Chapter 5

Shirley sat on Stella's tombstone, still crying after her argument with Senel. Although she had anticipated this kind of reaction from him, she still couldn't help but feel heartbroken. Additionally, she was thoroughly confused, as she had no idea what to do next.

"Shirley?"

Shirley perked up, seeing a young Ferines girl approaching her. "Thyra?"

"What's wrong?" Thyra asked. "Are you crying?"

Shirley wiped the tears away. "No...I'm okay. I'm just really confused right now."

"I see. Well...Maurits wanted me to ask you if you found anything regarding the spacecraft at the Ruins of Frozen Light."

"No, we haven't found anything."

"I see..." Thyra paused now. She wanted to leave, but she couldn't help but feel curious. She could tell from the look on the Merines' face that something was seriously wrong. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"No, something is seriously wrong," Shirley told her. "Ever since we went to the Ruins of Frozen Light, some of my friends have been acting strangely."

"How so?"

"I don't know...they...they're just not themselves anymore! I don't know if the spacecraft had anything to do with it, but I can't believe this would be just a coincidence either."

"That does sound strange. So...what will you do?"

"I don't know!" Shirley teared up again. "That's the problem...but I know I can't just do nothing. Just moping around like this won't get me anywhere. I know I'm stronger than this. I tried to warn Senel and Chloe, but they just didn't believe me. In a way, I can't really blame them. It's a tough story to believe...I can hardly believe it myself."

"I believe you," Thyra said. "I may have hated you at first, but even then, I never thought of you as a liar."

"Thyra...thank you."

Thyra pondered for another moment. "You said that only some of your friends were acting strange...was Jay one of them?"

"No...I don't think so. Why?"

"One of the things that annoyed me about Jay is that he's always so blunt. He tells the naked truth, no matter how ugly. I'm sure he'll believe you."

Shirley paused now. "Yeah...you're right. Jay seemed suspicious himself. I need to talk to him!"

Now the Merines stood up. "Thank you, Thyra. You've helped me clear my mind."

Thyra smiled. "I'm glad I could help. I would do more, but I'd just get in the way, like I did when we went to Castle Rexalia."

"No, you didn't get in our way," Shirley told her. "You were a big help then, too."

Thyra blushed. "Th...thanks..."

"Well, I'd better get moving. See you later, Thyra!" Shirley quickly ran from the graveyard.

"Good luck...Merines."

--

After leaving the graveyard, Shirley headed to the inn, then went to the lower level, where the arena was located. She found Jay inside the cage, with a dragon defeated in front of him.

"And the winner is...Jay!" the announcer called. "Here's your prize of fifty thousand gald!"

"I don't need it," Jay spat as he stepped out of the cage.

"Jay!" Shirley approached him directly. "I need to talk to you...but it's going to sound crazy."

"Hmm...I assume this is related to the recent turn of events?" Jay asked.

"Yes..." Shirley looked around at all of the people in the room. "But I can't talk about it here. We need some privacy."

Jay's eyes widened. "Privacy?"

Grabbing Jay's wrist, Shirley began to drag him out of the arena.

"This had better not be another trap!" Jay protested, recalling the time when Shirley had dragged him to the Waterways only to be assaulted by Solon's ninjas.

Ignoring the protests, Shirley ran out of the city, still holding Jay's wrist. She ran into the duct, which transported them to the Oresoren village. From there, Shirley continued to run, dragging Jay through the village. When she reached Quppo's house, she ran inside, pulling Jay up the stairs into the bedroom. Then she finally released him, and Jay stumbled across the room, propping his hands on the wall to rebalance himself.

Shirley slammed the door and locked it, pausing to catch her breath.

Jay straightened himself, also breathing heavily. "Now what is it!?"

Shirley moved in front of him, still looking around nervously, as though someone were watching them. Then she turned back to Jay. "This morning at the bar, I accidentally touched Stella's hand...and I think I had a vision."

"A vision?"

"Yeah...these images just flashed through my mind."

Jay paused. "I recall having a similar experience before. But that's not important right now. Tell me what you saw."

"It's like Stella wasn't even a person...she was some other thing...maybe a thousand things," Shirley told him. "And somehow she's connected to Norma, Moses, Grune, and Walter."

Jay fell silent, pondering her words carefully.

"I don't know how those images got into my mind..." Shirley went on. "Maybe I'm just going crazy...but the way the others have been acting...it's just not normal."

"When we had that experience before, with images entering our minds, we later learned that it was Nerifes communicating with us," Jay told her. "So perhaps what you saw was a warning from Nerifes."

Shirley now pondered for a brief moment, but then lit up. "You're right! Why didn't I think of that!? Stella said that Nerifes brought her and Walter back. But if I talk to Nerifes myself, it'll tell me the truth."

"Have you talked to the others yet?"

"Well, I tried to tell Senel and Chloe, but they didn't believe me. Senel...he yelled at me."

Jay let out a frustrated sigh. "How about Will?"

"I haven't talked to him yet. Should I do that first?"

"No...you go ahead and consult with Nerifes. I'll continue my investigation and report my findings to Will. I have a feeling that we may have missed something at the Ruins of Frozen Light."

"Okay...thank you." Shirley began to leave, but stopped at the door. "And thank you for believing me."

"To be honest, I've been rather suspicious myself," Jay told her. "When Moses isn't being stupid as usual, you know something is wrong."

Shirley kept a laugh in. "Of course...you and Moses..."

"But the entire situation is so wrong, it's almost impossible not to be suspicious," Jay added. "Senel and Chloe can be real blockheads sometimes."

"Mmm..." Shirley paused again. Although she hated to think that way of Senel, she knew that Jay had a point. "Yeah...you're right. So...we'll meet at Will's house later?"

"Yes," Jay nodded. "And remember...watch your back."

Shirley nodded in response. "I will."

Jay paused for a moment after he left. He was sure that the group had looked everywhere when they visited the Ruins of Frozen Light. Maybe there were other areas that they couldn't reach. At least he knew who could reach them...

Jay left the room and went downstairs, where the three Oresoren were waiting.

"Quppo, I need you all to do me a big favor," he said.

"What's wrong, Jay?" Quppo asked. "You look even more serious than usual."

Jay shook his head. "I'm not sure myself. But some of the others have been acting a little strange lately."

"Jay, we'll do anything for you," Poppo said. "What can we do?"

"We weren't able to learn anything at the Ruins of Frozen Light," Jay explained. "But I'm almost certain that there's something there in that spacecraft. These recent events have to revolve around it. I'd like you all to search the Ruins of Frozen Light for us. With your small size, you should be able to reach places that we can't."

"Leave it to us," Poppo said. "Ors!"

Quppo added in a low voice, "No challenge is too great for the mighty Quppo."

Jay gave a small smile. "I'm counting on you all."

The room fell silent for a moment after the Oresoren left. Jay paused, beginning to wonder what they would find. Shaking off the thought, he sat down in the center of the floor and began to formulate some possible strategies.

--

The sun set over the horizon as night fell over Werites Beacon. Harriet returned home after a long stay at a friend's house.

"Dad, I'm home!" she called out.

She set her backpack down at the corner, stretching her arms out. She then realized that she heard no response from Will.

"Dad?" Harriet called once more.

When she still heard no response, she went over to the base of the stairs, where she heard a door slowly creak open above her. Harriet waited for her father to come out and greet her, but nothing happened.

"Dad!" Harriet called once again as she began to climb the stairs. "Are you up there?"

As she reached the top, she peeked into Will's bedroom, where she spotted Grune in the back, standing in front of the window. The lights were turned off, so Harriet could barely recognize Grune's silhouette figure.

"Grune? Is that you?"

Harriet flicked on the light switch, only to see Grune in the nude, except for her thin green veil.

"Ack!" Harriet quickly turned out the lights again. "You're...n-n-naked! What are you doing in here!?"

"Oh...Will and I were just having a chat," Grune replied sweetly.

Harriet glanced over at the bed, where Will lay, his head turned away from her. Although Will was in a natural sleeping position, Harriet had the feeling that he wasn't merely sleeping...

"You...and my dad??" Harriet asked in disbelief. "I don't buy it, no way!"

Grune moved to the side, letting the moonlight shine on her figure. It was only then that Harriet noticed the blood streaking down from Grune's mouth, all the way down her chest and abdomen.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Grune asked, her voice still innocent.

Still keeping her eyes on Grune, Harriet reached out, gently shaking Will's arm. "D...Dad...?"

Harriet only felt her heart beating faster as many questions flew through her mind. Had Will and Grune really screwed? And where did that blood come from?

"Dad??" Harriet now turned Will's head to face her, only to find more blood pouring from the corner of his mouth.

"Gaaaahhh!!" Harriet screamed as she staggered back from the bed. She looked at Grune, who was merely licking her lips like a wild animal after a satisfying meal. "What have you done?!"

Suddenly, something shoved her from behind, startling her. Harriet staggered over to the closet as Norma and Moses stepped into the room, joining Grune at the window.

"You...!!" Harriet reached into the closet, grabbing the nearest weapon she could find – a broomstick. "Get away from me, you...you freaks!"

Norma, Moses, and Grune merely stared at her blankly. Grune still licked her lips like a hungry animal. Norma stood hunched over, with her fists over her mouth, looking up with innocent eyes. Moses held one hand to his chest, snarling softly.

"I don't know what you did to my dad..." Harriet scolded, her voice trembling, "but you're gonna pay! You're gonna be arrested! You're gonna be executed, and it'll be OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!!"

Suddenly, Harriet felt a sharp blow to the back of her head. She didn't even get to react as she was knocked out cold on the spot.

Norma, Moses, and Grune looked up to see Stella standing in the doorway, exposing her elbow which had just struck Harriet. Stella then crouched down, picking the flower from the girl's hair.

"Oh, don't worry; I wouldn't hurt the poor child," she said as she rose, smelling the flower. "Good work."

Norma, Moses, and Grune only flashed a smile.

--

Meanwhile, Jay continued to sit at his house, analyzing the situation and writing everything down.

"So these events only began upon the discovery of the spacecraft," he told himself. "But the others seemed to be acting oddly even before we went to investigate...but only after Stella and Walter's appearance. Somehow, I have the feeling that Stella and Walter's sudden resurrection may be connected with that spacecraft."

Jay paused as a revelation hit him.

"Could it be possible that whatever was on that spacecraft may have the ability to control people from within? It would be a brilliant plan - control a few dead bodies, and then spread it out to the living."

Jay's heart jumped as the event of Norma kissing Grune came to mind. "Grune only began to act strangely after that kiss. Even during the kiss, it looked as though Grune were in pain...if only for a moment. That must be how they spread, through mouth-to-mouth contact."

Jay shook his head as the situation grew even more serious by the minute. "We still don't even know what we're dealing with. More importantly, we need to know how to restore the others to their normal selves..."

Suddenly, the front door flew open, and Stella stepped inside, holding a giant insect creature in her right hand. Jay perked up, startled. Stella hurled the insect creature into the room; Jay quickly rolled backwards to his feet. The insect straightened itself, waving its many legs, hissing softly. Jay stared the creature down, slowly reaching for the dagger in his pocket. Stella merely watched, a sinister smile crossing her face.

Jay pulled his dagger, and in the same single motion, flung it at the creature. It exploded upon impact, spraying its fluids everywhere.

Jay exhaled a sigh of relief, but his expression turned to horror all over again as a horde of smaller insects began to pour out from the larger insect's tail.

"Oh Nerifes..." Jay gasped as the insects crawled toward him at a rapid speed. Thinking quickly, Jay leaped over them, attempting to lunge at Stella. However, Stella quickly backed out, pulling the door shut as she did so. Jay crashed into the door, then tried to open it again, but to no avail as Stella held it shut.

"Damn you!" Jay shot another glance at the insects before dashing upstairs to the bedroom and slamming the door.

Seconds later, Jay felt something tingling on his leg, rapidly crawling up his body. Jay looked down; when he saw nothing, he realized that the bugs were crawling under his clothes! Panicking, Jay staggered around the room, trying to shake out the bug. However, it was futile as the insect emerged from Jay's collar, hooking its legs into his mouth and forcing itself in. Jay instantly began gagging and coughing out blood as the insect crawled deeper into his body. Finally, Jay fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor.