Doctor Robert: Oh sweet baby Jesus on a Pogo Stick!

Nino: What is it, Doc?

Doc Robert: An update!

Lugh: Oh...

Doc Robert: Betcha all though I'd keeled over, eh?

Lleu: I did.

Nino: Quiet you!

Lugh: But you didn't die, did you, Doc?

Doc Robert: That's right, you bet your butt! You can't put this crazy Doctor down that easily! Muhahahaha!

Lleu: ... Okay then.

Doc Robert: Hmm... what are you doing out of your cage?

Lleu: ...Excuse me?

Doc Robert: Curious, looks like I've forgotten who my muse was for this fic...

Nino: It was me and Uncle Canas.

Doc Robert: Oh yeah... Well, whatever, call this a freeform of museness, because I think it'll be funny to have multiple characters pop up now and again.

Lugh: Yeah!

Lleu: Rock!

Nino: Oh, you boys...

Doc Robert: So anyway... this chapter...

Nino: Should we just roll the chapter?

Doc Robert: We should... Been a while since I've done this... uh... here!

Lyon

Rumors, they were, just rumors. That's all her brother said they were. But even rumors need to be investigated. And what better person to investigate than the Queen of Renais? Erika was unhappy with her life. The last words of Lyon reverbed back into her brain. He had truly loved her to his death… even when he let the Demon King take over his body and wage a war that hurt everyone, he loved her. Everyone around her, even her brother, thought without saying that Lyon was a wimp, a fool in love, and even if he didn't start the war, he would be ill suited for Erika. Good riddance, they all thought.

Well, Ephraim wasn't quite that cruel. He was there, he knew. She had loved Lyon back. While it seemed common knowledge that Lyon loved Erika, Erika's returned love was somehow still unknown. Of course she confided in her twin, her brother. He understood, he always understood. Perhaps it had something to do with having shared the same womb for nine months, perhaps he was just a good brother above and beyond his duty to his kingdom and excreta. Still, throughout the months after the war and in the midst of the cleanup, he encouraged her subtly to seek a husband.

There were plenty of suitors, but none suited her. Seth, the Silver Knight, for example. Putting the fact that he was a commoner aside for a second, he would be a devout husband, a strong but gentle man he was. But she'd known him since she was a little girl. He was more than ten years her senior. All her life, he was like a protective big brother, or maybe just a body guard. She didn't quite have the heart to love him fully, not when she thought of Lyon. It turned out he was in love with another as well. She recalled one day when they met each other in the courtyard.

"Are you well?" he asked her, gazing at her with a look of brotherly concern. They sat on one of the stone benches overlooking the trimmed and manicured hedges.

"…I'm well…" she said tentatively. She was thinking on Lyon still, how well could one be when the one they had loved had died?

"That's good," he said. He looked forward a bit nervously, "I'm not one for gossip, but I take it you've heard what some people are whispering?"

Erika smiled, "Yes," she said, "Something or other about some sort of romance between us…"

"Well?" he asked, "What do you think of all that?"

She sensed what he was really asking was, "Are we in love?"

She shook her head slightly, "We both know we aren't," she said honestly, "We're both in love with another."

Seth nodded, "I had to be sure," he said thoughtfully.

"There's more, though… Even if neither of us had our heart elsewhere… We're too… close." said Erika.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"We've known each other for a long time, Seth. Out of all the knights of Renais, Father, Ephraim, and I always were closest to you. Ever since you were first assigned to protect my brother and I, you are like a member of our family, like an older brother to Ephraim and I…"

Seth nodded, "You're right." he said.

"And I'm glad you've found someone, Seth." she added, "I know you and Natasha will be happy together."

"I hope whomever you love makes you happy too, Erika," said Seth sincerely. He didn't know who she loved, she kept that a secret.

There were plenty others she could marry. Innes, prince of Frelia, offhandedly the only one of their generation besides L'Arachel and of course Tana that got out of being leader of their nation yet. Innes was a jerk. He was neither cruel nor evil, he just was sort of the arrogant type. Besides, L'Arachel had married him anyway, mere weeks after the war. Erika supposed the light and bubbly L'Arachel was enough to make Innes a little less of an arrogant bastard. Even Tana, her best friend, was marrying. Her pick was unorthodox, but nobody objected, fearful of her might should they do so. She was to wed Cormag of Grado. Erika was sure that the scandals surrounding their marriage would drive Cormag a bit mad. Coincidentally, Cormag was the reason for Erika being here now.

Well, part of the reason anyway. Erika smirked slightly as she finally managed to take down the umpteenth Cyclops. The rumors, of course, were that certain people were coming back from the dead. She knew they weren't rumors. She'd met a man who had definitely died. Cormag's brother Glen was now living in Frelia. On one of her frequent visits up there, they'd met and Glen had spoken with Erika about something most intriguing. She already was wanting for a way to bring Lyon back. It was her wildest dream but her greatest passion. Glen had told her that Lyon was there, where Glen had been, and Lyon was whole. The Demon King had either lied or not known, but Lyon was in that place, that sort of limbo in the spirit world, with everyone else who had died in the war.

Over tea, the four of them sat in Tana and Cormag's little country cottage out by the Frelian coast, Cormag, Tana, Glen, and Erika. "You're planning on going there, aren't you?" asked Glen after the silence in the wake of Cormag and his tremendous story.

Erika looked from her best friend to the corn-blond haired knights, a worried expression on her face, "I must." she said, "I have to, he needs me… and I… I need him too."

They all exchanged flabbergasted looks. Why was it a big surprise, her love? "I guess I can understand that," said Tana, "I didn't have to go quite to the lengths you will to get your love back, but I did get all the way into the Ruins." she looked at Cormag sternly. Glen tried to contain laughter and Cormag sank in his chair a bit at the sight of her ill favored look. Tana looked back at Erika, "Erika, it doesn't matter what they all say about Lyon and what they'd probably say about you going off to those ruins, I support you."

Erika smiled, "Thank you, my friend."

"Good luck, Erika," said Cormag with a nod.

"Yes, the best of luck to you." said Glen with a kind smile.

"Thank you all." Erika said, filled with confidence and strength.

Well, now she was here, at the Ruins of Lagdou, fighting hordes of undead… alone. It was her decision to go alone. Perhaps it wasn't wise, but her brother needed all and every man of the kingdom to keep bandits from pillaging weakened villages and to supervise the recovery of the nation. Ephraim was still fairly well furious when he heard what she was going to do, especially alone. But when he saw the look on her face, when he witnessed her tears over her love, when he heard from her that she truly couldn't live without Lyon, then he understood. He gave her Sieglinde to ensure she would come out alive. It was kept secret, but no doubt the kingdom would be in uproar over her absence. She knew she had a lot to do when she got back, but right now, she was on a mission of sorts. She'd say she was the princess in shining armor coming to save her prince… a sort of reversal of the traditional tale, but that seemed a bit too cliché for her. Just a bit.

She'd long discarded her horse. He was a good steed whist he lasted, but a spear from a skeleton had ended his life prematurely. She'd briefly contemplated taming a gargoyle or a centaur, but then decided it wasn't necessary. She could fight just as well on foot as on a steed and the quarters were getting ever tighter as she continued. She was a bit of a mess. She'd brought some soap and hair care products in her satchel along with anything else she might need, but from the beginning to the end of a day, she'd get rather dirty. Her mother wouldn't approve, of course, but if she was alive, she wouldn't approve of her even learning any manner of combat training. Erika was sorry she was probably going against her mother's wishes, but at least she'd perhaps be proud of Erika for taking care of herself at the end of a day from wherever she was.

Erika had been there a good week now, fighting ever harder monsters as she made her way into the deepest, and most complete, parts of Lagdou. She was now just outside the innermost chamber, fighting the last of the Dracozombies and the numerous other undead. With her trusty rapier, which was actually the third one she'd gone through, in one hand and Sieglinde in the other, she vanquished her enemies. The chamber was quiet, the formally undead were once again dead, strewn out on the landing and the steps leading up to the inner chamber. She dodged and hoped over the variety of dead enemies, agile and lady-like in the process. She came upon the ground of the chamber itself. She started for the alter at the other end, the high vaulted ceilings echoed her booted footsteps as she ambled the long chamber.

She found the alter just as Cormag and Glen described it, with twin passages at either side, both entering opposite ends of another, smaller, dark chamber. She figured swords were no more use here, so she sheathed her weapons, at least for now. She came upon the veil, the same as it was described to her, made of an undeterminable substance and glowing purple. She dared not touch it because that just seemed like something incredibly stupid to do. She heard voices but none could be discerned, like what was described. She studied the veil for a moment, waiting for something to happen, waiting for Lyon to approach from the veil…

Describing the place beyond the veil to those who had not seen it was mostly impossible. For starters, to each individual within this place saw a different terrain. To one person, all the patrons of this place were in an elegant ballroom, to another, an open grassy field, to still another, the middle of the sea. There were so many visions of this in between place, this sort of waiting room, that it practically didn't matter. To Lyon of Grado, it was the Great Hall of Grado Keep. The tables had been removed, and there seemed to be an infinite amount of people chatting, walking around, and mostly meeting one another and exchanging information.

Lyon's soul was intact again. It seemed even the Demon King couldn't completely annihilate it or perhaps he just didn't care to. In any case, Lyon was now conversing with his father, Vigarde. "But why, father? Why me?" he asked, mostly in curiosity.

Vigarde shrugged, "The one that manages to defeat enough demonic creatures receives the recently dead individual they desire back the most. Well, you're Erika's pick, as I understand." he explained to his son.

The son looked at his father, "I still don't understand… why me? I, the man who brought horror unimaginable onto Magvel. Do I deserve to be brought back? And even so, they'll hang me the first chance they get."

"The system isn't so precise," Vigarde explained, "Both good people and bad people are in this place here, both good and bad can be brought back. But besides," Vigarde looked at his son, "You were curious, the Demon King persuaded you in his nasty way, and then you were possessed by him, unable to control. Even if he cited that his motives were your desires, he brought out feelings you'd have never inflicted in real life. No, with the defense provided by those who saw you possessed, you wouldn't be hanged." He looked off for a moment, as if something caught his eye, "It's time, my son."

They started walking through the hall (or rather, that's how Lyon saw it). "Are you sure you can't come with me, father?"

"I wish I could, son," said Vigarde sadly, "But it's only meant for one person at most at a time."

Lyon approached the next sentence he'd say carefully, "Then if I'm to return…" he said, "I should probably assume the role of Emperor in your place."

"You should," said Vigarde.

"Well…" said Lyon quietly, "I'm not sure I can do the job as good as you can. I never was sure of that."

"Lyon, my son," said Vigarde, pausing to put his arms compassionately on Lyon's shoulders, looking into his son's eyes, "You have gained and grown so much. You were under possession of the Demon King and your soul emerged triumphant." he then took his arms off his son's shoulders and continued walking, "If you can survive that, you can certainly run Grado."

Lyon tilted his head thoughtfully, then laughed, "Even I can't argue with that."

"We're here," said Vigarde, indicating a veil that wasn't there before.

"This place is confusing," said Lyon honestly.

"Quite." agreed his father with a nod.

"…I suppose this is it." said Lyon, he hugged his father, "Goodbye, father."

"We'll see each other again, sometime." said Vigarde, returning the hug, "Good luck, my son."

Lyon smiled, "Thank you, father." he said, "If ever I was to need it, I'd be now." He let go after a short while. Maybe he was ready to say goodbye to his father now. Now that he knew that at least he'd see him again. He looked at his father one last time and his father gave him an encouraging smile. Lyon smiled back and stepped through the veil…

Erika was near tears. Perhaps even a veil with some sort of connection to the nether world wasn't enough to bring back Lyon. Her emotions clouded her judgment and she broke down in tears. She'd grown strong in the wake of the war, strong enough to endure the horrors of death and war. But now she allowed herself to cry. She hadn't cried so hard since Lyon died at the Darkling Woods and before that when she heard her father had perished. Now she was crying because perhaps she was seeing reality and she didn't want to. Maybe it was true that she'd never get her love back. She'd never be able to admit to him that his love didn't go unrequited.

She knelled on a nearby stone ledge and had her head in her arm as she cried. Whist she cried, she didn't notice that a bubble appeared from the veil and from that bubble formed Lyon. Lyon walked from the veil, his footsteps quiet enough to go unnoticed. He approached Erika and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Why are you crying, princess?" he asked, his voice calm and even.

This started Erika and she jolted her face up. She recognized the voice immediately, but still wasn't sure, "…Lyon?" she asked.

Lyon smiled, "It's me, Erika." he said cordially.

"Oh, Lyon!" she exclaimed happily. Erika hugged him, putting her arms around his robed figure. He'd changed. Well, he'd changed from what she remembered before he was possessed. Before, he'd been frail, too thin with pronounced cheek bones. He'd been perhaps only two or three inches taller than Erika, a good six or seven inches shorter than Ephraim. Now he was Vigarde's height or maybe taller; a good four inches taller than Ephraim. She could tell as she hugged him that he was now much less frail. He wasn't quite Dozla or Gilliam's build, but perhaps her brother's build. She remembered his appearence now. He appeared much like when he was possessed by the Demon King.

But she knew, she could feel that he was no longer possessed. This was the real Lyon, she was sure of it. Still, she asked, "Is it really you?"

Lyon laughed, "Yes, Erika, it's me." he said calmly, gently. He put his arms around her.

"Lyon…" began Erika, "…The reason why I brought you back, or I guess it works that way… I'm not sure. Anyway, I brought you back because… you said you loved me… just before you died."

"That's right, Erika," said Lyon, "You're right… I love you."

Erika smiled, "Well… I love you too." she said, "I always loved you. I just never had the courage to admit it."

Lyon laughed softly, "Me too." he said.

They let go of their embrace and started for the exit. "What is this place, Lyon?" Erika asked, "Why is it here that people are coming back from the dead?"

Lyon looked at Erika and said, "Lagdou and Vanni were once places where people were brought back from the dead," he explained, "That veil back there is a door of sorts between this world and the world of the recent dead. After someone dies, they are put into a sort of waiting place in between heaven and hell. The good are sorted out and brought to heaven, the bad thrown into hell. I take it you had to kill a lot of undead to get to this place, right?" he asked.

Erika nodded. Lyon continued, "In order to bring someone back from the dead, a number of undead need to be exterminated. Originally, traffic from this world and the World of the Dead was common, but that was before the Demon King and his minions. Even with his death, his minions still roam this land. Their mere presence is enough to keep the door closed, when you kill enough of them, the door can be pushed ajar just enough to let one person through. It's not very efficient, but I think it's worth it."

"I do," agreed Erika. She hugged him again, "I brought you back because of it, freed of that demon."

"Yes, you did." he said. "Thank you for that." he knelt at that point, "Will you marry me, Erika?"

Erika laughed, "You think I just went through all I did to get you back just to say no?" she asked in jest, "Of course I will." He stood again and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Doc Robert: So... does this mean I'm back, you ask? That it mean I'm going to update "Past, Present, and Future" and all that?

Lleu: I'd hope so, Doc.

Doc Robert: Well, unfortunately not... Or maybe... I dunno. This chapter was sitting, unpublished, in my computer for almost two years. I had it already written when I posted the first chapter last June... o.O

Nino: How naughty!

Doc Robert: Ah, but there's reason for it. Lyon's supposed to be the last Creature Campaign character you get... But this chapter is very open to more content, implying that the other character's resurrections would follow. I fretted over the conflicting facts of canon and artistic license until I forgot about this... Now I don't care. Let's just say that the particulars of whom gets out when are different because each time it's only one character taking on the whole Tower and/or Ruins as opposed to a number of characters.

Lugh: My head hurts a little...

Doc Robert: And so it does... Another thing to address is Lyon himself. I believe that even though the Demon King ate a lot of his soul, there still was some left. It's evident in Erika's tale at least that his soul survived until he died, at which point the Demon King's old body was rebuilt and excetra. I like to think the Demon King was sloppy in his work. All he cared about was getting his body back and whatever it takes to do so, his objective wasn't specifically to eat Lyon's soul. Therefore, Lyon's soul isn't destroyed because souls are really hard to destroy (as lightly implied in the story and also this is an extention of my beliefs etc... I'll spare you that lecture XP).

Lugh: Oh, now my head hurts a lot...

Lleu: Baby.

Nino: Boys, don't make me turn this fanfic around!

Doc Robert: So yes, until next time... when I've found the will to finish this off... heheheh