Gee, I really miss the reviews. Oh well…

RiviPSP update: I'm a bit into Chapter 5 at Mireno now. Not much to comment, other than that Rose's voice sounds a bit better now, for some reason. Oh yeah, and it was actually quite hard to get the second bathing scene, because you have to mash the button 2-3 times per second at least (it's harder than it sounds). If anyone's stuck there (I mean on the giant golem… if you're stuck on the first golem, you might as well give up now), I'll give you a tip: instead of pressing the button up and down, put the PSP sideways and on some surface. Put your index finger just below the button and slide it back and forth over the button between just above the button and just below it. If you can slide really fast, you can actually press the button about 10 more times than you can by twitching your thumb pressing the button, because each back and forth motion presses the button twice instead of just once with your thumb's up and down motion.

Anyway, here is the 25th chapter of The White Wings! It feels pretty good to have come this far. I wonder how long I should make this story?

--

"Fighting a dragon?" Soala exclaimed. "Me?"

"That's right," Cierra confirmed. "There's no one else who can!"

"B-but, I'm not very competent! I'm still an apprentice!" Soala protested. "You expect me to be able to defeat a dragon?"

"Hey, if you didn't realize, that dragon came from the staff you made," Serene said. "You should at least take responsibility for that."

"I know, but still—"

"Soala can use magic! That's all that matters!" Lina added.

"Come on, you've been using magic for years," Cierra put in. "You were an apprentice two years ago, but that's a long time. Have some more confidence in yourself!"

"Waahhh!" Soala cried, her eyes swirling. "I-I can't! I'm not a hero like Ein, who's strong enough to shoulder the weight of the fate of the world! I can't play with the fate of the world like this! I—"

Soala was cut short by Cierra, who suddenly and unexpectedly moved forward to embrace her tightly. Soala's eyes grew wide in surprise. Serene raised an eyebrow, and then turned her head slightly to the side. Lina hopped up and down, watching intently, as Cierra stroked Soala's hair.

"Soala…" Cierra whispered, her eyes closed, still embracing her. "Do you realize that if you don't try, we will lose for sure? That there's no one else who can do this? That only you can do this with me?" She emphasized the last line.

"Cierra…" Soala's eyes closed slowly, then tightly, squeezing out a teardrop from each eye. She hugged Cierra back. "I-I know, but…"

"I have faith in you," Cierra reassured her. "Besides, who said we're going to be determining the fate of the world? It's just a test of our magic power. I know you can do this, Soala."

The two stood in silent embrace for a full minute. Serene glanced towards them, then quickly turned away again. Lina watched the two intently, as if she were trying to learn something. Serene noticed this and tugged her arm lightly, pulling her gently away from the two.

"Geez, Lina, what are you trying to do?" Serene scolded in a soft voice, trying not to disturb the atmosphere. "Let those two be!"

"But Lina wants to watch them!" Lina argued, also keeping her voice slightly low, but not as low as Serene's. "Lina thought they seem different from us!"

Surprised at the strange answer, Serene looked back at the two. They do seem different, somehow… she thought. "But they're in a private moment," Serene explained. "You shouldn't watch so closely. Do you like it when other people watch us when we hug?"

"Lina doesn't mind." Lina blushed, toying with her pigtails again. "Lots of people know we're together anyways!"

Serene blushed deeper than Lina. "Um, I guess, but that's not really the point."

"Lina doesn't get it…" Lina pouted.

"Oh, just forget it," Serene gave up. "It's just that other people might not like it when you watch them closely."

"Okay!" Lina smiled cheerfully. "They don't seem like that kind of people, though!"

"Huh?" Serene turned her head back to look at the two again. "How can you tell—oh…" Serene's face turned even redder at the sight of the two. Soala had buried her face in Cierra's chest, apparently crying, while Cierra was still stroking the back of her head with a gentle smile on her face. "Hey, Cierra, you do realize we're here, right…?" Her voice trailed off when Cierra put a finger to her lips.

"It's our little secret." Cierra winked. "So, Soala, what do you think?"

Soala pulled her head out of Cierra's chest slowly and wiped her eyes. She looked up into Cierra's soft eyes and blushed slightly. She could almost hear her heart pounding away. She blushed slightly and looked down, still in Cierra's embrace. Suddenly, without warning, she sprung up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to Cierra's. Cierra's eyes widened for a second, and then closed slowly as she accepted the sudden kiss. Serene muffled a gasp and turned her head away, blushing madly. Lina glanced back and forth between Serene and the two witches in confusion.

Soala quickly pulled away after a few seconds, tomato red. "I-I'm sorry, Cierra, I don't know what came over me. I—" She was stopped short as Cierra put the pad of her index finger on Soala's lips.

"It's okay, Soala," Cierra reassured her. "I understand."

Tears welled up in Soala's eyes again, but this time she was smiling. "Thank you, Cierra…"

"They say gender has nothing to do with love." Cierra grinned. Serene turned her head back to the two, and Cierra winked at her, making her blush yet again. "But let's talk about this later. There's a dragon out there waiting for us. Will you fight with me?"

Soala's eyes met Cierra's, and for a moment, Soala could see a glint of determination in her eyes. She looked down again and wiped her tears away, and then turned her head back up confidently, still in a loose embrace with Cierra. "Yes."

---

Ein made his way into the living room of what was now his house to find Fia sleeping peacefully. He tiptoed his way to her and sat down near her head and caressed it gently. He looked around the room, seemingly in search of something. He got up and started towards a cabinet, but a tug on his shirt stopped him.

"Ein?" Fia said, sitting up slowly. "I thought you were training."

Ein turned to her with his gentle smile. "Yeah, I was, but something came up. I guess you were awake since I came in, right? Where do we keep our potions again?"

Fia looked startled. "Um, I guess so. Why do you need a potion? Is someone hurt?" She quickly headed for a cabinet off to the side of the room.

"No, but it's quite a long story. Why don't you come with me this time, and I'll explain on the way?"

Fia nodded. "Is a potion with just a couple more uses remaining all right?"

"Um, try to find one with as many drinks remaining as possible," Ein said after a moment of thought. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

Fia almost fainted again, but steadied herself. "Now I'm really worried. Okay, here's a new one I haven't used since making it, so it still has 15 uses."

"Okay, that's perfect," Ein agreed. "Well, we better get going then. I'm going to fly, so hang on to me, all right?"

Fia climbed onto Ein's back and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm ready."

"Mmmgghh!" Ein cried. "F-Fia…" His voice was very strained. "Y-you're choking m-me!"

Fia looked where her arms were to realize that she had wrapped them tightly around Ein's neck. "Oops, sorry." She giggled sheepishly and loosened her grip. "Is that okay now?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ein grinned slightly to himself. "Hang on tight to the potion now!" He made his way to the door and took off, knowing CoCo would be back home later.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Fia asked after a few seconds in the air. "Why do you need so much potion?"

"Well, it's like this…" Ein filled her in on the events of the afternoon. "…So now, we're heading back to the Crystal Caverns to pick up Cierra and hopefully Soala," he finished.

"Wow, sounds like it's been a long day," Fia remarked. "I hope CoCo will be able to cook a lot of food tonight, because we're all going to be very hungry."

Ein laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess." He began his descent once he found the entrance to the cave. He could see Rose and Ledah standing together outside. Serene, carrying Lina in her arms, appeared from the cave entrance. Moments later, Cierra emerged, extending a hand back into the darkness to pull out Soala. "Looks like Cierra managed to convince Soala to fight!" Ein exclaimed. "I wonder if I can carry three sprites?"

"What?" Fia exclaimed. "Ein, you have to carry them?"

"Of course." Ein chuckled. "You keep your exclusive spot up there, and I'll carry maybe one of the two and have Ledah carry the other, okay?"

Fia fidgeted. "That sounds alright, but can you handle that?"

"Don't worry, Fia," Ein reassured her. "These wings were made to handle heavier weight than Serene's are."

"That's true…"

Ein landed gently on the ground a few meters from the cave. He raised his eyebrow when he saw Cierra leading Soala to him hand in hand, but quickly straightened up. Fia released her grip on him and moved to stand beside Ein, holding the potion bottle.

"Fia?" Serene exclaimed. "Are you feeling better already?"

Fia pouted. "What do you mean, 'already'?" She held out the potion bottle. "Here, Cierra, this is for you. Ein filled me in on everything."

"Oh, thank you," Cierra smiled, taking the bottle with her free hand. "I'm so sorry for troubling you. So you believed his story when he told you there's a giant dragon that burst out of a staff that I just started using?"

"You have to admit, it sounds a bit crazy," Rose remarked. "But remember, you're the one who believed right away about the threat of the Accursed back in Nelde two years ago, Cierra."

Cierra grinned sheepishly. "I guess so."

Fia giggled. "Don't worry, I trust Ein," she reassured her. "Do you have all your magic equipment, you two?"

"Um, let's see here… got that and that and that…" Soala counted off as she looked over the equipment in her bag. "Yup, looks like we're all set."

"Are you the equipment girl or something?" Ledah remarked. "Well whatever. Let's get going."

"So um, who's going with who?" Soala asked nervously. Her hand tightened around Cierra's.

"Well, who's the heavier one?" Ein asked casually. "I can probably handle more weight… why are you all staring at me?" He looked around at the angry faces. "Um, did I say something bad again?"

Rose sighed. "Ein, you have much to learn about a girl's sensitivity to her weight."

"Um, oops." Ein laughed nervously. "Well, anyway, we should get going."

"Soala, why don't you choose? It doesn't really matter to me," Cierra said. "Although, I think Ein will probably give you a more comfortable position."

"Uh, Ein?" Fia gave Ein a sideways glance. "What exactly is she talking about?"

"I actually have no idea," Ein answered. "Well, if it matters, I was the one who carried Cierra back here, but…"

"That's right!" Cierra smiled cheerfully. "Besides, he was the only one not carrying someone."

Fia looked around at the others. "Oh, I see." Her face flushed slightly. "I'm sorry, Ein."

"Don't mention it. But come on, we should be going soon!" Ein pressed.

"Okay, I'll go with Master Ein," Soala agreed finally, blushing slightly as she walked over to him. "Take good care of me, okay?"

"No problem." Ein smiled. "Fia, climb on, all right?"

Fia looked disappointed. "Okay, fine." Ein knelt down and Fia grabbed on behind him. I guess I'm not the princess…

"All good?" Ein asked. Fia nodded her head beside his. "Okay then. Soala, are you ready?" Soala nodded too. Ein walked over beside her and picked her up easily, making her blush slightly, then turned to Ledah.

"This feels kind of dangerous…" Cierra giggled nervously. "Are you sure?"

Ledah had put Rose on one shoulder and Cierra on the other. "Um, I guess this isn't going to work." He gave up and turned to Ein. "I guess we should do what Ein's doing."

"This is taking a while," Serene remarked. "Come on, just get on, Rose."

"The dragon's waiting!" Lina chirped in a singsong voice. "It's bad to keep strong enemies waiting, because they'll crush you when you get there!"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Rose grumbled, climbing onto Ledah's back and grabbing hold of his shoulders. "That means Cierra gets the nice spot."

"Does it matter?" Ledah asked matter-of-factly. "Really, we just need to all get there safely."

"Okay then," Cierra interrupted. "Let's go, Ledah!" Ledah placed an arm around Cierra's shoulders and let her drop a little bit, and then put his other arm under her legs and lifted her off the ground. "Gee, that feels a bit weird," Cierra said, giggling.

"Everything's okay here," Soala said. "Shall we get going?"

"That took a while," Serene complained. "Well, let's go then!" She quickly scooped up Lina and lifted off the ground.

"She's so impatient!" Soala wailed. "Oh well, let's go too, Master Ein." Ein nodded and lifted off. Fia's hands lost their grip, but she regained her balance after a second of struggling.

"Everything okay?" Ein asked, startled.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Fia replied. "Don't worry about me."

Ledah followed Ein from behind him. After a minute of silent flying, Soala turned her head to Ein. "Can I ask you something?"

Ein nodded. "What is it?"

"Well…" Soala fidgeted with her hands. "Do you… do you think of me as a supporting character? I feel as if I can't do much, and I'm not as strong as you are. I have so much to learn. Why does Cierra have so much faith in me?"

Ein thought for a second, and then smiled widely. "No, I don't think so. Nobody I know is a supporting character. We are all star characters in our own way."

Ein… Fia pulled herself up higher so that her chin could rest on Ein's shoulder. "That's right. Besides, you are the only star in the story of your life."

Soala turned her head away to look at the sky, which was glowing bright yellow-orange as the sun was beginning to set. "I guess that makes sense." She turned to face the two again. "Thanks, Ein, Fia. I think I might be able to have a bit more confidence in myself now."

Fia smiled. "You're welcome. And remember, a lot more people than you think are counting on you. Don't lose confidence in yourself, or it will let them down."

"We all think of you as a star on the team, just like everyone else," Ein added. "Don't think of yourself as anything less."

Tears came to Soala's eyes again, which rolled down her cheeks as she smiled. "I understand. I'm so glad to have such kind friends."

"We're almost there, Soala," Ein informed her.

"Is it that dragon over there?" Fia pointed at the looming orange figure in the distance.

Ein nodded. "That's right. Soala, get ready. We'll be nearby in case something happens, okay?"

Soala wiped away her tears, and a look of determination appeared on her face. "Yes."

The rest of the flight continued in silence. As they approached, Serene began her descent and Ein and Ledah followed. All three of them touched down a few meters away from the staff. Soala and Cierra were set down on their feet and walked toward each other. Soala reached in her bag and pulled out Cierra's most powerful staff, the Southern Cross, and handed it to her. She pulled out her own staff and a Book of Kirie at the ready.

"Let's leave the potion in here," Cierra suggested. "We'll pull it out to use when we need it."

Soala nodded. "Well, it looks like we're ready."

The dragon curled its way down towards Cierra and Soala. "So you are Cierra's battle partner, is that correct?" it asked Soala. Soala nodded.

Cierra, however, looked confused. "Did I tell you my name? I don't recall doing so…"

The dragon blinked. "Um, well, we dragons have exceptional hearing."

"So you could hear everything we said before?" Cierra pressed. "An eavesdropping dragon, hm?"

"Ah, n-no, it's not what you—" the dragon began.

"That could come in handy!" Cierra seemed to be plotting something.

"Er, yes, I suppose it does… hey, are we going to battle or not?" the dragon quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, yes, of course. We're ready." Cierra readied her staff. "We won't lose!"

The dragon wasted no time in summoning a small fireball and hurling it at Cierra, who ducked under her fireproof hat. The fireball quickly dissipated.

"Hey, that's cheating, you know!" the dragon complained.

"You never said no fireproof clothing," Cierra replied matter-of-factly. She readied her own attack and launched three fireballs in quick succession. The fireballs hit the dragon's head, but didn't seem to phase it. "Now that's more like cheating!" she cried. "Fire absorption?"

"No, I'm just highly resistant to it," the dragon replied.

Soala had been feeling around in her bag for the right staff and finally found what she was looking for. Quietly, she snuck around to the dragon's side, behind a tree, and readied an ice spell while Cierra kept the dragon busy.

Meanwhile, the dragon fired another, larger fireball at Cierra, who once again ducked behind her hat, but the fireball was intense enough to flow around the hat. Good thing I'm still resistant to fire, she thought as she fired off another round of triple fireballs. Suddenly, she realized Soala was missing and glanced around quickly.

Soala glanced around the tree to see Cierra frantically looking around. She quickly readied her staff and chanted the release spell. Several large ice crystals appeared and shot quickly towards the dragon's head. The crystals shattered as they hit, causing the dragon to reel backwards slightly. Soala glanced down at Cierra, who gave her a thumbs-up and a wink. She returned the thumbs-up gesture and made her way out from her hiding spot.

Cierra turned quickly back to the dragon and fired another salvo of fireballs, testing different spots on the dragon for a weakness. All the shots, however, seemed to create the same result. Soala readied another ice spell as she ran towards Cierra.

The dragon quickly recovered from the surprise attack and roared weakly. "And you call me a cheater?" it cried, forming a fireball easily three times the size of the previous one. The fireball launched towards Soala and seemed to home in on her as she approached Cierra. Seeing this, Cierra ran in between Soala and the fireball's path and stopped the fireball with her body. Startled, Soala lost her balance and fell to the ground, but still kept a firm grip on the staff.

"Are you okay?" Soala exclaimed, running to Cierra's side once the fireball dissipated. She reached into her bag to pull out the potion.

Cierra nodded weakly. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine once I take a drink of that." Soala handed Cierra the bottle, and Cierra took a mouthful and swallowed. "Ah, we owe Fia one."

Soala nodded and turned to fire the ice spell she was readying. The ice crystals slammed into the dragon's head again, causing it to reel back a bit more than before. "Do you think he's almost defeated yet?" she asked, turning back to Cierra.

Cierra glanced back at the dragon. "Maybe. Hey, that's the Book of Kirie, right?" She pointed at the book that Soala was holding. "Let me try a spell from that." She chanted the words on one of the pages, and let fly a shard of light, which slammed into the dragon's body. "It seems to have some effect," she remarked.

"Wait a second," Soala said. "I went through once and read the entire book. There are instructions for a combo attack by two people."

Cierra suppressed her laughter. "Um, what?"

"A combo attack." Soala looked at her and pouted. "I'm not joking, okay? I don't remember what page… where's the index…?"

"Looks like we might not have enough time," Cierra said, noticing the dragon's recovery. "You keep looking while I hold him off, okay?"

Soala nodded. "Hey, maybe you should use my ice staff," she suggested. "It's probably more effective than your fire staff."

Cierra thought for a second and nodded. "I suppose you're right." She picked up the staff Soala was using. "I haven't used this before, though…" She chanted the only ice spell she knew, causing snow crystals to blow into the dragon's face. "Um, Soala, some help here?"

"Oh, sorry!" Soala looked up from the book and recited the spell for Cierra. "Think you can remember it all?"

"I hope so… ah!" A fireball hit the ground just in front of Cierra. "Soala, please hurry."

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent… or something like that," the dragon chided, readying another fireball and quickly launching it. Cierra stood in front of Soala and resisted the attack, then took another swig of the potion.

"This thing is so useful, I swear," Cierra murmured quietly, holding the potion in front of her. She held up the staff and chanted the spell that Soala recited, but made an error in the last line. A powerful gust of wind blew from the wand towards the dragon with no effect. "Aww, I screwed up again!" Cierra cried.

Behind her, Soala had found the index and was flipping to the instructions page. She quickly located it and skimmed over the instructions. "Okay, got it." She flipped her way through the small section of combo attacks in search of an ice spell, but couldn't find one. "Cierra, this book only has holy spells!"

"Well, that is the Book of Kirie," Cierra replied. "Kirie used only holy magic, remember, I think."

"We're going to have to use what we have," Soala said. "Ooh, this one looks fun! Cierra, let's do this!"

Cierra gritted her teeth. "We need time first!" She tried the ice spell again, but left out an entire line. A small ice cube dropped out of the staff. In frustration, Cierra picked up the ice cube and threw it as hard as she could at the dragon. The ice cube embedded itself in the dragon's nostril, making it flail around in confusion. Cierra almost did a double-take as she viewed the most ridiculous attack to ever succeed.

"Cierra, come on!" Soala called. Cierra ran over to her side and dropped down to her knees. "See, you chant this part, and I chant this part," Soala explained, pointing at a few lines of text on each side of the page. "We have to be holding the same staff for this to work."

Cierra held up Soala's staff and looked it over. "Is this one going to work?"

"It meets the requirements, so it should be fine." Soala put her hand over Cierra's on the staff while holding the book in her other hand. Cierra blushed slightly as she grabbed onto the book with her free hand. "Ready, Cierra?"

"On three!" Cierra counted off while steadying the staff to aim straight at the dragon. "One, two, three!" Both of them started chanting off the spell. Once they finished, a giant ball of flame surrounded by icy blue aura ribbons appeared on the tip of the staff. On release, the ball shot forward, but the energy continued to stream out of the staff, creating a torrent of red and blue mingling together.

The dragon recovered and saw the giant beam of energy headed its way. "Crap," it muttered, quickly conjuring up its own flame. It breathed a giant stream of flame at the beam, but the beam overpowered the flame easily and knocked the dragon over in a flash of violet-red light.

Cierra and Soala ended the spell and began to make their way towards the dragon, which had collapsed below the Golden Rod. "Did… did we win?" Soala asked wearily.

The dragon raised its head slightly to meet the gaze of the two witches. "Ah, such power… I've never seen anything like it. The win is yours, Cierra and Soala." With that, the dragon's head fell back down on the ground.

Cierra panicked. "Um, Mr. Dragon, are you okay?" She kneeled down beside its head and reached out a hand.

"Are you crazy?" The dragon snapped, raising its head quickly. "Of course I'm fine! I'm just a bit exhausted."

Cierra breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. So does that mean you'll fight with us?"

"Your wish is my command," the dragon replied. "My power shall be yours. Make good use of it."

"That's good, isn't it?" Soala smiled. She walked over to stand beside Cierra and held her hand in her own. "You have a… new staff… to use, now…" Her voice trailed off and she collapsed on the ground.

Cierra quickly dropped to her knees to cradle Soala's head. "Wha-? Soala? Soala! Soala!!"

--

A/N: Woot, Cierra and Soala! The first romance scene turned out much better than I had expected. I must have really been in the mood for writing that XD

Hmm, I had actually intended on pairing Claude with either Cierra or Soala. I guess he's a lonely guy now… what should I do?

By the way, this is the funniest dragon I've ever heard of, hahaha XD

I need a setting recap. Okay, this is the third day of the story. The first was the day when Serene came to Fia and Lina's house to find Ein. The time at the end of this chapter is late afternoon/early evening, and the place is some training spot in the forest on the outskirts of Elendia. I think I have that all right… I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of time and place… It's funny. It feels like a lot of time has passed since Ein got his wings, but really, it happened just the previous day.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 26: Time to Rest… Again (Release on August 12, 2007)

After yet another eventful supper at Fia and Lina's house, everyone goes to sleep. Ein is haunted by a dream again, and learns of a surprise headed his way…