Hey all. Here's the next part. I forgot to write anything during all of the MR4 hype. I hope that you all enjoy Part XII!

It was a cloudy and cold day in the Parepare region. A blizzard had recently passed over, and all the land had been covered in a thick blanket of pure white snow. A rabbit pops out of the snow, and starts to nose around, only to be spooked back into its burrow by something large flying overhead. Looking up from the rabbits view would have scared you too. A large skeleton of a dragon zoomed overhead with a man riding it.

The dragon was heading towards a large crystalline castle that loomed up out of the bleakness of the frozen tundra. It landed on a large platform jutting out from the awe striking building. The man that was riding this dragon was about six foot, with long flowing silver hair. He jumped off the beast and walked into the castle of crystal.

He came to a large courtyard. Beauty of unimaginable magnitude was found here: statues depicting gallant Durahans doing battle against rogue Dragons and beautiful Pixies playing harps, violins and the like, various large shrubs cut into shapes of every monsters imaginable, a large fish pond with a Lesione fountain spewing water in many directions, many strange and wonderful flowers, and a bench in the middle with a small man sitting on it looking quite bored. The silver-haired man calmly walked over to him.

“This garden gets pretty dull after a while. Couldn’t we have a change of scenery? I would love to have a battle. You see, my monsters are as bored as I,” said the small man with a friendly smile on his face.

Jacques answered with the same smile. “Gavin, you know I can’t let you do that, or I wont get paid. That wouldn’t be good for either of us, now would it?”

“Don’t you mean that it wouldn’t be very good for you? But the again, that’s you Jacques, always thinking about your next payday. I see that you have a new monster…again. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, you could keep one for more than a year?”

“Hmm…that’s a new concept…keeping a monster after its usefulness. IT doesn’t really work for my line of business. To answer your question, he’s a Diaboros, a Dragon/Joker. They’re very good for high speeds and fighting.”

“That reminds me, where are my monsters. I should really like to see them.”

“Ah, another question you know the answer to. If you were allowed your monsters, who knows what you could do. That’s quoting my beneficiary directly. Trust me, crossing him would not be a good idea. He’s, well, a bit touchy when it comes to not having things his own way. Oh well, he’s pays very nicely and has easy assignments for me.”

“Ha! Capturing me, easy? I believe that it took you a few months to track me down. You still have to get that other one.”

“Yes, it did take a while, but I remember that as Xavier took you away, you were screaming with fear. That was pretty funny to watch.”

“That wasn’t fear, that was pain. Your Diaboros has a strong grip, my friend. I still have a few cuts on my left side. That also reminds me, that James has been pretty good at eluding you so far. I thought you were the best tracker in the Academy. Has someone lost his touch?”

“No, no. I’ve been busy with bigger fish. I have just come from visiting a young woman named Hannah. You fought her at the tournament, did you not? I wonder why the Soul Monsters chose her. She seems to be pretty weak. The real question, though, is why is this James a Soul Master? The Gitan and the Ogyo were just discovered to be Soul Monsters and they pop up so suddenly.”

“It’s simple. He was Thomas’ assistant when he was ranching in that small village. Thomas must have liked him enough to give him the Gitan and the Ogyo. You know as well as I that Thomas always had a soft spot for rookies that need their chance. He was always doing that sort of stuff at the Academy.” It started to rain.

“Oh….it’s raining. Shall we go inside?” asked Jacques.

“Do I really have a choice? I am your “prisoner” after all.”

“Hahaha. You’re right. Thanks for the laugh. I needed one.”

“It’s no laughing matter. You used to call yourself my friend. What happened to you after The Incident?”

“Well, uh,” Jacques had a look of worry and despair on his face. “Nothing. I got into the mercenary business. It’s as simple as that.” Gavin didn’t believe him for a second. Even after years of not seeing his old friend, he could still tell if something was wrong.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Gavin decided not to prod the subject any further. After this, there was a long and uncomfortable. Everybody knows the kind. The soft patting of a Mocchi’s feet interrupted it. It came into the courtyard and handed Jacques a note. “It looks like dinner is ready. Chives, tell Cook that I am coming in and to have an extra setting for our guest. I wish to continue my conversation with Gavin over dinner. What do you think Gav?”

“Depends… what are you having?”

“It’s nothing special. I believe it is turkey with the works. Thanksgiving was this Thursday and I didn’t have a chance to sit down and eat. I was dealing with other things, you see. Care to join me?”

“Yes, I am quite hungry.” Jacques and his prisoner walked inside the castle to sup. The way they acted, you would have never known the animosity and the long held grudges felt between the two. The rain turned quickly into snow, and another blizzard started to form. It felt very good to be inside.