?" a woman with body-length black hair demanded.

"Tsuki! Nis's child!"

Was I? Was I Nis's child? No, I was Anne's.

The woman cast a spell, filling me with pain, the same I'd felt when-

"Show yourself, monster," he commanded. I howled as another spell hit me and the gardener started forward-

The Graveyard again. I yelled in frustration, not now, not when I was getting killed-I shoved my way through the gates.

She had a raised eyebrow as she observed me. "I wonder if you're human enough to be a cannibal." There was a coppery taste of blood in my mouth and I looked down to see a man moaning. He was missing an arm. I gagged as I realized what I had done. No, what Lobos had done.

I wonder if I'm more human or monster?

That-that hadn't been my thought. It was Hyuga's. Torn apart, I barely had time to react as another guard swung his spear at me. It slashed my cheek and then I caught the wood in my jaws and snapped it in half. Pouncing on him, I wanted to rip out his throat, swallow his hart-no! Lobos's hunger was fully aroused after a taste of blood and flesh, and the fusion soul was screaming for more. Controlling the urge, I clawed the man's right arm quickly and then ran again.

I was bleeding from my stomach as well, I noted with almost no concern. All concern about my body was nearly non-existent. Compared to my head, my body was doing just fine.

The pain got worse though, making me enter the Graveyard again. Quickly, I stood on my hind legs and brushed a paw over the wound, healing it. That took care of my body. But without thinking, I had gotten myself onto a set of stairs, spiraling up and up. After two flights, it struck home that I'd gotten myself into a tower. How was I supposed to escape now?

My head started pounding when I passed a cell. This was a prison. My prison? I was huddled in the corner, watching my uncle-I didn't have an uncle-

The bewildering experience of seeing the same room in two different perspectives left me reeling. I tripped and moaned, cursing at my state.

"Are you alright Yuri?"

Two arms were keeping me from falling. Tilting my head, I saw blond hair and hazel eyes. Different names came to me: Keith, Tiresias, the gardener. I tried to shake it away, remember which was right. "Keith?" Without saying anything, he settled me back on my own two feet. "You are Keith, aren't you?"

The man's hand tightened on my shoulder for a brief second. "Yes, it's me."

I wouldn't be so messed up if I could remember right. And I knew who could help me. "Where's Hyuga?" I asked. He was in here somewhere. I looked at the different mounds, seeing a woman in red and purple clothing shout as another Keith tried to calm her. There was another me, a complete me who could tell me everything, help me make sense of the memories. It didn't matter how long it took; I didn't care much if I was captured, as long as I knew.

The woman turned and saw me. She looked dismayed. I...wasn't supposed to be here? Stopping, I thought, or at least tried to. Alice and Fox Face were waiting for me. They would come into the City of Darkness if I didn't return. "No. No." I didn't want Alice to put herself in danger. What if Lobos was still in control when she found me?

Still, I wanted to stay. When Hyuga saw me, he beckoned me with a small hand gesture. There was no way I could decide. I turned to Keith, hoping he would settle my mind. "I'm fused. With Lobos. This isn't the time," I said desperately, hoping he would aree with me.

The vampire nodded. "Yes. This isn't the time."

Relieved, I left the Graveyard again and discovered flesh and muscle in my mouth. Lobos had eaten again. Sickened to my stomach, I immediately disembodied and threw up on the stairs. I couldn't see but heard the guards, still after me but further away. I stumbled the rest of the way up the stairs. Now that I was slower, the noise below got louder as they thundered up.

At the top of the stairs there was a simple room with a narrow window. Grasping the frame with both hands, I put one foot on the sill, planning to jump out and then fuse into Seravi.

Another dark-classed spell hit me in the back, pushing me forward. A hand grabbed the neck of my trench coat; the only thing that kept me from falling out the window.

The woman observed me with dark green eyes, watching as I recovered from the spell's impact. With a yell I tried to get free-and then she cast another spell that sent pain through every part of my body. For a few seconds, I thought I was going to die on that cold stone floor. I watched through blurry eyes as five or six guards entered, spears ready.

"Take him prisoner," the woman commanded. "If Nemesis approves, I think I'll keep his as a pet."

"I'm not a pet," I ground out. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"He talks. Odd. Hyuga didn't talk."

"Yes, he did."

She knelt down by me. "Are you contradicting me?" She smirked. "What a naughty little pet you are."

"You call me pet one more time and I'll-" She put her hand in front of my face. My eyes widened as a huge black ball appeared. Then she grabbed my face, forcing the ball into me, and I screamed as more and more of her magic flowed into my body, destroying it slowly.

"You'll do what, pet?" she taunted me.

I couldn't answer. I was unconscious.

The black nothingness that was the Graveyard's 'sky' greeted me. I rolled over and kicked the gates out of irritation. Unconscious, there was nothing I could do.

And...if that was the case...I could talk to Hyuga now. After all, there was nothing more I could do. I walked to the based of the mound.

Two men and a woman were talking with Hyuga. "Is that bad?"

"He committed treason," the woman said. "They'll kill him, most likely."

Hyuga was not at all concerned; he smiled slightly. "Hello, Yuri."

The other turned to me, surprised. The woman grabbed my shoulder. "Yuri, you must leave the palace, right now."

I shrugged. "They've already captured me."

"How-how can you be so indifferent!" She demanded. Her eyes blazed with dark fire. "You could be killed!"

"Nothing I can do."

"You're unconscious?"

I nodded and her shoulders slumped. "Don't worry. If he dies-"

"I don't want to have to keep dunking you people in Lethe!" she replied hotly to one of the men. He had large bloodstains on his clothing. "And at this rate, at least two people would back out. One of them being Lamia. Do you want her to leave?"

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, considering. Reluctantly he admitted, "No."

Have we been reincarnated before?" the other man asked. He was almost identical to the first. Were they the same man?

"Not all of you, but most."

I'd seen one of the men before...hadn't I? Keith...Or Tiresias? Was there a difference? I knew one, but...I hadn't known the other. Which was which?

"Yuri?"

They watched me with some concern. I had started holding my forehead in pain.

"This one is Tiresias. And this one," Hyuga said, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder, "Is your friend."

"...Keith."

Keith asked, "Why are you...."

His question was lost as Hyuga said," He's not sure who he is. Are you, Yuri?"

"No..."

"And what you are determines what everything else is," Hyuga said logically, "So if you don't know what you are, you don't know what everything else is."

I walked up the steps, closer to him. "You can tell me though."

"I know."

The woman pulled her lavender sash tighter, looking between us uncertainly. "...Won't you tell me?"

"You have something I want."

"Then take it."

For a minute he stared at me, startled by my decision. Then he smiled, only one side of his mouth pulling up. He lunged forward, his fist breaking through tangled memories and emotions to grab my soul. I gasped as I realized how fragile I was, but had enough time to catch Tyrving as Keith brought it to Hyuga's throat. "No. It's fine..."

"But Aquila-!"

"It's not the same, he'll be alright," the Asian woman said, "But I also object. If you're trying to do what I think-"

Hyuga's eyes flashed a dark red, and the cloth of his shirt flashed too. "Bind her." The silver chains she wore clinked and began to snake around her as she cried out in surprised, holding her tight.

Tiresias moved forward, but Hyuga reproached him. "Will you betray me again?"

"Tiresias!" the woman insisted when he stopped.

Tiresias moved forward, but it was too late. Hyuga took his hand out, holding a black sphere. With his other hand, he touched mine, and swiftly stepped into me, filling me with an overwhelming cold. My head filled with static and I fell down, watching as my trench coat changed into a black shirt.

**

[Fox Face]

I cursed softly as my headache grew into a migraine. Besides me, Alice murmured sleepily. I swore she was doing this on purpose, but then I saw my salvation: the sun was rising.

"Alice. Alice," I whispered. She didn't respond. "Alice!"

Her leg moved over one of my tails as she slowly woke up. Carefully I arranged the others to hide what had popped up overnight. "Uhm...yes?"

"It's dawn."

"Still early. Just a few more minutes..." She yawned.

You are not going back to sleep on me. Quickly I tried to think of something that would wake her up and blurted out, "Wonder where Yuri is?"

"He's not back yet?" Alice sat up, freeing me from her embrace. I quickly moved away. "Oh! F-Fox Face, don't look."

I turned away and then asked, "What?"

"My skirt went up," she said, embarrassed. About time she noticed. "Alright, you can look now."

I turned round and saw Alice kneeling, grabbing her book. "Yuri's still in the city?"

She was already planning to go in the city. Was she that worried? "Alice, he's fine. He's probably just being a lazy bum and snoozing somewhere."

"But-"

"Trust me. If he doesn't come back by noon, I'll check in the Graveyard and ask Hyuga. But I'm not going to let you go in there!" I stomped my paw.

Alice glared at me, angry that I wouldn't let her go. But finally she sighed. "Alright. But as soon as it's noon, you check."

**

[Keith]

Hyuga had disappeared into Yuri. The Harmonixer sat on the ground, shivering as though cold. I knelt by him. His clothing flickered, changing to match what Hyuga's outfit had been.

Mnemosyne got up; the chains had released her as soon as Hyuga had joined with Yuri. "Tiresias! You would follow him off a cliff, wouldn't you?"

"Didn't I?"

She sighed in exasperation. "You're impossible...but it isn't your fault. You, on the other hand-Hyuga!"

Yuri wrapped his arms around his stomach. He gave a low moan as only pieces of himself changed to Hyuga looking like a composite of the two. "Hurts-"

"Well, I hope it does! That's what you get for tying me up and trying to integrate by yourself, which, by the way, breaks several bonds you created-are you really in that much pain?"

"Do you think I'm faking it?" Hyuga demanded. His shoulders shook more and he bit his lip. Mnemosyne stopped her haranguing to try casting a healing spell on him. "It's not working-" and then he stopped, breathing heavily, staring straight head. "Oh no."

Behind me the symbol of Darkness was glowing. Tiresias backed away from the grave, drawing a sword identical to Tyrving. A thick mist emanated from the grave and not one, but three of Yuri's fusion souls appeared.

"Hyuga, remind me to kill you later," Mnemosyne murmured as she stooped to pick him up. "It'd rid the world of one idiot."

Death Emperor struck first and Tiresias easily parried the blow. But when Czernobog joined as well as Charon, the fellow vampire had a more difficult time.

"A bit of assistance?" he asked. I drew Tyrving and prepared a spell, the size of the mound making it difficult for a fifth combatant to join the fray. "Fall back." Tiresias parried another blow and dropped behind me, letting me cast the spell. "Hecatoncheire!"

The mound began to split up, damaging the fusion souls, though the two graves remained miraculously intact. We both turned and ran to Mnemosyne and Yuri, watching as more fusion souls emerged from their graves and out to the furthest gate. We chose the other gates. Once inside, Tiresias turned and held the gates shut, watching in case the souls changed their minds.

"I can stand by myself," Hyuga said irritably. His arm was slung around Mnemosyne's neck.

"I'd let you have your pride, but you've been too much of an ass lately."

"What is this?" I asked, taking in the scenery composed of verdant grass and a tree on a hill. "It's already sunset?"

Yuri slowly shook his head. "N-no. One of my...his..." Yuri put a hand to his head again. "Yuri's memories."

"You're still not sure who you are?" I asked. "But Hyuga said..."

"Regina though we would, so I...but...no."

"Regina? Oh, that explains your idiocy." Mnemosyne, of course.

"She said that now was the time...and darkness...Nis...beckoning..." he trailed off, looking miserable. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Dummy. Why do you even listen to her?" Mnemosyne said softly. "She's just led you to your death."

"She...wants to keep us...pet..."

"Oh goody. Humiliation. I'd prefer death."

Hyuga's expression flickered. "You would, Hel."

"Don't you dare call me that name," she snapped.

"Wait," I said, trying to stop a full-blown argument from developing. "What are they doing with Alice?"
"Alice?" His expression flickered again. Even the face was a mixture of Yuri and Hyuga. Now it seemed warmer, more confused. Definitely Yuri. "Alice...isn't with me."

"She's somewhere else in the palace?"

Slowly, he shook his head, raking his hair with his hands. "No...I didn't...she didn't come to the city."

"Makes sense," Tiresias said. "She's a light class," he explained to me. "Most demons look down on angels, but the Dark class despise them."

"Then where is she?" I demanded. "You didn't leave her alone, did you?"

I felt someone shaking my shoulders. I looked at Tiresias, but he was too far away. "Keith, you can't sleep the whole day away."

"What's the matter?" Tiresias asked, seeing my panicked expression.

"Margarete's waking me up."

"How?'

The strange question took me by surprise. "She's shaking me."

He actually looked disappointed. "No kisses?"

"Tiresias, get your priorities straight!"

"I was only inquiring-"

Realizing I had little time before I was woken up, I faced Yuri. "Come on! Where is Alice?" He placed his head in his hands. "We can't help her if we don't know where she is."

"She's fine...I think..." He trailed off as he disappeared. Sunlight pierced through, making me open my eyes.

Margarete appeared, her blond hair tickling my face. The sun was directly overhead. "Hello, sleepy head."

Halley and Zhuzhen were both glaring at me. "Do you know how long you've delayed us?"

I sighed and told them then. "Yuri's in the City of Darkness. But he and Alice were separated somewhere."

**

Author's Note: Yes, the scene with Alice and Fox Face. Sappy little piece of idiocy.

Margarete: ^^; It was not that bad.

Too much narration by Fox Face!!!

Okay, like I mention in the Anne AN, I'm using different theories simply because they fit the storyline better. Fox Face is a good person now because he was supposed to be good all along; just Yuri screwed up until Fox Face was majorly pissed off. But it's not really Yuri's fault either. (At least, Yuri didn't know that it was hurting someone.)

In the Anne story, Fox Face started out bad from the beginning, because as Yuri he failed the trial-he was kind of Yuri's scapegoat. Which is also Yuri's fault. (Why do I keep blaming Yuri for this?)

When Alice mentions that they first saw Fox Face in Fengtian, that is actually a planned scene in a fanfiction I'm writing that may or may not be posted. It's basically in the same timeline as the game, same characters and all, but there's a major AU twist at the beginning that screws everything up. If I reach the halfway point with it (the same time as when Yuri tries fusing with SR), I'll probably start posting it.

Margarete: Alice is going to get so pissed off when she finds out.

Yep. But first I have to save the game script on my computer. I'm only in Zhaoyang (right?) right now, so it's still mostly like the game and I'm trying to stay consistent. Likewise, Alice saying that Yuri said it was only a monster is...well...no, that's not from the fanfiction. That's just what I think Yuri would have said.

Okay, three things I don't know: I don't know if Charon is the second level fusion soul, I don't know if Czernobog or Hecatoncheire are spelled right, and I don't know if I got a character's eye color right, and I can't check because the games are packed away. (My sister's planning on moving out. She packed up all the games, although I will try to convince her to leave behind Koudelka, since she didn't pay for it and doesn't seem interested in it, and she said she'd give me Shadow Hearts back when I get my own PS2. I also need to get a memory card for the PS2. I digress.) So...hopefully I did, or I've just gotten everyone confused and am misleading you.

o.o

Anyways...

Oh yes, Fox Face being, um...turned on the blackberries was inspired by the fact that the scent of pumpkin pie turns on men. It was the best smell for turning on men in at least one study. So ladies, buy the new perfume de pumpkin pie. ^^ There are other food scents that work for turning men on, so blackberries did not seem too farfetched.

**

Reviewers:

Kimgrasshopper: Is Alice still with Yuri over there? We haven't seen her in a while...

The front piece was more entertaining than the story? ;.;

Halley and Margarete can both arguably be sadists, with a little corruption. This makes them fun for some jokes. Keith could be a sadist, but he'd be a creepy sadist. I...no vampire sadists. Just no.

The thing about the sadistic qualities of both sides making Yuri a masochist just struck me as a funny quote. True too. If both halves are taking pleasure in the pain of the other half, than the whole is taking pleasure in its own pain. There's a masochist for you.

Sharon is definitely influenced by God. Very heavily. Now, if this is the true God, everything should be fine and dandy, shouldn't it? ^^ She will eventually overcome her fears of summoning, but I don't know yet if that will be made into a big deal or not.

'I personally do not believe that any creative force would have the "balls" to claim to be the be-all/end-all as this THING has obviously done with the Elemental world.'

Sorry, I laughed at this. Eyeball/balls. But never mind that...

Even in our world, Steven (I think, can't remember) acknowledges it to be God. It's both worlds, but the Elemental world is divided between those who rebelled against him (more on that later) and, of course, those who served him.

I don't know if I believe anything or not. Four days ago I believed in that we had eternal souls, but nothing to guide us. We had to make our own purpose in existence. Three days ago, I decided I was an atheist. Flesh and bones; when you die, that's it. I'm still planning on going to Brigham Young University lol.

Compensation? Wait...oh! I completely forgot the joke I slipped in. ^^;;; I was about to look that up before I remembered.

Yuri will never understand the Fox. The Fox has achieved enlightenment. Thou shalt worship the Fox.

Margarete: I take it it's time for another Pure root...

^^; More seriously, um...yes. He's always in the dark. That's the problem with being a darkness class.

Hey, I had the description for Hyuga in ch. 12, and I know that was way before the new Yuri came! ::grumbles:: They stole it!

Margarete: No they didn't. You had the outfit buttoned up, and then when you saw Yuri's, you wished you made it open.

-.- You actually hit it right on the head, although I don't think you meant it exactly that way...Fox Face does help Yuri a lot. And Fox Face would be nothing without Yuri. But I don't exactly see it as half...simply because Fox Face has somehow been forced to an unequal position. Oh well.

^^;; Send me a long review and I'll send you a long reply. That's just my nature. Plus I ramble.

Nights Mistress: Um, I already answered your review I think, but thanks again. ^^

Greyfriars: Yes, fanfiction.net is stupid. Right now it won't let me check my reviews, so I have to do it by checking my e-mail. Sometimes reviews don't get e-mailed to me, so...if I missed anyone, I'm sorry.

People seemed to like Aquila Rose. o.o? I don't know why.

'Wow' is not an adjective. It's an exclamation. But thank you ^^.

I liked stringing Yuri up too. Originally there was going to be a scene where Yuri had to sleep up in there all night and when everyone woke up he was drooling and it was going all the way to the ground-don't ask me. I thought it was funny.

Steel: Seeing as it's a dream...no nosebleed. Besides, it's the guys that get nosebleeds, because they get too excited. ^^ Although Alice might...

ssj4 Yuffie: Thank you!