Serrano turned to look at me as we were flying back to the hotel.

"Hey, Tetsu...ya. I-" Serrano began.

My eyes widened. "Wow, you called me by my name like before. Are you feeling well?" I asked, looking him over.

He narrowed his eyes. "Stop joking around." He directed his eyes ahead. "I just want you to know that I ran into Satoru while in the abyss. He and his friends were the ones who injured me. Though, I did manage to injure them gravely before they could get away."

I remained silent. Why had he felt the need to tell me this now?

"Anyway, Satoru said something interesting. He seemed to know what had happened between Rosa and you."

I recalled hearing his voice back at the tower. Had he really been there? Or maybe Satoru had another power we had yet to grasp.

"I heard his voice recently," I admitted. "It was before I met with Yuko again."

Serrano lowered his eyes. "Maybe he's the one who did it... He does have a reason to do so. However, that doesn't explain..." He suddenly paused.

I tilted my head. "Explain what?"

He grimaced.

"Serra," Xime said, touching his shoulder as we glided through the air. "What were you going to say?"

Serra touched his head and winced again. "Ugh..."

"Serra!"

"Are you okay?" I asked, flying over to him.

"I'm... fine. What was I saying?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"You said that Satoru might be the culprit but that it doesn't explain something. What is that something?" I said, nudging him.

"I... don't recall... I just know there's something else. A reason I can't trust you," he said, closing his eyes.

My heart suddenly felt as it had crashed into the ground below. What was causing him to mistrust me? And why couldn't he recall?

"It's just like with Nori and Yuko," Ximena said. "You couldn't remember them either."

"Nor could I," I whispered. What was wrong with Serra and me? Why were there gaps in our memories?

"That's concerning," Ximena whispered. "Maybe it's tied to your injuries. Did you hurt your head recently?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't severe," Serrano said, looking away.

"Hopefully, you can remember. I'll like to..." I bit my lip. "Clear my name."

"I know! Maybe some fun will trigger Serra's memory!" Ximena said with a wide smile.

The two of us chuckled. Having Xime with us anew was refreshing. Whenever we had an issue she would help us resolve it in her typical cheerful fashion. I always wondered how she did it. Perhaps, it was due to her faith in the divine couple... that was something I certainly didn't have. At least, not until I met Hanketsu and even then it was but a tiny particle. A tiny particle... if only it was the size of a mustard seed... then I could move mountains.

***

As soon as we returned to the hotel, the three of us picked up controls of our own. Green for Xime, blue for Serra and red for me.

"So, are we playing with any special rules?" I asked as I sat down next to Yuko.

"We're playing with unique characters," Kohri responded, grinning. He had chosen the Ice Hikers. A pair of twins who skied and had ice abilities.

Setsuko meanwhile had chosen Princess Zalde from Mythos of Zalde. Though despite the name, she wasn't actually the main character. That was Connor, a blond pretty-boy elf-like young man of humble background.

Now, Serra had chosen Connor, who has been his main for as long as he played his first Glorious Wreck Bros game. In this latest edition of the game, he had his costume from Mythos of Zalde: Breath of the Wilderness

Rosa had chosen Princess Orange, the princess of the Fungi Kingdom in Glorious Marty Bros. and often victim of kidnapping...

Ximena took the green haired goddess, Avetania while Nori took her faithful sidekick, though main character of the series she's from, Phoenix. Meanwhile, I choose Marty while Yuko chose Keebie, a yellow spherical creature with the ability to absorb other people's powers.

Setsuko started off by spinning and kicking those nearby into the air.

I blinked. Had they buffed Zalde for this game? She was one of the lowest tier characters in the previous edition.

Setsuko grinned as her character moved after mine.

I jumped back and threw fire balls down at her. Though my character was soon knocked aside by Rosa's Orange. The sisters continued to attack me without mercy that I was unable to set up my forcefield. Were they letting out their frustration on me?

"Tsk. No fair!" Serrano said as his character and Xime's came to my aid.

"Thanks you two!"

"Who said we were helping you?" Xime asked with a sly grin before sending me flying into the air.

I blinked as I lost one of my four lives.

Serrano chuckled as he went after Xime and Rosa.

"No you don't!" Setsuko said, hitting Serrano's character from behind. Though Serrano shielded the blow.

Once my character was back, I turned my attention to them but suddenly I was sucked up by Yuko's Keebie.

"Yuko got Master's power now!"

"Good luck trying to out-skill me with it!" I yelled, sending her character flying.

"Wahhh!" Yuko cried out in dismay as she struggled to return to the field. "Don't fall!"

"How mean, sending a kid flying like that," Kohri said as he was stuck in a confrontation with Serra.

His brother stood up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kohri asked as his eyes remained on the screen.

"I can't take any more of this. Seeing all of you act all 'chummy' with a predator like this peasant. It is disgusting. And you Rosa, do you have no shame?" he blurted out. "Did you not almost take your life because of what this guy did to you?"

I dropped my controller to the floor. Rosa almost killed herself...

Rosa lowered her head.

Setsuko took a deep breath and paused the game. "Hyosetsu, get out of here!"

"I will, cousin. Though I must say that I am ashamed to have such naive people as my relatives. You are not worthy to rule. Your foolishness will bring Kuroriku to an end. Though I will not stand by and watch that happen!"

"What do you plan to do?" I asked, keeping my eyes down. "Wage war against your brother and princesses?"

"If that is what must be done to save Kuroriku from your stupidity then I will."

I chuckled. "How ironic, Hideo is the most loyal among us to the crown it seems."

Hyosetsu scoffed. "I am loyal to the crown. Not the one who wields it, but to its ideals."

"What ideals are those?" I asked as I stood up. "Does one of those include accusing a man of a crime and preventing him from having a proper trial? Because if so, then I don't think that you'll be a good ruler."

Hyosetsu reached for Baldo. "My ideal world is one of peace. One in which Kuroriku is feared far and wide anew. A nation whom no one would seek to mess with! For that to happen, it needs a competent ruler. Osamu is somewhat lacking, but he is far better than what is to come unless something is done!"

Setsuko stood up and flashed away, appearing in front of her cousin.

"You think I'm incompetent? Then how about I finish you off here and now to save us all the trouble, hmm?"

Hyo chuckled. "And here I expected that you would let me leave without a word to defend yourself."

Setsuko took a step back. "I have told you before that I am keeping Tetsuya around because we need him for this. Alienating him will make working with him more difficult. However, he also has a right to defend himself. Just like I won't allow others to throw accusations at me, neither will he."

The sword knight let go of his sword. "You saw the marks on the walls, and not to mention how he was in bed with her."

"Do you seriously think that if I was the one who did it that I would leave such damning proof?" I snapped.

Hyosetsu closed his eyes. "No, but you that could simply be part of your plan to dissuade us from the truth of your crime. Pretend that it was faked. A kind of mind game. Look around, Tetsuya! Most of those here have divided opinions about your actions. The princesses are forcing themselves to trust you, and even your own cousin doubts you."

"Since when has public opinion determined one's innocence?"

"Right. Yet one of the reasons that Setsuko thinks she can trust you is because of what my brother thinks is the truth."

I lowered my gaze slightly. He had a point there. If it weren't for Kohri then Setsuko and Rosa's doubts would be stronger. As would Serrano's.

I put down the controller and stretched my arms.

"Seems it was a mistake to come back here after all. Sorry, Serrano. Seems that we'll simply have to wait for you to get better for our rematch."

Serrano nodded. I might've been imagining it, but his silver eyes seemed watery. Almost as if he were sad.

I smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be in prime fighting condition in no time. Meanwhile, I'll do some training!" I said, flexing my right arm.

Serrano put down his own control and nodded. "That sounds good. In the meantime, we should get in contact with those back home."

"Already did," Setsuko said. "I received a message from Kuroshi while you went off looking for your cousin. He said that the he and the others will be arriving shortly. Father also knows about our situation already."

"That's good," I said as I passed by Hyosetsu. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Like I told you before coming here, I won't hand Rosa over to you."

Hyosetsu scoffed. "You think I'm interested in her?" he whispered back.

"You sure seem to be." With that, I left the hotel room once more. This time I allowed Yuko to follow me.

"Where are we going, Master?" she asked, eyes bright.

I glanced at the dark red and gold hallway. It seemed as if we were in a palace.

"To see if I can gather some of the ingredients necessary for my tool," I responded. "Kuroshi will be coming here shortly, so we might be able to get it fixed."

Yuko frowned.

"Sounds good!" Kohri said as he walked out of the room too. He fished out a piece of paper from his pants and handed it over to me. "This is a list of ingredients we'll need. Though I think that I'll be able to get them all from my girlfriend's aunt-in-law."

I blinked. "Huh?"

He snickered. "What? Surprised that I got connections here?"

"Yeah. Though maybe I shouldn't be. You are the heir of Kuroyuki no San after all."

He snickered. "That has nothing to do with it. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes when I'm back! Be sure to be here in a few or you might miss the big event!"

I nodded and walked in the opposite direction. But suddenly I came to a halt. Kohri had mentioned that Yuko reminded him of someone else. Was it his girlfriend?

"Papa!" a little boy with honey brown hair said. The kid grabbed my hand and smiled.

Yuko gasped.

"Hey, this kid isn't mine!" I said, looking down at the kid. He seemed to be seven. "And aren't you too old to be mistaking someone else for your dad?"

The boy looked up at me and blinked. "Ehhh! You aren't Papa! B...but you got the same life energy."

He turned away and looked around. "Hmmm, where could Papa be?" he pondered. He turned to look at Yuko and touched her hand. "Mommy?"

Yuko's face reddened. "Mommy?"

The kid blinked again. "Ahh, sorry. It's just that you reminded me a little of my momma too." He grinned widely. "The name is Kun! Kun Lan."

"Kun? That's an odd name. I'm Tetsuya and this here is Yuko."

Yuko smiled and waved at him.

"Kun! Kun!" someone called out.

Kun spun on his heels. "That must be Papa! Papa, I'm over here!"

A man with long, braided blond hair turned the corner into the hallway we were in. His eyes were a radiant blue.

"There you are! What did I tell you about wandering off?" he asked as he marched over to him. The man stopped as soon as he noticed me.

I took a step back and clenched my eyes shut. What was happening?

"Let's go, Kun," the man said.

I opened my eyes and saw him walking away with the kid.

Just who was he?

"Master..." Yuko said, her eyes fixed on the man's back.

"Huh?"

Yuko blinked and shook her head. "That kid was right. His papa is similar to Master."

"Interesting," Ximena said as she and Nori stood by the door. "That must be your doppelganger."

"Doppelganger?" I asked. "Aren't they supposed to look alike?"

"That is how they've traditionally been depicted but not necessarily," she said as she eyed the direction the man had vanished in.

"Is it normal for one to feel strange when meeting one?" I asked.

She tilted her head. "Sorta, but this is the first time I see it happen in person. Though there was something strange about him. He almost felt... incomplete."

"Incomplete?"

"As if he is missing parts of his being." She turned over to me. "Strange. You give off the same vibe too."

"Come on. Stop trying to toy with me. You've known me since were kids. Why would you barely notice that now?"

Ximena chuckled. "Maybe because I'm the same way!"

"Huh?"

She put her hands behind her back. "Serra, the princesses, Nori, Yuko, and I are like that man. Incomplete."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "If that is true then how did we end up this way?"

"No idea. It's possible that something happened to our souls in the past. Or maybe our creator split our souls as part of his plan."

My eyes widened. "Wait, are you implying that that guy is me?"

She nodded. "Yes. Your souls were calling out for the other half."

I put a hand on my hips. "So, in this world I have a kid called Kun, huh?"

"Seems that way!"

I looked down at Yuko. And her counterpart seems to be the mother...

I sighed. "Like I'll believe that! Come on, the whole idea of split souls is silly. How can a soul be able to animate a person if it's missing a part or more?"

Ximena nodded slightly. "You got a point. Maybe if Dad were here I could ask him. Though this will be interesting research for me to delve into."

I stepped away. "Oh no you don't. I won't be your guinea pig!"

Ximena snickered. "I got other test subjects. Plus, it'll involve observations."

I sighed. So Ximena's degree in Soul Theory might actually be worth something after all.

"So, where are Yuko and mister Tetsu heading off to?" Nori asked.

"To find ingredients for Master's angel tool," she said, pointing at my cracked gold and silver bracelet.

Ximena narrowed her eyes at it. "Hmmm."

"Something wrong with it?"

"It's just that this weapon gives off an odd energy. Like those beings we fought in that dark realm."

I raised my bracelet. "Odd?"

Ximena patted my shoulder. "On second though, I might observe you after all, little Tetsu."

My face reddened. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

She giggled. "Alright, I'll stop." She grabbed Nori's hand. "Well, we're off to see the sights! Good luck on fixing your angel tool!"

I smiled and waved goodbye.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. Pardon for the long gap between delays. Had to deal with some tech issues. I think I've resolved them (at least I hope so xD). So, thoughts on the theories and revelations that Serrano and Ximena brought up in this chapter?**