I'm sorry for the long wait-man over a month has passed without any news. My only excuse is school: I'm starting my last year of high school in France, and as you can tell, I'm swamped with homework and have little time for myself. The good news is, I'm on a two week vacation, so I'll try publishing at least one more chapter by beginning November.

For those who have answered/reviewed the previous messages and chapters, thank you so much. I know I'm repetitive, but these reviews are a huge motivator/moral boost that really make my days. ^^

Here's the next chapter! Have fun reading!

It was early in the morning when the boat docked in the Aladhi Seahaven.

The small town was still dark, and the sun's rays had yet to chase the shadows away. The streets were empty of civilians, the only people out of their beds at this hour were the sailors who unloaded the cargo and began to carry them away.

Of the few passengers that had left Fennmont, Jude and Alvin, led by the young medic Isla, stepped out of the wooden boards and into the hard rock.

Alvin looked around. "Looks like we've arrived earlier than expected. Want to grab some breakfast? I'm pretty sure the inn will cook something for us."

"That's okay with but…" he turned to face Isla, who was trying to make herself scarce since yesterday. Not that he didn't understand. It was after all natural for her to be somewhat distant.

Isla noticed his look. "What?"

"Do you want breakfast? I can-"

"No!" she answered a bit too quickly. "I-I'm fine."

Alvin sighed. "Isla, I'm not after you for what you did to my mother." He stated.

Isla visibly flinched and turned very white. "I…I…I…" she whispered.

Jude shook his head. "Alvin, try to see if you can get us some breakfast. We'll catch up."

Alvin's reply was a shrug, and he walked silently towards the inn.

When he was well out of earshot, Jude turned around and stepped towards Isla. He remained silent for a while, before speaking. "Isla…"

Isla simply stared at him.

"Look, I know how you feel. You're scared witless because you think we'll get back at you for what you did to both Elize and to Alvin's mother. But you have to know that no one is angry at you. Elize has gotten completely over it-she even stopped living with Teepo. And for Alvin…he wasn't even angry at you in the first place. You can ease up. No one's going to hurt you or get back at you."

Isla suddenly glared at him. "I-That's not why I'm acting like this!" she yelled. She was obviously surprised by her own tone, and reeled back, rubbing her arm, looking down apologetically. "I-I'm sorry. I've been on edge lately…with Nya Khera, then the Great Spirit, then King Gaius…I haven't had the time to take a break, and then I'm thrust with people who can destroy everything I care so much about…I…I just want to live normally again."

When the awkward silence fell over them, Jude decided it was his turn to step in. "I understand why you feel like this when you're around Alvin, Elize, or some former member of Exodus, but you have to know that we're not all against you. You've noticed that we haven't mention your past to anyone, and most certainly not to your husband."

Isla nodded slowly, but Jude could tell that her action was full of gratitude.

"Look, I promise you that this will be the last time we meet. After that, if you want to forget about us for the rest of your life, go ahead. I'm just going to ask you to try to accept us just for the time being okay?"

Isla nodded slowly. "Okay."

Jude nodded in satisfaction. "Now, let's find Alvin."

Isla stepped forward. "Jude…I think I'll take your offer for breakfast."

The honor student grinned. "Let's see what the cooks can whip up."

Jude stepped on the top of the hill and looked down. The sun was setting when the group reached Hamil. The small village was bathed by the golden rays, and the gentle breeze began to pick up, gently blowing his hair away from his face.

"We're here!" he called out to Alvin and Isla who were lagging behind.

Alvin gave a last push and stepped over the curved ground, before slowly descending the slope. "So this is where you felt the earth shake?"

Isla nodded. "Yes. We were delivering medicine to the Mayor. I wonder if she's okay…she seemed pretty desperate to get the bandages…"

"Either way, let's not stay here for too long. You might be fine, but Jude and I aren't exactly buddies with these guys." Alvin said from the bottom of the slope.

Isla nodded and walked briskly down the hill and into the village.

Jude paused for a second, before stepping down as well. Why would the Mayor be so desperate for medicine? Granted this place was far from the cities, but still, the quality of life wasn't that bad right? Even Elize was in a pretty good shape despite being isolated from society for the first eight years of her life.

"It's quiet."

Jude looked up at Alvin. "What?"

The man stood in the middle of the village, his eyes narrowed, but his guard down. "I said it's quiet. Remember when we first got here? The place was filled with people, even though we arrived in the evening. Right now, it's completely empty."

Jude looked around. Alvin was right. Even the shops that used to bustle with activity were silent, and more importantly: empty.

Jude felt Isla step closer to him. "I don't understand…did they leave? Even when I left, there was still-"

"WHO'S THERE?"

The three travelers jumped. In a flash, Alvin's broadsword was in his hand and Jude was standing in a defensive stance, ready to dodge any incoming attack. Feeling his heart begin to thud uncontrollably, he managed to stammer and answer. "Travelers! We're on our way to Nia Khera!"

A heavy silence fell over them, as several long seconds followed the quick exchange.

Alvin shifted his grip on his weapon. "So? You going to reveal yourself?" he called.

"NIA KHERA IS GONE! LEAVE NOW!"

Jude snapped his head to the right, and began scanning the roof of the houses, his arms half crossed in front of him, all his senses on high alert. That voice…It was different than the first one, but…

Alvin looked at Jude. "What do we do?"

Jude, with infinite care, lowered his arms, though kept his guard up and legs tensed. "Stay back. I think I know that voice-or at least the second one."

Alvin sent him a confused look, before shrugging, and stepping protectively before Isla.

Jude stepped carefully forward, one inch after the other. He answered the silence with his own, his hazel eyes staring at the rooftops, daring anyone to attack.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The first voice…

Jude obeyed. He took a deep breath. Okay…time for the hard part. "So, apparently you decided to run away. So, what happened? Failed in your duty again?"

Alvin raised an eyebrow at the speech, but said nothing.

A heavy silence fell over them. "IS THAT YOU, YOU PHONEY PUNK?"

Jude opened his mouth, but thought better when he saw a grayish stream scream towards him at high speed.

Jude did the only thing he could: dive out of the way of the mystic arte.

"SHIMMERFANG IMPACT!"

A huge, half sphere of golden light engulfed the area Jude was standing barely seconds ago.

Jude rolled back onto his feet and whipped his head up, grinning hugely. "I knew it. You're too easy to ta-IVAR!"

One could expect everything from Lord Maxwell's guardian. Attempt (and usually fail) at making impressive entrances into battle, an unwavering loyalty towards Lord Maxwell-sometimes ready to run naked into battle to save her (almost doing in several occasions)

But Jude never expected to see this.

Ivar, the guardian of Lord Maxwell, and one of Jude's greatest rivals, was glaring at him, covered in bandages and drenched in his own blood. His clothes were torn-his left sleeve even missing. His right wrist was completely bandaged, but judging by the disgusting distortion, Jude could tell that the bone wasn't just damaged: it was completely pulverized.

Ivar's legs had been slashed open, and the scars were very new-some of them even opening again with the guardian's sharp movements.

The two swords were heavily damaged-one of them even smashed in half. The other had barely a solid hilt.

But what shocked Jude the most was the man's face. Ivar's once handsome features, were…ruined, to put it bluntly. A huge gash had been opened, ripping the left eye and cheek open, almost revealing bone. It was still pouring with blood.

"I-Ivar. What happened?" Jude yelled.
"You stupid phoney…I'm going to KILL YOU!" Ivar screamed, as he lunged forward, brandishing his two swords forward, ready to rip the boy apart.

Jude, completely overwhelmed by what was happening, took a step back. His heel caught the edge of a rock, and he tripped, tumbling on the ground with a heavy thud. "I-Ivar!"

"DIE!"

Jude saw the blood-red sword descend upon him and-

"TERRA RUPTURE!"

There was a loud rumble, and Ivar screamed as he was ripped out of control and thrown towards Alvin, who launched a strong left hook on the injured man.

It knocked Ivar back two or three feet, before he crumpled on the floor, unconscious, barely alive.

A heavy silence fell over the small group. "What…happened to him?" Isla whispered, her voice barely a whisper.

Alvin shook his head. "Beats me." Stabbing the ground with his broadsword, he lowered himself to his knees and carefully inspected Ivar. "These injuries look recent…do you think-"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

The three of them turned sharply to see the Mayor of Hamil run towards them. She was holding one sword in her two old hands. "Leave him alone at once." she snapped.

Jude climbed to his feet, and raised his hands in attempt to calm the woman down. "Hey…Mayor."

"Hey, old hag, listen. First rumors that Nya Khera is destroyed start flying, then the village of Hamil is abandoned, and now the Guardian of Lord Maxwell is barely alive. What's going on here?"

Jude blew his bangs out of his face in exasperation. Leave it to Alvin to be the most blunt possible.

The Mayor turned very pal and started shaking. "I...I…I…" she stammered. "We…I…" she gulped. Panic and terror began to spread across her features.

"Mayor, it's okay. King Gaius sent us to investigate. I promise we mean no harm." Isla said softly, stepping past Alvin and before the old woman.

At the sight of the Auj Oulian doctor, the old woman began to calm. Having regained some ability to speak, she whispered "Come inside…it's best for all of us…"

"What happened to Ivar? Last time I saw him, he was, well, in better shape than this" Jude asked as he cast healer for the fourth time going.

The group had entered the Mayor's house, and was currently standing in the large rooms. Ivar had been laid back into one of the beds, where Jude, with the help of Isla, desperately proceeded to heal the man.

The Mayor, who was currently sitting on one of the wooden chairs, gripped her clothes tightly. "We…I'm not too sure either…" she whispered. "When the earthquake happened, right after you left Isla, he just came falling from the sky. He had barely woken up when you two arrived."

Alvin ran a hand through his hair. "My money's on that he fell off his wyvern." he said.

"We killed his wyvern in our last encounter, remember?"

"Wait, really? I guess the situation is more serious then."

Jude rolled his eyes before focusing on healing Ivar.

Isla finished bandaging some of the wounds and stood up. "I managed to push the broken bones in his wrist close to one another. If I go forward, I might make things worse. Even if the bone heals, I don't think he'll be able to move his hand again…" she said. She looked back at Mayor and carefully stepped towards her. "Mayor." she whispered. "What's going on? Why is Hamil empty?"

The Mayor began shaking. "When…when the earthquake took place and the Great Spirit of Wind flew by, we feared the worst. We decided to run away, until he came falling." The old woman looked at Ivar. "I decided to remain behind. But everyone else left."

Isla nodded. "Thank you for all the help Mayor." she whispered. She looked up at Alvin. "What do we do?"

The older man, who was now leaning against the wall, shrugged and gestured to Jude with his head. "Ask him. He's leading."

"We're going to Nia Khera" Jude said firmly. "I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, it's serious. Ivar wasn't just defeated, he was downright crushed. And he's an elite warrior. We need to know what's going on."

Alvin scratched his head. "Hey Jude…I understand your concern for Milla, but the monster took down Ivar obviously with extreme ease. Don't forget, even the four of us together could barely defeat that guy."

Jude glared at the sheets and lowered his arms. "I know. But we've got to at least try to know what really happened." He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I promise we just take a peak and move out. After that, we run back to Gaius. He'll be strong enough to deal with the rest."

Alvin nodded. "With Muzet ready to back him up, the guy's practically invincible. He'll be perfectly able to deal with the monster himself."

Isla looked at Alvin. "Isn't Muzet a spirit? She's close to him"

"Define 'close'. They're practically married. And yes, Muzet is the Great Spirit of inter-dimension and ice. She's a beast. Don't mess with her."

Jude climbed to his feet. "We'll joke about Gaius and Muzet later. First things first, we get to Nia Khera. Then, we warn King Gaius." He walked towards the Mayor, and knelt before her. "I managed to fix the worst, but there are some things I won't be able to undo, such as his destroyed wrist, and the scar on his face. I don't think these will ever go away. But to be sure, try visiting my father back in Leronde. I'm sure he'll be of more help than me."

The old woman made no reply. She simply nodded and kept her eyes on her lap.

Jude stood up. "Come on guys." he said.

As he stepped out of the door, Isla quickly followed him. Alvin straightened himself and took a step forward when-

"Alvin..."

The man turned around. "Yeah?"

The Mayor made no move to face him. She simply spoke. "When your friend was unconscious…he kept muttering…'why. Why Lady Milla…'. I don't know why."

Alvin felt the temperature in the room drop of several degrees. He paused and looked at the sleeping man. "Thanks," he said, before turning around and closing the door behind him.

The man must've been rejected again, the older man decided. It was the only logical explana-

"Hey Alvin! You coming?"

Alvin looked up at Jude who was waving at him from the otherside of the town. He waved back, and started the trek towards the holy village.

So why was he so scared?

"So these are the Kijara Seafalls. They're beautiful."

Jude nodded as Isla looked up at the giant waterfalls that seemed to stretch to the sky. "Myths say that this waterfall is the source of all the liquid-type mana all across Rieze Maxia. They also say that the Waterfall keeps pouring with each of Undine's heartbeat."

Isla looked at Jude, her interest picked. "Spirits have hearts?"

Jude nodded. "They do. Except that theirs is a sphere charged with pure raw mana. Like humans, their heart eventually gives out."

"What happens to the spirits who die?"

"They become-Alvin, are you okay?" Jude interrupted himself when he noticed the older man walk past him, a concerned look on his face.

Alvin snapped out of his thoughts. "Hm?"

"You've been quiet ever since we left Hamil. Is something the matter?" Jude asked.

Alvin shook his head. "I-it's nothing. Just something that's been nagging me. But I'm sure it's nothing."

The three of them fell in an uncomfortable silence, but kept walking.

"Come on," Jude said, more to break the silence than to say anything in particular, "Nia Khera is just past those hills."

She flapped her small wings and peered past the side of the cliff, watching the three humans walk slowly past the Kijara Seafalls.

What were they doing?

She gritted her teeth, the churning of her stomach and rigid, ice-cold feeling that ran through her veins, told her that she knew the answer.

They were going to Nia Khera.

She had to stop them.

Flapping her wings as fast as she could, she took off, unaware of the blond goddess that watched her from the edges of the seafall.

There was one thing Jude was certain of, was that something was very wrong.

Not wrong in the sense that you'll get in trouble or something, it was the feeling you get when you know you're going to die.

Everyone had fallen silent, despite the feeble attempts to start a conversation. Isla had become very pale, her strides becoming shorter and shorter with every step, like she was dreading what she was going to see just past the hill.

Even Alvin was glaring at the surroundings; his hands in his pockets, and judging by the form f the left pocket, Jude could tell that his hand was gripping his blaster tightly. He too, had his guard up, and was tensed, ready to defend himself if even the worst happened.

Jude focused back on the hill that was separating him from the holy village. Feeling more and more desperate by the second, he accelerated his walking speed. With every step, he felt the ground become more distant, he felt like the hill was getting steeper and steeper, and that he'll never be able to reach the top. Desperation and panic began to bubble in his chest. His stomach churned.

He had never felt like this before…

He reached the top, and looked down the other side, dreading what he would see.

He instantly fell to his knees, as all energy had been sucked right out of his own body. "W-what?" he choked.

The village wasn't just damaged, it was completely destroyed. The houses had been ripped open, the wooden walls snapped like twigs, the splinters drenched in what seemed dried blood.

The earth was torn, crevices and stalagmites rose from the ground like blades through a human body.

Figures were lying on the ground, though they were still too distant to know what they were.

"How…"
Jude barely acknowledged what Alvin said. In fact, he had yet to realize that his two companions were standing next to him; the woman was shivering, though she had already seen this before. Alvin was standing on his left, his arms dropped uselessly against his sides, his eyes wide with complete shock.

Jude did the only thing that crossed his mind: he leaped onto his feet, and raced into the village.

"JUDE WAIT!"

Jude ignored the order, and kept running. Fear brought adrenaline coursing through his veins, pushing him forward. "No…" he whispered, barely able to suppress a sob, as he realized that the things he hadn't been able to identify were pieces of human beings. "No…" He ran faster, like the world was falling. He ran, dreading to see what had happened to her.

Speeding into the forest, he entered the realm of shadows and instantly felt the cold nibble at his skin. Only when he approached the large, wooden house at the end of the road, did he start to slow down.

Before him, with her back facing him, stood a motionless, tall, blond woman.

Jude skidded to a halt, swamped in relief. "Milla?" he whispered. "Are you…"

"JUDE!"

The teenager turned around to see Alvin and Isla catch up with him. "Guys…"

"Jude, don't go running off like-Milla?" Alvin interrupted himself at the sight of Lord Maxwell.

Jude nodded. He stepped forward. "Milla? Are you okay?" he asked gently, barely capable of resisting the urge to hug the woman before him. "Milla?"

There was no response.

"Milla are you okay?" Jude asked again, carefully lay a hand on her shoulder

The reaction was instantaneous. As soon as his hand even brushed her shoulder, the woman spun around, ripping his arm away from her, and snagged his collar with extreme strength. Milla glared at Jude, her eyes charged with murderous intent. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you Jude" she snarled, her voice laced with insanity and bloodlust.

Jude failed to react for several seconds. "W-what? Milla?"

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this…" the woman hissed. She swung Jude in the air, before bringing him crashing down on the ground, and raising her sword high in the air.

"JUDE!" Isla screamed.

Alvin managed to snap out of his shock, and leaped into action, knocking the woman off the stunned teenager. "Jude, snap out of it, are you okay?" he asked, shaking the boy by the shoulders

Jude was completely motionless for a few seconds, before he too, snapped out of his stupor. "M-Milla? What's going on? What happened?"

Milla laughed. "My my Jude, you really are innocent and naïve. Not that I will complain. It's made things so easy for me." Her laughter stopped, and she raised her sword. "Buy you've worn out your usefulness!" she roared as she lunged forward, the tip of the sword turning ablaze.

Jude had no idea how he managed to dodge the attack. But he managed to kick himself out of the way, just as Milla screamed past him. He felt the intense heat and wind slap him in the face with extreme violence.

Time seemed to slow down, as Jude managed to catch Milla's eye as the two beings missed one another. Jude's eyes went wide with horror as he realized what was going on.

Time sped up.

Jude skidded on fours, panting. "That was-"

A high pitch scream rang out across the forest. Jude snapped his head up, and almost yelled in horror. "ISLA!" he yelled.

Milla's attack had barely missed him. But Isla hadn't been so lucky. The sword had gone right through her stomach, sprouting out from her back. The young woman whimpered, before falling to her knees, motionless.

"Do as she did, and fall to your knees before me." Milla hissed.

"ISLA NO!"
Jude turned to look at Alvin, who was staring, bewildered, at the scene before him.

The man drew his broadsword from his back pulled out his blaster. "How could you? Why-"

Alvin didn't get to finish. Milla snapped her fingers, and Gnome appeared before her. Instantly, the earth around them exploded, and came crashing down on them. "ALVIN!" Jude yelled, as he saw his friend get caught in the wave of earth, and thrown towards Milla's waiting sword.

It was his years of experience that saved Alvin. The man, caught in the wave or dirt, acted out of instinct, and blasted two bullets at the Great Spirit, before swinging his bladed weapon down, parrying Milla's own.

Gnome screeched in pain, before vanished within Milla.

Jude could barely move. Even in a time like this, he felt like his legs had turned to stone, that he was paralyzed. He couldn't believe it. Milla…

Milla's eyes gleamed with insanity. "Ah, I remember how you taught me the ways of the sword." she hissed, as she managed to resist the clash. "But you know they say, the apprentice will one day defeat the master. And guess what? That day is TODAY!" she finished her sentence with a scream, and Efreet appeared behind her, bathing the woman in flames. "DIE YOU FOOL!" Milla roared. There was a blast of fire, and Alvin was sent flying backwards, where he crashed in the tree next to Isla. He slid on the ground. "Ow…"

"HEADS UP!"

Alvin raised his head, just in time to see Milla bring her sword crashing down on him. He raised his arms to protect himself. Milla's sword ripped right through the left forearm, almost tearing it in half. Blood poured out uncontrollably from the wound. Alvin screamed in pain as Milla instantly followed the attack up with a rain of fireballs. Alvin instantly fell over, unconscious, and Jude couldn't tell if he was still alive.

"ALVIN NO!"

He tried to move, tried to act, but his legs-no his body-refused to obey. He was crouching in the middle of the clearing, injured, barely capable of supporting himself, met alone fight.

Milla turned around to face him. "Ah Jude. My lovely little boy. you have no idea how much I've missed you" she whispered. She stepped closer to him.

Jude tried to get his body moving. He failed. "W-w-"

Milla gently touched his cheek. "Don't worry. I know you can't move. Undine is making sure of that."

Jude eyes went wide with horror. The human body was composed with so much water…Undine could…control it?

"You're so easy to read." Milla laughed. "I can't control your full body, but most of it." Milla gently brushed the boy's bangs out of his face. "How to kill you…such a difficult question." She stopped and raised herself to full height. "How about we start with this." She grabbed a fistful of Jude's hair and lifted him off the ground.

Jude screamed as pain exploded throughout his scalp. "MILLA!"

Milla laughed. "I love you screams. How I've longed to hear them…NOW DIE!" she lunged forward, and sunk her blade into Jude's chest. Jude gasped, and coughed out blood. Suddenly, the whole world felt very distant, in fact, he barely noticed the fact that he was thrown against the tree.

"LADY MILLA PLEASE!"

Jude failed to raise his head, but he noticed a flash of emerald green fly by, and hover protectively above him.

"Lady Milla please! Leave them be! They came to help you!" the figure squeaked.

Jude tried to move, but he was too weak. All he could do was listen to the voices…they sounded so far away.

"You again…to think that you would-"

"LADY MILLA! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

That voice…

"Ivar…it appears the first time wasn't enough. Looks like I'll have to punish you a second time."

Far away, Jude heard screams and explosions rock the clearing. Everything was becoming so quiet…so peaceful…so calm…

"You won't get away this time Ivar."

"I *cough* already did. TELEPORT!"

Jude briefly saw his world turn gold, and everything went dark.

Leia was happily carrying the pail outside, trying to ignore her mother obnoxiously yelling orders from the other side of the village.

She had no idea cleaning the dishes was this much fun! After all, dumping the dirty water from her third floor window proved to be quite entertaining. Too bad her mother was underneath…

At least she somehow managed to put the blame on dad.

She'll have to add this to her list of pranks she promised to try on Jude. She giggled as she thought of the possible reactions he might have.

Hey! Maybe she could-

"LEIA!"

The girl turned around to see two children run towards her, pushing a wooden wheelchair before them.

"Leia! Let's do it again!" the first child, a boy, exclaimed.

Leia grinned. "ALL RIGHT!" She slipped into the seat, carefully balancing the full bucket on her lap, before raising her fist yelling, "TO THE SEAHAVEN! LET'S BURN RUBBER!"

Instantly, the boys behind her started pushing the wheelchair with all their might, and slowly, the momentum began to build, and Leia found herself racing across the village.

"YEEEHHAAAA! FASTER FASTER! Hey! Look over there!"

The two boys skidded the wheelchair to halt, and looked at the direction Leia was pointing. A wooden carriage had been unhooked from the horses, and was leaning backwards, the edge pressed against the ground.

Leia looked at the two children. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked, a huge grin drawn on her face.

The two children nodded, grinning like idiots too.

They turned the wheelchair, before pushing once again with all their might.

"Come on faster!" Leia yelled. "We gotta fly!"

The speed was built, and the boys released the wheelchair, and the wheelchair flew up the carriage, and it with its user was sent flying through the sky.

"I BELIEVE I CAN FLY! I BELIEVE I COU-NO! I DON'T-LOOK OUT BELOW!"

The two children burst out laughing as the girl flew out of sight, and her screams were followed by a loud crash.

"Wow, that was AWESOME!" Leia said, crawling back to her feet. "I should totally do this again." She shook her head. "Where's the pail?" she asked.

"I suppose you mean this?"

Leia, still standing on fours, looked at the outraged face of Dc. Mathis himself. The man was drenched with the dirty water, the pail placed on his head, giving him a comical appearance, despite the serious look on his face. "Um, yes? Can I have it back? Please?"

The father of her childhood friend ripped the pail off and pushed it in her arms, before turning around, and storming towards his house.

Leia pouted. "What's his problem? I didn't mea-"

A massive pillar of golden light came crashing down in the streets before her. Stunned, she watched in silence as the light began to fade.

When the light dissipated completely, she dropped the pail, which hit the ground with a loud clatter, and her hands instantly slapped against her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Her face turned deathly pale.

Before her, lay four humans, two men and one teenager, and one woman, all lying on the ground, drenched in their own blood. In the middle of them, was kneeling the unmistakable figure of the Great Spirit of Wind.

Sylph, tears running down her face, threw her head back and screamed at the top of her voice.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

I know what most of you re thinking: WHAT! For that, I have several important things to tell you.

The first one is about Ivar. He will be with the gang from here on out. I know many people don't like him, and I admit I'm not a fan of Ivar, but I think he deserves to be part of this plot. I mean, if he wasn't the comic relief, he'd be perfect as a badass. I mean, first he gets trampled by a monster, he doesn't get a scratch, then, when he breaks his sword, he stabs himself in the head, but pulls the blade out, no questions asked, and then he jumped off a freaking wyvern and onto a battleship, and annihilates a whole army of Elympian soldiers.

And as a boss, granted he was easy when I fought him with the wyvern, but the first time you fight him (solo Jude/Ivar), he was freaking HARD. I freaking lost three times. And it wasn't just a close fight: I got my ass handed to him.

He could be so awesome, and I kinda wanted to give him a chance.

That doesn't mean I won't bash him on the head from time to time.

Did I mention I love writing Leia? I think she's my favorite character of the game. I mean, she's so much fun to play around with. ^^ For those who love that character, you're going to have a blast.

One last thing: I've been talking with some friends, and we're still debating on whether this fanfic should be a Jude/Milla or a Jude/Leia. So far, since no decision has been made, I'm going to stand in between, trying to please everyone. But, personally, I like the Jude/Leia pairing, so expect to see this as a final decision-though it's far from confirmed!

And now, it's time for your ultimate test:

REVIEW!