Victoria, Travis and I made our way across the plains. We traveled for days, trying to get as far away from the capital as possible.

"They'll be coming after us," Travis warned. "It's better if we hide along the forests."

We had no clear goal in mind, but to run. The only places we stopped to rest were in forest clearings, where soldiers wouldn't be able to find us.

"So…why did you guys come back?" I asked.

Travis grinned. "There was no way we could leave you back there, Vinny. I wasn't going to let you die just yet." He sighed. "I just wish Newy was here."

Newo…I hadn't seen her ever since I was thrown into prison.

Victoria nodded. "My parents both died serving Rhythm…but it was different then…Emperor Claudio was a lot more…"

She closed her eyes. "I don't want any part in it if it means I have to kill you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Victoria."

At nights, I would dream of them, everyone back at Auldurant. They seemed so close, yet they were so distant…

"This planet of yours…Auldurant…I didn't even know it existed until now." Travis had told me.

It was really strange. As far as I knew, no one back in Auldurant knew of the planet Song, either. The question of how I got here still remained.

I mean, I remember releasing Lorelei, and Lorelei thanking me, but beyond that everything was blank. The next thing I remembered after that was climbing out of a tiny fishing boat, and onto the dock of the capital.

And then there were those note stones… Back in Auldurant, I remembered that there existed things called fonstones and fonons. However, there were only seven of them, I was sure of it.

Scars ran up the sides of my arms. Where these a result of holding the silver note stones?

I had no answers.

My sleep was full of memories of the journey I had gone on. The life I had been living was really horrible before it.

I was a spoiled rich kid.

But they all helped me change, they helped me realize…and then Azkeruith's collapse…

After the collapse, I had taken an oath to change. An oath after I had stained my hands with the horror of my sin.

And they were there every step of the way…

Guy, Natalia, Jade, Anise, even Mieu…and Tear…

She had been with me from the start, watching me to make sure I didn't screw up…I didn't know why, but it felt like I missed her the most.

My sleep was full mostly of dreams of her and all of the things we had been through.

I really was a jerk…I probably still would've been if I hadn't met her…

"So, this Tear chick you where telling us about," Travis had asked me, "I take it she must be pretty hot, huh?"

I had laughed. "Well yeah, I guess so." A grin came to my face when I remembered the time I had first met her in the Tataroo Valley. I had thought she would be really pretty if only she wasn't so cold.

"Well," Victoria asked, "what should we do now? We're nearly halfway across the continent, and there will be Rhythm soldiers everywhere."

That's right… During our service in the military, the rule of Rhythm had spread across nearly the entire planet of Song. The only kingdom that would've opposed us was Rhyme, and that was completely destroyed.

I sighed. "I don't know…Claudio could destroy Auldurant at any time"-

"Hey, Vincent!"

I turned to see Newo running towards us.

A sinking feeling appeared in my stomach. Oh no…did this mean that we would have to fight her?

However, when she came to us she appeared to have a smile on her face.

"Do you know how long I've been chasing you guys?"

Travis walked towards her, a grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around her. "You came back for me, didn't you babe?"

Her eyes widened and she fisted Travis in jaw.

"No!" She turned towards me.

"I should be chasing you to kill you, but"- she closed her eyes. "The emperor is a different man now…he's not like before…"

She looked at me gravely. "He told us of his plans, to destroy another planet that exists without the Score…"

So he was planning on going through with it…

She frowned. "I don't want any part of it…not if it means killing billions of innocent people, all because they live in a world where they can make their own decisions…"

I nodded. "It's great that you also see it that way"

Victoria stepped towards Newo. "I-It's that man, isn't it?" She asked her. "That man with the red eyes…"

The red eyes…? I thought back to when we had first learned of Claudio's plan. That's right, there was a man with him who had spiky white hair and demonic red eyes…

Newo frowned. "It could be…as far as I know, he wasn't with the emperor when I first joined the military."

Travis slammed his fist against his hand. "So all we have to do is bash that little bastards brains in!"

Newo slapped her forehead. "You know Travis, your stupidity never ceases to amaze me." She sighed. "The problem here is the emperor's plan. He keeps talking about this tower of some sort…"

A tower…?

"Well, I know someone who should be able to help, we should go to see her."

I nodded. "Okay."

The four of us approached a tiny cottage that was on the outside of the forest. There was a river nearby, and an apple tree.

Newo knocked on the door. "Josie? You there?"

The door suddenly swung open, and a woman stepped out. She must have been around her late twenties. She had violet hair, which was tied into a ponytail. Her ears were sharp and pointy, and there was definitely something strange…

"H-Hey! You're a Prise, aren't you?" Travis asked in surprise. He turned towards me. "Would you believe it, Vinny? I finally get to see a Prise!"

A Prise…Travis had told me that from what he learned, they were half-human and half-geruda.

The woman frowned. "Well, ignoring your friend's rudeness…"

She gave Newo a quick hug. "Newo, it's great to see you! It's been nearly two years, you know!"

Newo nodded. "You can blame it on this jackass-" she glared at Travis.

Josie's eyes widened. "Is that that guy…Travis? The one who owes you debt?"

Newo frowned. "That's him."

Travis grinned nervously. "Now, c-come on, I said I'd pay"-

"Shut up…" Josie turned towards Victoria and me. "Who are you two?" she asked.

"I'm Vinny, and this is"-

"Victoria. Nice to meet you!" She moved her hand forwards, but Josie did not shake it.

"So what brings you here?" she asked.

Newo sighed. "I take it you know of The Tower of Melody?"

Josie's eyes widened. "Well yeah, my clan Paranoia has been there on numerous occasions."

"Your clan…?" I asked.

Josie grinned. "Hm, guess you've never heard of the rebellion group, Paranoia."

I shook my head. "Well no, I"-

"Here, let me explain to you what's going on," Newo told Josie.

Josie's eyes were completely wide when she had finished. "Auldurant? Me and my clan have heard brief whispers about that place…but it's supposed to be only a myth…"

Newo frowned. "Well it's true. That's the place Vincent over here is from."

Josie glanced up at the sky. "Auldurant…a place of freewill, where The Score does not exist. A place of freedom…"

She looked at me and grinned. "Okay, Clan Paranoia is about to undergo its most radical plan yet!"

She yelled back into her house. "IRO!"

A figure suddenly appeared in the doorway. "A-a robot!" Victoria stuttered.

Josie grinned. "There are only a few of them that exist on this planet. My clan and I, we stole 'em from a military base. They were supposed to be discarded because apparently they were malfunctioning. However IRO and the rest of my clan's robots work just fine."

Victoria frowned. "Just what is this clan of yours?"

Josie laughed. "Your one funny chick! I can't believe you've never heard of the anti-score group Paranoia."

She turned towards her robot.

"You called, mistress?" it asked.

"Yes, IRO. I want you to send a message to all of the other clan members. We're going to the Tower of Melody."

"Right away, mistress" IRO said.

Josie turned towards us. "The tower is where all seventh notes are accumulated, where they originate. If we destroy it, they'll be weakened, and there will be no way that Claudio will be able to cause a hyperessonance then. And, the Score will also be gone. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

Travis grinned. "All right then, let's do it."

Newo turned towards me. "After that, we'll be able to find a way to get you back home, I promise."

I nodded. "Okay, let's head to the tower."