"You saw it, your own village being destroyed right before your eyes… It must be the men from the East that performed the resurrection ceremony, probably thinking to use its black demon power for war without realizing how frightening it is." – Fairy King

Refia dashed inside the building, the soul of the ninja softening her footsteps such that she barely felt the stone beneath her feet. Her legs moved almost of their own accord, fueled by adrenaline and instinct that entirely her own.

The crystals pushed her forward, toward one building they said held Ingus. She wasn't sure where Luneth and Arc were – she'd split up from them the moment she felt a surge of alarm from the crystals – but they were together with Ruby and that was a comfort to her.

Refia scoffed when she saw the inside of the "prison." Unless they had another place to keep the rest of the criminals, she worried for this city's safety. They only had two cells inside this place, both within clear sight of the sheriff's desk.

"Ingus?" Refia whispered, peeking in.

A crumpled form laid against the wall the left cell, twisted into a rather unnatural position. Ingus laid facing her, limbs splayed and eyes closed.

Refia slipped a phoenix down from her pocket and blew it his way through the bars. It floated toward him, sucked in by the Crystal energy that begged for the strength offered by the down.

A faint light glowed around Ingus and Refia turned black mage. She focused a firaga on the iron bars and heated them to an angry red. Her clothes faded back to that of the ninja and she hit the bars with a mythril axe.

Ingus, now sort of conscious, barely flinched at the debris that sprayed about them. A couple of chunks nicked his exposed skin.

Refia shoved the axe into its spot at her back and jumped in to take his arm. "Come on!" she hissed. "They'll be here any moment!"

Ingus rolled his head, face was covered in blood, and Refia scrubbed away the worst of it to try and find where it had come from. His forehead was covered in fresh scar tissue.

By the Crystals and Their Grace.

She grabbed him and guided his arms to rest against her shoulders as she hefted him to his feet.

Ingus was a lot heavier than he looked, Refia noted with a grunt. Probably a lot more muscle on him than his lean figure implied.

It was quieter outside and Refia looked around for the others – where did they go?

The air was still thick with smoke from their conflict with the authorities and she pulled up her mask to keep out the dust. Ingus would have to deal with it for now.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The sheriff from before, now singed in various places, stopped them a stone's throw from the building. "Breaking him out now, are you?"

Refia didn't want to jostle her friend, but she couldn't fight while supporting him, and sticking around to roast this scumbag was just asking for trouble.

So she lifted Ingus into both arms – mentally thanking her adoptive father for all those frustrating years of blacksmith training – and broke into a run, barely pausing to shout back, "When I come back, you'll pay for this!"

Then she said for the Crystal to hear, "I'm heading west. Meet me in the middle of the city, by the canal. I hope one of them has a map, because I'm not staying to find one. And tell Luneth not to get sassy about it because I don't need any more unpleasantness today."

Ruby has one, if you remember.

"A what?"

The map from before. She says that it'll make everything "smoother." Honestly, we don't understand much of the slang she uses – for an immortal being, she's surprisingly… how shall we say… human.

"Wonderful. Just make sure they get the memo!"

Understood.

Monica fiddled with the charm resting in her pocket. It helped her feel a little more at ease, despite the bodies milling about her. Crowds always made her nervous, given Father's warnings about assassinations, and now they surged about them like doomsday loomed on their heels.

Don't get mixed up in a crowd, Father once said. You never know who might get a little too close with a dagger.

Easier said than done, Monica thought, trying to get free and find a spot where she could think in peace. But it was in vain as shoulders bumped and feet jostled. Anytime she felt like she approached open air, another stream of people appeared, cutting her off.

Goro's friend, as it turned out, was someone that Monica knew in her own time – a genie by the name of Ruby. She'd been an advisor to Monica's father, and sometimes something like the mother that Monica never had. At least, not that she remembered.

It was surreal to see her again, more than a hundred years in the past, and looking not a bit different. Of course, Monica had known the genie was old, but she hadn't seen her anywhere in Max's time, so she'd kind of figured Ruby couldn't be that old.

"Monica?" Max said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

Ruby didn't know about this Dark Genie thing being nearby, apparently, but said she'd look into it. They could probably meet with her again later today, after Monica had gotten her wits back together.

"Over here," Goro said, almost shouting over the din. "The time is too weird for anyone to want to eat right now. Should allow us a little quiet if we pick out a spot at that place."

Monica flinched. Food?

Father was very meticulous about taste-testing in the kitchen. He had to see every meal check in person, something Ruby told her wasn't normal for kings. Most were satisfied simply with the knowledge that it was being tested in the kitchen.

This particular restaurant was small and Goro was right. Apparently it wasn't the most popular time to eat, given there were two other people in the building besides the chef himself, and it was big enough to hold at least a couple dozen.

Goro ordered them some food, but Monica wasn't particularly hungry. Instead she gripped the charm tighter in her palm. One end bit into her skin, but the pain distracted her from the reminder if she'd just been a little stronger, a little faster...

"Monica?"

She started. Max stared at her, concern on his face. "It's nothing," she said. "Just… deciding where to go from here."

Goro nodded. "It's not good. The Genie could be anywhere and hiding as anyone. And this place is a lot busier than when I last visited. Where did you say you got your information from?"

Monica exchanged a glance with Max. "It's… difficult to say."

"Don't trust me with the information?"

"It's not that," Monica said, before amending, "Well, not entirely. It was just a little weird."

"We talked to a knight," Max said. "In Demon Shaft. And he said the power of the Genie surfaced in Queens."

Goro scoffed. "But that could mean a few things. One, that any one person in Queens – this city packed fuller than a can of eels – could be him. Two, that it's already left."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Monica said. "It's not like we can just call him again."

"Yeah," Max said. "Even if we somehow had his number, I think it's a little beyond this time's technology anyhow."

Goro gave him a strange look.

"What?" Max said. "Oh, never mind."

"If you're not willing to hunt him down with us," Monica said, "We can do it ourselves."

"Ain't gonna get rid of me that easily. I'm still gonna tell Toan I did all his work for him. 'Sides, there's something weird going on here and I'm willing to bet that we're close."

"Why do you say that?" Max asked.

Goro grunted. "I've been here enough times to know what it looks like a on normal day. There's a foul scent to the place."

"Isn't it just the seafood?" Monica asked.

"No, idiot."

"Your order," the waitress said, carrying a huge pile of steamed gummies and nilers. Monica balked. There was nothing else on the plate but slimy, gray fish.

"What did I just say about seafood?" she muttered.

"Want some?" Goro asked, prepping a fork and knife. "Best stuff you'll find in the world."

"I'll try it!" Max said, grabbing a plate.

Monica shook her head. "Is there someone we can talk to that might believe us if we tried to explain the time travel and all?"

Goro shook his head as he took a bite. "Nope. You're gonna have to come up with a story of some kind. That's the worst part. People here, they're not very quick to help. In fact, they're more likely to ask favors themselves. Don't expect a lot of coddling."

"We didn't come to be coddled," Monica said. "I think we can handle it."

"Are there police in this town?" Max asked, chewing quietly. "We can trust them, can't we?"

Goro scoffed, mouth full. He took a moment to swallow. "If you ask me, they're more like a henpecking grandmother, but I guess they might listen. Narrow our search a bit."

"Great," Monica said. "That's a start." Then picked up a fork and got to work. The sooner the fish was gone, the sooner they could leave.

Teleportation wasn't something Arc ever really got used to. Even when the Crystals did it, he always felt a little ill, watching his surroundings get replaced with a completely different view. Despite the comfort of the Crystal's light, there was something not quite right with the sensation.

Without the Crystal's light, it was downright nauseating.

When the glow of the strange map faded, they found themselves in a small town. Arc swayed and summoned his staff for support. Small houses dotted the valley, square-ish in shape and full of creaking windmills. He recognized it from the description in his father's journal.

Norune.

The sun hung low on the horizon when they appeared at the gate, and most of the inhabitants were winding down for the day. A flute played somewhere, its notes soft and nostalgic and drifting lazily on the evening breeze. Trees and houses were scattered across the valley and a small river snaked along the ground, gurgling quietly on its way.

Silently, Arc thanked the Crystals for Ruby getting her hands on such a convenient transportation device. It would certainly make things easier in the long run, even if it left his stomach feeling like he's just swallowed a gallon of oil and flipped upside down underwater.

Lost that train of thought when he caught sight of a large, round, yellow ship that laid half-buried in the earth at the head of the village, its propellers half-gone and its wood cracked and peeling. "Hey," Arc said, tugging on Luneth's sleeve. "Doesn't that look a lot like the Nautilus?"

Luneth paused briefly and shrugged. "Maybe a little. Why?"

Was there a time when the Ancients lived on this continent? Arc made a mental note to look into that when he got back to Saronia.

"Toan?" a woman asked, approaching the party. She had a large frame and thick, black hair wrapped in a bun. She looked haggard – was she a farmer, like most here according to Aga's journal? "Did you grow out your hair?"

Toan. This was his village. These people knew him. It was a strange feeling, now knowing for certain that Toan did exist. And it looked like he was alive and well, too. Arc asked, "You know where he is?"

"Well, I can't remember what pulled him away this time, but he always winds up back here, no matter how upset he is. If you give it time and patience, I'm sure he'll be back within a few weeks. What happened to this one?" She moved over to inspect Ingus. "Gun shot?"

"Yeah," Ruby said. "More than one, it sounds like. Do you have bandages and anesthetic?"

"Oh, dear," the black-haired woman said. "I can make some space. What's your name, young man?"

"Ingus," Luneth said as Ingus struggled to straighten. "Also known as 'twit' or 'snobby brat' in some parts."

Ingus made to swat Luneth in the back of the head, but Refia gripped his arm tighter, keeping him upright. She added, with a gesture to each of them in turn, "And we're Refia, Ruby, Luneth, and Arc."

The woman's smile dropped and her hands froze. "I knew it," she muttered under her breath.

Arc hesitated. "I'm sorry?"

He cut off when the woman grabbed him in a bear hug and squeezed him close. His oxygen cut off and he gasped for breath.

"Renee!" the woman shouted in his ear. Arc choked as she released him. She then promptly lifted him into her arms. "Renee, get out here, quick! What have you been eating, child? Worms? There's not a lick of meat on your poor bones!"

The light faded fast and the music had stopped a long time ago. Arc could only wait, face warm, as the woman ran with him in her arms as if he were an aged and fragile tome. "He's here! He's back!"

What about Ingus? He was bleeding out over there!

"Who's back – Toan?" another voice called in reply.

"No, no! His brother! Arc! It's Arc!"

"Arc?!" a young voice cried in disbelief. "Who's Arc? Did he replace Toan?"

"He's WHAT?!" a deep voice boomed.

Arc made out several heads peeking out of windows and doorways.

The woman ascended stairs much faster than Arc would have thought her capable of doing and next thing he knew, he was planted on the ground again, the world spinning in his eyes. He slipped one foot to the side and that gained him some stability. Planted his staff in the ground and stopped short when he saw the woman that faced him.

She stood stock still, one hand on the doorknob and the other on the frame. She stared down at him with eyes wide. She looked… warm, with a simple worker's dress themed white and orange and hair kept in a loose band.

Something about her felt familiar.

"Renee-… I mean, Mother?" Arc managed, hastening to straighten out his hair a touch. His face was still a mess from that scuffle the other day. Renee opened her mouth to respond-

"ARRRRRRC!" a deep man's voice bellowed before the world tipped again and the air was knocked from Arc's lungs. Huge, muscular arms lifted him off the ground again and he let out a cry of alarm. "What did ya think you were doing! Made us think you were dead, you did!"

"Macho!" another woman's voice said. "Let him talk to his mom!"

"Ah, right. Sorry." The arms let him go again and Arc took a moment to stabilize himself.

"It's you?" Renee whispered, voice hoarse.

"I-I think so."

She stared at him. Worked her mouth silently for a moment. Then took him in a hesitant hug of her own.

"You're alive. By Dran's guidance, I don't know how, but you're here. How did you find us?" She pulled away again and stared at him with dark eyes.

"Father's journal," Arc held out the battered and burnt book.

"Did he give it to you?"

Arc shook his head. "Not directly. I was found on a ship, with three other children and this. Aga – Father – he was nowhere near. I don't know if he died in the crash or-"

"Never mind," Renee said quickly. "It's past. You're home."

"Yes, and we need help." Arc gestured to the others, who'd somehow made their way into the pressing crowd. He'd almost forgotten. "Our friend, he was shot. He needs to rest somewhere safe, and we don't have anywhere else to go."

"Are you hungry?" a voice called from behind. "I make a mean stew, I'll have you know!"

"We would love that, Gaffer," Renee said. "But it sounds like bandages might be more important-"

"I can provide cheese," a quieter voice added.

"Thanks, Claude, but-"

"I'll get some fish going!"

"I'll handle the pig!"

"Fruits!"

"Well," Renee said with a tight smile, "it looks like you'll have a feast tonight whether you want one or not."

"I want one!" Luneth cheered, dropping Ingus. Refia grunted with the sudden weight.

With that and a cry akin to a battle shout, most of the villagers ran away, presumably to prepare said foods. Those that remained were Arc's friends, Ruby, a couple of well-built men, and a little girl in a short dress. "I am kind of hungry, I guess," Arc said.

"I have a question!" the small girl said.

Renee sighed. "What is it, Gina?"

"Who is he?" the girl asked, pointing at Arc. "Did Toan pick up a brother while he was gone? Can he get me one too?" She pointed at Luneth, "Like him?"

"I'm okay with that," Luneth said.

"Well, call it good!" Refia stumbled under Ingus' weight. "I need a cot and medicinals now! Luneth, if you're not going to carry Ingus, can't you at least get us a place to rest him?"

"That won't be necessary." Renee invited them inside and they got to work.

Luneth watched the festivities from a distance, watched silhouettes outlined by a blazing fire.

He dug his fingers into his bare palms. His gloves were gone, placed together with his sweaters on a shelf in Arc's family's home. In their place, he wore a shirt that was too orange and too thin, though it made the heat slightly more bearable.

It was nice at first, the food and dancing. Everyone cheered to have Arc back again and Luneth was glad for him. At first.

Luneth was the one to suggest leaving in the first place, but now he found himself regretting it a little bit as he watched how easily the villagers accepted Arc into their ranks. Arc had a place, now. He had a home, living family and friends from his birth. And with all that attention, Arc may as well have come alone.

Luneth frowned. He didn't want to go home alone.

Renee and Arc sat together at the buffet table, awkward in a sickeningly adorable way. Arc laughed at something Renee said and Luneth abruptly stood, finding himself desperate to not watch this anymore. It was like Ruby and Ingus. Why did everyone seem to have such connections to Luneth's friends even though they barely met? The orphans, the Warriors of Light, they had titles for a reason! They were a crew, their own family! They couldn't have people shoving their way in like this!

Luneth sneaked by the singing and shouting villagers as they all fought for chances to talk about what they remembered of Arc as a baby. Refia and Ruby looked to be enjoying themselves as well, somehow. One of the Machos leaned in close to Ruby, obviously flirting with her even though she barely noticed. Luneth fumed and continued toward Renee's home.

The door opened to darkness. Soft breathing could be heard at the end of the room where they stashed Ingus for the duration of their party.

Luneth grumbled as he took a spot on a chair near Ingus' bed.

The house was mind-numbingly normal, with a basin built into a table on one side, the dining table where Luneth sat in the center with a few items scattered on top, and a half-way full book shelf shoved against one wall. What did these people even do in their spare time? Renee said her other son was still alive, but Luneth assumed he was just a brainless farmer that couldn't think past the growing rate of his crops. Just like the rest of Ur.

And here he thought he could see somewhere new.

Ingus shifted in his sleep and muttered incoherently. The map that Ruby used to take them here laid forgotten.

Luneth snatched the wrinkled paper in his hands. If Arc and the others wanted to waste their time here, then let them. Luneth was going to go ensure that justice landed its sword in the right set of lungs.

It took a moment in the dark of night to make out Queens on the map, but when Luneth found it, he pointed like Ruby did. It didn't do anything.

Luneth blinked. He waved his finger over it a little. Still nothing. He frowned, shaking the paper a little. Then he jabbed his finger into the spot again, and the room faded to white before his eyes.

"He's gone!"

Arc and Renee – Mother, he corrected himself – looked up at Refia, who stood puffing beside them. "Who?" Arc asked.

"Luneth!" Refia said. "The Crystals said he went to Queens!"

They hadn't even been here for a full twenty-four hours – Luneth was hard to keep in one place, but even for him that was sudden. And it especially wasn't like him to leave the others without a word.

"He took the map," Ruby said, appearing beside Refia in the morning light that spilled through the doorway. "I needed that."

"What do they say? How long ago?" Arc asked, standing. Renee stood with him. "Why would he do that? And now, of all times?"

"He left in search of Ingus' would-be killer," Refia said. "That's all he would tell them last night."

Without that map, travel would take days. And it meant that Luneth could be anywhere this side of the world with a simple pointing of his finger. It could take ages for him to get back, and if he was in such a state that he would disappear in the middle of the feast, then they probably wouldn't be hearing much about him from the Crystals.

Arc reached for his satchel. Luneth certainly had the drive to do it, but he also wasn't invincible.

"He's been kind of quiet since we got here," Refia said. "I should have checked on him, but I thought he fell asleep in a tree outside."

"Whatever," Ruby snapped. "If the rest of you are set here, I'm going head east - there are a couple of places I know of that may hold answers regarding the moons and our little time-displaced friend."

"You're leaving already?" Arc asked.

"Things are more complicated without the map – I hope you tell your friend that when you see him again – but I've still got things I need to do. I was never planning to come back with you, but I wanted to be sure that Ingus wasn't going to drop dead on my watch."

"What are you going to do?" Refia asked.

Ruby shrugged. "Like I said, get some answers. I'm sure you want them too, but now you'll have to be patient. It's going to be at least a week before I get back."

"We should go with you," Arc said.

"What?" Refia looked between them. "I thought you didn't trust her?"

Arc shook his head. "If she was going to betray us, she would have done it by now. I hate to say it, but you were right, Refia. And I think we owe it to Ruby to help her."

Ruby snorted. "You think I need help?"

"No," Arc said. "But I'm sure you would appreciate it all the same."

"Wait," Renee cut in. "Are you all leaving already? Your friend is no condition to travel!"

"She's right," Ruby said. "And I can't wait for him to recover. I can give you the night to rest, but if you're not ready to leave in the morning, then I go alone."

Arc and Refia exchanged glances. "If just one goes," Refia said slowly, "We'll get the information faster. Through the Crystals, we can stay in touch."

"Point," Arc said. "Perhaps I should go."

"Arc," Refia said. "You just found your childhood home. There's no reason you should leave now. We'll be back sooner than you can blink."

Arc frowned. What if they were going to visit some nomadic tribe? Peruse grand libraries? "You'll tell me everything you find?"

Refia nodded. "Of course."

Ruby shook her head. "I'll wake you at daybreak. Make sure you have everything ready before then."

"Arc," Renee said slowly as the two retreated. "What are you doing, traveling with a woman like her?"

"Ruby?" Arc stammered, "I-it's not like I chose her, Mother. She just kind of… tagged along."