dis: i no own, THIS COVERS NEXT THREE CHAPTER'S DISCLAIMERS!


"Well… On to Alfard. Today's the day Eris meets her match."

Arietta and Andriana felt the jolt of the ship coming to a full stop in port. After a few seconds' hesitation, Arietta got off Melodia's ship, followed closely by her best friend.

The golden city of Mintaka was silent. Oh, there was still the sound of heavy machinery at work, but there weren't any citizens in sight. Arietta wasn't sure if she felt relieved or scared that there weren't any soldiers turned into monsters around. On one hand it meant that none of Lyude's soldiers were taken by evil, and on the other it made the city too quiet, and thus put them all on edge.

"…We should head straight for the palace. We don't want to run into anything nasty…" Arietta suggested, quickening her pace. Andriana nodded and followed.

They both jumped when a battle cry broke the silence, followed by the now-familiar screaming of Cor Hydrae monsters.

"CRAZY RABBIT!"

"WORG LASER!"

"…I don't suppose we could just walk AROUND whatever Ayme and Folon are bothering with and keep going?" Arietta asked rhetorically. Sighing, she took out her six attack Magnus and jogged around the corner to come face-to-face with a Diabolos.

"AH! Hellfire, dammit!"

The one-eyed monster screamed horribly as it slowly burned to death. She threw Lingering Time and Demons of Darkness into the large crowd of monsters, taking in a kind of grim satisfaction at the sounds of pain the creatures made. Ayme managed to turn while dancing around a Devil Hands and smirked upon seeing them.

"About time, Spirit-Girl!" she called, unloading what Arietta figured was the equivalent of a full clip into the monster. It shuddered and collapsed, dead.

"We're trying to make it to the palace, care to act as bodyguards?" Arietta asked, not caring that her right Wing changed to Kalas' as she used Shadow Wings. The mismatched Wings turned to Savyna's as she shot off an Erupting Flail right after.

"If you can get rid of these, sure!" Folon yelled back, making a group of monsters burn to ashes with Chaotic Flames.

"Somebody give me a really big-ass Light move!" Arietta said, getting Shining Seraph ready. Xelha practically threw the attack through the bond, and she grabbed it. Savyna's Wings changed to Xelha's as she pushed the two Light attacks together.

"Ayme, Folon, get out of the way!" she yelled. As soon as the two Imperials were out of the line of fire, Arietta let go of the new attack. "Spirit Combination: Wheel of Seraphim!"

The seal formed under the whole area, and the only warning of the attack was the feathers gently drifting down before they vanished in micro-bursts of light. The seal-marked area was suddenly bombarded with the balls of light from Xelha's Wheel of Light, and all the monsters, resistant to Light or not, were killed.

Xelha's Wings vanished, and Arietta fell to her knees, panting. Ayme pulled her to her feet.

"Can't rest now, Spirit-Girl."

"C'mon, Ari, we have to get to the palace," Andriana added, cautiously glancing at Ayme and Folon. Arietta nodded and steadied herself.

"I guess we're bodyguards now, Folon," Ayme said to get partner.

"Right. To the palace," Folon agreed.

The four made their way through Mintaka, not encountering any more monsters, which made the two Imperials jumpy.

"Isn't the surprising lack of monsters GOOD?" Andriana asked.

"No, because it either means that they're off terrorizing citizens, or Eris is toying with us and wants to make sure we get to her so she can finish us off. Either way, BAD," Arietta explained.

The four made it to the entrance of the palace without any further incident, which made everyone nervous.

"We'll stay here in case something happens," Ayme volunteered as she sent a glance to Folon, daring him to object.

"Well… Here goes nothing," Arietta said as she pushed open the doors. The swung open silently. The entrance hall was silent, and as the two girls walked in, they could hear their carpet-muffled footsteps echoing off the walls.

"This is… creepy," Andriana whispered. Arietta nodded.

'Next part of the fortress should be the lowest level prisoner cells,' Lyude directed. The two girls walked through the doorway, and nearly fell over.

Reality seemed to warp around them, as they struggled to keep their balance. When the warping stopped, they looked around.

"Uh… Lyude? These aren't the lowest prison cells. I think this is the fourth floor intersection," Arietta stated once she was sure the nausea had passed.

'What the hell just happened?' Kalas asked, sounding more than a little shaken.

'If the Great Mizuti be solid, the Great Mizuti not be feeling so well…' Mizuti added, sounding dizzy.

'That was… disturbing,' Savyna said.

A sudden metallic sound was heard, making both Arietta and Andriana jump. Arietta looked around and ducked behind a pillar, dragging Andriana with her.

"Contaminated Walkers," she hissed at her friend's questioning look. They held their breath as the red machines came closer and closer to where they were hiding. One Walker paused near where they were, and Arietta thought her heart would stop from the fear of being caught.

The seconds passed like hours as they waited for the Walker to pass. When it finally did, Arietta sighed in relief and motioned for Andriana to follow her again.

"If we're on the fourth floor, we need to go this way to the elevators," she said almost silently. She and Andriana made their way silently towards he doorway. As soon as they crossed it, though, reality warped again, and suddenly they were in the girl's room on the third floor.

"This is gonna be tough," Andriana commented. Arietta said nothing as she dragged her friend back through the doorway. Suddenly they were in the bathrooms on the fifth floor. Back again through the doorway, and suddenly, they were in the place where they least wanted to be, but had to be.

The Throne Room.

"Welcome to my lair, little Guardian…" a velvety voice said, somehow echoing in both Arietta's head and throughout the chamber. Arietta and Andriana called out their Wings automatically.

In the dim light, Arietta could just barely make out someone sitting in the throne and someone standing behind the throne.

"Oh, that's right, you mortals can't see in lighting like this." The lights gradually got brighter, until Arietta and Andriana could see the occupants of the room.

Eris was sitting on the throne, looking for all the world as if she owned the universe. Unlike Discordia, Eris wore black leather pants and an off-the-shoulders shirt that looked just like Discordia's dress. The shirt stopped at her midriff and had long sleeves that belled at the bottom, and the material looked sheer enough that Arietta was surprised it wasn't translucent. Eris' black hair was unbound, and fell all the way to her hips. Her porcelain-white skin almost glowed in the still-dim lights, and her lips were the same blood red as her sister's, as were her eyes.

Behind the throne stood a young man, who looked no older than nineteen. He was holding up a battered-looking Melodia. Her white dress was ripped in places, and the stained-glass part was bent and cracked. She looked unconscious.

"Ah, I see you've noticed my little pet, little Spirit" Eris said. "Quite the catch, he is. I found him not long ago, in a small town outside of Annapolis. His confusion was exquisite. On one hand, he could have a faithful girlfriend who would love him, and on the other he could have a girl who would always be willing to give him a good romp. Of course, he didn't believe I was a goddess, until I took over his mind."

Arietta forced herself to look at the young man as Eris talked. She recognized him, and it felt like someone had taken one of Kalas's Ice Daggers and shoved it into her heart. He had short brown hair that was gelled into spikes, and green eyes set behind wire-rimmed glasses. His eyes were blank, as if there was nobody behind them, and his face was expressionless.

"Robert," Arietta whispered. The figurative dagger in her heart twisted painfully, and she felt tears rolling down her cheeks as her knees hit the floor.

"Oh, wonderful, you know each other!" Eris said, knowingly hurting Arietta even more.

"Stop hurting her!" Andriana yelled, not being able to watch any more. She brought out a Blood Sword and activated the Magnus in one motion. She charged at Eris.

'Andri, don't!' Xelha yelled out.

Andriana didn't listen, and Eris blasted her away. She landed on the floor with a sickening thump, and didn't move. Arietta looked from her friend's motionless body to Eris. Ignoring the tightening pain in her heart, she got up, taking out Demons of Darkness at the same time, but pain ripping through her back made her cry out and kneel down again. She looked up when she heard Eris laughing at her. Eris was holding a glowing indigo ball in her hand, and laughing in her velvety voice.

"Let me let you in on a little secret…" Eris crooned in that not-quite-out-loud voice. "Broken Wings mirror a broken Heart, little Guardian!"

Arietta looked at her Wings and gasped, and heard a few other gasps as well. Her Wings, which were previously pretty and webbed, were broken on the spines and tattered along the edge of the membranes. She tried to move them, and fresh tears started flowing from the pain, which intensified in both her heart and her back.

Looking at the goddess again, the last thing she saw was the woman's cruel smile and Robert's blank eyes before Eris threw the ball of shadows. The shadows engulfed Arietta, trying to cut her off from her Spirits.

'Fight it, kid!' Gibari yelled at her.

'Arietta can be doing this!' Mizuti encouraged.

'You can't let this beat you!' Kalas said. Arietta said nothing as the shadows enveloped her.

She opened her eyes to darkness. It was all around her, and she couldn't see anything. Faintly, in the background, she heard some familiar music. Just as the lyrics started, everything around her exploded in Technicolor, surround-sound, and motion.

Perfect by nature,
Icons of self indulgence.
Just what we all need,
More lies about a world that

Never was and never will be,
Have you no shame don't you see me,
You know you've got everybody fooled…

She saw herself sitting in the psychiatrist's office, telling her about what had happened to her. Even though the play-back had no sound, she could hear it in her head.

"I'm telling you, that's what happened! Xelha was the Ocean, the Islands rejoined the Earth, and everybody lost their Wings of Heart!" Her father stood up suddenly, angry.

"Arietta, this has to stop. It wasn't real, there is no such world as Baten Kaitos. There is nobody named Kalas, and no such thing as people becoming Guardian Spirits."

Look here she comes now,
Bow down and stare in wonder.
Oh how we love you,
No flaws when you're pretending.
But now I know she

Never was and never will be,
You don't know how you've betrayed me,
And somehow you've got everybody fooled…

The scene suddenly changed to their first visit to Parnasse, when Kalas had given Melodia the Che End Magnus, and then back to her in the office by herself with her doctor. The real Arietta glared at the Melodia in the Parnasse scene, silently mocking her, but she couldn't stop the next play-back.

"Now, is there such a thing as islands in the sky?"

"No."

"Or people with wings?"

"No."

"Or evil gods that want to destroy the world on a grudge?"

"No…"

Without the mask,

Where will you hide?

An image of Robert appeared, smirking at Arietta cruelly, making the tears fall faster.
Can't find yourself

Lost in your lie!

The image turned into Kalas, who looked at her with an expression of pleading.
I know the truth now…

The image split in two, and Kalas and Robert were standing next to each other.
I know who you are…

The Kalas image suddenly unfurled his magnificent white Wings and the whites in his eyes turned black.
And I don't love you anymore!

An image of Melissa appeared next to the image of Robert and Arietta was suddenly filled with red-hot rage.

It never was and never will be!

The image of Robert blinked out of existence with Melissa in a shower of golden lights.
You're not real and you can't save me!

The image of Kalas vanished in a cascade of white feathers.
Somehow now you're everybody's fool…

Arietta saw herself alone in her room, crying on her bed; the exact scene from just days ago (was it only days ago?). She saw herself crying to the heavens and receiving no answer. She heard the music fade, and she was alone again in the silent darkness.

'-tta!'

Her ears perked at the faint sound.

"Is someone there?" she asked in an almost-silent whisper.

'Ariet-!' The call was stronger this time.

"Kalas…? Where are you?" Arietta looked around and didn't see anyone.

'Snap out of it, Arietta!' This time, he came through loud and clear.

"I can hear you, but where are you?" Arietta called back.

'Come back to us!' That one was Xelha.

"Where is everyone?" Arietta yelled to the darkness. Slowly, an image of Kalas materialized in front of her.

"You have to come back!" he said, holding out his hand. Arietta was suddenly suspicious.

"How do I know it's you?" she asked, backing up a step. The image looked pleadingly at her.

"You'll have to trust me," he said. Then he gave one of his trademark grins. "Unless you want to stay here?"

"You leave me here and I swear I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you forever! You've been warned," Arietta retorted. She reached for his hand.

"That's my vengeful little Spirit," he said and she took his hand. The world around her exploded with light, and suddenly she was back in her body, on her knees in the Imperial Throne Room.

"So," Eris said, sounding disgusted. Arietta snapped her eyes to the goddess. She looked mad. "The pathetic One-Wing managed to free you from your heart. I guess that's impressive. But he won't be able to help you defeat me!" With that, Eris lunged at Arietta. The girl yelped and fell to the side, and Eris just missed her.

"Plan, plan, need a PLAN, here!" she said as she kept dodging the attacks.

'Combinations worked on Discordia before, maybe they'll work on Eris now,' Savyna said.

"My sister was weak!" Eris yelled. "She gave me her power! I'm stronger than she ever was!"

'Okay, no on the double-attacks,' Gibari said.

"But maybe more than two will work," Arietta murmured, a rough plan forming. "Lyude, could you work a Fire-based move if you had to?"

'Yes, I'm sure I could,' the Imperial replied.

"Alright," Arietta said as she ran away from Eris and took out her six Guardian Magnus. "Lyude, Hellfire. Savyna, Sacred Spring. Gibari, Distorting Wind. Mizuti, Lingering Time. Xelha, Shining Seraph, and Kalas, Demons of Darkness. Power them up as much as you possibly can."

'Right,' Gibari said.

'I will,' Lyude promised.

'The Great Mizuti be called 'the GREAT Mizuti' and will help make the attack stronger,' Mizuti insisted again.

'Affirmative,' Savyna stated.

'Alright!' Xelha said.

'Do I have to get the dark one? Okay, okay!' Kalas amended when he got glared at.

The air practically hummed with power as the six worked on powering the spells. When the Magnus couldn't take any more, she spread her Wings and took to the air, yelling, "Now let them go!"

The six energies were released from the Magnus holding them captive and Arietta felt the pure power rushing through her body. Using the trust she had formed with her friends, she melded them all together into a many-colored beam of light, which she aimed at Eris.

"Spirit Combination: Guardian's Trust!" Arietta could hear all the other voices overlaying hers. The myriad of colors caught Eris off-guard and hit her dead on. The seven were blinded by the explosion of colors, but they could hear Eris screaming. When the colors cleared, they saw her.

For the most part, it was the same result as what happened to Discordia. Eris' skin was charred and flaking off in little black chunks, and her hair was little more than ashes on her head. Her outfit was burned and partially melted to her body. Arietta landed and walked up to the fallen goddess.

"How? How were you able to defeat Chaos?" the woman asked through blistering lips.

"Chaos doesn't follow the rules, and neither did we," Arietta responded. "You didn't follow the rules of physics, so we didn't have to either."

"Very clever, little Guardian. Using my own rules against me. But beware, there's never order without chaos." With that, her body disintegrated, and the dust vanished. Behind the throne, Robert jumped as his mind was freed, and against the wall, Andriana stirred. Ignoring Robert, Arietta raced over to her best friend.

"Did we beat her?" Andriana asked, still looking dazed.

"Down to the bloody bowels of Hell, Andri."

"About damn time. Hey, your Wings are different…" They were. Now they were jointed, looking like big bat wings, and they were back to the original coloring.

"Arietta? Is that… you?" Robert's voice echoed across the room. Arietta turned around, raw fury filling her. She saw her six Guardians superimposing over their lights as they all stormed across the room. Arietta didn't notice her body getting more and more translucent until she was right next to Robert. She tried to slap him, but her hand went through his face. Shocked, she looked from her hand to her friends. She was getting more and more see-through, and they were getting gradually more solid. Within seconds, she was nothing more than a floating blue light. Robert gently set Melodia on the throne.

'Dammit, I wanted to hit him so badly!' she raged. Kalas tugged on their bond and pulled her into his body, moving aside to give her control. She twisted his face into a smirk when she realized what he did.

"Oh yeah," she said, more than slightly startled at not hearing her voice, "this is more like it." With that, she pulled back their fist and sank it into Robert's stomach. She watched with grim pleasure as he sank to the ground, gasping for air. "That's better." She gave Kalas back his body. 'Thanks, I needed that.'

"Um… Hello? Can any of you send me home?" Andriana walked up to the six fighters, wobbling slightly.

"We can get you home in Nekton. We have to go back to Mira anyways to take Melodia back," Gibari answered. Andriana nodded and passed out. Gibari caught her.

"Let's take this idiot," Savyna motioned to Robert, "and get back."

Soon, everyone was on Melodia's ship, heading to Mira.

On the ship, Arietta had Everybody's Fool still stuck in her head.

'Stupid Kalas being a stupid tenor and a stupid octave lower than me… Tenors do NO justice to soprano music…' she grumbled.

Everybody but Kalas and Xelha tensed.

"Everybody heard that, right?" Lyude asked finally. Savyna, Gibari, and Mizuti all nodded.

'Heard what?' Arietta asked.

"You," Lyude said, "we can still hear you."

"Heh, we're all still bonded to you," Gibari chuckled. "Can't get rid of us that easy, Squirt."

"Now approaching Balancoire port, please prepare to disembark."

They felt the jolt of the ship hitting port, and got ready to leave.

'Let's take the Lady to the Manor, and then head to Nekton,' Arietta suggested.

"You're the boss, Ari," Kalas said.

It didn't take long to get to the Calbren Manor. The maids asked if they would stay, but Lyude told them that they had to leave.

It took slightly longer to get to Nekton.

"So… How do I get home, again?" Andriana asked, having woken up five minutes before.

"You wait for an Interdimensional Crack to open," Kalas responded. As if on cue, a Crack opened up.

"And there's your one-way ticket home," Gibari stated. Without another word, he tossed Robert through. Andriana grinned.

"Bye, everyone, I had a blast!" With that, she jumped through. That one left one thing.

"I guess this is goodbye," Xelha said.

'Yeah,' Arietta responded. 'I'm gonna miss you all so much, and you better visit this time!'

"The Great Mizuti will make sure of it!" Mizuti announced. Arietta laughed. She reluctantly left from Kalas again, and was pulled into the Interdimensional Crack.