The Priestesses' Regeneration Song that Connects the Worlds

by aquagon

Two months later, Inuyasha's group welcomes back Miko and Yasha together with their friends from the alternate Earth. Now, they must fulfill the mission they were given by destiny: become the Seirei to save the world the Dragonia. While many hardships await them, they will also receive the help from a world called Ar Ciel... Sequel to Entwining of Destinies.

6. To Dragonia (2)

Miko's and Yasha's faces suddenly went pale as they finished reading the note, while all the others were looking at them worried.

- "No… We gotta go help them!" – said Miko shocked.

- "Yeah, we can't let anything happen to them!" – said Yasha in a rush.

- "But weren't they knights or something?" – asked Tiffany surprised – "If they're, they can handle these things, right?" –

- "Yeah… But I still wanna help them!" – said Yasha alarmed.

- "Okay, okay, calm down" – said Gerardo with his hands in a gesture to try to tranquilize them – "Let's go to the north wall and help them then" –

- "Who died and made you this group's leader?" – said Inuyasha annoyed.

- "Hey, I'm one of the Seirei candidates, right?" – said Gerardo in an irritated voice – "So I'll lead the group here, while you can lead us when we go back to your world, okay?" –

- "Keh, whatever!" – said Inuyasha scoffing.

- "Argh! Stop arguing about something as petty as that!" – said Kagome anguished as she saw how much Yasha and Miko were worrying about Fileia and Elaer: Miko was grabbing her hands with a worried face, and Yasha was looking at them annoyed with his arms crossed and tapping his feet on the paved ground – "We should just go and help them at once!" –

- "But before we set off, I wanna ask something: There's any way to get back here quickly?" –asked Miguel pensively.

- "Yeah. The city's very nice and all, but I don't want take that long walk again" – said Gabriela with a tired face.

- "Yeah, just place a teleport pointer in front of the house. That way you can use the Dragtemn to get back here quickly" – said Yasha still worried, and revealing he wanted everyone to get moving quickly.

- "I already had forgotten about the teleporter and the pointers…" – said Gerardo sighing saddened.

Right away, everyone opened the Dragtemn's teleport menu and used it to configure their first teleportation pointer. However, this was the second one for Gerardo, as his Dragtemn still had recorded the pointer to the flower glade they found in their first trip to the Inuyasha world, and the second one for Miguel who also had registered one to Gerardo's house.

- "Did you finish recording it?" – asked Miko jumping up and down worried.

- "Yeah, we're ready. Let's set off!" – said Gerardo as he and the others recited the spells to summon their armors.

- "Yeah! We're finally fighting something!" – said Inuyasha excitedly as their armors finished materializing and they began soaring through the sky. However…

- "Agh! What's up with my wings!?" – said Gerardo annoyed: he didn't seem to have as good a control of them as before.

- "The same thing's happening to us!" – said Miguel behind him. Gerardo looked back and noticed they were flying every bit as badly as him: they tilted from a side to the other, couldn't keep a constant height and had to be constantly flapping the wings instead of just using them to glide.

Roger and Miguel got sick of this and started using their wind control powers to try and stabilize themselves.

- "I don't…get… it…" – said Gabriela gasping annoyed as she rose and fell in the air again – "We could fly so well before we got here!" –

- "Maybe it's from the lack of practice…" – suggested Miko as she started calming herself down, which made her stop changing altitudes as if she was a yo-yo.

- "Yeah. Our flight teachers said that flying like you used to needs lotsa practice time. No one in our class's been able to do it yet" – said Yasha as he tried to control himself to improve his control over his armor, despite being so anxious.

- "But what are you doing that you're flying better now?" – asked Kagome a bit surprised, as she was still having problems with her wings. For his part, Inuyasha rose like foam and fell a few meters every few seconds.

- "Just try to concentrate in the wind currents around you and the place you wanna get to" – said Miko in a tranquilizing voice – "The armors respond to your feelings and thoughts, so if your minds are upset, they'll be harder to control" -

- "And now we got our younger siblings teachin' us… Damn everything…" – muttered Inuyasha angry.

- "We're the ones that should be dying from embarrassment…" – said Gerardo as he pointed to himself and Gabriela: both had their faces shining in red. At least they seemed to be making progress because they didn't need to flap so much to keep themselves flying – "I still don't get why we didn't get these problems before…" -

- "Still this isn't time to be worrying about it" – said Roger. Both Miguel and him were gradually stopping their wind manipulation and were merely leaving it to support them in their flight.

- "You're right. Let's hurry and find Fileia and Elaer" – said Kagome in a decided voice.

A few minutes later, after a somewhat troublesome flight they finally saw a squad from the Royal Knights while they fought against a monster group: a few dark green slimes, some large black lizards, three gigantic eagles covered in cobalt-colored feathers, and two black boars that were three times the normal size and had bloody-red eyes.

- "Damn it…" – said one of the knights, who wore a blue and purple armor, carried a crossbow and was riding on a dragon with the same colors as his armor. He fired several bolts at the eagles – "The Shadows are getting more aggressive with every passing day…" -

- "In any case, we can't allow ourselves to fall here. Our kingdom needs us" – said another of the knights, who wore a black and green armor, wielded a bo in her hands and also rode a dragon of the same colors she had in her armor. Her dragon was using his darkness breath to repel the boars while she parried the lizards' tackles with her bo.

- "Ah, looks like we're about to get some help!" – said another knight clad in green and purple armor, who wielded a spear as he avoided an attack from the boars. However, he was a little disheartened upon seeing how badly they were flying – "Or maybe not…" –

- "Even if they have poor flying skills, they could be useful in combat if the support us with magic or fight on the ground!" – said another knight, who wore a light green and blue armor, and wielded a sword and shield. She avoided an attack from the slimes as she talked.

- "Elaer-san! Fileia-san!" – shouted Yasha and Miko at the same time.

- "It can't be…!" – said the knight wearing the green and purple armor in a shocked voice.

- "Impossible… Miko!? Yasha!?" – said the knight wearing the light green and blue armor astonished.

- "We're here to help!" – said Gerardo at once. He almost fell from the air but managed to concentrate enough to start flying again right away, even though this caused him and the others great embarrassment.

- "It's too dangerous!" – said Fileia at once – "Go back to the city at once!" –

- "No! We wanna help you, as you've done so much for us!" – said Miko in a stubborn voice.

- "You still don't know how to fight well! It's too much of a risk that you come here!" – said Elaer.

- "Elaer-san… we know how to fight well enough, and we'll show you now!" – said Yasha after they got close enough to them. He then unsheathed his sword and swung it downward in the slimes' direction – "Kaze no Kizu!" –

By doing this, he unleashed a trio of golden energy waves that scattered toward the slimes and instantly obliterated some of them.

- "What did that kid do!?" – asked one of the knights shocked before his great power.

- "And we're not going to fall behind him!" – said Gerardo as he and the others clumsily landed and unsheathed their weapons to start fighting.

- "Let's see... Yst nullast... No, it wasn't like this… Alt tok clyezet... No, it wasn't that either..." – said Gerardo with a hand placed over his Ryuuga. He snorted in frustration – "Damn it… I can't remember any of the spells or songs I used before!" –

- "Neither I!" – said Gabriela scared. She tried raising her bow and firing an arrow at one of the boars, but her arrow only fell to the ground partway through. One of the eagles tried to attack her and Gerardo had to dash in her direction to repel the monster with his shield, but he didn't block the blow properly and the impact's force ended throwing him to the ground on his back.

- "What the hell's up with you!?" – asked Inuyasha irate as he tried slashing the lizards, but they avoided his attacks whenever he tried striking them.

- "Yeah! You had amazing abilities and knew how to fight very well last time we saw each other!" – said Kagome irritated as she shot a Sacred Arrow at one of the eagles. She hit it right on the body and the arrow's energy disintegrated it instantly – "What happened that you aren't even managing to match the monsters now?" –

- "We don't know!" – grumbled Gerardo as he continued blocking the attacks from the other eagle and tried thrusting at it with his sword – "We forgot all the spells, songs and techniques we had ever since we got sent back to our world!" -

- "Yeah, and we didn't get back the memories of how to do them when we got our powers back!" – said Gabriela irritated. She finally managed to shoot an arrow at the eagle that was attacking them, but since it wasn't enchanted, she only enraged the monster more.

- "And we've never fought seriously!" – said Tiffany as she went through the same troubles Gabriela had at using the bow.

- "Well, that means we'd be level 1 in a RPG, right?" – said Miguel concentrating slightly to create a wind current strong enough to repel one of the lizards, but it didn't have the necessary strength to damage it.

- "Now I think about it, we'd have been about level 50 last time we were in Inuyasha's world…" – said Gerardo as he slashed away the eagle, finally getting it off them. He closed his eyes and sighed relieved. Then a phrase entered his mind, and he chanted it as his eyes opened at once and he clapped his hands – "Ochis meya, hydrast viartra sos eols ika! Water Orb!" –

A magical circle with the Elemental Seal formed at his feet, shining in blue, while marks with a water droplet and a Dragonian interrogative mark appeared on the back of his hands, his eyes turned blue, the dragon emblem appeared over his heart and the Elemental Seal showed up on his forehead. This entire show formed a water orb before him, which flew away with the same strength as a bullet toward one of the lizards. It wasn't enough to defeat it, but at least it caused it some damage.

- "Well, at least it seems like they can use some basic magic…" – said Fileia a bit surprised.

- "Yeah, but even Miko and Yasha would be better at it than them…" – said Elaer somewhat disappointed.

- "In that case, we better show these beginners how you use actual magic in a battle!" – said the knight wearing the purple armor. He and the woman wearing the black armor looked at each other, nodded and began singing a duet…

- "I can't believe it… Are they doing a Synchronity Chain!? – said Gerardo shocked.

- "They gotta be very good friends then… Or something more…" – said Gabriela divided between surprise and amusement.

- "What are you talking about?" – asked Fileia without understanding what they were talking about – "Have you never seen a Symphonion?" -

- "Symphonion?" – asked Henry confused, but before anyone else could say anything…

- "Saf sieral lathtes pinambrea yst wasryats dat syec, sossaks lusellsyara pinamga afisaks! Dark Lightning!" – said both singers once they came to the end of their song, releasing a black lightning bolt that got rid of both lizards. Both creatures let out a mute screech and then collapsed devoid of all life over the grass.

- "Whoa, talking about a powerful song…" – said Kagome surprised, just like the newcomers from both Earths.

- "Yeah… But it isn't stronger than the one we sang together, right? Onee-san?" – asked Miko with a smile while the knights and the party continued attacking the monsters that still remained.

- "Yeah… But I don't think we can use it now" – said Kagome smiling back as she started preparing an arrow to jump back into the fray – "I can't remember any of the lyrics or melody…"

At that moment, Henry and Miguel reacted in a way similar to how Gerardo had done previously while the circles and marks appeared on and below them:

- "Saf sieral keltes pawat dea pinambrea... Darksphere!" – said Henry.

- "Watsa ya lathre ioloissaks hakisett liera xi... Wind Ball!" – said Miguel.

The former launched a black orb while the latter shot off a green one, both of which struck the slimes and damaged them somewhat.

- "Hmm, interesting… They're learning basic magic as they fight…" – said Fileia as she saw this.

- "But that won't be enough to beat even the weakest of monsters…" – said Elaer in a serious voice. Then, both Miko and Kagome shot Sacred Arrows at the slimes, which exploded in a purple flash once they made contact, completely disintegrating the monsters.

- "What the..!?" – shouted Elaer and Fileia shocked.

- "What did these girls…!?" – said one of the other knights.

- "Heh, I gotta say that it's amazing Miko is still as strong as always" – said Gerardo laughing, and the others reacted in a similar way upon seeing how the Dragonians were left dumbfounded.

- "Yeah, but I haven't fallen behind when it comes to power either" – said Kagome laughing.

- "Keep on braggin' then, I'll finish this myself!" – said Inuyasha annoyed. He ran off to try and slash the slime that remained, but he stopped dead in his tracks because an ice ball, two light ones and a fire one flew at his side and crashed into the monster, which collapsed and was left as a puddle of goo a few instants later.

- "Hihihi, we're not so bad either!" – said Gabriela with a satisfied smile.

- "Yeah, but we'll need more power if we wanna fight well" – said Kember with a serious face.

- "In that case, we better start doing some old-fashioned monster-hunting!" – said Carlos laughing.

- "Aren't you taking this too lightly?" – said Tiffany somewhat confused.

- "Keh, whatever… Kongousouha!" – shouted Inuyasha as he swung his sword, releasing a diamond stream that struck the boars.

- "Hmm, interesting technique… but it seems a little more power's needed to finish these boars off. Dear, can you help me?" – asked Fileia.

- "Of course, my love" – said Elaer smiling.

Both concentrated, and the next moment, a magic circle appeared below them with its light containing their colors, while a white light ring formed around each their hands. However, the ring wasn't closed: it was complete in about a 60%.

- "Alt tok lathtes felk dat filisaks iolois xi..." – said Elaer.

- "...kibomi dat hydrast hydlassaks xi toi..." – said Fileia

- "...iochara pinambrea mior refetstes sossaks... Typhoon Dance!" – said both at the same time, summoning a typhoon surrounded by smaller whirlwinds that sucked the boars in and made them spin swiftly until they were sent flying through the typhoon's upper part. They then fell back and crashed into the land, collapsing from the damage they received.

- "Looks like we're done here" – said Fileia smiling as she and Elaer landed. Miko and Yasha ran to them while Inuyasha and Kagome walked behind.

- "Fileia-san! Elaer-san!" – shouted both.

- "You shouldn't have come here… it's too dangerous…" – said Elaer a bit angry when they got to him.

- "We know, but…" – said Miko lowering her gaze.

- "We wanted to help you…" – said Yasha hanging his head down.

- "In any case, I'm glad you're okay… We were so worried about you…" – said Fileia. She opened her helmet's visor and mouthpiece, showing she was smiling, and she knelt down.

- "Fi…Fileia-san!" – said Yasha and Miko as they ran off and jumped to hug her.

- "I thought we'd never see each other again after you went into that gate, but I'm very glad to have been wrong…" – said Fileia with a relieved smile.

- "Fileia-san… It's a pleasure to meet you and… thanks a lot for having taking care of them…" – said Kagome smiling a bit embarrassed when she and Inuyasha had gotten next to them.

- "Are you the onee-san that Miko always talked about?" – asked Fileia smiling. Yasha and Miko were giggling and smiling at both her sides.

- "That's right. In a certain way, I'm Miko's older sister, and my name is Kagome" – said Kagome as she bowed before her. Fileia looked at her a bit confused, but she let the children separate a little from her and she imitated Kagome's bowing, though she bent too much forward and ended bending a little to the right as she did it. Elaer laughed upon seeing this.

- "Sorry if I didn't do it correctly, but I'm not really familiar with your world's customs" – said her with a slightly embarrassed face, which changed into an enraged expression as she turned to see her husband, who had also opened up his helmet's visor and mouthpiece to show he was cracking up with laughter – "And stop laughing, Elaer!" -

She walked up to him and forced him to bow before Kagome, but he went so much forward that he ended up losing balance and falling to the ground, making everyone else laugh.

- "Hey, don't laugh at me!" – said Elaer annoyed.

- "Again, we're sorry if our bowing wasn't done correctly" – said Fileia as she closed her eyes bit embarrassed. Elaer had blushed to the point his whole face was red.

- "Hehe, don't mind it. And he's Inuyasha, and he's like Yasha's older brother" – said Kagome with a smile. Inuyasha just crossed his arms and snorted.

- "Pleased to make your acquaintance" – said Fileia bowing just like she did with Kagome. Elaer did the same thing at her side.

- "Keh…" – said Inuyasha a bit embarrassed. He didn't reply back or move at all and just kept on staring at them both.

- "Come on, nii-san… At least say something at them" – said Yasha a bit annoyed. Miko was also showing irritation in her face.

- "You should mind your manners, Inuyasha" – said Kagome with a very angry face. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

- "Agh, fine… My name's Inuyasha, pleased to meet ya…" – said Inuyasha as he bowed. After a few seconds the three stood straight again, and Inuyasha turned to look at the children and Kagome – "Are ya happy now?" –

The others just laughed and giggled in response.

- "What's so funny!?" – said he angry.

- "Hehe, that we hafta use "that" for you to behave. We thought you'd have gotten better with that" – said Miko giggling mischievously.

- "In any case, I'm Miko's older sister and he's Yasha's older brother" – explained Kagome.

- "Hmm, I see. I've got to say you look too much alike to be mere siblings" – said Elaer as he put his hand on his chin and he looked at them with interest.

- "Yeah, well… it's… it's a long story…" – said Kagome entwining her hands and looking down worried.

- "Hmm, I see. If you wish, we can continue talking in our house, as it's dangerous that we stay here for too long" – said Fileia smiling.

- "Okay. We'll go call our friends, so they come too" – said Miko smiling.

- "All these are your friends!?" – asked Elaer shocked.

- "Hehe, yeah. But we met most of them a little ago: only Gerar-nii and Gaby-nee were our friends before we came here" – said Yasha smiling, but his face then got gloomy – "But… isn't it a problem that we're so many?" -

- "Don't worry about it and go ahead. We'll get ready for taking off in the meantime" – said Fileia smiling. Meanwhile, the others were discussing about their fighting prowess:

- "Our performance was beyond pathetic in our first battle…" – said Gerardo saddened.

- "Yeah… It was a complete disaster…" – said Gabriela looking at the ground.

- "Well, it couldn't have gone other way. We're beginners in this after all" – said Miguel with a slightly sad smile.

- "But we had these so-cool powers when we went to Inuyasha's world last time… why don't we have them anymore?" – wondered Gabriela looking at the others.

- "Hmm, I don't think we're gonna find that out for now" – said Henry shrugging his shoulders.

- "But, how were these powers you had?" – asked Tiffany puzzled.

- "Gaby could shoot arrows charged with light energy, and shoot beams and discs made from light, while I could summon tidal waves, launch energy waves and shroud my sword in water energy, among others" – said Gerardo breathing in bitterly – "While we now can barely shoot elemental balloons that deal very little damage" –

- "We'll have to get trainin' then. You know, in these cases some grindin' is in order" – said Carlos with a gaze that was part comical, part serious.

- "Are you thinking we're in an RPG or something?" – said Gerardo with an irritated voice.

- "Well, who was the one that got out the topic of the levels?" – asked Henry with an amused face.

- "Ugh… I should just shut up…" – said Gerardo, feeling the ground sink under him while the others laughed.

- "Though that was actually me. And anyway, we shouldn't keep them waiting" – suggested Miguel in a bemused tone while he and the others saw Kagome, Miko and the people next to them motioning them to get closer. Once they did…

- "Hmm, so you're also Yasha and Miko's friends?" – asked Elaer with interest, but he and Fileia got pretty shocked when they finally detailed Gabriela, Gerardo and Miguel better.

- "Yes, that is correct. My name is Gerardo" – said Gerardo as he politely bowed.

- "And I'm Gabriela! Pleased to meet you!" – said Gabriela smiling with closed eyes as she put her arms behind herself and swung from a side to the other. Their friends then started introducing themselves. Once the introductions concluded…

- "This is really surprising… But this isn't the time or place to discuss this…" – said Fileia a bit taken aback – "Could you come to our home so we can talk in a more relaxed setting?" –

- "But Fileia-san… Really, aren't we too many?" – asked Miko embarrassed.

- "Like Fileia said before, don't mind it. Rather, it'd be rude that we didn't invite them in" – said Elaer smiling.

- "I don't really want to bother you… but if you say it's fine…" – said Gerardo embarrassed.

- "It'll be our pleasure!" – said Tiffany behind their backs, making them turn around in surprise.

- "Excellent! In that case, we'll be waiting for you. Miko and Yasha told us you already registered a pointer to our home, so you shouldn't have any problems getting there" – said Fileia gently.

- "So, see you again in a moment" – said Elaer smiling. They then bid farewell to their knight companions, hopped on their respective dragons, pressed a couple buttons on their Dragtemns, and after shining with a white light for a moment, they vanished.

- "Now what?" – asked Inuyasha crossing his arms.

- "Well, we got an invitation to go to their house, right?" – said Kagome smiling – "It'd be impolite if we left them hanging" –

- "Though I'm embarrassed… I feel like we're abusing their hospitality, as we're so many…" – said Gerardo crossing his arms.

- "They said it's fine, so don't worry!" – said Yasha smiling.

- "Besides, if they wanna serve you food or something, you could lend them a hand, right?" – said Miko winking.

- "Okay then, let's go" – said Henry nodding. The others also nodded, so they used their Dragtemns to teleport back to Elaer and Fileia's home.

- "Talking about a group of strange people…" – said the knight in the blue and purple armor.

- "Yes… But, weren't our Prince, Princess and commander among them?" – asked the knight in the black and green armor.

- "Now you mention it… But why would Their Royal Highnesses and the commander forgo completely the combat training they got?" – asked the blue knight.

- "Good question… Maybe we should ask Fileia and Elaer afterwards…" – said the black knight. Her companion nodded while their dragons let out an apprehensive growl.

The group reappeared before Fileia and Elaer's house, and they saw Fileia waiting for them right before the front door. She had already dismissed her armor and was wearing her normal clothes, and also had her partner dragon in its small form perched on her shoulder.

- "Ah, good to see you all!" – said Fileia smiling as she saw them materialize in front of her – "Welcome to our humble abode!" –

She stepped aside and gestured with her right hand to usher them into the house.

- "Thank you. And excuse us for intruding in your home" – said Gerardo a bit embarrassed. He briefly lowered his head and went in.

- "Yeah, thanks lots!" – said Gabriela skipping happily behind her brother. The others also gave her their own shows of gratitude for the invitation and entered the house. After entering and crossing a small oval room, they found themselves in a large room that had three sofas around a small tea table, which had in front a crystal stand that had on top of it something like two light rods, one placed in each side. There were also two windows to the sides of the stand that allowed to see a small garden covered in green grass.

- "We'll be packed in a little bit tightly, but we can all fit here" – said Elaer as he brought four chairs close to them, who also had his dragon in his small form perched on his shoulder. Fileia went behind them to another room and returned after a short while with a tray filled with small tea cups and a teapot. After placing it in the tea table, she and Elaer sat down at the center of the largest sofa looking at the party, while they awkwardly sat down on the sofas or the chairs.

- "Thanks again for your hospitality" – said Gerardo.

- "Yeah! And it's great that you agreed to take Miko and Yasha in!" – said Gabriela cheerfully.

- "Ahaha, it's nothing. They seemed like a couple of lost orphans, and since we feared something could happen to them if we left them on their own, we decided to take them in" – said Fileia laughing as she minimized the fact with her hands.

- "Yeah, you told us that after we finally could start talking well to you" – said Miko with a smile – "It'd be pretty hard for us to survive not having anyone here…" –

- "Lodging, food, education, healthcare… Yeah, it's a lot of trouble if you don't have a place to go back to" – said Henry as he raised his hand and began counting all these factors.

- "Isn't it? Anyway, we're very glad that we could help them in their time of need" – said Elaer with a smile.

- "Though I still find funny you refused to formally let us adopt you two" – said Fileia looking at Miko and Yasha.

- "Well… It's because I felt I had to go back to my mommy and onee-san… And I've seen her again, actually" – said Miko smiling with a slightly sad gaze.

- "Oh, that's wonderful!" – said Fileia clapping her hands – "I'd really like to meet your mother someday!" –

- "I'm sure you'd get along very well" – said Kagome as she blushed a little.

- "But as for me and nii-san… Our mother died a long time ago…" – said Yasha saddened – "But I still want to be with Miko, Kagome-nee and Inuyasha-nii for as long as we can" –

- "I see… We didn't know the reasons back then, but now, we can't do anything but respect your feelings" – said Fileia in an understanding voice.

- "Yeah. It'd be terrible that we imposed something as important as that upon you" – said Elaer nodding his head.

- "By the way, you said you aren't siblings in the strict sense of the word, right?" – asked Fileia with a curiosity filled face – "What did you mean exactly?" –

- "It's somewhat hard to explain, but well…" – said Kagome to then breathe in deeply and let the air out from her lungs. She tried saying it, but it seemed her mouth didn't want to cooperate. Inuyasha had blushed, and thus couldn't say it himself. Kagome eyed Gabriela.

- "Umm, do you want us to help with the explanation?" – asked her.

- "Yeah… Please, it feels so awkward to tell someone from this world about this…" – said Kagome in a sad voice.

- "Okay…" – said Gerardo, he then addressed Fileia and Elaer – "Erm… Miss Fileia, Mr. Elaer…" –

- "Please, skip formalisms. As temporary guardians of Miko and Yasha, and their friends, you are our friends too now" – said Elaer waving his hand as if he was scaring flies away.

- "Urr… got it. Well, have you ever heard about the Water of Restart?" – asked Gerardo trying to sound natural, though he got tenser as he said it.

- "What!?" – said Fileia covering her mouth with her hands.

- "Did you just say… the Water of Restart!?" – said Elaer jumping from the sofa shocked.

- "Yeah…" – said Kagome saddened.

- "Then that means…" – said Elaer scared.

- "You were supposed to be executed or something?" – asked Fileia with a terrified face.

- "Wha…!? Hell, no!" – shouted Inuyasha angry – "We found that water by mere chance in our world!" –

- "As you already know, Miko, Yasha and their siblings all come from a different world, right?" – said Gerardo – "How they'd get executed due to crimes committed in Dragonia if they never came here before?" –

- "Oh, right… please, forgive us…" – said Fileia looking embarrassed as she and Elaer sighed relieved and sat down again – "It's just… we've never met someone who drank from that water, and since we understood it was solely reserved to be used as capital punishment, well…" –

- "We just jumped to conclusions. Sorry about that" – said Elaer – "But it's still pretty strange that you found the springs containing these waters in your world" –

- "Yeah, it was pretty weird" – said Gabriela – "They said they found them while traveling, and didn't even know what the slates above the springs said" –

- "In fact, they are written in a very old form of Ceremonial Dragonian, so we wouldn't be able to read them either" – said Fileia humbly – "But then, why did you drink from them?" –

- "We fell into their stupid charm or whatever effect" – scoffed Inuyasha – "After that, we only remembered a pink light until we woke up being kids" –

- "And before you wonder about it, we found the Medallions of Memory, and we were restored to our proper ages because the Water of Normalization happened to be there too" – said Kagome with a serious face.

- "Now you mention it, we were sent to check the Forest of Aozillyua and the Maze Cavern a few days after Miko and Yasha came here: the cave with the springs was back in its place in the former, but the medallions that were in the latter seemed to have disappeared into thin air… Was it because you took them in your world?" – asked Elaer with interest.

- "Ah! So that's why it sounded familiar when you told us about that mission!" – jumped Miko surprised – "Because we had been there already, but our memories of it were sealed!" –

- "That's the only sensible explanation. And yeah… here we have them" – said Kagome as she took out the necklace holding the medallion from inside her clothes, while Inuyasha did the same thing – "Though they might be different from how you know them because they are now Medallions of Link" -

Fileia and Elaer got up and walked to them to examine the medallions.

- "Yes, they are different" – said Fileia – "The original ones didn't have these needles, and they also weren't written in these… runes they have now" –

- "These are the writing systems used in the language Inuyasha and me speak, Japanese" – explained Kagome laughing – "It's a bit complicated for non-natives though" –

- "Wow, so they even changed to adapt to the languages used by their bearers? And is that how the language Miko and Yasha spoke when we first met them is written?" – asked Elaer surprised. Miko and Yasha nodded with a smile.

- "Hehe, they taught us a few of the words, but they never showed us how it was written" – said Fileia amused - "But in any case, the writing they originally had was in Common Dragonian…" –

- "Now you mention it… Yeah, they actually had letters from the Common Dragonian alphabet until they changed into Medallions of Link!" – said Miko enthusiastically.

- "I feel like a failure for not noticing that…" – said Gerardo crestfallen.

- "Come on, Gerar. It isn't so important…" – said Gabriela patting his shoulder.

- "Yeah, pal. Don't get so down about it…" – said Henry laughing.

- "So, what did the Medallions have written originally?" – asked Kagome in a curiosity-filled voice.

- "Ielumn zarairse, arranged in a circle around the jewel in the center" – answered Fileia smiling - "Pretty simple, isn't it?" –

- "Yeah, straight to the point I guess" – said Roger laughing.

- "But about the fact the Springs and the Medallions returned, their guardians weren't there when we went to check them, right?" – said Elaer in a thoughtful tone.

- "Guardians!?" – asked Gerardo, Gabriela, Miko, Yasha, Kagome and Inuyasha.

- "Oh, didn't you know? The Springs are protected by an Iltaf with a jeweled shell called Viadtel, while the Medallions have an emerald-scaled Drafial called Profele as their guardian" – explained Fileia in a bemused voice.

- "Umm, Iltaf, Drafial?" – asked Kagome confused as she looked around at everyone else, them all as confused as her. However, Miko and Yasha were shocked upon hearing that.

- "O... onee-san… an Iltaf is a creature similar to a turtle with a crystalline shell…" – explained Miko scared.

- "What!?" – said Kagome scared.

- "And that's not all… Drafials are bipedal dragon-like creatures that don't have wings…" – said Yasha trembling as he looked at the ground.

- "No way…" – said Inuyasha shocked.

- "You mean… the monsters we killed to enter the cave with the springs and the one we fought to get the medallions… Goukira and Rizaryuu… were actually important creatures to this world?" – said Kagome shocked.

- "But wait a second… Why did they go by these names?" – asked Fileia surprised by that reveal.

- "And their names weren't the only thing different… Goukira also had dark scales, while Rizaryu seemed more humanoid. They also emitted strong dark auras" – explained Miko.

- "What!? Impossible…!" – said Elaer shocked – "Holy creatures like them couldn't have taken on such disgusting changes…!" –

- "Though I have an idea of why that happened…" – said Kagome scared – "You know we all come from another world called Earth, right?" –

Fileia and Eleaer nodded in response.

- "Well, the era of it from which Inuyasha, Miko and Yasha came from was a very turbulent and violent one: people were always fighting and killing each other, causing large amounts of roaming souls to go back and forth through the land, and this filled our country with strong evil auras" – said Kagome.

- "So, you say… they got corrupted by these evil auras?" – asked Fileia worried.

- "I have to agree with Kagome's theory" – said Gerardo crossing his arms and frowning – "We've seen several cases in there of people losing their minds and becoming monsters, souls of the dead turning into vengeful spirits or inanimate objects transforming into hideous creatures due to precisely that" –

- "In that case, it doesn't really sound unusual for that to happen… Yet it's still a shame" – said Elaer saddened.

- "Yeah… To think that hallowed creatures that were given life by the Dragon Gods themselves would fall to evil in such a way, when not even the Shadows could possess them…" – said Fileia visibly affected.

- "Erm… And well, may we give you a demonstration?" – asked Kagome a bit embarrassed, wanting to change the heavy atmosphere the discussion had spread throughout the room.

- "Demonstration…?" – asked Fileia back with a confused face.

- "Yeah, on how the medallions work" – said Kagome smiling with some embarrassment. She turned to Miko – "Are you okay with it, Miko?" –

- "Yeah, let's show them!" – said Miko getting up and walking to her older sister. Kagome whispered a few things to her ear, and after she nodded back with a smile, they walked to a point in the room where everyone could see them both.

- "Hehe, this will be interesting" – said Eleaer smiling with interest – "We've always heard stories about the medallions and the water, but never seen their effects after all" –

- "I'm sure you'll be surprised after you see it!" – said Gabriela smiling.

- "And the same goes for us" – said Roger crossing his arms as they all focused on the sisters. Yasha was smiling as well, while Inuyasha was just looking at them with an annoyed face. After they made a brief theatrical reverence to everyone by grabbing their skirts' hems, they began:

- "We're Kagome and Miko!" – said both at the same time.

- "Right now, we're an older sister and a younger sister that are in Dragonia…"- said Miko with a smile.

- "But we're also…" – said Kagome as she placed a hand over her medallion's emerald needle and spun it to the Special Separation position. She began shining and turned again into Miko's twin but wearing a white shouf identical to her sister's.

- "We're twins that are in Dragonia!" – said both as they hugged each other. Everyone smiled while Gabriela, Tiffany and Fileia went "Aww!" upon seeing this.

- "And that's not all…" – said Miko in a cheery voice. They both pressed some of their Dragtemns' buttons, making them both shine with a strong white light. Once it dimmed down, they reappeared wearing the kosode they used to wear in the Inuyasha world.

- "We're also twins that live both in the Warring States Era and in the present era of our world!" – said Kagome in a joyful voice.

- "And if we take our zori and tabi off…" – said Miko as she and Kagome bent over to take them off to place them behind themselves afterwards.

- "We'd be two twin little peasants living in the Warring States Era!" – said them both to put on their zori and tabi again and use the Dragtemns to change their clothes to the dresses they wore in the modern era.

- "And like this, we're twins that live in the modern era…" – said Kagome to go back to her normal age, now wearing her school uniform.

- "And like this, we'd be an older sister and a little sister living in that era of our world!" – said them both in unison. Everyone clapped their hands now they had finished their little demonstration, while both girls made a reverence in signal of gratitude. Both changed their clothes again into their shoufs and went back to sit down.

- "Haha, that was a nice show!" – said Henry with a smile.

- "It's pretty weird, but pretty cool too" – said Miguel with a satisfied smile.

- "Hihi, and I think they've both taken a liking to it too!" – said Gabriela laughing.

- "Well, it's not entirely wrong… Playing around with Miko while turning again into a kid has been pretty enjoyable the few times we've done so" – said Kagome smiling while Miko covered her mouth with her hands and giggled pleasantly.

- "But… you really gotta seal up your memory whenever you do it?" – asked Tiffany confused.

- "Not really, but well… Let's just say that's just to enjoy ourselves more and to forget the present for a while" – said Kagome a bit embarrassed.

- "So, in other words, its memory-sealing functions do work as well" – said Fileia in a thoughtful voice – "Well, it's very curious that Miko and Yasha were born in such a way, as the medallion is supposed to let both parts of your souls coexist with one being pretty much a ghost" –

- "Yeah, and I think that function can still turn us into specters… But about it working like this now, it's because the Dragon Gods gave me and Yasha bodies when they brought us here… Otherwise, we'd have ended up as roaming souls or something" – said Miko a bit scared.

- "The Dragon Gods brought you here!?" – asked Elaer surprised, while Fileia's eyes opened like saucers.

- "More like they forced them to come here. They also erased all our memories from the time we drank the water to when we got separated" – said Inuyasha in an enraged voice.

- "I see… It must have been very painful for you…" – said Fileia – "But I guess you also were very happy and relieved when you finally saw each other again, right?" –

- "Yup! And we learned many things here! You know it better than anyone, Fileia-san! And you too, Elaer-san!" – said Yasha hopping up and down where he was sitting.

- "And you should stop holding hard feelings toward them, Inuyasha" – said Gerardo adjusting his glasses – "Both me and Gaby were pretty sad and angry at them too for how they kicked us out from your world and deleted the memories everyone had of these events in our world, but they have allowed us to travel between worlds again and all the sealed memories were restored. Shouldn't you bury the war hatchet already?" –

Inuyasha just snorted a "Keh!" in response.

- "Though they didn't give us back the knowledge of the spells and techniques we had…" – said Gabriela as her gaze went downcast.

- "We noticed it. You seemed to be fighting like beginners in all respects" – said Fileia – "And now I think about it… Are you the visitors that had an audience with our monarchs today?" –

- "Indeed, we are" – said Gerardo nodding – "You already heard our names when we all introduced ourselves in the meadow outside the city, right?" –

- "Yes, and I've got to admit I'm still shocked" – said Fileia smiling – "Three visitors from another world that are exactly identical to our prince, princess and commander, down to their names" –

- "Yet this very matter is now state secret of the highest confidentiality level" – said Elaer crossing his arms – "Only a select group of the Royal Army's members are allowed to know that information" –

- "And we've also got to keep this masquerade the best we can" – said Miguel sighing – "Doesn't sound like something nice" –

- "Yeah… But given how Their Majesties requested it, we couldn't really refuse" – said Gerardo saddened.

- "Yeah… Their Majesties have suffered quite a bit ever since they all died… It was such as grisly sight when…" – said Fileia, but she cut off herself midway through.

- "You mean…!" – said Henry shocked while everyone gasped startled.

- "Yes… We were the ones who first found their bodies, and who also had the unpleasant duty of reporting it to their Majesties…" – said Elaer biting his lip – "They were killed in the southern continent, a little to the south from the Forest of Aozillyua, which is located a long distance to the south from here" –

- "Shit… That must have been beyond awful…" – said Roger visibly upset.

- "Regardless, there's nothing we can do about it now" – said Fileia sighing saddened – "The royal succession is still up in the air because there are no other rightful heirs, and even so, it's possible we won't have more rulers because our world will end up dying before that can happen at this rate" –

- "Though we were chosen as Seirei candidates to replace them" – said Gerardo a bit taken aback – "I guess the Dragon Gods don't want to let this world perish so easily" –

- "We know that, and we'll do everything in our power to lend you help" – said Elaer smiling at his words - "But even so, you know this duty you have won't be easy to carry out, right?" –

- "We know it very well… Just remembering the battles my sister and I had the last time we crossed worlds, as well as hearing what happened to our predecessors… All that makes me think this isn't going to be a pleasant journey" – said Gerardo with a very serious face.

- "But that said, can we ask how our predecessors were?" – asked Gabriela smiling – "I mean, I'm all curious about how this world's Gabriela was" –

- "Well, I'm pretty curious too about the Miguel that led the troops here" – said Miguel crossing his arms.

- "Whoa, why the sudden topic change?" – asked Kember a bit shocked.

- "Well, you can't say they're not trying to lighten the mood a little" – said Carlos smiling.

- "Yeah, the atmosphere had gotten pretty choking with all that stuff on death, replacements and the like" – said Tiffany laughing – "Let's talk about something more pleasant!" –

Everyone else laughed.

- "Hehe, and yeah, I'd like to know a little more about the Gerardo from here" – said Gerardo – "Sorry we're asking you this, but since it'd be pretty evil on our part to ask Their Majesties about them, and since we can't tell anyone else we're not the people they think we are…" –

- "Oh, don't mind it" – said Fileia smiling – "Well, His Highness was pretty wise, had a more formal way of speaking, and was somewhat cold toward strangers and pretty snappy at those who didn't understand him when he talked or who didn't get his conversation topics. Still, he was very gentle and always tried to help everyone he saw in need" –

- "There are some things I could really learn from him, then" – said Gerardo thoughtfully.

- "Well, your way of speaking doesn't seem to be very far from how he talked, you just need to be a little more formal" – said Elaer.

- "But you're cold enough already, Gerar. Please don't turn into a freezer!" – said Gabriela pouting, making everyone laugh again.

- "Not to mention you should stop being so lazy" – scoffed Inuyasha – "I've heard a lot of how ya end up leaving stuff for later or how you end up oversleeping" –

- "Hey! We were supposed to not talk about that!" – said Gerardo blushing.

- "Haha, well, His Highness was also a very heavy sleeper, but he always managed to get up in time for his duties" – said Elaer.

- "As for our Princess, Her Highness was very cheerful, upbeat and always tried to make everyone around her smile" – said Fileia smiling fondly.

- "Yeah. She always wanted to play with everyone she met, she always tried making small gifts like letters or drawings for the people she was closest with, and always focused on learning to play the cello and on her singing lessons so her music would make everyone happy" – said Elaer laughing.

- "Aww, she sounds like a total sweetie" – said Kagome closing her eyes.

- "Hey, I'm also like that!" – said Gabriela pouting.

- "You're not showing it" – said Gerardo looking at her annoyed – "From the sound of it, she didn't act all spoiled like you're doing now" –

- "Sit down!" – shouted Gabriela, but aside of startling Gerardo, Inuyasha and Yasha, it did nothing. They all sighed in relief.

- "Looks like she has no power over the rosary any more" – said Miko sighing relieved.

- "But still, that was very mean on your part" – said Kagome looking at her angry.

- "Nice demonstration of your spoiled attitude, Gaby" – said Gerardo as he narrowed her eyes.

- "I'm not spoiled!" – said Gabriela as she sank down on the couch and began crying.

- "Now now, there there" – said Kagome as she hugged her and began stroking her back.

- "Okay, first time I've seen Gaby go so far…" – said Miguel shocked.

- "Everyone, I'm sorry for her acting like this…" – said Gerardo excusing himself.

- "No, don't worry about it. Our Princess actually was a bit spoiled too: you should just see the discussions she had with our Prince over trivial things" – said Fileia laughing.

- "So, they aren't so different from our Gerardo and Gabriela, right?" – asked Henry.

- "We could say so, yes" – said Elaer – "That said, they were tied together by very strong bonds: they spent most of the time together, and they had very touching moments whenever she asked him to read her a book, or teach her to play the harpsichord they have installed in the castle" –

- "That really sounds like material for very cute moments" – said Kagome as she continued hugging Gabriela, who was finally calming down.

- "I'd like… To play the cello and the harpsichord too…" – said Gabriela as she wiped off the tears from her eyes – "These are my favorite instruments" –

- "We've been looking for music teachers for her over at our world, but let's just say it's somewhat hard to find them in the area where we live" – said Gerardo.

- "Hey, you could have told me that! I know a cello professor!" – said Henry.

- "Agh! I really should have…" – said Gerardo.

- "Please, tell him to give me classes when we're back in our world!" – said Gabriela skipping in front of Henry.

- "Haha, okay! I'll get you in contact with him once we get back!" – said Henry.

- "And well, how about the Commander?" – asked Miguel with a curiosity-filled voice.

- "He was a very brilliant strategist: so far, his track record when it comes to directing our troops had a success rate of 95%" – said Fileia smiling.

- "Yeah, and it wasn't just limited to actual warfare: when it came to strategy board games and card games, he was also an indisputable champion. We know it first hand, as he used to play with us soldiers during our dead time" – said Elaer nodding.

- "Heh, looks like we're about even then" – said Miguel smirking to then close his eyes and laugh – "Though I can't really compare when it comes to military stuff, since I've never been to a military school or anything like that!" –

- "And well, he was also a great alchemist and chef: he had a vast knowledge of recipes for medicines and harmful concoctions, and he cooked some of the best dishes we had the pleasure of tasting" – said Fileia smirking – "Though I have to admit that when it comes to his cooking, it's partly because me and some other people had the pleasure of teaching him" –

- "But he also went on looking for recipes on his own and studying them?" – asked Henry with a very interested face.

- "Of course! You can never be a true alchemist if you don't study recipes and the body's anatomy, as without these, you couldn't ever figure out where to start making your own original recipes!" – said Elaer in a serious voice.

- "Whoa! What's up with the alchemic zeal!?" – asked Kember surprised.

- "Hehe, that's because he once tried to study alchemy, but unfortunately memorizing recipes and following them wasn't really his forte" – said Fileia laughing.

- "Love, I wish you hadn't told them about that… It isn't really a failure I really like remembering" – said Elaer sighing crestfallen.

- "There, there. You're still one of the finest knights our kingdom has" – said Fileia rubbing his back gently with one hand.

- "And… how was your Commander's humor sense?" – asked Roger in a very interested voice. Both Fileia and Elaer looked as if a snowstorm had just gone over them.

- "Just by these reactions, I can guess it was awful…" – said Gerardo with a cringing face.

- "Oh really? I don't think it's so bad" – said Miguel smiling amused.

- "Indeed… His sense of humor was horrid: he always found the worst possible chances to make up puns and add them into the conversations" – said Fileia with an annoyed smile.

- "He literally managed to freeze everyone around him whenever he was telling one. That's just how bad they were" – said Elaer facepalming exasperated.

- "In other words…" – said Gabriela eyeing Miguel in an uneasy way and shimming away a little further from him.

- "Yeah, he was just as the Miguel we know" – said Gerardo sighing with a frowning face.

- "In any case… We know you asked because you wanted to know about your predecessors… But talking about the past is pointless at this point" – said Elaer with a sad face.

- "Yes… They're dead, and there's no way they will ever come back to us" – said Fileia very saddened.

- "We know… And sorry for asking you about such a painful topic" – said Gerardo lowering his head.

- "Yeah… Looks like everyone loved them…" – said Gabriela saddened.

- "Indeed…" – said Fileia.

- "And so… What plans do you have at the moment?" – asked Elaer. Everyone was a bit surprised at the sudden topic change, but Gerardo decided to go along in order to lift the depressing atmosphere.

- "For now, we'll be staying here so my sister can sing the Song of Proof, and then we'll depart for Seleila" – said he in a decided voice.

- "I see… She's our next Priestess of the Dragon, yet she still hasn't sung that song..." – said Fileia in thoughtful voice – "But have you thought about where you'll be staying?" –

- "Uh… we haven't yet…" – said Kagome in an embarrassed voice.

- "Well, we have no problem in letting Miko, Yasha and their older siblings to stay with us, but unfortunately we can't let you all stay as well" – said Fileia with an apologetic face as she lowered her face – "I'm sorry, but as you can see, we don't have enough space for everyone here" –

- "We understand, don't worry" – said Roger smiling – "We'll search for an inn or somewhere else where we can stay" –

- "Though in our case, most likely we'll end up spending the night at the castle" – said Gerardo a bit embarrassed – "You know how Their Majesties were about me, my sister and Miguel" –

- "Yeah, we can see that. In any case, we can recommend you the Starlit Inn that's located in the Seirei Plaza: currently there are no festivals in schedule, so their fees should be relatively low, and it's a pretty comfortable place to rest at" – said Elaer smiling as pressed a couple buttons in his Dragtemn. This brought up a holographic screen showing the buildings around the Seirei Plaza, with one of them highlighted in red - "That building is the inn" –

- "But you mentioned that about the festivals because the place gets all packed up during them?" – asked Tiffany.

- "Yes. Since festivals are the liveliest time of the year for us, it's not unusual for people from other parts of Dragonia to come watch Soleila's version of it" – said Fileia laughing – "So in a way, it's fortunate for you all that there's none planned right now" –

- "I see. Thanks lotsa for the information" – said Carlos nodding, to which everyone also repeated their own thanks. By this point, Fileia noticed that they all had finished drinking the tea she brought them.

- "Ah, sorry for not noticing it before!" – said her embarrassed as she checked the empty teapot. She turned to everyone afterwards – "In any case, it's almost time for dinner. Would you mind accompanying us?" –

- "It's a bit embarrassing for us to be depending so much on you but… It'd be impolite to reject your invitations, so count us in!" – said Gerardo smiling. The others also nodded, though some of them had some reservations about it.

- "Okay! Give us a while to fix up the food for everyone! This is also a celebration for having Miko and Yasha back, and in honor of having our newest Seirei Candidates in our home!" – said Fileia smiling as she got up.

- "I'll help you in everything I can, love!" – said Elaer as he got up as well and they both went to the kitchen.

- "They're really nice people" – said Gerardo smiling as he and the others looked at them exit through the door to the kitchen.

- "Yeah. You were really lucky to meet them when you got here" – said Gabriela smiling.

- "You said it. And we really owe a lot to them both" – said Miko nodding with a contented smile.

- "And we should go help them with the food. It's not gonna be easy feeding so many mouths, right?" – asked Yasha.

- "Before that, do you mind if I give you the explanations on what Iadlast gave me?" – asked Gerardo.

- "Over all that stuff on Hyumnes Extracts, Ar Celle, Revasomewhat and the like?" – asked Inuyasha crossing his arms.

- "Inuyasha, please don't make me kill you" – scoffed Gerardo irate – "And yeah: I still owe you explanations on all these topics" –

- "So, how did these people destroy their planet's surface? I can hardly believe someone would actually destroy the only place they can live in" – asked Kagome with a doubtful but serious face.

(BGM: Whisper – Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "It was because of a sabotage similar to a terrorist attack. One of the races living in that world, the Teru, were extremely angry towards the humans for having accidentally wiped off the map the region they lived in during the war between the major nations in Ar Ciel. So, in retaliation, they destroyed the main power lines in the greatest facility in that world: the Tower of Ar tonelico, and this provoked a disastrous reaction that devastated the ground and blocked off the sky with a plasma layer" – narrated Gerardo.

- "Whoa! They really went so far just to get revenge!? Were they stupid or something?" – asked Inuyasha.

- "We could say so: they did so with the intent of exterminating humanity, but they failed at this despite managing to decimate most of the world's population. And to make matters worse, this act fatally injured the planet and it started hating everything that lived on its surface, so it manipulated the toxic gases and such that resulted from that catastrophe, the Grathnode Inferia, and used them to create a deadly fog that the people came to call the Sea of Death. Now Ar Ciel's whole surface is covered by that fog and anyone who tries going into never comes back" – said Gerardo with a serious face.

- "That's the only thing that comes from war, huh?" – said Miko saddened – "Only death and destruction…" –

- "Yeah, it's pitiful and horrible…" – said Yasha softly grabbing her by the shoulders from behind.

- "So, what happened after that? How did the remaining people manage to continue living without the surface?" – asked Kagome.

- "The people had built Towers that extended all the way to space, and they had either supporting structures or floating continents around them, so by climbing to these places, they could escape the Sea of Death and survive. They've been living like that for 700 years or so" – said Henry smiling, which caused Inuyasha, Yasha, Kagome and Miko to look at him with surprise – "Yeah, I'm not an expert in Ar Ciel like Gerar here is, but I still know some stuff about it" –

- "Yup, that's correct" – confirmed Gerardo nodding his head and smiling.

- "Ah, I see. At least it's good they could continue living somehow" – said Miko smiling.

- "Though that kinda sounds more like scrappin' by rather than livin'" – said Inuyasha as he frowned.

- "I can't deny that. The people still managed to thrive despite having to live in comparatively smaller places, and under some severe conditions in some areas" – said Gerardo.

(BGM: AT Inside –Anomaly- - Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "Okay. And what did you mean by that of the Extracts and Words?" – asked Miko with a curiosity-filled voice.

- "Glad you were paying attention, Miko. Hymmnos Words are the basic kind of Song Magic any Reyvateil can use…" – said Gerardo, but Inuyasha interrupted him.

- "And what the hell is a Reyvateil?" – said him exasperated.

- "You could have waited a little, Inuyasha!" – said Gabriela annoyed.

- "I don't mind it, Gaby. Reyvateils are an all-female race of humanoid people that have their minds connected to the Towers, and through that connection, they can draw the power the Tower produces to create magic through their singing" – said Gerardo.

- "Ah, kinda like what we do when we sing!" – said Miko excitedly.

- "Yeah, but with the difference that our Seirei magic draws power from the Elemental Nuclei that serve as Dragonia's core" – said Gerardo – "On the other hand, the Reyvateils have their minds stored in the Tower, which also serves as their power source, and there are several kinds to them. However, the most important distinction is between Purebloods and Halfbloods: Purebloods are completely artificial lifeforms, while Halfbloods are born from the union of a human and a Reyvateil of any kind" –

- "I don't like the sound of that…" –said Inuyasha gritting his teeth.

- "Calm down. At the least no one in Ar Ciel gets all fussy about whether Reyvateils are Halfblood or not" – said Miguel in an attempt to tranquilize him. Inuyasha just scoffed.

(BGM: Your Feelings – Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "And well, the distinction is important because Halfblood Reyvateils only get to live for 20 years max" – Miko, Yasha, Inuyasha and Kagome looked at him shocked when Gerardo said these words – "This is because they have a lower resistance to the Tower's power flowing through their bodies, and the only way to counteract that is by administering them a medicine called Diquility each three months, which aside of being prohibitively expensive, a Reyvateil suffers from indescribable pain whenever she uses it. And even then, they tend to live 40 years at most" –

- "That's terrible… These poor girls must have pretty miserable lives…" – said Kagome extremely saddened – "Sure, they get to use magic and all… But what a price to pay for it…" –

- "I know, and unfortunately there's nothing that can be done about it at the moment. But I can at least tell you this: Pureblood Reyvateils are very long-lived. One kind can live up to 150 years, while the other is effectively immortal: they won't die until the Tower they are connected to stops functioning, though all Purebloods would die if the Tower were to ever stop functioning" – said Gerardo.

- "What a condition to be immortal… Being hooked up to some weird thing and makin' sure it never stops working?" – said Inuyasha in an ironic tone.

- "Well, the Towers were designed to never stop working, so that's a good thing at least" – said Gerardo smiling – "And going back to the explanations on magic, Reyvateils have always access to Hymmnos Words, in which they use one of the Tower's functions to create songs they can sing to manifest their fantasies in the real world to attack enemies, heal allies and do other miraculous feats" –

- "So, it's still similar to when we suddenly think of a technique or spell in the spot and we begin using it?" – asked Yasha.

(BGM: Psyco Dive – Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "Yeah, but it's not so simple for them: Reyvateils usually can only make one or two such songs per year. If they want to make more, they need to undergo a process called Diving in which they let a person they trust greatly enter their minds and help them solve their inner problems and conflicts. It's pretty much a way for them to get inspired easier and quicker to make more Song Magic, as well as increasing their spiritual maturity and the bond between them and that person" – said Gerardo.

- "But it's not… embarrassing or something…?" – asked Kagome as she blushed.

- "Erm… Yes, a lot… That's why trust and strong bonds are necessary in the first place: if someone is stupid enough to try and force a Reyvateil into a Dive, the Reyvateil can easily boot them out from their mind and potentially leave them brain-dead" – said Gerardo in a cautionary voice.

- "Whoa, that's terrible! But at least it's good they can't do whatever they want in someone's else head" – said Miko covering her mouth with her hands.

- "And in any case, the Reyvateil's minds, or Cosmospheres as they call them, are protected by a kind of creature called Mind Guardians that make sure that no one tries going wild within their master's mind. Additionally, the Cosmospheres are divided in layers that deal with different aspects of the Reyvateil: the first layer is always their superficial self, while deeper levels tend to contain memories and feelings the Reyvateil wouldn't easily reveal to anyone, and even can have stuff the Reyvateil doesn't consciously know about herself, like her true nature. So basically, it's a journey of self-discovery and acceptance for her and the Diver, as Divers can only get access to the deeper layers if they manage to accept what they see about the Reyvateil and get the Reyvateil to respond in kind by also accepting them" – explained Gerardo.

- "Hmm, it's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of Cosmosphere I'd have if I were a Reyvateil…?" – said Kagome.

(BGM: Tick-Tock Man – Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "I'm sure it'd be the very picture of hell…" – whispered Inuyasha in a low mocking tone, but unfortunately Kagome still managed to hear him.

- "Sit down!" – shouted her. This caused Yasha and Inuyasha to slam into the ground.

- "Onee-san!" – said Miko angry – "You didn't have to do that!" –

She then went and sang her Healing Sounds of Light song to heal Yasha.

- "I'm sorry Yasha, but you know Inuyasha deserved it" – she said as she went to his side and helped him stand.

- "It's okay, don't worry Kagome-nee" – said Yasha smiling as Miko's song made its work.

- "Damn everything…" – said Inuyasha. Everyone else just laughed or sighed, making both Kagome and Inuyasha blush once they returned to their seats, and Miko and Yasha to look at the ground embarrassed.

(BGM: None)

- "So, going on…" – said Gerardo a bit annoyed – "Well, Hymmnos Words are created by the Reyvateils themselves, but they really aren't relevant to us because we can't really use them with the connections I can create according to Iadlast" –

- "And so, we come to the Hymmnos Extracts, right?" – asked Roger.

(BGM: AT Inside –Synchronization- - Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia)

- "Right. Hymmnos Extracts are special songs that can only be created by either Reyvateils specialized in technical matters or by human engineers, which are then given to more normal Reyvateils to sing. What makes them special is the fact that these songs control the functions of the Tower, which in Ar Ciel is equivalent to controlling the world itself" – explained Gerardo in a serious voice.

- "No way… You're tellin' us they're just givin' us the most powerful songs they can use over there!?" – asked Inuyasha shocked.

- "That's exactly what I'm saying. These are songs that have the power to stop creatures from escaping into the Tower through teleportation, linking a Reyvateil to the Tower to fully control it for as long as the song lasts, reducing its functions and restoring them in full… Hell, there's even a song that can create a whole floating land!" – said Gerardo as he stood up and opened his arms in front of him.

- "Whoa, so that means we can actually use a lot of power!" – said Miko smiling pleased – "We'll really be able to beat Tenebross like this!" –

- "Still, I have to check up the Extracts we can actually use: given their functions, many of them would be useless during our journey" – said Gerardo as he looked down at his Dragtemn – "While there are thousands, we only know about a couple dozens of them, and I can only link up to and modify these we have knowledge of" –

- "And you first have to find a method to connect them to the Towers, right?" – asked Miguel – "Do you have any ideas about what Song you'll use for that?" –

- "Not yet. I haven't seen any song that is actually used for connecting someone to the Tower aside of a certain couple ones, but since they're so risky to use, I'd like to wait and see if there are any other options first" – said Gerardo moving his head from side to side as he closed his eyes in regret.

- "So… What do you have in mind?" – asked Henry with an inquisitive face.

- "Well, I was thinking of starting with Infel Phira. Since it has a simpler identification protocol and I already know of a song that has a low risk factor that also causes a sort-of bidirectional connection between the singer and the other Reyvateils in it, I think I could modify it for our purposes" – said Gerardo looking at his Dragtemn and raising his face to everyone.

- "And who's the one who'll sing it?" – asked Kagome with an expectant face.

- "Um… Sorry, Kagome… But I think I'll give Gaby the Infel Phira slot" – said Gerardo with an apologetic face while everyone else looked at him surprised – "Yeah… Gaby would be the best option in this case due to being the Priestess of the Dragon, as combining her power with that of the Infel Phira Reyvateils, or IPDs, would surely be a great asset to us" –

- "Huh!?" – said Gabriela surprised.

- "What!? And why're ya choosin' her!?" - said Inuyasha enraged.

- "Yeah, it sounds pretty biased to give the slot to Gaby like that" - said Kember looking at him in a serious face.

- "Aren't onee-san and I good enough...?" - asked Miko saddened.

- "No, don't misunderstand me. Kagome is very powerful as well due to being one of our two Assistant Priestesses, but there's the fact that while the connection process to Infel Phira is safer, I'm not entirely sure about what could happen during it, since we never got a description of what happens when a new Queen is registered" - said Gerardo as he tried to make himself understood to the others.

- "Wouldn't that be pretty dangerous to Gaby-chan then?" - asked Kagome worried.

- "That's why I want to try to reprogram the song the best I can beforehand. Once I do, I'll run a simulation to see how it works, and based on that, we'll be able to try and come up with some countermeasures for any possible problems that could spring during it" - said Gerardo.

- "But wouldn't I... end up with all the IPDs seeing my mind or something?" - asked Gabriela as she trembled a bit.

- "Yeah, I think that's unavoidable Gaby..." - said Gerardo - "It's possible Infel Phira and the current Queen will refuse to accept you if we skip that process..." -

- "What do you mean?" - asked Yasha puzzled.

- "All the IPDs' minds are interconnected, and they are all ruled by a super-IPD of sorts called the Queen, or the Maiden of Mio. So, Gaby would have to show them her honest feelings if she wants them to accept her... and needless to say, having her rejected would result in the connection being a failure" - explained Gerardo.

- "I see. It's pretty involved, though I guess it wouldn't be able to actually work if it was simpler, huh?" - asked Kagome a bit surprised.

- "Yeah, well... Ar Ciel is ridiculously advanced for an almost-destroyed world" - said Henry smiling.

(End BGM)

- "By the way, shouldn't we go and help Elaer-san and Fileia-san with making dinner?" - asked Miko with a smile.

- "Yeah. I wanna go and learn about the foods they eat in this world!" - said Roger jumping from his seat.

- "Hey, and don't forget about me!" - said Henry.

- "Learning new recipes is always so interesting~" - said Miguel in a sing-song voice.

- "I wanna surprise mom and dad once we get back home!" - said Gabriela while they all went to the kitchen.

- "I'll get started on reprogramming the song while you cook then" - said Gerardo with a smile.

- "And we'll be checking our Dragtemns in detail meanwhile" - said Carlos.

- "Huh? What are ya gonna check in 'em?" - asked Inuyasha in a weirded-out voice.

- "We've just noticed that they've got access to something similar to our world's Internet" - explained Kember as he touched an icon, which opened up something similar to an internet browser window - "We could learn some things about Dragonia just browsing a little" -

- "Internet?" - asked Inuyasha moving his head from side to side without getting it.

- "Ah, accessing the Draglimt?" - asked Yasha excitedly - "Yeah, it's pretty interesting to check out the many pages and stuff in it!" -

- "Ahaha, let's go already to the kitchen!" - said Miko laughing when she saw this as she grabbed Yasha by the hand - "Yasha won't stop gushing about how awesome the Draglimt is if you let him!" -

- "And I'll explain you what the Internet is later, Inuyasha" - said Kagome as she faced him.

- "Ah, gotcha" - said Inuyasha as them four went to the kitchen after the boys and Gabriela, so they could help a little with the making of the food.

A good while later, Fileia, Elaer, Miko, Yasha, Inuyasha, Kagome, Gabriela, Miguel and Henry returned from the kitchen, with Fileia and Elaer carrying large pots on their arms, Miko and Yasha each a glass tray, and the others bringing saucers, cutlery, glasses and a silver water jar. Right away, the others went and helped with the setting up of the table. They then sat down to eat.

- "Ok then, here's the menu for today!" – said Fileia in a cheerful voice – "We have some Iphalt Stew with Bieltats, Fried Teleal on Elkil Sauce, Steamed Rizzole, Chiere Soup, Emerald Salad, and we'll also have some Skilar Cake as dessert!" –

Everyone excepting for the Dragonians, Miko and Yasha looked at each other confused. However, Inuyasha and Kagome's face lit up with realization a few seconds later.

- "Ah, I see! So, this is the sort of food you ate all this time!" – said Kagome smiling – "And looks like it was pretty tasty too!" –

- "Oh, so you know what our foods taste like, Kagome?" – asked Fileia pleased.

- "Not exactly…" – said Kagome a bit embarrassed.

- "Umm… it's because she got my impressions of them from my memories…" – said Miko fidgeting.

- "Yeah… the same goes for nii-san" – said Yasha a bit embarrassed.

- "You didn't have to tell them that!" – said Inuyasha more embarrassed that him.

- "At least you're speaking for yourself" – said Gerardo a bit annoyed – "Remember none of us here know what these foods are like" –

- "And only a few of us knew what they were like because they went into the kitchen to help" – said Tiffany sighing.

- "Oh right… Well, the Iphalt meat has a bittersweet taste, while the Bieltats are a kind of root that has a somewhat sweet flavor, and the Rizzole is a small tasteless and beady grain" – explained Fileia.

- "While the Teleal is a kind of sweetwater fish, the Elkil is a class of small shelled animal living in lakes, the Chiere is a domestic bird, the Emerald Salad is made up from several kinds of green vegetables, and the Skilar is a sweet pink fruit" – added Elaer.

- "In that case, I'd like to try the Iphalt out with some Rizzole" – said Gerardo as he placed his cutlery set next to his plate – "It sounds kinda like one of the dishes I like a lot" –

- "I'll pass on the Iphalt… But I'd like to try out the Teleal with some Bieltats" – said Gabriela smiling.

- "Gimme both the fish and meat to me~" – said Miguel with a smile.

- "I'll take the salad and Teleal!" – said Tiffany enthusiastically.

- "Soup and fish for me!" – said Henry as he prepared his cutlery set.

- "I'll go with the salad, Rizzole and Teleal" – said Kagome smiling.

- "The same as onee-san for me" – said Miko smiling at her sister.

- "Hmm, gimme the soup and Iphalt" – said Yasha after thinking about it a little.

- "Keh, I'll take whatever" – said Inuyasha while he eyed the food in distrusting way.

- "Soup and meat~!" – said Roger in a shrill voice, making everyone laugh.

- "I wanna try out the salad and Iphalt!" – said Carlos with enthusiasm.

- "I'll be having the soup and salad" – said Kember raising his hand.

Elaer and Fileia helped them to serve what they each wanted, and after a few minutes, the dining room was filled with the sounds of the cutlery and the people handling them eating.

- "Tasty! The Teleal and the Bieltats are like fried hake with French fries!" – said Gabriela as she cut off a piece of Teleal with her fork and took it to her mouth, followed by a piece of Bieltat she cut with her knife.

- "Hmm, great! The Iphalt tastes delicious and the Bieltats taste just like the potatoes from our world, but with a subtle salty flavor too!" – said Gerardo after he first tasted his dish. He then gave the Teleal a try – "And the Teleal has a soft texture that goes great with its mild flavor, as well as the crab-like taste of the sauce" –

- "You should try out the soup too, bro!" – said Henry as he dipped his spoon into the bowl again – "This stuff feels like chicken, but it has a soft salty touch that goes great with the soup!" –

- "Yeah, the Iphalt meat is nice, and the soup is even better than the ones from our world too!" – said Carlos as he repeatedly dipped his spoon into the bowl and stuffed it into his mouth.

- "And you gotta try mixing up the salad with the soup! Both go pretty well together!" – said Kember as he took some of the larger pieces of the salad and dropped them into his soup bowl.

- "Both the meat and the fish are amazing!" – said Miguel tasting them both – "I'm gonna try to make something like this with the ingredients we've got at Earth when we get back!" –

- "Hehe, but you can't really copy the taste just with the stuff from our world" – said Miko laughing – "After all, Dragonian food has its own touch too" –

- "But it'll be still an interesting cooking experiment to see how close I can get to it" – said Miguel amused.

- "I'm gonna try it too. I'm sure we can also get Gerar to get salad if we can get a taste like this" – said Roger laughing.

- "If it tastes like the vegetables I ate back when Gaby and I went to Europe, you surely can" – said Gerardo laughing.

- "Hehe, you've got quite the picky tongue, don't you?" – asked Kagome as she grabbed some Rizzole with the fork and put it in her mouth, followed shortly after by a piece of Teleal. She munched and swallowed it shortly after – "Hmm, the Rizzole doesn't have much when it comes to flavor, but it's a great side to the fish" –

- "And it's wonderful with the salad too!" – said Tiffany after she had swallowed some more – "I still don't get why Gaby and Gerar don't like it too" –

- "Ermm… because the greens on our country taste beyond awful… I don't really know why, but I've never liked their taste back home" – said Gabriela crestfallen as she stopped eating for a moment.

- "Yeah… For some reason, they're either too tasteless or far too bitter for us" – said Gerardo a bit taken back. He grabbed his glass and drank some water from it.

- "Hehe, our prince and princess were picky eaters too. Thankfully, they never found any fault with the greens we have here, as the ones from the nearby village of Seliart are considered the best in the planet" – said Fileia giggling.

- "Yeah, but the ones they cultivate in Sellia at the other side of the ocean aren't bad either, and the people in Seleila are quite proud of their crops too" – said Elaer in a jovial voice.

- "Hehe, looks like we won't be dying from starvation while we're here then" – said Gerardo smiling.

- "Well, we enjoyed a lot the food from Dragonia while we lived here, right?" – said Yasha smiling at Miko.

- "Yup!" – said Miko jumping on her seat.

- "But Inuyasha… You should really learn some table manners… Don't you know how rude it's to be eating so messily?" – asked Kagome embarrassed.

- "Why I shoulda care 'bout that?" – asked Inuyasha as he grabbed his food: a small selection of all the available dishes and drove them into his mouth quickly and chaotically. The others felt embarrassed just looking at him, but Elaer and Fileia seemed to not mind it.

- "Don't mind it. We understand it's your first day here, and we can't hold it against you anyway" – said Fileia in a gentle voice – "That said, it would be nice if you helped us with the cleaning once you're done" –

- "Well, that's no problem" – said Inuyasha as he paused eating.

- "Hehe, that's just because you wanna pay 'em back for giving you food as tasty as this, right?" – asked Yasha in a mischievous voice.

- "Urgh…" – said Inuyasha as he blushed, but he refrained from answering back.

- "In any case, we're glad you liked so much our food" – said Fileia smiling pleased – "And remember to leave some space for the dessert too!" –

- "Fileia's Skilar Cake is one of the best I've ever tasted, so don't miss it out!" – said Elaer winking at them.

- "Hehe, you think too highly of it, dear" – said Fileia blushing as she smiled.

- "Hehe, you really are a nice couple" – said Kagome as she looked at them.

- "Not to brag or anything, but it's true. We'd have never married if that wasn't the case" – said Elaer as he rubbed the back of his head.

- "Keh, you both are lovebirds to the end" – said Inuyasha a bit annoyed. However, no one felt he was actually meaning it in a sarcastic way.

- "Guilty as charged" – laughed Fileia.

- "Well, the only time they're not like that is when they're on a mission or in some serious situation" – explained Miko – "You know that this is the kinda personal stuff that they can't do while working, right?" –

- "Yeah, we can see that. But I guess all bets are off when it comes to using Seirei Magic, right?" – asked Kagome.

- "Yeah. There is nothing wrong with expressing your feelings for using magic, as otherwise, our songs and spells would be completely useless" – explained Elaer.

- "By the way, looks like you've all finished eating already!" – said Fileia surprised upon noticing how everyone had already left their plates empty and they were just looking at them, following the conversation – "Shall we serve the dessert?" –

Everyone just nodded with a smile, so Elaer stood up and gave each a smaller saucer while Fileia removed the lid covering the cake, which was white in color and covered by small pink round fruits and started cutting it in pieces enough for everyone. She then handed a piece to each person.

- "I hope it's not like a cheesecake or anything like that…" – said Gerardo as he eyed the cake with suspicion before driving a piece of it into his mouth with the fork – "Whoa, this tastes great! It's like normal vanilla cake, but the fruit on top tastes even sweeter than our strawberries, and the white cover stuff doesn't have any bitter or acid taste to it" –

- "Hmm, tasty!" – said Gabriela delighted.

- "This stuff is like the sweet you gave us some time ago, Kagome!" – said Inuyasha as he swallowed his piece in one go.

- "Yeah, it's tasty! But you shouldn't gulp it down like that, Inuyasha!" – said Kagome a bit annoyed.

- "Well, nii-san needs time before he stops doing that" – said Yasha in an amused voice as he ate his cake at a normal pace.

- "And you should get started on teaching him about it, Kagome-nee" – said Miko as she smiled sweetly.

- "I know…" – said Kagome sighing.

- "Anyway, these fruits are pretty tasty, and the cake itself is not bad at all" – said Miguel as he continued eating his piece.

- "Yeah. I'd say it rivals the taste of the bakeries back on our city" – said Henry.

- "Thanks for the compliments, everyone!" – said Fileia smiling.

- "Hehe, glad to know that my love's hand for sweets is a sweet as her!" – said Elaer as he took one of Fileia's hands and softly kissed it.

- "Yeah, she's a pretty good cook" – said Roger smiling – "And a great baker to boot!" –

- "You should open a bakery, restaurant or something!" – said Tiffany joyfully.

- "I wouldn't go so far, but it's true this tastes great!" – said Kember.

- "I kinda wonder how you'd do with the ingredients we've got in our world" – said Carlos.

They then continued eating, and once they finished, they helped Fileia and Elaer with the cleaning work, Inuyasha also cleaning the mess he made at the table and around while he ate, while the others helped put away everything that was set at the table, took it back to the kitchen, and washed it off. They noticed that Fileia took a small blue rhomboidal crystal that was next to the sink and inserted it in a slot near the faucet, which made it produce water. She grabbed some soap she had next to it, gave some to the others along with some sponges and absorbent cloths, and they then started washing the dishes.

Once the cleaning was done, they bid their hosts farewell as they approached the entrance, and left to head back into the city, with Miko, Yasha, Inuyasha and Kagome saying they would come back in a few hours.

(End of Chapter)

(Ending: Sakuramioka – Local Bus)