The Day the Moon Shines
By: deep.Indigo

Chapter 18: Ai ha Tsuyoku Hito no Kokoro wo Ugokashite Yuku
(Love Strongly Influences a Person's Heart)





As if the world were in slow motion, Vyse's widened brown eyes met Ramirez's narrowed green ones as the former Admiral leaned forward, then back, to withdraw his bloodied silver sword. There was a split-second where the two of them stared at each other, the Blue Rogue dumb with astonishment, before the Silvite looked away and, with two expert swings, dispatched the rest of the Valuan soldiers as neatly as he had done the first, their lives falling into the night that filled the air.

"Ramirez!" Vyse gasped when the last man had fallen to the ground, the river of life flowing out of his body. "What are you doing here?!"

"You forgot to lock the door," the silver-haired man replied unemotionally, stepping back swiftly to stand next to the brunet pirate. "I decided to seize the opportunity to do something useful for a change."

Vyse stared, stunned, remembering very belatedly that the arrival of the Grand Admiral had pushed locking the door completely out of his mind... It was probably a good thing; although the others were around, fighting soldiers on different parts of the isle, if a shell had hit the living quarters... Rerouting his thought processes and stepping back uneasily to avoid the pooling liquid, the Blue Rogue then asked, "But—it's Galcian attacking. Can you fight him?"

The Silvite swordsman hesitated, unsure of how to answer. Finally, he glanced at his companion and said softly, "I'll at least be able to hold out longer than you will."

"I'm not sure I like that answer," the rogue commented, turning to bare his cutlasses to the next wave of Valuans.

"You can't hope to stand against Lord Galcian and win," Ramirez said tightly, swiveling in the opposite direction. "You're nowhere near his level."

"It's not that," the Air Pirate shouted as he moved to engage an assassin soldier. Their blades clanged together twice, and Vyse's left cutlass managed to slip past the soldier's defenses into his ribs. Pulling back, the rogue continued, "Are you really going to be able to cross blades with someone you care about that much?!"

Having murdered another soldier already and just finishing off the second, Ramirez brought his blade up in a defensive position. Blood dripped off the surface of the weapon to the ground at his feet in large drops as he said, "I attacked you, didn't I?"

It took until after Vyse had finished off his opponent for the implication of those words to sink in. Staring over at the silver-haired man, he questioned, "...Are you putting me on the same level as Galcian?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," Ramirez replied brusquely. "I just..."

"What?"

"...I'm not as certain in my convictions as I used to be." He glanced over at Vyse through the dusk, his jaw set. "Thanks to you."

The captain of the Delphinus gazed back at the Silvite, then looked down at and stepped away from the corpses of the soldiers near his feet. "I can see that."

"I don't believe that you'll ever be able to beat Lord Galcian," Ramirez continued. "He has dedicated his entire life to power and the acquisition of it. There's no way a beginner like you could hope to defeat him."

"Hey, we're about to fight him," Vyse said worriedly; they hadn't been attacked by any of Galcian's underlings again yet, and he wasn't looking forward to the prospect of them regrouping, then letting the Grand Admiral himself take care of them. "Could you not be so..."

"That's why, though," the Silvite swordsman cut him off. "Lord Galcian will succeed, no matter how much you struggle against him. So the least I can do..." He lifted his head to gaze at Vyse, who gazed back at him. "...is make sure you can live a little longer."

The Blue Rogue swallowed hard, then straightened and let his cutlasses hang by his sides. "I'm not going to die," he declared; then went on more softly, "And neither are you."

Ramirez smiled ironically, his own sword gently scraping the earth with its tip. "Despite what you may believe to the contrary, you are not the one who decides my fate, Vyse."

"And Galcian is?" the Air Pirate queried, frowning.

"I dedicated my being to him long, long before I ever knew you existed," the Silvite sighed. "But that's no longer the issue. You should run and make sure all your crewmates are aboard the Delphinus. I'll hold him off to buy you time, to make sure you all can escape."

"If you think I'll let you sacrifice yourself, you're wrong," Vyse stated firmly. "I'll fight him with you. If we work together, we stand a better chance of winning, right?"

"Wrong," Ramirez said flatly. "If I have to worry about making sure you don't get hurt, I won't be able to fight properly. The point is not to win, anyway; that's impossible."

"Someone once told me breaking out of the Grand Fortress was impossible," the Blue Rogue countered. "You know what I told him? 'Impossible is a word people use to feel better about themselves when they give up.' There has to be something—"

"Vyse, stop it!!" the silver-haired man yelled, the first time he had raised his voice in weeks. Stunned into silence, the Air Pirate only listened as his companion rounded on him and, jade green eyes narrowed, shouted, "Do you think your fanciful ideals can apply to every situation?! There are some things that can't happen, no matter how much you struggle to make it so! Or are you telling me you can return my feelings?!"

Vyse stepped backwards, looking and feeling as if the ex-Admiral had just struck him in the face. Never before had the youth realized how much simply being himself hurt the Silvite. It wasn't as if Ramirez didn't hurt him too, and it certainly wasn't as if Vyse didn't have a right to protect his own emotions, but...

"I've already accepted that you're out of my reach," Ramirez continued coldly, turning away and raising Ilazki level to his chest. "The least you could do is not make it more difficult to bear."

"...I..." the Air Pirate began awkwardly, his guts twisting with guilt.

"You needn't feel you have to apologize," the Silvite commented sullenly. "Just get out of here. It's best you find a new base, too; Lord Galcian will wipe you out for certain if you return here."

"I'm not leaving without you," Vyse insisted stubbornly, almost desperately. "So don't get yourself killed!"

Ramirez looked up at him again then with a helpless smile. "And if I go with you, then what? I go back to the Great Silver Shrine? I told you once that I'd rather die than return to that place."

"But—" the brown-eyed lad began before the ex-Admiral cut him off with a slow shake of his head.

"There is no point in living on when you've lost everything and can't take it back," he said somberly. "All I have left is my strength." He smirked mirthlessly and muttered, as much to himself as to Vyse, "'Strength is the only thing you can depend on; power will not betray you.'" He sighed heavily and continued, "The only thing I can still do—the last wish I have—is use that power to protect you."

Vyse was filled then with a sudden, wild urge to drop his weapons and take his fellow swordsman into his arms in a tight embrace. It passed as quickly as it had come, and instead, he whispered, "Ramirez..."

"Go," the former Admiral ordered. "Rest assured I won't deliberately get myself killed—not while I still have to make sure you can live on." He then turned his gaze out to the billowing smoke, through which an indistinct form was advancing. "Let me do this for you...as some small, pathetic form of penitence."

"Ramirez, I—"

"Go!" the Silvite said sharply. "You're the captain, aren't you? You have the rest of your crew to worry about! Don't concern yourself with me any longer; I brought this on myself. But you still have things you should do."

Still the Blue Rogue hesitated, but finally, reminded of his other duties, he nodded. "...Thank you," he murmured, at a loss of what else to say, and after a pause, sheathed his cutlasses and ran to rejoin his other friends.

Ramirez watched him go until he disappeared behind a wave of smoke, a faint, wistful smile on his lips, his chest aching. The choices he had made—the Silvite still wasn't sure they were the right ones. He had his doubts as to whether they were even good ones. But he couldn't deny that he wanted, more than anything, more intensely than the flames devouring Crescent Isle, that he wanted to protect Vyse, even if it meant exchanging everything he had—from his place by Galcian's side to his own life—in order to do so.

He glanced down at the wicked-looking blade in his hand. Ilazki... The Silvite sword had served him faithfully since childhood. In a way, he felt grateful to the weapon; it was the one part of him that had never changed. The Elders had given it to him very reluctantly, after he had snuck into its holding chamber around fourteen years ago and removed it without permission if only to get a closer look at the sword with which he had been so fascinated. He still didn't understand how he had escaped punishment back then, much less why they ultimately decided to let him keep the blade when he had previously been forbidden to anything more than look at it from a distance. Ramirez hadn't even understood its power at that time, when he had only been reluctantly practicing with the sword for a few months, but Ilazki had been a loyal partner since then, rarely ever leaving his possession for long and never with his permission.

He had always used the silver sword's power to guard himself or fulfill his duties, one way or another...but now, he wanted to use it to defend someone else's life. Though he knew it was foolish, Ramirez still smiled sadly and whispered to his weapon, "Please let me protect Vyse."

The crack of burning wood snapping brought the Silvite's attention back to his front, where the Grand Admiral had just emerged. His forehead was creased to match his deep frown, and his enormous triangular sword was in hand, which was made more obvious by the lack of his heavy, black cloak. The two gazed at each other for a long moment, separated only by several yards, virtually ignoring the movements and noises of the people scurrying around them, the crackling of the flames, the collapse of structures.

It was Galcian who finally spoke first. "I had a hunch I would find you here," he stated gravely. "But I never thought you would side with the Air Pirates."

Ramirez glanced away, ashamed. "...I'm sorry."

"You know you cannot defeat me," he reminded him.

"I know," the silver-haired young man agreed.

Without expecting Ramirez to acquiesce, Galcian queried, "Will you stand aside?"

The Silvite shook his head slowly. "I can't. I'm sorry."

"What did the Air Pirate promise you?" the Grand Admiral demanded, his icy blue eyes narrowing.

The young swordsman grimaced at the implication of a bribe, and more indirectly, that he would be swayed by something like that. "Nothing."

"Then why?"

The former Admiral hesitated; there was nothing he could say that would make sense, so he chose the simplest form of the truth. "...I have to protect him."

Galcian's brows furrowed. "You have to?"

"Yes."

"So then you have betrayed me for a boy who has not even extended a hand to you?" he scowled.

Ramirez flinched and bowed his head; how could he explain the reasons why? The truth sounded so pathetic in his mind, and he didn't want to do his mentor the disservice of lying to him about it. "I'm...sorry."

The older swordsman sighed deeply. "Of all people, I would not have expected you to turn against me. What happened between now and when we last spoke?"

"Far too much," the Silvite replied in all honesty.

"Even taking into account the time you spent aboard the Delphinus... A mere three months with that Air Pirate is enough to erase seven years of service to me, then?"

"I'm sorry," Ramirez repeated, stricken. "I still believe in you, Lord Galcian. But I'm no longer sure of the path...and I can't let you kill Vyse, any more than I could kill him myself."

The dark-haired man regarded his former inferior. "Is this the real reason why you took him prisoner over two weeks ago?"

Ramirez miserably nodded once.

Galcian shook his head in resignation as he raised his sword. "This pains me, Ramirez," he said, "but you leave me little choice."

"I know," the Silvite replied faintly, bringing the oddly bright Ilazki to bear. "I understand."

"At least your crystal will serve me well."

Ramirez flinched, but nodded again. "I've become dirty, and thus am no longer worthy of following you. At least I can be of some help otherwise..." he agreed despondently.

Student and teacher stood silently for a moment, sizing each other up. It was enough time to fill Ramirez with an icy fear before Galcian broke stance to charge, barely a plume of dust rising in his wake.

The Silvite rose his defenses swiftly, supporting it by holding the flat of Ilazki up with his free hand, but the power of his superior's attack was so immense that his heels ground into the earth behind him as he nearly buckled to keep his sword, the only thing keeping the Grand Admiral from neatly cleaving him in two, in place. Ramirez's fear promptly doubled—was there any way he could possibly hold Galcian off long enough for Vyse and the others to escape? But determination fueled him, and gritting his teeth, he shakily poured his weight into pushing back against the taller man's trembling blade.  A rock loosened under his boot and nearly sent him off balance, but he recovered in time for it to not make a difference as he struggled to gain the upper hand. Galcian's arm strength proved greater, though, and in a round arc accompanied by a magnificent spray of white sparks, he forced Ilazki to the side, leaving Ramirez open.

Ramirez didn't allow the opportunity to exist for long; as the Grand Admiral had his blade raised, he ducked down and rolled in the same direction Galcian had tried to throw his sword, using the momentum to his advantage. Swiftly getting to his feet, he sprung forward to attack, but Galcian, who had predicted the move, caught the blow on the groove of his sword, stepping backwards to absorb the force, then raising his sword to slash at his former pupil.

The bare tip of the sword scored a hit, creating a gash through Ramirez's uniform and leaving a streak of scarlet in its wake. The Silvite fell back, wincing at the pain but keeping both hands on Ilazki. /I can't afford to lose now,/ he told himself fiercely, and as Galcian was left slightly off-balance from his attack, he used his greater speed and maneuverability to slip under the enormous and bulky sword. His blade screeched metal-on-metal as it ran against the edge of Galcian's own, taking advantage of the lack of a cross-handle to break through and strike.

Ilazki drank blood, but there was no time to rejoice, for the Grand Admiral brought his sword down with the force of a falling block of cement and knocked Ramirez to the side over five feet away, almost on top of a pile of burning debris.  He instead fell onto a scorched door-sized board, which noisily cracked in two upon impact, with a cry of pain. He forced himself to his feet almost as soon as he crashed through the burnt board, shaking with adrenaline. Stepping away from the fire and readying Ilazki again, he glared at his former mentor long enough to see him trace a couple of fingers across his wound and brood over the wetness that clung to them.

"You're really serious about this," Galcian commented then, turning his attention from the shallow gash on his side to the shorter swordsman, who had just blinked away a bead of sweat that threatened to blunder into his left eye.

/If I fall too soon, Vyse will die; I can't let that happen!/ Ramirez told himself, and without answering or letting himself hesitate, he launched himself forward with a fierce battle cry. His blade clanged against the Grand Admiral's, and a chorus of metal against metal sang out four times before the two master swordsmen violently shoved each other apart, halting a small distance apart, standing ready to attack again, their weapons pointed threateningly at the other.

"Your swordsmanship is as superb as always, Ramirez," Galcian noted, as if they were simply having a practice match.

"Thank you, Lord Galcian," the Silvite murmured, his eyes flicking guiltily to the wound he'd inflicted on the other man.

"Tell me, why are you wasting your skill fighting in the defense of an Air Pirate?" he queried evenly.

"He's not just an Air Pirate," Ramirez stated promptly. "And if I don't bar your way, you'll kill him."

The Grand Admiral frowned. "This matters to you why?"

The shorter swordsman lowered his gaze slightly. "As I said...Vyse is not just an Air Pirate."

Galcian breathed a short sigh. "What do you hope to gain from this, Ramirez?"

"I just want Vyse to live," he replied softly. "That's all."

"Is that your only answer? Have you no better explanation?"

"I'm sorry. I know I'm being foolish." The Silvite lifted his eyes to gaze evenly at his former mentor. "I will fight my hardest to keep you from advancing, though I know I can't hope to beat you. Indeed, I have no desire to defeat you. Betraying you is a heavy sin...one for which I can only atone by dying honorably by your blade."

The taller swordsman regarded Ramirez with an odd, unreadable expression before he sighed again, this time with a more resigned air. "Such a fool."

Without warning, the older swordsman heaved his weapon forward to resume his assault. Ramirez jumped to the side, twisting his body to move with the attack, but Galcian, anticipating his move, changed course of his charge slightly and left a long, brutal gash on his former pupil's left leg. Several droplets of crimson blood trailed after the blade as it departed the neatly sliced flesh. Fortunately, Ramirez was just quick enough to avoid the blow being much worse, as in potentially amputating the limb, and as the Silvite grimaced in reaction, trying not to land on his now bad leg, Galcian followed him with a swing of his unwieldy sword. It clanged resoundingly against Ilazki, which Ramirez was quick enough to manage to raise in defense, but with a screech of metal, the Grand Admiral hauled his blade in a horizontal arc, forcing the former Admiral to the ground again.

The silver-haired man landed on his back roughly with a grunt, clinging to his sword as his only defense and offense, and, gritting his teeth together and keeping an eye on Galcian, began to mutter a healing spell.

"A futile effort," the still standing man declared coldly as he prepared his next move. The winds picked up, and Ramirez's eyes widened in terrified realization as the Grand Admiral leapt high into the sky, his enormous triangular sword moving into position.

Terminal... So named because few managed to survive the devastation it wreaked. Praying for the Sacrum to take effect on his leg as quickly as possible, the wielder of Ilazki staggered unsteadily to his feet.

As he did so, he raised his eyes in abject fear at the swiftly approaching sight of his death, his thoughts coursing just as rapidly. /I mustn't die now. For Vyse's sake—I have to live long enough to protect Vyse! There's no way I can dodge it in time with this leg—but I have to protect Vyse!! I have to!!/

As Galcian came hurtling down with a roar of "TERMINAL!!", Ilazki, which had already been oddly bright, illuminated sharply, a streak of light running up the blade as if suddenly catching the blocked moonlight and converting it into silver. The Grand Admiral's eyes caught his protégé's for a split-second...

And his sword smashed into the ground where Ramirez had been seconds before, splitting the earth with an explosion of dirt and rock, which the Silvite blocked with lightning-quick flashes of his shining weapon even as he soared in a backwards arc through the air, his speed his savior.

Galcian smirked as he looked up at Ramirez, landing gracefully in spite of his only partially healed leg, duly impressed in spite of himself as the young swordsman's ability—as would be expected from anyone he thought worthy of teaching anything—but the smirk melted away when the white-haired man raised his chin and gazed at him with—the oddest—expression.

There was no anger, no hatred, no regret, no guilt...no pain, no reluctance, no torment. There was only calm and acceptance, but with a fierce edge, as if a raptor were meeting the challenge of another bird of prey with a single unruffled, piercing glance.

The Grand Admiral paused, slightly confused; just seconds earlier, Ramirez had been holding back his true potential and fighting, in spite of the blood he had drawn, a mainly defensive battle. This, though...this was the look of a man who intended to fight with the greatest of his strength, with every intention of emerging victorious. The bearded man straightened his back and, heaving mightily, liberated his weapon from the earth. Ramirez continued to gaze at him evenly, and Galcian realized that there was something else that troubled him; his former underling was gazing at him not merely to defy him, but to assess him. The Silvite was looking at him as if he didn't know him—as if he were opposing a complete stranger.

Frowning deeply, the Grand Admiral lifted his blade, drawing it backwards and tilting the edge away from him in a stance taught to him in his youth. It was a powerful stance, one he did not feel the need to use often, but his instinct commanded that he employ it now.

To his shock, Ramirez matched the stance perfectly, mirroring it with such ease and poise that it was well nigh impossible for him to simply have emulated it from sight alone. It was then that Galcian finally noticed the strange glitter off of the infamous Sword of the Dark Moon...

/Could it be the sword's doing?/ he wondered, brows furrowing. /No, I mustn't jump to conclusions; if Ilazki has truly awoken, my plans may be jeopardized. I must test Ramirez further to confirm it./

Leaping forward, he moved from the stance to the appropriate attack, a move that was relatively simplistic in movement but very powerful and unblockable if one didn't know the proper counter—a counter taught in only one place in the world, and one Galcian had never passed on to anyone.

In a fluid motion so quick it was like trying to watch the movement of light, the Silvite danced into action, and in a flurry of movement, the two switched positions, their swords clashing against each other in a song of battle. The Grand Admiral stepped onwards, still caught in his momentum, then turned swiftly, now fully alarmed.

There was no mistake. There was no way Ramirez could know that technique under normal circumstances.

The slowly bleeding young man was facing him, still ineffably calm, the silver weapon glimmering in front of him, and Galcian didn't know how to react to the Silvite who was now an entirely different person. The last move had been a test, and both men knew it; it seemed now as if Ramirez were waiting for a real attack.

Galcian smirked slowly. Though he had never viewed anyone as his equal, he had, after several years, come to view the Silvite with a sort of reluctant paternal affection. He was loyal, brilliant, attentive, quick to learn, and similar to him in many regards... It had never been expressed between the two of them—just something implicitly understood. Given a choice, Galcian would definitely have preferred that things had not gone down this road, that whatever had happened between Ramirez and the Air Pirate had never occurred. But this feeling—this creeping sensation, this surge of adrenaline...

"I'm expecting a lot from you," the Grand Admiral suddenly declared to his opponent. "Do not disappoint me."

A corner of Ramirez's mouth quirked upwards, and he nodded once.

Several seconds passed in silence as they regarded each other before both exploded into action.

The real battle had just begun.



As the two military men raged outside, everyone was struggling to bring what they could of their possessions, wares and goods along. It was a nearly chaotic scene, and it took Vyse and Aika both commandeering the scenes with support from Fina and Gilder to keep everything under control. It was easy to hear the sounds of battle just outside, and everyone was at edge; it was only a one-on-one battle now, but there was an entire fleet backing up the enemy, and even those who hadn't heard of Galcian were quickly informed that they didn't want to have to fight him—he who had played a large role in the Valuan occupation of Ixa'taka over seven years ago.

When the crew had managed to salvage what they could, the captain of the Delphinus got everyone assembled in the hangar. There, Vyse ran a role call with Aika, while Fina and Gilder got the enormous vessel prepared, to make sure all of the crew members were present and accounted for before they set sail.

While he made sure his companions, new and old, were all safe, he couldn't help but worry about Ramirez, who was risking his life by opposing his former master less than a hundred yards away. The Silvite had insisted that he would be best off fighting Galcian on his own, but Vyse couldn't help but be reminded of that time on the Monoceros, when Ramirez had told him to hurry onto a lifeboat and make his getaway. Was there any way that the swordsman, however skilled he was, would deliberately try to defeat the Grand Admiral? Was he strong enough to even be able to do it? Or would he simply wait until everyone was gone, then let himself get killed?

The last one, the teenage pirate hated to admit, was the thing Ramirez was most likely to do. The problem with that was that the Blue Rogue had no intentions whatsoever of leaving without the silver-haired man. Whether it was for mere friendship or for poorly hidden love, he couldn't say, but the brunet did not want to abandon him.

"Vyse, it looks like everyone's here," Aika reported to him before long. "We'd better start getting everyone aboard the Delphinus now." She glanced away, pursing her lips. "I really can't stand it, but we're going to have to clear out of Crescent Isle for a while... Maybe even for good. Once we're in the air and in high sky where Valua's ships can't reach us, we're going to have to figure out where to set up a new base..."

"I know," the brunet sighed in reply.

"This never would have happened if Ramirez hadn't sold us out in the first place!" she added fiercely, her brown eyes flashing furiously at the mere thought of the ex-Admiral.

"Aika, forget about that!" Vyse told her, not wanting nurture her hatred for the Silvite man any further. "Besides, he's out there, fighting Galcian for us!"

"I don't understand that man," the redhead scowled. "And even if he is fighting for us, I definitely don't trust him."

"I don't blame you for not trusting him, but he's still out there, pitting himself against Galcian," the taller rogue argued. "So I at least want you to show him some civility, okay?"

She frowned at him, but nodded grudgingly; what Vyse said was true. It didn't stop her from disliking the Silvite swordsman, though. /Cradle-robber. He's eight years older than Vyse.../ she thought darkly of the pale man, conveniently forgetting that she had been perfectly willing to try to set Fina up with him in spite of the age difference between them being the same.

"Everybody!" Vyse called to his crew, cutting the brown-eyed girl from her thoughts. "It's time to board the Delphinus; we've got no choice but to abandon Crescent Isle. Aika will lead you aboard, and Fina will care take of anyone with any injuries. Everyone involved in launching, head with Gilder over to the bridge while I go take care of some final business outside, all right?"

The crew, many of them understanding what Vyse meant by 'final business', murmured or nodded their assent.

"Vyse, it's too dangerous to go outside on your own," Gilder commented when Vyse looked to his main companions for their input.

Fina nodded, bringing a hand to her chest, and Aika, placing her hands on her hips, added, "Yeah! Gilder's right. We can't make you not try to bring Ramirez back, but we can at least go with you and watch your back."

He shook his head, looking at all three of them in turn. "You've all got to stay here and keep everyone organized," he told her firmly. "But I'll tell you what. Aika, when everyone's aboard, stay here and keep an eye out for me and Ramirez, all right? I might need your help."

The yellow-clad girl scowled slightly, not liking the thought of having to aid the man who brought about the destruction of their home, but she wasn't ungrateful, so she nodded.

"I'll go with your judgment, Vyse, so good luck, kid!" Gilder said, quickly heading inside with Fina, glancing back at her friend and captain, at his heels.

Vyse gave them both the thumbs-up and a confident smile as he set off for outside, trying not to think about what sight might be awaiting him.



It was as if he were watching a dream.

Detached from all sense of reality, Ramirez watched his limbs perform amazing footwork, splendid thrusts and magnificent counters. He had never thought he could perform so flawlessly and so seriously against Lord Galcian, but here it was, playing out before him as if he were watching a play from the first-person point of view.

It was, on one level, quite disturbing to see himself doing these things and not being consciously aware of manipulating his own appendages. It was rather like as if someone else had taken over his body and he were simply watching from behind.

On the other hand, because of that, none of it seemed quite real, and the Silvite had to seriously question whether or not he was actually awake. Perhaps the recent events where all simply dreamy visions; he had thought that the pain had been real, but now nothing was no more real than a mirage.

He wasn't touching Lord Galcian, he noted, but at the same time, Lord Galcian couldn't touch him either. The taller man had better offense and defense, but he had greater speed and agility. It was a dance of deadly proportions, where any slip-up could result in grave injuries, if not, as far as he was concerned, death.

His former mentor seemed to be quite enjoying it, too, Ramirez observed. He couldn't recall ever seeing him having so much fun simply conversing in steel with another person. Then again, no one could match him, so perhaps being able to actually put effort into his swordplay was his idea of fun.

The two of them struck at each other, simultaneously blocked with their weapons, then backed away, each of them regarding each other, chests heaving.

"Heh," Galcian smirked. "It's amazing how powerful you are when you're serious..."

Ramirez didn't answer, but he heard his voice reply anyway: "Someone who has something to protect is always stronger."

/I didn't say that,/ the silver-haired man thought in astonishment; he didn't even agree with the sentiment. /...I suppose this must be a dream./

The Grand Admiral was laughing at him. "I must admit it's quite strange to hear your voice saying such things."

/I would not expect to hear myself saying them, either,/ Ramirez thought, but his body exchanged no more words.

"I wonder what you're truly capable of..." the older man continued, eyeing him with keen interest. "A shame I will never find out."

Why precisely Galcian thought he would never find out, neither Ramirez nor his body asked; his figure simply relaxed and straightened, then covered his face with his left hand and shut his eyes.

"Where there is light..."

Reality, shaky as it were, burned away like an oil painting showered with technicolor sparks, leaving little more than black in its wake, and as his body dragged his hand down his face, his eyes open, his tone—calm, quietly confident...not at all terse, like how he usually spoke the line. "...there is darkness."

The Silvite briefly saw his former mentor's alarmed face before he stepped into a shimmering, vertical pool of shadows. His voice spoke again as his body swung Ilazki again and again, cutting through the darkness with sheets of glittering silver, but the words were different:

"The darkness calls out to the light, and the light calls again to the darkness. All cannot be realized without knowing both darkness and light."

Shink, shink, shink, shink... The horrendous sound echoed through the void many more times than the six he usually heard when he performed this move, silver filling the black. "Sword of the Dark Moon!" his body called, then brought Ilazki back in the final pose, and, with a decisive strike and one last shink, shattered the light.

The shimmering window opened again, this time to the real world, and his figure stepped through, leaving behind the as of yet unrealized destruction it had wrought. One last swing of the wicked blade, though—

It was as bright as the Silver Moon itself, the explosion of light that coalesced on Lord Galcian's form and tore through his flesh multifold. Knowing well that escape from the Silver Eclipse was impossible, the Grand Admiral had guarded to minimize the damage done, but blood still sprayed into the heavens.

Ramirez didn't know who was more shocked—himself or Lord Galcian. The mighty man staggered to one knee, panting and grimacing in fear and anger as he glared up at his former pupil.

/This is entirely too surreal,/ he thought with rising panic as his right arm moved fluidly to point Ilazki at the Grand Admiral's neck. /And I'm not completely sure this is a dream anymore... Why can't I control my body?! I don't want to defeat him!!/

"...You're better than I expected," the bearded man growled, crimson dripping down his face. "I had always thought the legends blown out of proportion...but now I see I underestimated them—and you..."

/What legends? WHAT LEGENDS?/ the Silvite screamed in his mind, this cryptic statement forcing his thoughts further into raging chaos. /Lord Galcian, what are you talking about?!/

A desiccated breeze coursed between them, blowing threads of Ramirez's hair in his field of vision. He did not hear the rapid footsteps of someone running up from the entrance to the docks over the roar of the fire...

But he did hear Vyse's voice at top volume, shouting, "Ramirez!!"

The essence of Ramirez turned to the sound...and, as if the strings of the puppeteer were snapping from the marionette, whatever had been manipulating his body lost control. Ramirez—not his body, he—turned to stare over his shoulder at the Blue Rogue.

There was a break in the smoke, and their eyes met, the Silvite staring dumbly at the youth he had told to escape, the Air Pirate gazing in wonder at the man who seemed to have the Grand Admiral at sword point. However, Galcian was not the Commander of the Valuan Armada for being a fool. Those who let their eyes leave their opponent were inviting Death...and he was more than willing to channel it.

The tall man forced himself to his feet, arcing his sword upwards simultaneously to clash against the silver blade pointed at his throat. Ramirez, distracted at he were, lost his grip easily, and Ilazki flew out of his hand. The Silvite turned back to him, malachite green eyes wide with alarm, and as Vyse looked on in horror, Galcian swung his sword up and slashed diagonally from right to left across his former subordinate's chest, slicing open the silver-haired man's biceps and ribs and sending him careening backwards from the force of the blow.

"NOOOOOO!! RAMIREZ!!" the brown-eyed rogue screamed, his mind and legs frozen. This couldn't be—it was just a nightmare—he didn't just—

Ramirez thudded to the ground, blood gushing from his chest, and stared wide-eyed at the man he had admired for so many years. What had happened? It had all felt like a dream—but this agony was no dream. Vyse was here, Lord Galcian was here, the smoke and fire—

Vyse. The idiot! He had returned!

/I have to protect him,/ he thought desperately, letting his head drop to his left, where Ilazki had fallen. He couldn't move his right arm, but his left—he could still fight—he reached out for the silvery blade, his hand throbbing—

/I can't afford to die here. I can't! I have to—Vyse—no, please, please, no—/

—only to have his fingers brush impotently against the spiral-decorated hilt, pushing it further away. As the darkness nipped at his consciousness, his hand becoming limp as he acknowledged the futility of his action, he could only think, /I... failed.../ He wasn't sure he could crawl towards it, battered as he was; the growing fuzziness of his thoughts was preventing him from conceiving any strategy. There were no strategies available to him at this late moment, anyway; he could barely move. How could he protect anyone?

And the darkness known as despair permeated his being.

Galcian, while cracking a Sacrulen crystal and letting its healing magic course through his body, silently watched the Silvite struggle, trying even as he was on the verge of death to fight. How the young man continued to try to oppose him, even when it was hopeless... The Air Pirate's irrationality had indeed infected him.

He should finish him off, he knew. Just one clean swipe, and the Silver Crystal in Ramirez's hand would be his, and the world would have no choice but to bow before him... The Grand Admiral lowered the tip of his blade to his former protégé's limp hand.

"NO!! Get AWAY from him!!" the voice of the impertinent pirate rang out, as its owner bounded forward, unsheathing his weapons as he ran. Galcian frowned as he regarded Vyse, who glared at him in utter hatred, then gazed back down at Ramirez.

Ramirez had given up his life to protect this foolish whelp...

He didn't remove his sword, but he didn't make the final cut, either. He couldn't help but smirk over the idiocy of his own feelings...but it wasn't as if this was the only Silver Crystal in the world. Perhaps, in light of the young man's until recently unwavering service, he could spare him the mutilation of his body. He wouldn't last much longer with those wounds, anyway.

"You bastard! Don't you dare touch Ramirez!!" Vyse was yelling, but Galcian continued to ignore him. The bearded man simply shook his head slowly as he drew away his sword.

"In light of your many years of faithful service," he told the dying Silvite, "I will grant your last request...Ramirez."

But Ramirez had already shut his eyes.

"What are you talking about?!" Vyse demanded, still baring his cutlasses.

"Seven years," the Grand Admiral declared, and the Blue Rogue hesitated in slight confusion. "It was seven years ago when Ramirez and I met. Never once since the moment he joined my side did he ever turn against me. He may have doubted me slightly in the beginning, he may have strayed a short distance away, but never once did he point his sword at me with treachery in mind. Yet he knew you for a short time, and all of a sudden he declares he must protect you..."

Unsure of how to respond, Vyse shifted nervously, not knowing what to do or say. Galcian didn't care, however, and continued, more frigidly than before, "I have no respect for rats. However, I do have respect for Ramirez, and in memory of it and him, I will spare your lives alone, as he wished. In return, you will never again oppose me; you have done well to come this far, but in the end, you are simply too weak. If you attempt another insurrection, I will not hesitate to crush you."

The Blue Rogue tightened his hands around the hilts of his cutlasses as the Grand Admiral added, "I do not know what you told Ramirez in order to seduce him to your side," and Vyse flinched at his choice of words, "but that is the reason he lies covered in his own blood; do not attempt to pass the blame onto me. You infected Ramirez with your petty ideals, and because of that, he sees the Grim Reaper before him. I had not wished to kill him, but... He had chosen his own path. He chose to betray me for you."

Feeling lower than Deep Sky, Vyse bowed his head in anger and shame, but Galcian had not finished having his say just yet. "I will not say it again," he declared evenly, glacially. "You have a generous ten minutes to escape; if you remain, you will die. And, since Ramirez chose to die for you Air Pirates...he can stay with you."

/You are henceforth marked,/ Galcian did not say; there wasn't any point in revealing all of his intents. /I will have ships posted to follow the Delphinus at all times, and woe be to you if you continue in your fallacy as you've done thus far.../

The young rogue gritted his teeth together as the Grand Admiral turned his back to him and began to walk away. As much as he wanted to strike down the man, his Silvite friend came first, and sheathing his blades, he knelt down beside the former Admiral. He retched as soon as he laid eyes upon him; Galcian's sword had cut deeply into silver-haired man's chest, and he could see through the gore that it had nearly sliced through his rib cage.

"Ramirez, Moons..." he whispered, taking him into his arms. "Please, please don't be dead..."

As if in response to his words, the man in his arms stirred slightly and opened his eyes. "Vy..se..?" he murmured.

"Ramirez!" Vyse cried, relief flooding him. He was still alive! But he wouldn't stay that way for long. He needed medical attention right away... Here wasn't good for that. He needed to get him aboard the Delphinus. /Thank the Moons for that ten-minute chance.../ he mentally breathed. "Just hang in there, okay?! We're going to get out of here!"

Ramirez laughed softly, wincing at the pain, and shook his head wordlessly.

"Don't say anything, okay?" Vyse whispered, slipping an arm under his legs and carefully lifting him. "You're going to be all right."

Ramirez shook his head again, a faint smile on his lips, and said quietly, "No... don't bother. It's too late."

"No, it's not too late," the bloodied rogue told him angrily, glancing over his shoulder at the night skies obscured by smoke and flame and still managing to see Galcian's fleet. Completely forgetting about the silver blade behind him, he began to jog with effort toward the interior of his base, saying, "So don't you dare die on me!!"

Glancing down at Vyse, the mortally wounded Silvite noted that his wounds had begun to stain the young rogue's jacket. "...Sorry," he whispered with some effort; "...I seem to have...gotten blood on your shirt again..."

Mentally thrown for several seconds, the Blue Rogue finally realized what he was talking about, and yelled with more than a tinge of desperation, "How can you think that's important at a time like this?! My clothes can be replaced. Your life can't!"

Slightly shaking his head, Ramirez replied, "Vyse... I was only waiting to die. You can't preserve my life anymore..."

"NO! Don't say that!" the Blue Rogue shouted as he picked up his speed, fear and denial surging in him as he hurried to the blue-bordered ship. "Please!! I don't want you to die!!"

Ramirez did not reply. He couldn't help but feel guilty about the anguish he was causing his love. His only consolation was that Vyse would surely get over it soon enough. After all, he had so much more to live for...

"It'll be okay," the brunet pirate continued, as much to himself as to the man in his arms. He couldn't go quickly—Ramirez wasn't heavy, but he wasn't light, either—but considering how much he was bleeding, too much jostling probably wouldn't be any good for the Silvite. "We'll get aboard the Delphinus, and you'll get the treatment you need, and you'll be healed, and it'll all be okay..."

The former admiral remained silent. Breathing was becoming much more difficult, and his mind was beginning to cloud once more.

"Just stay conscious, okay, Rami? Just...I don't care what you do, but please, hang in there, please!" Vyse begged, climbing the last steps of the metal staircase to the hangar, jogging as quickly as he could. /Just a little bit further,/ he told himself; /just a little bit further and Ramirez will be all right!/

Ahead of him, Aika was waiting, and catching sight of him, she called, her brown eyes wide with alarm, "Vyse!" She joined him when he passed by, and as the two of them made their way onto the vast Valuan ship, she questioned, "What's going on?! Why are you bringing him here?! What happened with Galcian?!"

"Long story! I'll explain soon—we just need to heal Ramirez, fast!" he called back, running past opened doors and clear corridors until he reached the medical wing of the Delphinus, picked the closest hospital bed, and, as gently as possible, deposited the Silvite's body on top of it

"Vyse, what are you doing?!" the redheaded Blue Rogue had demanded as they ran. "I know you don't want to let him die, but look at his wounds! He's not going to last, no matter what you do!" Cursing silently at her friend's stubbornness, she fell silent until they reached the medical ward, then, as her captain set the former Admiral down, continued, "If you don't want anyone else to die, we have to set sail right—"

"You're wrong!!" Vyse snapped, turning to her. "Ramirez isn't going to die! I'll never let it happen!!"

Wide-eyed, Aika took a step back, taken aback by her friend's ferocity. Composing herself, she quietly asked, "What are you going to do, then?"

"Get Fina and Ilchymis here; they're the best at healing," he stated, turning around. "I'll start, but for wounds these bad, we'll need the best we've got. Meanwhile, you and everyone else get the Delphinus in the air so we can make good our escape." Stretching his hands over Ramirez's body, the young captain continued as a green light glowed around his fingers, "Galcian, for whatever reason, is letting us escape. He's giving us ten minutes to haul ass."

"Vyse, are you insane? It could be a trick or a trap!" Aika pointed out.

The blue-clad youth shook his head even as he concentrated on the Sacres spell he'd begun. "I don't think so," he breathed, eyes narrowed. "It would have been easier for him to order his troops onto Crescent Island and route us himself than bother with a trap."

The Air Pirate girl hesitated, then nodded. "I'll send Fina and Ilchymis back, and get this ship afloat with Gilder and the others," she agreed.

The young rogue smiled slowly and nodded. "Thanks, Aika," he said quietly.

She halfheartedly smiled and nodded back, then took off.

"...Idiot..."

"Huh?" Vyse, startled by the sudden noise, looked down at Ramirez, who was gazing up at him with the most pitiable expression the young pirate had ever seen. "Ramirez," he began, exasperated.

Before the brunet could once again tell the dying Silvite not to speak, though, Ramirez cut him off. "You are...a fool..." He blinked once, slowly, and continued, "But not...nearly...as great an idiot...as me..." With a shallow sigh, Ramirez glanced away, the light in his jade eyes fading. "I told you...I'm a waste...of your time..."

"No!" Vyse cried out desperately, finishing his Sacres spell. He glanced down at Ramirez's body and cursed silently when he saw how little it was helping; the blood had slowed, but not stopped. "You're not! So just hang on a little longer! Please!!"

"Vyse..." the Silvite whispered, his gaze indistinct. "I know you...must hate hearing...these words, but...I love you. I'm just...happy...to be able...to die...in your arms."

Tears began to fall from Vyse's eyes, and without even trying to blink them away, he screamed, "NO! Don't say things like that!!"

The Silvite swordsman blinked slowly as the drops of wetness splashed onto his face, and with a sweet smile, he raised a trembling hand up to touch the rogue's face. Vyse grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, and feeling that, Ramirez visibly relaxed. The Air Pirate wasn't nearly so calm, however; his companion's fingers were like ice, even through his glove, and that look on his face was eerily similar to when he'd been pinned to the death tree in his dream...

"Vyse..." he breathed, his eyelids flutteringly shut. "You don't know...how much it means to me...knowing that you...can be bothered...to shed tears...for someone...as dirty...as me......"

Shaking his head violently, the young swordsman cried, "Don't... please... don't talk like that!!" It was then that Vyse noticed that the hand he held so tightly had gone limp, and a sense of dread overcame him as he asked, praying to all the Moons that the ex-Admiral would reply, "...Ramirez? Hey, Ramirez... please! Say something!! Ramirez!"

But Ramirez did not open his eyes. He only smiled sorrowfully, but with amazing peace...looking for all the world as if he were finally seeing the end of the bad dream.

So beautiful...so horrible...

"RAMIREZ!!" the Blue Rogue screamed, pure, Crystalen-cold fear surging in him even as hot tears poured down his cheeks. "NO! RAMIREZ!! RAMIREZ!!!"

It must have been a strange sight for Fina and Ilchymis, who walked in then with first-aid materials grabbed from emergency boxes aboard the ship, to see their captain weeping bitterly over Ramirez's still body, but the overall message was still clear enough. Fina, who was by no means used to such situations, froze, but Ilchymis, an experienced physician, immediately and decisively walked to Ramirez's other side, setting down the gauze, bandages, and towels to grasp the Silvite's wrist and pause for a moment as the two seventeen-year-olds stared at him with bated breath.

"It's faint, but he still has a pulse, so we've got to hurry if we want to save him," the long-haired physician declared, gently pulling Ramirez away from Vyse, who embarrassedly released him from his embrace, and set him down on the table. "Miss Fina, please come here with those water bottles; we'll need to clean the wounds. I'll need you to cast Riselem, just in case. Captain Vyse, if you could cut Ramirez's jacket off?"

"Y-yes!" they both said, quickly following Ilchymis' instructions.

/I'll do anything to see Ramirez live,/ the young captain thought to himself as he carefully sliced the dying man's ruined military uniform off his body with his smaller cutlass. Ilchymis soaked one of the towels in water and daubed at the excess blood as Fina chanted.

When silver and multicolored lights had surrounded Ramirez, Ilchymis glanced up worriedly at his leader. "Captain, Miss Fina and I will take care of Ramirez. I can't guarantee that he'll live, but we will do our best. As soon as it's all over, for better or worse, we will tell you, so please, go to the bridge. Mr. Gilder and Miss Aika are waiting there for you."

The young brunet hesitated, but the older man's wise words brought sense to him, and he nodded once, wiping his face with his clean sleeve. "Thank you, Ilchymis. You too, Fina," he added, glancing at the Silvite girl as he stepped back. "I'm counting on you two!!" And with that, he sprinted off to rejoin his childhood friend, not daring to look back at the three he'd left behind.

He was afraid. He was so afraid... Ramirez was on the verge of dying, and there was nothing he could do aside from hope that whatever Ilchymis and Fina did would be in time to save him.

/Ramirez... Ramirez... Ramirez!!/ Vyse fretted to himself, forgetting about the blood on his jacket as he agonized over the fate of the man for whom he cared so much. / Please, please, Moons, let him live... I won't be able to take it if he dies, because I—/

He stopped dead in his tracks, his brown eyes widening with revelation.

/...because I love him.../



Fina, in the meantime, bit her lower lip nervously, placing the irreparable military jacket aside—it would have to be thrown away later—and helping Ilchymis clean and dress Ramirez's wounds, trying not to be ill all over her dying childhood friend.

/I as much as told him I hated him when he admitted he was...in love...with Vyse,/ she thought guiltily, though with disquiet at the memory of the confession, /but I'd never wish anything like this on him... He's been so cruel to me lately, but I...I still care about him... If I can help him recover from—from everything, from all the hurt he's suffering, from all the depravity he's collected.../ A note of hope arising in her mental voice, she continued, /Even if he doesn't fall for me, at least maybe we can be like we used to be again.../

"Miss Fina?" Ilchymis queried, breaking the blonde girl from her thoughts.

"Oh! Yes?" she replied, wiping her brow nervously.

"If you could cast Sacres, or better yet, Sacrulen while I work... It's slow, but he's getting these bandages soaked," the physician told her worriedly.

"Ah! Yes!" she said quickly, drawing her hands up to her chest and chanting. Fortunately, she did know Sacrulen, which, although slow-acting, would at least serve to repair Ramirez's body. If he had already lost too much blood, though, he'd die from that while having a healed body...

Letting the green light transfer from the magic circle at her feet to her childhood friend's prone form, she drew a chair up close and sat, taking the hand Vyse had squeezed just moments earlier and holding it tightly between both her hands, praying that they would be in time.

"I'm sorry, Miss Fina," the long-haired man said softly as he worked. "Mr. Ramirez must be close to you, judging from how distraught you look..."

"Distraught?" she repeated, looking up sharply, her cheeks pink. "Me? I..." She glanced down at him sorrowfully. "...We used to be very close. We've grown apart in the past several years, though... But even though we've said many horrible things to each other, and Ramirez has done so many terrible things...I would really like for us to be able to go back to those days." Her verdure eyes began to well with tears as she tightened her grip on his freezing hand, praying to the Moons that things would turn out for the best...

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ilchymis said comfortingly, in the process of quickly and efficiently undoing the ruined bandages, cleaning the wound anew, and applying new ones while the Sacrulen spell slowly knitted the cleaved flesh and bone back to its original state. "I don't know what has happened between the two of you, and I'll respect your privacy and won't ask, either. The best I can do right now is try to save his life."

"Thank you, Mr. Ilchymis," Fina murmured, deeply appreciative of the polite man's efforts.

Surveying his patient's remaining clothes, which were also stained with blood, the physician mused for a few brief seconds before speaking again. "Miss Fina, could you bring me a sheet of cloth of some kind? We should get Mr. Ramirez out of those dirty clothes and washed up, but it would be best if there were a...privacy shield, if you will."

The Silvite girl blushed at the thought of removing all of her old friend's clothes and stood, leaving his hand by his side. "Yes, that's a good idea. I'll be right back," she agreed, exiting quickly.

/Ramirez.../ she thought again, able to return to her thoughts as she jogged to her room to retrieve one of her bed sheets. /I need to talk to you again. The Elders always taught us that homosexuality is wrong and depraved... It wasn't something that affected me, so I never even thought about it, and simply accepted it as the truth... But you were willing to sacrifice your life to save us. No, to save Vyse,/ she corrected herself, blinking back tears. /You didn't do what you did for the rest of us, did you? But even so... If falling in love with Vyse is what made you finally break away from Valua and Galcian... But still, the Elders wouldn't teach us something that wasn't true.../ She paused in her thoughts, fretfully recalling what Vyse had told them about the Silvites in the past—things he claimed Ramirez had told him. Fina trusted her captain, but her estranged friend was a different matter, after all that had happened...

/He's done many terrible things, but I'll give him another chance,/ the pale-haired young lady decided as she reached her room. /...For Vyse./



It was very difficult for Vyse to keep his attention to the wheel of the Delphinus as he sailed the vessel out of Crescent Isle and raised the altitude to upper sky and hide over the clouds, where Galcian and his fleet wouldn't be able to reach them. He managed by reminding himself that everyone's lives, not just Ramirez's, were at stake, and that kept his leadership mentality intact, but once they were at a safe altitude, the flaming wreck of their once illustrious base disappearing from sight, he couldn't help but return to pondering his realization.

"Our base..." Aika said mournfully, looking out the window.

"Yeah..." Vyse murmured. "We spent so much time and money on it... At least everyone's okay, though," he added, trying to put a positive spin on things.

"Yeah, you're right; at least there's that," she said, smiling a little at her childhood friend. "...So I guess that means Ramirez will pull through?"

Vyse's shoulders visibly sagged, drawing a quizzical look from his best friend. "...I don't know," he said at length, his voice unusually quiet. "It's up to Fina and Ilchymus now."

The redheaded girl regarded him sadly; she personally wouldn't have minded if Ramirez happened to die from the wounds he'd sustained. /It would serve him right,/ she told herself stubbornly, refusing to cut the Silvite any slack. /But...dammit, Vyse, why do you have to care about that bastard so much.../

"He'll be okay," she told her captain encouragingly. "Those two won't let you down."

He smiled at her gratefully, although it was somewhat weak. He had seen the wounds, and although he didn't want to admit, the fact remained that it looked bleak. /No, dammit! You can't let yourself think like that!/ he reprimanded himself once more.

"Well, what happens, happens," Gilder commented bracingly. "For right now, we ought to think up a plan...and a place to start up a new base."

"Maybe we could try an island in North Ocean? Or find some clear land in Ixa'taka?" Aika suggested.

"We can't just repeat what we did last time," Vyse said with a shake of his head. "Knowing Galcian, he's probably gonna get us tailed. We need to find a place where it'll be impossible for him to find us...and even if he did find us, it'd be impossible for him to attack us."

"Vyse, is there any place in the world like that?" Gilder queried in surprise, but Aika looked thoughtful.

"Glacia..." she murmured. "What about Glacia?"

Vyse blinked, and his eyes widened as he recalled the city of ice...

"Aika!" he cried. "That would be perfect! We can go in from beneath so Galcian can't see the Delphinus, and if Glacia survived the Rains of Destruction, then it can survive anything!"

She grinned in pride at being able to cheer up her downcast friend and winked. "And there's already plenty of buildings and stuff, so we don't have to go through the trouble of making anything from scratch!"

"Izmael won't be pleased to hear that!" Gilder laughed. "Heh; so now it's my turn to see the Lands of Ice? Sounds like a plan! But we'd better stop by Maramba to restock on supplies...fuel...Red Moon Stones in case it's a little too cold at night..."

The young captain nodded. "I think someone who isn't as easily recognizable should go, though. I don't want them to get any ideas what we're doing..."

"Hey, that's why you've got crew members—to delegate those kinds of jobs," Gilder smirked, rubbing his goatee. "But now that we've got a plan, how about we give Galcian the slip?"

Vyse and Aika cheered, "Yeah!"

Knowing what he was going to do greatly improved the Blue Rogue's mood, but once they began to move south, keeping over the clouds as much as possible, Vyse was finally given time to step back and think deeply on Ramirez.

/I wonder if Fina and Ilchymis were able to save Ramirez.../ he thought, trying not to get too morose. /I hope so.../

He blushed at the memory of when he had realized he loved the Silvite. The revelation had come as quite a surprise, to say the least... What was even more stunning was how he knew, at a very profound level, that that was what he really felt, and that it wasn't simply camaraderie, or pity, or an obligation. It was too intense for any of those three...his chest wouldn't ache this much if it were. Conversing with Ramirez, joking with Ramirez, sparring with Ramirez, even arguing with Ramirez... They were all precious memories to the brunet now, and he wanted to make more of them. He wanted to be able to hold his fellow swordsman tight like he had just the other day, without mocking the emotion behind it by calling it mere friendship.

It astounded him how long he had let the depth of his feelings go unacknowledged, and he cursed his inability to see something that should have been obvious to him. After all, they were his feelings. He only hoped that he wasn't too late in the realization...

The metal door opening sounded behind him, and someone rushed in. "Vyse!" called Fina, grabbing everyone's immediate attention. "Mr. Ilchymis and I just..."

"How's Ramirez?" the captain of the Delphinus blurted out as he abandoned the wheel to Lawrence to approach her, cutting her off, then caught himself. "Sorry," he apologized.

The verdure-eyed girl smiled at him, shaking her head. "It's okay," she reassured him. "Ramirez... He's alive."

Catching everyone off-guard, Vyse embraced the young Silvite maiden tightly. "Thank you," he said emphatically, before releasing her and murmuring an apology.

"Um...er...yes," Fina said, her cheeks pink. "He's in the medical ward... He's still unconscious, but his pulse and breathing are stable now, so Mr. Ilchymis is confident he'll survive. But he lost a lot of blood...so he'll need a lot of rest."

"So do all of us," Vyse grinned, though the gesture was slightly embarrassed. "Maybe we should drop anchor before long and get a good night's sleep."

Fina nodded, and then blushed more when she saw the catty grin Aika was giving her.

Hoping briefly he hadn't given the Silvite girl any wrong impressions, Vyse turned back to the view of low sky, his heart swelling with happiness. Ramirez was alive!

/As soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him how I feel and apologize for being so thick for so long,/ he swore to himself. /It's the least I can do for hurting him. I love him, and I'm certain of it! I just wasn't sure until now./ His confidence and optimism reviving with great vigor, Vyse continued mentally, /I won't hold back anymore!

/...Just, please, wake up.../



Later in the night, when the Delphinus had settled down under the mountain range to the north of Maramba and everyone was gratefully getting ready for bed, Aika pulled her Silvite friend into her room, smirking the entire way.

"You sure made Vyse's night, Fina," she grinned once a locked door ensured some privacy.

Fina immediately turned beet red. "Ai..Aika! There's nothing going on between us! I... I swear I wouldn't get in your way!" she gasped.

"Hey, it's okay, Fina," the pirate girl grinned nervously. "He doesn't think of me as anything more than a kid sister, anyway." Winking, she added, only half-joking, "And better you than Ramirez!"

Fina frowned at the parting jab, having been thinking about her former friend's near sacrifice. "Aika..." she murmured.

"Yeah, I know," the redhead amended, her smile lessening. "He did do a lot for us just now... But if you think about it, it's his fault it happened in the first place. I still don't like him. And you would be better for Vyse than he would. At least you're Vyse's age!"

The female Silvite mulled over this quietly. On one hand, she did like Vyse a lot, but considering how badly it had gone the last time she had tried to make her feelings known...

At length she said, "It might...be too hasty right now. Besides, I'd rather know how he feels... I don't want to embarrass myself again."

Understanding that Fina was referring to when she hastily confessed to Ramirez, the Air Pirate girl nodded sympathetically. "Well, you can at least be sure that Vyse doesn't secretly hate you," she said bracingly. "Vyse isn't dishonest like that."

Fina nodded in silent agreement and murmured, "...Yes, but... I don't think now is a good time..."

"Yeah, I can understand that," the boomerang wielder nodded. "It'd be better pick a time when things have calmed down."

Settling onto her bed, the pale blonde Silvite asked, "Do you think everything will work out?"

"Well... I can't say anything for sure..." Aika replied, looking out her window. She laughed and winked at her friend before continuing, "But I bet it will! I know if you asked Vyse, he'd say not to give up—'cause once you give up, it's all over!"

The green-eyed woman nodded emphatically in response. "Thank you, Aika," she said, encouraged by her friend's words. "But...maybe now we should get some sleep? It's...been a rather long day..."

"Yeah, you said it," the redhead replied with a nod, stretching and heading for the door to return to her own room. "Let's get to bed. Sweet dreams, okay?"

Fina nodded, and said, "Good night."

There were all too few good nights or sweet dreams to be had by those aboard the Delphinus that night, however.



"There is an edge, Ramirez...as razor-thin and sharp as the edge of the sword you bear. And you are walking upon it."

"Are you truly satisfied with giving up your life for Vyse after protecting him just that once? As long as Galcian lives, he will be threatened. Even so, are you content?"

"I sensed you long ago, and believing that you would be able to wield my sword the way I had intended, I slept, waiting for you to realize your potential."

"That girl? Judging from her appearance, she seems to be a Dreamseer. I honestly hadn't thought there were any of them left, though..."

"Let me help you, Ramirez. I still believe that you can wield Ilazki properly. Your hardships will not end here, but you can grow strong enough to rise above them."

"This is not a time to waver! Awaken!
Ramirez!!"

With a sharp gasp, the white-haired man jolted awake, the sheets and blankets falling away from his heaving, bandaged chest.

"A...dream...?" he whispered, raising his left hand to stare wide-eyed at his palm, then running his fingers through his bangs with a ragged sigh. Glancing upwards and around himself, he didn't immediately recognize his surroundings, but his location dawned on him after several seconds of reorganizing his thoughts.

"The medical wing of the Delphinus..." he whispered, straightening his posture. "I'm...alive...?"

"Mr. Ramirez?" an unfamiliar voice sounded then, and a proper-looking man with long, light brown hair and white and green robes appeared from behind a hospital curtain. He smiled warmly, set aside the clipboard that had been in his arms and pushed his glasses up his nose, and approached as the Silvite stared at him. "Thank the Moons you've regained consciousness! Captain Vyse and Miss Fina will be so pleased."

Staring blankly at the man he'd never met, the Silvite queried, "Who are you?"

"Oh!" He smiled apologetically. "Excuse me. I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced. My name is Ilchymis; I'm a physician and pharmacist. Captain Vyse asked me to join his crew not too long ago. I'm not precisely a doctor, but under the circumstances, I had to do... Miss Fina and I were the ones who saved your life; I've been watching over you all night, to make sure your condition stayed stable."

"I see," Ramirez said blandly, looking down at his lap and noticing for the first time that, aside from bandages covering his chest and arm, he was naked. Blushing furiously, he immediately pulled the blankets in front of him up towards his chest.

"Your clothes were ruined," Ilchymis said gently, sitting down next to Ramirez's bed. "And we needed to clean the blood off of you... Captain Vyse provided a change of clothing for you, however," and he indicated a bundle of clothes that Ramirez had not noticed earlier but now recognized as the spare clothes that the rogue had bought on Sailor's Isle, "so if you like, I'll give you some privacy while I fetch the Captain and Miss Fina."

"You don't need to do that," the Silvite swordsman said stiffly. "Fetch those two, I mean. I would appreciate the privacy, however."

The physician paused, regarding him with a slightly troubled expression. "They were very concerned about your well-being," he said softly. "...But very well. I'll inform them of your awakening later. I'd like to run a few tests on you once you've dressed yourself, though, if I may... Check your blood pressure, your temperature, and so on..."

"Do as you please," Ramirez murmured, then watched the long-haired man nod and go to stand behind the same curtain as before. With a tired sigh, he carefully removed himself from the hospital bed, fighting off a wave of dizziness as he stood, and began to don the outfit, noting that there were also bandages on his leg where he had almost sustained an involuntary amputation.

/Why didn't I die...?/ he wondered as he pulled on the various garments, eyebrows furrowed. /Michaol... No. It was just a dream./

Doing his best to dismiss the disturbing events in his sleep, the ex-Admiral collapsed onto his bed and shut his eyes.

A few more minutes passed, and Ilchymis emerged with various medical tools and a patient smile. Ramirez paid little attention to what he did or said thereafter, though, letting himself be poked and prodded and made to drink a couple of glasses of water to help replenish his bodily fluids. And when the pharmacist was done, he settled back into the bed and let himself give in to his exhaustion to return to sleep, this time one undisturbed by night visions...



Like many members of the crew of the Delphinus, Vyse woke up around the same time Ramirez had, from a spectacular nightmare. Sweating and trembling and on the verge of furious tears, he immediately tore his covers off and jumped out of bed, pushing his sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes.

/I'll never let that happen to Ramirez,/ he told himself fiercely, with an almost frenzied sense of protectiveness. /NEVER!/

The grotesque images that he had beheld in his sleep had terrified him, but they had also filled him with a burning desire to safeguard the man he finally realized he loved. The helplessness he had experienced while being forced to watch, unable to move, such a horror being inflicted on the pale man... And by the man he had once served, no less. Vyse still recalled what Galcian had said to him last night in the waking world about not being the one to blame, but that didn't stop him from loathing the Grand Admiral more forcefully than he had ever loathed anyone in his entire life.

/I won't ever let Galcian touch Ramirez,/ he told himself again, forcing on a fresh, non-bloodstained set of his usual clothes with his jaw clenched. /I'll die before I ever let him hurt Ramirez like that again!!/

For while it had simply been a nightmare, there were all too many parallels to the events of the real world to be able to write it off; although what had happened was technically an impossibility, having just woken up, Vyse almost believed it could happen, and that caused one of two things: first, it truly drove home the fact that he loved Ramirez, and second, it made him realize that he could never tolerate something like that happening to the one he loved.

The Blue Rogue pulled on his boots furiously and left his room, heading first for the bridge, where no one was yet present, and then to the dining hall, which hosted a handful of people, including Polly, Fina, Aika, and Gilder, the lattermost of whom was smoking a cigar.

Vyse's mood was mollified somewhat upon seeing his friends, and after chatting briefly with Polly, who looked very tired, and picking up a breakfast she'd just cooked, he sat with his companions.

The first thing he noticed was that none of them seemed overly cheerful; each of them had a somewhat somber mood. After his own night horror, Vyse wasn't about to criticize, but he was curious.

"Hi, guys," he greeted them, starting in on his sausage and eggs. "...What's wrong?"

Aika smiled unenthusiastically, waving a hand. "We didn't have very good dreams," she said, her tone uncharacteristically flat.

"I didn't either..." Vyse frowned before taking a large bite of meat and chewing thoughtfully.

"It's hardly surprising," Gilder yawned, putting out his cigar on the table. "Considering what happened last night..."

"It seems a little strange, though, that all of us had nightmares," Fina said quietly, her face slightly ashen.

The goatee-sporting rogue waved it off. "Everyone we talked to had a bad night," he said. "It's not like it's just us. Everyone went under the same stress; it's natural."

"I just hope I don't have another dream like that ever again," Aika moaned, resting her head on the table next to her plate. "Brrr... Just thinking about it gives me the shivers..."

"What did you all dream about?" Vyse queried, curiosity piqued.

She shuddered and clapped her hands to her arms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Me neither," Fina murmured, picking at her food.

"Heh; don't go asking me, either," Gilder chimed in, an eyebrow cocked. "I feel the same way as Aika."

"Yeah, I can relate to that," the captain of the Delphinus murmured, staring at his plate, recalling some of the finer points of his nightmare, and suddenly not feeling so hungry anymore. "...Let's talk about something else."

His companions all agreed, and the conversation turned to their plans henceforth. Breakfast came to a close, the morning passed, and the night terrors were set aside for more important matters. Kalifa, being a native to Maramba, was chosen to go shopping in the Nasrian town on their behalf, and Khazim went with her for protection. Lunch eventually came, and that was when Ilchymis finally came down, smiling brightly.

"Captain Vyse! Miss Fina!" he greeted the two as he had Polly cook a lunch to go for his patient. "I have good news. Mr. Ramirez has awakened."

Vyse's entire demeanor lit up like a Valuan train as Fina clasped her hands to her chest, gasping. "Really?!" he inquired, ecstatic.

Ilchymis nodded. "I came to get lunch for him and myself, but at long as you both here, I figured I may as well tell you two, since you seem so interested in his well-being."

"That's great!" the captain of the Delphinus cheered, grinning. "Thanks, Ilchymis! I knew I could count on you!" He turned to the Silvite girl. "And you, too, Fina."

She smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you, Vyse."

"He seems reluctant to talk to anybody, though," the Valuan physician added with a slight frown. "He actually woke up several hours ago, but requested that I not tell either of you when I mentioned how happy you would be when you knew he had regained consciousness. I told him that in that case, I would inform you two later, and he fell asleep again shortly afterwards."

Wondering if the Silvite was perhaps upset that he hadn't died as he'd wished, Vyse nodded. /I've got to talk to him as soon as possible,/ he told himself. /But he'll probably want to see as few people as possible... Plus I don't want to say what I need to say in front of anyone else.../

"Fina," he said, swiveling to face his friend, "I'm betting you're like me and you want to see Ramirez right now, huh?"

Blushing faintly, she nodded.

"But it sounds like he doesn't want a lot of company, so let's take turns, okay?" he suggested. "We'll see him one at a time."

"Okay," she smiled. "That sounds reasonable. Why don't you see him first?"

"Really?" he grinned, relieved that she had suggested it. "You don't mind?"

"You're the captain," she laughed, eyes shut. "And you're the one who went back for him. I can wait a little longer to see him."

"All right, Ilchymis, here's the lunches you ordered," the curvy woman called, handing him a bag meal with a big-lipped smile.

"Thank you very much, Polly," the alchemist smiled, accepting it. "Well, Miss Fina, Captain Vyse, will you follow me to the medical ward? I'll give Mr. Ramirez his meal, then leave you to talk with him, captain."

"Lead away," the brunet grinned, almost bursting with anticipation.

The three of them left the mess hall and reached the hospital wing shortly after. Ilchymis entered the room first, and several minutes later, left, nodding to Vyse and Fina, who were waiting outside.

"He's ready for you, Captain," he said. "I'm going to return to the mess hall for my own lunch. I'll return when I'm done, but if you need me before then, just come get me."

"Thanks for everything, Ilchymis," the brunet rogue beamed, but the Valuan simply smiled, nodded, and headed off.

Nodding to Fina, who sat down on one of the chairs outside the room, Vyse entered and shut the door behind him. "Ramirez?" he smiled.

The Silvite swordsman glanced up at him, then returned his gaze to the bowl of hot vegetable stew on the tray in front of him, idly swirling its contents with his spoon.

"It's good to see you're alive," the Blue Rogue said warmly and sincerely, crossing the room to take a seat next to the patient's bed.

"...Thank you?" the green-eyed man half-replied, half-queried, before taking a bite, figuring his captain would definitely notice if he declined to eat, and that he didn't have the energy for such a confrontation.

The beginnings of Vyse's declaration of love were on his lips, but when he saw Ramirez beginning to dine, he had second thoughts.

/I'd better wait,/ he thought. /He'll be surprised for sure, and I don't want to accidentally make him choke./

So instead, he turned his thoughts to the events of yesterday. "...Thanks," he decided to say. "I know it must have been tough for you to fight Galcian. I really, really am thankful you did that for me...for us..."

Ramirez nodded, opting to eat instead of verbally reply. It prevented any awkward answers, in any case...

Vyse took the hint, and with a sigh and a shake of his head, though he did both while smiling, he sat back and watched the pale man eat his lunch, content at the moment to bask in his company.

After several moments, he reflected, /It's amazing. A few months ago, I'd have called anyone who told me I'd fall in love with the guy who burned down Nasrad a nut case... Heck, I never thought when he took us prisoner that we'd ever end up friends, either. Funny how life works out that way... I don't like the things he did, but he's trying to make up for them now. Now I'm just glad we can finally be together./

He leaned back in his chair, letting his legs spread out, and his foot bumped against something resting under the former Admiral's bed. Curiously, Vyse leaned down to see what it was, and promptly jumped up and away in surprise, knocking the object at an angle to jut out and reveal itself.

It was Ramirez's sword.

The silver-haired man glanced over at him, blinking and giving him a questioning look, then glancing downward. He, too, looked surprised, but then his expression softened, and he said, touched, "You brought my sword."

"Uh—looks that way," Vyse replied, mind reeling. He was certain he hadn't brought it along when he can carried Ramirez back to the Delphinus... No, he knew he didn't. He remembered—Galcian had knocked it away, and it had clattered to the ground, and he had been so focused on Ramirez that the silver blade had left his attention completely.

/What is that sword doing here?/ he wondered, sweating nervously. /It should still be on Crescent Isle!!/

Ramirez, who had been unconscious at the time and thus didn't know that the weapon had in fact been abandoned, wasn't nearly quite so perturbed, and setting his now mostly empty tray aside on the stand next to his bed, he leaned down and gently grabbed the hilt and lifted the blade into the light to admire it.

"I wouldn't have thought you would have taken this along with me," he said, very mildly; in spite of everything, it was somehow comforting that the one thing that had always previously been with him was still with him, and he appreciated that. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome," Vyse replied, trying to hide his befuddlement. How had that sword gotten on board? Everyone had been on board already, and Aika certainly wouldn't have gone to get it, even if there had been time for it...

/I'll ask him about it another time,/ the Blue Rogue thought worriedly. /This probably isn't a good time.../

He watched, discomfited, as the Silvite angled the sword this way and that, letting the light glint off of it.

"It might interest you to know that this sword's name is Ilazki," Ramirez commented then.

That was a sufficient distraction, and Vyse seized it. "Ilazki? Like the Archangel of the Silver Moon?"

The former Admiral nodded. "It's an ancient weapon that was given to me by the Elders," he informed his companion. "I've had it since I was a young boy..."

/That weapon almost killed me,/ the Blue Rogue thought uneasily, watching the blade getting tilted. /I wonder if Ramirez ever dreamed how many people he'd kill with that thing when he got it... I doubt it, if he was as much like me as Fina says he was.../

"I really should hate this thing," Ramirez said then, very softly; Vyse almost missed the comment, and he blinked and stared when it sank in.

"Why?"

"Because it ruined my life," the Silvite replied. "I had a dream about it last night, come to think of it..." There was a vague hint of a smile on his lips that faded before it was even noticed. "Maybe that's why I can't hate it. It's always protected me..."

"Ramirez..." Vyse said softly, gazing at him with equally soft eyes as the older swordsman sighed and set the silver blade back down on the floor.

"Perhaps it all was just my mind trying to give my sword a personality," the ex-Admiral mused, this time mainly to himself, as he turned his eyes to his hands, which were folded over his lap. "Strange, though; I always, for some reason, thought of Ilazki as being female..."

"I had a dream about you last night," Vyse commented, remembering it again with some distaste. "It wasn't a pleasant one, though... It was like when Galcian cut you down, only much, much worse..."

"Mm," the Silvite uttered.

"...You know, Ramirez..." the young captain hesitantly began, seeing this as his chance. "It also drove home something for me... And that leads me to this something I've been wanting to tell you..."

"Mm?" he murmured, not moving his eyes towards the Air Pirate.

"I realized it after you nearly died in front of me, and..." He took a deep, steadying breath. "...You mean a lot to me. I'd...I'd be devastated if you really did die."

The former Admiral hung his head slightly, not replying.

Vyse glanced at him, his cheeks pink, and continued, his heart thumping, wishing he could be smoother about all this, "It...um... It's not just something I decided all of a sudden, either. I've been thinking about it a lot ever since you told me you loved me—about what I feel for you, I mean..."

Ramirez finally glanced over at him, wondering what Vyse's intended point was supposed to be and dreading it regardless. "...Yes?"

"I... After all this, I realized..." The Blue Rogue swallowed hard, steeling himself for what he was about to say, and gazing seriously at Ramirez, he leaned forward and declared, "...Ramirez, I...I love you."

The Silvite blinked and stared at Vyse, the confession refusing to sink in. "...what?"

The scarred brunet turned a deeper shade of scarlet. "I love you."

Ramirez stared, stunned, at the youth for whose sake he had turned his back on everything he held dear. His insides felt light, as if the buoyant emotion called happiness were fluttering inside his chest...

...but sneaking behind it and stabbing it brutally in the back was the swift realization that this 'confession' was likely borne from pity and guilt. The timing was too convenient: he risks his life and nearly gets killed for Vyse, Vyse agonizes over distracting him at a crucial point and causing his near-fatal injury, then decides to apologize for it by telling him the one thing he wanted to hear. It wasn't love...just a mercy deception.

This revelation cutting him as deeply as the Grand Admiral's sword had—that Vyse would think him pathetic enough to believe this kind of shallow lie—Ramirez shifted his eyes to his lap. "...I... I see..."

The captain of the Delphinus stared at him for a moment, utterly puzzled by the Silvite's noncommittal reaction. /Shouldn't he be happy?/ he wondered, confused, then blinked and smiled in realization. /Heh...I guess it hasn't sunk in. Well, he kissed me after he dropped the bomb on me, so it's only fair to return the favor.../

He leaned in, reaching out his hands to hold Ramirez's shoulders to hold him steady as he went to touch his lips to his fellow swordsman's, but the Silvite gave a strangled gasp and shoved him away, backing off and keeping an elbow raised between them, as if to act as a barrier.

Now very perplexed, Vyse backed off slightly, staring at Ramirez. "...I don't get it. Isn't this what you wanted?" he queried.

The rogue's inquiry was, to the emotionally damaged Silvite, irrefutable proof that Vyse was only doing this to be kind rather than out of any real love, and shaking his head violently, he croaked, "Don't...don't touch me..."

Becoming extremely baffled, not to mention upset, the young rogue protested, "But—but..."

Gathering his cool, Ramirez relaxed slightly, though his brows were still furrowed, and muttered while glaring sullenly at the Air Pirate, "...Don't try to deceive me. I know this is just pity. So don't pretend that you love me. It won't help anything."

Vyse recoiled as if he'd been slapped, and stared at Ramirez mutely, rendered speechless.

The ex-Admiral averted his gaze, not wanting to see the youth looking at him with that hurt expression. Perhaps he'd been too harsh. Perhaps Vyse actually meant what he'd said...?

/No. It's not possible,/ he thought glumly. /Even if he's being sincere, Vyse must be making himself believe it out of guilt./ Shutting his eyes, his mental processes continued, /It would have been better if I had died, than to see him look at me like this... At least now he'll give up on the idea. It'll be less painful than accepting and then him realizing later that it was just a farce.../

Finally recovering from his shock, the young captain forced himself to speak. "...Ramirez," he began, "I... This isn't pity. I like you. I like being near you. I don't want you to die. I want you to get better, to feel better about yourself..." Throwing up his arms in frustration, he shouted, "This isn't pity!!"

The pale swordsman merely shook his head bitterly, not wanting to accept the possibility of once again getting hurt.

"Ramirez!!" Vyse shouted, almost grabbing the Silvite's shoulders but managing to restrain himself. He took a deep breath, and in a lower tone, he said as sincerely as he could, "...I know you have reason not to believe me. I kept telling you and everyone, even myself, that I couldn't possibly be in love with you. But I am!" His voice rising, he declared, "I am, and I finally realize that! Ask me to do anything to prove it and I will!"

"You're doing a poor job of trying to make me feel better," the ex-Admiral replied bitterly.

Badly stung by the second implication that he was a liar, Vyse frowned in frustration and moved himself away from Ramirez, wishing the Silvite would at least give him a fair chance... And at least the circumstances now were far kinder than when Ramirez had confessed to him...

"Say," he said, recalling it, "now you're making me wonder. You're pushing me away, even though I'm trying to get close to you... So why did you kiss me in the first place, back then?"

He didn't need to say more than 'back then' for Ramirez to understand. Clutching his arms to his chest and keeping his eyes lowered, he thought for a moment in silence for a proper answer.

Finally, he parted his lips, hesitated, and murmured, "I was desperate... I wanted to take a hold of that moment and never let go. But I knew, no matter how tightly I clung to it, it would slip through my fingers and disappear forever..."

"Rami..." Vyse murmured. "It's okay now."

"I've told you before not to call me by that nickname," the Silvite mumbled, the reprimand the first thing coming to mind in spite of how little he cared about it now, given the circumstances.

"...That's the first time you've brought it up in ages," Vyse said, still unable to grasp the situation. Ramirez had said he had loved him weeks ago—Moons, he had even said it as recently as yesterday! But now...

It was almost completely beyond his comprehension.

"It's the first time you've called me that in ages," Ramirez muttered, adding that as another reason why the sudden declaration of love was so improbable. Why be so familiar all of a sudden? It was ludicrous to the Silvite.

"I called you that last night!" Vyse challenged. "Just like how you told me you loved me last night!"

"Perhaps so," the former Admiral admitted coldly. "But it still rings false, considering you've otherwise been calling me Ramirez ever since I betrayed you."

The young captain's shoulders sagged. "...I'm just trying to be friendly," he protested weakly.

"I'm well aware of that," Ramirez replied, his tone dropping into temperatures suitable for the Continent of Ice. He would not let himself succumb to the temptation to leave himself open to the rogue, who would clumsily manhandle his emotions as he pleased, as he had been doing for weeks... "Please leave me alone."

Vyse almost protested, but stopped himself. "...All right," he said, frustration and misery gnawing away at him. "You need to rest, anyway..."

"Thank you," the pale man said stiffly, laying himself back on the bed as the rogue rose and began to walk out of the room. Vyse looked back at Ramirez when he reached the door, pursing his lips, but sighed and left, resolving to try to talk to Ramirez later, to somehow show him he wasn't lying.

Fina was waiting outside, and she stood when she saw Vyse leaving, holding her hands over her lap.

"Vyse!" she said. "How is Ramirez doing...?"

Attempting to put on a cheerful face for his friend's sake, he smiled and said, "He's awake, but I think he'll probably need more rest until he's recovered fully."

"I see..." she murmured. /He had lost a lot of blood,/ the white-robed girl told herself. /I wonder if Vyse's visit put a strain on him.../ Voicing this thought, the blonde Silvite queried, "Should I come back later?"

Vyse shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose, though... It might be a good idea," he said.

"All right," Fina acceded, disappointed but not wanting to somehow damage her estranged friend's health further. "Thank you." The two of them began to walk back together, and she inquired, "What did you two talk about?"

The young rogue flushed, but managed to come up with a suitable cover quickly. He wasn't sure he wanted to broadcast the fact that he was in a relationship with the male Silvite just yet, especially since he wasn't even sure if there was a relationship. "We, er, talked about recent events," he said. Well, it wasn't a lie; that's what they had been talking about before he'd told the white-haired man his true feelings...

Fina took his comment at face value and bowed her head, her gaze lowered to the floor. "He always spoke so highly of Galcian while he was traveling with us," she murmured. "He must really love you to have fought against him."

Vyse thought of the conversation with the former Admiral that had just elapsed and said nothing. He certainly hoped Fina's assessment was correct...

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, mistaking his silence as an uncomfortable one. "But I can't help but feel sorry for him..."

"You're a good person, Fina," he smiled gently. "I know he hasn't been nice to you recently. I'm surprised you aren't more like Aika... She hates his guts..."

"Yes..." the blonde Silvite murmured. "I was angry with him, too. He ridiculed my feelings for him and betrayed all of us. What's more, he said he was in love with you... I thought that it meant that he had become truly immoral. The Elders always taught us that it's wrong to...feel that way...to a member of the same gender," she explained at his confused look. "But now he's given up all he had to protect you..."

"The Elders really taught you that?" Vyse queried, frowning unhappily. /Moons... It must have been really difficult for Ramirez, then... Being in love with me when he'd been raised to think being gay is wrong... And then me telling him I hated him!/ he remembered, glancing away. /I told him I forgave him, but...maybe he can't help but think of that.../

"Yes," she said sadly, then paused as if realizing something. "But...perhaps the Elders are mistaken. They told us that Arcadians are such awful people, and it turned out that some people are that way, but many, many others, like you and Aika and everyone on this ship, are so kind and thoughtful; if they were wrong about that, they could be wrong about this..." Looking up at Vyse almost pleadingly, she queried, "Vyse, you're the best one to ask... What do you think of Ramirez being in love with you? Does it bother you? How do you feel towards him?"

He flushed and glanced away; those were some awfully sensitive questions... "It's...uh..." he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "...It was really awkward for a while, and I was surprised and angry with him at first because of the timing, but... I like him, and I really care about him. I want him to be happy, so I can't fault him for feeling that way. I don't think it's wrong at all." /Especially since I'm in love with him back now,/ he added mentally.

Vyse's opinion seemed to settle the matter with Fina for the most part, and she smiled, relieved. "I don't think Aika agrees with you," she commented, though, her brow creasing slightly.

"Aika hates Ramirez; of course she wouldn't agree," the brunet sighed.

"Yes..." she murmured, averting her verdure eyes. "Vyse?"

"Yeah?"

She gazed up at him again almost imploringly. "Ramirez said he hates me, but...I still care about him a lot. Like you, I want him to be happy, so..."

"You really are a good person, Fina," the young captain smiled. "I heard the things he said to you back on Crescent Isle, same as everyone else. It takes a big heart to care about someone who says he hates you."

She smiled back sadly. "I don't even understand why he hates me. It would be easy to hate him back for what he's done, but the way things are, I can't be satisfied with just that... I need to know why. I need to know the truth. But Vyse," she continued, stopping just in front of the door to the bridge and grabbing onto one of his sleeves, "even if he hates me, he loves you. I believe you might be able to reach him."

He glanced away, thinking of how badly his last exchange with the Silvite swordsman had gone. "You think so?"

The white-robed young lady nodded emphatically. "I think you're the only one who can. So, please... Will you try to bring back the old Ramirez? For both of us?"

He honestly didn't know if he could, but the young rogue couldn't bear to tell Fina that—not when she was looking at him as if he were her last hope. So, with a confident grin, he thumped a fist to his chest and told her, "Leave it to me! I know it won't be easy, but that doesn't mean it'll be impossible." Placing his fists on his hips, he went on, "We just have to be patient. He's got a lot of issues to sort through... He won't heal overnight. But I'm certain we'll get through to him in the end. It's just a matter of time."

She smiled warmly at him, holding her hands to her chest. "Thank you, Vyse," she said, relieved. "I'm so happy to hear you say that! I know if anyone can do it, it's you. You never give up... You're an inspiration to everyone around you... You'll surely be the same way for Ramirez."

Heartened by his friend's words, he returned the radiance of her smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all right in the end. For right now, though, let's let him get used to what's happened. It'll be hard on him when it sinks in..."

"Uh huh," Fina nodded, relieved regardless; now that Vyse had as much as promised her, she felt as if everything would be all right.

Dropping his hand from her shoulder, the captain of the Delphinus headed onto the bridge, the Silvite girl following after.

Kalifa and Khazim arrived back shortly afterwards, and from there, they headed north to the Lands of Ice, keeping to the highest altitudes where they were unlikely to be seen, flying straight over the Dark Rift. They then passed around the ice continent from high sky to low sky, and headed back south to enter Glacia from beneath.

The crew was immensely impressed with the glittering beauty of the ruins, and Izmael, disappointed though he was at not needing to build anything new, looked forward to studying the structures. A nearby treasure chest yielded a Moonberry, and close to that, Vyse caught a Moonfish for Maria's bird, and from there, the crew went few by few via the floating platform to the rest of the city. It was difficult, as the hordes of monsters from before still lurked about, but eventually they all made it inside the largest of the icicle-like, upside-down towers, and went to explore the interior.

Inside, they found a series of elegantly furnished rooms, some neatly arranged, some in casual, lived-in disarray, probably all of them the way they had been since the Old World. There were bedrooms, vast libraries, kitchens, common rooms... There was also a control room at the very top where masonry met glacier, and although the technology was foreign, the more mechanically inclined of the crew promised to tinker around with it and see if they couldn't manage to the heating and plumbing system, which, unlike the platforms outside, seemed to have shut down thanks to a lack of human control.

When a few people had been chosen to take care of those commodities, the rooms were divvied up, Vyse receiving the largest at the bottom of the tower, and other crew members going up from there in accordance to importance.

Ramirez was not as thrilled as may have been expected to claim the other room at the bottom of the tower, a significantly smaller bedroom—perhaps for a servant back in the days of the Old World, and roughly the size of his old room at Crescent Isle—next to Vyse's.

"I'd...rather be alone," he quietly told the rogue in private while they were becoming acquainted with their new quarters, which both, in spite of the difference in size, included their own bathrooms and walk-in closets—a testament to the luxury that the advanced Purple Civilization enjoyed. "I don't feel comfortable, being so close to everyone else..."

"You're still recovering," Vyse replied firmly, moving his things, which he had carried with help from the Delphinus, around. "If you have a relapse, you should be near the rest of us so we can take care of you as soon as possible."

"But—" Ramirez began to protest at the weakness of this logic, then caught himself and bowed his head. "...Fine. You should know that I'll be keeping to this room, though."

The other reason was that the captain of the Delphinus wanted the former Admiral near him; even if there wasn't a solid relationship yet, that didn't mean there wouldn't or couldn't be in the future, and he wanted for them to be able to share a room like they used to on the Delphinus. "I just want you to be all right," he told him gently, pausing in his work to face his fellow swordsman. "You can visit me in here anytime, you know. If it's okay, I'll probably drop by your room to talk to you a lot, too..."

He brushed a hand against Ramirez's cheek, and the Silvite stepped away, refusing to look at Vyse. The Blue Rogue bit back a sigh of frustration, and added, "I wasn't lying when I told you I love you, you know...and I was serious when I told you to ask me to do anything to prove it." Smiling then, he added, "But I won't force it on you, okay? I know things must feel overwhelming right now, even now that it's a few days since we left Crescent Isle. I just want you to know, I'm always here for you."

Ramirez's jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, and after a moment, he sighed, letting his shoulders sag. "I would appreciate the sentiment more if you would hadn't tried to mask it with a façade of love."

"It's not a façade," Vyse argued, stepping forward, which caused Ramirez to step back. "What do I have to say for you to get it? Look, I...know I've been thick. I know I've hurt you. You've hurt me too. But why can't we start over? Now that we know how we feel about each other, why not start over?"

"Why do you claim to be in love with me?" Ramirez queried quietly.

The sudden question threw the captain off balance. "What?"

"Why do you claim to be in love with me?" he repeated.

Vyse regarded the white-haired man for a moment, then replied, "I...don't really know how to answer that. Love's funny... There aren't really any clear answers why you end up feeling the way you do. All I can say is that I really enjoyed the times before you led Galcian to Crescent Isle, and if possible, I want to go back to those days... Only..." His cheeks turned pink. "...as more than friends..."

Ramirez's pale cheeks matched Vyse's, and he turned his back on him and walked several paces away. "...Do you expect me to believe that?" he inquired coolly, trying to maintain his composure.

"Well, why did you fall in love with me?" the brunet queried, injured.

The Silvite crossed his arms, hunching over slightly. "...I don't know. But I think it may be one of the poorest decisions of my life."

"Ramirez, why are you doing this?" Vyse demanded, throwing down his arms. "You told me that you loved me! You told me that as you were dying in my arms!! And then the day after, I told you I loved you back, and you rejected me! What happened between then and then?!"

"Vyse, stop it," Ramirez replied, lifting his head to gaze at the ceiling. "I can't trust what you say. I can't trust anyone...not even myself. I'm the one who did this to myself in the first place... You shouldn't trust me either. My actions have proved that I'm not worthy of it."

"Ramirez..." the Air Pirate murmured, gazing at the Silvite's back sadly. "Ramirez, I—"

A knock came at the door, and Aika came in, grabbing her childhood friend's attention. She glanced at the former Admiral and frowned, then looked at Vyse and said, "Hey, Vyse, it's almost time for the meeting. Are you doing okay?"

Knowing she had likely shown up to check on the Silvite swordsman and slightly annoyed because of it, he replied, "Yeah, we're fine. Ramirez and I were just talking..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, we better get to that meeting. I can rearrange this room later." He took a step toward his childhood friend before glancing back at the silver-haired man. "You coming, Ramirez?"

He said nothing, but turned and walked behind Vyse, who resumed his pace and walked with Aika, who kept eyeing Ramirez, to several floors up, where their new meeting room was located.

"He doesn't really need to come with us," the pirate girl murmured to her captain as they were almost there.

"A lot of what just happened and what's going to happen involved him," Vyse murmured back. "He has a right to come to the meeting."

The redhead flashed the Silvite a dirty look, but shrugged to her friend. "I guess you're right."

Gilder and Fina were already waiting for them when they arrived, the former leaning back with his feet resting on the rectangular table. The newcomers quickly took seats that mirrored their usual positions at Crescent Isle, and Vyse started off the meeting.

"Now that we've got ourselves situated at a new base, we've got to figure out where we're going from here," he stated, more calmly than he felt. "Galcian's got five of the six crystals. For right now, that's not a big deal; most of the Gigases are out of commission anyway, and at least they're all in one place." He grinned to his companions, only one of whom didn't return his enthusiasm in any way.

"We'd better lie low for right now, anyway," Gilder commented. "We're lucky Galcian gave us the break he did."

"Yeah," Vyse agreed, glancing at Ramirez. "So next on the agenda is the Great Silver Shrine."

"I think we can sit on that for a few days longer," Aika commented, turning her brown eyes to Fina. "We still need to get settled in, and besides, we've been putting it off for this long... No harm in putting it off for a few days longer, huh? Besides, it's not like Galcian can get up there."

"Yes," Fina agreed, forcing a smile. "He doesn't have a ship like mine, after all."

Ramirez blinked and stiffened, her comment jogging his memory on something that, what with all that had happened in the past few weeks, had completely escaped conscious thought. Eight years ago, when he had descended onto this world, a falling Moon Stone had damaged his ship, and he had been knocked unconscious. However, although navigation had been wrecked, his ship had maintained the ability to keep afloat, and he had stayed where he had been for—he didn't know how long, as when he finally awoke, he had been aboard the Aquila, Admiral Mendosa's flagship. Mendosa, struck with curiosity towards the unusual ship, had kept it, and after seeing to its repairs, Ramirez had eventually had it hidden in the mountain crags surrounding Valua. There it had stayed, waiting to someday be used again to return to the Great Silver Shrine... And although he had never shown the Silvite ship to him, Ramirez had told Lord Galcian about it, disclosed its location to him, had even gone so far as to instruct him in its use in case the Grand Admiral had needed it and Ramirez somehow couldn't pilot it for him...

The conversation had continued, but he was no longer paying attention. It was highly likely that the mighty swordsman had already located the vessel and had traveled up to the Great Silver Shrine to relieve one of the Elders of his Silver Crystal. That meant he would be able to raise Soltis, revive Zelos, and call down the Rains of Destruction...

Bowing his head, the Silvite returned his thoughts to his dream from several nights ago. Michaol had asked him if he could tolerate risking his life to protect Vyse only to allow Galcian to kill him later... It was painful, but Ramirez couldn't allow that. He had already come this far; it would make everything pointless if he suddenly stepped back and let the captain of the Delphinus and his crew get wiped out.

"Um," he uttered, lifting his chin and gazing nervously at the others. They would surely accuse him of withholding information, and while such allegations wouldn't be invalid, as he had refused to tell them Lord Galcian's plans in the past, this was something unintentional... The others didn't notice him at first, and swallowing hard, he raised his voice and said, "About the ship..."

The multiple words caught everyone's attention, and quieting down, all eyes turned to him. "What about what?" Vyse queried, staring.

"About the ship," Ramirez repeated uncomfortably. "A ship that can reach the Great Silver Shrine," he clarified, then paused uncertainly as the others waited for him to make his point. "...Lord Galcian has one." The others expressed their shock, Vyse with a drop of his jaw, Gilder with a raised lip and eyebrow, Fina and Aika with gasps, and Ramirez reluctantly admitted, "He has mine."

They all registered horrified shock, and predictably, Aika jumped to her feet and demanded, "What?! Why didn't you tell us this before?!"

"I had forgotten," he replied dully, knowing fully well how pathetic the truth was.

The redhead looked positively ready to murder him with his bare hands, but Vyse stood and held a hand out in front of her. "Is this the truth, Ramirez?" he asked gravely, brown eyes fixed on the Silvite. "Are you saying that Galcian can get the Silver Crystal?"

"Yes, it is the truth, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't already have it by now," he murmured, green eyes downcast. "It has been a long while since the attack on Crescent Isle, and even longer since he received the other Moon Crystals. There would be plenty of time to retrieve my ship and use it to ascend to the Silver Shrine."

"No!" Fina gasped, distraught. "Ramirez, how could you not tell us something this important?"

Ramirez didn't reply. If she hadn't accepted the truth the first time he had said it, it was unlikely she would come to terms with it the next time around.

"Ramirez," Vyse began, more serious than anyone had ever seen him, "what exactly are Galcian's plans? We might be too late to keep him from getting all the Crystals...but at least we can know what he intends to do with them and make a plan based on that. And you're the only one who can tell us what he's up to."

The Silvite clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. It was too true; he was the only one who could reveal the Grand Admiral's intentions. He had, several weeks ago, refused to betray them to the Blue Rogue, as he still greatly respected his former mentor...but now that things had come along this far, what was the point? He had already pointed his blade at Galcian in order to protect Vyse...telling the Blue Rogue the Grand Admiral's true intentions wouldn't be any different from that.

He sighed, despising himself. "...I told you before that the Elders intend to raise Soltis. That is also Lord Galcian's aim. He wishes to use the power of the Crystals to raise the ancient continent of the Silvites, resurrect Zelos, and, with it under his command, take control of the entire world...all its people, its lands...even the Moons that watch over it. The weak will be slaughtered and the strong will be united under his regime, and with him to guide humanity, to rule it with an iron fist, he will lead the Arcadians to a world where their inherent greed and bigotry will not be used to destroy each other...a world where he can save them from themselves."

Ramirez swallowed hard, acutely aware of the dropped jaws around him. "...And that's about it."

At length, Vyse found his voice and inquired, "...Is that what you meant when you said Galcian intends to save the world?"

The 24-year-old nodded once.

"Save the world, my butt!" Aika declared, glaring at the white-haired man. "He's just a power-hungry dictator, and he's got you totally duped!"

Ramirez clenched both hands into fists, but said nothing.

"Vyse!" she went on, turning to her childhood friend. "What should we do?! We've got to get to the Great Silver Shrine right away!"

The brown-eyed Blue Rogue frowned slightly, looking down at the table for a few seconds of thought, then gazed up at everyone, determined. "There's no point in going right now," he declared. "If we do, we'll end up leaving everyone behind here to do all the work. Let's take care of our new base first, then prepare Fina's ship so we can set off first thing in the morning." He flashed a smile to the girl mentioned. "That okay with you?"

"Uh huh," the Silvite girl murmured with a nod, although she still worried about the Elders.

"We'd better get moving, then," Gilder commented. "No time to waste, now that we know this."

"Yeah," Vyse nodded. "Now that that's settled, let's get to work!"

The four others agreed with varying levels of enthusiasm, and with that, the meeting was adjourned. Ramirez returned to his room alone, and retreating to his bathroom, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror darkly and raised a hand to his chest.

He had yet to remove the bandages on his body... But they ought to be healed by now, he knew, and there was no point in putting it off longer. He stripped down to his underwear, baring his wrapped-up leg, arm and chest, then began to slowly peel off the strips of cloth from them.

All three body parts bore scars, though they were all faint—the one of his leg so faint, it couldn't be seen unless you were looking specifically for it. The ones on his arm and his chest, running diagonally from right to left, could clearly be seen, though, as streaks of white on his already pale skin...

Unable to suppress a shudder, Ramirez touched the repulsive line running across his chest lightly, nauseated, recalling his battle with the Grand Admiral. Healing magic generally prevented scar tissue from forming, but this wound was a terrible one... With this, he would always have a reminder of his treachery...

Shutting his eyes tightly and swallowing hard, the jade-eyed man pulled his clothes back on and stumbled out of the bathroom, all too willing to do whatever work was asked of him, if only to be able to forget, however temporarily, what he had done.





NOTES: We own nothing except our ideas. Don't take our ideas. All properties of Skies of Arcadia/Eternal Arcadia [Legends] belong to everyone it is to whom they belong.

Ayu: Thanks to Kinzoku for helping with the battle scene between Ramirez and Galcian. You're the best! ^^;

Ayu: There's nothing like learning 18 chapters into a fanfic that you've screwed up on a given character's age and height. That being said, Ramirez is 24 and roughly 5'10-11", as opposed to Vyse, who is 17 and 5'7". Oops. c_c; We've decided to retcon Ramirez's age to what it should be (the scene where Aika and Fina discuss Rami's age in chapter 12 was changed slightly for that reason), but we're leaving him as being shorter than Vyse because Ramirez is described as shorter and Vyse taller so much that it would be too much of a pain to go back and fix them all (plus if any were missed accidentally, it would cause some confusion). Poor thing, suddenly made to shrink like that... c_c;

Ayu: The next chapter will deal with the nightmares that everyone (among the main crew, anyway) suffered after Ramirez nearly died. There will be story around the nightmares, but this FUDT™ bonanza will be the meat of the chapter. Just so you guys know, so you don't all agonize over wondering what will happen when everyone goes up to the Silver Shrine (that will be the feature of chapter 20) or what the heck everyone dreamed about (that will be covered next time).

Ayu: This chapter's lyric-title is taken from Toki ni Ai ha (At Times, Love...), an insert song from Shoujo Kakumei Utena ~Adolescence Mokushiroku~. Full lyrics can be found, as always, at my lyrics site, Campus Lyrics!, the link to which you can (indirectly) find below.

Contact deep.Indigo: deep.Indigo@negativenergy.zzn.com
Contact Ianthe of d.I:
ianthefira@rangersgrove.zzn.com (URL: Ranger's Grove (rangersgrove.tripod.com))
Contact Ayu of d.I: ensoph@goddess.zzn.com (URL: ~ T H E : E T E R N A L : M I N D ~ (theeternalmind.sterlingsylver.net))