Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia.

Chapter 2: Area of Effect

-

Ehmead Hill – Base of Capua Nor Route [6:17 AM]

Liquid sunshine pelted the land heavily, cleansing the ground of dark blood that extended the entire length of Ehmead Hill's scenic road. A sickening amount of monster bodies were piled in organized stacks to the side, awaiting the attention of material traders and the Imperial clean-up services.

"What the hell happened here…? Think it was some psycho from the Hunting Blades guild?" a gruff voice asked, sounding tired from Halure's late-night festivities. He pulled his ineffective wool cloak tighter around himself as a cold breeze caught him in the face. "Of all the times to have this weather!"

A young knight wearing a set of prestigious Imperial armor, acquired from his recent promotion, knelt down to inspect the wounds on the various carcasses. His blonde hair was matted down by the moisture, though he didn't seem to care. "I have a feeling that this brutal attack isn't the result of a guild related person or action. Some of these bodies have huge bite marks along their necks, while others suffered the sharp blade of a sword. To my knowledge, the Hunting Blades aren't the type to work alone, and they usually strip their prey of anything that can be used as a resource or bartered…"

Raven scratched his stubble characteristically, allowing one aged eye to stare at his superior. "Does Mister Commandant prefer to reason with feelings and theories, or with what the Empire favors? After all, you're not the kind of person who can simply ignore an easy target when it's down. That's Yuri's style." He smiled mischievously.

"What are you getting at, Captain?" Flynn stood up and faced the war veteran.

"I'm saying, either you find a way to place blame on someone non-guild related, create some nifty plot to sate the public's speculative appetites, or get ready for some ugly politics. The majority of the Council still holds grudges on the guild community of Dahngrest for various reasons." Raven rubbed his arms together furiously to get warmer. "If they can find an opportunity like this, where a guild can be held liable for trespassing and hunting on empire territory without clearance or legal authorization, we'll have another tense-filled period of good ole' Empire versus Guild."

Deafening thunder bellowed from the heavens, startling many of the surrounding knights.

"Both sides are weak right now, recuperating from heavy losses and economic rebuilding. But, knowing our current Council member staff, they wouldn't bat an eye at sweeping a few 'past' incident reports under the rug for a future opportune moment," Raven finished his thoughts, watching as an additional batch of creatures were thrown into the heap nearest them.

The blond-haired man flexed his right hand unconsciously. It was one more of those situations where his sword couldn't solve the problem. "I see…" His crystal blue eyes settled on a puddle that had been developing underneath his armored figure. "We'll discuss matters later this afternoon, when we're back at Halure. There tends to be eavesdroppers at times like these."

Raven nodded affirmatively, grinning at Flynn's predictable behavior.

"Commandant Flynn! A weapon was found stuck in the sand, near the end of the gory trail starting from here. It was surrounded by human blood, too. We assume the owner was either killed and dragged off by the monsters, or escaped before we could arrive," exclaimed a knight from Raven's brigade, who clumsily ran up to them and handed over a unique and familiar sword.

"This is…!" Flynn stepped back in surprise.

"The Last Fencer. Yuri's blade," the older man stated without any indication of shock. He cast a grim look over to the blond-haired knight. "He's the vice president of Brave Vesperia, y'know?"

Flynn clasped his hand firmly around the worn hilt. "Take over for me, Captain Schwann. I've got some investigating to do before I file an official report. Update me on any further changes or findings. I'll be in Halure."

"Of course, Commandant," Raven replied with a slight emphasis on the last word. He saluted Flynn loosely as the young man took off on his steed towards the cherry blossom capital.

-

Halure – Denebola Inn [7:40 AM]

The room was deadly silent, despite there being five separate bodies occupying its space.

Karol was sleeping peacefully on the ground, using a calmly inactive Repede as his pillow. Rita was sitting upright against her temporary bed stand, shuffling through her spell book's pages with morbid interest. Not too far away, Estelle was resting her body on a plush couch, anxiously glancing every now and then at the oaken door. Neighboring her position, sitting on the windowsill and observing the weather solemnly, was Judith, the only member to have not spoken since entering the room.

They were all waiting for the same person, Yuri Lowell.

Having regrouped after the celebration died down a bit, they had eventually discussed the raven-haired swordsman's unexpected generosity and overall odd behavior. Each of them received an item of particular value, except the Krityan woman, who looked as if she did but wouldn't elaborate. It was then that Estelle stated that it must have been Yuri's own way of opening up and thanking them for being his friends, which sounded completely out of character, but the only likely reason they could mutually agree on. So, they bought a cake to surprise him with later that night to commemorate Brave Vesperia's victory while also thanking him for the gifts.

However, countless hours later, their self-proclaimed leader had yet to show. And for some unknown reason, the three females of the party were still up, twiddling away the minutes without voicing their lack of sleep or purpose for not catching a few hours of shuteye instead.

Rita paused in her page turning and examined the comfortable guard attached to her left arm. Her fingertips traced the smooth surface of the dim red blastia stuck in the center of its intricate metal work. The item fit perfectly, for a good reason, too…

Happy birthday, genius mage!

Pretty late, I know. When we were searching the remains of your place before the big battle against prissy Duke, I was able to find a childish calendar. Figures it was decked out with cats. Seems you ignored telling everyone your birthday, which was two weeks prior. So, when we stopped off at Nordopolica for supplies I got one of my good buddies to smith a new bodhi blastia with a unique design as a present. But, I totally forgot to give it to you because we were attacked by those Adephagos. Then more shit happened…

Now don't get all pissed off at me, thinking I'm treating you like a child or something, because I'm not. I appreciate how you've tolerated me for so long and stuck with the group, even if it was mostly for Estelle's sake. Whenever I saw you flare up and get all determined about those stupid blastia or whatever, it sort of made me motivated to try harder, as strange as that sounds. Eh, getting off subject. I just want you to know that, other than the princess, I'll be there when you need me. Now go use this thing to make some alchemist soup, wreak havoc, or slap Karol over the head, repeatedly. Either way, I'll definitely enjoy the outcome.

PS: If you're up for it, let's travel together again sometime. I'm always ready for a good adventure.

-Yuri Lowell (Brave Vesperia's Handsome Chef)

The young brunette's tired eyes read the small piece of paper on her lap for the twentieth time. Her face was an ever changing portrait of emotions. It would shift from a joyful expression to a depressing frown in a matter of seconds. She was ecstatic due to the importance of the gift, the heartfelt message, and the fact that it came from the nefarious swordsman she harbored secretive feelings for, which developed shortly after their Aqua Blastia incident. She had to remind herself that her adoptive sister held affections for the same man…

"Rita, do you think Yuri hates me?" the pink-haired noblewoman asked out of nowhere, breaking the silence that had enveloped them for hours. She was staring at the ceiling with shadow bagged eyes.

Rita quickly shoved the birthday note where she had found it, nestled between the pages of her spell book like a bookmark. Trying to recover from her thoughts, she replied in delay. "What makes you think that, Estelle? I mean, this is Yuri we're talking about."

Judith glanced at the concerned princess; the random question caught her attention.

Estelle sat up and looked over to make sure Karol and Repede were still asleep. Satisfied, she then turned to talk to both of her close friends, hoping to receive advice on her predicament. "Promise you won't tell anyone, please!" she pleaded.

Rita and Judith exchanged confused expressions, but nodded anyway.

"Go ahead, what's on your mind?" the Krityan woman urged in a motherly fashion. Though her sharp eyes indicated she was more interested about the other person mentioned.

Estelle nodded to herself, feeling more confident. "Two days ago, when Yuri came to escort me to Halure for the celebration, he…" Her face became beet red, and her lips quivered.

"Come on, Estelle, you can tell us." Rita said.

"Yuri confessed to me!" she blurted out louder than intended.

The room became quiet once more. Repede and Karol's abrasive snoring were the only source of life.

Judith was the first to break out of shocked stupor. "S-so how did he do it?" Her voice was a bit shaky. Didn't he kiss her last night, or was it all a dream? She did have feelings for the semi-introverted man, but she didn't know they were strong enough to cause such an elaborate illusion.

The color of Estelle's face became even more radiant, recalling his abrupt appearance and actions that evening. "He surprised me by climbing up my balcony while I was getting ready to leave the castle. I was going to yell for the guards, thinking he was a thief, but he quickly grabbed my shoulders and covered my mouth with his." She gingerly touched her lips, her eyes becoming glazed. "He then hugged me close, and gently whispered that he loved me into my ear…"

Rita bit her lower lip. She envied her sister, greatly, and tried visualizing herself in that situation to sugarcoat her bitter feelings. "…and?"

"Huh?" Estelle looked up, as if she hadn't said anything in the past two minutes.

"How did you respond?" Judith asked with an edge to her voice.

That's when the pink-haired woman slumped into the couch unceremoniously. "…I pushed him away and told him to leave," she responded gloomily.

"Huh?!" the mage and Krityan exclaimed loudly.

Estelle pitifully tried to cover her face, feeling tears threatening to burst forth. "I didn't know how to react! I just…I needed more time to understand my feelings. But now, I'm scared it's too late. Ever since then, he's been acting like nothing happened."

Judith cast a livid glare. "What's holding you back from taking the initiative and asking him upfront?"

"I thought about it, and I can't ignore that I'm still a princess. I've got to consider my position within the Empire to protect its people. If I were to become involved with an individual not within the upper class-," her dull statement was interrupted by the enraged blue-haired beauty.

"You would be failing them by not loving someone of royal blood or status? Estelle, you've done more good without the Empire's help than with it, which of course they provided little of when you and the people you cared about really needed it. In fact, it's you who's avoiding Yuri and hurting him in the process, especially with such a horrible excuse," Judith angrily spat as she stood to stare the young woman straight in the eyes. "You're a selfish princess!"

"No, I never intended for…I love him!" Estelle flinched at Judith's icy glare.

Rita audibly gulped, not use to seeing an irate Judith or timid Estelle. She agreed with the Krityan woman to a degree, but was scared that a spear would find its way into her sister's neck if she didn't intervene now.

A loud rapping on the oaken door resounded throughout the tension-filled room.

"Gaaawwww!" Karol stretched his arms high into the air before lazily looking around. "Is Yuri back yet?" He wiped the drool off the corner of his mouth. Repede followed suit, and promptly bit the small boy for drenching his leg in saliva. "Agh! Chew on your pipe, not my leg!"

The knocking returned with intensity.

Outside, Flynn's patience was running thin. "Please, I need to speak to Yuri!" he shouted, not caring if he woke up the other temporary residents in the building.

"Yo, Flynn!" Karol greeted the young commandant in his puerile voice as he opened the door.

The blond-haired man nodded to him and shuffled in, closing the door hastily. He scanned the room for any sign of his childhood friend and rival. Nothing. "Your highness, Brave Vesperia, would you kindly tell me where Yuri is? There is an urgent matter that demands his audience. I've got something that belongs to him, and I require answers."

Receiving no response he threw the Last Fencer onto the table near him, not bothering to be formal. The sword's weight dented the hardened surface as it made a harsh thud. Their reactions to the blood stained sword were supplemental enough for his deductions. Flynn clenched his teeth. 'Yuri, what have you gotten yourself into this time?'

-

Caer Bocram – Abandoned House [6:43 PM]

Storm-grey eyes opened halfway, heavy from deep sleep. "Where the hell am I?" Yuri tried to sit up, but found an unexpected weight on his body. He didn't notice the mop of viridian-hair covering his bare chest. Come to think of it… "Why am I naked?!" he yelled in confusion.

"Uwah…you're so loud, Mister Lowell," the young girl said as she stretched, straddling his hips comfortably as she did so. She wiggled and proceeded to smirk at his reaction. "Your clothes were drenched in sweat, silly! How am I supposed to sleep on you when you're wet?"

Yuri stared at the girl in annoyance. "Droite, what's going on?"

A set of footsteps came from behind him, signaling a person coming down a flight of stairs. Within a few seconds, he knew who it was.

"Dr-Droite! What are you doing?! You're supposed to be guarding Yuri, not…" Gauche paused, not even knowing what her sister was thinking. But seeing the man in nothing but his boxers caused her to blush hard and lose her train of thought.

"I was 'body' guarding him, Gauche. Sheesh!" Droite explained innocently. She squeaked in surprise when the man underneath her threw her over his shoulder and marched towards the startled redhead.

"Clothes first, explanation later," Yuri demanded.

Gauche nodded shyly, her eyes widening while trying to avoid looking at the swordsman's lithe build and other attractive features.

Twenty minutes later, Yuri was dressed in a spare outfit he had safely stashed on the Fiertia for his trip. Though, it seemed a rather large wrench was thrown into those plans, such as not being on his ship or having all the supplies on it.

The raven-haired man leaned onto the rotting wall of the building. He knew where they were, in one of the vacant houses located in the ruins of Caer Bocram. On his previous journey, he had spent hours searching the decaying structures for clues. He was pissed.

"Alright, now here's the deal. I was on my merry way to a place far away from here. And now I'll present the problem, I'm nowhere close to it because of you two. So, why the hell did you knock me out, steal my boat, and drag me to this shitty place fit for people who want to die of mold disease?" He asked the Yeager twins sitting on a bed across from him. Droite looked somewhat scared of his tone, while Gauche simply glared daggers at him.

"The kick to your head was revenge for what you did to us in front of all those people at Nordopolica's coliseum!" Gauche stated vehemently.

Yuri grinned, remembering the last solo beating he gave the two. To send the message that he was tired of their constant confrontations and interferences in his friends' lives, he even went as far to humiliate them by cutting their tops off during battle. However, he did throw them his spar cape accessories to cover themselves with afterward. "Understandable…still doesn't explain why you kidnapped me here."

Droite decided to chime in finally. "We're evaluating you, Mister Lowell! You see, Master Yeager wanted you in charge of taking care of us, as our life companion and guild hall leader. It was in his will!" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Also, you should be thanking us for carrying you this far. I can't believe you slept for so long, I didn't get a chance to play with you on the boat."

"…" Yuri stared at them, looking for any sign of the statement being a joke. "You've got to be kidding me."

"We're not going to allow you to easily have us, though. We know you're strong enough to protect us, but can you make us feel happy, safe, and loved at the same time? Because Master Yeager believed you to be the right man, we're giving you the benefit of the doubt. You've got to prove to us that you deserve our loyalty, as a lover and guild master." Gauche explained, her face slightly tinted in embarrassment from the implications.

Yuri pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he being pushed into these ridiculous events by some sadistic god or goddess, capable of manipulating his life at every turn? "Okay, when did I agree to this little quest of yours? You guys should be rebuilding the guild he left behind in death. A foundation can't stay together if it's got nothing to support it."

Gauche clasped her hands together, her expression displaying the sorrow and anger he saw when they first challenged him after Yeager died. "The weather was too dangerous to advance towards Heliord, so we had to stop here to rest. We were tired from the boat ride and pulling your unconscious body with us. Our original destination is the manor, the headquarters of Leviathin's Claw." She then looked up at him, signs of moisture bordering her rose-red eyes. "Droite and I are too young to take over the guild, as the official rules state. You're the only one Master Yeager acknowledged in strength and character, so we need you…"

Droite patted her sister's back consolingly and surprisingly became serious. "Master Yeager's dying wishes and his legacy will not be in vain. We want to see why he favored you. We want to know what made you so special that our he chose you to protect us and take over our guild. Please, journey with us so we can do this."

He would think the girls were bipolar, if it wasn't for their subject of conversation. A guild disbanding because the loss of their leader was a huge thing, especially when there was a familial connection at stake. Karol's face flashed in his mind for a quick second.

Yuri crossed his arms in a stern fashion. "Well, you guys sure started this proposition positive enough. With the whole 'knock out your prospective guild master' act. But as you saw before, I've got my own troubles, and involving you two would only put you in unneeded danger." He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and walked closer to them.

"I'm no leader, nor am I someone others can look up to or depend on for safety. Anyway you cut it, I'm just a criminal doing dirty work so that other people can keep living peaceful lives. As of recently, I've also become a monster beacon." Yuri's long bangs obscured his eyes from view, but his bitter smile was visible. "I don't know what to tell you, sorry." As he was about to leave a crashing sound came from upstairs, followed by a series of roars and wails. He forgot that evenings came faster in some places than others, and the weather outside didn't help him determine what time of the day it was either.

The raven-haired swordsman frantically looked at the two sulking girls who were shocked from the noise and dragged them outside the house cautiously. Traversing down the building would take those monsters time, all he had to worry about were the stragglers outside. "Where's my sword?"

"I forgot to pick it up when I kicked you on Capua Torim's shore." Gauche replied in a hushed voice. Her hand was wavering over her own weapon.

Yuri clenched his fists. He didn't plan on needing another one, all he brought on the Fiertia were the pair of clothes and armor he had on at the moment. "All right Yeager twins, both of you need to run to Heliord as fast as you can. This place is going to become one hell of a party soon."

"We can take care of a few monsters by ourselves, it's no biggie!" Droite piped in confidently.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I was a monster beacon; take my advice and get out of here before we all get attacked. I can hold them off."He flexed his wrist skillfully. At least he had his Garm Fang gauntlet, which could do some serious damage if used like a claw attachment.

"No, I'm not letting our potential guild master fight these things by himself. Whether you like it or not, I'm staying with you till I'm sure you aren't right for the position," Gauche replied haughtily, pressing Yuri's chest with a firm hand.

Droite pushed the redhead out of the way and hugged the irritated swordsman, making him drop his defensive demeanor in surprise. "Me too, Mister Lowell! I've taken a liking to you already, unlike Gauche who's had a crush on you for awhile!" She giggled childishly and stuck her tongue out at her angry sister.

"God dammit…" Yuri closed his eyes in frustration. He would have to lose them by tomorrow, if he survived tonight. For now, he had to concentrate on protecting his 'captors' from the growing number of monsters trying to find him. That's when an idea hit; the basement where he had fought the gigantic monster and met the Hunting Blades on a more personal level. "Come on!"

Droite squealed in delight as Yuri once again picked her up onto his shoulders, telling her to hang on. He then scooped Gauche bridal style, making her beet red, and sped to the room seen in his memories. Hopefully, the ceiling was still intact and the metal door operational.

Several minutes later he skidded to a stop and gently laid the twins down.

"Shit!" Yuri cursed as he looked at the busted control panel and door. It was slightly open, probably enough for the two girls to slide through. Luckily, the interior behind it was intact and secure from invasion as well. However, he wouldn't be able to fit through the entrance. "Alright, let's go!" he ushered them.

Droite complied and slid in perfectly. But Gauche stood next to him, giving him an accusing glare.

"What's the hold up, Twin A? Get in, I'll be right behind you!" Yuri shouted impatiently. Time was running out, he could hear the smaller monsters scampering down the spiral staircase already.

"Yuri, are you an idiot? Look at this space, you can't-," Gauche slipped into unconsciousness from a well placed punch to the stomach.

"Change for your payback…" Yuri smirked. "Mind lending a hand, Droite?"

"S-sure!" The viridian-haired girl replied, helping him get her sister to their safe spot. As soon as Gauche was in her arms the metal door began closing. "Wait! What are you doing?!"

An unexpected chuckle came from the young man as he struggled to push. "When you think it is all clear outside, make sure to run away from this place as soon as possible. To the far left of you is a ladder leading to an exit hatch on the ceiling. Use it and don't come back."

"Yuri!" Droite pitifully attempted to pull the slab the opposite way.

"Don't let Yeager down, find a way to keep that legacy of his alive," he softly told her. A loud 'thunk' bounced off the walls as he fully closed the entry. During his efforts a crowd of lesser monsters had gathered, eagerly watching him with hungry eyes, anticipating his movement rather than characteristically rushing him.

Yuri readjusted the metal boots and gauntlets of his True Knight attire. "I wanted to pay my respects to the Entelexia at Mt. Temza before I died, but it seems that little mission will be cut off short, huh?"

The group of Howlers, Strange Bats, and Spikkits slowly advanced.

"That's okay. I'm not very social either, when it comes to a good meal," he joked. His muscles tensed, eyes narrowed, and stance changed. "Never been much for fisticuffs, but if it's against you guys, I think I'll be fine." Not wasting a breath, he swiftly appeared in front of the first enemy, a needle backed creampuff, and executed a sharp elbow thrust to its forehead and backhand slashed it in the face, with two other nearby monsters receiving gashes as well.

Yuri leaped up into the air, ready to unleash his own level of hell in the small confined space of the basement. If he was going to die, he'd make sure he was worth over a hundred lives.

"Bring it!"

-

Capua Nor – Docks [9:10 PM]

The sea-scented wind blew Raven's unkempt hair in different directions. He took a sip of alcohol from the gourd he carried on his person religiously, enjoying the night calm and soothing waves. Nothing beat drinking on a bench listening to Mother Nature's ocean clatter. Well, other than sleeping with a nice, supple young woman, but he already failed six times trying to woo some earlier. That was life.

"He disappeared."

Raven cocked his head to the side in annoyance. "Remember what I said about us old people an' hide-n-seek? We mix like oil and water, I hate it."

"Yuri Lowell, he isn't aware of what's in him." Duke stated nonchalantly, ignoring him as usual.

"Okay, okay, I'm listening." Raven straightened his posture. "That research of yours took longer than I expected. Learn anything interesting from the elder Krityan, did 'a?" he asked.

The silver-haired man sighed. "I went over the scenarios with him, and we both came to a similar, logical conclusion after hours of discussion. The Adephagos is still alive."

Raven nearly dropped his alcohol container when he heard the last part. "How is that possible?! We totally annihilated it!"

Duke shook his head. "When Yuri used that item, Vesperia No.1, he didn't fully realize what it was doing to the atmosphere around him. He had an idea of the danger it put him in, but no true understanding. During the process of destruction and elimination of blastia, the aer from all over the world clumped in his vicinity. In consequence, he should have died from aer pollution."

The aged man rubbed his stubble. "So then, how did he survive?" Images of their battle atop the ethereal spire, looking at the descending Adephagos with apprehensive eyes filled his mind.

"The Adephagos have the ability to contaminate the aer and infuse themselves into beings within its vicinity, though they prefer not to due to the incapability of taking its true form. When the aer from all the combined blastia energy and world atmosphere discharged, killing Terca Lumieres' main threat, a small amount of its existence was absorbed into the only person within the aer environment, giving that individual the ability to survive the contamination due to how the Adephagos feed on it," the silver-haired enigma explained.

"If I got this right, you're saying…"

Duke walked to the edge of the concrete ground and observed the turbulent waves below him. They were a perfect reflection of the ripples of change caused by one man's blind righteousness to protect others around him. "Yuri Lowell became the host body of a remnant of the Adephagos' existence. It is trying to adept to the new environment from within his body to resurface and carry out its intended biological goal. Because of its hostile nature, an unusually aggressive aura permeates from his body, disturbing monsters in its field of influence and causing them to attack him when it's at its peak of pressure, which has been the nighttime according to most of his cases."

Raven sat silent for a few minutes. "In other words, since it might still be adjusting, you'll have to slay its host as soon as possible to avoid it developing advantages or manifesting…" He thought those times of feeling hopeless were behind him, but here they were again. "You'll have to kill him using the restored power of Dein Nomos, correct?"

The silver-haired man didn't blink, even when a spray of salt water hit his eyes directly. "Yes."

-

Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for halting the story for reasons that many brought to my notice as null. I know, it's been a LONG while since I last updated. It took me even longer because my HardDrive with all the chapters written (I had 3 chapter after the 1st outlined) were totally wiped off, along with the chapters for my other stories (Broken Phantasm ;_;). I appreciate all the reviews you guys gave me, and the private messages/e-mails I received to continue on with the story. However, I bet many have abandoned or lost hope with it, so you probably won't be reading this.

The personalities in this chapter really felt 'modified', in my opinion. But the reactions will be explained later. In a nutshell, Raven/Duke are the omniscent figures trying to uphold balance, Flynn is appropriately concerned about Yuri and conflicted with his duties, Rita is fawning over a forbidden relationship, Judith is confused from Yuri's kiss and jealous of Estelle, Estelle is scared of losing Yuri's affection but aslo wants to continue protecting people within the Empire's service, Gauche/Droite are wary of Yuri but slightly trust him (they were being their 'playful' selves at the end of the 1st chapter) to be a good person from their short interactions and Yeager's opinion, and Yuri just wants to get the hell away from others so he can die without having to worry about them suffering or getting hurt.

I tried to not rush the whole Droite/Gauche x Yuri thing, but wanted to ensure there was a reason behind their agressive kidnapping. Though Gauche (the calm and collected minion in-game) was pretty outspoken and relatively different, while Droite is her normal goofy/upbeat self, I wanted it to seem that they were changed from Yeager's unfortunate death. They hold a grudge, but not as much due to them duking it out on multiple occasions at the coliseum (Well, I fought them alot in my save xD) and Yuri being merciful with them.

Hopefully, this chapter wasn't too bland for you readers. I tried to make it entertaining enough, but I can never tell, even if I re-read it several times over. As usual, I don't have a BETA to help me with my less-than-agreeable spelling/grammar/word choice mistakes. I'm doing my best. Oh, and the [Harem] thing. Be expecting Yuri to be confronted by many girls (Estelle/Rita/Judith/Gauche/Droite/Sodia). I plan for him to have a bit of romance with each, but mainly reciprocating with Judith, cause who doesn't love that sultry Krityan? Don't answer that fanboys/fangirls.

On another note...I got red-ringed for the 5th time! Not only that, but it somehow corrupted my 360 hardrive and annihilated all my saves! The gamer card with 20k achievements is still there, but who the fuck cares about that number when the files you used to bring it to that are totally dead? Everything...gone. I actually didn't feel as bad as I thought I would, but when I go back to play Sonic Unleashed/Ninja Gaiden 2/Fable 2/Mass Effect and other great games it hurts, right in the feeler. I was actually using my ToV copy to journey around the world and get the specific names of places, like Halure's inn, Denebola. But now, I've got nothing and would have to invest loads more hours trying to recover the world map and ability to fly. I'll just have to finish the PS3 version when it comes out to re-edit any chapters that don't have a specific nametag.

Review Replies (Got Bored :P)

Twilight: Thanks for the concern, it was much appreciated man.

Agent-G: Haha! I loved your enthusiasm from the messages about continuing the story. Thanks for that. As for fighting the twins, you can, but you don't kill them. They're real nice about it if you have a certain item.

EVO: It's good to know I'll have one reader despite my inability to update quickly. ^_^

Seth: The item I was referring to was "Vesperia No.1". It was made by Rita and used to vaporize monsters and destroy the Adephagos, if memory serves me right.

Ozie: xD I can't believe you called me a talented ToV writer! It made me smile, thanks. As for the whole location and time thing, I utilize that because I suck at incorporating settings and when everything is taking place. It's my fallback method of plot placement and such. Glad you like it.

As always, please read and review! It gives me a sense of direction on where to go with my writing style and plot devices.