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.

24. Chapter 20: Aetherion Part 2

Hope you all didn't have to wait too long but here's the next part of what I can say is a successful chapter. I was kind of worried of my writing skills as I was writing both but from the reviews I got I don't need to stop writing anytime soon. To those who are just skeptic and think I'm just taking all of this from a series or something else the plot was all made by me using themes that you'll probably see everywhere.

I'm doing announcements here since I don't have much to say only that if I have any polls it will be up in DeviantArt and I'm going to try and have another chapter done by tomorrow; which is also my birthday so if there are any late updates then that's probably the reason. I'll take care of reviews in the next chapter as well because I don't want to keep any of you guys waiting. So…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.

Beta'd by: Ravena Felidae

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Ch. 20: Aetherion

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"I want you back with Aetherion full time."

Illu's eyes widened after she heard her brother utter those words; they echoed about in her mind as she tried to think of an explanation to what was going on. She now knew that this wasn't just a simple visit or a request; Aeon wanted her to come back with Aetherion back to the Asian Server permanently.

"Aeon…you don't mean that do you? You mean for l-like a short time right?" She asked with a small plead in her voice.

The rest of Aetherion was silent and turned away to avoid Illu's pleading gaze. The only one to look her in the eyes was Aeon and they showed her the seriousness of the conversation. "No Illu, after we heard the news around FFW and saw the videos of the Eclipse Tournament I decided that it's too dangerous for you to be out here." The leader of Aetherion said.

"But at the Tournament everything turned out ok; the people from Chaos were defeated and my friends were able to rescue from what the stories say. We were able to take care of it!" Illu said as she tried to reason with her brother.

"But you weren't able to handle it; you lost your soul during that fight because you lost control of your powers and almost came close to dying if your friend hadn't helped you. The same friend that was probably the reason that whole event occurred." Aeon argued with the girl. He heard the emotions in her voice; he knew how much she wanted to stay with her friends but after what happened then…now this is more about her safety than she wants.

Illu stood wide eyed as she just heard her brother basically say her friends were the reason she almost died. Before Aeon could go further Zephyrus decided to intervene. "Ok I think that was a little harsh Aeon…but he's right. Illu, the Mark of Saturn is very important and if it breaks again you may go on another rampage; it may have been patched up but who knows what the consequences of using your full demon form are?

Ganymede also voiced his thoughts. "What Leader-sama is saying is that while we need to monitor your seal and make sure it's doing its job; we want take you away from those who risk you bodily harm by tampering with it."

"But can't you do that here? Gany-nii, you're an expert on seals and runes and you made the mark, you also have Zephy-nii whose magic helped you make the seal right, so why do we all have to leave to the Asian Server when you even have an extra base in the forest around Tokyo City?!" Illu asked them desperately.

"Because back in our Server we can better protect you; this is about your safety Illu. Remember when we heard about all those the coma patients; how they ended up like that because something happened to them while playing this game? Well now something like that almost happened to you and I won't let that happen again!" Aeon's ranting became yelling as he recalled the Tournament. "You already have your co…"

"Don't mention you dare mention that!" Illu yelled; even though they were in private she didn't want Aeon to talk about her condition; Punnya cringed at the harsh tone that came out the usually sweet girl's mouth. "And nothing like that happened; Shadow was able to save me before anything bad could have happened!"

"Yeah even though he wasted most of that fight losing control of himself too; I don't know if you watched those videos closely but he also knocked Mukurowl out of the way who was trying to calm him down, but he kept on after the bastard he was fighting!" Aeon said. "The only reason I didn't barge in here and try to kill him is because he straightened out and rescued you before it was too late!"

Ganymede decided enough was enough and got in-between the two yelling siblings. "Calm down both of you; the worse may have almost happened but it didn't. Illu was saved before anything drastic happened that's all that matters."

"Yeah like Ganymede said; we were all worried when we saw that fight but in the end everything was able to work itself out." Sol said as he tried to mediate between Aeon and Illu before things got more out of control.

"What Aeon is trying to say Illu-chan is that we were worried about your safety. You are right about the seal but that's not the only threat you have to worry about. Powerful people are coming after Kurotsubasa…and you by association." Malachite said to help try and relieve the tension hanging in the air.

"We just don't want anything to happen to our Imouto-chan, I've been in this Server longer than you have and I know the type of guys that lurk around. I didn't even hear about the Red Savages taking root just by our base until I had already left." Saphir said. "Red Savages, Chaos, all of that, we just want to keep them away from you Illu."

"B-but…" Illu stuttered out, her emotions clouding her mind.

Aeon sighed, "This isn't up for debate Illu and besides before you joined these guys you were a member of Aetherion first; that means as your Guild leader you don't have a choice but to follow my order." The sword wielder said looking firmly at Illu. "You're coming back with us Kohaku; so that we can protect you."

Aeon's tone and choice of words made something click inside of Illu's mind. Having been in a moment like this before she thought back to the day she met Kurotsubasa…Shadow's voice played in her head.

"Everyone has choices, sometimes the choices are good and others are bad. However, everyone has to live with the choices they make. Just make sure your choice is something you can live with."

"…choice…" Illu murmured out with her bangs hiding her eyes and, in turn, her emotions from view of Aetherion. 'The choices I make have to be something I want to live with. This is my life, my choice; it's not for my brother to decide!'

"Huh, did you say something Illu-chan?" Saphir asked as she heard Illu's whispers with her sensitive ears. "Look what Aeon did was unfair to use his status like that but he's…"

"I don't have a choice…" Illu repeated with the other hybrid said before glaring at him with glowing red eyes. "I don't have a choice at all, because you're deciding my choices for me!"

"Don't give me that Illu; I'm trying to do what's best for you!" Aeon yelled back at the girl, his eyes also glowing bright blue and his pupils becoming slits.

"By what, by keeping me inside that mountain base, keeping me outside of this Server where you think all the dangers are?!" Illu kept on yelling unaware of the faint aura that was glowing around her body. "You're treating me like this is still Kyoto, you even used that name!"

Aeon would had tried to calm her down if he wasn't just as angry as she was; meeting her glare with his own now reptilian like eyes. He was about to retort but for some reason he couldn't open his jaw; the rest of Aetherion was also paralyzed by the force Illu was unintentionally admitting. Zephyrus kept his eyes on Illu but then saw a faint silhouette in the aura; a figure.

'That looked just like…' The Aetherion thought as he remembered the clear image that he saw when he was checking inside of Illu's seal. 'That isn't good!'

The Dragoon of Aetherion then fought through whatever force Illu placed on him to continue their argument. "Whether this is Kyoto or here doesn't matter; you're my sister and I'll keep you away from all those psychopaths that are running around all over the place; like those Red Savages who captured you!"

"Do you know who you sound like right now Aeon? You sound just like that bastard Ripper that wanted to keep me locked up! He was the Red Savage leader as well!" Aeon then froze solid; not only did Illu stop referring to him as 'niisan' or her pet nickname, but was now she was comparing him to the one that had once held her captive.

"I'm not that meek little girl anymore! Once I put on the Yume no Kiri I stop being weak-hearted Kohaku! Here in FFW, I am Illusionist Owl! I can take care of myself now Aeon but if you can't see that….!" A gust of wind kicked up making Aetherion shield their eyes; Illu had summoned the wind and fused with Mukurowl to take off flying in her hybrid form.

"If you can't see that Aeon…then you're not my Niisan anymore!" The hybrid girl shot and then took off leaving behind the shocked faces of Aetherion and a stunned manju that was now watching her leave. Aeon began to glow and was going to transform to try and follow her before she got too far but then a hand landed on his shoulder.

"That will do more harm than good Leader-sama" Once he felt Aeon calm down Ganymede took his hand off the Dragoon's shoulder. "You just told her something that devastated her. Right now it's best for Illu-chan to be alone right now." The masked warrior of Aetherion said.

"What happened to the plan Aeon? You were supposed to use the gentle approach," Malachite reminded the Dragoon.

"Forget the plan; with what's been going on lately in the world Illu has to come back with us now. We can forget about the gentle approach!" Aeon then proceeded to leave out the base by using the backyard gate.

"What are you doing Aeon, I may not know much about girls but I'm pretty sure when a girl gets like that it's best to stay back and let her release some steam." Sol said trying to stop Aeon before he went on a rampage searching for Illu.

"I'm going after my little sister Sol; as long as she's on this Server there are too many threats out there because she's a part of this guild. I'm going to find her before some whack job out there does…do whatever you want but I'm searching for her!" Aeon then left out the back leaving the rest of Aetherion to their thoughts.

Saphir sighed and then turned to the group to get their attention. "What do we do now Zephy-sama? Illu really needs time to think to be alone with her thoughts right now but Aeon's not exactly going to give her enough time to do that." The Okami of Aetherion said in concern.

"I know Saphir-chan; that's why we're going to split up. Some of us are going to go after Aeon to try and cool him down and make him see reason. The rest of us will search for Illu to make sure that she's safe, Aeon is right about those are out there." Zephyrus turned to Ganymede. "Gany do you think you can find Illu?"

"Of course" Ganymede answered the question; he already had experience keeping track of Illu.

"All right, I think it's best for you to go and search for her right now. Saphir and I will join you later. Sol and Malachite will go after Aeon and try to get him to see reason." Zephyrus ordered the rest of the guild; their main priority was Illu but because of the two sibling's spat the mission was starting to become harder. The members of Aetherion nodded and separated to do their jobs; Saphir then noticed Punnya was still in the garden and picked the neko manju up.

"I better take this girl back inside and explain to the others what happened." Saphir said while petting the sad Punnya.

"Nya…." Punnya lowly mewled as she was still depressed over what she had witnessed.

"No we'll both do that…if things get any worse we may have to involve Kurotsubasa in this as well." Zephyrus said. The two walked back through the garden door and tried to decide whether or not to tell Kurotsubasa what had happened during their guild's talk. However what the Magickster of Aetherion didn't know was that Kurotsubasa was going to find out no matter what they told them.

(Ravena's Room during Aetherion's talk)

"Hey Kitty are you sure this plan of yours will work? I still think my idea would have still been better and I would have already been done by now." Bella complained with her arms were folded as she watched the catgirl hover in midair in a meditative pose.

"Shads will know what's up if he so much as senses you leaving the base. Besides, I think those Aetherion guys are sharper than they look; you heard about one of them being a famous bounty hunter nya. I doubt you have a good amount of stealthy toons to help you get past them." Ravena then pulled down spell-list in her menu to try and find the perfect spell.

"Hey I got many that are stealthy! But how do you know that your plan will work out better than mine?" Bella asked.

"I know because if there's one thing I know that won't fail me Hy-nya, its magic. Besides since I have Punnya helping me out this will go a lot more smoothly. Now hush! I need to focus," Ravena then took a quick breath and concentrated more on her meditation. The catgirl then began her spell by muttering her spell trigger. "Neko… Neko… Nekoko…."

Bella decided to obey and stayed silent, watching as the magical girl's eyes began to glow. Soon, Ravena's soul self, a black two tailed cat left her body and phased through the floors and walls of the base. The cat specter then entered Punnya's body just as the manju followed Aetherion out into the garden.

'Try not to act too suspicious ok Punnya?' Ravena said inside the manju's mind. Punnya responded back to Ravena mentally as she continued to tail the other guild. Ravena and Punnya then watched the whole conversation between Illu and Aeon and were silent even into Illu's declaration.

'This is bad and Chokobi isn't doing a good job of explaining things to Illu-tan; though I feel insulted that he feels that way about us like we can't protect our friend.' Ravena said and then spoke to Punnya. 'I'll come and pick you up and then we'll search for Illu-tan ok Punnya.'

Punnya mentally nodded just as she felt Saphir pick her up into her arms. Ravena's soul self exited the manju's body and returned to its proper place. Ravena snapped out of trance with a start and jumped to her feet, startling Bella a bit.

"Whoa Kitty, did you find out something important?" Bella asked seeing the catgirl suddenly spring to her feet.

"No, not really Bella, I'm just going to go pick up Punnya and then tell you what I learned later ok." Before Bella could say anything Ravena flew out of the room leaving the toongirl more confused. Ravena made it downstairs and accidently bumped into Saphir; she apologized as Punnya flew to her.

"Sorry nya, I was kinda in a hurry to find Punnya." Ravena said.

"It's ok, I was just coming in to find you and give her back." Saphir said seeing Punnya with Ravena again. Once the girls were finished chatting Zephyrus cleared his throat and asked Ravena a question.

"Where is Shadow? There is something I need to talk to him about." Zephyrus asked.

"He's either upstairs in his room or in another one nya, but I really need to go so excuse us." Ravena answered his question and then left out the building with Punnya at her side. The two members of Aetherion looked at each other, suspicious of the catgirl.

"You think she's knows what happened Zephy-sama?" Saphir asked.

"Maybe, from all the info Ganymede got on her, she's a magic-user and I was sure I sensed a magical signature around as we talked but I just figured it was that beast manju of hers since it has a pretty strong magic signature." Zephyrus answered. "However; if she does knows that then we have one more person who could try and find where Illu is."

"Things have really gone downhill today; hopefully we can find Illu-chan before things get even worse." Saphir said with her ears drooping down to match her worried expression.

"We'll find her Saphir-chan; but first we may need another pair of eyes for the search." Zephyrus then led them upstairs in order to find the leader of Kurotsubasa.

(Scene Change)

"…Niisan no Baka"

Illu said as she sat underneath the bridge. After having her argument with Aeon, Illu flew into the town looking for a place where she could gather her thoughts; this brought her to a bridge in a part of Tokyo City. Sitting under the bridge next to the river that ran underneath brought back memories of her times in the Asian Server but the last thing she wanted to think about now was Aetherion or more specifically, her brother.

Mukurowl looked at Illu sadly while Nyoka kept a neutral expression but still felt some empathy with her new mistress. "I know what your brother said was out of hand but don't you think you could have handled that differently Illu-sama?" The serpent asked. Mukurowl hooted at Illu trying to cheer her up.

"Once Aeon gets like that he only hears yelling, beside I don't think he would have listened to anything else I said." Illu said back to the familiar. "I know he has good intentions but to keep me away from my friends here…"

"As with all brothers he has his reasons to be concerned with his sister's wellbeing; from what Orochi-sama told me about your battle it did have an almost horrible outcome." Nyoka said; Mukurowl looked like he was about to reprimand her but a finger from Illu stopped him.

'That's right…from what the others said the Chaos guy stole my soul and I almost died until Shadow-kun saved me. If I were strong enough then maybe Aeon and others wouldn't have to worry about me.' Illu thought sadly. The girl and pets suddenly felt a new presence and turned to see Ravena walking over to her. Punnya was bouncing right behind her owner.

"Ravena-chan?" Illu said in surprise wondering why her friend was there.

"Mind if I sit with you Illu-tan?" Ravena asked; Punnya somehow led both Mukurowl and Nyoka away from the girls so that they could talk in private. Illu nodded and allowed the catgirl to sit next to her.

(Kurotsubasa Base)

"So after your talk turned into a fight Illu just took off and ran away?" Shadow asked as he talked with Zephyrus and Saphir. "I know it's not my place to ask but what could you guys be talking about to make Illu freak like that?"

"That's something I can't really tell you, but we do need your help with trying to find her. Do you have any idea where she could be?" Zephyrus asked him.

Shadow sighed and got out of his seat, he had an idea of what their conversation was about though he decided he would confront them about it later…right now he had a friend to find. "Not really, the person you should be asking for that is Ravena and it feels like she's already left."

"That girl from before, yeah she did leave but you don't know any place that Illu-chan would go?" Saphir said in disbelief.

"I never said that, but I wouldn't know where to look if she was frustrated like she is now." Shadow corrected her. "I got a way to search for her though but it will consume a bit of time since I'm not used to doing this…you have the rest looking for Illu right now?"

Zephyrus nodded his head. "Aeon went off on his own but I had Sol and Malachite follow after him. Ganymede is a good tracker and has experience finishing Illu when she runs off so he's off searching on his own." He explained the situation. "You can probably already guess why we went to get you instead of joining the search right away."

"I figured that out. If Illu hasn't already left town then I should be able to find her." Shadow then led them out of the room. "I'll start searching but know once I find Illu we're going to start looking for her too."

"You mean Kurotsubasa, why because she's a part of your guild?" Zephyrus asked.

"Like I need that to be the reason; Illu is our friend, plain and simple." Shadow explained as they now found themselves on the roof of the base.

Saphir looked around curiously. "Why are we on top of the building is this going to help you search for Illu?" The wolfgirl asked wondering why the boy had to relocate the two of them to the roof.

"I'm trying to eliminate as many places as I can and I don't think I need to sweep the base when I know Illu is not there." Shadow answered the girl as he began channeling chakra to his eye. The scythe user pooled as much energy as he could into his Byakugan so that he could do a city-wide sweep of Tokyo City for the missing Illu. A full minute later the veins had become more pronounced on the side of his face as he fully activated his Byakugan.

"Byakugan!" Shadow searched every place he could as he scouted every part of the area. Surveying as much land as he could he then found Illu's signature in town by the west entrance. "Found her," Shadow simply said as he turned off his Byakugan.

"Really? It must have been hard considering you only had one Byakugan." Saphir said impressed.

"Not hard…just time consuming and really taxing" Shadow said slightly exhausted from performing the search. "Anyway I found Illu so let's get ready to move." The scythe wielder said as he also sent Illu's location to the rest of Kurotsubasa.

(With Illu and Ravena)

"So Chokobi really said all that?" Ravena asked after Illu explained what had happened.

Originally, Illu wouldn't have told her but Ravena was her best friend and the catgirl told her that she was there spiritually listening to the whole conversation. "I can understand where he's coming from but he could have tried a better approach."

Illu nodded to her comment as she tossed another pebble into the river. "It's just the way Chocobo does it. I can understand him wanting to protect me but he acts like I can't protect myself on my own; one of the reasons I left on my own was to improve myself…but I guess it wasn't enough for Chocobo."

"Come on Illu-tan, I'm not saying he's right but he's just a bit…" A look from Illu caused Ravena to change her wording. "Ok maybe he is very overprotective but that's how older brothers are. They have to protect their little sisters from harm, that's just their mentality."

"Watashi ha shitte iruga, watashi ha yaburu tsumorinoyouni, akre to watashi no hokano kyoudai ha watashi wo chiryou shinai demoraitai... (1)" Illu then remembered this was Ravena she was talking to and changed back to English. "Sorry Ravena-chan, sometimes I switch back to Japanese when I get frustrated." She quickly explained.

"Watashi ha Illu-tan wo shitte (2)" Ravena said smiling at Illu's shocked expression; instead of embarrassing Illu further she decided to get to the point. "Ne Illu-tan, aatashi wa anedakara anata wa, atashi wa mattaku Aeon wa kanjite iru ka ni kanrendzukeru koto ga dekimasu. Kare wa chōdo kare no imōto ga anzendearitai, sore ga subeteda. (3)"

Illu sighed as she nodded at the truth behind Ravena's words. Her brother was trying to protect her, that she know was true but she also knew she didn't want to go back to the Asian Server just because of one incident. "Ravena I told you about how I met Shadow-kun and the others right?"

Ravena nodded. "Yeah you told me that story before; about the Red Savages and all of that. What's that got to do with this Illu-tan, got Shads on the mind?" The girl smirked.

"I-it's nothing like that!" Illu tried to dissuade her friend. "But I never told you about my time before that; before even the Red Savages and everything."

Ravena nodded her head and waited for her friend to continue, curious to hear the hybrid girl's story.

"You see Aeon and the others were the ones to introduce me to FFW; they taught me about the world and how powers worked. So when I first made my account they helped me get used to the game and made me a part of Aetherion to get experience."

"So how long ago was that, if it was before Kurotsubasa was made that would mean you've been in the guild system longer than any of us have." Ravena said impressed with the girl's achievement. 'At least longer than the others….'she added mentally.

"I don't know, I haven't asked Shadow-kyun but yeah." Illu blushed at the praise but continued with the story. "The Asian Server is filled with battle hungry groups which made most of the areas there battle grounds. Aetherion had battles almost weekly, though Aeon and the others kept me at support and healing because of my lack of experience. One day Aetherion was set to do a long map expedition around the United Server so they made a base in Tokyo City's forest; I was able to persuade Chocobo to leave me behind to watch the base and he agreed since he was also leaving Saphir-chan behind as well. A week of guard duty and switching shifts with Saphir; I left her a note for the others and then I left."

"Wow Illu-tan had a rebellious streak then, so you left the base to have some adventures of your own?" Ravena asked.

What was the point of having a world of limitless possibilities if you never had the chance to enjoy them; everyone in FFW will admit to wandering around and experiencing the game before they found a community to settle down and begin a trade or start further training to see what they were good at. The catgirl then smiled knowing the feeling all to well. "Well was it worth it?"

"Of course, I got to see so many things even if it was a different culture and Server! I even popped back to the Asian Server to do some events Chocobo wouldn't let me enter and fight my own battles." Illu said happily. "I would occasionally check on the base here when Saphir had to leave though I ended running into the Red Savages during a run to the base." Illu then stared at her reflection in the water.

"Still; and this is just looking on the bright side, if it wasn't for those goons you would have never met Shadow-kyun and Kurotsubasa nya." Ravena said being optimistic. "Do you ever regret making the choice to run Illu-tan?"

"Never, I had so much fun exploring on my own and like you said I even got to make my own friends. I just hate being treated like I'm fragile; I had to deal with that enough in the real world. That's why I started playing FFW…" Illu saw Ravena's confused look and sighed. "Never mind Ravena-chan."

"Well I'm sure if Chokobi sees how great a fighter you are he might not be so protective nya." Ravena offered.

"How would I do that? I lost both my fights in the tournament and I don't think we can find some strong opponents that I can handle." Illu tossed another stone in the water watching her reflection flicker on the surface. 'Wait!' Illu thought as she remembered what she received that morning.

"I'm sure we can find someone to do a mock fight with you. Grimmy if we find him and can convince him to hurry, maybe Rosie if we can have Shadow-kyun convince her." Ravena said listing options not noticing that Illu was pulling out a letter. Said girl was reading over the letter with a more determined look.

'I didn't know what I was feeling before when I read the letter but now I do. This is my chance to show Aeon-nii no…not just Aeon, everyone! I can show them that I'm not helpless on my own.' Illu thought as she clutched the letter in her hand. She then saw movement in the water and was shocked to see Orochi's image appear on the water.

'How did Orochi…'

"Just speak within you mind child; this is just an intervention so that we can speak privately." The serpent demon said as he spoke with Illu. "Do you now know your intentions for keeping the letter now or do you require more time?" Orochi asked talking about the conversation they had moments before.

Illu mentally nodded her head to the summons. 'I understand what you were saying before. The reason I kept the challenge letter…it was so I could fight Wolf again; so that I can prove to my brother that I'm not the same girl he remembers.

"That's not what I was speaking about."

"Huh" Illu looked confusedly at the summons.

"Are you truly fighting only for your brother's sake or for your own sake?" One of the heads asked her.

'My own sake?' Illu tried to ponder what the serpent was saying; fighting for her own sake. "My own sake, I don't know what you mean. If its revenge then no, I'm sure I'm not having any thoughts like that."

"Yes you aren't mad at how you lost, but more at how that boy made you feel." Another head spoke.

"How he made me feel" Illu thought about how she woke up after her fight with Wolf and again after the Final Battle of the Eclipse Tournament. What had Illu felt, she felt happy that Kurotsubasa won the tournament and that everyone got out safe; what else was there to think. Orochi mostly watched as the gears spun in Illu's head until the hybrid felt a small emotion she had felt if only for a moment.

"I was…disappointed to have only come close and then losing; I knew I could have beaten Wolf that day. I thought I had gained some strength during my time away from Aetherion but there was barely any difference." Illu said sadly.

"Pride…it's something that all creatures have but sometimes don't want to admit. You felt that the results of that battle showed you that you hadn't improved even a small bit but you're wrong." Orochi said to Illu's surprise. "Why do we fall? So that we may get up and rise back up again. You've learned a lot about yourself and your abilities as you traveled around had you not?"

"Of course and I'm still training now!" Illu said. "But no matter what I do there is still going to be someone that will treat me like I'm glass. The only ones who never done that were my friends in Kurotsubasa!"

"Why do you think that is, why your friends seem to have more faith in you than your brothers seemed to?" Another head asked.

"I don't know" Illu said wondering the same thing.

"Because unlike your brother who is focusing on one battle your friends have seen you fight multiple battles; they acknowledge your skills as a fighter because they have seen them first hand." One of the heads answered.

"If you cannot convince your simple-minded brother then you must show him." Another head said. "That's where we come in."

"We?" Illu asked.

"You were right that you were a slim moment from victory that day; even though you summoned us you were still beaten." Orochi said depressing Illu a bit. "However; back then you didn't have the powers that come with being our summoner." Two of the heads seem to float off the waters and slithered closer to Illu. "We cannot just give you all of the powers right away but we can grant you two to help get you started."

The first snake to reach Illu greeted her with a fanged smile. "As you learn how to use all eight of our gifts you will also learn all eight of our names. I'm first…my name is Ichiya." The serpent head introduced himself. The next snake nodded his head agreeing with the other before introducing himself. "And my name is Kagutsuchi…now it's time for you to go heal your wounded pride. Find that boy, challenge him and win…and then you will see how much stronger you have become."

"Hai, I won't let any of you down…Ichiya-san, Kagutsuchi-san I'll be sure to use your gifts wisely." Illu said as she bowed to all of the eight heads that Orochi possessed. The head that was Ichiya hissed out a laugh.

"The gifts are just that, only gifts, use them for whatever you may need. I hope you enjoy them." Kagutsuchi chose to ignore the other snake's laughter to speak with Illu. "You can access our gifts by using your familiar Nyoka; I'm sure as time goes on you will learn the rest of our names and earn our gifts."

"I can't thank you enough" Illu smiled to all the heads. "I know what I need to do now; I'm not going to lie to myself. When I lost to Wolf I thought that I somehow got weaker, that I couldn't keep up with the rest of my friends. Then Chocobo and the others came telling me how they will protect me from the evil in this Server…it felt like they thought I was too weak to stand on my own." Illu gave the serpent a determined look. "I'll show them all how much I've grown; I won't ever call myself weak again!"

"Now that's the same will and determination you showed us on the day we met." One of the nameless heads said. "You are quickly becoming the best summoner we ever had in a long time."

"Fun and games aside this meeting is over, do your best hatchling." Orochi's image began to fade and vanish from the river. Illu blinked and opened her eyes to see Ravena looking at her strangely.

"Hey Illu-tan are you all right? You zoned out for a minute as we were talking." Ravena asked her also noticing the girl had a piece of paper clutched in her hands. "What's that nya, a letter?"

"Something more than that Ravena-chan" Illu then handed Ravena the letter. "Take that to Shadow-kun; I won't need it anymore since I got it memorized." The usually shy girl then picked up Nyoka and allowed her to wrap around her wrist again.

'I felt that you had a meeting with Orochi-sama, is that true?' Nyoka asked Illu mentally.

Illu nodded her head to the snake. 'Yes I spoke with Orochi and learned some of their names; Ichiya and Kagutsuchi even unlocked two of the gifts for me to use and even said you were the key to using them.' Illu told the small snake.

Nyoka nodded her head believing her new mistress's words. 'That is correct but we will speak about that later…you have a schedule to keep am I right Illu-sama?" The snake said looking at the girl's determined eyes.

'I do' Illu said back to her. Ravena by now had finished reading the letter and her tails were up in attention.

"Nya what is this and it's addressed to Shadow-kyun too! Illu-tan what were you doing with this nya?" Ravena asked wondering how the girl got a message that was for Shadow in the first place.

"Grim-san gave it to me to take to Shadow-kun, I was just holding onto it and never got the chance to give it to him with Chocobo and the others showing up in surprise…Ravena-chan, Punnya-chan could you take that to Shadow for me?" Illu asked as she got Mukurowl to perch on her shoulder.

"What are you up to Illu-tan?" Ravena said in confusion as Illu just left her the letter. The catgirl and manju pair watched as Mukurowl grew in size and Illu hopped on his back to take off into the air. Ravena saw Illu had the same look she would make every time she was in a fight.

"I can't tell you that or you would try to stop me Ravena-chan, this is something I have to do!" Mukurowl then began flying away taking Illu and Nyoka with him. "Bye Ravena…and tell Gany-nii I said bye as well!"

"Nya-nya, what do you mean by that?!" Ravena yelled in confusion. Her ears then twitched at the sound of movement and she and Punnya saw something begin to rise out of the water. Ravena and Punnya were tense because they saw a dark blue figure leap out but in a flash of light, it turned out to be Ganymede.

"She's gotten better, normally she would never have sensed me…guess she has improved since her time with us." Ganymede said as his clothes and mask magically dried. "Congratulations on finding Illu but do you know where she is going now?"

Ravena held up the letter again. "I may have an idea to where she's heading to now nya; but we need to gather everyone and try to stop her." The nekomata took off flying with Punnya right behind her. Ganymede had no choice but to follow Ravena but he signaled the rest of Aetherion to gather at Kurotsubasa so that they could all gather to where Illu was now.

(Tokyo City Outskirts)

Wolf yawned for the tenth time today as he lied on a large tree branch bored from waiting for his target to arrive. He had given Grim a letter of challenge to give to Shadow trying to convince the scythe wielder into a duel and hopefully have him wager the Wings of Creation in their battle. Wolf was sure he plan was perfect but since it has been hours since he gave the letter to Grim two things must have happened: Shadow refused the challenge or Grim thought it was too troublesome to give Shadow the letter to begin with.

"All of this time planning this battle out and the guest of honor is tardy; I'm in a blind spot for the Byakugan so I can see him before he could even see me but that means nothing if he doesn't show up." Wolf said to himself as he closed his eyes thinking he might as well get some sleep if Shadow wasn't showing up.

'Seriously really just blow me off? Seeing as he's Rose's teacher I wouldn't put it pass him to be the source of her rude attitude as well. I know Grim had to have given him the letter because getting him to do that cost me about 500 munny.' The almost unconscious Wolf thought before he heard the crunching of grass. The thief righted himself to get ready to jump out the tree. 'Finally, wait…'

Illu landed into the forest and made her way to an empty forest area that she knew was wear a fight would probably take place. The girl took a large breath before yelling out to the hidden player. "Wolfey, I know you're around here somewhere come out now!" It a surprisingly loud and rude tone from the usually shy and calm Illu. The hybrid girl waited for a response knowing that somewhere in this field was her opponent.

'With that yelling she's doing she's going to attract attention to this place. Grim really thought it was too troublesome to go directly to Shadow so he gave the letter to one of his friends to give to him. Oh well too late to complain now; she know so I might have to get her out of the way before more company shows up.' Wolf jumped out of his hiding place in a high treetop.

He hit the ground with enough force to make a small crater underneath his feet and loud enough to startling Illu.

"What are you doing here birdie?" Wolf asked even though he already guessed the reason for the Hybrid's arrival. He watched as Illu pulled out her two knives and got into a fighting stance.

"I know you're planning on fighting Shadow today but there's been a change of plans. You're going to be fighting me now Wolf" Illu said. "You want the Wings of Creation don't you?" The girl asked trying to guess the thief's motive for battle.

Wolf chuckled at the obvious answer as he looked humorously at the girl. "Of course… do you know how much munny I can make off that little trinket it if I sell it off to the right people? Or maybe I should keep it for myself and then I'll be set for life." Wolf smirked at the girl. "Now it's my turn to ask questions right? Why are you here; did Shadow decide to send his girlfriend to fight instead of him…I feel offended."

Illu blushed at the girlfriend comment but shook her head and tried not to look so flustered. "I'm n-not his girlfriend…and the reason I'm here is because I read your challenge letter. You aren't the type to ask for a fight by paper, you go to them head-on."

"Taking lessons from your bounty hunting boyfriend huh?" Wolf snickered again seeing the blush rise on Illu's face. "You're right, Illu was it, and the letter was just so I had enough time to prepare. I would use my earthbending to feel when Shadow was coming and then 'meet' him to discuss the rules of our battle."

"Rules?" Illu asked suspicious of what Wolf meant by meet. While she was getting flustered by Wolf's comments she never let up her stance as she was ready for whatever tricks the thief may have.

"What's the point of fighting if it's not going to be interesting; from my bio at the Eclipse Tournament you know I'm a thief but you don't know how I work." Wolf's smirk grew in size. "I'm known in some circles as the legend-breaker; I find those highly skilled players and bet with our rarest items…I'm the one who knock those guys off their high horses."

"And you also take their rare items as well to sell them off to the highest bidder; you're just like those guys that you steal from." Illu stared at the thief with her weapons raised.

"Well I wouldn't say I'm as arrogant as some of the ones I fought…trust me once we all reach a certain level we think we're all legends. I'm just the one to introduce all of them back to reality." Wolf began to pace around. "So why don't you fly off Illu, you don't have anything of interest that I want so get out why you can and send your boyfriend here."

This time Illu didn't get flustered as she got irritated that Wolf was basically waving her off not saying she was worth interest. "You don't know anything that I have; I have things that are so rare and hard to find it can get a lot of munny if you know who to sell it to."

"What are you getting at, got something to bargain?" Wolf asked.

Illu held both her knives in one hand as she reached into her pouch to pull out a scroll. She raised her hand to show the scroll to Wolf. "Something like this; good summons are always in high demand especially those that are special from the normal ones."

A brow raised on Wolf's face. "I'm listening."

"What are you doing Illu-sama; you can't possibly be using Orochi-sama's scroll for a mere bet are you? I won't allow that" Nyoka whispered to Illu almost tempted to swallow the scroll whole to keep it safe.

"This is the only way to bid him into fighting Nyoka…besides I have no intentions of losing this scroll or this fight." Illu said back to the snake before turning her attention to Wolf. "This scroll has a legendary summon inside; the Yamata no Orochi."

"Yamata no Orochi, you mean the eight headed snake from the legend. Scrolls like that are in high demand and I can make a decent profit out of it." Wolf thought aloud and then faced Illu. "So what do you want me to offer?"

"Nothing, I win and you leave and don't bother Kurotsubasa again or try to get the Wings of Creation." Illu said trying to goad the thief into the fight; she knew she was taking a risk by betting the scroll but she had nothing else to use as bait to lure Wolf in.

"Wow really, all this to not go after Shadow…or maybe you just want a rematch from our fight at the Eclipse Tournament. Why bother with a pointless challenge if you know the end result will turn out the same?" Wolf smirked.

"Then you would remember last time it was a close battle, if you didn't have your golem's durability and protection you would had fell and it would have been a tie." This time it was Illu's turn to smirk as she took a page from Bella and Ravena's book. "Or are you scared?"

Wolf looked at her with a surprised and irked look. "Scared?"

"Are you scared Wolf-san, if you are so sure it will turn out like our last fight you have nothing to worry about…but then you seem to want me to simply back down." Illu wasn't used to provoking her opponents but this may be the push she needed. "Why don't you prove it, but I'll let you know now that if you think this battle will be the same it's you who needs a wakeup call from reality."

'I never knew Illu-sama could be like that, she could go from being a sweet girl to a hardened fighter so quickly.' Nyoka looked to Mukurowl hoping for an answer but she saw the owl was just as surprised as she was. 'Maybe this is the first time we see this side of Illu-sama."

"Why you…what makes you think I have to accept your challenge? I could just keep you captive and then use you as a hostage to make Shadow give me the Wings!" Wolf yelled as he got into an earthbending stance.

"That would save you a fight wouldn't it, you have a fight where you have nothing to lose but you try to avoid it." Illu tucked her scroll back in and replaced it with her knives; she pointed the small twin blades at Wolf the poison dripping menacingly from the tip. "If you can beat me then continue on with your plan but if I win all of that ends right here" She glared with her glowing red eyes.

"Pretty gutsy betting with a guy who can have the earth swallow you whole, you're really lucky I don't enjoy beating on women otherwise you would be buried." Wolf then pulled out his bats and aimed them at Illu. "If I win I take your scroll and have an extra weight to hang over Shadow's head but if by some miracle you win then I won't go after Shadow anymore; how do you know I'll keep my word?" Wolf asked her.

"Even you have to have some honor otherwise no one would trust you; do I have your honor as a thief?" Illu asked him right back.

"A thief has no honor."

"But if he has no honor then what does he have?"

At that response Wolf let out a laugh as he began twirling the bats in his hands. "Well well well, it looks like you're in touch with thief dealings. I would ask who you learned that from but we do have a chapter to finish. There is no honor among thieves but a man must keep his word."

"So you'll do it?" Illu asked.

Wolf smiled as the aluminum from the bats kept up his arms giving them a thick layer of metal. The creeping metal stopped at his arms and he swung his bat to a nearby tree turning it to splinters. "You got a deal Illu…you win then I'm gone if I win then you become a part of my grand scheme and I get a summon scroll to sell."

"So will you accept?" Illu asked again.

"Sure, let's do this" Wolf said as he got into his own fighting stance.

"Illu-sama are you sure this is the right action to make, I know you needed bait to lure in that scoundrel but using Orochi-sama's scroll as if it were a mere trinket?" Nyoka asked. Mukurowl seemed to agree as he was giving off worried hoots but Illu gave the two a confident look.

"I know we can win but I need both of you in order to do it, please fight with me in this battle Nyoka-chan." Illu said. Nyoka looked surprised that Illu seemed to trust her and used a familiar honorific with her name the snake tried to hide its embarrassed look as she looked away from Illu. "I am your familiar Illu-sama that is reason enough for me to help you."

"That's good but I want you to fight beside me as my friend as well." Illu said causing the snake to blush even more. The hybrid then turned to Mukurowl, "I'm going to need your help as well Muku-chan, let's give this battle our all." She smiled hearing Mukurowl's hoot as he took off into the air to give her more support.

"Done talking to your animals because I think it's about time we start." Wolf said.

"You're right…" Illu said as she readied herself.

Wolf chuckled again, "I always wanted to say this…let's rock baby!" The thief said pointing his bats at her signifying the start of the battle. The two glared at each other before one of them made the starting move.

(Play: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Sakura's Good Fight)

"Let's see how much stronger you got since last time!" The thief initiated the battle by running towards Illu with his bat held high. Illu chose to back up remembering what the aluminum bat did to the tree with Wolf's new strength. Illu avoided the sing and went to strike Wolf. The poison expert tried to cut into Wolf's back hoping to quickly poison him only for her knife to bounce off the newly grown metal armor.

"You didn't think I would let you end this fight so easily did you?" Wolf tried to swing at Illu again only for the girl to quickly get distance from the thief. Wolf took the time to grow the layer of metal all over his body fully absorbing the aluminum in his bat. "I was hoping not to fully use this but with those knives of yours I can't take any chances can I?"

"Right you're one of those things Bella knows about; you're an osmosian." Illu said as she saw the thief had finished absorbing as much metal as she needed. Now that he had a full layer of armor it would be even harder for her poison to make contact with him unless he either smelled or ingested it. Illu didn't let her worries show as she just slipped back into her stance. 'This fight just got a whole lot harder.'

"I've learned some new tricks after the tournament; I had to step up my game since you came really close to beating me last time you know that." Wolf smirked and then stomped the ground causing a chunk of earth to shoot up. The thief then sent them towards Illu using his bats playing his sadistic version of baseball. Illu had to sidestep and duck underneath the flying rocks,

"Illu-sama if you could get in close I may have something that could help you." The familiar said after Illu narrowly dodged another piece of earth that was sent flying at her. Illu wondered what Nyoka had in mind but decided to trust her as she weaved through the earth barrage to get as close to Wolf as she could.

Wolf saw Illu was closing the gap and smiled at her mistake; he stomped again but instead of rocks coming up the earth around Illu instantly sunk causing the girl to trip and fall towards the metal clad thief.

"Rookie mistake Illu, but I guess this battle's over!" Just as Wolf raised his bat something flew from Illu onto his hand causing him to feel a burning sensation. Illu was able to make it to her feet as she watched Wolf shake off what she believed was acid.

"How did that happen, I can't use acid unless I'm in my hybrid form." Illu wondered out loud as she now saw that Wolf's right hand was raw red and missing the metal layer. Thinking she may had accidently spilled poison she was about to check her pouch before Nyoka got her attention.

"That would be my doing Illu-sama; it's a corrosive poison that I have been able to create in my fangs." Nyoka said.

"So you did that Nyoka-chan, that's something interesting considering your other powers." Illu looked at her knives and then got back into position. "Thank you Nyoka, now I have a way to get through his armor and directly poison him. Now we just have to plan this right now that he knows." Illu gave the two pets mental commands and then used her speed to close the distance between her and Wolf.

"I'm starting to get a little annoyed that you're using old tricks when I told you I had some new tricks…I'm getting a bit disappointed in you Illu!" Wolf tried to swing at Illu only for the bat to phase through Illu's body and have it disappear into mist. The thief looked around confused before seeing another Illu; he sent a wave of earth only for it to be another illusion.

"You've gotten stronger Wolf…but so have I!"

Wolf then crossed his arms to block Illu's knives; he figured he had her trapped now only for the metal that was blocking the knives were now melting leaving his clothes and flesh that began to burn from the poison. The Earthbender shook the earth around them making Illu back away; he then lowered his armor to survey the damage to his arms. "Acid mixed with poison, and you somehow got a batch of acid that could melt through my armor if I didn't know any better I say you prepared for this battle in advance."

Illu shook her head, "I can't take any credit for the acid but you didn't think you could fight me forever without being poisoned did you?" She then noticed the dirtied blood dripping from Wolf's arms. "The poison won't kill you but it will leave you paralyzed and make your body shutdown if not treated soon, give up now Wolf."

"Well you may have not prepared for me but I definitely prepared for you" Illu wondered what the thief was talking about until she saw him reach into his clothes and pull out a small vial of gold liquid. Wolf then began to drink the fluid and Illu saw his skin brighten up and the wounds she gave him start to heal. "I had a small feeling after our first fight that we would meet again; I guess I was right."

"That can't be what I think it is…how could you possibly have Megalixer when they are so hard to get?!" Illu yelled in disbelief seeing the healing item. It was nearly impossible to find a shop that sells that type of elixir and even harder to find in chest in dungeons. Wolf finished healing his wounds and showed her that he had at least five more bottles.

"You would be surprised what people are willing to trade to get something they want; I got this set off of an old mage who didn't know what he had…I took the pleasure of taking it off his hands by trading him some gold sand." Wolf then hid the vials again. "I say it was a fair trade since these Megalixers go for thousands or even millions to the right buyers. These even have a bonus effect of canceling out status ailments for a time so your poisons are now useless."

"I have more than just my poisons" Illu said as she sheathed her knives and then summoned her glaive. "So you can only heal like that only five more times or less since you don't want to waste your profit; what will you do then?"

"By then I would have gotten serious but I'll do you a small favor since you're literally letting me walk scot-free. I'll let you have one of these Megalixers to have if by some fluke you do win." Wolf taunted her.

"It won't be a fluke and let me show you why! O swift wind that dashes through the heavens...Vernier!" Illu called out the spell that helped increase her already high speed movement. The hybrid's body glow a pale purple as a magic seal appeared under her feet. Illu then ran leaving a small trail of light behind her as she advanced towards Wolf.

"Your speed isn't going to be enough to help you now!" Wolf yelled as he had spikes of earth jet out of the ground. As Illu ran to the first one she used her new speed to dodge it. She passed by a few more before slicing one with her glaive to use it as a stand to get airborne. The hybrid took off the blade of the glaive leaving the chain and a large weight.

"Silver Starburst!" Illu yelled sending the chain forward to wrap around Wolf. She saw Wolf occupied with the chain she then began to channel energy into the blade in her hand; Wolf had a stone spire shoot out to stop the blade and then turned back to Illu. He grabbed her chain absorbing the steel of the weapon; before he could gloat he saw Illu holding what looked like a glowing crescent.

"I've learned some new tricks of my own; no matter what kind of armor you have I'll just tear right through it until there's nothing left!" Illu then threw the crescent blade in the air; the blade began to multiply filling the sky with more shining blades. "Here's something new that I made after training for so long…Crescent Storm!"

Wolf's eyes widened and he blocked as best he could as the steel rained down on him; he could hear the gashes appear on the metal but soon it wouldn't last as the metal was being sliced and chipped off and soon there would be nothing left. Seeing that he was in a desperate situation he used some of the earth around him to create a shield to take the brunt of the attack. Illu landed on the ground breathing hard as she saw the thousand blades disappear but still leaving slashes on the earth and Wolf's shield.

Wolf returned his shield to the earth and removed the metal armor seeing that it was useless as some of his clothes were also cut leaving some cuts and holes in his clothes. "So you also came up with some new tricks; to think you could have killed me with that move if you were serious enough to." The thief then interwove his fingers together making a unique handseal that Illu recognized immediately. "Let me show you the real reason why I chose this as the battlefield."

"Mokuton!"

The earth rumbles as roots began growing out of the ground and thrash around like living vines, even splinters form the once destroyed trees now became roots and trees that were now animated. Illu returned her glaive to normal and called Mukurowl to take her to the air in his larger form to get away from the hazardous earth.

'That's why he picked the forest, why he seemed so certain he could beat Shadow-kyun…with his earthbending and Mokuton Wolf can literally control the terrain of this field. A person who never fought against him before would be walking into an ambush.' Illu thought as she somehow saw Wolf behind the large amount of trees and vines.

The thief had taken another Megalixer to recover from the damage dealt by the Crescent Storm. Wolf stuck his bats into the ground so that he focused soly on the forest that he now controls. "This is where the fight truly begins!"

(Scene Change)

Shadow, Zephyrus, and Saphir were running through Tokyo City trying to find the other members of Aetherion. The three were originally following Shadow to the last place his Byakugan traced Illu's signature only for him to see that the girl had left. Shadow had to scan again to find a large amount of energy pooling around Tokyo City's West entrance.

"You think all that energy has something to do with Illu don't you?" Zephyrus asked the scythe user. Shadow nodded his head as he focused more on running to the entrance than answering their questions. Shadow saw the world waver for a second and then he heard a voice inside his head.

"Shadow-kyun, can you hear me?"

"Ravena how did you…?"

"Don't forget Telepathy is within my range of Azarethian powers Shads. Anyway, I was with Illu-tan by the bridge until she suddenly took off and left me behind. She left me a letter that was addressed to you."

"A letter…what was on it?"

"It's a challenge letter asking to meet with you in the woods at the West Entrance. I'm sure I saw Illu-tan flying that direction, what should I do nya?"

Shadow pondered a bit of what to do before an idea formed in his mind. 'You're closer to the base than I am; get Bella, DB, and Key then head over to the West Entrance and start looking for Illu. I think the fight may have already started.'

"And what about you?"

"I'll be there soon with the rest of Aetherion; I want you guys to go ahead and then we'll meet you there.

"Roger that."

Shadow somehow felt the connection sever and then stopped running; already he could Aeon with Sol and Malachite still looking for Illu. Zephyrus and Saphir stopped right behind them and soon saw their friends. "Guys we got a lead to where Illu-chan is!"

"Where is she?!" Aeon demanded wanting to see his sister. Before a word could be said Ganymede appeared in a brief haze of mist. After the masked warrior appeared he pointed towards the West Entrance. "Illu's that direction…but from the pressure I'm sensing there seems to be a battle taking place in that direction as well."

"So you mean Illu's caught inside another battle?! Dammit!" Aeon picked up his sword and ran towards the entrance. The rest of Aetherion followed with Shadow bringing up the rear keeping his thoughts to himself.

'Illu wouldn't do something like this without reason there has to be a reason why she would seek out someone aiming for me…there's more to this than meets the eye.' Shadow said keeping his Byakugan active so that he could keep an eye on the battle. He soon saw that Kurotsubasa had gathered and was running in the same direction. 'Looks like everyone is almost here' Shadow thought.

The two groups then eventually made it to each other and they both started to try and find Illu. It didn't take them long to hear the sounds of battle that soon led them to the clearing where the sound was coming from. As they got close Shadow then heard the words Aeon was saying.

"I can't believe I let her get out of my sight and now she's involved in something else; I should have never taken that job or left her with no supervision to watch the base here." Aeon grumbled to himself trying to find someone or something to blame for the situation.

"If you haven't talked to Illu the way you did maybe she wouldn't have ran away from you to begin with." Shadow said getting the Aetherion's attention. Aeon then turned to Shadow angry at what he just said;

"What?! Are you saying this is my fault, if there is anyone to blame here is you!" Aeon said outraged. "All these people doing whatever it take to get the Wings of Creation from you how long would it take them to attack those around you; you are basically a target for anyone craving power."

"You don't even know the whole story and all you are doing now is tossing the blame around. While you do that you are leaving yourself blind to the truth." Shadow said. "You want to protect your sister but all you really want to do is basically lock her in a glass cage away from danger." Shadow told him.

"I'll have a better chance than you have at protecting her. Could you keep her safe from people like Chaos if they came after her?" Aeon asked him.

"Yes…and even if I can't I know that Illu can take care of herself; everyone in Kurotsubasa feels that way. If I didn't think Illu was strong enough to handle the dangers that come with being part of this guild I would have never let her join." Shadow said to the Dragoon. "But she can, if you stop looking at her like an older brother you would see she' capable of protecting herself."

Before a glaring contest could start between the two leaders Bella decided to pull the two apart using Lodestar to attract them by their weapons. The shapeshifter changed back to remind them why they were here. "Hey we don't need another rumble on our way to find Owl girl; save it for the guy she's fighting and that's if there is enough after she's done with him."

"Bella's right we have to keep moving in order to get to her. I can feel all the plants in the area and right now some of them are being controlled and acting on their own. Do any of you know someone that can control plants?" Malachite asked Kurotsubasa.

"I have an idea but we'll only know once we get to the battlefield." Key said. The groups then returned to their search for the missing Illu; explosions shaking the ground cause a few of them to think grim thoughts as they followed the sounds of destruction.

(Play Fairy Tail ost: I Wish)

Mukurowl flew past another root and soared high out of reach of the twisted forest. Illu helped by slicing anything that came near him with her glaive as they were now defensive in this battle. Before the roots could regrow and attack again Nyoka would use her acid to melt the remains so that they had no chances of regenerating. The owl was able to get the three away from immediate danger and looked down at their opponent.

"It takes a lot of energy to grow trees anywhere with chakra so I prefer battlefields that already has trees provided for me. Here in a forest…with my Mokuton ability I am unstoppable. Wolf gloated. "You should have escaped while you had the chance; now I have to start getting serious."

'As long as he's using Mokuton it's going to hard to get close to him; if I try an ranged attack he'll use Mokuton o block but if I try to go in close range I'll be trapped.' Illu tried to think of a solution to her problem.

Nyoka looked up from her wrist to speak with Illu. "If the battle continues like this then we shall lose; surely there is a way to get past his defenses." The snake said trying to aid the girl in thought. "I don't have nearly enough acid to take down so many trees."

'Acid, wait that's it?!' Illu then looked down to Nyoka. "Nyoka I have a plan of you can trust me." The snake looked up at her confused but decided to nod trusting that the girl's plan will succeed. Nyoka then leapt off Illu's wrist and off back down to earth as Mukurowl and Illu combined with each other in a flash of light. Illu then flew down in her hybrid form towards Wolf.

"Clever trick but I've already seen your hybrid form so that won't work!" Wolf said as he set more trees to bind his flying target.

Illu then fired a barrage of acid to take care of the trees, melting them before they could even reach the hybrid girl. Seeing that he couldn't stop her attack he made another wall of earth only to watch it shatter.

"What?!" Before Wolf could do anything Illu was already there with her talons poised to strike; he could only absorb as much earth as he could to try and soften the blow only to be sent flying by Illu. The thief's crash is what alerted the two guilds to the area as they saw Illu's battle.

"Whoa if I didn't see it myself I would think that was Owlgirl fighting!" Bella said impressed at the girl's performance leading up to her attack on Wolf. "Remind me not to take it easy on Illu anymore guys!"

"Nya of course Illu-tan is that strong she's been training hard ever since we came back; though I'm sure she still has a lot of new things to show us." Ravena said smiling as she watched her friend begin to dominate the battle.

Punnya agreed nodding her head as they continued to watch the fight. As Kurotsubasa looked on in praise Aetherion looked with shocked expressions on all of their faces (minus Ganymede because of the mask). Their little sister who they watched and protected for a long time was fighting in ways they have never seen her do before.

"That's Illu-chan whoa, looks like your fighting skills are genetic huh Aeon?" Sol said as his shocked face instantly turned into a giant grin. "To think that this was the same girl back home in Kyoto; I think we may have underestimated her a bit."

"We all have to leave the nest and go off on our own sometime, I'm just glad Illu was able to keep her kind nature…though this battle does look personal." Malachite said wondering who she was battling. "Hey isn't that the guy she fought in the tournament against?"

"Wolfey141" Shadow answered for Aetherion.

"Who's that again nya?" Ravena asked.

Shadow decided to ignore the question and continue. "He's a thief that we met back at the tournament and was a placeholder for Rose's team; and from the letter Ravena showed me he was the one that set up this challenge originally for me but it looks like Illu decided to intervene."

"So this really is tied to you…just as I said before. I'm putting a stop to this fight!" Aeon looked like he was about to rush into the battle only to feel a large force pound down on his body making it hard for him to move. Shadow walked over next to him still keeping him in the gravity field.

"Why don't you take a second to watch…Illu's doing just find on her own and I never heard her call out for help." Shadow said using gravity to keep the Dragoon from moving.

"What you're not concerned at all for her are you?!" Aeon asked. The others of Aetherion looked like they wanted to intervene but decided it was best to avoid an unnecessary battle between the two guilds. Aeon kept on struggling to move only to feel the gravity slightly increase around his body.

"I didn't say I wasn't concerned but as far as I can see this doesn't involve you right now." Before Aeon could object to that Shadow cuts him by saying, "That letter Wolf sent was addressed to me yes but it was Illu who decided to go and fight…not because of me but of her own decision and this is right now a Kurotsubasa matter not Aetherion." Shadow then released Aeon from his hold and then stood before him with his scythe rose. "With that being said if you want to interfere you have to go through me."

"So you rather something bad end up happening because of this fight?" Aeon asked with a bit of anger in his voice. He then placed a hand on the handle of his sword ready to fight Shadow if necessary.

"Nothing bad will happen…because unlike you I trust Illu to win this fight." The stare down between the two leaders continued. Though Shadow still kept his eyes on Aeon he still was able to see the match with his Byakugan. "You may still see her as a fresh newbie but we don't, so just watch and see how much Illu has grown without you noticing."

Seeing that Shadow had no intention of letting him through he almost pondered on the idea of fighting Shadow to get past him. The Dragoon took his hand off his sword and crossed his arms as he glared at Shadow still. "Fine but if she's in any trouble then I step in no matter what you do." Shadow said nothing and moved out the way to give Aeon a better view of the fight.

"You won't need to step in…because the battle will be coming to an end soon." Shadow said.

(With Illu)

Illu took a quick breath as she transformed back landed in the litter of destroyed oak. Nyoka burrowed out the earth and back into Illu's arms. "When you said that you would be able to control the earth I had my doubts but thanks Nyoka-chan…if not for you I would have never gotten a clear shot."

"I have to admit that I wasn't sure how well that would work on another earth user but from the results of this battle it worked better than we could hop…though I would reconsider still pulling your punches when attack; he is your enemy Illu-sama." Nyoka said sternly lecturing the girl.

"It's a reflex, besides I just want to beat him not kill him Nyoka." Illu said. Mukurowl then landed on her shoulder but then noticed some movement. The three then turned to see Wolf standing up holding his third empty vial of Megalixer; the front of the thief's clothes had tears where Illu's talons nailed him.

"Three strikes…now it's time for me to really get serious" Wolf said as the earth began to rumble all around the field. "I won't be able to go on with my plan…but you did give me a pretty good battle up until now. I hope you have enough energy to still deal with this Illu because if not it will be like the tournament all over again!" Wolf said as the earth began to form around him.

"What does he mean by that?" Nyoka asked confused on what he means.

"Wolf controls the earth for another reason besides earthbending; he can make a large golem with it that he animates using his other power…I don't know if I still have enough energy to summon Orochi. I think this is it." Illu answered her feeling the rumbling bedrock. "If I were fast enough I could be able to counter but even with Vernier I won't reach him in time."

"Then what if your natural speed was enough for you to reach?" Nyoka asked causing Illu to look confused. "Don't tell me you forgot already Illu-sama, you still have the abilities Orochi-sama gave you or more specifically Ichiya-sama and Kagutsuchi-sama."

"My natural speed; even with Vernier casted on me I was only fast for a split moment and that won't give me nearly enough time to strike a winning blow. And I have no idea what the gifts are so how do I know they will work?" Illu asked the familiar.

"I am the key for you to access those gifts so I am the one to know what those gifts can do. Ichiya-sama's gift will greatly increase you speed and will even give you the power you need to end this battle…now we've talked to much we need to finish him now!" Nyoka said seeing large rocks beginning to peek out of the earth. "Get your knives out Illu-sama and I'll do the rest."

"Ok Nyoka-chan, I'm counting on you" Illu took out her knives again and braced herself for whatever the snake had planned. She watched as Nyoka shined a bright light and transformed into what she knew was a Garment Grid with two of its spaces filled with gems. One of the gems glowed as well along with Illu's clothes that started to turned into ribbons.

"Wait what are you doing, hold on Nyoka!" Illu tried to stop her familiar out of embarrassment. It was too late as her original clothes became bright ribbons and were replaced instantly with another outfit. Wolf noticed the bright light but decided to concentrate more on making his golem since for some reason it was hard to form large enough tock.

'Whatever she had planned won't matter…I just need to keep my shields up and make the golem and then the fight will be over.' Wolf thought as he tried to finish his technique using the remaining foliage as a shield for his protection. He saw the light faded and thought it was an attempt to heal until he felt something get past his defenses.

(Play Mana Khemia: Hey)

A gash appeared across his shoulder which left him speechless before he even felt the pain. A burst of pain later and now Wolf the fight was now clutching his injured arm wondering how so many cuts appeared on it. In a second he saw the roots he used as a shield was cut to pieces and in a blur Illu was standing on one of his boulders though she was in a different outfit which confused him.

Illu had on a blue bandana over her long hair keeping it out her eyes and her red scarf had shortened to show her face and was now a reddish orange with two streams trailing behind her. Her modest coat, tube top and skirt were replaced with a yellow string bikini with an olive green mini-skirt on top the bottoms. She had two pouches at her waist and ruffle sleeves over each of her arms resembling armguards. Her poisoned dagger now had a more violet color reflecting her poison.

After the adrenaline rush wore off from the burst of power that came with the transformation Illu felt a small breeze where she normally wouldn't. The shy girl looked down at her outfit with a blush and then used her hands went try and cover her chest and pull down her shorter skirt. "Why am I dressed like this?!" She yelled out in embarrassment.

The familiar of Orochi sweatdropped at the girl's actions. "Stop being embarrassed Illu-sama! It's just so that you can use skills the clothes provide. Besides it's not like anyone is around to see you dressed this way cares." Nyoka said.

"Illu?"

Illu's heart sank as she heard a voice and her blush increased tenfold covering her whole body. Both Aetherion and Kurotsubasa were staring at her with mixed expressions about her new wardrobe. Most of the boys were blushing and looking away from the once modestly dressed girl while the girls tried to give her more comforting looks…or at least Saphir was. Ravena and Bella were both cheering her on enthusiastically.

"Right on Illu-tan go on and beat whoever that is nya and nice choice of outfit too!" Ravena said giving the girl two thumbs up. Bella and Punnya joined in on the cheers embarrassing Illu more that they were encouraging her to wear such an outfit.

'Everyone's here, Aetherion and…even…" Illu turned to see Aeon who had a look of disbelief at that his sister was in such a revealing outfit. Her gaze then turned to Shadow who met her gaze and then looked away with a large blush on his face. 'Even Shadow-kun is here watching!' Illu's mind was then filled with a large amount of laughter.

"What's the point of being a fast if you can't move comfortable enough to battle" The girl heard Ichiya's voice through her connection with Nyoka. "The outfit you have on now is my Thief Outfit which is designed to be loose and help you with mobility; your knives have also been powered up as well since they a more acceptable thief weapon." Ichiya explained after he got a hold on his laughter.

"Ichiya-sama must the outfit be so…perverted; surely you see that the girl almost had a panic attack when he friends saw her in such a state, especially the one with the scythe." Nyoka said further increasing Illu's embarrassment.

"So, I'm sure he enjoyed the outfit as much as you have!" Ichiya laughed again.

'Does the outfit really have to be so revealing?' Illu asked the serpent after forcing her blushing down somehow. 'I don't want to wear something so…so…skimpy.' Illu said after choosing the right word for the clothes.

"If you knew what some of the other female thieves in your world do you would know that I gave you the most modest outfit that I could" Ichiya said though Illu didn't see it Nyoka easily saw through her master's lie. "And I suggest you focus on your opponent as he's about to attack you again." Ichiya warned the girl.

That snapped Illu out of her thoughts as she returned her focus to the fight and decided to ignore her state of dress for now. By the time she had finished her conversation with Ichiya Wolf had already broke out of his confusing and got back into his horse stance. "I don't know what kind of plan you have fighting in a bikini but don't think that's enough to start me-e…" Wolf's eyes widened as his body then lost all mobility.

Illu looked down at her solid purple blades; while her knives were no longer dripping poison she somehow knew they still had her poison properties. Before the girl could contemplate what had happened Nyoka got her attention. "You can think about that later Illu-sama, it's time for the final blow!" The snake said. Illu nodded her head and got ready, "You're right…Muku-chan!"

All those watching watched as Mukurowl grew in size and flew to Illu so that she could jump on his back. Illu closed her eyes and tried to focus more on her new powers and a brief vision appeared in her head…a new attack. Illu opened her eyes and jumped off Mukurowl's back. Illu threw her knives into the air and then formed a seal with her hands causing them to levitate around her in the air and a large magic seal to appear in front of her.

Kurotsubasa and Aetherion looked on in awe at the new attack that none of them had ever seen. Wolf was desperately trying to break through his paralyzes hoping to get to another bottle of Megalixer but couldn't move his body an inch. 'What the hell, none of poisons did this before during the fight!' He yelled in his mind.

"This is where the fight ends Wolf! We came close in the tournament and since then I worked hard to make sure nothing like that can happen again…get ready for my newest technique!" The knives passed through the seal and then began to multiply into the thousands.

"Rain of Pain!"

In a flash the knives began to fall from the sky and down on to the frozen Wolf. He tried to mentally bend the earth to try and make a shield but he could do nothing as the knives tore into him. Surprisingly none of them hit anything that would cause instant death but Wolf fell to the ground with a few knives embedded in his body and blood rushing out of his new wounds. Mukurowl then caught Illu out of the air landed back on the ground. She walked over to check on Wolf and while he wasn't dead he was now unconscious; her outfit glowed blue before returning back to her original outfit (much to her relief).

"I won?" Illu asked herself seeing that Wolf was no longer moving. Before the victory could really sink into her head the girl was suddenly hoisted up by Ravena and Bella who were giving her words of praise.

"Congrats Illu, we knew you could do it!" Bella said as she held the girl off the ground. "We never had any doubts about you for a second but I really wish we could have seen the whole fight!"

"I agree with Hy-nya, but that was spectacular Illu-tan; that fight was amazing nya…especially with that wardrobe change during the end. That was a nice touch, in fact; you have to teach me how to do that!" Ravena smiled at her friend's victory.

"But Rave-chan I don't ever want to do that again it's embarrassing just like the other outfit!" Illu blushed hoping that the other forms given to her by Orochi weren't as revealing as the Thief Outfit was.

"Oh really but it worked so well in a fight…oh I get it" Ravena gave her a sly catlike grin. "Shy little Illu-tan doesn't want a certain someone to see her in a bikini~!"

"Ravena!" Illu yelled.

"Or maybe you just want only that someone to see that outfit; I didn't know you could be that way Illu-tan. You're surprising me more every day." Ravena continued to tease the girl. As the Kurotsubasa girls continued their own chat Shadow and Aeon were having their own discussion.

Aeon let out a breath and then turned to the aftermath of the battle. Seeing the ruined field and the fallen Wolf he then looked to Illu who now had Saphir joining in on teasing the shy girl. "So…she really didn't need any more help after all." The Dragoon thought aloud.

"Would you rather have someone interfere in a fight that was personal to you…no and neither did Illu. I had a hard time not seeing Illu as just another shy female player but after what we went through I saw her in a new light." Shadow said as he placed his scythe back on his back. "I can get where you're coming from but sometimes you have to stop thinking of her as a sister and as another player sometimes.

"I doubt you would really know unless Illu told you more about herself. Even if I'm not K-..Illu's brother by blood I've always been around to protect her and help her out; I guess it was hard to take in that she can handle her own life now…or at least her virtual one." Aeon said.

"All she needed was a chance; a chance to show you how much stronger she got without you. If you keep a bird in its cage for far too long it won't be able to grow its wings and fly; Illu trains harder than any of us in Kurotsubasa and as you saw she can take care of herself." Shadow said. "You need to let her become her own person and not be in your shadow anymore."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Aeon asked the scythe user. Shadow sighed as he answered the Aetherion. "I have three siblings and I'm the oldest of them; I think I know what it's like to worry about them…but I also know when to let them walk on their own and make their own mistakes." Shadow explained to him. "Besides I don't think I'm the right person you should be talking to about this."

"Then who?" Aeon then saw Shadow pointing to Ravena as they were still throwing Illu high into the air much to her fright. "Rave's wiser than you think she is…I suggest you give her a chat about this instead of me."

The Dragoon of Aetherion nodded his head but before he left he had one final thing to say to Shadow. "Just so you know…I don't think I fully trust Illu's safety in your hands just yet." Aeon said to the leader of Kurotsubasa

"That's not really your choice to call, whether I have your blessing or not I'll still watch out for her….she is my friend and a part of my guild as well." Shadow said back to the leader of Aetherion.

Aeon felt that Shadow wasn't going to back down from him and let an impressed smile graze his face. "Yeah I know that but this a matter of honor; I can't just trust my sister's life to just any random player." Aeon said and then walked over to join the celebration. "Know that I'll be testing you sometime in the future."

Shadow scoffed at the teen's response that but remained silent as he went to join the others. He thought nothing of Aeon's words as Shadow knew he would have to worry about that test at a later date.

(Time Skip)

"Really, do you guys have to leave now?" Illu said sadly as all of Aetherion had to leave. She had just repaired her relationship with her brother and even apologized to the others for worrying them not once but twice now. The girl was hoping to spend more time with her brothers but now they said that they had to return back to their base.

"Sorry Illu-chan, but we do have stuff we have to do and we have to prepare our bases and everything else. The Guild Wars are coming up soon and Aetherion has to be ready to tear through the competition." Sol said.

"Speaking of competition, I'll be happy to start a flame battle with you anytime with you Lizard-Boy." DB said offering a hand that Sol shook.

"You too, !" replied Sol with equal friendliness as everyone could see the figurative flames burning around them and decided to ignore the two.

"We will be sure to visit from time to time since we're deciding to move most of our operations to this Server. And don't you be afraid to visit us at any time Illu-chan; you're still one of us." Zephyrus said while patting the girl's back.

"I know Zephy-nii…and I wish you luck" Illu smiled.

"Luck, luck with what?" Zephyrus said with question marks floating around his head.

"Oh I heard Saphir-chan talk about how you two were going to be buying a place of your own soon; how you're going to marry and have pups of your own…" Illu then pulled up her fingers to count. "How many did she say she wanted? five…te" Before the girl could finished she felt and heard a strong whoosh of air as she saw Zephyrus had taken off leaving behind a dust cloud causing her to giggle.

Saphir looked at Illu with betrayal. "Illu-chan I told you not to tell him that I was waiting for the right moment!" The wolf girl complained to Illu's amusement.

"I'm sorry Saphir-chan but I couldn't resist…but if you're fast enough I'm sure you can catch Zephy-nii if you tried." Illu said and then felt the wolf girl hug her quickly knowing that she had to hurry to catch the fleeing Aetherion.

"Right thanks Illu-chan…and congrats on winning your fight; you really have gotten better. I know you have Orochi and all that but I hope that doesn't change the fact that we're almost sisters." Saphir said smiling at the girl; seeing Illu agree with her the girl quickly took off like a bullet towards her Zephy-sama.

"ZEPHY-SAMAAAA~! WAIT FOR ME~!" the girl could be heard calling leaving a trail of floating pink hearts in her wake.

"…At least she didn't say anything about the outfit…." Illu then received new mail and opened it only to find that it was from Saphir. The girl quickly read the note only to have a blush appear on her face. 'I really hope I don't have to wear something like that again.' The girl then felt a pat on her back and saw Malachite smiling at her.

The Sentinel of Aetherion gave Illu his own hug before he said his goodbyes. "Keep taking care of your garden Illu-chan and if you need any more plants you know who to call." Malachite said.

"I know Mal-nii and thanks again, I hope you find that 'flower' you always talk about. You tell Saku-chan and Bo-kun that I said hello." Illu said. Malachite laughed at the girl's joke but it also reminded him that he would have to face Saku soon. Illu laughed a bit at her friend's predicament. "Don't worry I'm sure if you explain it the right way she'll understand and if not Bo-kun will help you out."

Malachite nodded with a small storm cloud raining over his head. "I hope you're right Illu-chan but Saku can't stay mad at me forever." The gardener then turned around to leave. "Make sure to stay safe Illu-chan; we don't need to have Aeon dragging us all back here ok." Seeing Illu nod her head Malachite smiled and then left the base.

After Malachite left Ganymede walked up to Illu. "Try not to look for trouble anymore Illu; we don't need Leader-sama having another fit." The masked warrior said patting Illu good naturedly on the head.

"I know Gany-nii and that's the last time I promise…but can you please stop stalking me? I think I only got lucky last time I caught you." The laugh she heard from Ganymede didn't really fill her with hope.

"Think of it as part of your training but don't worry; when it comes to your crush I only followed you during half of your outings. I think I still have a picture of him carrying you." Ganymede said chuckling to himself seeing Illu's face glow red. Ganymede walked out the door before Illu could say anything else; the girl sighed but her attention was now on the last Aetherion to leave.

"Going to say goodbye Chocobo?" Illu asked referring to Aeon by her petname for him. The boy sighed knowing he wasn't going to get Illu to change that nickname but at least she wasn't mad at him anymore.

"No this is an "until next time"; we're going to be using our base in Tokyo City so that we'll be close. You may have stood up against that guy but I'm still not a hundred percent sure I want you out here alone." Before Illu could say anything Aeon then finished by saying this. "But now that I realize it you won't be out here alone; you have your friends here to look out for you and you can obviously fight."

"Being around you guys for a while I had to learn how to fight some time" The two siblings had a moment of silence before they gave each other a short hug. "I'll see you next time then…Aeon-niisan." Illu smiled.

"See is it really so hard to just use that as my name?!"

"It's not hard but I prefer to use Chocobo instead."

Aeon huffed not wanting to continue their play fight as he switched back into protective brother mode. "Right just remember not to get into trouble and promise me you won't wear that outfit ever again." The brother said to the sister's embarrassment.

"Chocobo! It wasn't my choice to wear that!" Illu yelled.

"Well I don't need my sister gaining anymore fanboys; I already have one boy that I'll probably have to deal with in the future." Aeon said. "Whether we're in Kyoto or hear I don't need my little sister dating in any world." The two siblings then started to glare at each other before they laughed.

Aeon smiled and then gave Illu a small hug. "Stay safe Illu" After the hug Aeon turned and left out the door. Illu returned the hug and waved goodbye to her brother and Aetherion as they left out into the market district.

"I have to say Illu, your brother really is something; not just him but the rest of your Aetherion friends too." DB said.

"Well they may be eccentric but then again so are we; and while Chocobo may be embarrassing sometimes he's still a good brother." Illu smiled. "And they said they would stay close so now I can work with both guilds, hopefully I won't get into any trouble with the Admin."

"I'm sure was can have Cast give you a pardon since she technically owes us Illu-tan though I still can't believe what Chokobi said. Check up on us huh, more likely he's going to check to make sure innocent little Illu-tan is still innocent." Ravena smirked at Illu's worried expression.

"That's right, who knew Owlgirl had such a revealing outfit in her arsenal. Maybe I have you talk with some of my toons about fashion Illu since they have almost the same idea you have: show as much as possible." Bella teased her as well.

"But it's not like that!" Illu yelled waving her arms as she began to chase the laughing girls who proceeded to run away from the blushing hybrid. As the girls, more or less, played with each other the boys were having their own discussions.

"Well there is a possibility that won't have to worry about Aetherion; maybe we can cross them off on our opponent's list." Key said.

"Maybe, maybe not…who knows what to expect from Aetherion we may have to battle them in the future and that could be fun. Key, we don't need to worry about the opponents we know but of the opponents we don't know." Shadow said. "Not to mention we have more to worry about than just guilds out there."

"You're talking about Chaos and those nameless guys from the tournament…plus we also have you-know-who to look out for." DB said not wanting to mention Whisk while Ravena was still in the room and in a good mood. "I don't think we're in for an easy year."

"When do we ever have it easy? We will know everything after the Guild Wars Kickstart Event." The boys then saw the girls were done fighting with each other and joined the conversation; all of them sweatdropped to see Illu trying to catch her breath and Ravena/Bella had small amount of cuts on their clothes.

The hybrid girl caught her breath. "Well since this day has been long we're all going to log out right? Before we do I want to ask you all something." Illu said.

"Sure what is it Illu?" Shadow asked.

"Well an update to FFW says that it's going to improve their chatrooms; they'll even allow the use of webcams. I was thinking maybe as we chat we can learn more about each other and then see how we all really look." Illu suggested.

"Sounds cool though we'll have to worry about a certain someone not participating" Bella said with a few fingers pointing to Shadow.

"Ha-ha, we'll all know once the updates come out. For now I'll think I will enjoy the sense of anonymous between us. Since we don't have anything else to do today I'm going to log out," Shadow said as he left out the base. The others followed his example and left out the base to go and log out after this long day. Illu was about to log out before she received a new message from an unknown sender, the girl opened it only to see a Megalixer be added to her inventory.

Illu took the glass vial out to observe the gold fluid that was sitting inside it. 'I guess there is some honor amongst thieves.' Illu put the vial away before hitting the log out button in her menu and leaving FFW.

TBC…

---

And that ends this two part chapter…from all the reviews it gotten I can gladly say that you all enjoyed them both. The next chapter will be up fairly soon as I want it to be up by this week if not then it will be soon. Glad to see that you guys are still on board with this idea as we kick off a new part of the story; keep on reviewing and reading while I keep working on future chapters. Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of today as birthdays only come once a year.

-Shadowlight0982 out.

Translations:

1. "I-I know but I wish he and my other brothers wouldn't treat me like I'm going to break..."

2. "I know Illu-tan"

3. "Hey Illu-tan, because I'm an older sister, I can totally relate to how Aeon feels. He just wants his little sister to be safe, that's all."