Hey, look, the sequel's up XD

Things to remember: Krad is still a female, in case anyone was wondering.

Dark is still a jerk of some sort and can't fight with large weapons at close range.

Satoshi is still a vampire who's antisocial, the last time I checked.

And Daisuke still has a twin sister floating around somewhere, but I doubt she'll be around much in this story.

Er… what can be said? I love everyone who managed to read all of Thirteen Stars without throwing up and saying that it was horrible, so I'm hoping that this story will turn out okay as well. It'll probably more action/romance though… considering what's happening.

Disclaimers: I didn't own it last time, so who said I owned it now?

Warnings: Muh… the usual? And any spelling and grammatical errors. I know they're somewhere there…

Other: I've been playing FF6 again… so yeah.

000

"When they meet again, something more terrifying and evil will awaken. Something long since sealed away will break free: leaving death and destruction in its wake. Will they be able to handle it again? Or is this the end of the road?"

New Moon: Years Pass By

So long ago, there were the stars.

So long ago, there was the moon.

So long ago, there was the sky.

So long ago, there was the sun.

What was it that this mean?

What part does the evil play within this all?

Is there any relevance to this?

Slumping on the smooth wooden desk, Daisuke Niwa - 17 - stared blankly at the blackboard before them at the front of the classroom. He wasn't paying any attention as to what the teacher was booming out, but it seemed rather pointless in the end, so he wasn't really paying any attention to it. He was seated in the middle of the classroom, with the more troublesome students up at the front, while the rest lounged at the back. The nerds were scribbling away while the rest of them were - quite literally - sleeping at their desks. He was nearing that particular standard of school life, but the sudden slamming sound of a rather large fist hit the front desk was what pulled them all out of their stupor rather quickly.

"You," bellowed their teacher, pointing at some random student, "What did I just tell you?"

The student being picked on paled for a moment, and said, slowly, "Not to jump out of the window, sir. I mean, er... yeah."

Such a small truth that made the rest of them exchange knowing glances. They all had their odd person here and there, so it seemed only right for the teacher to practically pop a vessel in anger. The redhead sighed and returned to staring blankly at the blackboard as he tried to get his concentration back on the line, but it wasn't working all that well. He had that sudden urge to poke someone in the eye, but seeing as that was not allowed in class, he'd just have to sit there, slumped, and wait.

"Kyu--"

With, Daisuke's 'familiar' looked up at him from his position under the redhead's desk. Since the teacher was currently yelling at the student, no one had noticed that there was some sort of creature in class, and he blinked.

"With?"

"Kyu-kyu-kyuuuuu!"

"Er... what?"

The bunny rolled his eyes and tapped a paw on his master's knee, as if that explained it all. Which it did not. Daisuke just sat there, staring at With blankly, until the rabbit did something similar to hitting his head against his paw and then bouncing around energetically, while somehow managing to not be seen at all. But then again, it might have been due to the fact that the rest of the class was now arguing at the teacher in defense of the poor student who had been picked on in the first place.

The redhead translated this as; "Are you an idiot!"

"Hey, that's not nice," he muttered to his pet, who merely 'kyu'-ed back rather indignantly.

He slumped back; great, now he was arguing with his pet, which, while not considering that insane at the least, would seemed insane if someone else was just to witness it randomly.

Someone poked him in the back with the blunt end of a pencil – thankfully – and he turned around, meeting the eyes of his twin sister, who was smiling in that odd little way that screamed "I have a vague idea of what you're thinking at the moment".

"What?" he asked, blinking blankly, not understanding the least of what Daichi was trying to tell him by giving him that look alone. She was still an odd klutz in her own style, but it didn't make her anymore stubborn and randomly thoughtful at times.

She flicked back a stray bang that got in her way, the many glittery bangles catching the rays of light that filtered into the stuffy room; "My dear, dear Dai-chan, it's obvious that With wants to remind you of something," she grinned again, "But you're just so out of it that you can't even remember!" With the pointed end of the pencil this time, she poked him, "You should stop allowing your mind to wander off on its own, bro!"

"That's nice to know," he mumbled back, turning away and ignoring that sharp pain he'd received when his twin had jabbed him, "But I don't think jabbing someone with the sharp end of anything is going to help me remember."

"Of course it will!" protested Daichi over the chaotic sounds of… chaos. Er… yeah. "Anyway, what the hell are you doing zoning out in class anyway?"

"You're the one yelling at me at the moment."

"Dai-chan…" she began in a whingey-yet-dangerous tone.

"Miss Niwa! Pay attention!" roared the teacher from the other side of the room. Although Daisuke had his back turned to his sister, he knew for a fact that she was pouting and sticking her tongue out at the teacher.

But now that his was properly awake, he was completely aware as to why With was behaving strangely. Of course, he had been up for most of the night before, listening to Daichi and their cousin Hikaru belting out the argument of a lifetime, so his half-zombie-like state hadn't been unexpected.

It had almost been three years since the recovery of the Thirteen Stars.

Word had spread, apparently, although the people involved had not. Long ago there was a force that broke apart and four 'heroes' set out on a journey to retrieve them; thus bringing peace unto the land. Or so they claimed.

Well, it was kind of true; they had wasted a week walking around and arguing a lot for one, but that was about all they did in the end. And it was because of Dark that they had come across the final fragment in the first place – him being hit over the head with a rock was just so amusing to watch.

But it had been three years since then, and it was coming up to the time in which the four would be meeting up once more. Why, they had no idea, but what did it matter? It wasn't like they had known each other before that, and then it was only a week; but they seemed to have become close friends all in all, so that was that.

He was looking forward to it quite a bit; it was going to be fun to see them all again.

000

Pulling the curtains back to allow the sunlight to filter into the room, Krad yawned slightly and tugged a hand through her hair, muttering something off-key under her breath. She was currently in a small room at some random inn, and the fact that it wasn't as shabby as some of the other inns she had been at for these past few years, it was a shame to just leave.

Well, she had places to go to this very same day, so there wasn't much to be done about it. Travelling on one's own could get tiresome, tedious, rather pointless and the like, but she found it enjoyable all the same.

And besides, her next destination was to return to the place she had split up with the other three guys that she had been travelling for a week for some crazy reason concerning a prophecy of some sort. Whatever the consequences were, they never really did find out, and that annoyed her, but what could she do? Nothing, and the folk tales that had somehow spread really quickly were amusing to listen to once in a while.

But she couldn't help but miss them… a bit.

True, she only knew Daisuke and Satoshi for a bit, but they weren't bad… for a mortal and a vampire, and Dark… well, she had matters to attend to dealing with her old childhood friend. Could she even call him that, after thirteen years of not really seeing and knowing each other.

She sighed, her hair unnaturally silky for a mercenary that traveled way too much and seemed to be constantly getting into fights that she really didn't need to get involved with.

All in all, Krad Hikari – 20 – hadn't changed a bit in those three years. She doubted she had grown all that much, and although her hair had gotten longer, it wasn't likely that anyone would notice. Her attire was still pretty much the same as from three years back, and she was wielding the very same sword she had stolen from Dark in their first real battle. Where and how she had found it, no one knew; and she definitely wasn't about to tell.

It was her suggestion, of course, to split the group up in the first place, having succeeded in redirecting the thirteen stars to who knew where, but she couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty a day or so after them leaving.

Her reason of argument?

Dark.

He had always been the sort of idiot to get himself into a problem that he could not crawl out of; for one thing. And she was always the one, in the end, to have to help him out of them in the first place. She berated him, teased him, traded insults and the like, and that seemed to have been the basis of their friendship.

But now, there seemed to be a lot more to it.

She wasn't stupid – blonde or not – and the feelings and the voices in her head annoyed the hell out of her and she had to leave to make sure that she wasn't just going insane in the end. The blonde knew that he wasn't stupid enough to get himself KILLED, but it was still a bit of a worry in its own perspective.

Well, it was time to see if three years had changed him at all.

Not that she didn't like him before and all, but he was such a bluntly stupid jerk with no sense of intelligence or logic, and seemed to constantly have fights with Satoshi whenever there was a lapse of silence. He was, in ways, the life of the group, and while that meant trying to kill each other, at least it wasn't all that boring.

But still, he could be such a jerk.

Regathering the small number of items that lay scattered in the tiny inn room, Krad sighed and blew a stray bang out of her face. It was time to go back there, she knew, and see if they had changed at all; for better or for worse.

All in all, she was looking forward to this reunion.

000

As fate would have it, that very same morning in the outskirts of another little desolate town, a purple haired twenty-year-old somehow managed to burn himself against the flame of a campfire and swore under his breath, withdrawing it quickly. Dark scowled to himself, waved his unburnt hand a bit, and then looked up at the sky, wondering about nothing in particular to himself.

He was bored; very bored; so very, very bored that it wasn't funny anymore.

Why was he bored?

Er… random reasons.

But that wasn't the point at the moment.

Jerked out of his thoughts when he heard the swish of a tent flap, Dark looked up at his traveling companion; who mumbled a morning while rubbing his eyes and stumbling about.

"G'morn'ng…"

"Hey. What's with you this morning?" he asked.

"Besides the fact that you're probably caffeine high again, I don't know?" was the snappish reply as the brown haired man sat himself down and poked a stick at the small flame. His eyes flickered over to Dark's burnt hand. "I see that you were practicing fire-juggling again."

"Shut up, Locke."

"Make me."

"I thought you were only half awake."

"I am."

"So why can you argue with me so much?"

"I was born that way; to make sure that you sound like an idiot before you even open your mouth."

"I swear you are the reincarnation of Krad…"

"But she's not dead."

"She could be and she possessed your body."

"Shut it, Dark. You know you're obsessed with her. And I'm not her."

"Well, duh. You're a guy."

"Quiet, kaitou, or I'll stick a dagger in your ribs."

"I'd like to see you try it."

"Oh, I will. One day."

"Why are you talking so much?"

"To make you feel as stupid as possible, obviously."

"How can you be tired and yet talk so much and why is it that everyone I talk to calls me an idiot at least three times in the first minute?"

"Because you are."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

This was the basis of their general conversation, seeing as they weren't even looking at each other while they continued to argue quite a bit and the conversation flew from one topic to the next – quite literally.

Since the time he was forced to travel on his own, Dark knew for a fact that, despite being independent, he wasn't all that great at fighting and killing huge, bulky things, and that meant that he had to find support of some sort; or at least a job/occupation that allowed him to keep to one side when these sorts of things happened.

That was part of the reason why he had become something akin to a thief and assassin in one, but it didn't mean all that much. Sure, hanging around Locke was okay from time to time, but he really did miss the other three.

Okay, fine. He really, really missed Krad.

He couldn't help it, she was the first person to call him an idiot – at the age of five, mind you – and was the sort who would speak her mind and not care about the consequences. Level headed yet reckless at times – which could be very scary to witness – she was actually quite fine to hang around with.

And, yes, the voices in his head had insisted otherwise and all that random shit that he couldn't give a damn about at the time.

So they split, it had been three years since then, and it was time to go back.

Locke sighed, "Let's just get this assignment over and done with so I can get home already."

"Agreed. Once I get my pay you'll never have to see me again."

"Thank god for that." Mumbled the brunette.

"You say something?"

"Yes… and no."

"What's what supposed to mean?"

"You'll understand one day, Dark. But not now."

Grumbling, the purple-haired man/adolescent/whatever he was turned away for a moment, watching as the sun rose from some side and blinded his eyes. It was a great exercise and all, but it would end up with him having to get glasses. So… yay?

Well, he really couldn't wait to get back and meet the others. Sure, he was good-looking and girls fawned over him all the time – kinda scary, actually – but he never really liked them. They weren't… his sort in the end. He knew who he was aiming for, and it was time to see if three years had made much of a dent at all with who they really were in the end.

000

"This is where we part."

"…"

The first speaker turned around, blinking beneath the heavy hood of his cloak. "Aren't you going to move?"

"…"

"…"

"Goodbye--"

"Wait!" the second person grabbed at this arm, frowning and looking worried at the same time. Her hair was short, cropped almost, and her eyes were a sort of faded grey. "How can you just leave me now!"

Satoshi met her eyes coldly, "Didn't I tell you that I would be going?"

"Yes."

"And I told you never to get attached?"

"Yes, bu--"

"You knew that I would not be there for you, I had no feelings for you, and that when the time came, I would just leave you to fend for yourself. I protected you and got you here; you can walk the rest of the way to where you belong."

The girl scoffed, although tears were forming in her eyes, "I don't belong anywhere! As a half-vampire, no one wants me! I'm an outcast and you know it, Satoshi! How can you just do this to me! I thought… although you said so yourself… maybe…"

"You thought like a fool then," Satoshi yanked his arm free and walked away. "I have no more to say to you."

"It's because of that human you mentioned, isn't it! The Niwa!" screamed the half-vampire hysterically. "That's why you don't care about if I die or not!"

"You're very correct then," replied the vampire without hesitation. "And we may never meet again. Adieu."

The dark shadows threw patterns on the ground as he walked, knowing well that, despite it all, she would not follow him. One who had been abandoned and lost and in pain. What more could he do? He helped her, got her where she was now, and then she came to the solid belief that he would be there for her forever?

He wasn't stupid. And he had no feelings for her – never grew attached to her – and that was final.

And, although she didn't know it, it was because of the human she had mentioned that Satoshi had decided to go all the way instead of just abandoning her in the middle of nowhere.

The Niwa. A mortal… and yet… well, there seemed to be something more. Something that Satoshi doubted was even possible before it had happened, but it had, and now it was time to return to the village cemetery; where they would meet once more.

His own morals would have been to not go at all, but as it was, and as fate would have it in the end, he was forced to travel with some really random freaks and… before he knew it, he actually… scarily enough… enjoyed their company.

Oh, sure, he argued with that stupid purple-haired guy, and the blonde rarely talked to him. well, in truth, the Niwa was the only person who spoke to him and didn't give a damn about him being a vampire, nor did he get into arguments with him and… all that other stuff.

He was actually very much looking forward to this reunion.

He couldn't help it.

And that, alone, was kind of scary.

000

Candlelight flickered and danced across the dim room, casting long shadows in what little light there was and onto the long curtains that draped the room itself. Such a stuffy air as itself was odd enough, and the single table and chair placed in the center of the room looked out of place.

A card was flipped.

"Destruction; one that cannot be avoided."

Another flip.

"Meeting; where feelings and thoughts will meld into one."

Flip.

"Chaos; rioting for a reason that should not even be thought of."

Flip.

"Death; it has already opened to us all."

There was silence for a moment, and then the swish of one of the curtains being pulled back. The brunette who entered stared at the cards for a moment before glancing up again. "Is it really happening, then, Towa-san?"

A thoughtful pause.

"… Yes. No matter what, the vibes are clear."

The seer placed another card in front of them.

"The evil will, once again, be awakened."

000

And there's our prologue and all and it's… uh… I think it's okay. Anyhow, this is actually my second take of the prologue, 'cause my flash drive died on me with the copy of it in it so… yeah. I lost it. But I think I covered everything that I needed for this and… uh… I have no idea when I'll get the next chapter up.

But there's a sequel and it's up! (celebrates)

I want to thank the following reviewers: Shimmering Solitude, Hakudoshi-chan, kittenoftime/chrnoskitty, Blue-Angels-Wings, kyo's little koneko, neko-nya, ginny brenn, animefreaktyan, Bram, Devinedragon, Koway Oceshia, hittocerebattosai and 0.o K-chan. Okay, I think I lost a couple of people along the way (or they stopped reviewing) but that doesn't matter! The fact is that they read it and reviewed (at some point)! But I really do love the people who stuck with me the whole way and gave me support! ... Or something similar to that. Anyway, you know who you are and yeah! (glomps everyone) Plushies for everyone!