Three chaps in one week! Time to work on the others!

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Yadda yadda yadda

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Chapter 17: First off...

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Satoshi couldn't help but shoot Dark a cold look as the Thief continued to mutter under his breath, obviously worried that Krad would blow Daisuke's head off, as he had tried many times before. As they passed the bleak pathway, the Thief's muttering was the only sound the blue-haired boy could hear, and it was starting to get to his nerves. Finally, he spun around.

"If you don't mind," he started, trying to remain calm, although the last strands of patience had already disintegrated, "I don't have the time to listen to you talking to yourself like that, so if you would just shut your mouth for a second..."

"So you're saying that it's okay for Daisuke to be alone with that psychopath blond?" demanded Dark, frowning, "You don't care if Krad kills him?"

"I didn't say that," Satoshi replied coldly, although he felt far from it, "but you heard what Scarlet said before: he can't attack anyone, or it'll be deflected."

"..." Dark shrugged, "whatever you say, Creepy Bastard, whatever you say," he stopped for a moment, "hey, did you notice anything strange about her?"

"Strange as in what way?" the two continued down the pathway, avoiding any eye contact as they spoke to each other.

"Oh, you know what I mean... strange," the Thief cocked his head, as if trying to remember something important, "I know I've seen her before, but not in this time space..."

"It'd probably sound strange if it was from anyone besides you and Krad," muttered Satoshi, "but... then, how do you know her? Did you actually interact with each other or does that name just sound familiar?"

"Hmm... I'm not too sure anymore. But, there are a few character traits that are just a bit too... close to certain bloodlines. And, she's just plain weird."

"Stop stating the obvious... what character traits?" at this, the blue-haired boy frowned slightly.

"Oh, I thought you would've noticed them yourself," although his voice had a slight mocking ring to it, it was clear that Dark seemed vaguely disturbed, "first, her hair is pretty much the same shade as Daisuke's, which, if you don't know already, is extremely rare for any other family out of the Niwa range."

"Anything else?"

"The build is scarily familiar too," the Thief gave Satoshi a sideways glance, "..."

"Could you stop talking like that and get to the point?" the blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow, "Or I might end up leaving you where you stand."

"Fine, creepy bastard..." muttered Dark, finally falling silent from his useless tirade, "what I'm trying to say is that something about her is not only oddly familiar, but, from her characteristics, I'd say that she has to be related to the Niwa and Hikari families by a stronger bond than what I would have thought..."

"So..." he began, frowning slightly, as it came to him quickly, "you're saying that it may be... blood?"

"Of course you'd be fast enough to work that out..."

They both stopped as they reached a fork in the pathway, and both boys exchanged looks before splitting yup: Dark going left, Satoshi going right. As the feelings pulled then further away, the Thief was left to contemplate:

If this was possible... he thought to himself, wishing that Daisuke was with him, then what the hell does this all mean... god, this is so confusing...

He broke into a jog, until he was swallowed into another portal.

Electricity cackled dangerously.

---

"So you're saying that she... Scarlet-san... is related to the families? You're saying that she's the Time Keeper we've been hearing about?"

"Correct," Krad frowned, as Daisuke gaped at him in silent surprise, "if only the seal wasn't here..."

Daisuke looked away again, holding onto With as they continued, "But... why didn't she just tell us then? Wouldn't it have been easier to just say to us before we split up?"

"It may seem the right thing to do, Niwa Daisuke," murmured the blond, "but everyone's minds work differently, unless you haven't noticed..."

"So... we have to save the Flame..."

They froze in mid-stride as the pathway split into two different directions. Not bothering to give the smaller boy another glance, Krad swept off in one direction, obviously fighting his desire to tear Daisuke apart. The redhead frowned slightly before starting off in the other direction.

"This is so confusing..." he whispered. 'I hope you're okay, Dark... Hiwatari-kun...'

As a portal opened up to him, With began to hiss, fur standing on end and Daisuke blinked, "With? Is something wrong?"

"Kyuu!"

Before he could open his mouth again, they were sucked forcefully into the portal and fire began to form, licking the gaps of the closing portal.

The world all around him spun rapidly, and his closed his eyes to stop himself from getting too dizzy, clutching With close to him. At first nothing but wind seemed to fly past his hair, but then, a jolting feeling lanced through Daisuke's body and he yelped slightly, opening his eyes a crack to see what was happening.

All around him, he noticed in mute fascination, was now searing with bright red flames, as if they were trying to get to him. But, strangely enough, they didn't seem to be affecting him physically, although his brain was screaming something as different powers flowed through his body.

"Magic...?" he started, "The element... of Fire..."

Before he could decide what to do next, the portal opened up again, and he fell, landing hard on the floor and crumpling slightly in pain. As the his legs slowly worked itself up to a more stable mode, Daisuke looked up, hoping to identify where, exactly, he was.

Slowly, like a flimsy sheet of thin paper rustling with an unknown wind, a town was formed right in front of his eyes, people, buildings and creatures. As he stood up slowly, he noticed that all the houses were made out of wood, and that there was definitely more plant life than what they had at home. People passed by, oblivious to him, wearing dark, dust-worn clothes, most likely made themselves, and the redhead had a large suspicion that he was probably sometime in the past.

'This can't be good...' he thought, 'where am I supposed to find the broach?'

---

Meanwhile, Dark had found himself in a similar situation, as he attempted to talk to the people. They passed him, blank expressions on their faces, oblivious to the fact that he was right in front of them, waving his arms.

"Aw, man," he snorted in annoyance, placing both hands on his hips, "how am I supposed to do anything if I can't even communicate to these people? Unless they're just ignoring me..."

"Far from seeking the truth, it is no more than a lie."

"Huh?" the Thief spun around, in time to see a young boy, about twelve, with mousy brown hair and large round eyes, "Wait... were you talking to me?"

"Yeah," the boy smiled, "and I am here to give you the one piece of advice I've been sent to do: the truth might not always be the truth, and a power uncontrollable is the key to finding what you truly seek."

Something flashed in his eyes, and he blinked, looking around, "Huh? What? Who..."

"Hey, kid..."

"Oi! Come on, Chester! We need another player!" another boy waved in their direction, and the boy who'd been talking to Dark replied.

"Coming!"

"Wai--" Dark stopped in frustration, "don't tell me people are playing with my head..."

Walking around aimlessly was the main objective for the Phantom Thief in the next dew seconds after moping a bit, and he gave the shabby village a long look, "'a power uncontrollable is the key to finding what you truly seek'..." he muttered under his breath, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

He kicked the floor, pondering over the words, well aware that he was wasting valuable time and that he really shouldn't sitting around, trying to puzzle out the real meaning behind the words.

Now what am I supposed to do? he fell back into thoughtful silence, trying hard not to get himself too confused with the weird words that had been given to him. After ten minutes, he bolted up, "THAT'S IT!!"

---

The redhead wandered around aimlessly, trying to think of how he was supposed to locate the broach.

'Okay,' he told himself, 'Scarlet-san said to follow the feeling within you, so... he closed his eyes, try and concentrate, and... feel the power that will lead us...'

At first nothing seemed to happen, but, as he stood there patiently, a small spark of power began to grow within him. Tugging at his soul, as if trying to take him somewhere.

'This power... the element...' thought Daisuke, 'it's so hot... the spirit of Fire...'

It seemed to unlock something within him when he had found out what element it was, because as soon as he thought it up, the power sudden seemed to flare even stronger within him, and he nearly fell back by the sudden surge of power.

"Then this is..." he muttered, running where he could feel the power growing even stronger, "how we find them...?"

"Kyuu!" shrieked With, clinging desperately to Daisuke's shoulder, "Kyuu!"

"We can't waste anymore time!" Daisuke gasped, grabbing onto the bunny and holding it tight as he continued relentlessly, lucky that he couldn't be seen by anyone, "I think... I can find the first broach somewhere here!"

Passing the boundaries of the town, he stopped momentarily, trying his best to regain his breath, "Soon... it's getting stronger... I can feel it really well now... like it's a part of me..."

"Celes!"

A shriek cut through the redhead's thoughts, and he looked up, in time to see a small girl with flaming red hair running to another figure. Despite the fact that she was a good deal away, the long hair was unmistakable.

"Scarlet-san...?" he looked at the other figure, who seemed to be meditating, "And Celes-san...?"

"Scarlet, is something the matter?"

"Why are they... me... you see..." the girl sniffed, as Daisuke approached them, "why could... HOW could..."

"They are teasing you, correct?" Celes whispered calmly, patting Scarlet calmly, "Please, do not be afraid to be yourself."

"But... both my parents... not here... and... I'm so alone..."

"I am here, so do not worry."

'Is this... Scarlet-san's past...?' Daisuke frowned, but his attention was drawn away by a something gold flashing at the corner of his eye. Turning, he caught the object, revealing it to be a white feather with a golden-aura, "This..."

"Promise?" the small Scarlet asked.

"Promise."

"Past, present, and future..." murmured the redhead softly, "the flickering flames, supporting the very source of Time..."

"What will happen?"

"I do not know," whispered Celes, "but I will be there..."

"... to know the past, is to know the future, and to know what the present really is..." he stopped when he noticed that Scarlet was staring up at him, eyes wide.

"You... that is..."

"Is this yours?" Daisuke held the feather out to her, "Here."

"Oh!" as she reached out to take the feather, a huge flash of light erupted, covering the entire area, "You... you're searching for the broaches, aren't you!"

"How did you..."

"'The past, present and future'," Celes said, as the world began to come back together, "we know of our future selves, the Flame has shown us all. So, Niwa Daisuke, listen to the power in your heart, and call the element of Fire..."

They faded, leaving the redhead and With on their own. The feather was gone, and he suddenly felt at a loss, as if the words had somehow affected him emotionally. Something about what Scarlet {the young one} had been saying had hit him deeply, but he pushed it away, reminding himself of the task he had to do.

'Listen to the power in your heart...' he repeated, closing his eyes, 'and call the element of Fire... it warms the soul, brings warmth into the world... a source of life...'

Although he couldn't see anything, he could feel the warmth wrapping his body, like a blanket, and the power seemed to surge through him, like it had been a part of him.

'A supporting element...'

The warmth seemed to flicker slightly, and then a blast of cold wind made him open his eyes, and a small broach, blood red in the center, hovered in front of him.

"This..." he touched it reluctantly, and suddenly the warmth filled his body, "one of them..."

A small smile formed on the young boy's features as he tucked it into his jeans pocket, "This means we're getting closer..."

"Kyu?"

As Daisuke continued, he stopped momentarily, taking a look at the clear sky, "I hope you're okay... Dark..."

---

"This has got to be it!"

Dark sighed in frustration, Great, now what do I have to do...?

The sky was a dull gray where the Phantom Thief was, and, as he moped, he returned to thinking about what the kid had been saying to him before leaving:

"The truth might not always be the truth, and a power uncontrollable is the key to finding what you truly seek."

Uncontrollable, heh. More like unthinkable, he pouted, wish Daisuke was here... he could probably think of something...

"Unclouded is the truth, the truth was never clear," said a soft voice, which the Thief recognized immediately.

"Celes," he muttered, turning, "who would've thought."

It was Celes, but she wasn't paying any attention to him, as if she was in some sort of trance, "It was never told, you were never told, and you had to learn it all by yourself..."

"..." he stared, what is she on about?

"Poor child, if only you hadn't been the one..."

She was stopped rudely by a loud rumble overhead and she stood up, looking straight at Dark, "Follow the power within you, and the answer will be clear," she stated in a dreamy voice before wandering off.

"What the... yeesh..." he shook his head, as the first signs of rain began to fall, "the power's up there, and I need With. Now what am I supposed to do..."

He sat down, despite the downpour, and contemplated on what to do next, before he lost patience. Kicking the soggy ground moodily, he muttered a few mutinous words under his breath, "This is the last time I ask for help..."

Uncontrollable... and confusing, and who knows what, he stopped as a surge of power flashed through him as more lightning flashed around him, then this is... "The element of Lightning."

In a flash of bright yellow light, a broach appeared, and he took it triumphantly, "That's one of them!"

Not bothering to think over what had just happened, he continued into the unknown.

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The barrier shook forcefully, making Celes jump with surprise. Rushing over, she shook her head sadly, thinking over the amount of time they had left.

"Only 48 hours..." she whispered, "do we really have a chance of restoring the broaches at the rate we're going? Scarlet... please be okay..."

---

"Please be okay..."

Scarlet looked upwards as the worried voice filled her ears, "Celes..."

She sighed in annoyance, holding the small items in the palm of her hand, 'Do we really have time to stop the Flame from dying? Time on earth is already frozen, so the other worlds are bound to be in turmoil soon...'

She stopped as the waves of energy began to flow through her, "Fire and... Lightning. Hm..."

She looked down at the broaches, "So next... Ice and Poison..."

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Now... time to work on SiD and other stuff!