Chapter 11: Return to 14 SD Edge looked over as Faize chased after his son. "Get back here!" "Nya!" the little boy looked at him from under the table where Edge was sitting. He darted out as Faize made a grab for him, but bumped into Albel. Turning on the water-works, the boy started to cry and reached up to be 'rescued' by his other parent. No such luck. Albel picked him up, and then handed him over to Faize. "Parenthood isn't what you expected, is it?" Arumat asked, trying to bottle-feed his own son. Faize looked at him, his son's fingers in his mouth and up his nose as the boy tried to push away from him. "Could shay the shame to you." He got a hand up and got the boy's hands off his face. "At least mine can sort-of talk." He looked at his son. "Come on, bath time." "Yay!" The boy forgot all his trying to escape Faize and began to try and strip himself while Faize was carrying him to the bath. "That one's a handful, isn't he?" asked Myuria. Albel shrugged and began to gather up the clothes. "We've got two more coming, so this is good practice." "Two more?!" Crowe asked. "Well, Faize didn't want to try only one, and I said three jokingly, so . . ." There was a scream from the bath, and Albel took off running. "Faize?" The Eldarian looked at Albel. "Get the others. He went through the mirror." Albel grabbed Faize by the shoulder and handed him the clothes. "Go get him. I'll be right behind you." Faize nodded and headed through the mirror. The sky was red, purple, and orange, meaning the sun was either setting or rising. The ground was wrought with the fissures filled with liquid, and the vegetation was rustling restlessly with the wind. There was a thick, damp, and humid smell to the air. But there was no sign of his son. "Fyral!" Faize shouted. (name is pronounced Fear-al) "Fyral!" There was a scream, and Faize ran towards it. "Fyral!" The boy stood, dressed only in his little shirt, looking up at a huge lizard. "Mama!" he cried. "Run, Fyral!" Faize shouted, running at the monster. "Earth Glave!" Fyral ran as fast as he could, right past Faize. He was scared, and had every right to be that way. The night variety of creatures on the planet weren't as friendly as the day variety. As he ran, he spotted a huge metal beast, standing as tall as the sky, but for some reason, it also seemed inviting, and he ran towards it. Faize tried everything he could, but his symbology wasn't working. Worse, he was without his sword, so the only thing he could do was try to distract it from his son. "Ice Sword!" Fayt came charging at the monster, his sword looking more like a giant cleaver made of ice. He managed to hack a leg out from under the creature, and then, Edge was there as well, attacking. "Here." Albel handed Faize his rapier, and the pair ran at the monster. From further away, Lymle cast Faerie Healing, and Nel and Mericle stayed in hiding with Reimi while Arumat went to attack. The monster fought back, naturally, sweeping over the field with it's tail, at least, until Arumat hacked it off with his scythe. Fayt's attacks seemed to do exceptionally well whenever he cast magic on his weapon, while Faize, Arumat, and Edge's symbology seemed to do almost nothing. Even Lymle's healing spells weren't being very effective, but Nel's were recovering them with ease. At long last, they managed to defeat the giant lizard. Albel turned to Faize. "Where's Fyral?" "I told him to run." Faize replied. He looked around. "But I . . . I can't sense him." He dropped to his knees, panting hard. "Faize?" asked Nel. "What's wrong?" She looked beside her as Lymle also dropped to her knees. "Lym?" "My legs feel all wobbly, kay?" Lymle stood up again, trying to balance. "There." Reimi looked over at Arumat, who was leaning on his scythe to stand, and Edge, who was using his sword to hold himself up. "What could be wrong?" she asked herself. "I think I may know that answer." Reimi turned. "Baccus!" "We have returned to our original time, and thus the symbols on them to keep their Symbology in check is actually restricting the natural flow." Baccus explained. "However, Miss Nel Zelpher and Mister Fayt Leingod have suddenly become more powerful. I believe this to be because they do not belong in our time, just as we do not belong in theirs." "Hmm." Lymle looked at the marks on her arm. "I think I can wash them off, right Faize?" The Eldarian nodded. "Yes, they do wash off in warm water." he replied, letting Albel help him up. "Now, we need to find Fyral." "He's probably over there." said Fayt. "Inside that ship." "The Calnus 2?" Edge asked. "Ok, we'll try there." As the group made their way through the lengthening shadows, they noticed that there was a light on inside the ship. "Well, something's in there." Reimi said hopefully. "The lights are only on if there's a warm body present." "That also means it's not one of the reptiles we've seen crawling around." Faize added. "It does give me some hope that it's Fyral in there." Edge was the first to step into the ship, and he quickly motioned for the others to get in as well. "Lym, you left Cerberus here, didn't you?" he asked. "Oh, no!" Faize stepped into the main room, only to pause, dumbstruck. "Fyral?" The little boy shifted, sitting between Cerberus's front paws. "Mama!" he cried, standing up and walking over, ready to get his waiting hug. "Fyral." Faize held him close, letting Albel also cuddle their son. "I was worried about you." "Doggie." he said, pointing at Cerberus. Faize looked over at the giant hellhound. "Thank you, Cerberus, for protecting our son." Cerberus let his tongue hang out happily and wagged his huge tail. "Bow." Fyral said, pointing at Cerberus's tail. "Yes, there is a bow on there, isn't there?" Faize smiled. Fyral yawned, then looked up at Albel and Faize. "Bed?" Albel nodded. "Is there somewhere for us to put him for the night?" "Room two would be vacant at the moment, Mister Edge." Baccus informed. "Room two." Edge said. "You both should get some sleep as well." The family nodded and headed up to the crew quarters. Reimi looked at Edge. "We're going to bed as well, alright?" She took Arumat and the triplets up to their room as well. "I'll return to my own chambers." Baccus said, leaving as well. "You two can stay in room five." Edge offered to Fayt and Nel. "We'll figure out what to do when the sun comes up. Lymle followed Edge up to the crew quarters, vanishing into room six, where she used to stay with Myuria and Mia. "I wonder if their going to come to this side, too?" she mumbled to herself as she crawled into bed. "Oh, well." A.N. - Forget the 35-40 leveling. That is literally the shortest level I have seen in a Star Ocean game that allowed for actual combat! I did get to level 30, though, before Earth imploded. Edge is such a dummy at this point, though. Yes, it's a good idea to get your frustrations out, and it's a good idea to grieve the fact that you killed some 10+ billion people because you wanted to try saving the future, but the blame does not rest with you alone. Faize said himself that he should have realized that it was a generator, and he and Baccus both said that the anomaly caused was going to destroy the planet. Even with those warnings in place, the woman, Milla Bachtine, was the one to push the button. It was at that point that it was no longer Edge's fault. Even then, the mourning and stuff is a good idea, but nice way to have a mental breakdown in front of your crew, Edge! Real smooth.