If only she could have moved. She might have been able to catch his hand, might have done something other than watch her only brother plummet to his death. But she couldn't move, couldn't take her eyes off the abyss below, couldn't bear to look if somehow, he might not have hit the deadly lava below. "ALTERNIS!"

Next to her, Konoe lay on the ground where she had fallen from his shove, eyes wide, body shaking. She, too, was frozen to the spot, unable to process what had just happened. Edea felt like she could've remained in that moment of horror for all eternity, but the sounds of shouts brought her back to the present, numbed over her feelings in the place of duty. They're in trouble. The assassin- No, she still laid where she had fallen, a hole in her chest from where Edea had pierced her. I didn't even get to show him the results of my training. The thought nearly crushed her, but the cries from the crystal chamber pushed her on. It might be the partner. I have to go.

But there was no one in the crystal chamber save the ones she had left in there. Einheria and Agnes were kneeling over Roanne, the latter with healing magic drawn to her hands. "Save your efforts," she heard Roanne gasp out. "It won't help."

"I won't let you die," Agnes sobbed, holding her hands out. "I don't want anyone else to die."

"I knew this would happen." Blood trickled from her lips. "I'm not as strong as I used to be, child… I'm just glad I lasted long enough to help you…."

"If you knew, then why didn't you let me do it myself?"

"The Fire Crystal is a wild thing, and you have no affinity." Roanne drew in a shaky breath. "Better that I die than you."

"Unacceptable!" Agnes poured her energy into Roanne, willing with every part of her to make her well. "I don't want anyone else to die!"

Roanne took Agnes's hands in her own, wrenching them away. "Then save your strength, fool. Save it for the countless number that are suffering, now that three of the four crystals are effectively dead. Save it for Brigh. If you want to save this world from ruin, you have to save everything you have for the Earth Vestal. Otherwise, you'll never be able to turn back what's already started of the Grand Ritual."

Agnes stared at her, and then let the white glow drop. Roenna smiled. "Good girl…." And then she closed her eyes.

The vestal slammed her open palm against the stone floor, tears running freely down her cheeks. "Once again… Why can't I save anyone?"

Einheria looked up, noticing Edea for the first time. "The assassin?" she asked, the tiredness in her voice echoing what Edea felt.

"Dead. So is… Egil." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she knew if she started, she'd never be able to stop. "Alternis… He's…."

The color left Einheria's face as she took Edea by the shoulders, giving her a shake. "He's what, Edea?"

Shuffling footsteps echoed from behind them. Konoe stood in the doorway, leaning heavily on the frame. Although there was blood on her face and legs, it seemed less that she was injured and more that she only barely had the will to walk. "Did you…." Edea began.

She shook her head slowly, wiping at her face. "Smoke…."

"Edea, what happened out there?" Einheria gave her another shake.

"Alternis, he… he fell. Into… the lava."

Einheria clapped a hand over her mouth, falling backwards into a sitting position. "No, it can't be…."

Numb, Edea looked around: Agnes, who was sobbing as if she'd break any moment, Einheria, who showed more shock than she'd ever seen on her face, and Konoe, who looked as if she wanted nothing more than to die herself. They were all breaking, falling apart, just like they nearly had on the day her mother had died.

It was big brother, she remembered dumbly, he was the one who told us what to do, who enabled us to move forward. But he wasn't here. I understand, big brother. I'll do it. "We need to leave," she said. "Once Agnes has put up the barrier around the crystal. We need to take Roanne and Egil back to town. Let's take them to the entrance and hail the townsfolk from there. It's after dawn, so they might've already noticed we were missing. Einheria, give me a hand." She knelt down, and Einheria wordlessly helped pull Roanne's body onto her shoulders. "Good. Go get Egil. Konoe, take the assassin's body. I don't want her blood staining the stone."

The girl jerked to attention, vanishing back into the central hallway. "Agnes, hurry up and put up the barrier," Edea instructed. Agnes jerked as well, but silently complied, hastily placing a thin barrier around the crystal. With that, Edea began to walk toward the temple's entrance, Agnes trailing behind like a lost puppy. On her back, the body of Roanne still felt warm. She could almost fool herself into thinking that the kind woman was still alive.

Einheria was already at the entrance, and it looked as if they'd already been noticed - a small airship was making their way over. The air was already noticeably cooler, Edea thought. Maybe, just maybe, Alternis might've survived. "Wind vestal, you did it!" she heard Zatz's voice from the airship.

His celebratory tone was almost painful to listen to. A ladder cascaded over the side, and Zatz crawled down partway, stopping as he saw their expressions. "Hey. What happened here?"

"There was an assassin," Edea said, gesturing to the body Konoe held. "We sealed the crystal, but…."

His face lost all color as he saw Egil and Roanne. "Oh, no. By the crystal… Bring me lower, Datz."

With his help, they got the three bodies onto the deck, then climbed up one at a time, the other girls needing his help to keep from falling off the ladder. "Wasn't there another one with you?" Zatz asked Edea, his tone gentle.

He was a nice guy. She felt like she couldn't internalize any nice feelings around her numbness, but logically, she appreciated the gesture. "He fell… into the lava. When it's a little cooler, maybe you could-"

Zatz gave her a pat on the shoulder. "As soon as we've dropped you off, we'll take a look."

The airship landed in the back yard of the estate, this time able to extend the ramp. "Everyone," Daniel called up. "I was worried when you were gone this mo-"

Zatz jumped down from the ship, speaking to him quietly. Daniel's face sobered. "I… see. Please bring the bodies down here."

Edea went to pull Roanne onto her back again, but Datz stopped her. "I've got her, little lady. Please, let me be the one to take her to Daniel." Scooping Roanne into his arms, he descended.

Daniel took a step back as Datz got close. "Aunt Roanne…?"

Hearing that was like a fresh spike through her numbness. "She was your aunt?"

"My mother's sister. I thought she had stayed behind with the Fire Vestal, but… How did this happen?"

"She sacrificed herself to put the crystal into dormancy, to protect it." The words came out in a rush. "She knew it would kill her, but she did it anyway. Agnes tried to save her, but… she couldn't. And the fire vestal was already dead, Lady Roanne said so. And Egil lead us into the temple, and this is what happened… The assassin…."

He reached over a hand to touch her shoulder, and then stopped. "I'm sorry. I need a little time to deal with all of this."

Over the next day, Edea was interrogated over what had happened again and again, first by Daniel, and then by his two closest generals, both of which gave her the impression that they thought she was lying and had murdered the vestals herself. She tried, but found herself unable to care about their suspicions.

As promised, Datz and Zatz had taken the airship out, but been able to find nothing of her brother. No news was actually worse than bad news, for she found herself waking up screaming the first night, dreaming that her brother was trapped under the cooling rock, alive but unable to break free.

By the second day, she knew they had to do something. Unlike in Florem, they were without a direction, without a goal. And they certainly couldn't go into Eternia in their condition. "Konoe," Edea addressed her.

She flinched at her name. Edea hadn't told Einheria or Agnes what the assassin had said yet. It wasn't the time. "Do you know where that assassin came from?" Without waiting for an answer, she unrolled a map of the world, laying it on the table in front of her. "Show me, please."

Konoe walked over, studying it intently. "We're here," Edea said, pointing to Hartschild. Konoe gave her a distracted nod in response, and finally pointed to a little inlet between two mountains. "Keep…." she got out.

Edea marked the spot with a little "X", rolling it back up. "The person that sent that assassin… is probably the one behind my mother's death as well. They're after the vestals. I'm going to destroy their organization so that they can't hurt anyone else. Everyone… Will you come with me?"

Einheria answered immediately. "You're my little sister. I won't let you go alone."

"I will also go with you," Agnes said, standing up. "It may be perilous since I am their target, but I do not wish to let them endanger others."

Edea looked to Konoe. The girl was trembling-whoever these people were, she was terrified of them. But she at last managed a vigorous nod. "Then we'll leave today. In fact, let's leave now. We'll go on foot, so we can sneak in more easily."

"Today?" Einheria echoed. "Now? But what about… Datz and Zatz's search?"

"If they find anything, they'll take care of it properly." Edea stood up. "We have enough food still to see us across the badlands. We'll fill our flasks and then go. There's… no sense in protracted goodbyes."

Pain, pain all over, pain so intense it felt like he was burning up inside and out. Pain so bad that he felt like he should be screaming without so much as a break for air, but he didn't have the strength to. His armor was gone, and he was floating by himself in a place with no sound, and he didn't have the strength to open his eyes. He couldn't even feel any sensation on his skin. Was this what death was like? Was he still burning up in the lava, or had he already come to some sort of depraved afterlife?

His consciousness drifted, awoken occasionally by fresh pain, but slowly, sensation was starting to return to him. The stuff that surrounded his skin, save for his nose and mouth, was cool and more like pudding than lava, so either he was dead, or somehow, he was alive. Muffled sounds gradually reached his ears, what sounded like human voices in the distance. He still didn't have the strength to move a muscle, but the pain was lessening. Maybe he was alive after all, in some hospital, somewhere. Thinking of the hospital reminded him of Eternia, and of Victoria, and he lapsed back into unconsciousness, dreaming of them both.

The next time he awoke, it was with a start, feeling more alert than he had. What was his dream about? His father had been there, and had pushed him back, and…. He didn't remember, other than that it was a dream that made him happy and sad at the same time.

More muffled voices, and without warning, the fluid around him began to drop, his feet eventually touching the ground. He dropped with the fluid, unable to support his own weight, head leaning limply against the glass. Somehow, he managed to open his eyes, but beyond the glass of the cylinder holding him, everything was a blur of lights.

"Good morning," a voice addressed him, the legs of some person standing in front of him. He didn't have the strength to look up at his face. "You're a very lucky young man, aren't you? Most people wouldn't be able to survive something like that. Do you remember your name?"

He opened a dry mouth, hoping he could get words out. "Alternis… Dim Lee…." Where were his sisters? What had happened in the Fire Temple? He cursed himself for not being able to speak.

"I see, I see. Do you remember what happened to you, Alternis Dim Lee?"

"Lava…."

"A little succint, but we'll go with it. Good boy. Now, do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Then I'll tell you," the man said, the legs moving around. "You're in the heart of Grapp Keep, the headquarters of the Black Blades. How delightful, right?"

Neither name meant anything to him. "Black Blades…?"

"Oh, you know who they are," said a second voice. "You're not aware of it yet, but you've met them before."

He knew that voice, had heard it a long time ago. Watching the red-clad legs join the other pair, he got out, "...DeRosa."

"How nice, you remember me." DeRosa knelt in front of him, smiling. "I'll explain the Black Blades to you. Lady Brigh formed this group with the intention of doing all the work she can't. Things like, oh, I don't know, assassinating other vestals."

"You…!" He tried to move, tried to gather at least a little darkness, if only to stab the man in front of him. "My mother…!"

"Yes, yes, nice of her to move herself up the list and all," DeRosa said.

"I'll… kill you…."

"You won't, and you want to know why? Because you're going to work for me now. I told you I could take you back any time, brat. By the time I'm done with you, you'll have forgotten everything except how loyal you are to me, and how much you love killing for me."

"No-"

DeRosa gripped Alternis's arm in a tight lock. "Qada! Hand me the injection, I'll do it myself. I want the pleasure." The other legs moved, and then DeRosa gleefully stabbed a needle into Alternis's arm, sending the plunger all the way down. "Say hello to your new life, Alternis Dim Lee!"

Fire spread through his arm, coupled with a new sense of terror. "No, no-" His muscles twitched, as if he could somehow move away from what was already inside him. As he felt the fire creep along his shoulder and the back of his neck, he pitched forward, wanting to vomit, hoping that would get it out, but all he spat up was bile.

"Is that how it normally is?" he heard DeRosa's voice as he gasped for breath.

"He's having an adverse reaction. It happens sometimes. What a bother. You, bring the healer girl," the other legs, Qada, called.

DeRosa gave him a little pat on the cheek. "Have fun, my boy. Enjoy your stay at Grapp Keep. You'll never want to leave!"

How long he lay there, trying to somehow will the drug not to touch him, he didn't know. At some point, arms lifted him, plopping him unceremoniously onto a table. "Have a subtle touch, Barras," a woman's voice said. "Don't give me more work."

"Bah. Not my fault he looks like a weakling."

"And stop shouting." A pretty face with cold eyes peered into his, her hand going over his forehead, another touching his chest. "Qada has got to start putting clothes on these people. It's positively disgusting."

A little strength returned to his body, and he jerked, still trying to get the drug out of his system. "Make yourself useful, Barras, and hold him."

One hand clamped down on both his ankles, the other laying across his stomach, effectively preventing most his movement. "You," she addressed him, peering into his face, "remember your name?"

He did, and felt a brief sense of relief. "Alternis Dim Lee."

"Good, at least you're compliant." The fire in his veins was ebbing away, and a little strength had come back to him, enough to move a bit. "Okay, he's not going anywhere. Barras, grab a towel and cover up that part. All right, you, how do you feel?"

"My head is throbbing," he mumbled, suddenly wishing the lights in the room were dimmer.

"No surprise there - you just barely avoided a brainwashing."

"DeRosa…." He pushed himself up onto one elbow. "He's here… I have to get out…."

"What are you going to do, slither away?" she snorted. "Barras, guard the door."

"Right, Holly."

She knelt by the table, keeping her face level with his. "I'll explain the situation, so try to keep up. I was sent her at Kamiizumi's request. You blab any of this and I'll start by chopping off that part down there, by the way. I'm here to take apart Grapp Keep, and you," she poked him in the forehead with a long finger, "are going to help me, no ands, ifs, or buts if you want to be walking out of here."

"Sounds like we want the same thing," Alternis said. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to mess with his brainwashing drug, dilute it so it's not as effective, but still give you adverse effects." She smiled suddenly. "This is going to suck a lot for you, by the way. It'll be quite painful."

He tried not to shiver at the way she seemed to take pleasure in that idea. "Thing is, you need to act brainwashed, so they don't catch on. Once they're convinced you're on their side, they'll lower their guard. You and Barras and me will then kill the pair of them, undo the brainwashing on the rest, I suppose, and voila, no more Grapp Keep."

"Why me?"

"A guy that's got a grudge against DeRosa, and more importantly, can survive being half-burned alive by a volcano, might just have the mental toughness to not lose his mind from pain." She gave him a gentle pat on the cheek. "I have high expectations for you, Mr. Lee. Don't disappoint me."