The sound of Cannonballs radiated through the sea as if the whole world could hear the battle.

Aifreed stood upon her ship, "Men! If you care for your comrades, you will set them free!"

The sound of a thousand solutes echoed, "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Captain..." Aifreed's stout lieutenant spoke to her, "The Reaper's Cross has been located in the center of the undead vessels."

"Perfect," Aifreed told him, placing her hand on his soldier. "Seipher," She said, "For all two decades of my life you have been served loyally by my side."

Seipher chuckled, "Well, I couldn't serve you while you were still in diapers."

Aifreed smiled, "I am eternally grateful."

"What do we do with the cross when we get our hands on it?" Seipher asked her.

"We destroy it," Aifreed said, "We have learned from this technology that there are no second chances at life."

"But Captain, this is different. The texts suggest that the cross allows a new body that retains consciousness. Living, not dead."

Aifreed frowned at him, "The texts must be wrong. Our use of the army of the undead was wrong. Now we must right the wrongs that have transpired here."

"Yes, sir," Seipher saluted, "We will ensure that the dead stay dead."

Aifreed drew her pistols and hopped aboard a ship of the undead, ripping them to shreds.

The sound of cannonballs was now accompanied by small arms fire and swords clashing as Aifreed's fleet finally came close enough to board each other.

Seipher fought alongside his captain, following her and clearing ship after ship.

"I believe the leader is from the weapons guild, she always wanted to form an army," Seipher told her.

"Perhaps, what is the name of the captain?" Aifreed slashed through another undead warrior, who vanished in the wind.

"I believe her name is Pataxon, but she likes to be called Patty."

Aifreed pointed the undead ship's canon toward another ship and fired it, watching it sink.

"Patty... Such a sweet name for such an evil person..."

"Oh?" Seipher smiled as he hopped to the next ship, "I didn't know you liked names."

"Ah," Aifreed told him, "I don't, usually. My mother's name was Patty, so it is a name that is sweet to the ear."

Patty awoke once again in a cold sweat, the clunk of the ship landing on the top of tower jerked them all awake.

"God, this feels like a nightmare that will never end..." Karol whispered.

"Stay calm, we have handled worse," Judith whispered back.

"If only we had Blastia..." Rita said out loud.

"I am so sorry, everyone," Flynn said, "This is all my fault."

"Shut up," Yuri told him, "There will be plenty of time to whine and blame yourself after we tie him, the twins, and whoever they're working for up with these very same chains."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" said Raven.

Dorik and the twins left the ship, and muffled chatter could be heard.

"Looks like they're meeting with the bad guy..." Yuri spoke louder now that they were alone.

"How did the twins get ahold of those Blastia, anyway?" Estelle asked.

"You're the smartest in the world when it comes to Blastia, Rita," Patty said.

"I suppose so," Rita replied.

"So the only people who should be able to replicate the Blastia are the ones that saw you create it... right?" Estelle asked.

"But Dorik was the only person who saw you create one, right," Flynn said.

Rita gasped. "No... he wasn't..."

Four sets of footsteps stepped back onto the ship.

The Loli twins, Dorik, and Doctor Akuto all together.

"You scumbag!" Rita shouted, "You stole my work!"

Doctor Akuto examined each of them.

The rest of the party simply stared the ones whose faces weren't pressed against the ship's floor, anyway.

"Miss Mordio, you fulfilled your duty to this world..."

"Sir, I have done as you asked," Dorik spoke to him firmly, "You now stand unopposed, keep your end of the deal."

"Of course," Akuto spoke and waved his hand at a nearby knight, who opened a cage.

Out of the cage ran a small child, who couldn't be older than four or five.

The little girl ran straight to Dorik, who leaned down with open arms.

"Papa..." The little girl screamed as she ran into the comfort of the burly Captain's arms.

"It's ok now..." Dorik whispered to her, "I've got you..."

The twins watched in sympathy, and the party of nine had a multitude of mixed emotions that they were working through.

Dorik held his daughter close, her face buried in his chest. He turned to the twins, "Thank you for your service... I couldn't have done it without you... I don't know how to thank you..."

The twins wiped away tears.

"All we ask is that you take good care of her," Gauche told him.

"The orphanage, and we will provide any other assistance you may need," Droite finished.

"You two have been too kind..." Dorik told them, tears in his eyes, "Your organization gave me the gift of parenthood... and you two helped me maintain it."

"Touching, indeed." Akuto said, "But the moment is upon us!"

"You cured me..." Raven said, "Why?"

"Because I simply needed your trust," The doctor told him.

"I really only needed Rita alive..." Akutō monologued, "She's simply a genius, and I genuinely admire her."

"Wow," Rita scoffed, "I'm so flattered."

"Dorik," Akutō spoke, "You have permission to leave in peace now, but I warn you not to interfere in my affairs anymore."

Dorik clutched his daughter closely, "Thank you, sir."

Dorik pushed the party onto the roof of the tower and stepped aboard the ship, "I'm sorry..." He whispered to them.

"Why? All of this?" Yuri asked.

"Why?" Akutō repeated his question, "Because I am dissatisfied with the way the world works. Growing up in the lower quarter was hell for me, and my talents didn't help at all."

"You're a Noble because of your talents!" Estelle shouted.

"Because my talents were useful to someone higher up!" Akutō shouted, ferociously, "The highly acclaimed commandant, Alexei, noticed my talents and harnessed them!"

"Alexei..." Flynn whispered, "Even dead... he still haunts us..."

Akutō took his glasses off and crushed them, "The man promised my family that they'd never work again!" Akutō ripped off his lab coat with his sword, dramatically.

"They were tortured! He used the doctor beneath the sewers to chain my parents up and harm them until I did everything he asked!" Akutō cut himself deeply by accident.

He held his deep wrist wound and used his Blastia to heal it.

"It doesn't bother you that you've become exactly like him?!" Rita shouted.

"I take that as a compliment..." Akutō told her, "Alexei was a genius!"

The doctor began dawning a set of brilliant, golden armor.

"During my time, I idolized you all... I read about you... I followed your adventures... I even studied your combat styles and worked to perfect them myself..."

Akutō slipped a formal robe around his armor.

"I thought you would change things... and you certainly tried to... but you failed because you were weak!"

Akutō brought up the controls to the tower, "Amazing... just 30 minutes until it's finally up... it's way ahead of schedule! Excellent work, Mordio."

"You tortured Estelle to make me do it! That isn't fair!" Rita shouted.

"It isn't. But war isn't about what's fair. War is about doing what is necessary to ensure a complete victory."

Akutō looked at his sword, "Sometimes violence, blackmail, and unapproved methods are the only way to get things done."

"You can't possibly think that torturing innocents and kidnapping a toddler is justified?" Yuri asked.

"Ragou and Cumore..." Akutō muttered, "You murdered them in cold blood..."

"Because they weren't innocent!" Estelle shouted.

"And you... Princess..." Akutō stared at her, "You impaled the underground doctor. He was defenseless and helpless."

"I-..." Estelle stuttered, unable to finish her sentence.

"Oh, Estelle..." Rita sighed, "I'm so sorry..."

"The only problem with Alexei..." Akutō stared off into the ocean, "Is that he was arrogant, and his army wasn't big enough."

Repede growled slightly.

"That's where Aifreed comes in..." Akutō smiled maliciously.

Her father of the same name created a technology to take the place of Blastia... and his daughter, the infamous Aifreed, used it to conquer."

Patty shuttered out of guilt.

"She was a genius..." Akutō said, "But she abandoned it all for her morals..."

"You're insane!" Judith shouted.

Akutō stepped over to her and looked down, "I bet people said the same thing about you destroying Bastia... but you kept doing it because you knew it was right, even if everyone else didn't understand."

Akutō snapped his fingers. A few undead warriors dragged their bodies down a set of stairs, leaving them on the floor below.

Akutō looked at them from above, "Now, I am off to Zaude to create even more power and summon the largest army in the history of the world!"

Akutō cackled, "With the army at my command, I will create order throughout the lands!"

Akutō began shutting the door to the lower level.

"Also, this is the Aer vent, so once this tower starts up, it'll fill up, and you'll... yeah, you get the idea."

"Hey!" Rita shouted.

Akutō slammed the door, trapping them inside, and then left on a flying ship toward Zaude.

"Ugh! That Jerk!" Rita shouted.

"Why does he need Zaude if he already has the tower?" Raven asked.

"Because then, his army will be unimaginably large..." Judith said.

"About twenty times as large as Aifreed's was..." Rita closed her eyes in frustration.

"This is awful..." Karol said quietly.

"There's gotta be a way out of here..." Yuri said, in deep thought.

"These chains are unlike anything I've ever seen..." Flynn said, "It's as if they're made of an unbreakable Metal..."

Karol wriggled, trying to get free, "If I could get an arm free, I could try to pick this lock..."

"It's no use..." Patty said, "I'm so sorry, everyone..."

Repede whined.

"Patty, this isn't your fault," Estelle told her.

"I shouldn't have brought this technology back..." The blonde pirate started crying.

"Patty..." Yuri whispered, "We'll get out of here, and we'll kill that bastard."

"I like your determination, boss, " Raven turned himself over on his back.

•••

Hisca and Chastel entered Aurnion, rushing as fast as they could around the town and searching for Sodia.

They heard obnoxious shouting coming from the training gym and rushed over as quickly as possible.

"Improper stances lead to improper combat!" Sodia shouted to her knights, "You can't just swing your sword wildly until it hits something!"

"I'm sorry, captain..." The Knight said.

"Sodia!" Hisca and Chastel hollered in unison.

"I'll be with you in a minute!" Sodia shouted back.

"Flynn is in trouble!" Hisca yelled.

"Flynn and his friends," Chastel told her.

Sodia stared at them, "Where?!"

"The tower of gears," Hisca said.

"We need you to assemble a naval fleet and send all available ground troops to the tower of gears near Dahngrest!" Chastel shouted intensively.

"What's the threat?" Sodia asked, "Is it that big?"

"We can explain on the way," Hisca said, "But for now, we can fly you to the capital so you can start giving orders."

"No," Sodia told them, "Take me to the tower first."

•••

The gears in the room roared to life, and excess Aer began filling the tight room.

"Well, I guess that means we've run out of time..." Raven said.

"How long?" Karol asked.

"About five minutes plus however long you can hold your breath..." Rita replied.

The Aer turned from green to yellow in the span of a minute.

"I'm sorry, everyone..." Rita told them, "I let my emotions get too involved... and now we're doomed..."

"Rita..." Estelle said, "Nobody blames you..."

"I do..." Rita replied.

The Aer turned a bright red, and they began to feel the draining effects on them.

Suddenly, the door to the roof opened, and the excess Aer dissipated.

"Nurse!" Two voices said in synchronization.

The angelic glow of the mystical figures sprinkled healing particles everywhere.

Standing in the doorway were their adversaries and their saviors, the Loli Twins, Gauche and Droite.

"You?" Rita asked, weakly.

"I knew you'd come..." Raven said, smiling.

The twins began removing the chains from the party.

"You've gotta be quick if you're gonna catch him!" Droite shouted.

"We can lend you our ship if you need it," Gauche told them.

"But...why?" Flynn asked them.

"We don't want to live under an undead regime!" Droite said.

"Then why help Dorik in the first place?" Karol asked.

"We knew about his daughter. He adopted her from our tiny little orphanage when everyone else didn't because she was too old..." Droite told them.

"That scumbag, Akutō!" Patty shouted.

"He weaponized pain and misery!" Karol shouted.

"Just like Alexei did..." Flynn said.

"We can't just chase him down... we need a strategy..." Rita said.

"We need Blastia..." Estelle commented.

"Have you talked to the spirits?" Rita asked her.

"They aren't changing their minds. But we don't need their permission," Estelle replied.

"Then let's use the ship and fly down to the bottom, thankfully they have a massive crate full of materials for me to use to make us all Blastia," Rita cracked her knuckles.

"We can't lend you Leviathan's Claw..." Droite told them.

"But you have our support," Gauche finished.

"Let's go, then!" Judith shouted.

The party and the Loli Twins flew to the bottom of the tower, where Rita immediately hopped off and started up the Blastia creator.

"Someone get me coal!" Rita shouted, bringing up the formula on the creator.

"I need lots and lots of coal to make this go faster!" Rita shouted.

"Girls!" She turned to the twins, "Use your Artes on the machine. It'll make it go faster!"

The twins synchronized, two red rings formed around them, and the machine sped up.

"Dump the metal!" Rita brought up the holographic Blastia keyboard and began typing.

Yuri, Flynn, and Judith aggressively shoveled coal into the machine's massive base while the other party members pushed the box of metal toward the boiling water on the floor below.

"Push harder!" Karol shouted, pressing his back into the box.

"I'm pushing as hard as I can!" Estelle grunted.

Woof!

"Man," Raven sighed, "This isn't good for my heart."

"Aye, quit complaining, you'll get a new one soon!" Patty shouted at him.

They shoved the box of rare metal into the vat of boiling water. It began to melt instantly.

Rita swiped her fingers and began making shapes on the holographic device. The metal began to take the forms of custom-designed Blastia.

"Rita..." Estelle watched one awe, "That's amazing and inspiring."

Rita stared at the glass, "Finally..."

"Stop the coal and casting," Rita ordered.

The Loli twins released their rings and stared at the red hot Blastia, which were slowly cooling.

•••

Ba'ul descended to the bottom of the tower, where there was intense glowing.

Sodia, Hisca, and Chastel believed they were on a rescue mission, oblivious to the fact that the preparations for the final battle were being made.

•••

"They're ready!" Rita shouted, her eyes welled with tears of joy.

Rita grabbed hers from the force cooled water and attached it to her wrist.

She spun her sash in circular motions, the red ring of flame circled her as she turned her sash and created the orange cage around her.

"Fireball!"

Roaring out the door and off into the distance was Rita's first use of the new Blastia.

"Yes!" She shouted victoriously.

The rest of the party applied their Blastia to their wrists.

"I've never worn a wrist Blastia before..." Flynn said, "It feels so strange."

"Beggars can't be choosers," Rita rolled her eyes.

"Demon Fang!" Flynn shouted the ray of light sped through the air.

"Wow..." Flynn said.

"Variable Trigger!" Patty yelled, "It's so much easier not having to load it."

"Dawn Moon!"

"Dragon Upper!"

"Delight Roll!"

"Woof!"

"And this..." Rita said, turning to Raven, "This is for you."

Rita handed Raven a brand new Blastia Heart, perfectly crafted.

Raven looked at it and smiled, "Thank you..."

Raven painfully removed his old heart, which was struggling, and shoved the new one in.

"Ack!" Raven shouted and coughed.

He stood up, and his eyes twinkled, "The pain... it's gone..."

Raven attached his wrist Blastia and dawned his bow, "Let's go!"

Sodia, Hisca, and Chastel ran through the open doors of the tower, meeting the party and the twins.

"Sodia!" Flynn shouted, surprised.

"Flynn!" Sodia shouted back, "You're ok!" She sighed, relieved.

"Yeah, we've had worse," Yuri told her.

"We have presents," Rita said.

Rita held out three Bhodi Blastia.

"How...?" Sodia asked her, taking the Blastia in her hand.

"I'm a genius, remember?" Rita replied.

Hisca and Chastel each took one of the remaining Blastia.

"Thank you very much," Chastel told her.

They attached them to their wrists.

"They're perfectly crafted..." Hisca complimented.

"Sodia, Hisca, Chastel..." Flynn ordered them, "Assemble the fleet and meet us at Zaude, get everyone you can."

"But shouldn't I-" Sodia was interrupted by Flynn.

"No. I need you three leading the fleet," Flynn told them, "Hisca, Chastel, you two are officially promoted to captains, and you can lead my brigade while I'm away."

Hisca and Chastel looked at each other.

"Are you sure...?" Chastel asked.

"Don't you think you should lead it yourself?" Sodia asked.

"I trust you three," Flynn replied, "I'm more comfortable in combat."

"You can take our ship back to the capital," Gauche said.

"Just don't scratch it!" Droite shouted firmly.

"Got it," Sodia said, her and the Knight twins ran outside to the ship.

"You can drop me and Raven off at Dahngrest so we can assemble Altosk," Karol said.

"Drop me off at Keiv Moc..." Yuri said.

"Yuri..." Raven said, "It ain't gonna work."

"You never know..." Yuri took a Blastia and put it in his pocket.

"I'll return Dein Nomos as well," Yuri told him.

"Ok then," Judith said, "I just hope you'll be with us for the final battle."

"Oh, I'll definitely find my way there somehow," Yuri winked at her.

"Alright, everyone, to Dahngrest, Keiv Moc, Zaphias, and then the front lines!" Patty shouted.

"We can do this!" Karol hollered inspirationally.