Fanfiction World

by Shadowlight0982

FFW, a world where people can not only write stories but can also create avatars with powers of their favorite shows. When something deep inside begins to stir, it is up to a group of heroes to protect both this world and FFW.

23. Chapter 19: Aetherion

It's been a long time coming but this new chapter is finally ready to be up and start the next arc of the series. The chapter was going to be like fifty or sixty pages as I was writing it but I decided to split this up into two parts. If you prefer long chapters then tell me and maybe we'll start seeing longer chapters but if not then this will be the norm. Now let's address some things before we begin.

Announcements:

I'm putting the side projects on hold for now, why because they are side projects and it feels like it would be better to give you the entire main story than focusing on the fluff stories and the gakuen one. Every some odd days I may update them but not for a while since they get low reviews. So expect me to work on this story much more often now, but I'll have polls and all that other stuff open for when I want to write. I'm going to be asking a question for YouTube at the end so be prepared for that.

Now since the reviews are short and I think I answered them all let's just start the story everyone. ON WITH THE SHOW!

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"FFW"-Speech

'FFW'-Thought

'FFW'-Flashback

"FFW"-Attacks

Disclaimer: I do not own any reference to any anime/game/show/book, etc. that appears in this story. I own the original plot (at least I hope its original) and my own characters and OC's. All other characters and references belong to their original creators.

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Ch 19: Aetherion

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Within the town of Tokyo City, there lay many sights for players to see. Some of these sights stand right in front of their eyes while others lie hidden from the eyes of many. It is these hidden sights that are highly sought after by many organizations, especially guilds. In a small clearing of Tokyo's lush forests, an old warehouse stands unoccupied…at least it appears to be.

A group of men walked out of the forest and into the clearing towards the "abandoned" warehouse. After finishing their trek through the forest and parts unknown, the five men walked up close and observed the empty building.

"Man I can't believe we've been gone for so long! I mean look at it, the places looks even more rundown than usual." One of the travelers complained as he saw the rust and damage that the warehouse had.

The man had spiky unkempt red hair that also had a ponytail that trails down to the small of his back and light grey eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless dark red turtleneck shirt with two belts crossing each other on top of it; he also had a white Chinese style pants held with a black sash and black boots. A silver armlet rested on his left arm and two red spiked chakrams were strapped to his back using the belts.

"That's the point; we left this base looking like this so we don't have to worry about any thieves taking advantage of our empty base. We don't have the environmental advantage like we do back in the Asian Server." Another one explained.

This man had short stylish dark blonde hair and dark purple eyes. The man had on a long sleeved teal kimono with the sleeves being a darker color and reached past his hands hiding them from view. Around his waist was a light green fabric with a white edge that was held up by a brown belt; his outfit was finished with loose dark navy robe pants that stretched past his ankles and light brown boots. Over his whole outfit was chartreuse cloak that was open and hung over his shoulders. His weapon was a long axe polearm that was strapped to his back.

"Hey Zephyrus is the place as we left it or has it been ransacked while we were away?" The robed man asked.

"Yeah Ponyboy what's the damage?" The redhead added.

"Give me a minute…and don't call me that Sol!" The man walked even closer to the warehouse and pulled out a pair of green tinted goggles.

Zephyrus, as he was called, had short, spiky silver hair resembling a certain Shinigami captain and light gold colored eyes. He had on a dark silver tunic with yellow trim over the collar and helm with a light yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. The tunic went past his knees but the front was tied up with a white sash so only the back trailed down; he also had black pants and dark silver boots. Three small rods held together by a chain were kept inside the sash as well.

While Zephyrus was scanning the warehouse and the other man and Sol were chatting with each other, the silent member of the group noticed how tense the last member of their party was.

The silent male had on a silver plated blue mask that hid his face but allowed cold electric blue eyes to been seen through the black eye holes. He had a slimmer and lithe figure compared to the whole party and wore a white trenchcoat with a dark blue front with white gloves, white pants and dark blue boots. A long steel blade sword rested on his back with a spike on the other side leading to a circle that was also attached to the sword, the handle was inside the circle wrapped in bandages. (A.N.A horrible description but its Izanagi no Okami's sword from Persona 4; the outfit is also based on Izanagi's initial design with a different pallete.)

"You've gotten quieter our whole journey Leader-sama, even more than me and that's saying something. Is there something on your mind, besides the obvious?" The masked swordsman asked.

"Wow that's the most I think you ever said in a sentence when we're online, what's gotten you all chatty Ganymede?" The leader of the group asked.

The man had spiky brown hair with blond streaks that spiked out more in the back so it was pulled into a small spiky ponytail; his bangs hung a bit in front of his blue eyes that seemed to glow brighter but the light made it hard to tell. He wears a black leather bomber jacket over a white deep V-neck t-shirt which parts down the middle of his chest with black pants and white fur along the collar of his jacket and top of his pants. Brown belts looped around his waist with a holster that held a Gunblade, and in his hand was a large Fusion sword, like that of Cloud Strife's, that he rested on his shoulders.

"Don't change the subject Aeon; we only need to check on our base before we go direct to her." Ganymede said.

"I know that Gany but I feel that I should have never left her alone here, like things would have turned out better if I had at least stayed here or brought her along with us." Aeon said in a mournful tone.

"What's done is done, besides she is still safe from what my sources said and well." Ganymede promised him.

"I don't doubt your sources but…"

"Hey you two let us in on the conversation if you're gonna keep it a secret! GACK!" Sol was suddenly met with a short blast of water that sent him sprawling along the ground.

"The point of a secret is that not many people know hothead." Ganymede stopped the torrent of water.

Sol got off the ground and spat out a bit of water and a fiery orange aura appeared around him drying his body and clothes and turning the water to steam. "Oh ha-ha, nice joke there Gany but like it's a secret what Aeon is thinking."

"Look before you two start your brawl can we at least get inside so we don't attract attention to us, how does the building look on your scouter Zephy?" The sole nameless one asked.

"I swear to Kami Malachite, you and Sol, I will get you back for all the scouter jokes you made and all of the goggles that you two broke." Zephyrus took off the goggles after he was finished and turned to them. "The disguised worked and no one we don't know has entered or left the base; everything has been left intact."

"Then take down your spell Zephyrus and let us get in, who knows what kind of players are prowling around by now." Aeon said.

"Actually not many players enter the forest and the last group that had any type of control was disbanded and disposed of a while ago; the Red Savages I think their name was." Ganymede informed all of them.

"Red Savages aren't they…" Before Malachite could finished his sentence all of them felt the killer intent that seemed to be coming from their leader. They all chose to be silent as Zephyrus peeled off what at first they thought was sticker but was actually a glowing card. The warehouse made an instant changed and turned into a more cleaner and well-kept building than the almost condemned disguise it once held.

Zephyrus opened a hidden hatch and pressed a button that allowed the warehouse door to slowly rise up. "Well it's good to be back." Just as he finished that sentence dark blue energy grabbed him and pulled him inside.

Before any of the others could react they all heard a familiar giggle that sounded throughout the warehouse making them all sigh and stand down.

"That girl's going to give us a heart attack one of these days." Sol said with a sweatdrop appearing on his head.

"Not if she doesn't smother Zephyrus to death." Ganymede said with a dull look in his eyes.

The group walked in and all of them almost laughed seeing Zephyrus on the ground with a girl on top of him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders, the wolf like ears on the girl's head didn't surprise them either.

The girl had long white hair that went along with her wolf ears that touched the ground making it seem like a large white curtain and cinnamon red eyes. She was wearing a red and white kimono with a black wrapping around her waist and a red bow that kept the outfit closed, the kimono ended at her mid-thigh acting like a skirt. She had red wrappings around her ankles but she was barefoot and light blue markings on her forehead.

"Zephy-sama it's been such a long time!" The girl said as she pressed his face against "them".

"S-Saphir-chan, we've chatted with each other for days and we meet in the real world so it hasn't been that long!" A blushing Zephyrus managed to stutter out.

"I can't help, since we've been on two different Servers you felt so far away and besides…" Saphir then began rubbing her face against the silver haired boy. "Watashi haanata Zephy-sama wo itoshi teimasu! (1)"

"Hey you two break it up, take it to your room Saphir if you're thinking about making pups." Aeon yelled after passing the two. "Come on we need to brief now!"

"Moe, but we need this time to catch up!" Saphir complained further hugging Zephyr to her chest, much to his chagrin.

"Come on Saphir-chan, besides we need to talk about Imouto-chan!" protested a glowing red Zephyrus was able to work his way out of the girl's grip.

"Imouto-chan! Why didn't you say so in the first place?! It's been forever since we all have seen her too; not since she took my shifts weeks ago!" Saphir jumped to her feet. "So what did you find out?"

"She's well and safe; did you see the highlights from the Eclipse Tournament?" Malachite asked the wolf girl.

"Of course, wait you mean she…?!"

"Yep, that was Imouto-chan all right, after we all done unpacking we're going to heading off and go get her!" Sol answered her. "She's still in the Tokyo City area; I'm surprised you haven't run into her lately."

"Well I didn't know what happened, after she left that note saying she wanted to travel on her own I didn't try to find her since that meant leaving this base unprotected." Saphir explained. The rest of Aetherion understood her reasons for not searching for her and didn't blame her for the girl's disappearance.

"It's not your fault Saphir-chan, so basically what's the plan now Aeon?" Zephyrus asked the leader of the guild.

"The plan is we go up to her and bring her back" Aeon said. "After what we all saw I want her to be safe with us like she used to be."

"Calm down Leader" Ganymede then continued. "Maybe it's best that we calmly talk to the group that's she's with and explain the situation; she's been well taken care of and that guild isn't what some of the publicity believes it to be."

"You're not saying that because they're actually worse than what the public says are you?" Sol playfully asked.

Ganymede chose to ignore the obvious joke. "They are local heroes in Tokyo City and each member of the guild has their own talents and strength; most of the gossips about them though are from either supporters or hateful groups."

"Like the Admin Guards, but I agree with Gany; while it was an exhibition tournament they did make it to the finals of the Eclipse Tournament that shows some level of skills considering the competition. I say, tomorrow we just calmly go to their base and meet with them while avoiding any conflict." Malachite proposed his plan.

"Man that sounds boring, though it would be better than having Ragna here blow his top in front of them." Sol agreed. "No offense boss but when it comes to Imouto-chan you tend to take things way too far.

"If it was your sister you would understand how I feel, but enough jokes Sol. Gany, Mal we'll try it your way for now but if it doesn't work out be prepared to fight." Aeon scoffed off Sol's remark and then went over to the wall where all their electrical equipment was kept on a long steel desk.

While Aeon turned on the terminal and Zephyrus pressed a switch that rested against the wall. More lights in the warehouse came on, illuminating the whole room and displaying a large symbol painted on the back wall. A dragon's head within a circle and six streams radiating from the circle to circles that had different elemental symbols.

"Aetherions get ready; tomorrow we're heading to find Kurotsubasa." Aeon ordered them all so that they would get ready for the next day.

Fanfiction World

Walking into her bedroom a young girl looked around her room before finding where she last kept her visor. Now that her studies were done for the day the girl planned on relaxing online with her favorite game. She placed the visor over her eyes and adjusted her long hair so that it flowed over the metal of the game piece.

'I know Shadow-kun said we have an important meeting today but there is something important that I have to check out. Hopefully I'll have enough time to make it to the meeting.' She put in all of her account information and smiled seeing a familiar staring back at her with red eyes and purple hair. The two girls became one after she said the command phrase.

"Dive in!"

(FFW: Tokyo City, United Server)

Walking out of the Reception Center Illu took into the familiar city square and then headed to her destination in the merchant district. In a flash Mukurowl appeared and landed on her head causing the girl to smile.

"Hello Muku-chan did you have a good nap after training yesterday?" Illu asked her pet while she massaged his feathers.

Mukurowl gave her a tired hoot when she mentioned training. Ever since the guild returned from the Eclipse Stadium the hybrid girl literally dived headfirst back into her training. While the others encouraged her and tell her she did well in the tournament, Illu disagreed every time. She kept a copy of her fights recorded in her visor and watched them repeatedly.

'Something happened to me during that tag fight with Bella-chan, and I couldn't even beat Wolfey in our battle.' Illu sighed sadly; soon, a determined look then appeared on her face. "Right, sorry you feel that way Muku-chan but after we finish with our errands and the meeting we're going back to…"

"These are actually bigger than they appear why you hide such gifts behind that coat I'll never know." Doppelman said after he appeared behind the beet red girl with his hands along the front of her coat.

The reason for Illu's flushed look and her silence was where the shadow's hands were placed; Doppelman had literally popped out of nowhere and was now groping the shy girl's chest. The specter didn't notice the glint in Mukurowl's eyes and the miasma flowing from Illu's body until…

"HENTAI!"

A huge explosion then shook the ground alarming those who weren't already startled by the loud scream from before. Illu was releasing large breaths while she was looking at the crater where the shadow was lying battered and beaten.

"T…hat was s-supp…osed to be a c-compliment" Doppelman wheezed out before falling unconscious.

"There you are, seriously you always end up in trouble as soon as you leave my sights." Grim said and then noticed their huffing girl holding a glaive and that his shadow was now lying beaten in a hole.

Grim then let out a tired breath. "Hey Illu, sorry about him he just took off for no reason…though now I see why."

Illu noticed the bounty hunter's appearance and regained her composure. "I-it's fine Grim-san, but please keep a closer eye on him." Illu was able to say after she calmed down; she then noticed the time and gasped. "It's that time already; I'm going to be late if I don't hurry!" She turned to leave.

"Hold on," Grim said catching her attention. "If you're heading back to your guild here's something that I need you to give Shadow. I would have dropped by Kurotsubasa and dropped it off but here you are and it would be too troublesome to walk all the way there" The cloaked reaper pulled out a piece of paper from his inventory and gave it to Illu.

"What is it?" Illu asked looking over the page.

"Don't know, some kind of formal challenge that Wolfey came up with out of nowhere." Grim answered with a sigh. "That troublesome guy went back to his old ways after the tournament ended and I guess he has his sights on Shads now."

"Really, what exactly does Wolf do?" Illu asked softly as she read off the letter closely reading each individual word.

Yo Shadow

Just because your group beat mine in the Tournament doesn't mean anything; we didn't even get a chance to fight since Rose wanted to save you all to herself. Well I won't believe the results until we fight personally, the fight with birdgirl left a bad taste in my mouth from how close it is.

Meet in the forest around the town's west entrance; let's see how good you are without a magical bracelet helping you out.

I'll be waiting;

Wolfey141

A part of Illu felt worried after reading the letter; after all she was concerned about Shadow's safety. But when she read what he said about her and thought back to her fight, which sparked another rare emotion she rarely felt.

"Yeah, make sure he gets that letter ok. I managed to make him pay me for the delivery and I want to be a man of my word." Grim then picked up the limp Doppelman and began to walk away. "See ya later Illu, tell everyone I said hey."

"Good bye" Illu thanked him and then continued on her journey. Mukurowl sensed the emotions forming in his master's head and gave her as the most stern, almost disciplining, look an owl could muster.

"I know what you're thinking Muku-chan but…this feels like something I have to do." Illu tried to convince her pet.

One big reason for her increased training was the results of her battle with Wolfey141. In that fight Illu had tried her all (even using her newer abilities) and still lost. 'Maybe this is a sign, but first I need to have my scroll looked at.' Illu thought as she reached the shop she was looking for.

It was a one story almost Edo-period like shop; on the inside were shelves filled with various scroll with small pictures of animals and creatures displayed on the seals. The name Summon Realms was written calligraphy style on a banner outside of the shop.

Summon Realms was a skill shop where players can purchase summon scrolls and establish links with certain summons; this also happened to be the same place where Illu had bought her scroll for Yamata no Orochi but at the time she didn't know all that the scroll could do since she had to chase after Mukurowl after he was under Rose's control. And now she was back to see if there was more to the scroll besides the demon of legend.

Illu walked up to the counter to speak with the owner of the shop. The place was run by a kindly old man dressed in historical clothing like that of Japan's feudal era; the man's profession was in summons and their many powers as he was an NPC program to establish and control all the player links in FFW.

The old monk though recognized Illu in a flash because while she did pay for her scroll she left before he could give her the full rundown of the scroll. He smiled seeing her and gave her a fond greeting.

"Ah the young owl who has fondness for serpents and poison; I see from your recent connection that you have tested out the scroll you purchased." The old man inferred as he could already feel the faint connection the girl had to the mythical Orochi.

"Yes but I was wondering if there was more to the scroll that I bought from you?" Illu brought out the scroll from her bag. "I mean the scroll works and I was able to summon him…and I was even given an audience to spoke with Orochi but for a summon scroll to only have one summons is odd in itself even if that summons is a legendary."

The man chuckled in humor. "Yes there is more to that scroll but you run out of here in such a rush that I didn't get to truly tell you how Yamata no Orochi's scroll was different from that of regular summons."

Illu blushed in embarrassment when she remembered she ran out after she paid for her summon; Mukurowl had a downtrodden look on his face remembering he was the cause for Illu's rush. "Um when you say that the scroll is different what do you mean, that I can summon the boss anytime?" Illu asked after her blush faded.

"Well there is that but there is more; most summoning scrolls you see in this shop are in a regular class, after a test from the boss-summons anyone can use them. However; Orochi exists in a class known as Divine Summons, those who have fewer forces than regular summons but give their users more abilities." The monk explained.

"Abilities, like anyone with the toad contract have the extra skill for Sage Mode" Illu asked.

"Exactly; Orochi here has only a few summoners in its lifetime…in fact while it is a popular creature it rarely accepts anyone to be its user." The Monk said to Illu's surprise from how easily she passed Orochi's test. "You may have been acknowledged as it's summoner but you must establish a true link in order for the skills to be available to you."

"Truly establish a link what do you mean by that Genma-san; I mean from what forums say about this shop ceremonies can be done here to form links but what does that mean exactly?" Illu asked wanting to know what abilities she would receive from the eight headed serpent.

"I perform a special ritual here that can give you an audience with the leader of your summons; you will then be able to speak with Orochi regarding the powers he gives you as his summoner." The newly named Genma explained; the NPC took a glance around the store and saw that most of the other shoppers were browsing around the scrolls for now. "Seeing as you left before we could discuss this I can start the ceremony in the back for you now."

"Really, doesn't the ceremony cost a lot you would just give me one for free?" Illu said in confusion about the old man's generosity.

"Well while normally I would charge a high degree because of the materials I need and the time it takes for each ceremony differs for each person…but since you had to leave before the original purchase and heard so many nice things about you from Lily at her herb shop I can give a small discount." The old monk smiled again.

"Really Genma-san!" Illu said in happiness and disbelief. "Ok how do we prepare for the ceremony?"

Genma moved from behind the counter and placed a small sign on the table that said 'Ceremony in Progress.' He opened the door that led to the back of the story that was very spacious than the front. "You don't need to do anything but I need to set up before we can officially start."

"Is there anything I can do to help you, I hate to do nothing while you're taking time from your shop just to help me." Illu insisted on helping the elderly man.

"Nonsense child you don't need to lift a finger" the old man promised her. "But if you really are insisted on helping an old man with his duties than there are some ingredients on some high shelves that I can't get without wounding my old bone; you would really be helping me if you could get them when I need them."

"Of course and thank you again for this Genma-san" Illu bowed and went into the back to help Genma set up for the ceremony. Mukurowl flew off to help the two; while they were gathering what Genma needed the monk drew a large pentagram on the ground using purification salt.

(Scene Change)

"I understand why Zephyrus needs to drop by the shops to buy some things but did we really have to tag along with him?" Sol asked Malachite as they were waiting outside on of the shops in the merchant district. Saphir was there was well playing with a dark blue sphere of mana.

"Yes because you had to pay to repair Zephy-sama's goggles after you broke them while doing another prank. Why you two just don't stop with that gag, I don't know!" Saphir answered for Malachite who was 'occupied' by some of the passerby's.

"Hey 'Over 9,000' will never not be funny; he just needs to stop being a stiff and buy more durable goggles." Sol heard the girl's huffed and turned to the other male of Aetherion. "Mal is this really the time to be…well you?"

The reason he said that was because Malachite was absent mindedly flirting with three female players. After creating a few crystals that sparkled in the sunlight; the Sentinel of Aetherion gave them each a bright pink rose and bid them goodbye letting the girls leave while blushing and giggling.

"I can't help it Helios there are just so many pretty flowers roaming about today and more seem to be arriving by the second" Malachite said as more and more girls walked out of the Reception Center an into the town. "Why couldn't we be blessed with this garden instead of the mountains we have back in the Asian Server?"

"A little something called extra security; we could have a more public base like Kurotsubasa is known to have and take jobs that way but with a few of our rouges about we don't risk it." Zephyrus answered after walking out of the shop, this time with goggles tinted yellow to match his scarf.

"Plus what would poor Saku-chan think if her Malachite-sama flirting with everything that has a skirt." Sol smirked.

"Saku-chan just happens to be…a little overprotective of me, but right now she and Bo-kun are on standby right now so she doesn't have to know about this." Malachite said to him though his tone dropped a bit when talking about Saku.

'I know that feeling' Zephyrus thought feeling Saphir cling to his arm. "You know that Saku and Bo are connected to your character and can look through your memories so Saku is going to find out eventually."

"Ehehe so Zephy how's the search coming along? I thought yours and Ganymede's research said that Kurotsubasa was in the merchant district." Malachite quickly moved the topic to something else.

"No we said their territory was the merchant district; they seemed to have their tracks covered very well though Ganymede should have a more accurate knowledge of their address. The reason we're here is to pay for the goggles you two broke." Zephyrus explained while calibrating the goggle's settings.

As Sol and Malachite tried to apologize for the destruction of the boy's property Saphir smelt a familiar scent in the air; the scent of snakes. "Um could we please get going Zephy-sama?" The girl asked.

Zephyrus noticed the tone of her voice not used to seeing Saphir act so nervous. "Is something the matter Saphir-chan, you seemed startled by something?"

"Just nervous because I just smelt a really strong snake's scent, maybe it's just my senses going off because I used a lot of Okami traits for my avatar but snakes always have me uneasy." Saphir explained.

Before anymore words could be said they all received a whisper message from Ganymede. "I'm waiting a few feet from the shop because I don't want to go in myself; Leader-sama went to get his blade finished before meeting me here. Come here now." The masked hunter's prerecorded voice played from their inboxes.

"Honestly the guy could use more emotion; the only time I usually see him act different is when his mask is off…and that's not always a good thing." Sol said.

"Well you heard him; we need to meet up before we go on with the mission. Saphir-chan, if you still feeling uneasy maybe you should log off for now." Zephyrus suggested.

The wolf girl shook her head. "No I'm fine, maybe we should get going so I won't have this feeling. I'm usually good around snakes but this one is a lot stronger for some reason; let's go Sol-kun, Mal-kun, Zephy-sama." At the girl's words they all made their way to meet their stoic teammate and their leader so that they could finally see their guild's 'Little Sister.'

(Kurotsubasa Base, Tokyo City)

Shadow sighed as he was seated in the head seat in the meeting room; after having to deal with paperwork for the Guild and paying for damages after Bella's latest experiment he was ready to get the meeting over with. A half hour past deadline and he saw all the other members of Kurotsubasa seated in their seats except for Illu and Mukurowl who were still absent.

"Does anyone know where Illu is; she's usually not one to be late especially when a meeting is called." Shadow said wondering why the girl was late.

Most of them shook their heads as they didn't know where the girl was. They all assumed Illu was taking time to look over her garden in the back or was still training in the dojo but those were proven false since they all haven't seen her enter the base.

After a while, Ravena gave him an answer. "I messaged Illu-tan when I got online and she said something about getting an item looked at to make it stronger. She'll be here in a bit." The catgirl answered in a rather dull tone without even using her usual vocal tic.

Some time had passed since her brother's betrayal but the incident had somewhat cracked Ravena's cheerful personality.

"You feeling ok kitty? You're not acting like your spunky self…" Bella asked her partner-in-crime. While the toon-girl had an idea what was bugging her she decided not to mention it; after they all recovered from their mind control Shadow explained to them what happened but also said not to bring up the subject around Ravena.

"I'm fine, see" Ravena tried her best to not have her friends worry about her but she still saw their concerned looks. Punnya looked at her owner and friend with a sad look on her face since she can understand Ravena's feelings better than anyone there.

"Punnya" Punnya gave a sad mewl wanting to cheer up her friend and master.

"I'm fine really Punnya" Ravena said petting the manju and placing her on her lap. "Let's just go on with the meeting; you said it was something important Shadow-kyun." The nekomata said wanting them all not to worry about her.

"It is…" It was Key that decided it was best to move the conversation along. "We might have to start the meeting now if we want to have time later for preparations; emails are being sent out about this now so if Illu doesn't already know then we'll tell her when she gets here." The Beta said to the group.

"Wait preparations, what's coming up now? Please don't tell me we have another attack to worry about." DB then took a shot of his drink. "We've finally gotten a small break after the tournament; hell FFW has pretty much been peaceful for a while now."

"Exactly and there is a reason why it's been so quiet. It's the calm before the storm and this storm is one that will hit us hard if we don't prepare for it." Key said.

"Who is it now; like we can't deal with anyone that comes our way, and if we need to use the big guns…well my men and I could use a good work out" Bella said proudly as she cracked her knuckles.

"I don't think you and the Hyna Squad are able to handle the whole entire world Bell" Shadow said and then continued on with the meeting. "Like Key said everyone is preparing, or should I say every Guild is preparing for an event that comes around this time of year."

"And what is this event, we talking about another tournament?" The drummer of Kurotsubasa asked. "Is this one going to involve the other Servers?"

"Is it another big tournament Shads; right I get ya, we may have won the last tournament but we need more training to keep ourselves in the top spot!" Bella said excitedly. "Just leave it to me I got some new men I can turn into and new ideas popping in my noggin!"

"Bella let's talk about what we need to prepare for before you go all Gung ho on us; Key you can explain this better than I can so I'll leave it to you." Shadow said passing the floor to the Beta.

Key nodded his head and turned on the terminal in the room making a hologram screen appear. "You can say that it's like a tournament, but like Shadow said it involves the whole entire world. More specifically every guild that is signing up to register right now" the screen lit up with thousands of pictures and logos, with Kurotsubasa's being one of the thousands on screen.

"All these guys are guilds? Wait I know some of these guys!" Ravena said and then looked and Key. "Are you talking about the Guild Wars Ani-Key?" Ravena asked still not using her vocal tic.

Key nodded his head towards the catgirl; Shadow noticed that Ravena was still in her funk but said nothing and continued from where Key left off. "In about one week's time the Guild Wars will officially start, guilds all over FFW are registering and preparing themselves for the rising competition and potential rewards. If it isn't obvious enough Kurotsubasa is going be a big target during the Wars." Shadow explained.

"Yep ever since you had that bracelet strapped on your wrist you've been a trouble magnet, just like Bella" DB started out by with saying ignoring the sharp "Hey" from Bella. "But you said Guilds that register compete in the Guild Wars; not to sound uninterested but can't we just sit this one out?"

Shadow shook his head. "It's a required event, all guilds have to register or risk termination by the Admin and besides I already submitted all the paperwork today. There is no way out of this Tournament." The scythe user finished showing them all the seriousness of the Guild Wars; while none of them had looks of fear they all knew that they were in for a long season.

"Still is this really any different than we're used to, random guys popping up and trying to gain a name by taking us out or money from trying to get the Wings? So why is this Guild Wars so special?" DB said wanting to know why a competition was so serious.

"Well a few things really; it's a form of entertainment and gambling that the company that makes FFW air so that others could watch. The Guild Wars even appears on a special channel that they have control of." Key said wanting to get the lighter reasons out of the way. "Another reason is for management; in order to make sure not too many guilds remain in the system this regulates the number of guilds in FFW."

"Regulate, what's that mean Ani-Key? I thought there could be an unlimited number of guilds in FFW just like everyone else" Ravena asked curiously. Punnya looked up from her spot on Ravena's lap also curious of what the Beta had to say.

"A lot of resources go into a guild; one of them is space on FFW's official mainframe. It can only keep data of so much and while there are guilds for many different things some argue that some don't deserve the backing of the Admin to be guilds." Key explained to her and everyone else by extension.

"Groups like the Red Savages try to become guilds so that their 'beliefs' are in a way legal; and while some try to protest there are few ways to disband a guild outside of Admin involvement. That's why in the Guild Wars. Guilds put their right to be a guild on the line," Shadow also answered. "During an official Guild Wars battle the winning guild has the right to disband the losing one." The scythe user said letting them know the seriousness of the situation.

"Wait hold up, you mean if we by some fluke happen to lose a battle during this it could break up Kurotsubasa?!" Bella said shocked.

"Nya, we can't let that happen! Why do good guilds have to be punished for what the awful ones do!" Ravena said outraged, her verbal tick showing up out of anger.

"Punnya nya!" Punnya agreed flying out of Ravena's lap in a fit of rage.

"See why I said this meeting is important; think of all the people who want not just the Wings but to take out Kurotsubasa as a whole; we aren't going to allow that to happen!" Shadow stood out from his seat. "We're all going to put in more effort on our team training and our own individual training as well. This is the last thing we need to worry about that right now." The leader of Kurotsubasa looked at all of them with in fire in his eyes. "We'll deal with the battles as they come but we've dealt with criminals, madmen, and killers; we can handle a few pesky guilds! We stand strong alone but stronger together and we aren't going to let someone take that away."

DB smiled as he finished drink and slammed the cup down. "I hear you Shads, risks and all of that be damned we can deal with anything this world throws at us." The vampire let his enthusiasm show with the fire that ignited in his hand that he let flicker before snuffing it out. "I've haven't really got the chance to let loose for a while."

"Kurotsubasa is like my family just like the Hyna Squad; and we're not going to let anyone hurt family!" Bella agreed with the pyro. "We got a whole toon army on our side plus a whole lot more!"

Shadow smirked seeing them energetic for the battles that will be coming around in the future. He then saw Punnya flying around with her tail waving wildly as if getting ready to fight herself; a look to their resident magic expert and Ravena gave him a smile before adding her thoughts.

"Minnya! We're definitely going to pull through guys, there isn't anyone that's going to break us apart nya!" Ravena cheered alongside them, all their moods brightened hearing their magical cat act like herself. Even inside the confines of Ravena's mind Felis seemed to be smirking in her sleep.

"Soon we'll have a whole litter of opponents to sink our claws into; I think I might stick to working with you guys this once" Felis commented seeing as she'll support Kurotsubasa given her good mood and Felidae's being back to her cheerful demeanor.

Key gave everyone time to enjoy their talks on how they'll all decimate the competitions. After a time of celebrations he loudly cleared his throat getting their attention and had them look at the holo-screen which now displayed a map of Tokyo City. "Glad that you all are excited to start but let's talk about the real goals of the Guild Wars" The keyblade wielder said as he highlighted certain parts of the map.

"Goals, what goals do we need? Any person that comes by looking to fight we beat them and send packing." Bella said.

"Close but not quite Bell, in this tournament the risk of disbanding is still present but the benefits outweigh the risks. Guilds fight for two things, rankings and territory; we have to keep that in mind while we work to better protect our guild." Key then tapped the screen the highlights turned into ten different colors with different logos on top of them. "In the rankings Kurotsubasa is ranked #587 which is pretty average and our territory extends to Tokyo City's merchant district."

"Rankings, territories…shouldn't our rank by higher than that after the tournament and why do we need to worry about territories it's not going to be like an actual war is it?" DB asked as he looked at the map.

"No the Guild Wars work like this; one guild sends out a formal challenge to the other this is mostly done by placing their symbol in another guild's territory. Once the challenge is accepted the challenged guild decides on a competition that determines the winner, it's not always a fight though" Shadow took the time to explain. "Once a winner is declared the winning guild's rank goes up and they receive payment from the losing guild along with one request they can't refuse."

"And that's usually the disbanding right Shadow-kyun?" Ravena asked as they all got the gist of what the scythe user was saying.

"That's right, if the losing guild is allowed to continue they give a piece of their territory to the winners to do as they please; guilds can even make the option to have the loser join the winner giving them the whole territory." Shadow finished.

"What are the benefits of a territory, I mean I still prank around the merchant district but I still get chased around by the Admin Guards." Bella asked.

"Well we don't have enough to influence the guards but have you noticed that the gag shop you go to gives us a discount and that it's easy for us to know when shops sell rare items. Those are some small benefits." Key answered.

"So that's why the shopkeeper gives me an extra bag a dumplings every time I shop there; I always thought it was just because we were famous or that he was just being nice." Ravena reasoned.

"Maybe not if he's a human merchant, but this goes to NPC's mostly" Shadow said. "Key from the look of the map we have a few 'neighbors' to deal with right?"

Key nodded and all attention was brought back to the map. "As of recent count Tokyo City has at most 10 guilds. Most of them; however, are still relatively new with not that much territory between them."

"What about that big one out around the forest; that looks like a big chunk of land that's in that red color?" Bella asked pointing to the only guild with more territory than Kurotsubasa. The toongirl accidently tripped and her finger pressed the symbol bringing the terminal to a new page. Kurotsubasa was now looking at the main page for the guild; Aetherions.

Key got the screen under control and the Aetherion's logo shrunk and seven images showing the members appeared though one was shadowed in showing only a female silhouette. "I don't know much about these guys; they work more in the Asian Server but have a small base outside Tokyo City; they go by Aetherion they're Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries by trade but the do Item Hunting and Map Making of all things."

"So they're like us except they don't do all the odd jobs that people are willing to give them." Ravena said as she tried to get a better looked at the blacked out image. "You know call me crazy but why does the only one we can't see look so familiar?"

"Maybe it's a coincidence besides you can't even see her face or anything; all I can really guess it that she's a cute girl." DB then turned to Shadow, "Hey Shads, think while we have this stuff going on we'll have to deal with Chaos and Destiny too?" DB asked.

Almost instantly Shadow glanced over to Ravena who visibly tensed briefly and had a far-off look in her eyes, the incident involving her brother was still fresh in their minds. The only reason the others didn't know was because they didn't say that Team Destiny and Bringers of Destruction were one and the same. He could almost make out a small snarl from the girl; whether this was about the girl Sakura or the one responsible for her brother's turning, the boy wasn't certain.

"Maybe, but we'll have to deal with them later. Besides Cast wants us off anything involving them; something about it being too risky having the Wings fall into Chaos' hands" Shadow said.

"But we sent them packing last time" Bella reminded them.

"After he disrupted an Admin event; sealed hundreds of people inside a stadium holding them hostage and had his number two guy rip out Illu's soul; these guys are on another level of evil." DB reminded the toongirl of the events of the final battle. "I say we stick with Shads' plan of getting stronger and better before something new drops in on us."

As if on cue they all heard knocking from downstairs causing them to look deadpanned at a chuckling DB whose jinx may be the cause of another possible opponent at their door. All of them wondered why they would have guests considering they were closed for business today.

"You guys think it's Illu wanting to get our attention?" DB asked.

"Why knock, if Illu-tan is going to knock somewhere it would be on the meeting door not the front; and even then she comes in from the back because she wants to look at her plants every day before she comes in." Ravena then called Punnya over. "Hey Punnya; think you can see who's at the door?"

"Punnya" The happy neko manju said before flying out of the room wondering who the mystery arrivals were. Kurotsubasa waited patiently for the manju's return.

"And now we wait and hope for…"

"Punnya!"

"Punnya I'm coming!" Ravena almost ran out the door if it wasn't for Punnya flying back in and into her large 'chest.' "Punnya who was it at the door to make you scream like that?" The girl asked her pet. The rest of Kurotsubasa was curious to what could have startled Punnya.

"Punnya! punnya nya; nyaya ya!" Punnya mewled loudly while pointing with her tail at the image that still decorated their terminal screen. The guild put two and two together seeing the urgent look on Punnya's face and why she was pointing to the faces of Aetherion.

"Wait you mean to tell us that the only guild that might be competition to us in this town is already at our doorstep?" DB asked.

"Is that true Punnya?" Ravena asked.

"Punnya!"

Key changed the terminal and looked at the security camera to show that there were six people waiting outside their door. As they watched they saw one of the members, a girl, ran off somewhere but the others stayed knocking again.

"Well these guys are either extremely polite or they aren't here to fight; not many challengers wait out patiently and knock on the guild's door. Plus the Guild Wars haven't officially started." Key spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Maybe these guys just didn't get the memo; just give me five minutes and I'll have the guys throw them out in no time flat." Bella went to activate her Omnitrix only for her hand to be stopped by Shadow before it could reach her wrist.

"Look they're waiting, that means they want something but it doesn't require violence which is why they gave away their location and are waiting for us. Maybe they're here to negotiate something." Shadow figured on Aetherion's intentions.

"We wouldn't have to guess if you would just let me have at them!" Bella complained after Shadow let go of her hand.

"Careful Bell, this it could just be a misunderstanding and we don't need to be making enemies before the Guild Wars even begin." Key said. "Aetherion is made of hybrid characters; players who shift from half-animal and full animal forms. Let's at least see what they want before we imply anything.

"Fine but if they're up to no good I get first whack at them; maybe the guy with the giant knife first!" As the girl raved on they waited for Bella to simmer down before making their way downstairs to see what Aetherion could want. Ravena stopped to look at the seventh member while replaying what Key had said about them.

"Six members, five of them being boys and Ani-Key say that they are all hybrids; and our own hybrid girl Illu-tan isn't here. This is too much to not be coincidence." Ravena spoke to herself but then joined the others downstairs. "Wait up nya!"

(Scene change)

Aeon released another sneeze, thanking Zephyrus who materialized a tissue for him; once the swordsman was done the used tissue became a card that went up in flames. "That's the third one now; think they're talking about us guys?"

"Maybe who knows what Imouto-chan could have told them about us; she could tell them our embarrassing qualities or worse…her pet name for you Aeon." Sol smiled hearing a groan from Aetherion's leader.

"I'm seriously trying to get her to change that…Ganymede seeing as we got some time before they show any hospitality care to inform us about Kurotsubasa?" Aeon asked their Intel expert. "I want to know all about the ones taking care of my sister."

"Right; Kurotsubasa, the Black Wing, is a hunting, mercenary, and basically an odd job guild, with an occupation like that no wonder the group full of…well let's call them unique members." Ganymede showed them all an image of each member of Kurotsubasa.

"Keybladedude or Key is one of the Betas, possessing a large amount of knowledge of FFW and all its workings. In my opinion, this may be one of the reasons why the Admin hasn't tried anything too drastic on them."

"GeneralHyna or Arabella Hyna, Bella for short, has a record longer than you would imagine. She's a pranking expert that once literally painted this very town red and has a long list of powers I'm not even going to try and lessen."

"DB or DrummerBoy4Life is just that, a drummer…who also happens to be a vampire and possesses pyrokinetic power. He's a powerful warrior that is known to leave plenty of people in the burn ward of the hospital."

"Sounds just like you Helios; maybe you got some healthy competition." Malachite smiled jokingly.

"Hopefully he doesn't have the mouth to match you Salamander."

"Hey!"

"Ravena Felidae" Ganymede continued cutting Sol off and infuriating him even more. "A nekomata with all kinds of magical powers and a list of many other things; surprisingly she too has a long history and a record but not like her teammate Bella, though she is one of the most upbeat and strongest members."

"And" Aeon asked him to go on. "You know who I really want to know about so continue on Ganymede."

"Shadowlight0982 or as many bounty hunters know as Shadow has a long and…thrilling history; he's the leader of Kurotsubasa as has many titles as well as accomplishments you really have some competition with this one. Known as a powerful warrior, almost undefeated, and tracker, he's explored some of the most challenging parts of FFW and lived to tell others."

Ganymede began to laugh a bit causing the others to wonder about the masked warrior's mental state. He then spoke to them in a language that they all understood; "kanojo no yuujin ha...kyoumibukai noha yoi kurotsubasa no riidaa, riidaa no youni kiwotsuke ru (2)." Ganymede snickered again.

"Kareha sonoyouna bukimi da eru toki, watashi ha kirai (3)" Sol said lowly wondering why Ganymede felt the need to act that way. "The guy is too random; speaking of which where did Saphir run off too?"

"She talked about being called back to the merchant district; she'll be back though maybe she saw a gem she liked or something?" Zephyrus shrugged his shoulders thinking about the girl's behavior. "Anyway you know the plan right Aeon?"

"Yes yes I get no need for you guys to keep pointing it out for me; we go in and find Imouto-chan, see if she's all right and nothing bad happened to the seal, and then…"

"Explain to her about what we hid from her ever since she logged on." Zephyrus cuts him off knowing that he would try to skirt around the detail. "As her brother you need to tell her, it's important if not…"

"I get it Zeph and I was going to say that if you hadn't interrupted me, now how long will it take for them to open the door?" Aeon asked no one.

(Play Persona ost: The Poem for Everyone's Soul)

"If you tried asking nicely you might have been let in sooner Pun!"

All of Aetherion looked to the ledge where Kurotsubasa's sign stood to see a catgirl smiling down at them with her eyes closed; this girl didn't look like any of the members in Kurotsubasa's roster. The girl had pink fur and what looked like darker pink midriff and bottom with a large golden bell hanging from a collar around her neck. Two flowing pink neko tails and pink neko ears stood out on black hair with pink highlights and they could make out black wings on her back. She opened her eyes revealing red catlike pupils.

As they stood silent Malachite took the time to walk forward, "Sorry we may have the wrong place milady; we thought this was the base for the guild Kurotsubasa." He said in the usual suave voice he saved for women making the rest of Aetherion groan.

"No you're right this is Kurotsubasa…see nya!" The girl moved out the way showing them the sign fully. "Now you guys know we're closed right?"

"Yes but we didn't come here to discuss business, we came to talk with the guild. It regards of member of your team, Illusionist Owl or Illu as she calls herself." Malachite began to explain getting slightly serious. "We would like to talk to the guild about her."

"Illu-tan, why didn't you say before nya?!" The girl slinked away back inside the building.

"Wait, come back catgirl! If you want Gany here has some nice fishes you can eat!" Sol called back to the girl and dodged a swing from Ganymede who was holding a bat made of water.

"She's not eating my megalos" Ganymede said, short and to the point. They all watched as the door opened letting them walk inside. They then saw a table was ready for them with Kurotsubasa's members either sitting at random spots or standing; the girl who greeted them was nowhere to be seen but a pink manju was smiling in a girl's arms. Their attention was at the person sitting at the head of the table with them.

Shadow's eyes were closed but he slowly opened them as soon as Aetherion entered the base. Once they took their seats Shadow began speaking.

"Welcome…to Kurotsubasa."

(At the same time - Summon Realms, Tokyo City)

"Is everything set up correctly Genma-san?" Illu asked as she was now sitting in what she originally thought was a pentagram. After some explanation from the monk it turned out it was a Chinese five point star which was used for the ceremony. While she was in the center Mukurowl was perched on one of the shelves and Genma was out of the circle placing bowls of elements at the end of each star point.

"Yes it is, now just be calm as I finish the preparations." In each bowls were elements of Chinese creation: water, wood, fire, metal, and earth. After the bowls were placed in their correct spots; Genma then lit a few incense candles after turning off the lights. "Now let me explain what will happen during the ceremony; while your body will remain here your mind will be transported off to meet with Orochi." Genma explained to the girl.

"Ok, this will help you send me into Orochi's realm so that I can speak with him?" Illu asked as she tried to understand the procedure. Mukurowl looked around in both curiosity and worry as he shared his master's questions. "How long do these meetings usually last?" Illu asked.

"It's all dependent on the boss; whether you are on good terms with them or not. I remember Orochi is usually mutual when it comes to his summoners but the fact that he was so quick to accept you says a lot about your character." Genma smiled and placed a hand on the slat making it shine a bright light to Illu's surprise. "However; these meetings do tend to last quite a while I hope you don't have any place to be."

'I was supposed to be at the base for the meeting…but, I guess I can find out later by messaging Ravena-chan or Bella-chan. If it was really important like Shadow-kun said he'll make sure I know.' Illu then closed her eyes and let out a small breath "I'm ready Genma-san."

Genma nodded and whispered an incantation; it felt so arcane and powerful that Illu felt the energy behind each word. The star began to glow more and more until all the girl saw was white; the last thing Illu heard was a hoot from Mukurowl before everything went black.

Illu looked around and saw that she was floating, no standing on some invisible platform in this dark space. The girl looked confused wondering if this was really her mindscape or if it was Orochi's personal realm. "Did it work?" Illu asked herself as she looked around.

"So you have finally arrived here young one; that is good we have much to discuss" Something that sounded like eight voices speaking in unison while hissing at the end of the sentence. In a wave of power Illu braced herself at the sudden wind and saw that she was not alone anymore. Now standing before the young hybrid was the legendary eight headed demon: Yamata no Orochi.

Unlike their first meeting Illu could see it more clearly now than the white apparition from the first meeting. It had dark green scales that looked almost like armor and from the lack of scars Illu doubt anything could pierce it. Softer brown underscales made up its bellow and she could see its blank eyes lined with blue.

Illu gave the summon a respectful bow before she started to speak. "Orochi, I wanted to talk to you after summoning you in the tournament; I thought…"

"Yes we remember your fight with that earth-user… and from what your thoughts are saying it is one who you wish to fight again." Orochi cut off with its words; they saw the surprised look on Illu's face so they explained. "From the moment the contract was established we were linked to your more inner thoughts powered by your emotions; we know all about your intentions with that letter."

"My…intentions, I don't know what you mean I'm going to give the letter to my friend after I'm done speaking with you." Illu stuttered as she tried to explain herself to the large serpent.

"If that is so why not send it ahead with your pet before coming to this store; have your friend know if you are truly that worried about him." One of the heads asked.

"I do care about Shadow-kun…" Illu blushed at the meaning of those words but kept on speaking. "While he may have seen what Wolf could do who knows what plans he has; it may be an ambush to try and kill him."

"So instead of giving your friend that message, you wish to face that warrior again for his safety…or is it for another reason?" Another one of the snake demon's heads asked.

"Huh what do you mean?" Illu asked wondering where the summon was going with the conversation; however since he had a link to her emotions maybe he knew something that she didn't. Illu knew that it was wrong to keep the message and not tell Shadow the moment she got it but something inside her told her to hold onto it. "I don't have another reason; this is to help my friend."

"I see, though you may not know now you are feeling more than concern for your friend." A head spoke. "It's an emotion that everyone creature has though it is also something that they don't want to admit they have." Another one said having Illu confused to what they were talking about.

"Ano, what do you mean by emotion?" Illu asked.

The heads of Orochi decided to speak as one, "That is something you must discover for yourself and when you discover it then we will talk about what gifts you receive our pure hearted summoner." The demon's voice began to fade along with its form.

"Wait, I still need to talk to you about our link and about what those gifts are?!" Illu yelled wanting Orochi to answer before he departs back to his dimension though she that it was in vain for her to try and stop the summons from leaving.

"All will be said in due time but for coming this far and still maintaining that purity you had when you first summoned me I leave you with a small gift." All of the heads opened their mouths and small beads of light floated out and combined to become a solid sphere of energy. The orb then landed in Illu's arms. "When you return you will have proof that you are our summoner by that medium but keep searching for the reason why you truly wish to fight that human."

Illu wanted the meeting to last longer to find out what the serpent meant but the dark plane began to fade out around her. The girl then blinked and opened her eyes to see that she was back at the store slumped along the ground. She saw Mukurowl's questioned look and Genma's humorous laughter.

"Excuse me; while we may have just met I appreciate it if you not try to crush me Summoner."

Hearing a new voice Illu got back to her feet and looked around wondering where the new voice had come from.

"You may want to look at you wrist though Orochi usually leaves other ways to signify it's summoner but this is the most unique one I have seen in all my days running this shop, hohoho!" The monk finished with a cheerful laugh.

Mukurowl landed on her shoulder following the girl's gaze to her wrist which was once barren now had a new…occupant. It was a small snake wrapped around her wrist that she would have mistaken as a bracelet if it wasn't for the fact the snake was staring back at her. Its scales were an earthly green almost like that of Orochi's but a ring of scales under the head were light purple almost like a collar.

"Yes thank you kind sir for pointing out my whereabouts; now Mistress my name is…" Before the snake could finish Illu was rubbing it against her cheek.

"Aw nanika waii hebi, soreha chibi-Orochi noyouna monoda soreha totemo kawaiidesu! (4) Illu said as she continued playing with her new companion. Mukurowl looked at Illu and the snake in confusion and let out a string of hoots.

"I beg your pardon, I am more than just cute and I am not a worm as your feathered friend mentioned! My name is Nyoka and I happen to be a medium; the one who speaks to you at Yamata-no Orochi-sama's behalf!" Nyoka protested, Illu was shocked and brought the snake off her wrist and into her hand to talk to her.

"Medium, so you were the gift Orochi gave me and you can even understand Mukurowl too!" Illu said excitedly. "Is there anything else you can do besides that Nyoka-san?" Illu asked using a respectful honorific seeing Illu's comment angered the snake some.

"Well of course, Orochi-sama chose me out off all of his servants to be your medium because I was the most compatible to you. As a matter of fact…"

"While it is wonderful seeing you enjoying your new gift from Orochi I really must return to the shop before I lose any business." Genma said reminding Illu he was there and where she was. Illu bowed in apology to the old man for wasting his time.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time Genma-san; I j-just get like that when I'm really excited." Illu reached into her pouched and pulled out a wrapped bundle of munny. "Here, this is to thank you for all of your help today.

"Ohoho nonsense; I'm always ready to help my customers and this is the least I can do for one who missed her first chance originally. Genma laughed as they all walked out from the back; the monk then waved goodbye to Illu as she left. "Now off you go, Orochi seemed to have brought you two together for a reason I can only wonder what other gifts he has bestowed on you."

Illu bowed to the man and left with Mukurowl on her shoulder and the newly named Nyoka on her wrist. As they walked out into the merchant district Illu got to know Nyoka a fair bit on her walk to Kurotsubasa.

"So not only do you have special poison abilities like your species but you can change your size as well?" Illu asked the small snake; maybe what Genma spoke was true that Nyoka was chosen for her since size-altering was a power Mukurowl had as well.

"That is correct; and I also have a few more abilities as well, I can even grow to the same size as Orochi-sama himself. But, please tell me about yourself miss…you must be something for Orochi-sama to choose you as his summoner when you look like a frail girl." Nyoka asked.

Illu laughed nervously at the snake's words but decided to comply with her request. "Well my name is Illu, like you I use poison but I'm very skilled in illusions and magic as well. Mukurowl here can also change his size like you but we can combine to achieve a hybrid form; it may not show but I'm a hybrid half human/half owl with Muku-chan's help." Illu explained to Nyoka.

"Hybrid, so can you transform without the aid of your bird there?" Nyoka asked not addressing Mukurowl by name after the worm insult.

"No I can't the only time I ever tried was when I first tried to transform but I blacked out; that was when I was training with my brothers. One of them gave me a spirit egg that hatched into Muku-chan so that he could help me." Illu said while rubbing Mukurowl's feathers. "From the Eclipse Tournament footage I transformed without him again but my videos always go down and I never saw it; I don't even remember that battle honestly."

"So you don't even remember your transformation Illu-sama?" Nyoka asked.

"Illu-sama?"

"Since you are my master's bearer I must treat with the same level of respect…unless you call me a worm or do something to break Orochi-sama's contract." Nyoka explained.

Illu understood and then shook her head to her first question. "No I remember neither one; but from what the medics who saw me said there is nothing physical wrong with me so I leave it alone."

'So you doesn't have any memory, does that me her powers have been partially sealed?' Nyoka noticed the mark on Illu's forehead but chose to leave the matter alone. The snake then felt a presence that caused her to hiss.

Illu noticed the girl's hissing, "Um Nyoka-san why are you hissing?" She asked wondering about her change in behavior.

"Something vile is approaching" Nyoka whispered.

Illu wondered what she meant until she saw someone she never seen before in Tokyo City but felt familiar to her.

What she saw was a man with long white hair that went down to his past his shoulders and was tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon. The man had blue markings on his face and familiar cinnamon red eyes as well; he wore a white and red male yukata that hung loose against his body and black straps on his arms with the ends of each tied to a single finger (Think Miroku's gloves from Inuyasha). Finishing his outfit were black baggy pants that puffed up around his knees and bandages tied around the ends going down to his bare feet.

The man walked closer and saw Illu and then ran over to her; the girl stood wondering where she had seen the guy before with Nyoka still hissing with many voices coming from her mouth saying 'the enemy.'

"Illu-chan, it's been so long!" The man said as he got closer.

Illu looked at him confused wondering how he knew him while Nyoka was pulled her back and away from the male. "Um sorry but who are you again?" Illu asked.

"Have you really forgotten me already, I know I wasn't around as much as you brother but come on…it's me Saphir." The male Saphir said. Illu then noticed the wolf ears on his head and her eyes widened.

"Saphir-chan, what are you doing here? I thought you would be watching the bas…the base oh Kami! All this time I never checked in!" Illu said in worry.

Saphir gave her a wave. "Its fine I was able to take care of it; besides from what the news said you've been pretty busy Illu-chan…by the way who is the snake and why are you backing away from me?"

Illu wondered what she meant but felt herself being dragged by Nyoka who was slowly but surely moving her away from Saphir. She planted her feet firmly and looked at Nyoka, "Nyoka what's the matter, this is my friend Saphir Heart sh-well she's harmless." Illu explained.

"HARMLESS?! How can you say that to anyone who wounded Orochi-sama regardless of his intentions!" Nyoka yelled; for some reason Illu herself was feeling a small amount of fear from Saphir.

"Orochi…oh you mean Yamata no Orochi!" Saphir said realizing what the snake was talking about. He then pulled out a sword that was sheathed on his back; the whole sword was azure blur from blade to hilt thought it was still sharp. On both side of the sword's handle were gold rings that were a part of the sword.

"This sword is called Tsumugari no Tachi or Tsumugari for short and in the game I got it from it was the reformed version of the sword used to kil…Illu-chan you're backing up again." Saphir noticed the steps Illu was taking.

"Well that sword feels scary for some reason and I being Orochi's summoner must make me feel what he feels." Illu said nervously.

"KEEP THAT BLOODY SWORD AWAY FROM US!" All of Orochi's head spoke out of Nyoka.

Saphir sighed and placed the sword away. "Fine I'll keep it away so the big bad snake won't get upset. Speaking of upset, Aeon almost went ballistic after he saw the Eclipse Tournament battles; the guys are at Kurotsubasa's base to find you."

"Anataha nani Niisan wo imi shi, hokano nin ga ima deha, besu niaru! Aa Kami nani watashi hasurutsumoridesu (5)?!" Illu hands flailed around at the thought of what her brothers could be doing or saying to her friends.

"Hold on now Illu-chan no need to be like that; I'm sure the guys have it under control and Zephy-sama is making sure that the guys don't act like…well themselves." Saphir tried to calm the girl down but couldn't get near due to the hissing Nyoka. The wolf boy then got serious, "Also Illu it's important that the others talk to you."

Illu was shocked at the loss of her playful tone and lack of honorific; that showed how serious this visit must mean. "Ok, you say they are at the base now; then let's hurry I don't want Chocobo to do anything too embarrassing."

"True but I think you should worry about all of them…besides Zephy-sama of course!" Illu ignored the girl's favoritism and ran in the direction of Kurotsubasa; Saphir followed after the girl since she knew the way better than he did.

(Scene Change)

"I thought the rumors about you guys being eccentric were false but it seems all of you have your moments huh?" Aeon asked seeing the set up they were trying to make; he was sure if the whole café was a monochromatic shade of blue that Aetherion would be in the Velvet Room.

"You must not be from around here if you're saying that; actually we know you aren't from this Server…though none of us are but that's beside the point." Shadow said. "But what we do want to know is why five days before the Guild Wars one of our possible opponents decided to visit us now?"

"Well we didn't come here to start any conflict; like you said the Guild Wars are about to start and we would rather avoid any sort of battles between us that aren't necessary." The one wearing a cloak said. "What we are here for is to talk to you about a certain member of your guild."

DB then looked over to Bella suspiciously; "Bella I thought you said that you were prank free for three days, I guess you decided to break you streak this time?" The vampire asked.

"Hey I am still clean; I haven't pranked anyone in days!" Bella yelled back at DB.

"Normally when someone is here to talk about our guild it's because you did something to tick them off." DB said.

"Well this time I did nothing honest" To empathize her point she pointed at the halo that was now floating over her.

"I'm not even going to ask" DB sweatdropped; Aetherion was silent thinking that this must be the norm for the guild.

"So who are you here for nya; it must be important for you to come all the way from the Asian Server." Ravena asked. "Are you here for a request, because we're closed or maybe you're mapping the area?"

"Hey hear that guys, looks like we're famous even here." Sol smiled and puffed out his chest seeing as they heard of them.

"Actually we've only just found out about you guys today, other than your guild's name we know nothing about you." DB said deflating the redhead's ego. That sentence caused the boastful teen to facefault to the ground.

"So you were able to infer just from a small amount of information; that's impressive." Ganymede then looked at Key. "Was it perhaps you that was able to gather this information?"

"Possibly, but like DB said that's all we know and we know that you are missing two members of your group right now." Key said counting the five men there. "You are missing two girls, from what the information from your guild profile said."

Zephyrus sighed; "I guess we should have our page be more private, but if we did that we wouldn't get as much jobs as we had. So do you know the last two members because it concerns one of them and one of your guild mates."

"Not really, we don't even know you guy's names personally. So who in my guild are you here to see and what is the real reason why you're here?" Shadow asked watching them with his Byakugan active. "From what you guys have told us you haven't told us the whole truth, but didn't lie to us…yet."

"The Byakugan must be very useful for situations like this; I was thinking of getting one but a player has to be female to get a water-attributed Byakugan." Ganymede whispered.

"Well if you know what we said is true than you know we're not here to fight, even though a spar with you guys would be awesome!" Sol smiled before he continued. "We need to see Illu if she's here?"

"Illu-tan hasn't been here for a while though she was supposed to. Why do you guys need to see her?" Ravena asked them still holding Punnya.

"It involves what happened during the Eclipse Tournament though I think it would help well if I explain who I am." Aeon cleared his throat to help him speak clearly. "As you already know we're known as Aetherion and I'm the leader; my name is…"

"CHOCOBOOOOO!"

To everyone's surprise Illu appeared suddenly and bulldozed Aeon into a wall knocking the sword wielder out. Illu was breathing hard before she noticed what she had done and blushed red. "Uh, sorry I was late everyone" She said shyly.

The rest of Kurotsubasa widened their eyes at the strength of the impact from their usually docile, gentle member. Saphir had walked in behind her, now in her female form, wondering why she yelled. She then saw Malachite and Sol helping Aeon off the floor and put it together.

"She caught him doing something embarrassing right Zephy-sama?" Saphir asked.

"No he didn't even get to that part this time." Zephyrus sweatdropped when he saw the cartoonish bump on their leader's forehead.

"Wow…." Was all Ravena could say.

"Punnyaaaa" Punnya said impressed.

"I…didn't know you had it in you Illu; but next time maybe you shouldn't slam a guy into a wall unless he really deserved it." Shadow said to her after the girl calmed down. An embarrassed Illu nodded her head before walking over to the swirly-eyed Aetherion.

"Chocobo are you all right?" Illu asked after she apologized for intentionally pushing him against the wall.

"I would be better if you didn't use that name" Aeon got back to his feet and brushed off the debris from his impact. "Anataga kabe ni watashi no zugaikotsu wo bash ni motte inakatta, anataga shitte iru hontou ni kizutsu kerukoto. (6)" Aeon said in a language Kurotsubasa recognized as Japanese.

"Watashi ha moushiwake arimasenga, watashi haanataga watashi no otouto wo embarass toha omowa nakattasugiru baai, watashi ha motte inaideshou (7)" Illu said back confusing Kurotsubasa even more; the only one who really had a clue what they were saying was Ravena.

'I know Illu told me she was from Kyoto, but hearing speak the language is just something I never seen until today.' Shadow thought as he watched the siblings have their own conversation. After some time he cleared his throat getting the two's attention.

"Wow Owlgirl I didn't think you could speak another language; so what have you told these guys about us?" Bella asked the embarrassed girl.

"It's not like that Bella-chan; I'm from Kyoto in Japan along with the rest of Aetherion. That's the language that we grew up speaking before we learned English thanks to the visors." Illu explained.

"The visors what do you mean by that?" DB said feeling the now invisible piece of metal around his head.

"Not everyone who plays FFW speaks English; the visors have a translator feature for when you log into the United Server so that we could all speak the same language. The feature can be switched off too…like what Illu did just now." Key explained.

"Sorry I never told you guys before, anyway I'm sorry for the…wall Chocobo" Illu apologized again to the swordsman.

"Illu-chaaaannn don't call me that! Call me Aeon-niisan or Ragna-niisan, anything but THAT name!" Aeon complained to the girl.

Ravena chuckled, "Why not I think it's a cute nickname Chokobi." The catgirl smiled along with Illu.

"I know right Ravena-chan; you can guess how I made the nickname right?"

"Of course, Chokobi doesn't really try to hide that he's a combination of a Squall and Chocobo." Ravena answered the girl's question.

"I know but I find it more fun to call him Chocobo" Illu smiled.

"Can we please talk about something else besides that name?!" Aeon glared at Illu who was looking back at him innocently. The swordsman sighed as he crossed his arms in an angry huff. "Imouto-chan could you at least introduce us to your friends?"

"Ok I've know enough Japanese to know what imouto means; this guy's your brother Illu?" DB asked the girl.

"So he's the brother you told me about" Ravena figured out from their conversation some time ago. "He doesn't seem as bad as you said he was."

"Hey!" Aeon said outraged, Illu calmed the boy down and then walked over to Kurotsubasa to begin introducing the other guild.

"Well these guys are Aetherion; they're from Kyoto just like me and they're the closest thing I have to having brothers and a sister." Illu smiled and then started from the right. "This is Sol-niisan or Sol of Helios; he's one of the best fighters on the team and a fire user."

"Please to meet you guys; it's about time we finally get to see the guys in the pages of Illu-chan's E-diary." Sol said.

"Sol-nii!" Illu yelled.

"Oh come on Illu-chan I think it's cute; you even have a page filled with pictures of…" The redhead pulled out his chakram to block a glaive from the furiously blushing girl; seeing his joke go too far he decided to end it there. "Anyway the name's Sol; you looking for fun and fire you come find me!" Sol gave them a huge grin.

"Seems like you got some competition there DB-chan; isn't that your usual position nya?" Ravena asked the drummer.

"Rave I think the fun he's talking about involves pranking which is more Bella's territory…though I may have to test you out on that fire thing, see which one of us is better." DB gave Sol his own grin.

"Bring it on; I don't use Helios just because it looks cool. Where we're from I'm known as the Walking Volcano: Sol of Helios, let's see what you got some time." Sol said in a challenging tone.

Illu decided to move down the line before DB and Sol could "bond" anymore and they had to sweep up the ashes. "This is Malachite, he's the one that gave me all the plants I need and helped me make some of my stronger poisons."

"It's better than going to a store that will charge high prices for things that can be easily made yourself, but Illu-chan…" In a flash, Malachite was kneeling before Ravena and planted a small kiss on the back of her hand. "You didn't ever say this guild had such a beautiful flower on its team."

"Uh…thanks?" Ravena said with a small blush at the cloaked boy's actions.

"Mal-nii I didn't say anything because I knew you would do this and there is another girl in the guild." Illu told the flirt.

"I know that you're in this guild too but I can't in good conscious ask out my friend's little sister…not after last time." Malachite said whispering the last part.

"What was that Mal?" Aeon said threateningly.

Before Malachite could answer he was sent flying with a kick to the head. Aetherion looked at the attacker in question while part of Kurotsubasa was groaning at Bella new appearance. The attacker seemed to brush dust off his shoe before putting it back on the ground.

"You dare to say you acknowledge beauty as flowers you didn't even noticed the hidden bouquet that is Arabella; obviously your sense of beauty differ from others." Charlotte Chuhlhourne said to the downed Malachite.

"Bella could you change back, being in the same room as this guy is making me…uncomfortable." DB said not liking the latest Hyna transformation. Before Charlotte could object Shadow hit the Omnitrix symbol on his wrist turning him back into Bella.

"Hey how did you change me back?" Bella asked the scythe user.

"I took a class from Azmuth; now we don't need anyone else getting hit unless I can help it." Shadow said and then turned to Illu. "Anyway Illu can you please keep going before anyone else ends up with a bump.

Illu nodded but not after putting a large Band-Aid on Malachite's face. 'Poor Mal-nii, I guess I should have warned him more about Bella-chan before he ended up putting his foot in his mouth.' With that thought Illu moved to the masked member of Aetherion.

"This is Ganymede; I guess you can say he's the Beta of Aetherion without being a Beta. Gany-nii is a bounty hunter so he knows a lot of things about FFW." Illu said introducing the silent teen.

"And that also means I know a small bit about all of you since you're making a name for yourselves, especially you Shadow-san considering the large bounty that's been posted about you." Ganymede said.

"It' the life I live, I hate it but I can't complain. Hopefully we don't have to fight; I would hate to have to hurt on of Illu's friends." Shadow said.

"You don't need to worry about that, besides it would make Illu sad if I were to hunt you down. But in all honesty I'm not interested in the Wings of Creation; in the end it's just a burden that you ended up getting stuck with." Ganymede said.

"That's good to know we won't have to fight" Shadow said shaking the bounty hunter's hand.

Ganymede nodded, "I've been keeping tabs on you all for some time, just to see if having you around Illu is good for her but it turns out it was a good thing she met you guys."

"Nani?! Chocobo you had Ganymede STALK me?!" Illu yelled at the two boys who wouldn't meet her angry gaze.

"…Technically Ganymede followed you on his own" Aeon said still not looked at his enraged sister.

"That is true, I did follow you out of my own decision; it was my choice not Leader's" Ganymede said meeting Illu's gaze. "Besides how else we I supposed to find out where you were after the…incident and I ended up learning some interesting things."

"What do you know?" Illu asked in a worried tone. 'There's no telling what Gany managed to find out and if he knows about…'

Ganymede whispered to Illu so that only she could hear him. "More than you think…like how you have a crush on your leader."

'NOOOO!' Illu thought, "I don't know what you're talking about Gany-nii." She said hoping that he was joking.

"Yes you do, and honestly I find it cute" Ganymede said to Illu's horror. "Don't worry, I didn't tell Aeon…you don't want him chasing after the boy do you?" By now Ganymede was snickering at the beet red Illu who was a second away from fainting; she then turned to the others.

"Um let's keep going," Illu looked to the next two and saw the familiar sight of Saphir hugging Zephyrus's arm. "The girl clinging him is Saphir Heart and the one whose arm is turning blue is Zephyrus; Zephyrus is someone who can match you in magic Ravena-chan."

"Oh really, is he the one that taught you how to use magic nya?" Ravena asked in interest.

Illu shook her head, "No but Zephy-niisan taught me something else but he's the best at using magic and helps Gany-nii when it comes to tracking. Now Saphir-chan, she may be a bit giggly but she's a good person. She became part of Aetherion after meeting Zephy-nii."

"And that's a day I'll never forget!" Saphir said. Zephyrus though tried to get him to loosen her grip on his arm before he had to lose it.

"Can I please have my arm back…also Shadow could I ask you a question?" Zephyrus asked after getting Saphir to loosen her grip.

"Sure what is it?" Shadow asked.

"You know about the mark that was one Illu's forehead right, you were the one to redo the mark after the tournament right?" Zephyrus asked the scythe user. "That thing is called the Mark of Saturn and its special mark Illu has that helps with her power."

"Really, I never really understood what that mark was for, I honestly thought it was something like Saphir-chan's markings" Illu said honestly; by now Nyoka was keeping an eye on Saphir but caught what Zephyrus had said.

'Does that mark have something to do with her transformation?' The snake thought to herself.

"It took the rest of Aetherion and me to make that mark yet it took you only seconds to make it again, did you know what you did?" Zephyrus asked.

"Not really, I think my body was on autopilot at the time…I just remember what the mark looked like and replicated it best I could; I only have some knowledge of seals but not enough to be an expert like you are." Shadow answered.

"I really deal with runes but seals are almost the same." Zephyrus said. "Well at least you did a good job replicating it but I'll have to examine it later if that's all right Illu-chan?"

"If it will help sure, I wouldn't want to have any problems." Illu answered the silver haired boy; the usually shy girl now walked over next to the last member of Aetherion. "And right here is my true Oniisan in all but blood; his name is Aeon of Ragnarok."

"Aeon or Ragna would be just fine…just as long as…"

"Or you can call him Chocobo like I do!" Illu quickly added causing the older boy to drop to the ground. Seeing her brother's look Illu just gave him another innocent smile, "I like that name better Chocobo."

"Well I prefer you not to call me that, not even an hour here and you have one of your friends using almost the exact same nickname!" Aeon sighed in frustration before getting on with the conversation. "Regardless Illu there is a reason we came to see you, this isn't just a mindless visit."

"Figured out that much; Zephyrus you said that the Mark of Saturn helps with Illu's powers what exactly do you mean?" Shadow asked. "Illu's been her usual self after she woke up from her fight."

"Well it works more specifically on Illu-chan's hybrid form, I'm sure you all have seen it some time or another." Zephyrus said.

"Yeah Illu's big bird form, what about it?" Bella asked.

"It's more than that Bella-chan" Illu said as she focused on her brothers. "But what about my hybrid form Zephy-nii I mean I know I don't have the second transformation like all of you guys but that's expected right?"

"That's where you're wrong Illu" Aeon said speaking for Zephyrus; he then focused on the rest of Kurotsubasa. "Are you sure you want everyone here listening when we tell you?" He asked; even though they were Illu's friends doesn't mean he trusted them immediately plus this was a matter concerning only his little sister.

"I'm sure you can tell them Chocobo it shouldn't be…"

"Go ahead and talk in the garden, you'll have some privacy there if you use the whisper command to keep it private." Shadow said to Illu's surprise.

"Are you sure Shadow-kun?" Illu asked. One of Aeon's brows rose at the use of friendly honorifics though behind him a few members of Aetherion were silently snickering. "It really isn't much of a problem."

"It's probably for the best Illu, we are a team but it's best to keep some of our own secrets plus this looks this is a family matter anyway." Shadow then showed them the door that led to the garden. "There's the backdoor, take all the time you need."

"We will, come on Illu this is important" Aeon said as he and Aetherion walked over to the door. Illu gave Kurotsubasa one more glance before following the group out into the backyard; before any of Kurotsubasa made the attempt to eavesdrop Shadow pulled them back.

"Don't any of you go trying to eavesdrop on them; this is about Illu's personal life so leave it alone." Shadow said sternly.

"Come on Shads aren't you interested in the least; it's not every day another guild pops up." Bella said. "Isn't it a good time to try and gather some info, especially if it's about Illu?"

"Just drop it Bella, we're probably don't have to battle them anyway so just leave it be." Shadow then left to go upstairs. The rest of Kurotsubasa then saw the mischievous look on Ravena's face.

"You got a plan don't you kitty?" Bella asked.

"You what Shads said about trying to eavesdrop right?" DB asked.

"Well Shadow-kyun said that we couldn't eavesdrop but I think he forgot about one very important someone." Ravena said as she held up her secret weapon. "You know what to do right?"

"Punnya!"

(Scene Change)

"I was wondering where you would be keeping those plants I sent you but it seems you found the perfect garden to keep them all in." Malachite said seeing Illu's garden which covered half of the backyard. "Who grows the other half?"

"Thanks Mal-nii" Illu smiled at the compliment as she tended two plants in particular. "Some of the other herbs and flowers go into Ravena's magic ingredients and others to Bella's supplies but it's mostly Shadow-kun's; he had the garden set up way before I was here."

"Wow to think he's was that silent fighter type like Gany here but he's got a hell of a green thumb. You may want to snatch the guy up while you can Illu-chan" Sol smiled.

"N-n no it's not like that!" Illu kept on insisting with the atomic blush covering her face.

"For once hothead could be right, it would be best if you stake your claim." Ganymede added to the girl's ire. Illu seemed to shrink in embarrassment, much to Mukurowl and the silent Nyoka's confusion; the girl then noticed Punnya was nearby and brought her in her arms.

"You won't tease me right Punnya-chan?" Illu asked hopefully to the manju.

"Punnya!" Punnya meowed. That seemed to satisfy Illu but her two pets that could understand Punnya both sweatdropped.

Saphir raised a brow at the manju, "Hey is that a beast manju? I didn't notice in the base but they're so cool…ugh is it ok for her to listen in on the conversation?" The wolf girl asked the rest of the group.

"We'll worry about it later" Aeon brashly stated. The leader of Aetherion then gave Illu a serious expression. "Illu, what we are here for is about the Mark and your hybrid power…and also why you may have been blacking out."

"But you guys told me before that the blackouts were a side effect of me pushing my hybrid form's limits? How could there be more, did any of you have problems when you first transformed?" The girl asked.

"We've all had our mishaps when transforming but yours was completely different; Illu remember what we told you about the hybrid class? How you first must achieve and master hybrid form before going into a full transformation?" Zephyrus asked her.

"Yes and I only go my hybrid form" Illu answered him.

Zephyrus shook his head. "That's not true…see the day we went with you to help you with your first transformation…" The Aetherion stopped and looked to Aeon silently telling him that he had the floor.

Aeon stepped up and finished for the silver haired hybrid. "That day…you completely skipped all the steps and transformed into your full form. Illu you went on a rampage attacking us as if you were another person."

Illu couldn't believe what she was hearing and neither could the three pets around her. "Chocobo…what are you saying? I don't have a full form I'm only a hybrid!" Seeing the serious looks on most of Aetherion's faces she knew there must be some truth to his statement but her mind didn't want to believe it."

"It's true, you attacked us Illu-chan I'm sure if you check deep into the log of your visor you'll find the footage or record somewhere. You even pulled out a violin and it somehow gave you control over our senses." Sol said without using his goofy persona.

'I kept on getting messages asking how I got a violin to do that…I didn't know what those messages were about I thought they were spam.' Illu thought. "Choco…Aeon-niisan; if that's true then how comes I have a hybrid form and can't go any higher? I can't seem to find evidence of what you say so how can I believe you."

A popup message on her screen caught the girl's attention since it was from…Ganymede. Illu opened her menu to access it only to watch the one part of the Eclipse Tournament she did not have…her fight against Suijin and Fuijin.

"I would have sent you the one of your first transformation but I believe this will work just as well." Ganymede said. "The seal on your forehead was created by me; it holds back that…thing you turned into after you transformed."

"Ganymede and I keep tabs on the seal hoping that it would last and it would never break, but when you went on your own and joined Kurotsubasa it ended up breaking." Zephyrus walked up to Illu and placed a hand on her forehead right on top of the seal. "Sorry Illu-chan but I need to make sure the seal is still working as it should."

Illu said nothing but nodded her head letting the magic user continue. Zephyrus kept on searching for any irregularities in the seal. Punnya remained quiet in her place listening to the whole conversation.

'Everything looks well and intake, I'm surprised someone was able to copy a Ganymede original…what about" Zephyrus' train of thought stopped when he noticed something odd. The silver haired teen then took his hand off the seal and looked to the others.

"It's holding, if I didn't know any better I would say the seal never broke." Illu sighed a breath of relief hearing Zephyrus's words.

Aeon nodded his head. "Good, then we can now all head to the Akaishi Mountains."

"Akaishi Mountains, wait we…do you need me for something Chocobo?" Illu wondered why he needed her back at the guild's true headquarters; they were only here to check on her and the seal and both were fine so why the extra hassle. The next thing her brother said soon changed her world forever.

"Because from now on…I want you back with Aetherion full time."

TBC…

---

Trust me where I say as I was writing there were worse parts to just put a cliffhanger; this will get you all excited for the second half of this chapter. So read and review so that we can have more of this and give me some criticism too since I don't want to get worse or rusty with my writing.

As for the YouTube poll since I still working with my recording stuff I'm just going to ask if you want all our musical themes and everything put on the YouTube page I made for the story or do it yourselves and then send it to me to place on the channel. It will be something FFW related that will be out and I'll deal with all the copyright and everything so we don't get sued. Just a yes or no is all I need. Until next time everyone!

-Shadowlight0982 out.

Translations:

1. "I love you Zephy-sama!"

2. "Her friends are…interesting better watch out for Kurotsubasa's leader, Leader-sama."

3. "I hate it when he gets like this"

4. "Aw what a cute snake; it's like a chibi-orochi it's so cute!"

5. "What, you mean nii-san and the others are at the base now! Oh Kami what am I going to do?!"

6. "You didn't have to bash my skull against the wall; that really hurt you know."

7. "I'm sorry but I wouldn't have too if I didn't think you would embarrass me brother."