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Alternis was Ringabel. Ringabel was Alternis.
Edea still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. How had she failed to notice all this time? She’d grown up with Alternis. He’d always been there, watching over her from the shadows. Surely he’d taken his helmet off at some point. Her father hadn’t even gifted him his asterisk until some years after welcoming him into their family. If nothing else, his voice should’ve registered as familiar.
And yet, for some reason, Ringabel sat in a different place in her mind, unoccupied by the boy she’d known so long. Was it because of his overly flowery language? The frankly uncharacteristic, bold new confidence? Or maybe the shameless philandering?
…Either way, it didn’t matter who he really was—he was still annoying. And his loud “dulcet tones” echoing off the cavern walls didn’t help nearly as much as he thought they did. Right now, they were almost worse than the snarls of the monsters staring Edea down. Almost.
“But with this present, I will learn the past I knew… Until I can find you…” Ringabel sang, holding out the last note in a trill. Maybe his accompaniment gave Edea more speed as she dodged a gremlin’s swipe, plunging her katana into it with a perfect counter, but that didn’t save her ears.
“Will you put a sock in it already?” Edea snapped as she turned on her next enemy, her Swordmaster asterisk still holding strong. “I thought we gave the Performer asterisk to Agnes!”
The Vestel, currently a Red Mage, skewed her hand to the side, her fireball missing its target. “H-he commented on my skirt last time,” Agnes stuttered, “so I…”
Tiz looked over, lowering his sword in surprise. “He did what?”
Airy snickered from where she hovered nearby. “Agnes chucked the asterisk at him—hit him right in the head with it!”
“I-I didn’t mean to!”
“Now now, no need to fret, my dear Agnes!” Ringabel announced, throwing his arms open with a dopey grin on his face. “For it acted as an epiphany to my true calling—spreading love through the world with the beauty of music!”
Edea scoffed. “Should’ve hit him harder.”
“Let’s just focus on fighting,” Tiz scolded, charging elemental energy into his scimitar. “We can deal with Ringabel later.”
“Maybe we should leave him to deal with these monsters,” Edea mumbled.
Agnes was her friend, so that’s why. She just had to defend her friend. It had nothing to do with her personal feelings. Tiz, on the other hand—he had reason to care. He liked Agnes. And he channeled that subdued irritation into another flurry of slashes, taking down his foe with a critical hit.
Edea had to do the same. She glared straight at the poison moth in front of her, preparing herself for a counter attack. Any second now, it’d swing down at her and she’d—
A gust of air blew past her, carried by black fabric. A white paw struck the monster—or so Edea thought. In truth, it wasn’t a paw at all. At least, not a real paw. The plush doll it belonged to landed nimbly on its feet after slicing its foe to ribbons. Its crooked tail bounced, and its ears twitched as if somehow alive…
The whatever-it-was twisted its head this way and that, searching for more as the last monster vanished from Agnes’ spell. Now, only this thing stood with them in the cave, its threaded eyes turning up at the perplexed Warriors it’d saved.
“Is this another monster?” Tiz asked. “It reminds me of those caits…”
“I don’t believe it’s the same, though, is it?” Agnes approached, timidly reaching out to try touching the creature.
“Agnes, be careful!”
The plush held out its own arm, tapping against Agnes’ finger with its ears perked up.
Okay, that was somehow both creepy and cute.
“Why, it’s fabric. Quite soft, too.”
Scratch that, just creepy—especially with those empty eyes staring at Agnes. Eyes that soon flicked over to Edea.
“So it’s a doll?” Ringabel asked, folding his arms over his chest. “How curious. Last I checked, dolls didn’t move. Unless…”
Edea took a step back. No no no—don’t even say it!
“It could be a ghost.”
Edea paled at that last word, and with a shrill ‘eep’, she swung her katana at the ghastly stuffed toy. It ducked under her swipe, then resumed its creepy, lifeless stare.
“Getawaygetawaygetaway!” Edea burst out as she swung again and again, every ounce of her former training lost beneath her mountain of apprehension. This thing was definitely alive—probably possessed! What if the ghost could possess other things, too?!
The doll flipped back away from her sword strikes. This asterisk wouldn’t do. Edea removed it, her clothes returning to Freelancer form for just a moment. They were quickly replaced with white garments, a spear forming in her hand as she donned the Valkyrie asterisk.
“H-hold on, Edea—!”
Agnes’ cry was lost to the wind as Edea jumped up to the cavern’s ceiling. She launched herself down at her foe, ready to plunge her spear into the plush’s head.
“That’s enough!”
All at once, an invisible force surrounded Edea, holding her up in the air. She struggled as it settled around her stomach, her arms and legs flailing uselessly. “H-hey, let me go…!”
A boy of about fifteen stepped out of the shadows, his hand extended. A subtle glow emanated in the air around it, much like that surrounding Edea.
“Leave the pig alone.”
Before anyone could respond, he drew his hand away, and Edea ungracefully fell to the ground. Her friends hurried to her side, Tiz stepping in front with his sword ready to protect her. The newcomer’s sharp blue eyes took each of them in, offset by his spiky orange hair.
He wasn’t the only one, either. A girl his same age with short brunette hair walked up next to him, a small pout on her face.
“Neku! He isn’t a pig,” she protested. The outer layer of her garments were green, hanging loose around a white dress. She opened her arms wide, and the plush doll jumped into them, hugging her like a kid hugging its mom. “Look, he’s scared. Show some compassion.”
“Scared? He’s a literal ass-kicking doll. Don’t think the concept of ‘fear’ even crosses his mind.”
Edea pushed herself up, accepting Agnes’ help to get back on her feet. “S-so it’s really a doll?” she blurted out. “Not a ghost?”
Huh, now that she got a better look, those clothes the two wore—they looked empowered by asterisks. Were they with the Duchy, then? She didn’t recognize either of them.
“Nope, but he is creepy like one.”
…but maybe they weren’t so bad. This guy seemed to get her, at least, about the weird not-pig thing huddled up in its owner’s arms.
Was she sure it wasn’t a pig? Definitely looked porky.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding,” Ringabel spoke up, stepping forward with his Performer outfit still on. To no one’s surprise, he waltzed right on up to the doll’s owner, taking her hand in his. “If there’s anything we can do to make it up to you, I’d be delighted to—”
The doll’s head whipped around. He launched himself up, serving a swift kick into Ringabel’s jaw. Though that hardly seemed like much compared to her orange haired companion’s surly glare as faint cinders scattered around his fingers.
…That idiot. Edea sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at Ringabel’s antics. If he wasn’t careful, he was gonna make them enemies for real.
Airy snickered, while Tiz removed his Spellfencer asterisk and approached the pair to play mediator.
“Sorry about my friends,” he said.
Wait, ‘friends’?
“Hold on, you’re not including my fight with Porky in that, are you?” Edea huffed.
Not that Tiz even acknowledged her. “My name’s Tiz. We don’t mean any harm. We’re just looking for something here.”
That wasn’t so far from the truth. They’d taken a detour on this redo of their quest in hopes of finding some answers, though it was smart of him not to introduce their more well known members of the group. If this pair did work for Edea’s father, they’d no doubt react if they heard hers or Agnes’ names.
“Oh, so are we,” the girl said, adjusting her glasses. “Ormoria, the Reminiscence Flower, right?”
“You’ve heard of it, too?”
The girl nodded. “Some friends of ours heard about it. Its fragrance is supposed to help bring back forgotten memories. Neku thought it might help me.”
Ringabel blinked, already recovered from the plush doll’s attack. “You, too, lost your memories?”
The brunette took one look at Ringabel—still in his Performer get-up—and wrinkled her nose, unable to conceal her disgust. “What are you wearing?”
“Oh, this?” He held out the asterisk, and the annoying clothes vanished, replaced by his usual blue outfit. “Quite the trick, isn’t it? But I’m sure you already know that—”
“Please, never put that back on.”
“Ergh!”
These two were quickly growing on Edea.
“Surely you jest, my dear. I find that ensemble rather dashing!”
The girl reeled back like she’d just been struck across the face with that statement. “You did not just say that, oh my gosh… Those fringes were an eyesore, and the bell bottoms and flared disco sleeves are so not even near cool! And then those shades… I wish I could just erase that whole get-up from my mind.”
“Yeah, that thing’s a fashion nightmare,” Edea agreed. “Just give the asterisk back to Agnes already. It’s dangerous in your hands.”
“You wound me!” Ringabel tossed the asterisk up in the air before catching it again, a smirk on his face. “I quite like this one, though. It lets me serenade you with lo—”
“Anyway,” Edea interrupted, glancing at the new girl, “is it just you that lost your memories?”
“Yeah. Neku’s helping me get them back,” she said. “I’m Shiki, by the way. And this is Mr. Mew!” She proudly held up the plush porker.
“Mr. Mew...?” Tiz repeated.
Shiki didn’t have time to explain—more monsters came to the intruders, surrounding them with shrieks. As Tiz put his asterisk back on, he and Neku stepped back-to-back to face the oncoming attack.
“Less talking, more fighting.”
“Neku’s right. We have to deal with these things first!” Tiz charged his sword with a frosty edge and dashed forward, slashing at their enemies.
Were they really gonna team up with these guys? Edea turned to some slimes, spear at the ready. She thrust it forward, stabbing straight into one. Mr. Mew charged past her to strike it for a joint attack, making it burst into a puddle. Glancing back, she saw Shiki making wild gestures, as if puppetting his every move. Or… well, maybe not quite. It was more like the doll reacted to what she saw, as if psychically connected to her somehow.
Was that the power of her asterisk? Edea would have to ask later—she jumped up to prepare a strike on another enemy.
She wasn’t the only one focused on this new foe, though. Neku held his hands over the purple earmuffs on his head, and a slew of fire dashed around the cavern floor. His fire circled it, locking it in as the boy looked up.
“Now, Edea!”
Edea dove down onto it, impaling her spear right through it. Neku’s psy-fire dissipated, leaving the Valkyrie-holder standing alone over the slime.
…That was weird, though. No one had said Edea’s name yet… had they? Tiz introduced himself, and she’d slipped up and said Agnes’ name…
So then, how’d this guy know it ? Unless he really was with her father.
Neku approached her, a rock hovering next to him. That was it, wasn’t it?! Edea turned to him, spear ready. So was this it? Was he going to attack them—to try to kill Agnes?!
With a flick of his wrist, the boulder flew forward. It soared over Edea, slamming down behind her with a mix of a rumble and a splat. Surprised, she looked back only to see that he’d destroyed an enemy about to attack her from behind.
Oh, huh… He’d saved her…
“I’m not looking to fight you,” Neku said as if he’d read her mind. “I don’t really care who you are—I just want to protect Shiki.”
Edea watched him, that look in his eyes reminding her of one she’d seen before—of Alternis’ worried look when they’d finally unmasked him. Or no, maybe it was of Ringabel’s eyes when they followed Edea, plagued by fears he couldn’t even remember…
…There was no point thinking about this now. All that mattered now was that Neku and Shiki weren’t enemies, and they were willing to help them fight, at least for now.
They’d figure out more when they were out of this cave.
* * * * * * *
Edea’s stomach growled as they finally reached the exit, putting the dark and dreary cave behind them. With their hands empty of the amnesia-ridding flower, coupled with hours of getting lost, a glance back at its rocky depths made it seem even more bothersome than when they’d first decided to take this detour.
Now free, they were eager to see the bright afternoon sun, though it did little to pick up their famished hearts. They had nothing to show for this little adventure. No prized artifact, no asterisk—not even a cool sword or garment left in some random treasure chest.
Well, okay, perhaps saying ‘nothing’ wasn’t completely accurate. They did still have the oddly named pair tagging along.
“So where are you two headed next?” Tiz asked, his gaze shifting from the fields surrounding Florem to the asterisk bearers.
Neku shrugged. “Probably Al-Khampis… One of our friends has a base set up there.”
“Al-what?”
Edea racked her brain, the answer to that question on the tip of her tongue. “I kinda remember learning about it… Feel like one of the cooks back home once made me some noodles from there.”
“It’s near Ancheim,” Agnes spoke up. “We need to head that way anyway, don’t we? To begin our quest anew…”
Airy quickly nodded, pumping a fist in the air. “Yes! This time we’ll fix everything for sure!”
Neku frowned, eyeing the fairy.
“Fix… what exactly?” Shiki asked, curious. “Is everything okay? If you all need help, then…”
“It’s nothing you two need to concern yourselves with,” Airy spat. “Actually, you’re on a quest to get your friend’s memory back, aren’t you? Sounds to me like you two and Ringabel could go figure all that out together!”
That received a deadpan stare from the orange haired boy. “Pass.”
Airy whined, not particularly thrilled for whatever reason. Did it really matter that much? Yeah, Ringabel made so little sense given Alternis was also here, but honestly, Edea wanted to make sense of that. At least a little.
“Ringabel’s part of our group, so if anyone’s going to help him, it’s up to us,” Tiz said, though he sounded more exhausted than those words let on. “And anyway, sounds like we’re all going to the desert, right?”
“True. If we’re all going the same direction, perhaps we can give them a lift,” Ringabel suggested. “If nothing else, I’d love the chance to chat with my fellow amnesiac some more.”
Edea leveled a glare on him. “Is that because of her memories, or because she’s a cute girl?”
Tiz sighed, shaking his head before Ringabel could answer that. “I’ll just call the airship now.”
“Airship?” Shiki echoed. Neku, however, didn’t look nearly as confused. And as the clouds above parted, drawing up their attention, Shiki’s mouth fell in awe of the large structure easing its way down into the open field.
“T-this is… an airship?” she gasped, squeezing Mr. Mew to keep him still.
“It’s the Grandship,” Agnes told her, holding a hand over her black dress as the wind from it blew over them. “It’s a town, but also an airship…?”
Right as she finished, the airship’s engines flared as it landed on the grass, its metalwork sighing in relief. Seconds later, someone inside lowered the ramp for the Warriors of Light. Tiz took the lead, beckoning the newcomers to follow up to the main deck of the airboard city.
“Wow, this is amazing,” Shiki gushed, falling in line between Edea and Agnes. “How’d you all manage this?”
“We simply helped them get up in the air,” Agnes said. “And they were kind enough to take us around after that.”
“And they even make us food,” Edea added. “Their tavern always has something after we’re off fighting for a while.”
“There’s a tavern here, too?”
“Yep, c’mon!”
Edea grabbed Shiki’s hand, dragging her through the open doors of the large tavern. The smell of fried cod wafted from the back, accompanied by a garlicky sauce. Edea’s gaze immediately followed the aroma to the wooden bar at the center, ignoring the stairs up to the cushy booth area.
“Hey kids,” the Proprietress greeted. “We have food coming right up!”
“Thanks! We’ve got two newbies with us, too.” Edea jerked a thumb back at them. “Think you got enough for them?”
“Haha, sure! The more the merrier! Just give me a sec to cook up some more.”
As she got to work, Edea pulled Shiki past the bar and to the large round tables. She claimed a seat, eager to get off her feet.
“So, what do you think? Pretty cool, right?”
“Yeah! This place is amazing,” Shiki commented, setting Mr. Mew on the table next to her. “I never would’ve imagined having all of this on an airship… though I didn’t really know what to expect when you first said it.” Her brown eyes floated over to the stage, then the piano curiously. “Do any of you play the piano?”
“I had some lessons once?” Edea leaned back in her chair. “They were boring, though.”
“I could play for you all,” Ringabel offered. “Anything to make those beautiful faces smile!”
Tiz pulled out a chair for Agnes before taking a seat himself. “You know how to play the piano, Ringabel?” he asked as he sat.
With a smirk, Ringabel pulled out an asterisk.“Well no. But with the gift of the Performer, surely I can—”
The asterisk suddenly leapt from his hand, floating over to Agnes instead as if it had a mind of its own.
“Ohmigosh, thank you, Neku,” Shiki said with an exasperated sigh. “If I had to see that outfit again—I don’t even know what.”
“Don’t go exploding on me,” Neku teased.
Agnes’ fingers curled around the sparkling gemstone as she stared at it a moment longer. Finally, she peered up to their two guests.
“You two use asterisks… don’t you?”
“Yep! Neku’s an Esper—it lets him do, well, a lot of things with his mind?”
Neku shrugged. “Telekinesis, some elemental stuff…” He leveled a glare on Ringabel. “…among other things.”
“Er—that is—I wasn’t…” Ringabel looked like a kid with his hand caught in a cookie jar as he reeled back away from where he was about to sit next to Shiki. Neku stole the seat instead, his arms crossed over his chest.
Chuckling, Shiki turned back to the others. “As for me, I’m a Psychomancer. It lets me control this little guy.” She waved her fingers, and Mr. Mew did a little dance on the table.
Huh, that was a neat trick. And now that he wasn’t throwing punches in the dark, the doll seemed far less creepy than before.
Agnes tilted her head, tapping a finger to her chin. “So… Is he a teddy bear?”
Please, as if. That didn’t even look like a bear.
“My vote’s still on pig,” Edea commented.
“No no no, he’s not either of those!” Ringabel slipped into the chair next to her, looking way too proud of himself. That only made Edea worry about what the heck he was about to spit out. “He’s obviously one of those new Chomper dolls. She must’ve gotten her hands on an early release!”
“He’s not any of those things!” Shiki replied indignantly. “He’s—”
“A cat, right?”
Shiki lit up as she turned to Tiz, the only one to get it right apparently. But how did that look like a cat?!
“Yes, he is a cat! Glad you noticed!”
“I know animals,” Tiz replied with a shrug. “So where’d he come from?”
“I made him—at least, that’s what my friends told me…” Shiki opened her arms, and Mr. Mew jumped in to hug her. “That’s part of what I can’t remember, though. All I know is that he’s been by my side this whole time.”
Neku watched her a moment longer, his face unreadable. Well, almost. A subtle trace of worry and sadness hid behind his blue eyes, almost missable under his stoic exterior.
Agnes smiled at Shiki. “He sounds important to you…”
“Mm, he is. Though, he wasn’t exactly in the best repair at first…” Mr. Mew turned around at his owner’s request, patting where his tail met his body. “I found a snapped thread on him, and his tail fell off in the first battle. It’s kinda made me worry ever since… but ever since I fixed it, he’s been doing fine.”
“You must be pretty skilled with a needle…”
“Yeah. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I like sewing,” Shiki said. “It was pretty relaxing—fixing him, I mean. I wanna try sewing some more when we get a break. I’ve just seen so many cool outfits lately, and I feel like it’d be fun to try my hand at them!”
Edea grinned, eager to join into this conversation. “Oh yeah, we’ve got a lot of nice fashion trends. I can show you some later—maybe we could even go shopping sometime!”
That made Airy pout. “We don’t have time for shopping,” she chided. “We still have a job to do!”
Edea waved a hand to dismiss her concerns. “Ehh, we’ll get there. There’s always time for shopping.”
“Definitely!” Shiki agreed. “We have a few hours on this ship, right? Maybe you can help me with some of the designs I’ve been sketching.”
Wow, she really was into this—Edea hadn’t even considered drawing up fashion designs like that, but it sounded pretty cool. Almost like shopping, but without getting to try the new clothes on. “Sure, just show me after lunch.”
“Food’s up!” the Proprietress announced, and she soon filled the table with the steaming fried cod, garnished with edible leaves and plated with homemade mashed potatoes and peas on the side. Edea’s mouth watered as she gladly picked up her fork and knife, ready to dig in.
“So, your friends in Al-Khampis…” Agnes started.
Shiki nodded, swallowing her first bite. “Beat and Rhyme. They were there for me when I first, well… woke up with no memories. Last we heard, another person we kinda know’s there with them.”
“Another person?”
“Doesn’t really matter, now, does it?” Neku replied.
“I suppose not… I was wondering, though—are your friends students or scholars there?”
“No, I don’t think so?” Shiki glanced over at Neku, who just shrugged. “Rhyme likes technology, while Beat… Well, he’s probably doing something to help her out.”
“Or at least not get in her way.”
“And your third friend?” Edea asked, curious.
“Dunno. We didn’t see ‘em out and about, so they’re probably still meeting with Rhyme. No telling if they’ll still be there, though.” Neku turned his head away, tapping a finger against his arm like he was restless.
“Hopefully we make it in time for you to see them, then,” Tiz said, offering a kind smile.
“It’s faster than walking, isn’t it? So beats the alternative.”
“Yeah, we’ll have you there in a jiffy!” Airy cheered. “And then we’ll go our separate ways!”
“You sound way too happy about that.”
“Oh yeah, we never did get your name,” Shiki said as she watched the fairy. The rest had introduced themselves by now, but Airy stuck close to Agnes the whole time, not really interested in getting to know this new pair.
“Me? Didn’t I say? I’m Airy, a cryst-fairy!”
Shiki blinked. “Eri…?”
“Different ‘Eri’,” Neku quickly cut in. “Your friend’s probably still back home.”
“You know someone else named Airy?” Agnes asked.
“Y-yeah—I think so?” Shiki frowned, touching her head as she stared down at her food. “That name rings a bell, at least…”
Neku sighed, toying with his own meal. “‘Cause Eri’s your best friend… You wouldn’t forget her that easily.”
“My… best friend…?”
Shiki stared at Mr. Mew, her eyes clouded as she tried hard to remember. But looked like that wasn’t happening.
“Your best friend’s name is Airy, huh?” Edea asked through a mouthful of food. After finishing it, she reached up to snatch the fairy out of the air by the wing—much to her protest. “Hear that? Maybe you can help jog Shiki’s memory here.”
“H-hey! I’m not her friend!”
“Nah, but you’re similar to her, right?” Edea tapped the wings engraved with a pointed black pattern. “‘Cept I doubt her friend has these.”
“Hell no,” Neku mumbled. “I don’t even want to imagine Eri as a fairy.”
“Perhaps, but Edea’s right in that something familiar may help,” Ringabel said, his face serious for once. “Like my journal… Or, that man…”
A heavy silence fell over the table. Right—Alternis.
“Man…?”
Ringabel swiftly replaced his stern expression with a jovial one at Shiki’s question. “Of course, you and I both know that it’s no easy feat to recover lost memories. But I think in time, we’ll get there—both of us.”
Shiki lingered on his words before nodding, patting her doll’s head. “Honestly… I think I’m a little worried. I know something happened to me to make me like this, and… it scares me. Part of me isn’t sure I want to know the truth.”
Edea looked from her to Ringabel, her heart dropping. He knew that feeling, too—Edea didn’t even need that Esper asterisk to tell that.
“Perhaps so, but… I think that’s all the more reason to learn what truly happened,” Ringabel soon replied. “Because if it’s that big of an event, then it’s important—for the past, and for the future.” He turned his smile to Edea. “And for the ones we care about…”
…oh gosh. What was this fluttering feeling inside her—and why was he looking at her like that?!
“Yeah… I agree,” Shiki said. “That’s why I want to get them back, no matter how hard it is.”
Ringabel finally tore his gaze away from Edea, leaving her heart pounding in its absence. “Agreed. So, I propose a toast—to getting our memories back once and for all!”
“Yeah,” Shiki said as she rose her own mug filled with water. “To our memories!”
They all joined in, cheering in unison.
To their memories—to finding out the truth behind Ringabel and Alternis, and to what happened on the day he lost them…
Edea chugged her water, her thoughts overwhelming her.
And to whatever restarted their quest… They’d figure it all out before long.
Because they had to.
* * * * * * *
The journey ended faster than anticipated. That wasn’t really bad—at least, not to Neku.
He stood back and watched as Shiki said her goodbyes to the Warriors of Light.
“Thanks again for giving us a ride,” she said. “I hope we get to see you again sometime.”
“But of course! Maybe the next we meet, we can talk about what we’ve remembered,” Ringabel offered. But that annoying grin on his face…
Maybe even form a beautiful connection over them… if my heart wasn’t already bound to my dear Edea.
Neku rolled his eyes. Maybe he shouldn’t have bothered scanning. This guy was an idiot through and through—flirting with every pretty face that passed his way while holding only one in his heart. It was pathetic, really.
“Sure. Let’s both work hard to get our memories back!”
“Oh, we should go shopping next time!” Edea said. “Me, you, and Agnes.”
“Yes, I’d like to see your fashion expertise in action,” Agnes agreed.
And if it’s Shiki, I doubt it’ll be anything untoward like what Sage Yulyana wanted…
Neku grimaced at that scan. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know what that meant.
Shiki’s smile was like the sun. “Yeah, that’d be fun!”
“Yeah… And sorry before, for attacking Mr. Mew,” Edea added. “Hope he didn’t lose any more stitches.”
Still think he’s a pig, though.
Neku stifled a chuckle at Edea’s stray thoughts, while Shiki hugged her precious doll close. “No, don’t worry. He’s fine.”
“We’ll see you around, then,” Tiz spoke up—far closer than Neku even expected. The ex-shepherd offered a hand out to the Esper. “Until next time, Neku.”
There’s no telling where this quest will take us next… but hopefully this time, we’ll protect this world. Agnes has been fighting too hard to give up now.
Neku stared at the gesture, then up to the boy. Slowly, he shook Tiz’s hand. “Yeah… ‘Til next time.”
“Alright already! Let’s go, let’s go! No more detours!” Airy cheered, eagerly leading the Warriors of Light across the desert sand.
No thoughts came from the fairy—no matter how hard Neku tried, he couldn’t scan her.
…
Well… wasn’t his problem now. He turned to enter Al-Khampis, hands in his pockets. “C’mon, Shiki. Let’s meet up with the others.”
“Right!” Shiki followed along, doll in her arms. Neku took a small side street, running a hand along the smooth beige stone acting as a rail along the town’s edge.
Soon enough, he made it to a familiar wooden door—no different from the rest in this town, really. He knocked, the shuffle of feet inside soon reacting.
The door eased open, and Beat stood there in his Soundsurfer asterisk, his hair slicked back under an aviator hat with goggles ready to use. “Yo, glad you finally made it back! Shiki get ‘er memories back?”
“Nope, that was a bust.” Neku entered into the dark building, Shiki following close behind. Even inside, the stone walls were dusted with sand, the small particles even managing to work their way into the intricate blue rug across the floor. With only one room, they’d managed to set up a few cots along the wall, as well as chests for storing anything useful they found on their travels through Luxendarc.
“What about you?” Neku asked, glancing at a new cutlass leaned against a wall. “What’ve you been doing lately?”
“Jus’ been hangin’ with some ‘a the students here,” Beat said. “This long-haired kid an’ I went out to take care a’ some thieves an’ found that sword—and this.” Beat tossed an asterisk over to Neku.
“Huh, that’s… actually pretty useful.”
Beat puffed up his chest proudly. “Plus he’s got a scholar friend who might be able to work wit Rhyme. Ain’t too bad for bein’ stuck in a desert, right?”
With a giggle, Shiki held up Mr. Mew to pat her friend’s shoulder. “Yeah. Sounds like you’ve helped out a lot!”
“Hell yeah, yo!” Beat moved the black curtains hiding the rest of their base from immediate view—Rhyme’s makeshift workspace.
The Technomorpher in question swirled around from where she sat in front of some magical stone-display thing—Neku didn’t really get how the hell it worked, but it somehow connected crystals to wires. And anyway, as long as Rhyme could figure it out, that’s what mattered. She wasn’t the only one, too. Their other ‘friend’ stood next to her, a large brimmed hat covering their eyes.
“Hey… How’d it go out there?” Rhyme asked.
“Fine, I guess. We met the Warriors of Light.” Neku sighed, leaning against the wall as his eyes flickered to the red robes of the last member of this little meeting. “Sounds like they just came to this world, too. They’re about to restart their quest at the Wind Crystal.”
Beat scrunched his eyebrows. “Hol’ on, yo. Warriors of what-now?”
“Beat, we’ve been over this,” Rhyme replied, pulling up info on the crystal of the four warriors—and fairy—Neku and Shiki had recently parted with. “The Warriors of Light. The whole fate of Luxendarc rests on their shoulders.”
“Er, but ain’t they the ones wit the wanted posters ‘round here? If they the good guys, why’s there a bounty on ‘em?”
“Because their situation’s far more complicated than a simple summary would have you believe,” their other traveling companion input.
“But that still begs the question of what they were doing in that cave.” Rhyme tapped the strange-looking keyboard in front of her, making the display change to show the heroes’ quest. “According to everything I’ve dug up, there’s no elemental Crystal there, or even an asterisk that’d lead them in that direction.”
Though Shiki looked lost at the situation in general, she hugged Mr. Mew and said, “They were trying to recover Ringabel’s memories… because maybe they hold a key to something they don’t quite understand…”
“Ringabel…?” Rhyme sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Well, he is the odd one out from everything I’ve calculated here…”
“Well, regardless, if they’re continuing their quest now, then that means it’s time for me to get to work,” the older woman said, adjusting her hat. “I’ve already told Rhyme everything I know that might help contact your other friend… which granted, isn’t much. But if the Warriors of Light are on the move, we must be attentive to that for now.”
Shiki glanced up at Neku, curious. “Does the fate of the world really rest solely on their shoulders…?”
“Dunno, but guess we’re gonna find out,” Neku said. Much as he hated to admit it.
The traveler passed by him. “If I find anything out to help with Shiki’s memories on my travels, I’ll let you know. For now, just do what you can to aid the warriors.”
“Fine.” Neku glanced back as she approached the door. She was their only solace in this world—one person who knew exactly what they were going through.
“And… thanks, Deneb.”
She nodded, waving as she exited.
“I’ll see you around, my fellow Celestials.”
* * * * * * *
