Me: And here's Chapter/Part 38! And yet again I have to apologize, I would've gotten this out on Sunday (today's Tuesday) but wouldn't let me upload! (Though those who are on dA already know this if you've read my journal).

Feral: Well you've got this chapter uploaded so you really shouldn't be worrying about it anymore.

Me: …Yeah I guess. I also noticed that, for the last chapter, the number of words could be said both ways and it'd still be the same (121121)

Feral: …and what does that have to do with anything?

Me: It was just some interesting info! Yeesh…

To Understand: Part Thirty-eight

Meeting the Darkness II

By Harmony283

Reviews:

DraNKa-Eh-heh-heh yeah it's a late update (seven days here) but I couldn't really do much with the internet connection an' all (I'm not all that Computer smart so I'd probably just make it worse if I tried to fix it - -;). And yes I am alive so do not worry. As for what's going on in Genis' head, well, you'll actually find out in this chapter! And yes, Lloyd and everyone else with him are in trouble. Will they be okay? Or will they not be okay?

Takokinoko-Ah yeah, Mitosu and Pronyma really do have good timing don't they? And yeah, Mithos only gets away with Genis. Also, Lloyd and everyone else shouldn't really have that much of a problem, and besides, if Pronyma and Mitosu got Genis--then something ten times as worse could have happened. And yes, Exire is their destination. I hope I don't have anymore Internet problems either - -; it's a real pain. But anyways, here's the next chapter--enjoy!

Alaia Skyhawk-Ah yes, how are Lloyd and the others going to get Presea and April back? Hmm, I wonder…well, as always thanks for the review and here's the next chapter--enjoy!

Hiranieas-Ah well, yes it was kinda mean for Genis to just up and leave everyone else (either he had a LOT of faith in them—which hopefully he did—or he just didn't care - -;). But yeah, if Pronyma got a hold of Genis things would've been a whole lot worse than they were. And yes Pronyma hasn't died yet, but she will! I said she will so she will! –nods head-now then, I'm glad you liked the chapter and here's the next one—enjoy!

Liebchen-chan-Wow…so many compliments in one review! -hugs-I'm really glad you like the fanfic--and yeah, reading it in one sitting can be a bit much. But yeah, I'm glad you like the plot--and don't worry, there will be fluff when they reach Exire. Also thank you so much for thinking that my fanfic is good enough to be put on your favorites list! Anyways, here's the next chapter--enjoy!

LittleLinor-sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter (especially since I said it'd be up on Sunday)! But yeah, here it is. And yes, it was short mostly on part because, like I said on the last chapter, I wasn't feeling too creative. But yeah, I'm glad you decided to review for TU here as well! -hugs- And don't worry, Genis actually does wake up in this chapter! (I keep thinking I've already uploaded this chapter since I'm working on Part 39) Now then, here's the next chapter--enjoy:D

Feral: So this is the continuation of the fight that you showed at the end of the last chapter, right?

Me: Right. And like April said at the end of the last chapter, I kinda changed it a bit (I originally had it where Pronyma used the Mana chains as a last resort but now she's using them in the beginning).

Feral: Hmm, I wonder how that'll work out. I mean, Raine is too weak to help so that leaves Kratos, Colette, and possibly Zelos to help out with the light based magic attacks.

Me: Yup that's basically it.

Feral: Ah, okay, so I'll do the disclaimer now: Harmony283 doesn't own ToS or any of its characters, Namco does. She does however, own the plot, April, any other OC's and me.

Authors Note: Okay then, now everyone knows Genis has been 'asleep' since Mithos found him, so what's going on inside of his head and is he really okay? Also will April and Presea be okay? And how will Lloyd and Co beat this Pronyma/Mitosu combo?

Feral: Yeah…I wonder. And don't I show up in this chapter as well?

Me: You might, or you might not.

Feral: Now you're being indecisive…

Me: No one ever said that that was a bad thing…

Feral: But it is…

Me: Whatever.

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Genis' POV

"Nng…" I sat up, shaking my head from side to side, wondering what on earth had just happened.

Then I heard a ticking sound, like a clock, followed by a dripping sound.

"Wha--?"

'Oh! You're finally awake. I was getting worried.' Feral stated from her chair next to the bed I was in.

Wait…bed? How could I be in a bed?

"Uh Feral?"

she just blinked at me, her silver eyes--which now seemed to be blue--giving me a blank questioning look, 'Yes?'

"Where are we?"

'In the Mirror room.'

"But this--"

'Yes, it doesn't look much like it did last time, but I'm thankful for the change. Only a few moments ago this place was underwater in a cave.' She shuddered, 'It was horrible and it smelt like fish.'

"Uh…but how can this place change…?"

'I think either Pronyma did something to it, or it's the after math of being exposed to a large amount of mana. After all, Derris Kharlan is on a big comet made out of Mana.'

"That's true…but how did I get from Neo to…here?"

Feral sighed and shook her head, 'You mean you don't remember?'

I grimaced, "Did I get mad again?"

'Even if you did, and even if you lost your memory of that, well, you would still remember. Besides, you couldn't've hurt Neo anyway.'

"Wha--?"

'It's just like how she couldn't hurt you because you weren't born yet.'

"So…?"

'…It's because you did not exist then that you couldn't hurt her even if you tried. That's why your movement was restrained.'

"And Mithos' wasn't because he's over 4000 years old?"

'That's how old he is?' Now Ferals tone was curious.

"Y-Yeah…he is."

'My, when I met him he didn't look that much older than you!'

"What do you mean 'when you I met him'? The only time you've actually seen him is through me…right?"

'Well yes and no. Yes I can usually see him through you, but since I'm not in your head currently I couldn't and I wanted to meet him personally. Unfortunately when I teleported him away from Neo--like I did you--I was still in the underwater cave.'

"Really now? So do you know where we are now?"

'I'm assuming the home you were born in.'

"And how do you know what it looks like?"

'I've been in it once before, to retrieve something for your father. But that was a long time ago…'

"Well it obviously had to be if my mom didn't know about you."

'Well she never did, and I suppose even if she did, she would have forgotten.' Feral murmured, as if she wasn't too sure of her answer. She then looked back at me, concern now present in her usually unreadable face, 'But that's besides the point. Can you stand?'

I blinked, "Uh, I don't know…"

'Well then, why don't you try? Because I'm pretty sure that if you can stand, then you can call out your wings and get out of here--or 'wake up'.' She then smirked, 'Besides, I think Mithos has gotten in enough trouble from having you on his lap.'

"What…?"

'It doesn't matter now, but you should wake up soon.'

I nodded my head, knowing that she was right about that, and most likely about Mithos carrying me. I knew that Raine probably found us first, and if she did then Mithos would've had a difficult time explaining why I had been sitting on his lap the whole time.

I flushed as the reason why I had been in his lap came to mind. Or rather, what he…did.

'What's wrong? Your face is flushed…? Ooh! Did you do something with Mithos…?' her tone was curious, but taunting at the same time.

I shot out of the bed and glared at her, my cheeks steadily getting redder at the light tone she was using, "And so what if we did?"

'You're standing.'

"Huh?"

'You're standing.'

I looked down, and sure enough--I was. I sighed in relief, "That's good, now I can get out of here."

'True, but are you strong enough to call out your wings?'

"What do you mean?"

'I mean, well, you were extremely weak when you got here--almost all of your mana had been drained from your body.' Feral then paused, as if contemplating what to say next, 'But now…you seem fine. Mithos must have found your sister or someone else to heal you…you could try.'

"And I plan to. I wanna know what's happening!"

'Though that might not be the best solution…just remember, get that Mirror piece away from Pronyma.'

"And…? Oh yeah, cuz you're in that mirror piece aren't you?"

Feral nodded her head ,"Yes and I can't get out--or contact you--unless it's in your possession or in the actual mirror it came from.'

"I…see. Okay then, at least I'll have something to do when I wake up."

'True. Now I won't be seeing you for a while…' She trailed off, floating over to me. She then smiled, 'You have Mithos' Cruxis Crystal?'

"Eh? Oh…yeah I should have it…" I rummaged through my pockets, searching for the read Cruxis Crystal…

…But I couldn't find it.

'You don't have it do you?'

"N-no I don't…Mithos is going to get mad at me for loosing it!"

'No he won't.'

I gave Feral a questioning look, "What?"

'He most likely has it with him. Either he took it from you while you were sleeping, or it got teleported with him when I called for him.'

Well that kind of made sense.

"So I guess he'll have it when I wake up so…I should get going now shouldn't I?"

Feral nodded her head, 'Yes you should. I can't…sense Pronyma anywhere near me, so she obviously has put me somewhere safe for the time being, so now you have to find that place.'

"Okay then. I'm guessing we're still in the Tower of Salvation or whatever, so…"

'Just go.'

"Fine, fine, yeesh." I grumbled turning away from the silver haired girl next to me, and towards the ceiling.

I then closed my eyes, remembering what my wings felt, and looked, like. And, soon after, I felt the familiar stinging pain in my back as they burst through.

I looked faintly back at them and smiled. They weren't red anymore. They were blue.

'Well at least you can do that much…now you remember what to do right?'

"Right, I'll imagine wherever Mithos is…and I'll go there!"

And I did--the familiar falling sensation engulfed me once more.

And then the blackness…

I gasped out loud and felt Mithos…

"Genis!"

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Mithos' POV

I stared down at the half-elven boy in my arms, slightly shocked as I heard him trying to gasp for air, as if breathing was the hardest thing he had done in a while.

I stopped moving, and maneuvered so that I was sitting down on a ledge. I then promptly waited for Genis' breathing to get back to normal. I studied him during this time, watching as his eyes, which had been seriously dilated, go back to normal. And his face, which had been unnaturally pale, flush back with the color of the living.

"M…Mithos…?" He asked weakly, grasping onto my shirtfront as if I was his anchor to this world. He looked so weak then, and tired.

"Yes Genis?"

"Where…?"

"We're still in Derris Kharlan." I answered, which seemed to surprise him.

"Not…Venheim?"

"No, we aren't in Venheim anymore. And you should be glad too."

He gave me a questioning look.

"Pronyma's back."

His eyes widened.

"Don't worry, your friends…are going up against her now." I closed my eyes, "But Mitosu…Mitosu's there as well."

Genis' eyes just widened even more, "Wha--! Raine--" he tried to get up, but quickly stopped, wincing in pain.

"Raine…I don't know if she'll be okay, but I'm sure your friends wouldn't let any harm come to her." My eyes softened, Genis still looked…so distressed. I needed to think of something to say for him to calm down, "Besides, I have faith that they will beat her--and then Mitosu--so you have to have faith too."

Genis did seem to relax after that, but he still seemed worried. He then looked up at me, his eyes showing confusion, "You're…Cruxis…Crystal?"

"What?"

"I…don't…Feral said you had…it."

"Feral?"

Genis nodded his head sleepily, looking about ready to just collapse in my arms from exhaustion.

"I…see. So she really wasn't lying."

"No…she wasn't. She doesn't lie. But…she said she met you and that you had the Cruxis Crystal."

"Well if she doesn't lie then I'm assuming that yes, I do have it. But first," I leaned down, kissing him gently on the forehead, "You come first."

Genis blushed at this, though he nuzzled closer, trying to find a comfortable position to, as he showed a few seconds later, sleep in.

I smiled as he began to doze, and ran my fingers through his silver locks of hair, emitting another soft purr from the depths of his throat.

----------------------------

Lloyds POV

We all watched helplessly as Presea and April were dragged farther up into the air, and finally, somewhere up high to the point where we couldn't see them anymore, we heard screaming.

And then the chains came back down with no signs of the two ever being in their grasp.

"Dammit! We have to…we have to get them back!" I cried out, gripping my swords so tightly that I could've sworn I'd break them in half.

"Lloyd calm down. It will do you no good to get angry now."

"I know that dammit!"

"The old man--I mean Kratos--is right," Zelos stated, walking up to the left of me, "I think we'd have a better chance of getting somewhere if we killed off Pronyma first--or at least made her faint."

Well that made sense but…

"What Zelos says is true." Raine said, staggering up from her position on the floor, "Besides, you aren't the only one angered by this…" she then turned her gaze up to the chain that had had April in its grasp, her grip on her staff tightening as she did so.

"I…know that. But how do we get close to Pronyma with those chains…?"

"We'll block it with Judgement, and then you, as well as Kratos and anyone else, can run in." Zelos offered, grinning at me reassuringly.

"You know Judgement?"

Zelos sweatdropped, "Well you could say that it just comes with the package…" he noticed my confused stare, "…of being an Angel, I mean."

"Oh."

"That's true. Even Yuan knows that, which reminds me--he should be here."

"He should?"

"Yes. Though I can understand why he left, since he controls the transportation system between the two worlds, but he should have arrived her by now."

"Well if he says he's going to come, then we might as well fight them off until he does come." Regal stated, also joining in our little group talk.

"Okay then!" I punched the air with my fist, "Anyone who can cast light spells attack the chain, and Sheena you can cast Luna too--but since it takes up a lot of Mana you might wanna wait on that."

Sheena merely nodded her head.

I turned to Raine, "And you'll be in charge of healing since you aren't fully healed enough to do any serious battling."

"Yes…I understand."

Right as she said that, a chain came crashing down next to us.

"Are you done talking?" Pronyma asked, sounding annoyed.

"Yeah we are, now everyone you know what to do!"

They nodded their heads, and then moved to their positions.

Zelos, Kratos, and Colette murmured their individual spells for Judgement, and soon many rays of light cascaded down onto the battle field, some hitting Pronyma, the chains, and even Mitosu--who seemed to just be watching this fight and not participating in it at all.

Pronyma collapsed onto the ground, but quickly got up again, glaring at us.

And that's when Regal Sheena, Kratos, and I ran forward, swords--and in Sheena's case, cards--drawn.

Of course Pronyma wasn't completely helpless, she cast her own spells as well--which included Beast Agerasium, Spread, and Ice Tornado--to which Raine and Zelos quickly healed us.

Then the chains came back to life and Kratos quickly teleported back to where Zelos and Colette were, readying yet another attack while Regal continued to kick Pronyma, trying to get her off balance, and I just dodged the oncoming chains.

That is, until, I felt one of these said chains wrapping around my left leg.

Crap!

Zelos, who ironically enough seemed to be the fastest spell caster at the moment, saw this first and cried out, "Judgement!" Ahead of the two others.

This of course, landed a direct hit, causing the chain to near distentagrate around my leg.

But the strangest thing was…

It didn't regenerate.

"What…?"

Zelos also seemed surprised by this, rushing over to me as the two other powerful Judgement attacks released their wrath on the unsuspecting Pronyma.

"How…?"

"Are you okay Lloyd?" Kratos asked, blocking us from a Beast attack.

"Yeah I'm fine…but she only has eight chains left!"

"Maybe the chains need to be destroyed while touching someone!" Zelos cried out, seeming happy at his new discovery.

"That may be the case…but right now we need to--Ghh!" Kratos was thrown into the air as a Spread attack came out from underneath him.

"Uh, yeah, he's right." I said as I watched Kratos land a few feet off before rushing back in to attack Pronyma.

We followed shortly after, whacking at her defenses until the chains rose once more.

Well this certainly was going to take a while.

And in this while I hoped that Mithos had somehow gotten Genis out of Derris Kharlan and back to the Tower of Salvation.

But where would they go after that?

I shook my head, clearing them of these thoughts as I delivered what I hoped would be the final blow.

Causing Pronyma to fall on the ground in a dead faint.

Or at least close to a faint.

"Oww…how could this happen?" she whispered to herself, glaring up at us, holding her stomach as the various wounds on her arms and legs bled.

"I don't know Pronyma, but you should stand aside." Mitosu stated, finally realizing that he should participate.

I glared at him, "Oh and now you're deciding to join in the fight?"

"Well yes I am. Do you have anything left to say before you die?" He asked, smirking at us.

I just glared at him, "Shouldn't it be do you have anything to say before you die?"

"Oh aren't you the confident one?" his smirk only widened. And then he laughed, "Well come to think of it, I do have something to say--but it does not mean I think I'm going to die."

"And what would that be?" Kratos asked, coming to stand right next to me.

"That is, to say," he paused, his eyes narrowing, "I hope you like Meeting the Darkness!"

And then the room went black.

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Me: And there's the end of Chapter/Part 38!

Feral: Yes it seems that way…but where did April and Presea go?

Me: You'll figure that out in the next chapter.

Feral: And also, when are Genis and Mithos going to leave Derris Kharlan?

Me: You'll figure that out in the next chapter too! Just be patient!

Feral: Fine, fine, I guess I will be. And at least you're getting this chapter out on time.

Me: Yeah, the Internet doesn't seem to be acting up at all anymore so yeah, it's all good. Which reminds me, R&R! I love reviews and they make me want to update faster! Raa!