"Ok, Repede, Fetch!" Estelle tossed a rubber bone to the other side of the ship, Repede waddled over to grab it, pushing himself to go as fast as possible.

He returned it, to which Estelle awarded him with a scratch behind the ear, "Good boy!"

"Rita, wanna take over? I'm going to go check out the engine room. I haven't been down yet." Estelle handed her the toy and ran toward the stairs.

"Hey, wait! I don't want this slobbery little toy!" Rita groaned.

"Hey Estelle," Raven caught her attention, "Careful not to get too close unless you wanna ruin that pretty dress."

Estelle nodded and walked down the stairs.

Repede sat patiently and waited for Rita to throw the bone, his tail wagging slowly on the ship's wooden flood. He started to whine slightly, pushing Rita to stop ignoring him.

Rita rolled her eyes, "Fine, " she tossed the toy all the to the other end of the ship, and Repede took off after it. He grabbed it and rushed back as quickly as he possibly could.

He placed it at her feet, panting. He nudged the toy with his nose.

"Getting tired yet?" Rita asked him as she threw it again.

Repede took off again, slightly slower this time.

"Sheesh, " Karol said, " It's a good thing we're not getting into battle any time soon."

Repede brought it back, "Again?" Rita asked, "Are you sure? We don't want you collapsing on us now."

Repede barked and pointed at the toy.

"Fine, have it your way." Rita threw the toy once again.

"So, " Judith started, "How did you and Estelle happen?"

"Yeah, " Karol listened carefully and enthusiastically, "We all want to hear."

Rita threw the toy for Repede again, then walked to Karol. "Pervert."

Smack

"Ow!" He rubbed his head, "That hurt!"

"Anyways, " Rita said. "I guess everyone knew I liked Estelle. I don't have a poker face like Judith."

"Oh shucks, " Judith smiled and hopped on her toes to make her body jiggle a bit.

Rita rolled her eyes and tossed the toy to Repede again, "Back at Heliord, I told her I loved her, I got embarrassed when she didn't immediately say it back, then I ran and hid."

"Very smooth, " Raven's sarcasm wasn't appreciated.

"She found me, told me she loved me too, and kissed me. That's pretty much it." Rita summarized.

"Pretty much?" Karol asked, hopefully.

Judith smugly looked at Rita. Rita looked back with begging eyes.

"Please don't." Rita mouthed.

Judith shrugged, "We caught them..." She started, Rita's eyes began twitching, and smoke could've started coming from her ears.

"We caught them cuddling." Judith finished and winked at Rita.

Raven looked to Judith, then to Rita. "Oh, boy! You two got caught in the act!"

Rita turned bright red, "Shut up! That's none of your business! We didn't!"

Raven winked, "Right, Gotcha." He was beside himself with joy.

Karol stared outward as if they broke his brain, what could they expect from a 12-year-old?

Patty stomped her foot three times, "That's enough! Ba'ul should be able to pick us up now!"

•••

Estelle arrived downstairs to the sight of two best friends shoveling coal in perfect synchronization.

"That was a cheap way to win, Yuri," Flynn complained.

"Hey, " Yuri got defensive, " It's not my fault that you're easily distracted."

Estelle cleared her throat, "Gentlemen, " they turned and looked at her, "Your Quarrell is cute, but I have a few questions for Flynn."

"Sure, ok." Yuri agreed.

"Of course, Estellise," Flynn said formally.

"Call me, Estelle." She said firmly.

"Yes, ma'am." Flynn bowed his head slightly.

"First off," She looked at Flynn, "Do you not approve My relationship with Rita?"

"No, no, I thoroughly approve, " Flynn got defensive.

"Judging by your expression, you don't, " Estelle frowned, "Is it because I'm with another girl? Or do you not like this particular girl?"

Flynn shook his head and sighed, "Estelle," He said, defeated, "I care for you like a sister, I can tell Yuri feels the same way... I have no problem with it being a girl, and I like Rita..."

The princess grew impatient, "Then what is it?"

"I'm uncomfortable with you dating anyone." He told her, "I just couldn't picture you with anyone else, but I'm sure I will grow accustomed to it."

"Sheesh, " Yuri said, "You can't shelter her in reality, so you shelter her in your mind."

"I suppose so..."

"Can I assume that you aren't down here just to discuss your love life?" Yuri asked.

Estelle nodded, "I am here to ask Flynn some questions about Raven."

Flynn stopped shoveling coal for a second, "What do you need to know?"

Estelle took a deep breath, "When he was... Schwann," all of them shuttered, "Did you know anything about his heart?"

Flynn shook his head, "It was something I didn't know about until I saw it on him as Raven, it seems he didn't want others to know."

"We think..." Estelle choked, "We think he wants to," She stopped herself from crying.

"Die..."

Flynn gasped, "Why? Is his heart causing him pain?"

Yuri chucked another load of coal on, now having to carry Flynn's share of the work. "In a way," he started, "He feels terrible that Löder is dying, and he gets to live."

Flynn touched his chin in deep thought, unaware that he had just smeared coal on himself.

"I see..." Flynn told her, even though he had no idea what to do with this information, "I do wish I could give you more information, but I knew very little about Schwann. I only knew that he was Alexei's most prized soldier and right-hand man."

"Alexei..." Estelle remembered.

Three pounds were heard from above, Patty's signal.

•••

Estelle, Yuri, and Flynn rushed to the top.

Patty hopped to the center of the deck. "We're out far enough, Ba'ul can pick us up now."

"Right, " Judith put her hand to her head to help her focus as she reached out to her Entelexia friend.

Ba'ul came and lifted them from the waters, flying them straight to the capital at a rapid speed.

Judith stretched and popped her ears, "We'll be there in a day, or so, everyone go out and make the best of it."

"I'm going to get a start on the steam-powered Blastia replacement!" Rita ran inside the room that was in the center of Patty's improved version of the ship.

"I'll keep her company..." Estelle dashed behind her.

Yuri rolled his eyes, "Those two, I swear."

Judith adjusted her top, "Well, I think it's sweet."

"Aye, " Patty nodded, "Their love for each other is like my love for the sea, and the sea's love for me."

"I-I think it's fantastic..." Karol stated, his mind wandering off.

Raven hushed him, "Oh, careful when you say that, Rita has a dog's ear when it comes to her little princess."

"How long do you think this will last?" Flynn asked the group.

Everyone looked at him, confused.

"How long will what last?" Yuri asked him, worried about his answer.

"This...Relationship." The blonde, soot-covered Commandant, scratched his head.

Repede whined as if he disapproved of Flynn's question.

Yuri frowned, "Why are you so pessimistic about this? I care for Estelle too, but I let her make her own decisions, allowing her to follow her path."

Flynn sighed, "I just do not see this working out. I am not ready to see Princess Estellise in that kind of misery, especially when she's running the Empire."

Raven frowned, "Is that what this is about?"

"Yeah," Karol said, "Is this just about the face of the Empire?"

"No..." Flynn was a lousy liar, which Yuri had picked up on in their 20 years of friendship.

"You are worried that the citizens of the empire won't approve of having an Empress that's in a relationship with another girl."

Flynn was caught off guard by Yuri's uncanny ability to read his body language, "The Empire is in a state of disarray, I just don't think it's the time to be introducing anything controversial."

"I disagree, " Judith weighed in, "I think this is the perfect time to normalize this behavior, the world has undergone many severe changes, this should pale in comparison."

Flynn touched his chin in deep thought, "Perhaps you're right, the wisdom of the Krytians amazes me."

Judith bowed her head, "Right... Krytians..."

Patty looked out in the distance, and a small airborne figure could be seen.

Repede's ears shot up, followed by his quick dash to Patty's side, staring into the distance as well.

"Guys," Patty said nervously, "I'm sorry to break up this discussion, but I think I see something in the air."

"What is it?" Raven asked.

Judith communicated with Ba'ul.

"He says it's a flying ship, with humans on board."

Everyone assumed a state of cat-like readiness.

"That's not possible!" Karl shouted nervously, holding his oversized sword in his hands.

"Whatever it is, it's coming right for us!" Patty shouted.

Rita sat inside, writing her fifth page of Blastia math down while her newfound love sat silently and watched.

"Patty's technology is fantastic! This could open a whole new door for the world." Rita was awestruck.

"Really?" Estelle asked, reading her papers carefully, "But isn't that the symbol for Aer?"

Rita sighed, "Yes, a minuscule amount, but it's still there."

Estelle hugged her from behind, "Well, if it's possible to make a Blastia that doesn't require Aer, I know you'll be the one to figure it out."

Rita smiled, "Thank you..."

A massive blow to the ship caused them both to fall to the side of the room. Books, papers, weapons, and pillows jolted toward the west side of the room.

The couple regained their balance and looked at each other in panic.

"What the hell was that?" Rita asked, panicking.

Estelle grabbed her sword and shield, "I'm not sure. Stay here, please."

Rita grabbed her scarf, "No way! This isn't going to be like last time!"

They sped out the door. The ship had leveled itself out, but the site they were greeted with would leave the party dumbstruck.

A flying ship, a technology that was supposed to be years away, had crashed into the side of their own.

Nearly two dozen mercenaries boarded the ship, wielding a variety of weapons.

Yuri and Flynn took the lead, clashing blades with as many as they could.

Judith harnessed her agility, hopping to the top of the room they were on and impaling one of the mercenaries straight through the heart.

Raven lead two of them away unintentionally. The two strong, sword-wielding maniacs advanced on him.

A mercenary lunged at Karol, his blade narrowly missing the young warrior's face, who narrowly avoided instant death. Karol responded with a perfectly executed attack that managed to take out two of them in a single blow.

Yuri brawled with two of them. They pushed him up at the very edge of the ship, where they both pressed their swords against his, pushing his body halfway off the side of the boat.

The wind called his name. The air surrounding him drowned out the sound of the battle in the background.

In one mighty push, he broke the clash, then simultaneously kicked one back while tossing the other one off of the side of the ship. He then finished off the other in one stroke of his blade.

Patty was narrowly dodging blades, doing her best to stay alive, and wait for an opening. She took a gamble, sliding between the legs of her opponent and planting her knife into his back.

The man cried out and ripped the blade out of his side. Patty grabbed his leg, pushed him to the ground, and then finished him off with her opponent's sword.

Raven backed up to the hull of the ship and drew his bow, firing upon the further warrior, who dodged the arrow.

One of them got close enough to attack. Raven blocked with his sword and jammed an arrow in his side, downing him.

The other swung his blade, managing to make a slight cut on his cheek.

"Well, then." He taunted his opponent.

The mercenary swung one again; this time, the war veteran grabbed his hands. They battled strength to strength for control over the blade.

Raven swiftly kicked him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Then, in one move, he drove his blade into his chest.

Estelle blocked a hit with her shield, following with a counterattack that would narrowly miss, but the battle was going in her favor. Another mercenary was behind her, and the Princess was entirely unaware of his presence.

Rita watched him raise his blade. She acted on instinct to save her love, flinging her sash at his sword, catching it in the middle of the swing that would've likely taken the life of the child of the full moon.

The mercenary struggled against her sash, but Rita planted herself in a firm stance, not letting his blade move at all.

She grunted, her arms burning from fighting this burly man, "Come on, you bastard!"

Estelle managed to find an opening and drove her blade through her current opponent while Rita was still occupied.

The threads on her sash began to give, "No! Estelle!" she shouted.

Estelle turned and saw what was happening. The man saw that he was finished as she raised her blade to deliver a final blow.

Slash

"Thank you, Rita!" Estelle shouted As she ran back into the fight.

Judith impaled another guard, letting out a warrior's cry. She picked one the lighter warriors up and tossed him off of the side of the ship.

Yuri and Flynn were backed in a corner, pinned down.

Karol was struggling to keep several of them away.

Judith acted swiftly, "Everyone grab on to something!" She ordered.

She communicated with Ba'ul, who then tilted the ship, over half of the remaining mercenaries fell.

Raven lost his balance and fell from one side of the ship to the other. His body dragged along the floor of the boat as he tried to grab on to something.

"Raven!" Karol shouted, being the first to see.

Repede emerged from the lower area of the ship, where he'd been fighting, and rushed to assist Raven.

Repede grabbed him by the shirt and dug his claws into the side of the ship as it stabilized again.

Only four mercenaries remained; they all now had weapons pointed at them.

"If I were you, I'd lay down your weapons," Yuri told them sternly.

"We don't want to hurt you, but we will," Patty told them.

The Mercenaries looked at each other, Flynn placed handcuffs on each of them, tightly securing them to the ship's sail.

"You four will be taken back to the capital, where you will stand trial." Flynn formally told them.

None of them had spoken.

Flynn raised an eyebrow, "Although, I could have your sentence significantly reduced if you tell us why you're here."

The four exchanged glances. Fear was in their eyes.

Flynn spoke once again, growing impatient, "You attempted to assassinate the soon to be Empress and the Commandant of the knight. You'll certainly get the death penalty."

One finally spoke, "You will find that there are some things far more frightening than death. Execute us if you must."

Repede growled at them, threatening them with his sharp teeth. They did not react.

"There is nothing you could do to us that would make us talk," Another one spoke.

Flynn sighed, "I guess we'll see when we get back to the capital."

Yuri sighed and looked around, "Is everyone alright?"

They all nodded.

"We need to find out how they got this technology, the only place it exists is on our ship." Rita said firmly, "This is far more advanced than our ship, no offense Patty."

Patty sighed and looked down as if something was on her mind.

Suddenly, the sound of sparks could be heard, and they were coming from Raven's heart.

He looked down at it, and Rita ran in for a closer examination. A massive cut across his chest had drawn a bit of blood and had torn a hole in his fragile Blastia Heart.

The party starred at his heart, unsure of what to do.

Raven looked down and then back up at Rita with wide, shocked eyes.

"Well, then," Raven said, right before he collapsed to the floor of the ship.

"No!" Yuri shouted as he ran to break his fall.

Rita ran her hand over the Blastia, getting a mild shock from his heart.

"It's in terrible shape. He needs a doctor, and he needs it now."

"Ba'ul, fly as fast as you can!" Judith shouted as her eyes welled with tears.

Rita's tears began soaking the barely conscious old man's chest.

"Damn it, keep those eyes open!" Yuri shouted at him.

"Flynn, help me move him to the bed."

Flynn grasped his legs, and Yuri carried his torso.

Patty, with tears streaming down her face, ran to grab the door.

They put a soft pillow under his head, making him as comfortable as possible.

"Repede, watch the prisoners, " Flynn ordered him.

Release barked in agreement.

Raven smiled, trying to speak.

"Don't close your eyes! You're not finished yet. You're not allowed to die!" Yuri yelled at him, trying not to cry.

Ba'ul was flying faster than ever, making everyone sick to their stomachs, but that could also be because of Raven's status.

Rita slipped on gloves and grabbed a piece of nearby metal, moving it into his chest.

"This should act as a bandaid for his heart and buy us some time. His body and the Blastia have lost the connection to each other."

"Don't worry, Raven." Judith reassured him, "We'll have you staring at my chest in no time."