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Ed had jogged her way through the bloodbathed streets, gazing grimly at the carcasses that had been so cruelly tossed against the walls and dashed along the sidewalk like raspberry-filled plush dolls. She was too energetic, however, to make time for swerving around crimson-streaked obstacles, so she merely leapt over the corpses and went on her way following Ganon and Blossom. The smell of blood was intoxicating. Oh so intoxicating.

She caught herself passing the two up and quickly darted back, kicking up dirt and dust in all her energy as she skidded to a halt before them. Her mind also managed to register that Alihi and Sue were in the vicinity and she issued them a cheerful wave that was crackling with potential violence. She bounced in place, repressing a squeal of anger for missing a fight.

"Fefga's house, right! What happened here!? Do you guys know? You look like you know! Are you hurt, Alihi? Sue?"

She flinched at the wails that followed and stopped moving in place, collapsing next to the tactician. This was starting to freak Ed out again. "H-hey, no crying, all right!? Everything'll be okay, you can tell us later! Um..."

Ed hated people crying.

Alihi just shook her head, murmuring. "... Failed..." She slammed her fist hard against the ground. "... Why..." Again, her fist met the ground, and a third time, and a fourth. Her hand began to sting, but she didn't care at all. "Why..."

She fell silent for a few moments, save for a few sniffles. Then, she rose to her feet, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "... Get back to FEFGA's. Tell them that nowhere is safe anymore. I'll meet up with you guys later..." She said in her most commanding voice possible, though it was barely above a stage whisper and shaky. The tactician began to walk off, not caring who she accidentally bumped into in the process. "I... I'll be fine. I... just need some time alone..."

She broke off into a run before they could see her cry again.

As the events around him unfolded, it slowly began to dawn on Valter that he really didn't feel sorry at all. He didn't even feel sad for his comrades that had fallen victim to the darkness. He felt... excited. That was the best word he could find to describe it. Yes, he felt excited about the idea of violence. The possibility of fighting another man, of taking human life again after so long; even the corpses surrounding him made him more excited than he'd been in a very, very long time. This idea, though invigorating, shocked him a great deal.
I'm becoming exactly like I was before!
... But no, that's not true. I still care about my comrades.
He took comfort in this idea, holding it close so he wouldn't lose that as well. But he himself had to admit that he felt a certain happiness with this sudden change.

"Alihi, don't..." Ed sighed as the tactician punched the ground a few times. The swordschimera helplessly crouched there, listening to Alihi's crying subside somewhat, then backed off and stood as Alihi commanded them to return to the mansion. She straightened up as though to indicate she understood the command.

However, when Alihi darted off, Ed slowly turned around with a blaze of rage in her eyes. She saw NoMetal walk off as well but did not follow. Her glance met Valter's and she recognized a familiar glint in his eye, something she had not seen in the wyvern rider for a long, long time, if ever.

"It's not your fault, Sue," she growled. "It's the fault of whoever's making everybody go crazy around here." Ed cracked her knuckles, resonating with ferocity. "Valter. You and I's going huntin'. We either snagging that dastard who broke Alihi's heart or the wench who's been putting the hurt down on everyone. Let's follow Alihi on your wyvern. Someone might come on her."

Ed glanced back to Blossom and Ganon momentarily. "Back to Fefga's, eh? Telling the others that nowhere is safe sounds like a pretty good message to me."

Things were happening very fast. Alihi seemed distressed, though Blossom couldn't tell what. Her eyes were on the forest as she fell to her knees, then buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Blossom's own eyes began to water; she didn't like people crying. Other people crying made her cry. She sniffed, watching as Ed bounced over, clearly peppier than anyone else there, and tried to comfort the tactician. Blossom began to walk to Alihi, trying to reassure her, but as she got near, Alihi was on her feet and disappeared at a dead sprint.

"A-Alihi...! Don't run on your own!" Blossom shrieked after her. Her face paled. Alihi was running around by herself. That was bad. That was really bad. And why was no one going after her? She had said she wanted to be alone, but they had been told not to be going about by themselves! Blossom looked up at the others. "Do we... listen to her, or go after her...?" she asked hesitantly. She knew as a fighter that pride, sometimes, was put in even more importance than life; to wound someone's pride was as effective as putting a knife through someone's heart. She gripped her hands into small fists, watching Valter as he studied the battlefield in an almost perverse glee, then as Sue as she spoke. Her voice was shaky. She always sounded so sure of herself, at least in Blossom's eyes (ears?). Alihi had ran off, Sue looked about ready to fall apart... Blossom didn't feel herself relax until Ed began to act normal again.

"It's not your fault, Sue. It's the fault of whoever's making everybody go crazy around here. Valter. You and I's going huntin'. We either snagging that dastard who broke Alihi's heart or the wench who's been putting the hurt on everyone. Let's follow Alihi on your wyvern. Someone might come on her."

Blossom felt her hands tense again at Ed's last statement. "Telling the others that nowhere is safe sounds like a pretty good message to me."

"Take... take care," Blossom managed out. "Be careful. And don't get hurt. Please."

She hadn't been paying attention to Ganon, focusing more on trying to make sense of everything that had happened, put all the mental pieces together and keep from panicking. Then a pair of big hands were lifting her up, and in a few seconds she was sitting on Ganon's wide, scaly shoulders. Blossom blinked, looked ahead of her. She knew it wasn't a very... well, happy time, but somehow, the act of getting a shoulder ride made her giggle, and she held her hands carefully against his hair. She knew better than to wrap her arms around his face and block out the vision in his one good eye. "Whee," she giggled quietly.

[["Boy things are sure going bad-- YAY SHOULDER RIDE =^o^="]]

Hmm, there has to be a way to beat Asami...wait maybe this is somewhat like a yinyang thing. Black and white, dark and light, evil and...good. Wait I thik that is it. I may know how to stop Asami. Turning to run for the othersNometal drew the two blades he had with him that were in his pouch, one black blade, named Yin, and the other a white blade, named yang. This can help me explain my idea. We may have a chance now.

Ed paused, then put a fist against her hip and rubbed her chin contemplatively.

"That's true. But I don't know if I want to leave Blossom unarmed. She might need it, especially to defend herself and Ganon, and I don't want to have Sue defend all of them at once."

She leaned the majority of her weight on one leg. "Besides, if we do catch a crook, it'll be two against one. Three if you include your wyvern!"