A/N - Hi!! Did you miss me? You probably missed the story more than the one writing it (me), but... ._.
Oh well.

And uh... I QUIT MYSTREET! STUPID AARMAU ALWAYS RUINING SH!T AND LIFE.

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Aphmau's PoV

My hand tightly grasped Garroth's, I hummed gently as we walked back.

"So..." I started, hoping for an in-depth conversation. "That girl, Anya..."

"She's scarred." Garroth said plainly. "Her eyes show joy, yet something inside her is broken."

"Hey..."

"Hm?"

"Remember that old cherry blossom clearing?"

Garroth's blue eyes sparkled, and he smiled. He nodded a 'yes'.

I took a breath. "Is it still there?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"I dunno, just, the place felt... magical." I fumbled with my fingers.

"They say couples that have their first kiss there are destined to be together."

I froze. Why did that voice sound so familiar? I turned around. A woman––as far as I could see, she was older than me––stood there, brown hair streaked with blue tied into a loose side-ponytail. I wracked my head for her name, as she looked so familiar yet so... distant.

"It's... Khaira. Khaira Melody." She smiled halfheartedly, and shook my hand.

Then I realized. "You were a guard from Pikoro!" I pursed my lips for a moment then asked, "Why are you still here?"

She let out an airy laugh. "After you disappeared, poor Zoey had to deal with the kids all alone. I kind of helped her with Lumina, and although kids aren't exactly my forte, she said I helped out a lot. So, I guess I'm a babysitter."

"Thanks for helping with my kids..." I paused. "Wow, uh, you've... matured. And here I am, looking the same as I did fifteen years ago."

She giggled, "I'm jealous."

Garroth cleared his throat. Khaira peeped an, "Oh!"

And she smiled. "So this is the famous Garroth Ro'Meave, huh? I've heard stories."

"Am I that famous?" He chuckled. "It seemed like Aphmau was always the main character in our stories."

"Khaira!" yelled another feminine voice. And out of the shadows came two women, roughly the same age as Khaira. One with dark red and blue hair, and another with medium length dirty-blond hair. The first wore a loose purple shirt, with an elbow length black jacket, and the second dressed rather casually, with a blue jean satchel at her side––It seemed to carry multiple items of use.

"O-oh!" I hesitated. "I know you guys... uh..." I pointed to the first girl... "Alice, and..."

She nodded, and then the other girl smiled, "E..."

"Elaine!" I grinned sheepishly, then apologized. "Wasn't there another girl?"

"Mm-hm." Elaine hummed. "Ally Jackson."

"That girl who dressed up like a maid at Kawaii~Chan's?" I asked.

"She's one of the Jury of Nine." Alice explained. "After the High Priest's disappearance, lord Garte of O'Khasis formed another Jury of Nine, choosing those on the waiting list."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Then why wasn't Dante chosen?"

"I guess by then, he'd maybe started his family and politely declined?" Garroth guessed.

"Yep." Khaira confirmed. "We're lucky that he did. He's a huge help to our little village, although we wish Ally would've stayed."

"I'd actually like to see her now..." Then something flicked in my brain. "Wait, Elaine, you cut your hair!"

"Oh, you noticed?" She giggled. "I actually cut it to shoulder length a few years ago, but it's grown out a bit."

"You look cute." I commented.

She chimed a thanks and I turned around. "What is... do you guys hear that?"

Maybe it was my imagination, but I could've sworn I heard some kind of noise.

Third Person's PoV

Large ships, colored spruce with bleached, blood-red sails pulled into the docks of Phoenix Drop. Our heroes [I got that from Pokemon because the narrator refers to the main characters as "our heroes" and so I was like why not] rushed over to the scene.

As they made their way there, ten people exited the ship. There were three ships, and from each came what one would call, 'authorized officials'.

Four women; six men. Trailing behind them were at least two and a half decades of guards.
[Note : When I say 'decade', I'm referring to a group of ten––same goes with century, a group of one hundred.]

They were arranged in a triangle formation.

The first was a man, still looking handsome although he was in his late fifties. He had cloudy gray-blue eyes, and dirty blond hair, streaks of white lacing their way in. He was an official. His name; Garte Ro'Meave.

The next two were both women, one looking very familiar to our heroes [?]. She stood tall, with blond hair, highlights of red running through. She sported Roman-like red and gold armor, with a sheath that held a blood red crystal broadsword. Her title as the fifth member of the jury; Ally the Bold. This was whom we formerly knew as Ms Ally Jackson.
The woman standing at her side was a position below her, number sixth on the jury. Her hair was a mix of colors, like a galaxy with her star-looking hairpin. Sticking out from her multicolored hair was two black cat ears––she was a Meif'Wa. A quiver of arrows hung on her back and a bow was slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were a subtle shade of crimson––the sign of a Shadow Knight. No fear, for this woman was a good person, earning the title, Emily the Gentle Archer. Her real name, Emily Ferrari.

[I swear that wasn't me! Just because my name is Emily––IT WAS A LATE CONTEST ENTRY, OKAY?]

And the rest, I'll describe quite bluntly. The next row consisted of two men and a woman, and a certain man there shared the last name as one of our main characters... Dominic Flame Melody.

The last row consisted of one woman and three men. We'll get to their names and titles in a bit.

And so, Aphmau, Alice, Garroth, Khaira and Elaine made their way to the small docks of Phoenix Drop... to the new adventure that awaited them.

A/N - I BROUGHT BACK THE OC'S!! Except they're like 15 yrs older so...

Once again, thank you to these wonderful people for submitting them:
[in order of submission]

-Ally Jackson – Age 17/32-
@AllyLovesAphmau

-Alice Gold – Age 18/33-
@nalusomagrayza

-Khaira Light Melody (& Dominic Flame Melody) – Age 21/36 (& 17/32)-
@FireLightning_576

-Elaine Mary Fire – 17/32-
@Farie_0706

[late]
-Emily Ferrari – 22/37-
@Garmau_Is_Life_

Thank you so very much for submitting, and maybe, just possibly, some more late entries might come into the story...?

Hope you enjoyed!
~Em