Sorry about the late update, I had more computer trouble. Viruses. I had to have my whole computer wiped, but I managed to save everything important, like fics and pics, so I won't have to start from scratch...

Dis: Alright, now really, I'm planning on holing myself up with the sequel come September. Would I really have to wait that long if I owned Baten Kaitos in the first place? No, I wouldn't.


With that, the group went out into the silent streets of Komo Mai.

It wasn't hard to find the way to the Palace. The group got attacked again, this time by two Blood Wings and another Devil Claws, on the way to the Palace, but Savyna, Lyude, and Gibari took them out quickly.

"That was nuts!" Gibari said once they were past the huge double doors and in the main hall.

"You're right," Kalas agreed. "Now, to find Corellia,"

"Excuse me," Xelha stopped a passing guard, "But is it possible to get an audience with the Queen? It's urgent."

"I'm sorry, but Her Highness, Queen Corellia, took ill and isn't accepting audiences with anyone," the guard responded, sounding apologetic.

"I formally request to speak with Corellia," Savyna said in a tone that left no room for argument. Arietta's ears perked at the lack of honorific.

"O-oh, Lady Savyna! I'll tell Her Majesty r-right away!" the guard stuttered. He ran to a room down one of the halls as if he couldn't get away fast enough. He was back two minutes later.

"Her Highness will see you. She expresses her regret that she couldn't be in the throne room."

"That's fine, we just need to see her." With that, Savyna started to walk down to where Arietta knew Corellia's bedroom was.

Even from outside the door, Arietta could tell that Corellia was sick. She could hear the Queen's violent coughing. Savyna knocked once on the door and went in before the weak 'come in' was finished.

Corellia's room looked the same as before, for the most part. There was a nurse by the foot of the bed, watching the group warily, and Corellia was propped up into a sitting position by numerous pillows. She looked very pale and wasn't in her usual dress and hair decorations. She was wearing a simple nightgown and her hair was down. Unbound, her black hair reached her mid-back, and Arietta could see that the colored braids that were formerly there were, in fact, part of her hair.

"Ah, Kalas, everyone," Corellia said softly. "I'm sorry that I'm not in the best condition right now…" She smiled at each person in turn, but stopped when she saw Arietta. "But I don't recognize you. I'm Corellia, Queen of Anuenue. I regret that you have to visit our nation at such a hard time."

"What do you mean-?" Kalas started, but Arietta cut him off.

"Kalas, chill out." Arietta looked at Corellia and bowed slightly. "We've met before, your Highness. I'm Arietta. I was Kalas's Guardian Spirit." Corellia looked surprised for a second, but smiled warmly nonetheless.

"Welcome back, then," she said. "Now, you said you ha-" she was cut off by a violent coughing fit. The nurse that was at the foot of the bed jumped up, a Healing Magnus already in her hand. Soon, the coughing fit passed with the help of the Magnus, and Corellia spoke again. "You said you had urgent news?"

"Yes, your Majesty," Xelha said. "We…" she trained off, not sure how to continue. Gibari picked up where Xelha left off.

"The number of monsters in each Nation has risen dramatically, your Highness. We think it's because of this new woman, calling herself Eris. Kalas," Gibari looked at the blue-haired youth, "you still got that letter?"

"Yeah, right here." Kalas fished the letter out of his stuff and handed it to Corellia.

"You're right, this is bad. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to help you at the moment." Corellia stopped talking again as a few more coughs forced their way from her body. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, your Highness," Xelha reassured. "We had to warn you before things got out of hand." The words 'like last time' lingered in the air unspoken, but everyone heard them just the same.

"I can give you rooms in the guest wing for the night before you head to the other nations," Corellia offered.

"That's very kind, your Majesty," Lyude said. He gave a small bow and left the room. Everyone else followed suit, with Arietta leaving last. She was surprised to hear Savyna's last words to Corellia, almost too soft to hear.

"You'd better get well again, Corellia, our nation needs you."

Arietta almost stopped dead, but kept walking when Savyna followed her.

Arietta recognized the room that they were given. It was the same one that they were given just before they bashed their way through Cor Hydrae. Thinking about that place still gave her the chills.

"So, Arietta, tell us about yourself," Gibari said, breaking through the former Guardian's thoughts.

"Yes, please tell us," Mizuti echoed. Arietta blinked. They wanted to know about her?

"Well, okay… I'm a senior in high school, I work part-time at a bookstore, I still live with my family… Really, there's not much to tell," Arietta said. She looked around the room and got a slight sense of deja-vu. Savyna was by the balcony, Gibari was standing by one bed, Kalas was sitting on another, Mizuti was sitting? floating? in the air, Xelha was sitting at the small table, and Lyude was leaning against a corner. It was the same arrangement that they had taken just before storming Cor Hydrae Castle.

"Your family?" Lyude asked politely.

"Yeah, my mother, my father, my little brother… My pets…" Arietta shrugged. "Nothing special."

"You have a brother?" Kalas spoke up. She could see the muted pain in his eyes.

"He's three and a half years younger than I am, and a real pain in the ass. We're fighting most of the time, since we never really got along as children," Arietta clarified. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Tell the Great Mizuti about your homeland. It be different?" That was the best change of subject Arietta had seen in a long time.

"A lot different. Nobody has Wings of Heart, and for as far back as history tells, we've always had the Ocean. We don't have a standardized language; every continent has at least two or three different ones, depending on where you go. Our cities are a lot bigger, and we've made buildings that are hundreds of feet high. We have different machines that take us where we want to go, and our air and water are getting polluted, but other than that, we're no so different than you." Arietta explained all she could think of.

"What about Magnus?" Lyude asked.

"Nope, we don't have those. Wish we did, though."

"Hey, it's getting late, we should get some sleep," Xelha cut in. There were various nods and murmurs of agreement. Once everyone was comfortable, the lights dimmed and went out, leaving Arietta to wonder how they did that until sleep claimed her.

The next morning, Arietta was shaken awake.

"Don't make me use a Magnus on you," Xelha threatened when Arietta rolled away from her.

"No, no cold water!" Arietta sat up quickly. "See, I'm up!"

"Good," Xelha beamed. Arietta sighed and got up. It didn't take her long before she was ready to go.

"So, where to next?" Gibari asked once everybody was assembled.

"What about Diadem?" Lyude suggested.

"Or Sadal Suud," Xelha said.

"Duhr," Arietta stated quietly. Everyone looked at her with interest.

"What did you say, Ari?" Kalas asked.

"I want to go to Duhr next. There may be a chance that the Great Kamroh may be able to help us, but probably not right away. We should go and tell them what's happening," Arietta explained. 'That, and I really want to go there and see things for myself instead of through your eyes,' she added silently.

"It's logical," Savyna agreed. The others nodded and expressed their agreement. Mizuti was practically bouncing with joy.

"Now Arietta will get to see the Great Mizuti's homeland!" she exclaimed happily. Everyone laughed lightly as Arietta was dragged over to the White Dragon. Soon, the Dragon was flying through the Sky towards where the Taintclouds used to be.

As they flew, Arietta looked around in awe, having not gotten the chance the last time.

"It's so pretty…" she breathed, looking at the vast expanse of clouds. "It must be so awesome to see it at sunset…"

"Don't you have clouds where you're from, Arietta?" Lyude asked politely.

"Yeah, but not like this. The only time we get to see them from above is when we're traveling by plane…" There was an awkward silence.

"Uh… I may just be a little slow, but what's a plane?" Gibari asked, finally breaking the silence. Arietta opened her mouth, not sure how to respond.

"I guess… it's our equivalent to an airship, only it has to start from the ground instead of a port and none of it's alive," she replied after a few seconds. Everyone gave an uncertain nod and silence reigned again. It wasn't long before she saw it.

"Hey, look, it's that labyrinth place!" Arietta pointed towards the ground, which seemed impossibly far away. "We're just about there!" Mizuti shared the excitement, but for a slightly different reason. While Arietta was anticipating just being in Gemma, Mizuti was anticipating the tour she was going to give her friend.

Within minutes, they were on solid ground again, this time in the strange and colorful Gemma Village.


There you have it, the new chapter.