Estelle smiled as she awoke from her nap; it had been forever since she slept in her own room.
She reached over to grab her love, but as she felt around, she was no longer there.
She opened her eyes and looked, an empty bed, except for a note. She grabbed it.
Estelle, I am going to work with Doctor Akutō on the Blastia. I will meet up with you this evening. I love you.
-Rita
Estelle sighed our of disappointment.
"I miss you..." She said to the note, despite nobody being able to hear her.
•••
Yuri awoke in his room in the lower quarter to the sound of a formal knock.
He groaned and sat up.
"That's gotta be Flynn..." He said to himself.
"Yuri, " The very formal commandant spoke, "We need to talk about Estelle."
Yuri walked and opened the door, "I'm glad you've started saying Estelle instead of, " He mocked him, "Lady Estellise."
Flynn chuckled, mildly agitated.
"Her becoming Empress..." He said.
"What?" Yuri asked him, "You don't think she can handle it?"
"I'm sure she could, She'll make a fine Empress." Flynn told him.
"Then, you have an issue with Rita?" Yuri asked.
"No. I think she and Estelle fit together perfectly." He assured him.
Yuri frowned, "Then what's the problem?"
"Do you think she's ready, mentally?" Flynn asked.
Yuri relaxed, "You're concerned about her as a person?"
"I always have been. I need to make sure there aren't any workarounds to her becoming Empress, " The Commandant, fully uniformed, was worried about Estelle.
Yuri though for a moment, "There is a way... But it's very outlandish."
"What is it?" Flynn asked desperately, "Anything for Estellise- I mean Estelle."
"Dein Nomos..." Yuri said while finding his belt and sword.
Flynn's face turned pale, "Dein Nomos... The sword that's proof of imperial succession?"
Yuri nodded.
"But that's, " Flynn stuttered, "That's not possible. The sword has been missing forever."
Yuri shook his head, "I held it in my hand a few weeks ago, it was actually in this room, " He told him as if it was no big deal.
"Yuri, that sword could be Estelle's ticket out of here, where is it?" Flynn asked him, Stubbornly refusing to back down.
"You know that wound on your right arm that's almost finished healing?" Yuri asked.
"Yes. I got it from the powerful hit that I got from Duke's Mystic Arte, " He replied.
"You got that from Dein Nomos, " Yuri told him.
Flynn gasped and grabbed his shoulder, feeling the bruise that was leftover, "Duke...?"
Yuri nodded, "Find him, and you find the sword."
Flynn closed his eyes, beginning to get a headache.
"We'll never find him, " Flynn began to give up, "He disappeared after Tarquaron, there are a million places he could be."
Yuri grabbed his sword and stepped out of his room.
"Then let's start narrowing it down."
Flynn's eyes filled with hope and determination, the two linked hands as a sign of the bond they had since childhood.
They smiled at each other and headed down to the lower quarter and toward the town's exit to the middle quarter.
"Will Judith be ok with helping?" Flynn asked him.
"I'm sure she will be, " Yuri told him, "Let's try and keep this a secret from Estelle for now."
"Just me, you, Repede, and Judith?" Flynn asked.
"Maybe Patty or Karol would want to tag along, but Rita has her research with the fanboy, and Raven is too weak."
"Right, " Flynn nodded as they scaled the many stairs.
•••
Patty, Judith, Karol, Repede, and Raven all sat in a circle in the infirmary. They had been moved to a lower priority room.
"I guess you guys will be stuck with me a little longer, huh?" Raven asked them.
The rest of them smiled.
Judith, who was now back in her regular armor, chuckled, "I told you I'd have you staring at my chest in no time."
"I'm sure that was the only thing that kept you going, Old man, " Karol mocked.
Raven ruffled Karol's hair.
"Hey!"
"Kid, " Raven said, "You're alright."
Repede barked at him softly.
"Hey, pooch, " Raven looked, "It appears you've dropped some weight. I'm impressed!"
"Aye, " Patty said, "Yuri won't let me give him any more of my special treats."
Repede Whined
"Patty darling, " Raven told her, "This dog looks like you could squeeze him and butter would come out."
Repede barked at his rude comment
"Oh my, " Judith said, "He doesn't like that."
Repede ran over to the hospital door. His heightened senses head footsteps.
Yuri and Flynn walked through the door.
"Oh good, " Yuri said, "Estelle isn't here."
"Why's that good?" Raven asked.
"We need some help, " Flynn said.
"What for?" Judith asked.
"To find Duke."
"What?!" Patty exclaimed.
Yuri and Flynn began to explain the situation.
•••
Estelle quietly walked down the hallway of the science building, which seemed to echo ferociously at every step.
She pressed her ear up against the door. She could hear Rita and the Doctor speaking passionately about something they both enjoyed.
She could make out their muffled words.
"If we add some compression to the device here," Rita said, "Then it should harden the core without using any Aer."
"What about the overall Aer usage?" Akutō asked.
"That's where..." Rita sighed, "We hit a brick wall..."
"Why is that?" The doctor asked her.
Rita sat down, defeated, "Due to the fundamentals of thermodynamics, the Blastia can't be used without Aer..."
The Doctor adjusted his glasses, "But the amount of Aer is so minuscule, we're so close."
"That's as close as anyone will ever get..." Rita said, defeated.
Estelle's heart broke at the sound of Rita's defeat.
"She is so close..." She whispered to herself.
Estelle had a sudden realization, "The Spirits..." she whispered.
She sat down and closed her eyes, the sound of her love and the Doctor began to fade out.
She assumed a crisscross position, her back perfectly straight, and her hands placed symmetrically together.
She entered the blissful state, the black void. The four elemental spirits came to greet her.
Efreet, Sylph, Undine, and Gnome. Fire, Wind, Water, Earth.
"Child of the full moon, you summoned us?" Efreet asked.
"Yes, "she told the red spirit, "I would like to talk to you about a new form of Blastia."
"Blastia culture has been eliminated, and should remain that way, " Undine told her.
"With all due respect, the Hermes Blastia brought the Adephagos, " Estelle told them.
"They merely sped it up, " said Sylph, "It was inevitable anyway."
"Here's the thing, " Estelle told them, "My friend, Rita, has discovered a new Synthetic Blastia replacement that requires very little Aer."
"A little Aer is still Aer, " Gnome told her.
"If the spirits could handle the Adephagos, shouldn't they be able to handle the trickle of Aer that would be sent by this type of Blastia?" Estelle pleaded her case.
"Hm, " Efreet said in deep thought, "Child of the Full Moon, these are dangerous things, and you have asked much of us in the past."
"I know..." Estelle said, "But you wanted what's best for this world, and this may be the best way to improve the lives of billions."
Undine turned to Efreet, "I believe this matter is at least worth looking in to."
Efreet sighed and looked at the others, asking for their opinions.
"I think we should commune and reach a decision, " Sylph told him.
"I agree, the Child of the Full Moon has proven herself to be pure of heart, she wouldn't ask us for anything that wasn't in the best interest of our Terca Lumieres, " Gnome weighed in.
"Very well..." Efreet told her, "We will come to a decision soon, summon us tonight."
Estelle brought herself back to the physical realm, gasping for air.
Rita shot up and ran to the door, opening it to find Estelle on the ground.
"Estelle!" She shouted. She ran over to help her up.
"Are you ok?" Rita asked.
"Yes..." Estelle replied, "I may have a solution for you..."
Rita looked confused, "For what?"
"The Spirits..." Estelle said, still breathing heavily.
Rita's eyes widened, "Of Course!" She shouted, "The Spirits should be able to absorb the minuscule amount of Aer that irradiates from these type Blastia! You're a genius, Estelle!"
Estelle turned pink, "Well I don't know about-"
Her words were cut short by a passionate kiss planted on her lips.
The Doctor stood there awkwardly, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Now, all we have to do is make the machine, " Rita said after breaking the kiss.
"Let's get some supplies from your ship, " The Doctor said.
•••
Karol, Raven, Judith, Patty, and Repede stood in silence, trying to absorb the information given to them by Yuri and Flynn.
"So, " Raven was the first to speak, "Assuming we do find Duke, how do we know he'd give up the sword?"
"He will..." Patty said, "Maybe not willingly..."
"Without his power, he's no match for us," Karol weighed in.
"Now hang on," Yuri told them, "Duke is a reasonable man, I'm sure he'd hand it over after we explained the situation."
"I think we should get started, we need to have it before Estelle's coronation," Flynn said firmly.
"Where do we start?" Judith asked.
"Well, the world's a big place," Karol said, "Maybe we can make it smaller?"
"Right," Yuri said.
"Let's make a list of where he could be," Raven said.
"Well we first met him at Deidon Hold..." Yuri said.
Karol wrote down Deidon Hold in his notebook.
"He couldn't be anywhere that you would have to fly to get to, " Judith added.
"What about the Aspio ruins?" Patty asked.
"No, " Yuri said, "He doesn't want to be at the scene of his most significant defeat."
Raven snapped his fingers, "I know where he could be!"
"Where?" Flynn asked.
"He loves Aer Krene, right?" Raven asked.
"Of course!" Yuri said.
"Keiv Moc!" Karol exclaimed, "He loves nature, wants to hide, and that's where he helped us that one time!"
"Then to Keiv Moc we go, " Flynn stated.
"Judy, " Yuri looked at her, "Will you come with us?"
Judith grabbed her spear, "Of course, I'd like to see if Ba'ul found that ship as well."
"Anyone else?" Yuri asked.
Repede barked, signaling he was in.
"I'm in, " Said a weak Raven.
"No, you're not, " Yuri told him.
"Ah, man..." Raven winced.
"I am going to stay with Raven, " Karol told them, "You guys can handle Duke."
Patty shook her head, "I can't go. Rita and Estelle may need my input on the new Blastia."
"Well, then it's just us four then, " Yuri said.
"Let's go then, " Flynn said as they exited the building.
•••
"Doctor..." Rita said.
"Yes?" Akutō asked.
"This technology..." She started nervously, "It's ancient, and it used to be used to raise an army of the dead."
Akutō nodded, "I am aware, but do not worry about that. A feat that incredible would require a tremendous amount of power."
"I am set to commune with the spirits tonight, " Estelle told them.
"They'll answer, then?" Rita asked.
"Yes, " Estelle told her, "I think we will get a positive response."
The Doctor adjusted his glasses, "These spirits..." he said awkwardly, "You can communicate with them?"
Estelle nodded, "They live within me."
"Fascinating..." He said, staring at her as if she were a sophisticated algorithm.
They heard Ba'ul's take off cry.
"Well I guess there goes our supplies, then." Rita said.
"Let's go to the infirmary and see if anyone else is still here, " Estelle said.
•••
"Patty, " Karol asked, "This technology..."
Patty frowned, "What about it?"
"It's going to benefit our world. There's no need to worry about anything. It's not your fault," He comforted.
"We just need to catch the crazy person who's summoning the dead before he can figure out how to do anything drastic, " Patty told him.
"Would you kids take this outside?" Raven requested, "I'm going to take a little nap."
Patty rolled her eyes and made her way out the door.
The door shut behind them, Patty stared into the sky.
"It seems as if we can never catch a break, " She told him.
"It hasn't been that long since we were fighting Duke, my wounds aren't even fully healed yet, " Karol responded.
"We'll catch him..." She said calmly.
"Catch who..?" Karol asked.
"The bastard using my technology to raise an army of corpses, " Patty was calm and collected, incredibly menacing, she pulled out her knife, "I will use this knife, and gut him."
Karol began to swear slightly, "Patty, isn't that a little premature? Are you ok?"
Patty nodded.
Rita, Estelle, and the Doctor came through the door to find them.
"Oh, Good, Patty, " said Estelle.
"We need you to help to build a modified version of the ship's engine, " Rita told her.
"Aye, " she told them, "This, I can do."
"Where can we find the stuff?" Karol asked.
"By the orphanage, " Estelle said, "There's a woodshop there that should have everything we need."
"Excellent, let's head there then, " Akutō told them.
•••
"Well, here we are," Yuri said after entering the forest.
"Just be careful of flying monsters, wouldn't want you to get hurt," Judith said smugly.
Flynn rolled his eyes, "I can handle myself. Let's just head to the Krene."
Yuri looked around, "I guess I'll lead the way, we take the same path as last time."
Judith held her spear ready as they climbed the massive vine. There was an unusual lack of monsters.
"It's too quiet..." Flynn said.
"I think this is a good thing, " Judith said.
Repede barked in concurrence.
Flynn held his sword close but attached his shield to his back. "Because we're safe? Probably."
"That's not what she meant, " Yuri said, " She just thinks that someone else is here killing them."
Repede growled softly. His hair shot up.
"Everyone quiet, " Yuri told them, "We're near the Aer Krene."
They hunkered down together, Repede stood guard.
"The Krene..." Judith said, "It's relaxed."
"I've never seen Aer so..." Flynn stared, "Peaceful."
Yuri shook his head, "Duke has to be here."
Flynn stood up, "No, he doesn't. We should move to the next place."
"Well, Someone's here, " Yuri told him, "We're going to wait for them to show up.
•••
"So, this is an orphanage?" asked, "I usually picture them as dark and gloomy, but this place is a mansion."
Estelle nodded, "They received a rather large and anonymous function recently, allowing them to take in more children."
"That's all well and good, but we're here for materials," Rita Rationalized. "Every second we waste is another second that could've been used building this Blastia replacement."
A familiar set of twins exited the orphanage...
Estelle was the first to notice, "Is that..."
Rita glared, "We don't have time for that, let's get the supplies."
"No," Estelle said, "I want to talk to them."
"Estelle, No," Rita told her.
"What?" Estelle asked, "I can take care of myself, and they're orphans at a different orphanage, I'm curious. You don't need me until tonight anyway."
Rita sighed, "Patty, will you stay with her?"
Patty handed Rita a note, "Here's a list of the brands I used, best to stick with them. It's a bit pricy but it'll last longer."
"Thank you, ma'am," Doctor Akutō expressed his gratitude.
The young Mage and the young Doctor ran into the supply store.
Estelle took a deep breath and walked toward the twins, "Hello!" She smiled politely.
"Ah!" Gauche shouted, her red hair snapped as her head turned, she assumed an on-guard stance.
Patty stood idly by, ready for a fight if necessary.
"What do you want?" Droite asked, frustrated.
"I came to say hi," Estelle told them, "Not to fight."
The sisters looked at each other and let their guards down.
Estelle smiled, "So I take it you two are the anonymous donators?"
The twins sighed. "Yes..." Gauche told her, "You found us out, happy?"
Estelle smiled, "You're good people. You just don't want anyone to know it."
Droite frowned, "Do us a favor and keep this a secret, ok?"
"Yeah," Gauche said, "Leviathan's Claw is barely holding together, they need strong leaders."
Patty perked up, "Leviathan's Claw? You two?"
"Duh!" Droite said.
"After you viciously murdered our previous leader, " Gauche continued, "Someone had to take control of the guild."
Estelle made a sad puppy face out of guilt, "I suppose you're right..."
"Yeah, " Droite said, "Now if you don't mind..."
"...We'll be taking our leave from here, " Gauche finished.
"I see..." Estelle looked down in shame as the twins ran off.
Patty walked to Estelle and placed a hand on her lower back to comfort, "We had no choice, he needed to go."
"I know..." Estelle replied, near tears.
"Let's go to the new Middle Quarter and see if we can find a vacant building for me to set up a third one, " Patty told her.
Estelle smiled through teary eyes, "I'd like that."
"Hurray!" Patty said, enthusiastically, "Let's go!"
•••
Yuri, Flynn, and Judith continued to stare at the Aer Krene, waiting for something or someone to appear.
Flynn sighed, "We're wasting precious time here." He sat up, "Judith, call Ba'ul, please."
Yuri grabbed his arm, "Shut up. Something's happening."
The tall, white-haired figure appeared, staring at the Aer Krene.
"Duke..." Flynn whispered.
"I'll go first, " Yuri told them as he got up, gripping his sword in his hand.
Duke clutched Dein Nomos in his hand, his entire world views were wrong, the world truly changed. He had aligned himself with the Entelexia. He could never return to humanity.
He started at the peaceful Aer Krene, "Balanced... Without the sacrifice of human life..." He said to himself.
"Duke, " Yuri grabbed his attention.
Duke sighed, "What brings you to this peaceful land?"
"Dein Nomos..." Flynn said.
Duke looked down at the blade in his hand, "It is useless. Without the tower or a Blastia to power it, it is simply another sword."
"No," Judith said, "It is proof of imperial succession."
Duke sighed, "So you wish to return it so that humans can fight over the right to rule over millions of people?"
Flynn sighed, "Well, yes, but it sounds bad when you put it like that."
Yuri looked at Flynn, "Maybe it is terrible."
"You'd rather have Estelle be forced into becoming Empress?" Flynn asked.
Duke finally turned to look at them, "The Child of the Full Moon?"
"Yes," Yuri told him, "She's being forced. She doesn't want to be Empress."
"Shame," Duke said, "She would've made a great Empress, so full of heart and love for our world."
"Yeah, well, she doesn't want to, so we aren't going to make her, " Judith said firmly.
Duke looked at Dein Nomos, "I don't think it would be wise to hand over this sword to you, knowing that it would be used for this purpose."
The party had their weapons ready, Repede even silently drew his knife.
"That won't be necessary, " Said Duke, "I was proven wrong by you many times, so I now trust your judgment over my own."
Duke tossed the blade to the ground by Yuri's feet, "I am once again handing you this blade, this time for good. Choose your ruler wisely."
Yuri picked up the blade, "Thank you. You won't regret this."
The party began to walk away.
"Wait, " Duke said.
They turned to look at him.
"Let the Child of the Full Moon choose."
•••
In a dimly lit hallway, a muscular figure pulls out a device and activates it.
A hologram of a hooded figure appears.
"My lord, " Says the man to the hooded figure.
"Your adversaries are spread out, " He said to his cloaked superior, "I believe now to be the best time to strike."
"Excellent, " The hooded figure said, his voice distorted, "Strike now, with the might of the army that was delivered into your hands by him."
"Yes sir, just promise me you'll hold up your end of the deal."
"Oh, you'll get your payment, " The hooded figure told him, "You foolish young Knight, so long as they are all taken care of, "
"By your command, Sir."
The muscular man shut off the communication device and grabbed a reasonably large weapon.
