Holy Crap! Has it ever been a long time since I updated anything? Yeah, it's actually has. I will never give up on a story, it really all depend on the mood i'm in and what i'm fangirling over. Anyways was in a Tales mood so I decided to write up the next part to this story. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 9: The Shaikos Ruins!? (Part 2)

The ruins were just as I imagined, damp and humid. Great condition for my hair…NOT! But it wasn't too hard to find our way around. Many of the paths were block with cave-ins and fallen stone so it was just a straight path right through to the other side. Rita eventually came to a stop and kneeled down next to what I thought was a pile of rubble.

"Looks like this little one is no good…" Said Rita as she dusts away the crumbles of stones.

"Wow, so this is what a blastia looks like before their excavated." Karol beamed.

"I wonder why ancient people buried blastia in ruins like this in the first place?" Wondered Estelle.

"I wish I could tell you. That's something else being researched." Rita stood up and turned towards her.

"With the blastia here, I don't suppose there are any aqua blastia lying around too…?" Asked Yuri.

"None of them have cores in them…" I stated the obvious.

"Really? Then they don't work, do they?" Karol looked over towards me, but it was Rita that answered back.

"Blastia aren't excavated with the core and the bodies together." She answered.

"Cores produce magic through formula." Quoted Estelle. "Bodies control that magic. The two combine are referred to as blastia. Each blastia possesses different attributes, and is marked by a crest that indicates those attributes. With current technology, blastia bodies can be manufactured, but the production of blastia cores is impossible." She finished.

"So basically, cores are very valuable, since they have to be excavated, it's only natural that thieve would want to steal them." Said Yuri as he flickered a gaze towards me as he said it, which pissed me off, but he kept it firmly on Rita.

"That's not quite true. It seems Estelle's information is a little outdated." Corrected Rita as she got our attention again.

"What's outdated about it?" Asked Karol.

"There's some degradation of quality, but there's been some success in the synthesis of simple blastia cores."

"Really!?" Estelle seemed quite surprise, but I'd have to believe that she was probably reading some really old books.

"That's why I wouldn't do anything stupid like go stealing people's cores! If I had time to waste doing things like that, I'd rather be spending it researching better ways to completely restore incomplete or degraded cores. That's what being a mage is all about!" She made her point but Yuri wasn't buying it.

"A noble creed. But that doesn't clear your name."

"…Yes, talk is cheap, I suppose." It seems Rita didn't know she was being so heavily accused for something she believes she didn't do. Estelle could feel the tension between the two as much as I could and decided to step in.

"P-perhaps there is still some blastia left to be used." She said.

"Your right, let's keep searching." And Rita lead the way again. It didn't take us long to find a blastia. Which was still in pretty good shape considering it's in a rundown place like this.

"This one's still got a core in it." Karol seemed ecstatic as he run up to the monument that held the blastia.

"Here try shooting it at the core." Rita walked over and handed Yuri a ring.

"Ohhhh…a gift Rita? You're too kind, but I would at least expect dinner first." Yuri teased.

"W-what? N-no that's not the point here, this ring has a small blastia inside it that shoots out aer. With this you can activate other blastia's." I could tell Rita was embarrassed by how pink she turned. I don't blame her, I know how she feels.

"Glyph crystallization of a formula allows the blastia to emit aer as needed." There goes Estelle again with her insider encyclopaedia.

"How did you know that?" Wondered Rita.

"In the castle I read that the ring acts like some kind of key for ancient ruins."

"Castle?"

"So all I do is point?" Asked Yuri. He seemed to be a little impatient.

"It's called the Sorcerer's Ring. Just point it at the core of that blastia." Rita pointed towards the monument. "Face your target. And shoot. There's a limit to its range, though. Go on. Try it." Yuri faced forward towards the blastia and aimed the ring. Soon a small matter of aer shot out and lit up the blastia. "…That's all it takes."

"That's a strihm crest. It's a mark that indicates movement." Said Estelle.

"Woah, your just full of knowledge aren't ya?" I have to say I was impressed. And I thought I knew everything. Estelle looked over her shoulder and blushed. I guess she wasn't used on being complimented on this sort of stuff. Somewhere in the distance, stone could be heard moving about. I guess that was the movement that Estelle was talking about. But the question is what moved?

"Hey, wh-what's that…?" I turned to see what Karol was pointing at. From what I could tell it was a stone golem.

"It's a Sentinel. My guess is when Yuri activated the blastia he woke up in order to keep unwanted guest out." I said.

"Ok then, keep your eyes open and let's keep moving." Said Yuri as he decided to take the lead this time. I followed next to him in order to keep everyone safe as well. If the Sentinel was going to attack it will hit us first. Rita came walking up behind us.

"Are you sure you can just trust me like that? What if I was just luring you deeper into the ruins so I could just 'ZAP' you?" There was a teasing quality to here question, but she still held herself firm.

"I'm starting to think I should try my luck with the golem." Yuri waved his hand in the air in order to signify he was listening. Then he stopped. Looking down at the Sorcerers Ring he decided he should return it. He didn't wanna be the next in the group to be labelled a thief; there was already someone for that. "Here!" He handed it back to Rita.

"No, you keep it!" She said as she crossed her arms.

"Isn't this thing important or something?"

"We'll need to use it a few more times."

"Ok." He raised his shoulders in a 'whatever' manner. "Aero, here!" He tossed me the ring. "You hold on to it. I'm not one to accessories so here's a gift from me to you."

"Woah—ahh—thanks, Yuri. I think this is the first gift you've ever given to me." I said with as much sarcasm as I could. "You'd think I'd be happier…?"

"I'm giving it to you cuz I trust you the most between everyone here." It's weird, but it kinda made me little happy that he trust me. "If I gave it to Karol or Estelle they would only play around with it." 'Ah, that's why…' We decided to continue on.

{The Sorcerers' Ring}

"I wonder if people from a long time ago used little rings like these to move things around." (Yuri)

"Yes, items like this have been discovered in other ruins, as well." (Rita)

"It sure is useful for something so small." (Karol)

"Yeah, unlike some people I could name." 'Glares at everyone' (Rita)

"Huh?" (Karol)

"It's impressive that you've been entrusted with a Sorcerer's Ring, Rita. I've heard they're only given to a small amount of people." (Estelle)

"Hmmm. Guess someone trusts you." (Yuri)

"You're the only one who doesn't." (Rita)

Karol gave us a good explanation on Sentinel having a reputation as being as tough as nails. I didn't believe him at first, but we ended up having to fight some while they cornered us, and he was right. There body is covered in stone our blades had no effect on them. If it wasn't for Rita and Estelle's artes to soften their bodies with water we wouldn't have cut them down.

{Did you say "Castle"?}

"Hey, didn't you say something about the castle not too long ago?" (Rita)

"Oh? Yes, well, you see…" (Estelle)

"Yeah, I was in the castle a while back. I used to be a knight." 'Yuri cuts in' (Yuri)

"You? A Knight? Please, how gullible do you think I am?" (Rita)

"Believe it or not it's true." (Aero)

"…Will wonders never cease?" (Rita)

"Is it really so hard for everyone to believe that?" 'Pouts' (Yuri)

"Looks like you weren't good enough to get your name out there." 'Tease' (Aero)

"Come on, let's go." 'Yuri glares before he leaves' (Yuri)

"Hey, they changed the subject on me…" (Rita)

These ruins were actually quite dark. We've would have fallen countless of time if we weren't careful.

"Shh, do you guys hear something…?" Karol squeaked as he tried his best not to cower. We all stopped in our tracks to listen to our surrounding. I could hear footsteps splashing into small puddle and the sound of dragging iron across the stone floor.

"Something's coming…" I growled in a low whisper. But to our surprise we were suddenly attacked from behind. What was once our party of Yuri, Karol, Repede and I, was all mingled up. Karol was hooked and chuck to the side, hitting a rock wall hard enough to knock the air out of him. Rita was force to act quickly and jumped in to help us, while Estelle tended to an injured Karol. It was a group of Merfish and Ribbits.

"It looks like they've messed up our order…Let's take 'em down!" Shouted Yuri.

"Woof, woof!" It was a back attack and we all charged in with a disruptive formation. Everyone was everywhere. We had to act fast or else we could be killed. Golems might have been a pain in the ass for us blade wielders, but a bunch of fish? Hah, that was nothing for us. We were lucky enough that Yuri and I took the enemy done pretty quickly, with a bit of help from Rita supporting us with her artes, while Repede protected her.

"That was scary… I didn't expect to be ambushed from behind like that." Said Karol as he made his way over to the group with Estelle.

"You alright, Captain?" Asked Yuri.

"Yah, I'm fine, nothing but a couple of scratches." The group seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"We have to be more careful next time. Karol I'm impressed that you were the first to notice anything." I said.

"Well it's not that I was able to really hear anything coming, more like I could fell something coming." He shivered as he remembered that feeling.

"That just means you have strong senses, which is always a good skill to have."

"I guess being in a hunter's guild, your anxiety kicks your senses into overdrive." He quietly laughed to himself. This is what made Karol really cute. It was really obvious that he was scared of everything around him, but he did his best to be strong in front of everyone. I guess that's why Yuri chooses to tease him about it then to tell him straight up that he's a scaredy-cat. In a way it's kind of him, but it's also pretty mean. Guess I'll just have to keep him in check. "Ah—guys? There are more of them coming this way."

"Looks like they haven't notice us yet. Hey, Thief Girl!" Said Rita. 'Thief Girl…really?' "Use the ring on them." She pointed to the oncoming enemies.

"Like this?" I shot the Sorcerers Ring. It seems to have startle and confused them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Yes! Now we have the preemptive strike."

"Alright, let's bring 'em down." Yuri jumped in and already the first monster cut down. Rita fired a couple of Fireballs to run the others dry, while Repede and I finished them off.

"Oh, I get it now. So that's how this thing works." I looked down at my hand where the ring was wrapped around my ring finger.

"I didn't know it could be used like that, too." Said Estelle as she walked over to me to check-out the ring.

"Right, let's get a move on." Rita wanted to carry on before any other monster decided to give the jump on us. We all seem to agree and continued to go further into the ruins.

{A Dangerous Decision}

"Wow, the Sorcerer's Ring is actually pretty cool. Not only can it turn blastia on, but it can also stun your enemies." (Aero)

"Yes, it's actually pretty handy for something so small." (Rita)

"Hmmm…I wonder…" 'Scurries off with a mischievous grin' (Aero)

"What's she up to?" (Rita)

"Hey, what the-!?" 'Yelling can be heard from afar' (Yuri)

"Ahahaha, this thing awesome!" 'Smile as she returns to Rita side, Yuri dangerously approaches' (Aero)

"What was that for?" (Yuri)

"Opps, sorry did I hit you. My bad!" 'Stick out tongue in a silly apologetic manner' (Aero)

"I'm started to think giving you the ring was a bad idea." (Yuri)

"What are you talking about I'm like SUPER trustworthy." 'giggles' (Aero)

"Alright, then, since you're so trustworthy, I trust you'll give me back the ring." (Yuri)

"Oh, no, I'm not that stupid that I would fall for that." 'takes the opportunity to run' (Aero)

"Hey, get back here, I'm not done with you yet…" 'chases after her' (Yuri)

"Ugh! For a couple of adult they sure do act like children. 'sigh' (Rita)

As we searched around the ruins, we came across a couple more of those moving blastia cores. It made it much easier to go deeper inside, but it was such a hassle to have to run around everywhere just to find the damn thing. This is why I chose not to be a Dungeon Crawler to steal ancient artifact and choose to be a Thief, much easier.

{Nothing to Worry About}

"Hmm… If that ceiling collapses, we'd be buried alive." (Estelle)

"Wh-what are you saying stuff like that for, Estelle!? What if it really happened?" (Karol)

"Come on, don't be such a wimp. These ruins are made of stronger stuff than that." 'Sudden rock slide could be heard from next to them' (Rita)

"Ahhh! Estelle, now the ceiling's going to collapse because you were talking about it! …Huh?" (Karol)

"Oh, sorry. I just stubbed my toe on a rock." 'smirks' (Yuri)

"…You did that on purpose, didn't you?" (Rita)

"Yuri… You're mean…" (Estelle)

"C-come on, let's hurry and finish up what where doing so we can get out of these ruins!" (Karol)

"He really likes to scare people, doesn't he?" (Aero)

"Grrr… Woof!" (Repede)

We had travelled for what felt like hours underneath in these ruins. Everywhere we went just felt the same, but after turning on another glyph we found ourselves in a very open room. It was a lot less dusty and damp in here than in any other part of the ruins. We made our way across a bridge and came to face with a very large statue, but as I looked around there was nothing else. No treasure, no….nada. But what looked like nothing to use was a whole nether story to Rita. She suddenly seem excited and ran pass all of us, running straight up to the statue.

"H-hey…" I tried to warn her.

"Jeez, what is this thing!? Is this another one of those blastia, too?" Asked Karol as he looked up at the statue. Yuri seemed not too happy as he walked on up to it.

"But what I want is the aqua blastia. Not this… this puppet." He started tapping at it. So it was another Golem, but this one seemed dormant.

"What are you doing? Don't just go poking at him like that!" Rita seemed irritated. Yuri gave her a blank stare while he shrugged off. Rita took the opportunity to examine the Golem's condition from behind. "If I can just analyze him, I'll finally be able to finish my anima formu—huh? No! His blastia core is missing!"

"'Sniff, sniff' Grrrr…" Repede seemed to notice somebody from above us. It was a person dressed in a cloak, my guess was a mage. He panic when we saw him and ran to hide behind a pillar.

"Rita, looks like one of your friends are here." Said Yuri. Rita came round the Golem to get a better look.

"HEY! WHO'RE YOU?" She screamed.

"M-me?" He poked his head out of hiding. "I'm just a blastia researcher from Aspio!"

"…That sounded convincing." Yuri pointed out. The mage stepped out of hiding.

"And just who are all of you? This place is off-limits, you know!" He argued back with a bit of fright in his voice.

"I think you just gave yourself away." Rita crossed her arms. "I don't know who you are, but you're definitely not from Aspio if you don't recognize me." Karol inched over to Estelle.

"…Guess she got no problem with modesty." He whispered into her ear.

"Gah! This job is just full of problems." The mage growled as he made his way over to the upper part of the Golem. "If it's not the knights, it's a bunch of kids!" He seemed to insert something into the back of it, then the floor started to rumble and the Golem stood up.

"AAAH! IT'S MOVING!" Karol screamed. The Golem suddenly raised its arm. It was going to attack.

"RITA! WATCH OUT!" I yelled, but it was too late. The Golem smacked Rita across the room.

"RITA!?" Estelle cried as she ran to her side. She kneeled down beside her. "Let me see…" Estelle focused herself and healed Rita wounds. Rita couldn't believe what had happen. She suddenly grasp Estelle arm.

"Wait a minute…"

"W-what?!"

"How did you…?" Rita looked back at her.

"I was just trying to heal your wounds…"

"HEY YOU GUYS!?" Their attention turned to Karol. "Stop fooling around and help us!" He jumped out of the way in time before the Golem took him down. Rita and Estelle scrambled to their feet and joined us in battle.

"Alright, let's see what we're up against." I took the opportunity to use a Magic Lens. "It's called a Goliath. It has no Resistance or Weaknesses."

"So pretty much we just pound the crap out of this guy?" Yuri moved his sword in time to block a powerful swing.

"Exactly!" I chimed with malice. My instincts were ready to fight back as I pulled out my daggers.

"That's how I like it." Yuri smirked. "Aero and Karol, you two take his sides. I'll take his back. Repede you take the front and keep him distracted. Estelle and Rita you use arte to support us and fry him raw." Yuri started to run in position. Karol and I both did as we were told, Repede and Estelle also covered, but Rita…

"I'm going after that idiot! You all take care of him!" She tried to run by us, but Goliath came to strike her down again. She barely managed to dodge out of the way.

"What do you mean 'leave it to us', you can't even get through right now!?"

"Grrr…" Rita was frustrated.

"You've got no choice but to fight. Let's just beat up this wind-up toy, then will chase him down."

"CHAMPAGNE!?" Rita busted out her arte with rage.

"That 'a girl!" Yuri took up his position behind and strikes the Goliath hard. "Wolf Strike!"

"Tornade Edge!" I knocked him back towards Karol.

"Dragon Upp-Gah!" Karol was almost crushed by the Golem, but rolled out of the way in time.

"Karol, here! Sharpness!" Estelle cast.

"Thanks! Dragon Upper!" Karol was able to land a couple of good hits on him, enough to get in some critical. Repede also came running up the front and pierce him in his face. Goliath stumbled down to the ground, but he wasn't finish.

"Aero, Karol, Repede and Rita, NOW!" Shouted Yuri.

"Right!" we said in unison as we all attacked at the same time, delivering the final blow. The Goliath trembled as it collapsed to the ground. Rita ran to the back of it.

"All that's left is to cut out its power supply… I'm sorry…" As she pulled the core from the Golem all signs of life left it. It's body as gray and lifeless as before. But they didn't have time to feel sorry for it.

"Rita, hurry!" Koral called.

"All right! All right!" She grumbled as she jumped off. "Come on, let's go!"

"But, Flynn…" Estelle worried.

"There can't be many knights here if our shady friend in the cloak is just wondering around." Said Yuri.

"So you think Flynn is…"

"Argh! Who cares about him, come on!" Estelle gave me a dirty look for my lack of care for Flynn, but I'm not doing it to be mean, I'm doing it to move everyone along. "If we sit here any longer that creeps gonna get away."

"If I had a little more time I could have figured out the anima formula…" Rita seemed to be mumbling to herself. It took us a while to reach up to the guy, luckily we had pretty much had made a path for ourselves, and luckily for us he was still in the ruins. Rita came charging up to him and managed to corner him. "How can you just steal a core and run off like that…?" She fumed. Repede seemed to feel of her frustration and even manage to bite the guy.

"Aaah! Stop! M-make him stop! I've only been hired to do a job… I was told I'd get a good price for any blastia core I could find." The mage whined as Repede didn't let up.

"You stole cores from the imperial capital too, didn't you?" Asked Yuri.

"The capital? No way, not me!"

"Then maybe it was one of your friends." Yuri started to raise his voice. He was starting to get impatient.

"Y-yeah! It's that creep, Dedecchi!"

"Where'd he run off to?"

"He's probably picking up his money from a client right now."

"Client, huh? And who exactly might that be?"

"All I know is he's somewhere in Torim Harbor. I don't know any more than that! He was a huge bruiser of a guy with a scar on his right cheek and one eye missing."

"So is this the guy collecting all the cores…?"

"And where, might I ask, did you steal that Sorcerer's Ring?" Asked Rita.

"Wh-who said that I stole it? The client gave it to me, said it be useful for this job!"

"Liar! That's not something the boss of some pickpockets could get his hands on." She growled.

"H-honest! You've gotta believe me!"

"This thing sound pretty big. You think somebody important is behind it all?" Asked Karol.

"I think you're on the right track there, Captain Karol. This doesn't sound like some ordinary band of thieves."

"Your right, this doesn't sound normal at all. Somebody very high up or with lots of money in their pocket is planning something… That worries me." It couldn't be them… could it?

"Man! First the knights, then the monsters, now…" The mage looks down at Repede. "This…"

"Knight? Then Flynn was here after all." Estelle beamed.

"Yeah, that's him. That damn knight!"

"Shut up!" Rita decided she didn't want to listen to him whine anymore and knock the mage out cold, though any moment to sully Flynn's name, is a good moment.

"Great, Rita. You knocked him out… Now what?" Pouted Karol.

"I'll have the city guards come pick him up later."

"Alright, then, let's get back to Aspio." Said Yuri.

"Finally we can get out of this dungeon and into some fresh air." I cheered as I made my way out to the entrance.

It's so exciting when I put up another chapter, even after soooooo long of not updating. I'd like to apologize to everyone that have been waiting. I can't say for sure when the next one will be up but I will keep working at it. Remember to R&R! PEACE! XD