"Damn…"

Josie stared through the bushes we were hiding in. "Rhythm is already there."

"Well, does that really matter?" I asked. "We're just going to burn the tower down, or something, right?"

Newo frowned. "It's not enough to just destroy the tower. There are orbs all around the inside, where seventh notes gather. The only way to destroy them would be to use note artes up close."

Victoria sighed. "I always thought that this tower was a place of worship, where no one was allowed to enter."

"Just another secret your government has been keeping from you," Josie told her. "Aside from seventh notes, this place is also the memorial of Wilhelm. It was built nearly a hundred years after his death."

Wilhelm…from what I had gathered, Wilhelm was the 'Yulia' of this planet. He had found many of history's first discoveries.

"Hey, it's Josie!"

I turned to see a group of people approaching us.
Josie grinned. "Hey, Smug! You guys finally decide to show your lazy asses here!"

Her clan was a really mixed group. There was several Prise, as well as Geruda, and even some humans. The one called Smug, who stood at the front, seemed to be an ogre-like creature. He was tall and very burly, and his skin was green. His eyes bulged out.

"So, Paranoia's definitely going to get some recognition now, eh? Can't believe we didn't think of this before, destroying the Score and all…"

"Hey…" Travis said. "How come you Prise are all with the Geruda? I thought that you two hated each other…"

It was a Geruda who responded to this. He had light blue feathers and a sword on his back.

"Our clan doesn't care about any racial crap. Just cause the rest of the world has to be discriminating doesn't mean we have to. "

Josie grinned. "That's right, Jet."

Victoria turned towards her. "Well, how are we going to get in?"

Smug laughed. "Well, the entrance isn't too well guarded. We outnumber the Rhythm bastards."

"We'll rush inside and then look for those note orbs. You guys ready?" Josie asked.

I nodded. "Let's go."

I ran into the field, swinging at Rhythm soldiers with my sword. Travis and Victoria fought close by, using note artes and their weapons. Josie and her clan quickly disposed of the troops with ease.

"All right then, let's hurry inside!"

The walls on the inside of the tower were completely white, with stairs stretching up into the distance. "H-Hey, who are you?!" Soldiers ran towards us.

"Vincent, look out!" I was at the head of our crowd, the first to face the twenties and thirties of soldiers who charged towards us.

I felt a burning heat emit from my hands. It lashed out and struck the soldiers, paralyzing and killing most of them.

"V-Vinny, what was that?!" Travis ran towards me.

Radiant howl…

"N-nothing…."

"Why didn't you use it before?" Travis asked. "Oh well, who cares, let's keep going."

I had just remembered it now…

We approached two staircases, one leading to the left and one to the right.

"Okay Newo, you take your friends, and some of my clan members and take the right stairs. I'll head to the left," Josie said.

Newo nodded. "Okay."

"Where do you think those note orbs are?" Victoria asked me while we ran up the stairs.

"I don't now, but…"

"H-hey!" Travis pointed. "There!"

We were nearly at the top and there was a large orb floating in the middle of the stairs.

"Don't get to close to it," Newo warned. "Here, I'll"-

I felt my body get lighter.

"Vincent!"

Everything suddenly turned white.

When I came to, I was in a nighttime field.

A field of flowers…?

Was this Tataroo Valley…? Had I done it, had I returned home…?

'No, Luke…'

W-what? The voice seemed to resonate in my mind.

'You would like to be back here, wouldn't you, Luke? You'd love to see Auldurant again…'

Who are you…?

A figure suddenly appeared. He was a boy with black hair and pale blue eyes.

"You are not supposed to be alive, Luke," he said.

"Not be alive…? What do you mean?" I asked him, confused.

Why wasn't I supposed to be alive…?

He raised his hands, revealing long, black claws stretching out from his fingertips. I reached for my sword and pulled it out as he struck.

I sliced off one of his claws, and he seemed to lack any emotion. "You stole Asch's life," the boy told me, "you killed thousands of people in Akzeriuth's collapse. How do you live with the guilt? How can you live your life, completely ignorant of your sins?"

I lunged at him. "I live with the pain every day!" I clashed my sword against his claws.

"I know I can't" the boy said drearily. I tried to move my sword.

"You fell into the Planet Storm when you should have died. You shouldn't be allowed to go back to your home."

I had fallen into the Planet Storm…?

"If I can't return to my life, then neither should you!" the boy yelled. He raised his claws and was about to strike me on the neck-

I stabbed my sword straight into his heart, letting thick, black blood pour out.

"I have to go back, that's the one thing that I'm sure of," I told him. "I'm sorry…"

I pulled my sword out, and he coughed up blood.

"Luke…we've done terrible things…. we shouldn't be allowed to call ourselves human…"

He fell face flat on the floor, blood streaming from his body.

I lived with the guilt of Azeruith and the guilt of stealing Asch's life from him…I had done terrible things, but there was no way I was going to quit now…

"Vincent!" Victoria watched him float into the orb, and she ran after him.

Travis grabbed her. "Careful! There's no reason why you should risk your life, Vicky!"

"But Vincent"-

A booming voice suddenly ringed from the top of the stairs. "Where is the son of a scamp?!"

"General Carmine!" Newo ran towards him.

He frowned. "You've really let me down, lass, betraying the Rhythm military like that."

Newo sighed. "The emperor is too reliant on the Score! He's not the same person, he"-

"Shut up!" Carmine roared. He eyed the Paranoia clan members. "You!"

He reached for his gun and yelled orders to his soldiers. "Kill those bastards! They're vile beasts of the Score!"

"Hey, up yours, jackass!" One of the Geruda shouted.

Victoria reached for her dagger. "Damn it…does it really have to be like this…?"

Travis grinned at her. "We don't have a choice, do we?"

He rushed towards Carmine. "Eat this, assh"-

Carmine fell forewards, his head being lapped off by Newo's axe. She closed her eyes. "General Carmine…"

The rest of Carmine's men were finished off quickly, them having lost their confidence after their general had died.

Victoria placed a hand on Newo's shoulder. "It's okay…there was no way he would he stopped following the Score, even if it was destroyed."

Newo looked at her sadly and nodded.

A light suddenly flashed and Vincent flew out of the note orb, as if a gust of wind had blow him out. He landed on the floor with a thud.

"Up here!"

Josie and her clan cast note artes on an orb in front of them.

It exploded in a frenzy of colors, remains of it scattering everywhere.

"Okay, let's head to the top" she told her crew. "We should rendezvous with Newo and the others there!"

I stood up.

Man, that was one weird place…a copy of the Tataroo Valley?

"Vincent!" Victoria rushed up to me. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea."

"What I want to know," Travis said, "is how the hell do you float into a note orb?"

Victoria and some of the other Gerudas destroyed it with their note artes.

"Come on, let's head to the top," Newo said. She turned towards me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

But just who was that boy? And what was that place?

Had I really fallen into the Planet Storm…?

With these thoughts scrambling through my mind, I followed the others to the top.