Standard disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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AN: Yeah, hi :) So, is anyone going to kill me for the last chapter? I know it was a little weird, but I wanted to get it out and written... and I was in a bit of a hurry. ^_^;; Right-o, well that should explain a little bit about Sari and Manna's family history. Did anyone catch what Deis meant at the end of the chapter?

I know, the chapter title seems kinda weird. But, it seemed like it would be cool to put it in as the title for this chapter. Much evidence that I have been reading the Rave Master manga as of late. ^_^;;;

Here are the reviews:

Meerf: Hiya! Hehe, that would be pretty funny ^_^;;; Uh, you might be right on that one ^_^

Hee, nah! I am glad that you aren’t mad at me for playing with your version of Navare ^_^; That would be one heck of a rave huh?

That’s funny ^_^

Yes, yes you were ^_^ Uh, Manna has medium length hair. She does have really dark purple hair, but it kinda looks a little black. Its more gothy, but she does resemble Angela-like. Kinda ^_^;;;

ROTFLMAO! Maybe ^_^;;

Hee, thanks :)

Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!! ^_^

Strife could see the uneasiness as he entered Castle Wyndia. All of the guards seemed like they were on high alert. Of course, ever since Transell and his Dragoons had attacked the city proper, the palace guard had been on high alert. This, however, was something entirely different.

No one questioned him being there, however. He was, after all, the princess’ body guard. To a few others, however, he was also the half brother to the princess. Of course, those that knew that secret could be counted on one hand, but that was another story.

Strife was worried about Nina, there was no denying that. He knew, however, that while he had his duty, the princess had hers. It was only unfortunate that his mission led him away from his little sister. He idly wondered for a brief second if that was how Demus felt about his brother.

Of course, he had never met the former Brood prince. He only knew of him in passing. It was hard when your sibling wanted nothing to do with you. He could only feel sorry for the elder brother. All he knew was what Nina had told him, so he didn’t have a lot to go by.

Strife frowned as he walked down the main hallway to the throne room. He remembered the words that he spoke to the Guardian Garr. He did say that he had his mission. He had to wonder what Garr had meant by that. He was the self proclaimed Guardian of the Destined Child.

Was there something wrong with Ryu? Did he need protection from something? Someone? If that was the case, then what was it? Strife knew of the dangers that Ryu and his companions had to face. But, he had to wonder, was there something else? Something that Ryu couldn’t handle?

If that was the case, then Strife was worried. Ryu had more power than he could ever hope for. If there was something that he couldn’t handle, then who was going to protect his little sister? He made the dragon swear an oath that he would protect Strife’s little sister.

Was there something that was going to prevent Ryu from helping Nina?

Strife announced to the herald that he was there to see the queen. After all the formalities, the queen said that she would see Strife. Strife entered the throne room and bowed. The queen motioned with her hand to rise, and Strife did as he was told.

“Your highness,” Strife said with the utmost respect.

“Greetings, Virgil,” the queen said in a weary voice.

Ever since the king was murdered, the queen’s expression had seemed hollow, dead. It was as if there was a piece of the queen that had died alongside the king. Strife bitterly remembered when Nina had acted like that. It tore into him like a hot knife.

The queen smiled slightly and motioned for Strife to come forward. Strife did as he was told to do and approached the throne. The queen stood up and made a motion for him to follow her into her private study.

He followed suit and when they entered the study, the queen dismissed the attendants that were on duty so she and Strife could be alone.

When the attendants left the room, the queen quickly rushed over to Strife’s side and embraced him tightly. He returned the hug with equal force. The queen let go a few seconds later and quickly recomposed herself.

“It’s been a while Virgil,” the queen said.

“Yes, it most certainly has been,” Strife said.

The queen smiled sadly. “It’s been several months since I last saw Nina…”

“She knows,” Strife said suddenly. The queen gave him a curious look. There was no need to explain what Nina knew.

“I see,” the queen said after a few moments. “How did she take the news?”

“I think she was a little angry that she wasn’t told, but other than that, she seemed okay with it,” Strife said. “She seems to be taking everything in stride.”

“Good, I’m glad,” the queen said. “But, what about you? How have you been?”

Strife gave his mother a bitter smile. “Well, other than being poisoned by Legence and almost dying, I’m quite fine.”

The queen frowned. “I see. If I had the power I would send that… man… right to the grave,” the queen said through gritted teeth. It would not do well for royal to swear like a sailor. Or Miyuki.

“Nina and her companions currently have the Sky Key, so that mission was a success,” Strife said.

The queen nodded. “So, what will you do now?” the queen asked. Strife noted that there was a hesitant tone in her voice as she asked that question.

He thought for a moment. He remembered what he had said to Garr. “Until there is a need for me to leave Wyndia, I will remain here on guard.”

The queen smiled slightly. “That’s good to know. That’s good to know,” the queen said as she visibly relaxed.

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Legence smiled as he walked after Gideon. Iris was walking on Legence’s right side. Legence had his master plan in full swing. Now, was the time for him to enact the grand finale to the rest of the plan.

What he was about to make Gideon do would forever be cemented in time and history as the greatest act of evil. And that was counting what happened in the Brood War. He knew that Gideon would normally not act like this. But, the thing was, Gideon was no longer in control of his own mind. Legence was. And Legence was ready to act.

Gideon arrived on the terrace that overlooked the courtyard of the castle. Gideon raised his hands to signal his people’s attention. Everyone that was in the courtyard looked up at their king.

“My people,” Gideon began. his voice hollow. “For thousands of years, our kind has been persecuted, hunted, because of the ignorant clans that fear our power. And thousands of years, we have allowed it to happen, all because we were afraid that our massive powers would destroy the world!”

There was a definite reaction from the crowd. They weren’t sure what to think about the king’s speech. But the king continued.

“My people! The old ways will only get us killed! Today marks the dawn of a new day, a new era! Today, the world will know of the might of the mighty Brood! Today, I declare war on the world nations! Those that stand against me, stand against the Brood! If even a fellow Brood stands against me, they too will know my fury!”

The entire crowd went silent. Was their king declaring war? Was he really going to kill millions of innocents? Their allies and their own people? The crowds began to shout angrily at the king’s announcement. The king growled in anger.

“You all dare to stand against me?! Fine, then know my full wrath!” The king shouted as a massive light engulfed the ruler. When the light died down, there stood a massive black and gold scaled dragon.

The dragon roared in hate and let loose a massive fire wave, burning alive any unfortunate soul that was unable to get away. Those that were able to get away fled in terror, but they were cut off by the Dragoons. The Dragoon units wasted no time killing off the rest of the crowds.

The Dragon-Gideon roared again. Legence smiled slightly as he turned heel and walked back into the castle, Iris right behind him.

“Is everything going according to your will, my liege?” Iris asked.

Legence smiled slightly. “More than I could have ever dreamed. My revenge is soon at hand. I can already feel the powers of Ladon and Myria fading as my powers grow. Soon, I will be able to…” Legence trailed off.

“My liege?” Iris asked.

“No…” Legence almost whispered. “It cannot be!”

“My liege?” Iris asked in a nervous voice. She did not like the look on Legence’s face. “Was is wrong?”

“Something… that should not be, is,” Legence muttered, his eyes going blank. “There is still a force that is able to counter me…”

“Who?” Iris asked in a dark voice. “Give me the order and I will kill them myself!”

“No,” Legence said as he fought to regain his composure. “No, you must stay here. I need you here. No, I will have Gideon send his beloved wife to kill those that can oppose us.”

“Who would still have that kind of power?” Iris asked.

“The Destined Child,” Legence said in a dark voice. “He has somehow regained the power of Kaiser. The Angel Princess also seems to still have a little bit of power as well. And… there’s one more…”

“What’s that?” Iris asked.

“One that I personally killed… no… two… Two Destined that are supposed to be dead are still alive…” Legence growled. “But… how?! How are they still alive?!” Legence howled as he gripped his hair in his hands. His eyes bulged as he fought the urge to scream.

“My liege?” Iris said in a panic. She made a move towards Legence, but he merely waved her off as he regained his composure.

“No, no… I am fine now,” Legence said after a few moments. “How I didn’t see it until now… I see now…”

“My liege…” Iris said. “What is it? What have you found out?”

“The one that created… that being is moving against me…” Legence trailed off. Iris gave Legence a concerned look. “There is still a piece that is moving against me…”

Iris made another move forward, but Legence waved her off once more. “No, leave me for now. I must think about things…”

And with that, Legence walked off to his personal chambers. Iris could only stare in confusion and concern as Legence staggered off.

Neither of them noticed the small red hair standing in the far corner of the room, her youthful face glaring at them with such hate. Mary stared at Legence hard even as he exited the room. She balled her tiny hands into fists. She would make sure that Legence was never able to achieve his ultimate goal.

As far as she was concerned, his time was now numbered. Ryu and his companions had to stop him, at all costs. They had no choice now.

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Something was wrong, he just knew it. The fight with Transell had just been too easy. Troy was the type of person that liked to think of himself as rather powerful. He was, after all, the Avatar of the Sea Leviathan, Titus. But, there was just something… dark and evil about Transell’s fusion.

At first, he thought it was the Dark Key. But as he began to think about it, he quickly realized that there was something else about the fight that made him uneasy.

It was very late in Navare and Troy found himself aimlessly wandering the halls of the world’s mightiest thieving guild. It wasn’t too long before he spotted Jin standing a little ways off. Troy approached Jin and waved.

“Well, I figured that you would be with Yui right now,” Troy said with a grin.

Jin merely shrugged. “I suppose I just couldn’t sleep,” Jin said. Jin gave Troy a look. “Something is bothering you. What is it, old friend?”

Troy laughed. “You are making me sound like an old man.” Troy’s mood quickly shifted from lighthearted to dark and moody. “Jin, I am concerned about the fight with Transell. Manna had to use that spell…”

“I know,” Jin said. “That spell was only supposed to be for things that were last resort. The mere fact that Manna had to use that spell, means that there is something deadly wrong.”

“I know,” Troy said. “Of course, we knew that we were getting in way over our heads years ago when we agreed to help Manna on this crazy quest. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret one moment of this, it’s just that…”

Troy frowned. He crossed his arms and gave Jin a look. Both men knew what Troy was trying to say. Their enemy was either toying with them, or he was about to make his final move.

“Look, this place could become a battle ground at any moment,” Troy said. “Are you prepare for something like that?”

Jin frowned. “No, I am not. My family… I know that I cannot ensure their safety, and that’s eating at me. My sister is already dead and I have no idea where Momo is. Yui assures me that she’s safe, but…”

Troy nodded. “I am concerned for Kia and my children as well. But, they knew what I was getting into. Yui knows what we’re in for, and she accepts that. We all have to be ready, for when the killing blows come, we have to be ready to fight back with everything we got!”

Jin sighed and nodded his head in agreement. “Of course. You are right, Troy.”

Troy nodded and smiled a triumphant smile. “Of course I’m right! I’m always right! Well, unless it’s something that my wife disagrees with, then she’s right! But! Well, you know what I mean!”

Jin chuckled. “Of course.”

Troy nodded an all knowing smile. “Now go and well…” Troy winked at Jin. “You know…”

Jin merely rolled his eyes, but he laughed all the same. Jin walked back to his and Yui’s quarters. Troy turned around and crossed his arms. He frowned slightly. “When the killing blows come… Ryu? Nina? Are you both ready for what that may entail? Can you handle the sacrifice you both might have to make when all is said and done?”

Troy looked up at the ceiling. “Can you both say goodbye? This time, possibly forever?”

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Sari wasn’t sure how to feel at that particular moment. When she was unsure about something, she would go and mediate. She had gone onto the balcony that was outside of her sleeping quarters. She made sure to get one as far away from Nina and Ryu’s room as possible.

It was no secret as to what those two were doing. Though she was happy that Ryu and Nina were finally expressing their love for each other, she just wished they’d express it a little more quietly.

Especially when everyone else was trying to sleep.

She laughed at the irony of the situation before she attempted to focus on what brought her outside in the middle of the night in the first place.

Manna had said that she was Sari’s grandmother. Obviously, it was on her mother’s side. She had known Manna for quite a number of years, but would have never imagined Manna was related to her in that fashion.

It bothered her, but at the same time, she was glad to know that she had more family alive. Of course, it lead to questions about who her grandfather was, but she supposed that was all she was going to get out of Manna.

She was sad that she couldn’t tell anyone, that she had to pretend that she didn’t know anything. She knew, though, that Manna had made her promise to secrecy, so that’s where she had to remain. She knew that Manna was telling her something else, too.

Legence was on the more once more. She knew that something terrible was about to happen. Manna had hinted at it, after all. What was she talking about when the killing blows comes for anyway?

Sari leaned against the railing and looked out at the night sky. So many things had happened in her life. Technically, she was supposed to only be twelve, but since she stayed in the fairy village for a year, she had rapidly aged ten years. Two years later, Seeker and Nina would find her.

Was she bitter about how everything turned out? She guessed that she could be, but what would the point of that be? Life sucked major ass sometimes, and Sari had learned long ago that you had to take the good with the bad.

But, if what Manna said was true, then what was going to happen now? Sari closed her eyes. There was a sudden flash and a white-hot pain that lanced through her mind. She remembered that that’s what Yuki had referred to as being called.

She focused as various images flitted through her mind. Among them was the broken and battered body of a red dragon being held in the maw of a silver and white scaled dragon. Another flashed showed her beloved Shevat in flames. Those very flames being spewed forward by that silver dragon. She saw the red dragon collapse in pain, on the verge of death.

You must wake up!

Sari’s eyes snapped open. Did she just hear Miyuki’s voice? Sari began to panic. Was that a vision of the future she just saw, or was that really happening? Sari looked down at the swirling sands and could have sworn she saw Mary standing amongst the sands.

She shook her head. What the hell was going on?

 

To be continued…