Star Ocean: The Second Story

The Unknown Threat

By CodenniumRed

Disclaimer: Star Ocean and Star Ocean Ex are the property of their respective companies. The fanfiction I write in no way reflects any desire for profit on my behalf.

Chapter 1: A New Menace:

Ashton Anchors, having just finished another adventure, was pooped. He was really looking forward to a vacation - being a mercenary sure was tough. Arlia village, with its quaint, rural appeal, was his final destination. Besides, Ashton longed to see an old friend; a friend who had saved his own life countless times on the biggest adventure of his life.

However, he didn't have any time to relax now; he needed to obtain new equipment, in case more trouble was to abound. A new pair of short swords was especially tempting at this time; all of the advanced weaponry he had obtained on Nede was taken by Leon for study, in his laboratory in Lacour.

"Gyoro... Ururun," Ashton called, noticing that his friends were becoming restless. "Are you guys alright?"

The two demon dragons responded with low-pitched growls, which Ashton knew to be grunts of affirmative meaning - this despite their impatience for a nice, long break, Ashton knew. Yes, the two dragons still remained on his back, despite countless efforts to remove them.

In essence, Ashton had grown a certain kinship towards the dragon duo - all of his latter attempts at removing them have all been with the intent of keeping them intact as well. Unfortunately, this made the process all the more difficult....

But here he was now, milling about in the busy streets of the town of Salva. Ashton decided to stop at Ferguson's - he was in dire need of donning his rusted steel companions in favor of a newer pair of short swords.

********

Ashton entered the weapon shop wearily. Thoughts about purchasing a new weapon seemed to taint his craving for a vacation. Ashton then sighted Ferguson, who had supplied him with weapons in the past - a past not far after the time Ashton and his Dragons merged. Therefore, the sight of Ashton's awkward frame was no surprise to the fellow blacksmith.

"Hey there!" Ashton exclaimed, greeting his old friend.

"Hail!" Ferguson replied. "How might I help you?"

"I need a new pair of short swords," Ashton exclaimed, his old pair having worn blades. "What have you got?"

"The best we have are some Scyther," Ferguson replied. "But these are a very special and rare variety of them. These Scyther are engraved with powerful Heraldric Crests - if you know even a slight amount of Heraldry, you can imbue the sword's powers."

"Alright, I'll take two of them," Ashton hastily decided. Ashton and Ferguson then made the trade between sword and FOL, steel and currency.

"So, what's been happening?" Ashton wondered.

Ferguson seemed to become weary. "This is where things take a turn for the worse. Caravans traveling between here, Cross, and Arlia have been being attacked my bands of Marauders. Trade is being disrupted - and all of the attacks seem to be linked to a single group of these pillagers, based on similarities of attack pattern."

"Arlia?" Ashton thought. He hoped that his friend, Rena, had been spared from this new evil. Thoughts of her safety superceded his own.

"The king of Cross already sent out troops to search for the Marauders," Ferguson added. "But, alas... they have not been heard from again...."

Ashton could say nothing - perhaps, lives had already been taken by these pillagers.

"Therefore, King Cross is issuing a large money reward to anyone willing to help in his cause."

"What of the people who were in the Caravans?" Ashton wondered, concern still mounting. Despite the fact that he was a mercenary, he was one who cared about other people; cared for more than just money....

"Most have gone missing, or perished," Ferguson added, sadly. "Very few have returned with stories about these Marauders - descriptions which, at times, portray these Marauders as more than just average man."

"I have to do something, then!" Ashton exclaimed, with much vigor in his voice.

"Act on your own if you must," Ferguson added. "But me might never know of their true intentions. Just remember that trained fighters like yourself have perished at the hands of these pillagers."

Ashton replied, with an extra hint of seriousness in his voice. "Where's their stronghold?"

Ferguson replied, in a low, quiet voice. He did so in a tone of haste. "In between here and Arlia lies the area in which their hidden stronghold is believed to reside. That is where the king's soldiers disappeared."

"Why in between here and Arlia?" Ashton wondered. "Doesn't more trade occur between here and Cross? You would think that their stronghold would lie in an area in which more caravans would pass through...."

"Again," Ferguson added, "Their true intentions are shrouded in mystery. We have no idea of what they want - perhaps they are looking for something specific."

"Well," Ashton said, in a concluding voice. "I'm off...."

"Take care on the roads," Ferguson replied. "Be sure to return safe. And seek shelter only here or in Arlia - those knaves tend to avoid domains of the public."

"I will return safely - you can be sure of that." Perhaps Rena was still safe after all.

With that, Ashton left, in the direction of Arlia.

********

Ashton plodded slowly through the path to Arlia Village, intent of finding any clues of a strike on account of the Marauders. He would have to search thoroughly for any signs of struggle - their hideout was bound to be thoroughly hidden.

Gyoro and Ururun were becoming restless. They displayed their agony with disgruntled growls.

Ashton seemingly replied to these grunts. "I know we've been walking quite a ways. But we have to find some sort of clue of the Marauder's presence...."

Ashton wound through the path for a time longer, weary of his surroundings. He then smelled an odd stench....

"Guys," Ashton started, referring to his dragons, "I think we've found something of importance...."

With that, Ashton continued along the path, toward the source of the smell....

********

Strewn across a clearing was both wooden and metallic debree, along with smoldering remains of an obvious struggle. Somehow, the powers of Heraldry seemed to be involved.

"I think we could be dealing with something stronger than I originally thought," Ashton concluded. Indeed, these pillagers took the trouble to disassemble what appeared to be a carriage thoroughly.

He searched throughout the debree for anything he could find. Perhaps the Marauders left something of importance behind. This was unlikely, but there was no harm in false hope.

"Hold it right there!" A dark, sinister voice spoke.

Ashton turned around to see three dark figures standing before him. Each was clad in gray, plated armor, which emitted a reddish glow. Their faces were shrouded by dark shadows, their heads covered in horned, barbed helms. The figure on the left wielded a mace; the one on the right possessed a sword. The central figure - the one who had spoken - brandished an axe.

The central figure continued to speak, in a voice unlike that of a common person. "Comply to our wishes... or die...."

Ashton knew what to do now. "Gyoro... Ururun," He started, "It's time to give these new swords of mine a try...."

********

The figure in the center attacked first, swinging his axe toward Ashton's head. Ashton quickly parried his attack, and countered with a blow to the Marauder's backside.

As he did this, the pillager with the sword attacked next. With his free hand, Ashton struck the sword-wielder in the ribs. "You guys choose the wrong mercenary to fight with today," Ashton added confidently.

Suddenly, however, the unexpected happened. Despite the fresh wound, the Marauder got back up on his feet!

"What!?" Ashton wondered to himself. Perhaps, these were more than mere mortals?

Ashton stood back, readying a special attack of his. He would draw upon the power of the Heraldric crests which lie engraved upon his twin Scyther. He emitted a dark blue glow, and held his swords in a crossed position. From the Scyther emerged several blue spheres of light, which quickly found their way toward it's targets. With the force of a thousand kilotons, each of the Marauders were blown backward. They staggered to their feet, possessing more stamina than the common man.

"You guys just don't know when to quit," Ashton jeered. With that, he proceeded to finish each pillager off.

"Leaf slash!" Ashton yelled, sending the sword-wielding Marauder exploding in a fine haze of red light - much like the plate armor seemed to emit. The magical leaves had simply penetrated the plate armor - quite effectively....

He then finished of the axe-bearing Marauder with a well-placed cross-slash attack. The pillager screamed in agony, before once again exploding into a mass of red steam.

The third, mace-bearing Marauder still lye on the ground, injured but not dead. If more was to be found out about these guys, Ashton decided, then it was perhaps best to question one of them....

********

Ashton approached the figure which still lie on the ground, intent for answers.

"Who are you!? What is the meaning of this!?" Ashton said this in a menacing voice.

The final Marauder answered, in a disgruntled voice. "Our purposes shall be buried in mystery. Our intents... shrouded and concealed until the time comes...."

"If you tell me where you reside, perhaps I will spare you....!"

"Never.........."

Ashton was getting frustrated. Perhaps he had not been insistent enough....

"WHERE!!!!?" Ashton's voice boomed, while he pressed his Scyther closer to the Marauder's throbbing, pulsating throat....

The pillager still refused to answer. "That... you shall never know...."

It was clear that nothing was to be obtained from this Marauder. Calmly, Ashton replied, "So be it.........."

Ashton then thrust his blade through the Marauder's body. The pillager gurgled a bit; then, silence. He disappeared into a fine red mist; the armor was now cold and static, no longer emitting the reddish glow....

What had that last Marauder implied? For some reason, Ashton had a feeling that his words concealed a deeper meaning... a meaning which might prove useful....

His thoughts were interrupted by Gyoro and Ururun - again.

"I know we've been out a while," Ashton answered to their complaining. "... Perhaps you're right - we ought to take a rest for a while..."

However, Ashton knew his share of common sense. "But we'll need to head to Arlia - it's unsafe to camp out with the Marauders about. The gates of Arlia will prove to be a safe haven."

Ashton would have to hurry to Arlia - night was quickly approaching. He quickly found his way back to the main path.

********

Darkness descended quickly - far quicker than Ashton could arrive at Arlia. Suddenly, trees which seemed to pose no threat now gave off a sinister, haunting appearance. Their limbs extended like the claws of a great animal, complete with pointed twigs at the tips.

Ashton, however, paid no attention to such. He was not only a grown man, but a mercenary soldier, ready for anything. Therefore, he only looked upward to check for ambushes, if more Marauders were to strike....

Further down the dark path still Ashton traveled, intent on reaching Arlia as soon as possible. The winds began to pick up, making the trees around him. It seemed as if a storm was coming - if so, he would have to increase his rate of travel.

However, such was hindered by another ambush. A single Marauder dropped down from one of the trees, followed my a massive thud upon the ground. Evil intentions seemingly emitted from his mere stare....

Ashton carefully observed his opponent. This one, he distinguished, seemed different from the others. This pillager was a few feet too big to even be remotely mistaken for a normal man, and he emitted a dark bluish glow, as opposed to the red of the earlier Marauders. In his right hand, he carried a giant, iron Trident.

"I shall avenge the death of my brothers," the Marauder spoke, "... Your mangled corpse shall be a flagstone to my victory!"

"Guys..." Ashton started, "... I have a bad feeling about this...."

********

The Marauder charged at Ashton, with all the force of a supernatural being. Ponderous, yet quick footsteps made the ground rumble beneath. As fast as Ashton could parry one's attacks, this Marauder was faster; before Ashton could effectively dodge the charge, the Marauder struck his trident at Ashton, knocking him off his feet!

Before Ashton had time to reconcile, the Marauder readied an attack spell. He held his Trident upward, seemingly to summon forces from the storm. A blazing ball of lightning then seared the air, striking Ashton with horrifying precision.

Ashton could only scream, the pain too much to bear. "Now's not the time...." Ashton finally stated to himself. He refused to die this way. To die without seeing Rena….

Beaten, yet not defeated, Ashton managed to stand up upon his two feet after all. Then, he once again crossed his two Scyther, readying his attack spell....

"Dark energy!" Ashton yelled, once again sending a volley of searing blue spheres toward the Marauder, like the others before him.

The pillager reeled back from the force of the impact. Unfortunately, he still seemed more than ready to fight.

"Gyoro, Ururun!" Ashton called, "Quickly, dragon breath!"

The two dragons quickly grew in size. Ice and Fire alike found it's mark, again striking the Marauder. He countered, however, with a flip and an attempted jab from his Trident at Ashton. Such a blow could be fatal....

However, luck shone upon Ashton today; he parried the attack and returned his own backhand to the Marauder's back. Ashton was unable to strike him in the back of the head, like he wanted to - the Marauder was simply too tall and bulky to permit such....

The Marauder, though, was seriously weakened at last, for he displayed more dizzied martial motions. Ashton could at last dodge his attacks with ease.

It was then Ashton's turn to finish off the Marauder. "Hurricane Slash!" He yelled. Perhaps, with the existing storm, his move would become more powerful than otherwise possible....

The winds from the storm seemed to gain a sense of additional control; they formed into a large whirlwind of sorts, with electrical forces thrown into the mix as well. The Marauder was lifted up into the air, roughly fifteen feet. After being battered upon the nearby trees, the winds subsided, throwing the Marauder onto the ground. With that, he combusted in a fine, glowing blue mist, the plate armor being thrown across the clearing and the Trident limping to the ground below.

********

Had he really won? It was hard to believe the victory which had just been one - seldom has Ashton's life been in so much danger, despite his past experiences. Now, however, it was time to hurry towards Arlia - he would need to do so even quicker now - several ugly wounds reared their ugly selves....

"Gyoro... Ururun," Ashton wondered, "Are you guys alright?"

The two demon dragons grunted in reluctant agreement.

The thought that disturbed Ashton the most, however, was why the Marauder had attacked him. It was as if he had searched him out. Perhaps, Ashton thought, his destruction of the earlier Marauders initiated this one to attack. He had said something about revenge, after all....

He thought all of this as he headed towards the direction of Arlia, which lie just beyond the forest....