I'm speechless... I know I had forgotten a lot, and that they were keeping secrets from me, but something like this? There was no way I could predict it. The dreams, the red eyes, the way they were acting... It all makes sense now... I'm speechless...

“Kind of a long story, ain't it,” Trace says, yawning. I just nod. I had to have been sitting there listening to them for about a half hour, at least... “Blue.” Trace speaks again, not facing me. “Are you scared of me?”

Of course I am... should I lie? Spare her feelings? No. At this point, that'd be far worse than just being honest. “...yes.” Trace looks at me, not showing the slightest bit of surprise. “Trace, I understand that you're not a murderer anymore, but it seems like those violent urges are starting to come back. If you revert all the way back to that same person...”

A heavy silence falls between us. I'm having a hard time even looking at Trace... She hates me... surely, she does. I'm supposed to be her friend, and I just said I'm scared of her. Somehow, watching her expression... I can tell she's thinking something similar. That I'm the one who hates her.

“...hey!” I shout at Trace, which seems to shock her a little. “There's no point in getting all depressed. You've made it clear that you want to change, right? That you want to be a hero... I can help you do it!” I continue to speak after taking a deep breath. “It's true. I am scared as hell of you... I'm scared of you, the things you've done, and what you might do... but you're my friend... I wouldn't give up on you like that!” I embrace her... “Me and Cleo... we're not gonna leave you. It's true that I don't have to help you, but I want to... I'm your friend. I'm here for you.” Trace looks like she's holding back tears...

“Thank you, Blue... that means a lot to me...” She starts to smile... I feel as if the doubt and suspicion I felt earlier has just been washed away...

...

It's nighttime. We've been out for a while...

Cleo stands up. “You guys wanna go do something?”

“I'm kinda tired, Cleo. I'm a little surprised you're not tired, either.”

“You'll get used to that, Blue,” Trace says. “Cleo's still a vampire, remember? She doesn't get tired that easily, especially at night.” Oh. Does she ever really need to sleep at all, I wonder... “Well, I'm getting on a bus home. We're all getting on the same bus, right?”

As we ride the bus, I fall silent and just think about everything that had happened. Trace was a killer... Cleo was not only a killer, but a vampire as well... Trace was, in fact, the girl in my dream... It's a lot to take in, y'know? So much that I had nearly forgotten about the whole thing with Shadowhand and the Swordsmen. “Hey, Cleo.”

“Yes?”

“What happened with Sesto and Septimo?”

Cleo, who sits next to me, says, “They're back at their home. I don't know what Primo's gonna do with Septimo, though...”

"Me neither...” This whole thing is getting way more complicated than I ever would want it to be... it's become clear to me that I'll have enemies within the Tredecim Armis et Salvator, and I'll have to stain my hands with their blood. What am I supposed to do if the strongest, Salvator, turns out to be evil? I should try and prepare myself for this moment...

“Blue... try not to worry about it. Even if we do end up fighting the Armis, I'm sure it'll all work out.” Cleo smiles, as if to assure me that everything was going to be okay.

“I hope you're right.”

Later, I arrive home. When I go in, I see Miko and Gramps are worried I came home so late... I explain that I had been out with my friends and lost track of time. For some reason, it feels like grandpa knows I'm not telling the whole truth, but he seems relieved that I'm okay, regardless. Looking at my watch, I see it's way past when I usually go to sleep. I'm going to sleep kind of late, but I feel I'll sleep better than I had in years, because I know I won't have that awful nightmare...

...

It is now the next morning. I awaken refreshed and in a good mood. Shower, breakfast, out the door, like always. It's a rather cold morning, being winter and all that, but I don't mind. I sit and wait for the bus to arrive. As I sit waiting, I sense the familiar feeling of telepathic communication. Azure, who had fallen silent for quite a while, has come to talk to me again.

“Good morning, Azul.” It's nice to “hear” Azure's voice again. I can't really see her... but I can kind of sense her smiling face as she makes her friendly greeting.

“Long time no see.”

“It hasn't been that long...”

“Just kidding. Seriously, though, I'm happy to see you again.”

“Sorry I haven't spoken to you. I've been in thought...” After a moment of silence, Azure asks me a question. “What do you think?”

“Of everything they told me yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“It was shocking. It was just so surprising, learning Trace was a killer. Also, Cleo's really a vampire! I wasn't even sure they existed until now.”

“Okay... so are you fine with these things?”

“Of course. They're my friends. It'd be silly if I couldn't accept them because of that.”

“You're a funny person, Azul.”

I chuckle, then “say”: “What makes you say that?”

“Most humans are terrified of vampires, and murder isn't something easily forgiven...”

“Well, the murders were all in the past... Trace feels bad about it, so why would I try to make her feel worse? Might as well help her, keep her from doing something else she'll regret... It worries me to think about what would have happened if she never made friends with me and Cleo, and if she loses us, it'll probably be even worse... I want to try and trust her, give her the second chance that I think everyone deserves. As for Cleo being a vampire, if it becomes a problem, maybe we can find a cure, or something. Everything's gonna be fine...” It makes me feel at piece, thinking like this... Yes, what happened was horrible, but I feel like I can trust them again. I hope those who died can rest in peace... and I hope those of us still living can move forward with our lives.

“Your bus is coming.” I hear the bus moving closer, and I look up to see it approaching as I stand up from the bench.

“Well, we can talk later, okay?”

“Sure.” I get on the bus, pay, and go to my normal seat.

"...?"

Is that a different bus driver than usual?

"Tch..."

Now that I think about it, something doesn't feel right.

A little later, Trace gets on. “What's up, Blue?”

“...”

“Something wrong, man? You look real focused...” It must show on my face that I'm concerned with that bus driver. That bad feeling must be coming from him.

“Hey, Trace,” I whisper, “Do you think I could pass a telepathic message from Azure, to Grey, to you?”

Trace nods. “Me and Cleo have done that before. When're you gonna try it out?”

“I dunno, just keep your 'channel' open... I'm waiting for Cleo.” The tension's biting at me. If I listen closely, I can hear a beeping sound from somewhere...

In some time, Cleo gets on the bus. “Good morning, Blue.”

“Hi.”

After that, I try to reach Azure with telepathy... I've never started one of these mental links, but luckily it's about as easy as thinking something like “I want to talk to you.” I reach her and began to send my thoughts. “Azure.”

“Yes?”

“I need you to speak with Grey and Flèche. I need Grey and Trace to search for a bomb. I'm sure there's a bomb on this bus somewhere...”

“Are... you sure?” Azure seems a little surprised that I suggested this bus might be in danger...

“I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm going to confirm my suspicions on the bus driver. Tell Flèche and Cleo to keep everyone calm if a fight breaks out.”

“I got it. I'll be with you ASAP.”

The link is cut, and movement begins... Trace soon begins her search for the bomb, and Cleo is alerted to danger, ready to keep the passengers from panicking or getting in the way. I approach the front of the bus... “Hey, are you a new bus driver?” He nods. Somehow, he seems nervous that I had approached... standing this close I can definitely feel a ton of mana within him, too. A Magic Knight's Force, I'll bet. “Does the word Shadowhand mean anything to you?” I look at his mirror, and can vaguely see that Trace is holding a blinking object... His eyes grow wide... I can't help but smirk at him...

With all the speed I can muster, I grab him, lunge forward, and send both of us flying out of the window. While in midair, I go fishing in his pockets for a remote control or something, but to no avail. Within a few moments, I stand to face him. “Got you, Baronet of Shadowhand.” I can see the anger and shock on his face... It takes everything in me to not laugh out loud.

“How did you know!?”

“How could I not know!? You put the bomb in a place I could hear it, you didn't even bother to hide your Magic Knight's Force!” With that, I put my hands on my hips and let out one of those corny laughs that you'd expect from a superhero capturing a felon in a comicbook. “Forget being a Baronet, you seem more like the King's Fool.”

“You snot-nosed brat. Trying to piss me off with childish insults isn't going to fix anything.” Without saying a word, his Mystic Coat covers him. While likely to be durable, it doesn't seem too thick, so he shouldn't be that hard to hurt.

“Hey, can I ask a question?” I ask.

“No.”

“I didn't notice a detonator on your person, so how were you going to blow up the bus?” I continue to speak, still not seeing Trace anywhere. I assume that Cleo is handling the situation inside the bus itself. “Don't tell me that thing is timed. You weren't planning on going down with it, were you?"

“I guess I can humor you. Yes, it was timed. Should be going off in a few seconds, now...” he says, chuckling. “Boy, do I feel sorry for...”

He looks up, and so do I. The bomb is in midair, still ticking... I assume Trace threw it up there, and will shoot it, where it will explode harmlessly. However...

I go running towards the Baronet, who is still looking up. Closing the distance in less than a second, my fists burn with beautiful blue flames, and from my knees, I rise, sending my fist right into his jaw. Sending him right into the sky.

He goes flying right into the bomb...

Which should go off... right... about...

NOW!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Pretty big explosion... Big enough to take the bus if it was still on it, that's for sure.

“Ugh...”

I go over to where he finally falls, seeing that he is still alive. This is good.

I pull out my phone a dial Primo's number. “Primo.”

“What's up, Blue? I'm on my way to school.”

“Can you come here? I've got one of the Shadowhand, here.”

“Really!? Awesome!” It's rare to hear him say a word like “awesome”, but eh... “I'll send Tercio down there. Where are you guys?”

I tell him where we were and let him know the details. “I'll see you at school, right, Primo?”

“Uh-huh. See ya.” He hangs up.

Trace, Cleo, and I decide to walk the rest of the way. “Pretty exciting, don't you think?”

Trace laughs. “You're a funny person, Blue. I didn't expect you to be that calm and brave about it.”

I think about how I laughed and smiled through the whole thing, then answer, “Haha, yeah, well, I wanted to look strong and let the people know everything was alright, y'know?”

“Hey, Blue,” Cleo says, pulling me aside for a moment. “I think he knew that we were on this bus because you won't have your Knight Force possess something...”

...yeah. She's absolutely right. I remember that conversation from a few months ago. “Hilariously enough, he made a similar mistake.”

“Ugh...”

“Come on, Cleo, it's because of these silly mistakes that we caught the guy!” I say, smiling like that's a good thing.

“Blue, that's not really something you should be proud of...”

We just talk like this for a while on the way to school...

...

“Cleo, you look cold,” I say, after some time.

“Hm? No, I'm f-f-fine...”

Liar. You're clearly shivering... “You sure feel cold,” I say, grabbing her hand. Cleo starts to blush...

“Um... I, uh...”

“It's okay. Look, do you want my jacket?” She shakes her head. “Come on, Cleo, You're gonna catch a cold acting like this.” We're silent. It's as if the only two people standing here are Cleo, and me. I start to look into her eyes... Ah, That's right... how could I have ever thought these were contacts? Looking into those red eyes, I can tell that those eyes are her's...

“You two? We're gonna be late. You can make puppy dog eyes at each other later. Come on.”

I'm brought back to reality by Trace, who is walking up ahead (but probably watching and listening in on us). I quickly pull off my jacket and give it to Cleo, looking like the cold isn't going to bother me... As I start to walk, I realize it doesn't have to. I can always ask Azure to...

“Blue?” I feel a soft hand in mine. “Let's stay really close, alright?”

“Uh...”

“That way we won't be so cold, okay?”

“I... O-okay. Let's go. Trace is waiting for us.” We walk the rest of the way like this...

“You three sure took your time getting here.” When we get to school, finally, Baek says this to us.

“They're here. Is it okay, Primo?” Emerald asks, walking away. “I'm going inside.”

I then ask, “You guys waited for us?”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Alright, Primo, We should go in now,” Baek says heading inside.

“Okay. Come on, Blue, Cleo, Trace. Homeroom is going to start in a few minutes.” So we go to class. Aside from the incident on the bus, this morning turns out to be a pretty boring one.

...

Lunchtime. I suddenly come to the realization that I don't often talk with my friends during lunch. Me, Trace, and Cleo do all the talking we need to on the bus to and from school. However, I still haven't said much to Baek, or Emerald... I think, knowing what I now know, I should try and speak to Emerald, because her relationship with Trace bothers me... I stand up from my usual seat and start to walk.

“Where are you going, Blue?” Cleo says, understandably confused by my unexpected action.

“I want to talk to Emerald.” Cleo seems surprised. Trace, from the seat across, says...

“Blue, are you sure that's okay? She knows about—”

“I know... that's why. We're supposed to be allies, right? We can't work together if we're too busy treating each other like enemies, y'know?” Saying this, I walk towards Emerald.

I sit next to her, at first saying nothing. Emerald stares for a second, confused about what I've just done. “What's up?” She eventually says.

“Listen closely. I don't want to have someone else hear what we're talking about.”

Emerald raises an eyebrow.

“Come on, I'm not going to say something dirty or anything like that.” I almost chuckle, but I hold it back, trying to be serious. “Emerald. Do you hate Trace?”

After a moment, she tries to wave away the question. “Haha, what are you talking about?” She says, trying to smile. “Me and Trace are just—”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“Emerald, I know about 'that'. Just tell me, from your point of view, what happened with you two.” She seems shocked that I had even brought it up...

“...look, remember the friend I told you about?”

“Yes.”

“My best friend's name was Karen. I met her in my family's church when I was little.”

“You go to church!?” How rude of me. On the Central continent, there aren't many religious people. Not even La Salvato, the followers of the biggest religion in the world, are all that common, so to have one talking to me right now is a bit of a shock.

“Yeah. I even have a Savior's Blade. Wanna see?” She shows me the charm, shaped like a small sword, that hangs around her neck. People of La Salvato wear these things, believed to be blessed with holy spirit. It's meant to symbolize that the Savior's blade is always protecting you...

“Hmm... so Karen was one of the followers of your religion?” I say, getting back on topic.

“Kind of... You see, Karen was really rebellious, even as a kid, and she didn't listen to anyone. She would steal from people, sneak drugs, money, boys... into her room, she'd get into fights...”

“...was she still your friend?”

“Of course,” she replies. “A lot changed as we grew up, but the one thing that remained was our friendship...” Emerald starts to look sad... “Then Trace killed her.”

I remain silent, as there's nothing I can say about that.

“Do you understand my point of view, Azul? Yes, Karen did a lot of bad stuff, but nothing worth killing her over... Trace just killed her because she's twisted.”

“That's not--” I pause. Yes, Trace is my friend, but honestly, even Trace admits that killing her was pointless. I don't have it in me to say it isn't true, and telling Emerald that she regrets it isn't going to fix anything.

“Think about it, Azul. Didn't she get really excited to kill Septimo? Didn't you watch her try to kill me? Do you really feel comfortable fighting alongside someone like that?”

“Ugh...”

Emerald sighs, then says this: “I don't know what Trace told you, but she's not a hero. She just acts like one so she can have an excuse to hurt people. The way she sees it, as long as no one cares about her victim, she can butcher and slaughter them as she pleases. It's sickening... It's only a matter of time before she relapses, and she has yet to truly pay for her sins. I'm sorry, Azul, but this story ends with Trace facing my justice...”

“I...” Before I can say anything else, Emerald looks at her watch.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eat up all your time. The bell's about to ring, so I should get ready for afternoon classes. See you.” She walks away...

"Dammit...!"

This is depressing. What was I supposed to say to her? I don't want to think about it, but it won't go away... I have to deal with the fact that my friend was/is a criminal, and one of the few people who know the truth about the murders from back then is supposed to be on our side...

I can't seem to catch a break. After I pull myself over one mountain, I realize that I'll have to deal with this. I intend to find a solution in time, but for now, I'll try to go about the rest of the school day normally...

---

Sincere apologies for the immense delay in-between the release of the last chapter and this one. Was distracted by work and other stuff, and didn't think to update until now. Even though I don't have many readers, I'm thankful to the few of you who will see this.

Also, I am aware that this story is going pretty slowly right now, and there hasn't been much action for a story that's been tagged as such. Don't worry, though, I intend to have more exciting events on the way very soon...