Dawn soon came, and found Clari hobbling along the road, carrying the still unconscious Phi. His strength was already beginning to ebb, and the only thing that drove him onward was the memory of the lights of Discord going out, one by one.

However, even that fearful memory was losing effect. At last he was to exhausted to move on. Carefully, he set Phi down, and lay down beside her. Almost immediately, he fell into a deep sleep.

Many hours passed, and when Clari at last came around, he found himself lying on some blankets in the back of a wagon. The wagon was stopped, and outside he could hear the sound of many voices.

"Clari-san!" Phi said, jumping off of the crate that she had been sitting on. "What happened? I woke up and found out that we were so far away from Discord."

Clari looked at the girl, with her wide eyed innocence and had to look away. "The monster that was possessing Tym... it was too powerful. I could not fight it. It was all I could do to get the two of us away."

The smile did not leave Phi's face. "Clari-san, quit trying to trick me. What you are saying cannot be true. It's impossible."

"Phi, I am not trying to trick you," Clari replied, turning to look into the girls eyes.

The smile melted off of the girls face as she took in the emotions that his eyes held. Among them, she could see sadness, grief and pity. But what frightened her most that below all of the other emotions, she saw his fear. Clari Net, the former Grand Commander of Sforzendo was afraid, although he would never admit it to anyone.

"I see," Phi said softly. Her lower lip trembled, and tears came to her eyes, but she did not cry. "Then what is there left? We would still be in Discord if it was safe. Where are we going?"

"I don't know where this wagon is headed, but we must go to Sforzendo as soon as possible," Clari said softly.

"Sforzendo? Well, that is where we are going," a new voice piped up. Clari looked up to see a young woman with green hair climb into the wagon, and an older woman with blond hair behind her. It was the older woman who had spoken. "You had us worried there. We thought the two of you dead when we found you lying by the side of the road. It only made our fears worse when Phi awoke, and did not know how the two of you had come to be there. What is the reason for your haste to Sforzendo? Why aren't you carrying any supplies to see you through the trip? Were you robbed by bandits?"

While the older woman bombarded Clari with questions, the girl with green hair studied him quietly.

"Birdie, are they awake?" a new voice piped up. This one sounded so familiar that Clari's eyes widened. It had to be�

Sure enough, it was Raiel who climbed into the back of the wagon next.

"Raiel!" Clari said in surprise. "How in the world-"

"Hello, Clari-san," Raiel said, smiling at him. "You're looking considerably better than when we last met"

"And you also," Clari said, managing a small smile.

"Raiel, do you know him?" the girl with the green hair at last spoke up.

"Yes, I do. Birdie, Mifa, meet Clari Net, the Grand Commander of Sforzendo. Clari, this is Birdie and Mifa. They are two singers with the circus," Raiel said, gesturing toward his two female companions.

"This is Phi Colo, a friend from the village of Discord," Clari said, and Phi nodded her head. Yet her face remained grim as she contemplated the events that had taken place over the last few days. "You say that you are going to Sforzendo?"

"Yeah. We have to make a some stops at a few villages beforehand, but we'll be there in time for the Festival of Stars," Raiel said. "You're welcome to travel with us, if you like."

"We cannot. We must get to Sforzendo as soon as possible. I will be able to teleport us there, once I get more of my strength back," Clari said.

"Why such haste? Sforzendo will still be there, come the Festival of the Stars," Birdie said.

"I fear that it will not. Hell King Bass is still alive. He has already murdered the people of Discord, and it will only be a matter of time before he begins making his way to Sforzendo," Clari said quietly. At the sound of this news, Mifa huddled in Birdie's arms, and the older woman held onto Mifa tightly.

Phi bit her lower lip. In a way, she had already known that the people of Discord were dead, but it still hurt to hear the words spoken aloud. Yet, no matter how much despair she felt, she could not bring herself to cry. She was just numb.

Raiel stood still for a moment, before taking a seat on a nearby crate. "I think you better tell me the whole story," he said grimly.

So Clari did. He began by telling them about how Tym had suddenly started acting strangely, then the bizarre ritual. Finally, he re-accounted Bass's appearance, and the short battle that followed.

"But how did he survive. I saw Prince Lute burn the head with my own eyes," Raiel said.

"I suppose he sealed himself in a crystal until Tym released him, but I do not know for sure," Clari said.

Phi's eyes widened as she remembered something. With trembling hands, she reached into her pocket and withdrew the very crystal that they were talking about. While she had been groping through the fog trying to find him, she had run into another person too big to be Tym. Her hand had closed around something, and she had instinctively put it into her pocket seconds before a blast of magic hit her, knocking her into unconsciousness. Quietly, she placed the crystal back into her pocket, resolving to show it to Clari later on.

"And so with no hope of a victory there, you retreated, hoping to make it to Sforzendo to warn the Queen?" Raiel said softly. Clari nodded slowly.

"All right. Rest here until you are strong enough to travel to Sforzendo. But when that time comes, I would like to come with you," Raiel said.

"But Raiel-" Mifa protested.

The pianist looked at her, and Mifa fell silent. She could tell that no words could keep him from going.