I'm so sorry this took so long to get out, I had the WORST time trying to figure out how to word that emotional scene, andI still only half-like it.

Anyway...

Dis: if i owned Baten Kaitos, would i be playing it for hours on end? ...probably... but if i owned Baten Kaitos, would i be writing about it on a fanfiction site? probably NOT.


"So, Arietta, tell us more about this goddess from your home," Lyude said. Arietta opened her mouth to say something, but didn't get the chance to because an Imperial soldier ran in.

"Emperor Lyude!" he wheezed, having obviously run from somewhere, "You must see this!"

"What is it?" Lyude asked, ignoring Arietta's startled look and standing up.

"It's the Ocean, sir. It's receding!"

"Are you sure it isn't just low-tide?" Lyude demanded. The soldier shook his head.

"No, my lord, low-tide isn't until the middle of the day."

Lyude looked at the group and there was a unanimous nod. They all ran from the mansion, all the way to the shoreline. Sure enough, the water was already extremely far away, and getting farther. Soon, it was barely a pin-line on the horizon.

"That's not good…" Kalas muttered. Arietta murmured her agreement. That was when Arietta noticed it. There were very slight tremors going though the ground. Her eyes widened as they got stronger.

"Oh no…"

"Hey, what's that?" Gibari asked as he noticed them as well. The tremors suddenly shot up to the top of the Richter scale and the ground itself lurched upwards, sending everyone sprawling to the ground.

"What the-?" Kalas exclaimed.

"What's happening?" Xelha yelled over the roar of the rushing air and moving earth.

"Hang on!" Lyude yelled to everyone. The upward motion slowed dramatically, making Arietta think of the sudden-drop rides at the amusement park as she got the feeling of weightlessness before being forced against the ground again as the motion stopped entirely. Arietta stood up shakily before anyone else did.

"What just happened?" Savyna asked as Arietta helped her up.

"Well, judging by the sudden upheaval, I'd say that the Islands were in the Sky again," Arietta said sarcastically.

"The question is: why?" Gibari asked as he got to his feet.

"The Ocean shall vanish once again, the Land shall take flight, and so, too, shall its inhabitants…" Lyude recited. Arietta blinked and her eyes darted back and forth as things started to make sense.

'Wait, the people had Wings of Heart when the Ocean was gone, and they lost them once the Land and Ocean were rejoined, which means that if the Land and Ocean are apart again, that means-'

"-that people will get their Wings back again!" she finished out loud. Kalas looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you talking about, Arietta?" he asked finally. Arietta looked him in the eyes.

"Kalas, where's your Winglet?" she asked quickly. Kalas looked surprised at the sudden question.

"Back in Balancoire, why?"

"Go and get it."

"Why?"

"Because if what I'm thinking is right, you're gonna need it." Kalas looked at her questioningly but then sighed.

"You're the boss," he said, using the old phrase he used to use for when he gave in to one of her orders. The phrase brought back many memories, one of which Arietta wanted to stay buried forever.

"Please, Rob, go to the dance? For me? Just in case I am able to go? I don't want to be there alone," Arietta pleaded with her boyfriend. At Robert's reluctant face, she felt tears prickling her eyes. He saw this, and sighed.

"You're the boss, Ari," he said. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which he returned.

Arietta felt the emotional pain come rushing back full force and, despite all of her best efforts not to, she fell to her knees and began to cry.

"Arietta! What's wrong?" Xelha exclaimed, seeing her friend's tears.

"Tell the Great Mizuti what be troubling you," Mizuti offered.

"C'mon, kid, what's wrong?" Gibari asked. Arietta shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "it's nothing, I'll be fine." She knew it was a lie, but she didn't see the point in telling them what they couldn't do anything about. She took a deep, shuddering breath and stood up, wiping her tears away.

'He'll get his… By the time I'm done with him, he'll think twice about BLINKING at me… Him and Melissa…' Arietta raged silently.

"What do you think, Arietta?" Lyude's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She shook the rage-fueled thoughts out of her head and looked at the former Imperial.

"I'm sorry, what did you ask me about?" she asked apologetically.

"I said, what do you think about discussing this with the other leaders? They'll want to know what was happening as well," he replied, waving off the apology. That was when Kalas came back. He looked at Arietta, and his look of annoyance at having to walk back and forth turned into one of concern. He glanced at Xelha, who mouthed the word 'later' to him and he nodded.

"I think it's a good idea, and it's logical. I mean, they helped us last time, it's only fair we try to explain what's happening now," Arietta agreed, he voice still slightly shaky from crying.

"So what are we waiting for? We should head to Anuenue and talk to Queen Corellia," Gibari said. Savyna, Xelha, Lyude, and Mizuti all nodded, but Kalas looked a little lost. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was beaten to it.

"I'll explain on the way there," Xelha and Arietta said at the same time. They looked at each other and started laughing. Soon, it was decided that Xelha would go and get the White Dragon so that they could go to Anuenue. Within the half hour, the seven of them were on the Dragon's back as the gigantic airborne reptile soared through the sky to the Rainbow Nation.

"So, Arietta, what was wrong back there? You looked like you were bawling or something," Kalas asked, unknowingly bringing up bad memories for his former Guardian Spirit. Said Guardian took a deep breath as the pain returned.

"You remember, back in Nekton, when you asked me if I was looking for something with I came here?" she asked him.

"Yeah, why?" he replied, not seeing what that had to do with anything.

"Well, I went back, and I met Robert. I liked him, he liked me. We started going out. Well, last week, there was a school dance. I had to cancel our date at the last minute because I had to babysit that evening. He came to me two days ago and told me that he had to break up with me because he was kissed by another girl and wanted to go out with her." Here, Arietta wrapped her arms around her middle and fought back tears. "H-he cheated on me for her, and she was one of my f-friends!" Unable to hold them back any more, her tears fell silently down her face.

"That's horrible!" Gibari said. If Arietta had been paying attention, she would have jumped.

"How could someone do something like that?" Lyude asked quietly.

"You be alright, Ari?" Mizuti asked. Arietta tried to pull herself together, wiping the tears off her face and taking a deep breath.

"I'll try," she said. There was an uncomfortable silence, and Anuenue wasn't in sight, so Arietta decided that it was time to jump to the same page as everyone else.

"So, what happened while I was gone?" she asked, her voice still a bit shaky.

"Ah, not much, kid. Just a few little things here and here," Gibari answered.

"Uh huh," Arietta said disbelievingly.

"Lyude be the new Emperor!" Mizuti chirped happily. Arietta looked at said Imperial, who gave a weak grin and nodded.

"Wait, last I heard, you didn't think you were good enough to lead Alfard! What changed your mind?" Arietta exclaimed.

"Well, I had thought about what Kalas had said to me, and I realized that he was right. I did have what it takes to lead a nation," Lyude replied.

"And Savyna's the best cook in Anuenue!" Xelha added. To Arietta's immense surprise, the usually stoic huntress blushed slightly. Arietta grinned.

"Alright, so we have Alfard and Anuenue," Arietta ticked them off on her fingers, "what about the other nations? I didn't see Duke Calbren anywhere in Mira."

"No… you wouldn't have…" Xelha said softly. "He… passed on… about a year ago, just after you left… They don't know how, or why, but the nation was in chaos until Melodia took over as Duchess…"

"Oh…" She was about to ask about Sadal Suud, or maybe Duhr, when all of a sudden, the White Dragon growled warningly. That was then a flash of dark magic narrowly missed Gibari's head.

"What the-?" He jumped up. The seven of them turned to see what had shot at him, and they all paled dramatically. Ahead of them, directly between the Dragon and the Rainbow Nation, was a swarm of monsters, and they were approaching fast.

"Everyone get ready," Savyna ordered calmly. Everyone nodded and took out various weapons. Arietta started concentrating her magic, when Kalas spoke.

"Arietta, you stay behind us." Arietta started.

"What? Why?"

"Because we have experience fighting, and you don't," Savyna answered for him. Unable to deny that logic, Arietta reluctantly nodded and moved behind Kalas. Within seconds, the swarm of monsters was upon them, the shrieking masses attacking everywhere.

Amazingly, the Dragon flew relatively steadily, keeping her course for Anuenue. The monster swarm, made up of mostly Blood Wings and Devil Claws, were kept at bay by Kalas and the group, but, inevitably, some were missed. Arietta didn't notice the Blood Wing slip by until it had hit her in the back with a Sonic Screech. She turned around, but it was too late; the Blood Wing slammed into her again and knocked her off the White Dragon's back.

"AH!" she yelled when she realized that she was falling.

"ARIETTA!" Kalas yelled. Arietta panicked, and along with the tightness in her chest, there was also a strange warmth flowing from her heart to the rest of her body.

'I don't want to die!' she thought, panicked. 'I don't want to die, I don't wanna die, I DON'T WANNA DIE!' The warmth from her heart suddenly exploded from her body and she realized with, quite literally, a jolt that she wasn't falling. In fact, she was actually going back upwards. Looking down, she saw nothing but clouds beneath her. Looking up, she saw the White Dragon, with Kalas leaning over looking frantic and amazed all at once. But it was when she looked to the sides that her breath caught in her throat as she figured out just WHY she wasn't falling any more.

She had Wings.


So, tell me what you think. And by the way, in either the last chapter or the chapter before it, I miscalculated some ages, so I think I'll go back and fix them. Arietta should be eighteen, and was about to turn fifteen when she bonded with Kalas, and Mizuti should be fifteen. Sorry if there was any confusion there. My mistakes.

Well, review for me anyways?