A/N: Sorry for making you wait so long for an update! I've been running into mental roadblocks concerning how I should go about doing this chapter. I've finally decided on a way and I HOPE that everyone likes it!

Anyway, this chapter and the next will share the same name but will be divided into two parts: One for Vyse and Fina and one for Gilder and Clara. I imagine the Vyse and Fina half will be better, but I hope everyone enjoys both of them all the same.

So this is it folks, the moment you've all been waiting for (I think). Having just barely escaped the clutches of death (thanks to Fina), our 4 heroes realize that, if the Delphinus could be stopped by Vicente, how would their new but far more crappy ship fair against them? Having but one night to rest before they plunge into the Dark Rift, out heroes take this chance to spend some time with those they love and care for most. After-all, what if they were to not come back? Would they truly want their untold feelings to die with them? We first join Vyse and Fina as they stroll about the resort city of Esparanza…

Note: The title is Spanish for "Beautiful Hope". Since the city of Esperanza means "Hope", I thought it would be appropriate to have a Spanish title.

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Chapter 11: Esperanza Hermosa, Part 1

As the sun sank behind the horizon, the city of Esperanza was illuminated by beautiful twilight originating from a night sky being slowly littered by hundreds of stars. The sound of fine Valuans music filled the air, emanating from the many pubs the lined the streets of the once hopeless city. The young couple of Vyse and Fina stood on a bridge that crossed a small section of land-less sky and took the time to take in all the sights and sounds of the city. It was truly amazing what a year of hard work and hope-filled hearts could do to what was once such a desolate city. Not even the ominous Dark Rift could stop the progression of the city. Ever since the Delphinus' miraculous journey through the rift a year ago, work had begun on producing ships that safely traverse the Dark Rift with little or no complications. Then, a trade route could be opened to Yafutoma and the city would proper even further. All of this was truly a sight to behold.

Vyse stretched his arms and took a deep breath of the crisp night air. His body was still aching, especially where he had been shot earlier in the elbow and the knee, but, thanks to Fina's healing magiks, he was able to function normally with only little difficulty. He looked over to his right to see a closed-eyes Fina with her hands brought together at her chest, as if she was in prayer. He wanted to say something but decided against it, not wanting to disturb her. It was only when he turned fully in her direction that he noticed her true beauty. Bathed in the light of the Red Moon, it stood out even more. The Silvite half of her Blue Rogue outfit sparkled in its light, giving her a very mystical look. A few passers-by couldn't help but gaze at her as they walked by. How could they resist? She was truly a sight to behold.

Fina opened her eyes, perhaps indicating that she was done. Vyse put his hand on her left shoulder and said, "Which prayer was that?"

Her eyes opened a bit more widely as she heard this. She turned to him as light-red hues crossed her soft cheeks. "Oh! I, um… I made this one up. I was just… just thanking the moons for helping us and healing you."

He smiled warmly and moved to embrace her. His feelings for her were just too strong now to resist. He had to share his feelings with her sometime tonight. If he waited until after tomorrow, well… it might be too late then. He was more or less sure that she felt the same way, judging by the way she had been acting these past few days and even before Aika was killed, so he was far from fearing rejection. Rather, he just wanted to wait just the right moment.

He pulled back a bit and gazed lovingly into her beautiful green eyes; eyes that shone with the purity of her soul. Her smile exuded the same sense of purity and warmth that her eyes gave him. Surprisingly, Vyse began to have doubts after-all concerning what he wanted to tell her. It wasn't that he didn't want to or that he was scared. Far from either, in fact. He began to wonder if he even deserved to be with someone as wondrous as Fina. Of course, they were both very good people and they shared, more-or-less, the same goals in life. What worried him this time was what had always worried him ever since he found out she was a Silvite: he felt that she was far too pure for this world, and he was afraid that he might ruin that purity by bringing her even further into his own life.

He looked upward at the Red Moon and the stars beyond it as he began to question himself. Here he was, an Arcadian air pirate, a man that robbed ships and has engaged in perhaps needless violence several times in the past (even if good intentions were driving these actions), and he wanted to confess his love for a girl who, until a year ago, had never known of sadness, hate, violence, and all of the other bad things that occurred in Arcadia on a daily basis. His wanting to confess to Fina seemed more like a question of ethics or morality than anything else. Was it selfish to want a girl who, he felt, was far better a person than he could ever be? Would the same hold true even if she had the same feelings for him? "Aika… what should I do?" he asked himself.

Within himself, he heard what he thought he would never hear again: Aika's voice. "Vyse, you big dope! Of course you should! What's with the hesitation?"

Hearing something like this, most people would've been horrified or at least a bit more surprised than he acted in response to her. He didn't think of it at the time, but he had acted like this was more of a common thing. "Well… surely there's someone out there better for her, right?"

Aika's familiar, high-pitched laugh rang through his head. "Like who? You've known her longer than anyone else in Arcadia and you've treated her like she was your little sister. Besides, I'm sure she feels the same way about you! And, heh…" She chuckled again. "If you don't pick her up, some other scummy air pirate will!"

The voice vanished leaving a now-bewildered Vyse staring into space as Fina looked at him with concern. "Bah… who are you calling a scummy air pirate?" he said to himself as he shook his head.

Fina tilted her head a bit. "Vyse? Are you ok? You looked lost for a second."

Vyse scratched his head as he tried to think of an excuse. "Ah, nothing. I was just… ah…" He stopped for a moment to think. "I was just… admiring your beauty and got "lost" while doing so." He brushed some of her hair aside and smiled. "I mean… how could anyone not?"

Fina blushed fiercely and lowered her head. "Why Vyse… thank you. That's very kind of you. I've never heard you say that before."

Yes, it was a half-fib. Of course she was beautiful, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. He would leave it at that though, for if he told her that he heard Aika's voice (which only now was spooking him), he might worry her. "Best to leave things as they are, I suppose," he thought.

A certain piece of music caught his attention and he looked far to the right of the bridge. It was a festival, and looked to be full of music, dancing, and other general fun. Vyse held a blushing Fina's hand and pulled lightly on it. "Come on Fina! Let's go have some fun before we turn in tonight!"

She allowed herself to be pulled away and giggled as she did so. "Okay Vyse. Lead on!" With that, the young couple ran to the festival grounds and proceeded to have some fun.

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Vyse stepped out of the shower and dried himself off before putting on some night clothes and a fine bathrobe, provided by the hotel they were staying at. It felt good to be clean, especially after all the fighting they had just been through. The jets of hot water had especially felt good on his aching muscles and his healing wounds. Outside of the bathroom, the opening of the door leading to the balcony could be heard and Vyse figured that Fina wanted to let the night air dry her hair. Due to the lack of rooms, Vyse and Fina had to share a room as did Clara and Gilder. He grabbed his dirty clothes and glass eye-patch and stepped out of the bathroom. He spotted a hotel worker passing by their room outside and asked for him to have his clothes washed before tomorrow morning. Nodding, the worker took the clothes and walked back down the hall.

He put the eye-patch on the nightstand next to his bed when a beautiful sound came to his ears: Fina's voice. She was singing beautifully in Silvite, her native language that he had only heard her use a few times before and they were always when she was singing. He looked out at the balcony and saw Fina, barefoot and in a white bathrobe, singing this lovely song as her unhindered and slowly drying shoulder-length blonde hair flowed in the wind, much like waves upon a moon lake caused by a light gale. It wasn't often that he saw her without her veil or her blue bandanna, but every time he did, he enjoyed it. In these rare moments, she looked more like a princess from some far-off land rather than just a priestess from one of the moon's shrines. No, calling her this simply didn't do her justice. She was more like… an angel.

He continued to gaze at her and once again began to doubt if he really deserved her. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. If he was going to tell her, it had to be now. With the constant put-downs he was giving himself, could he really do this without any sort of guilt?

Within his head, he could hear Aika's voice once again. "Snap out of it, stupid! What are you waiting for?"

Vyse grumbled to himself. "Hmph. Well that wasn't very nice. I'm just… I dunno."

Aika's voice softened as she continued. "I know Vyse. You just want what's best for her, as do I. In my heart though, I know that you are the best thing for her. She needs you Vyse… and you need her."

Vyse opened his eyes and looked upward, back at Fina. Gazing at her, Aika spoke again. "Look at her, Vyse. "Isn't she beautiful?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Very."

Aika's voice faded once more as she said "Go get her Vyse, or I'll never forgive you!"

Vyse's eyes snapped open… again? He looked around and the scene was the same as before. Was he dreaming? Is this the same thing that happened before? That would be the only explanation for hearing Aika's voice, not once, but twice. It would also explain why Fina didn't hear her either time, or Vyse, for that matter, when he was replying back to Aika.

"Now or never," he told himself as he shook his head. He took only a single step before Cupil began to buzz around his head. This gave him an idea. Something cutesy would be sure to make Fina happy if nothing else did. "Hey Cupil. C'mere a sec."

"Cuu!" said Cupil as it edged closer to Vyse.

Vyse pulled Cupil a little closer and whispered something into what he figured was its ear area. He made a few hand motions and then pulled back. "Okay Cupil. You got that?"

"Cuup!" said Cupil seemingly affirmatively.

"Good," said Vyse as he went over to a small bag he had brought with him from the Delphinus. He dug in it for a moment and eventually produced a very small red moonstone. He threw it to Cupil and the little creature both caught and ate it in one swift motion. Once it was ingested, the stone turned Cupil into a bright shade of red.

Satisfied, Vyse nodded. "Okay Cupil. Wait for my signal." Vyse walked toward the balcony and quietly approached the singing Fina. Without saying a word, Vyse put a hand on her right shoulder. This startled Fina, for she immediately stopped singing and gasped.

She turned around only to see a very clean Vyse. "Oh, Vyse! I'm sorry! You startled me!"

Vyse laughed warm-heartedly. "No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Fina smiled warmly at him. "I-It's okay Vyse."

Vyse took a step forward and put his hands on the railing of the balcony. "That was a pretty song, Fina. Very calming. You have a very beautiful voice."

Fina blushed fiercely and turned to face the same direction that he was. "T-thank you very much, Vyse." She gazed out towards the Dark Rift and shivered. "Tomorrow, we have to go back into the rift. I never thought we'd have to go back into that awful place." She looked down at her uncovered feet. "And this time, we won't have the Delphinus to keep us safe from the elements within."

Vyse looked over at Fina and noticed that she was shivering; shivering in fear. He took her into his arms and said, "I know Fina. It's going to be very dangerous. It will perhaps be more relatively dangerous than our fight against Jericho. We…" He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "We may not come back this time. I know I've asked you this a hundred times before, but I'm going to ask again anyway: Are you sure you want to come with us?"

Fina laid her head on Vyse's chest and breathed deeply. "Of course. I'll never leave you."

Vyse was gladdened by these words. "Thank you Fina. I always worry about you, but I'm glad you're coming with us. I feel much stronger when you're near me."

Hearing these words, Fina's mind trailed back to their first fight against Vicente inside Dangrel Island. She thought back to when he had somehow deflected the bullet that was meant to end her life with his blade. She couldn't understand how it was possible before, but now… now she thought she had an idea. Maybe his affection for her was so great that it really did give him added strength. Was he really that determined to protect her no matter what?

Her mind then trailed back to shortly before that incident when they were standing before the door that led to Jericho's hanger. She had wanted to tell him just how she felt, but he assured her that she could tell him later. In fact, he had promised her. With things being calm for the time being and seeing the danger that awaited them tomorrow, she felt that she had no choice but to confess to him now.

She pulled partially away from him and looked into his eyes. "Vyse, I-I've got something I… I want to tell you." Vyse looked as if he was going to say something but Fina spoke again before he could. As she did, Vyse put one hand behind his back and made some sort of motion with it. Cupil saw this and began edging closer to the couple. "Vyse, since we may not get another chance like this, I… um… I just wanted to tell you that… ah… I… l-lo… lo-…"

"I love you Fina," said Vyse in an attempt to take the stress off of her. A very surprised Fina opened her eyes to their fullest and stared at Vyse.

"Cuu!" exclaimed Cupil as it came into Fina's view. Once it was, it formed itself into a little floating heart, its eyes near the top of the curves. (A/N: Tell me that isn't cute!).

Fina kept looking back and forth between Cupil and Vyse. She couldn't believe it! He did love her! Her happiness was boundless, and it showed through her tearful eyes. Too happy to express herself in words, she jumped once and threw her slender arms around Vyse's neck. "Oh Vyse! I… I don't know what to say! I wanted to say that to you for so long and I… well… I didn't know if I could do it right."

Vyse ran his hand lovingly through Fina's slightly damp hair. "Really? Well, now's your chance if you want to take it." He wiped the tears from her eyes. "You don't have to though. Just your reaction is enough to make anyone happy."

Fina gazed lovingly into his eyes. Finally, she could talk to him without hesitation. Now that she knew that the feelings were mutual, there was no need for it after-all. "Vyse, I love you too… with all my heart and soul. I never want to leave your side."

They drew closer together and the lips of the two young lovers finally came together in perfect harmony. If anyone had been watching, they would have described the kiss as "perfect". A very refreshing breeze blew past them as they pulled slowly away from each other. They said nothing as they became lost in one-another's eyes and brushed the other's cheeks with their hands.

"Cuu!" exclaimed Cupil happily as it nuzzled Fina's other cheek.

Vyse laughed. "Looks like Cupil is happy too."

Fina giggled as Cupil rubbed against her. "Cupil, you're so funny."

"Woo-hoo! Way to go guys! All right!" yelled two other voices not very far away.

Stunned, Vyse and Fina turned slowly in the direction of the voices. What they saw brought a deep shade of red to both of the young lovers' cheeks: a laughing Gilder and Clara who were watching the whole ordeal from the balcony of their own room, just two doors down from their own. Their embarrassment rose to sky-high levels when it suddenly occurred to both Vyse and Fina that their friends had been watching the entire time.

Vyse shook his fist in their direction. "Hey! Would it hurt to give us a little privacy! Yeesh!" The two joined hands and walked back inside with Cupil following close behind.

Vyse closed the door behind them and the two stood for a moment without saying a word as they let heat of embarrassment cool down in their cheeks.

"Ahem. Well, ah…" started Vyse. "I suppose we should get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be another big day. Hopefully, after this, it will be all over."

Fina nodded to her new-found lover. "O-okay Vyse." She turned off all of the lights and pulled the blankets back on her own bed. Vyse did the same to his own bed.

Once they were situated, Fina turned in the direction of Vyse's bed and said, "Vyse?"

He turned to her. "Yes Fina?"

She reached her hand out and was almost able to touch his bed. "I love you Vyse."

Seeing this, he reached out and held hands with her. "I love you too, Fina."

The lovers' hands never broke apart, even as they fell into a world of dreams… together.

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And there we go! Isn't love grand? Again, I'm sorry for the long time between updates, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Anyway, next comes Gilder and Clara's half of the night in Esperanza. Hope you enjoy it as well! Steve