Tales of Vesperia: The Last Blastia Core (fan-fic)

The "Outside"

After climbing down the ladders that was hidden beneath the Goddess Statue, we found ourselves underneath the castle. Or the sewers. Since I often went out to the Lower Quarters and took this route out of the castle, I already knew what to expect.

"So there are monsters down here too...", Yuri said when he noticed a round mouse looking thing nearby just bouncing around. "......Monsters.....", Estelle mumbled faintly, "That's what these things are...?" Yuri turned to her with a surprised look. Well kind of. "You've never seen one before...?", he asked her. "Uh... um..." While they were talking, I noticed the mouse staring our way. I fixed my position and lifted my Stiletto towards the monster. "Hello there", I said, grabbing both their attention, "Monster at 3 o'clock." Estelle pulled out her Saber and Yuri pulled out that Knight's Blade that he still had from when he was an Imperial Knight. "Let's take care of this shall we ?"

Moments later, I realized that there were more monsters around than usual. "That should take care of it", Yuri said after the battle with the round mouse. But it wasn't enough. We would still be outnumbered. I pulled out this clear fragile glass looking bottle and poured some on the three of us. A white mist surrounded the three of us as everything appeared lighter. "Hey what's that ?", Yuri asked. The bottle was now empty but I still kept it. "A Holy Bottle", I replied, "Now let's leave before it wears out". I placed it back into an inside pocket and began walking. It wasn't until about a couple moments after that I actually heard their footsteps. It wouldn't have surprised me if they didn't know what it was, a Holy Bottle. "We should be careful around here", I said as I lead the way to where I usually went, "Some monsters appear in groups." "Really ?", Estelle replied, "We should be careful when we go ahead." "Hey Shinji", Yuri asked, "Do you know where you're taking us ?" I looked behind my shoulder and grinned. "Of course I do", I replied, "After all... Who do you think I am ?" Yuri looked at me uneasily. "And I thought I was the only troublemaker..." "There's a difference between knowing where to go, and being a troublemaker", I muttered. "Don't get confused."

"Hey, Yuri", Estelle said to Yuri, "I need to thank whoever told you about this underground passage." "Why would you need to be thankful for something like that ?", he replied back. "We're trying to get out of the castle like you", she replied, I could tell she was looking my way when she said this, "Right Shinju ?" I gave her a slight nod, even though I knew she was half right. I mean, I kinda already knew my way out. "That's all well and good", Yuri replied back, neutral as usual, "But there's no need to be thankful because of it." "Oh no, we must show our courtesy to those who show us kindness." I wanted to tell Estelle that it was Yuri she was talking to, but then again, I didn't want to bother. Sometimes, Estelle was like a book. I stopped listening to their conversation after trying to retrace where the exit was. "Oh here !", I said out loud when I saw these familiar looking set of ladder. "What is it Shinju ?", Estelle asked as we circled it. Strangely enough, there were boxes in the way. Just like I had left them. "Yuri, help me move them", I said as I went on the other side of the box and began pushing. He went around the side of the other box and did the same. Pretty soon, the boxes were out of the way. It revealed the way to the ladders which would soon help us escape.

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"Man, it's bright", Yuri said as he shielded his eyes from the bright light of the sun. I looked around as Estelle did the same. Luckily for us, nobody was around. "It's already morning", I overhead Yuri sigh, "I wasted an entire night." "Looks like this is the royal quarters", I said. "Everything looks so different from the window of the castle", Estelle said in amazement. If only she knew. "Ah, come on. You sound like this is your first step out of the castle", Yuri replied. "Uh... well.. I.." "I guess a lady who lives in a castle can't just take a walk outside whenever she wants", he continued. Okay, for some reason, as he said that, he was staring at me with this really bothersome expression. As if he was saying, 'Ooohh reaaaally.' "Y-yes... you're right", Estelle replied, "Right.... Shinju ?" I nodded my head and gave her a faint smile. "Well hey", Yuri said as he put a hand up, "At least we got out of the castle." I watched as Estelle walked over to him and poked his hand. He started laughing. What could you expect ? "Um. Was that not right ?", she asked. "Nah.. It's fine", Yuri said, still grinning. I found the scene funny so I grinned. I didn't laugh though. 

"Oh, thats right", I mumbled. "What ?" I looked up at Estelle and Yuri. "Your introductions", I replied, "We didn't get the chance to do them." "Oh right !", Estelle exclaimed, "We were too caught up in the things going on around us that we..." "I don't know if you still need my name", Yuri replied, "I'm pretty sure you've already got it down." "Mine as well", I replied. "Then, I", Estelle replied with a smile, "My name is Estellise. But it's alright if you'd refer to me as Estelle too." 

"So Shinji... Estelle", he asked, "What are you going to do now that you're out ?" Her answer was, "I'm going to find Flynn." I completely forgot about that guy. Why did Estelle want him from again ? "Do you know where he went ?", Yuri asked. "Well, the other day, he mentioned about going on a Knight's Pilgrimage", she replied. "Oooooh that thing", Yuri sighed, "Where they go around the cities of the empire piling up good deeds ?" "Yes", Estelle said, "That's why I'm going to the City of Blossoms. Halure." "Is it because Halure is where the Knight's first start off ?", I asked. She nodded her head. "So you'll need to head outside the barrier", Yuri mumbled. "Have you ever been beyond the Barrier ?" "A little while back", he replied, "I'd like to go, but I just can't leave the Lower Quarters like this." "The Aque Blastia ?", I asked him. He looked up and nodded his head. "Come on", he said, "I'll show you the way out of town. It's on the way to the Lower Quarters." "Thank you !", Estelle replied politely. I ended up following the both of them until we reached the Lower Quarters. Right now, I couldn't trust myself with leaving Estelle on her own. For a fact, they kept her within the castle walls and never let her out. I was debating whether she knew about some things from reading the book on the outside world. Whether they were good or bad, I wondered if she knew.

Then again, experience is always most likely better than reading it from a book. At least, that's what I think.