About halfway though our little 'stroll' towards the Lower Quarters, we realized that we were being followed by Leblanc and those other two, Adecor and Boccos. Estelle worried about what to do, but I wasn't surprised when Yuri pulled a few strings. Clearly, it wasn't something to show to an innocent person such as Estelle, but time was important at the moment.

"You there, fugitive ! Halt I say !", Adecor shouted.

"The jig is up !", Boccos yelled.

The three of us turned around to see the trio, Leblanc, Adecor, and Boccos trailing on behind us. They weren't close to us, but they weren't exactly that far away... An uninterested look appeared on Yuri's face as I sighed in dismay. Those guys really did have a commitment to their jobs. 

"Foooools !", Leblanc scolded, pointing in our way, "Enough Grandstanding, arrest him !" 

"W- what should we do ?", Estelle had asked us. A hesitant look was on her face. I noticed Yuri scaling the ground. '.......?' "First you pick up one of these...", he said, and picked up a few good sized pebbles, "Then go like this !" We watched as he threw the first pebble at Adecor, and then at Boccos. They both fell back with a 'thud' as the pebble must have hit their helmets and surprised them. "Ow !", Adecor said. "Oof !", Boccos shouted. It was somewhat amusing, seeing how they both fell and said something at the same exact time. Then again, this was something Estelle should never have seen. Yuri turned back at us and as nonchalant as he was, all he said was, "Let's get to the Lower Quarter."

~~~~~

The first one to notice us and greet us was Hank. "Yuri ! Where have you been !?", he asked. Estelle followed me to avoid getting in their way. I had only been gone for a short while, but the situation in the Lower Quarters only seemed to worsen. The fountain was still broken. "Shinji as well", I heard him say. I smiled. "I got an invitation to the castle and had the most marvelous time", Yuri replied. "Of all the...", Hank was starting to say, "...Who's the young lady ?" I looked at Estelle as she walked over to Hank and bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you", she said, "I'm Estellise." Hank returned a bow and replied, "The pleasure is all mine, miss." Leave it to Estellise... Afterwords, he walked past her and walked to Yuri, who was also standing by. "Er, more importantly", Hank mumbled, "About those Imperial Knights. They've been so busy looking for you that they haven't paid any attention to our fiasco down here. So you've really managed to tick them off huh ?" I motioned Estelle to come and stand by me. "It looks that way", Yuri said. "Has Repede come back yet ?" "Sure did", Hanks replied, "And he was carrying some bag." "What happen to it ?" "It should be up in your room." "Go pick it up later. Give it a shake", Yuri said, "It has a nice jingle to it. Mordio liked it too." "You mean you met Mr. Mordio ?", Hanks asked. "Yeah, but the rat left town", Yuri replied in dismay, "Apparently he's someone important from a city called Aspio." "...."Left town?" Then that means ... we've been hoodwinked." "Afraid so", mumbled, "His house was empty, and I doubt he's even a real noble." "...I see", Hanks said in disappointment.

"Looks like the Aque Blastia's finally stopped leaking water", Yuri mentioned. "Well, without a core, it won't budge", Hanks informed. Yuri placed a hand on his hip and looked at the fountain. "Is there enough water for the time being ?", he asked. "Yeah, but it won't last long", Hanks replied. "After that, we'll just get it from the river. Get the runs though." "And the knights aren't going to help. Guess I'll go get it back from the thief myself." Hanks, who had his arms crossed, uncrossed them and looked at Yuri with concern. "What ?", he said, "You aren't thinking of following Mordio beyond the barrier, are ya ?" "Don't worry", Yuri replied as nonchalantly as ever, "I'll be back before you know it." I stared at him with disbelief. I see why he's known as a troublemaker. "Hmph. Who's worried ?", Hanks said with a smile, 'It's a good opportunity for ya. No need for ya to hurry back here." "Huh ? What do you mean by that ?", Yuri replied. "What I mean is, we can get along just fine without you", Hanks admitted, "Even Flynn used to say, "I wonder how long Yuri plans on living this life"." Yuri looked down at the ground. "Flynn need to learn to mind his our business." 

After their long conversation, Yuri and Hanks walked over to Estelle and I. "Oh, you're back", she said. Yuri nodded his head. "You're going as well Shinji ?", I was asked. "Something about watching after them seems like a good idea", I replied. Hanks smiled and I grinned. Just as we were about to set off, it would seem that Leblanc caught up. Back to his usual yelling as well.

"YURI LOOOOOWEEEELLL !!!! You've given my two lackeys a headache !", he shouted, "Now be a good boy and turn yourself in !" 

For the last time, this would probably be the last that we'd be in the Lower Quarters. "Well, that's our cue", Yuri said, "Looks like we won't be coming back here for a while." "Never a dull moment with Yuri around", Hanks said with a faint grin, "After this, I'll be even with you for getting that money back." Around us, everyone seemed to be getting ready for something. Estelle noticed as well, but didn't quite comprehend the situation. I caught on shortly. "Just make sure you don't kick the bucket blowing it all on some crazy party", Yuri warned. "Heh, same to you", Hanks replied, "See that you don't go dying in any ditches." Yuri began moving along, clearly making it look like he forgot about us. "Wait for us !", Estelle shouted as she said, "It was nice meeting you sir", to Hanks. I stood behind her. "He'll probably be a pain in the neck", Hanks advised, "You make sure you take care of yourselves, now." "Will do", I replied with a smile, "Take care now." Estelle bowed and said, "Thank you." 

Afterwords, we ran after Yuri. And in the process, we heard a large crowd behind us. "Estelle, continue and don't stop until you reach Yuri", I said, "Understood ?" She nodded her head. Estelle did as told, and didn't look back. I smiled in relief. We caught up to Yuri shortly after. He was holding this small bag and was talking about how he couldn't accept it. I'm guessing that during that blockade, Yuri was given things and just didn't realize. He wanted to return them too, but didn't have the chance when we heard Leblanc's voice nearby. Somewhere along the way, Repede caught up to us. "A dog ?", Estelle asked. "Well, for now its north to Deidon Hold", Yuri said. "What ?", Estelle replied, "Oh right !" She must have been fascinated by Repede. "I'm not sure how long we'll be together, but here's to the road ahead, Estelle, Shinji." I grinned. "To the road ahead", Estelle and I said in unison. We all looked back. "Well, so long for now", Yuri said. "We hope to be back soon !", Estelle said. "Good-bye", I said.

Pretty soon, we'd be away from the place that chained us down after all these years. But with that much enthusiasm, it was clear that things would only be a lot harder from now on.

Although, as long as it meant for a brighter future for this world and its people, I didn't mind.