Chapter 2: Another War?

Rose soon came to regret telling Zack her real name. As he told her, his mouth gaped blatantly. "As in the Rose that fought with Dart to beat the tyrant Melbu Frahma?" He had asked stupefied. Rose nodded reluctantly, once more wishing she had chosen an alias.

"It's no big deal" she tried to play, but he appeared not to hear her.

"But you were pronounced dead with your lover Zeig" Zack replied, still in shock. "Bards sung of the unimaginable tales of your groups exploits in every tavern and inn, scrolls chronicling your journey according to the accounts of people who had met or helped you were written and passed over to royal persons and those close enough to be lucky enough to read them. No one since the Dragoons in the Dragon Campaign were hailed as much as you and your eight companions!"

Rose, partly surprised their journey became so widespread that even seeming simpletons such as this were made aware, was shadowed by what Zack could only interpret of deep sadness and regret. She was still mourning the death of her lover, who was taken away from her again by the cruelty of fate, just as they had reconciled their age old differences. The prattle of Zack's questions brought her out of her deepening stupor.

"How… how did you survive?" he asked frankly.

"It doesn't matter. What matters as we continue on to Fletz" Rose scowled unhappily. It was hard enough thinking about all of it in the recesses of her own mind, she was not about to talk about it with some stranger she had only just met. She continued to walk ahead, signifying the end of their conversation.

"But, I have many more questions to ask" Zack said as he chased his new companion. Rose just simply kept walking in front of him, oblivious to his queries.

When his babble didn't cease Rose stopped and turned to him, her glare as cold as ice. "You talk too much." Zack merely laughed.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

Rose face palmed internally. This was going to be a very gruelling journey.

They finally made their way to Fletz, the heartland of the otherwise desolate western region of Endiness, Tiberoa. The town hadn't changed a bit since she last visited, populated with people deeply connected with the stars and astronomy. Even the outlay of the town had changed little; painted white with dome houses atop a floor of equally pallid stone aside a gushing gully that separated the city into two halves. Even the dominating spires of the Twin Castle stood the same, a sign of timeless perpetuity in an era of ever changing landscape in wake of the fall of Melbu Frahma and the end of the Endiness war that spread to all its reaches.

When they reached their destination, it was well into the night. Rose was glad for the familiar covering of darkness. If her reputation had become as well spread as Zack made out, she did not want to be noticed by the villagers. Zack's house was just near the entrance, not far from the environmentalist women's house if Rose recalled which whom Albert spoke all night to, literally. When Rose entered the house she was rather surprised to see that it was well kept and clean. There was nothing worth mentioning outside of normal household items, a table, chairs, 2 rooms, a kitchen and various draws and other household appliances.

"Wait here for a tick, I'mma go get some medical supplies, won't be long" Zack assured as he disappeared into a room. Rose walked up to the nearby wall, and leaned against it, crossing her arms as she did so often when feeling pensive. She relieved some of the pressure of her wounded thigh. Now that the battle was well and truly over, pain was now eminent. It didn't bother her overmuch, but it was a noticeable throb. She didn't complain however, it was a familiar throb she had dealt with many, many times over the course of her overdrawn life.

"Here" Zack said as he returned with a medical case, holding it out for her to take. Rose opened it and extracted the necessary tools she'd need to stitch up the wound.

"You can use a chair if you'd prefer" Zack offered. Rose silently walked over to one, hoisted her injured leg on it, and immediately began to disinfect it. Zack watched her silently for a time, wondering why her top half was so well covered yet her bottom half was not. She wore a small ... skirt (for lack of a better term) like leggings that only protected the tops of her thighs, her right uninjured leg protected by a subsequent separate legging that began an inch or two where her waist armour had ended and ended below the beginning of boots. Yet her left leg was mostly naked till the rise of her boot. All in all, he thought her attire peculiar indeed.

"Do Dart and the rest know about your reappearance?" Zack eventually asked while he inspected his own wounds to see if any of them had become re-opened in the battle.

"No" Rose replied, keeping her attention on fixing her leg. She really wasn't keen for idle conversation.

"Why not? I'm sure they'd be happy to know you're not dead" Zack wondered intrigued.

"Perhaps so, but I am no further use to them. We have completed our mission that is all" Rose stated cynically.

"But you were all close right? Dart seemed rather distressed over your death" Zack explained to her. Rose winced slightly as she put the needle through the open wound, starting to stitch it.

"You know him?" Rose asked, surprising Zack with her first question of the evening. Zack shook his head.

"Just heresy. We get a lot of gossip in these parts, despite our isolation"

"It doesn't matter, they will be fine without me" Rose finished as she continued stitching. Zack decided it was best to leave this subject, at least for now. Instead he turned his attention to his own wounds.

"Damn it" Zack cursed as he saw blood began to flow as he examined the gash on his torso.

"What is it?" Rose inquired, still not drawing too much attention away from her stitching.

"My wound has opened back up" the black haired man replied unhappily. "Looks like I'll be stitching some as well."

Rose said nothing, only continued to stitch, grunting in more discomfort than pain every so often.

"You seem to cope with injuries pretty well" Zack commented as he took a needle and suture and began to stitch his own wound.

"It's nothing compared to the injuries I have endured in the past" Rose spoke nonchalantly. She then finished off her stitching, cutting the excess thread and examining her work. Despite her weariness, she managed to stitch well. It wouldn't open again unless she put excessive pressure on it.

"I don't doubt that" Zack replied, wincing in pain. It was evident that he was holding a lot of it in, to avoid himself looking weak she supposed. She studied the way he stitched, and then quietly walked up to him.

"No wonder" Rose mumbled from behind him. "Your stitching is inefficient. There is a much easier way" Rose suggested.

"Do enlighten me" Zack chocked out, barley able to hide the pain he was in. Rose took the needle off him, and then began to demonstrate on him. He soon felt relief from the pain he was in, making him realise how inefficient his stitching really was. "Not only is it less painful, if you circulate the needle like this, it also makes it harder for the wound to reopen" Rose explained as she continued to exhibit on the nearly stitched up wound.

"Thank you" he said, giving her another warm smile.

"No need to thank me. I did it because I wanted to that's all" she justified. Zack nodded as Rose finished up the stitching. "If you don't require anything else of me, I would like to sleep. I have not had any sleep in days." Zack smiled in response.

"Sure. The room to your left is a spare room. The bed is made, so do make yourself comfortable. There is spare clothes and a bath should you require it." Rose nodded in response, and then disappeared into the spare room, where she had a quick bath then crashed on the bed. Not moments later, sleep consumed her.


Rose woke up the next morning to the ovation of the citizens of Fletz. She let out a groan, and then slowly opened her eyes, taking a few seconds to adjust to the new sunlight that shone through the now open window adjacent to her bed. It didn't take her long to identify the cheers. Princess Emily was visiting the town it appeared. She got up groggily at first, taking a couple of minutes for her drained body wake up completely.

Damn it, it's already this late? Rose stated more than actually question, for she knew the answer. She had planned on getting a few hours of sleep, then leaving at dawn before Zack could wake up. Her body apparently had other plans. Rose was ripped away from her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"You awake yet Rose?" the voice asked. Rose immediately identified it as Zack.

"Yes" She responded half heartedly. She felt more tired than she had felt before she actually slept.

"Can I come in?" Zack asked, not wanting to upset or startle her by barging in.

Rose walked up and opened the door. Before her was Zack, newly dressed in a red leather armour that fitted him perfectly, its sleeves ending at his wrists. It instantly reminded Rose of Darts armour and a pang of nostalgia hit her so hard it was hard not to wallow in it. His thighs were covered in silver coloured iron that finished below his knee. He had matching silver grievers.

Why were you not wearing that yesterday? Then: Why are you wearing the armour now, come to think of that? She grew suspicious once more.

"Want some food? I'm sure you're hungry" Zack asked. It took Rose a moment to register he was holding a tray of food. A soup full of various vegetables in a nice white and blue bowl was the only thing visible on the tray.

"Thanks" Rose muttered as she took the bowl, sat down on the bed and began to eat her soup.

"So how is it?" Zack asked smiling.

"It's fine" Rose replied, not looking up at him. She continued sipping at her soup.

"Not one for talking, even when rested?" Zack said quietly, knowing what the answer would be.

"I tried to make that as obvious as I could yesterday" Rose admitted, still not looking at him. "But take no offence; it's just how I am." She slowly moved a few strands of her dark hair that fell in front of her and neatly placed it behind her ear. Zack took a moment to admire her elegance. Her dark and mysterious nature aroused his interest greatly. Zack once again decided he'd try to communicate with her, despite the earlier lack of desire to do such a thing.

"So what's it like being a renowned Dragoon?" Zack asked excitedly. It came across as giddy and fan boyish- a certain gush he hated to have in his voice, but he thought it better to approach her with a topic of neutrality rather than personal.

Rose stopped sipping her soup for a moment and considered the question carefully.

"It was a more of a burden then a joy" she replied slowly.

"At least it was an answer besides be quiet" Zack muttered. She continued to eat her soup. Just when Zack though he'd have to ask another question to keep the conversation ball rolling, Rose continued.

"I am no longer a Dragoon" she said plainly. Zack's eye shot open.

"Why not? I thought you were-"he was cut off by Rose.

"After we defeated Melbu Frahma, the Darkness Dragoon Spirit decided I was no longer needed. My mission was completed after all, and it is the spirit that chooses the user, not vice-versa."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that" Zack responded sympathetically. Rose took another sip of her soup, deciding she quite enjoyed the taste.

"After the explosion, I awoke to find a bright silver aura surrounded my body which remained unharmed. My initial thought was I was dead, but fate had other plans. An image of..." she paused a moment as a flash of her once good friend Shirley entering her mind. "An old friend appeared before me, eventually disappearing into the hazel fog that surrounded the area I was in. When the fog evaporated I scanned the area and realized was no longer on the moon, but rather back on the solid ground of Serdio. It was then I registered I was alive.

"I see" Zack said, listening to her story intently. He was about to ask who this friend was, if it were one of her travelling companions was, but decided he'd let her continue.

"I looked around for my Dragoon Spirit, but I could not feel is resonance." Rose paused, to take the last remaining sips of her soup, then finished. "After it became evident I was no longer a chosen Dragoon, so I travelled around aimlessly and ended up here."

Zack nodded, taking in all she had just explained to him. "Who is this friend of yours?" Zack asked, relenting to his curiosity. If this person could bring Rose back from the brink of death then this friend had to be a powerful ally indeed.

Rose couldn't help but be exasperated a little. She didn't feel complied to explain the smaller details.

"An old friend, that's all" she stated ambiguously.

Zack decided he'd probe no further. "Hope you find Zeig" he commented. Rose shook her head softly before replying.

"I am not a foolish woman. I have already resigned to the fact that he did not share my fortune."

Feeling nothing more could be said on the subject, Zack walked over and picked up her bowl of what used to be soup, where he would leave the room to wash it up with the rest of the dishes.

"Need anything else?" He asked before he left. The dark women shook her head, signifying she was satisfied. Zack held his gaze on her a moment longer, then exited the room.

Rose contemplated on where she would head off to next. In all her travelling she never had a specific goal or objective, she just wondered around aimlessly, trying to keep herself out of the despair that threatened to consume her soul. No matter how many pointless battles or how many near inhabitable areas she scaled, it was a losing battle, every day drawing closer to the time the weight of losing her only lover and all her friends would crush her completely. Coupled with the fact she was no longer a Dragoon Knight or the soldier responsible for killing the Moon Child, her only goal in life, she felt utterly lost, unanchored in a vast see of emptiness.

She sighed, doing away with such thoughts, at least for the time being. Perhaps she would try and board the Queen Fury and go to Mille Seseau, where should would eventually make her way to Death Frontier, a somehow fitting destination. She exited the room, and entered the living room.

"Thanks for the hospitality, but I need to-" Rose was cut off as she heard screams of pain and the sounds of weapons clashing.

"ALERT! ALERT! FLETZ IS UNDER ATTACK!" voices warbled like the sound of an automated alarm. Men began to scream out before they were brutally slaughtered by unknown assailants. Rose tensed then cast a glanced towards Zack who was already scrambling for his weapon. By some non-verbal agreement they both ushered out of the house and into the chaos filled streets.

Under attack was an understatement. Unknown soldiers began to pour in from all entry points of the town relentlessly, slaughtering soldiers, men, women and children without pause. Upon closer inspection Rose could distinguish the familiar Sandorian emblem branded on their dark steel armour and shields. Yet that wasn't the biggest shock, the real incredulity lay in the fact she could see them flying. They had wings and flew much like the Winglies. But that was impossible, yet the similarities with the Winglies didn't end there. They were casting high level magic, raining death from above, the poor victims below being vaporised by the force of such powerful spells.

What the hell is going on?

"Look out!" Zack screamed as a fireball shot towards Rose. She had just enough time to move out of the way, but the shockwave of the blast knocked her off her feet. Zack jumped up and attempted to stab solider that was in mid flight with his spear, threatening to lance a momentarily vulnerable Rose, however the soldier simply blocked it and brushed him off with ease of a season fighter. The distraction did allow Rose to get to her feet and get herself in a position to defend herself though.

"As if invading Bale wasn't enough for you bastards!" Zack cursed at the soldier in fury. Rose noted the fact that the soldiers appeared somehow recognizable to Zack, but such questions would have to be asked after the battle had come to a close. The soldier meantime just stared at him, nothing in his eyes but emptiness, and prepared for another attack. Preparing would be the only and last thing he would do though as he made the foolish mistake of taking his attention off Rose. Before the hovering soldier knew it, he was impaled from behind by Rose's rapier, bringing the soldier to the ground with a loud thud. She drew her sword out of the groaning soldier with fluid grace, then walked up to meet Zack.

Before they could say or plan anything an older stranger appeared behind them. He was elderly by the look of his worn face behind a mane of bleach blonde facial hair that otherwise obscured his face. To further support this analysis his blue eyes (although lighter than rose's) blazed the spirit of a veteran under the short tuft of matching blonde hair that shadowed his forehead. Rose steeled herself, unsure if he was friend or foe. He wore different garments to the invading soldiers, opting instead for a robe of forest green with a kind of roaring dragon emblemized on his chest. Yet for all she knew it could simply mean he was some kind of elite or captain.

"We must escape. Follow me" The man stated. His voice was deep and commanding. Zack looked stricken for a moment, glancing at him then around the falling town.

"The city will fall, there are too many soldiers, all you'll gain from defending it now is a grim death!" Fury clouded Zack's eyes as he resigned to the strangers words.

"Damn it all" Zack hissed as he grabbed Roses hand. "We must flee. Don't worry, I know this man, he's trustworthy" he told her as he encouraged her to run with them. She didn't like this at all, but as she glanced at the city that was doomed to fall under invasion, she saw she had little choice. Trust it seemed, something she had something doing under the best of times, was something she'd have to do now more than ever.

Not having much of an alternative she complied. They ran to the east, evading the combating soldiers and moving towards the cleft that would lead them to an escape route out of Fletz. It wasn't going to be so easy however, three hovering soldiers barred their path.

"I'll handle this" Zack said. He walked up forward, and then extended his arms as far as they would go to the sides as a shimmer of red, glowing power began to envelop him.

A field of burning fire engulfed Zack. At first Rose thought it was the magic of the soldiers, casting some kind of incinerating spell of fiery death, but his screams, not one of pain but of focused pressure, alluded to the real fact: He was no dying but changing. He curled up into a half prone position, and then expanded his body to its full length, the magnificent flames diminishing, leaving a new Zack in their wake. He was now shrouded in blazing red scale like armour, which covered him from head to toe. Two large wings were on either side of his back, their almost transparent like appearance reflecting the nearby fragments of heat and dust. Rose gasped in surprise as she witnessed Zack's transformation.

"Explosion!" Zack cried as he flew up in the air, then sped down and stabbed his spear into the ground. Hot rocks of flame began to fly out of the ground at frightening speeds, engulfing the three soldiers in blistering heat. They screamed and cried in agony, until they finally hit the ground, no more than cinder and bones.

Rose was still awestruck. How did he acquire the Red Eye Dragoon Spirit? Zack then transformed back into his human self, an effort which took a visible toll. "Time to go" He ordered as he grabbed Rose and headed into the barrens beyond.