The Adephagos quickly dissipated, the world swallowing menace was gone.

A mighty roar erupted from the 9 friends, high fives and hugs were given, tears of happiness were shed. They all smelled like sweat, blood, and tears from the fighting and the actual destruction of the Adephagos.

Duke disappeared as per usual routine, taking the elevator down and vanishing into the night.

The tower very steadily made its way back down to earth, over the course of several hours to ensure a safe descent.

As the adrenaline from the fight wore off, the gang of nine slowly realized that the quest was over. What to do now?

Raven and Karol decided to head for Dahngrest, Patty wanted to hit the seas, Judith was going to take Ba'ul to drop everyone off and then stick with him, and Yuri was going to bitch a ride with her for a while.

Estelle tapped her fingers anxiously, she didn't know what to do, she felt that her entire life was in this adventure, and she needed it to continue. She didn't want to go back and claim the imperial throne, she wanted to see the world.

Rita sat and hung her head, her entire life had been Blastia up until she got together with this group. Her pride would be injured if she went with Yuri and Judith, she would get sea sick with Patty, and she certainly couldn't go with the kid and the old man.

She had to face the facts, she didn't fit in with anyone if Estelle wasn't in the group. As much as she loved and cared for everyone else, one on one time was always awkward.

She had shared secrets with Judith, mostly because Judith could keep her lips sealed, and she wasn't judgmental at all.

Estelle sat still, hoping that someone would ask if she would like to tag along. Her prayers were answered.

"Hey Estelle you can tag along with me and Yuri for a bit if you want, at least until you figure out what you really want to do." Judith leaned against a post by the small lake that resided on the tower.

Estelle smiled, "That would be great!"

Rita sulked.

I was really hoping she'd want to be with me... She thought to herself.

"And what about you, Rita?" Yuri's words slightly warmed her damaged heart.

"I guess I'll- go back to Aspio and-". Rita trailed off, realized that they were standing on a disintegrated Aspio, her home was gone.

Everyone stood in silence, the only thing left in the world for her was them. The only thing left for her to study, was Estelle.

"You should along with us!" Estelle's overly exciting tone always made her feel better, especially when it was about her. Unfortunately, her flushed red cheeks were becoming a tell you everyone of how much she liked Estelle.

"I suppose I could tag a long for a bit... until I find something to research at least..."

Something told Rita that everyone saw through her feeble attempt to pretend she didn't care. Everyone but Estelle definitely knew that Rita had always possessed a certain amount of affection for her, but she wasn't sure how much they knew.

The tower reached the bottom, and they all boarded the boat, which was saddled to Ba'ul. Judith telecommunicated with Ba'ul, telling him to take off and head for Dahngrest.

"First we head to Dahngrest to drop off Raven and Karol, then we can go to Capua Torim so Patty can reclaim her ship." Judith glanced toward Patty, "Aye, back to seas I go, I left them as Aifread, now I will rejoin them as Patty."

Judith decided where and when to go. After all, Ba'ul listened to her, and her flying them around was a courtesy.

"Yuri and I plan to travel the world on Ba'ul, to do justice and punish the unjust. But we will find time to visit Dahngrest and find you in the seas, Patty"

Judith turned to Rita and Estelle, "But what would you two like to do?"

Estelle thought for a moment, "I would love to see how Heliord is holding up without their blastia." She had an imaginative, curious vibe within her voice.

Rita saw her chance, and took it, "I-I want to go with Estelle and look at the blastia."

Judith smiled, knowing exactly what was going on, Yuri's smirk quickly followed. "You know there are no cores anymore, so blastia are useless now."

Rita turned pink again, "I know... I just want to... you know... look at it..." Rita tried to sound as breezy as possible, but was failing miserably.

Estelle beamed, "That would be great, Rita!" She seemed so excited to continue her journey with her friend. Estelle wrapped her arms around Rita for a massive hug, with Yuri and Judith chuckling as they watched Rita's flushed red cheeks, her arms extended forward, not knowing what to do. After a few seconds, she overcame shock and hugged Estelle back, savoring every second.

I can honestly say this is the first hug I've ever actually enjoyed, she thought to herself.

"Very well," Judith said, "We will drop you and Rita off at Heliord after dropping Karol and Raven off at Dahngrest, but for now, we should rest."

"It looks like Flynn already got a head start, where is he anyway?" Yuri scanned the ship.

"He will probably want to be dropped off at Zaphias to resume his duties as commandant." Judith told him, "But he's probably more tired than the rest of us, after that one blow to the chest."

"We can drop him off at Zaphias and let Ba'ul rest, I want to check up on the lower quarter anyway."

Judith looked up at her flying friend, "Ba'ul, take us to Dahngrest."

A mighty, yet soothing, roar came from him as he set his course.