On to the next chapter, where we get ourselves some reunions. ...Yeah, call me a sappy writer if you must, but I hope you enjoy anyway.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Swaine lied under a tree by the springs, enjoying the shade as he waited for Oliver to arrive. It wasn't often he got time to himself these days- he was either always at the palace with Marcassin, helping handle the kingdom's affairs, or with Oliver and Esther on a short getaway. He was used to being alone- he had spent 15 years of his life on his own, before the young wizard mended his heart- and during their journey to defeat Shadar, there was rarely a time he got out on his own.
But, he didn't necessarily mind the company either, even though it was a couple of young teenage kids. Sometimes he thought he was more of a babysitter to them- though, considering how much they could do on their own and how powerful Oliver had become, he dismissed the idea. He had made a good group of friends, regardless of their ages, and was willing to stick with them. ...Just so long as he could get some peace and quiet.
"Swaine!"
The thief sighed, recognizing that voice from anywhere- it was Esther, possibly coming to chew him out for wandering off, or to tell him Oliver had arrived. When he looked over, he realized it was neither option. "What is it, Esther? ...And who's this?" he asked, seeing a boy with black hair and white bandana standing by Esther.
"This is Zippy. He said he's looking for some friends- and one of them is a wizard, like Oliver!" Esther explained, excitedly. "They're from his world, too!"
Swaine looked over at Zippy, who gave a grin and seemed to be blushing. "H-Hi..." he said, and for some reason his tone almost sounded like a girl's.
"Hi there... Esther, didn't your dad tell you not to talk to strangers?" Swaine remarked.
"If he did, I wouldn't have to deal with your company," Esther huffed. "Anyway... Zippy said his friends travelled to this world, but they got separated."
Swaine rubbed his face, sighing in annoyance. "And I take it YOU volunteered us to help look for them?"
"Well, why not? We've been all over the world more than once, and Zippy said it's their first time here."
The thief looked at Zippy, questionably. "Is that so? How did you learn about it?"
"My friend's a wizard, he's the one who told us about it first. He learned to use Gateway, and brought us here." Zippy told him, then sighed. "But, I suppose if your friend isn't up for the task, I could search by myself. I'm sure my machete and gun can fend off any fierce creatures..."
"Gun? You have a gun, too?" Esther gasped.
Zippy reached into his belt, where a small, silver gun was packed. Swaine observed it- it was different than his own pistol, the barrel of it more rectangular, and the back of it could slide back (Zippy demonstrated) to be cocked, and the bullets looked different, smaller and more like tiny missiles. "Amazing... I've never seen a gun like this before- not even in Oliver's world," he commented.
"We come from a far part in Oliver's world," Zippy explained, holstering the gun.
"Speaking of which, he should be here any minute. Lets head back in the city," Esther suggested.
Zippy shrugged in agreement, and they started walking.
Swaine followed, a bit fascinated by this stranger, but shook his head. Don't be easily amazed, you twit. he told himself. You have no idea who this kid is- or how his wizard-friend found out about this world, if it's their first time here.
The thief thought about asking Zippy some more questions, but was interrupted when there was a blue flash of light at the front of the city... and there stood Oliver- with another stranger.
"Oliver!" Esther exclaimed.
"VINCENT!" Zippy exclaimed even louder, running over.
"ZIP!" The stranger, Vincent, called and ran over, both of them hugging.
"You must be one of Vincent's friends," Oliver said, pointing out the obvious.
"And you must be Oliver, the wizard Esther told me about," Zippy said, shaking his hand.
"And you must be the wizard Zippy told us about!" Esther said to Vincent.
"Got it in one," Swaine commented, sarcastically. He crossed his arms. "Well, there's one friend of yours down, Zippy. Maybe this won't be as hard as we thought,"
"Too bad Liz isn't here. She's an expert at tracking people," Vincent said.
"If Liz were here, we'd just have to find Zeke- and with his vision, he'd figure out our next destination and meet us there!" Zippy replied.
"Vision?" Oliver asked, curiously.
"Oh, yeah. My brother has this gift... but, he hates it when I talk about him behind his back, so I'll let him tell you about it."
Swaine arched an eyebrow. Tracking, special gifts... and Vincent is a wizard. Why do I get the feeling this lot planned all this? he wondered.
"Why don't we call Tengri for a ride?" Esther suggested. "We could find your friends easier with his help,"
"Tengri? Who's Tengri?" Vincent asked... though the thief noticed the wizard was trying hard to suppress a grin.
"I'll show you... just, um, don't get too scared, it hurts his feelings." Oliver said, then took out his Dragon-Horn and blew it.
Within moments, there was a "Kyah!" as a large purple dragon with horns, spikes, and wearing what appeared to be a giant dog-collar came swooping down. "Vincent, Zippy, meet Tengri." Esther said.
"This is awesome..." Zippy said, eyes wide and grinning.
"Just wait until you ride him," Oliver chuckled.
"Sweet!" Vincent exclaimed.
"I call shot-gun!" Zippy added.
"But, you've already got a gun!" Esther replied.
"Oh, no. It's a term we use in our world that describes calling dibs in the front seat of a car," Zippy said.
"I've never heard it before," Oliver said.
"We're, um, a little ahead of our time," Vincent told him, walking up to Tengri and stroking him. "What do you think, Tengri? Feel like giving us a lift?"
"Kyah!" was the dragon's reply, though he seemed to be smiling.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Esther giggled, and they all climbed on.
Swaine sat in the back, as he usually did. Vincent sat by Oliver, asking him how flying a dragon worked, the younger wizard showing him that in order to steer, you just had to lean a certain way. Esther sat by Zippy, who was enjoying the ride.
The thief kept his eye on the strangers. So far, they seemed pretty friendly... but he was wise not to let his guard down until he got all the facts.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Vincent's POV
One of my favorite parts in the game was flying Tengri.
But in real life... it was far more awesome!
As we soared through the sky, the wind rushing in our faces, I couldn't help but grin. Below, I could make out the desert, Castaway Cove just a mile or two away, the ocean not too far off. Oliver showed me how flying Tengri worked, where you just had to lean certain ways- left to go left, right for right, forward to go faster, and back to slow down or stop.
I was really eager to give it a try, but had to keep calm. We had just met the group, after all, so I knew I would have to wait before asking, "Hey, can I take over steering the dragon?". Tengri would have to get used to me, too... though I had a feeling the dragon would warm up to me quick, as most reptiles did.
I looked back at Zippy, who I swear was thinking up references from How To Train Your Dragon. She kept gazing down at the scenery, up at the clouds we passed, and exchanging smiles with Esther. I noticed Swaine was keeping an eye on us- probably cautious about riding with a bunch of strangers, which I could understand.
"There's Teeheeti," Oliver told me, pointing down at an island. "That's where our friend, Mr. Drippy lives."
My smile grew wider. "I can't wait to meet him," I said, ready to burst with excitement.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
3rd Person POV
When Marcassin said he and Liz would be taking a ship to the island, she expected a boat in the water...
Not a giant air-ship!
"You... you own an air-ship?" she marveled, as the vessel hovered onto the water for them to board.
"Not really. It actually belongs to Kublai, the Sky Pirate," Marcassin told her. "He was visiting the Great Sage, Khulan, and came by along the way, and offered to take me to the island."
"Sky pirate?" For some reason, when she heard the term, all Liz could think about was Don Karnage from Tailspin. "You trust a pirate?"
"Well... In the past, I wouldn't have, but a long has changed in the past year. We're all allies now. And, I suppose, he wants to make up for stealing from me a long time ago. ...Come, I'll introduce you,"
They boarded the air-ship, titled The Iron Wyvern, and there stood a tanned-skin man with long black hair, wearing a helmet, armor, and giving a fierce-yet-friendly grin. "Ahoy, your highness! I see ye've brought a friend along! Who might this lovely lady be?" he asked.
"This is Liz. She claims to be from Oliver's world, and is looking for her friends. I plan on taking her with me to see Oliver, to see if he could be of help,"
"'Could be'? Ha! You mean Oliver will be of help! If that boy can battle and ride dragons, unite kingdoms, and take down Shadar, there'd be a safe bet he'll help ya find your friends!"
Liz smiled. Apparently, everyone thought pretty high of Oliver, which gave her a bit of relief. "Wonderful," she said.
"Best if ye brace yourself, lass, we'll be takin' to the air shortly,"
Liz nodded, walking along the steel deck of the metallic vessel. It began to hover, and she steadied herself, watching as it rose off the waters and into the clouds, sailing through the air. She looked at the area below, seeing several islands in the distance, one of them not too far.
Marcassin stood next to her. "Over there is Perdida," he said, pointing north-west to an island. "That's where the Great Sage, Khulan, resides. She used to be queen of Xanadu, but her kingdom fell at the mercy of Shadar, but she managed to find peace in the village." he pointed a little more to the west. "Beyond it is the Winterlands... and to the south of that is the Summerlands."
"Amazing... You must have travelled a lot to know all this,"
"Well, I've mostly studied maps, but I have travelled with Oliver, Esther, and my brother, Gascon, and learned more about locations that way." he pointed to a small island to the south-east, where they were heading. "That's the island of Teeheeti, where we're going. They should be there by now,"
"Oh my gosh!" Liz gasped, seeing something flying towards the island. "Is that... Is that a dragon?"
"Aye, that it be!" Kublai laughed, looking through a spy-glass. "That be my old friend, Tengri. 'Took a likin' to Oliver and his mates, so I allowed him to tag along with them. Seems that he's given them a lift to the island. ...Oh? What's this?"
"What is it, Captain?" Marcassin asked.
"It seems our wizard-friend has a few new faces with him... Ha! And one of them looks just like a pirate! Though, I don't recognize a face like that from anywhere... actually... hmm, I can't tell whether it be a lad or a lass,"
Liz's eyes widened, and she approached Kublai. "Might I take a look, Captain?" she asked.
"Aye, go right ahead, lass!" Kublai handed her the spyglass.
She looked down at the island, and a smile grew to her face. "I take it you know them?" Marcassin guessed.
"Yeah... I believe my friends have met your friends," she replied.
Kublai let out a laugh. "Well, now! Talk about coincidences!" he exclaimed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Here comes Marcassin," Oliver stated after they landed on the beach, seeing the Iron Wyvern hovering down, a plank being lowered as Marcassin walked onto the beach. "But, who's that with him?"
"It's Liz!" Zippy exclaimed, running forth with Vincent. Oliver, Swaine, and Esther followed them. "LIZ!"
"Zippy! Vincent!" Liz exclaimed, running over and hugging her friends. "Oh, thank God! Where did you guys end up?"
"Al-Mamoon, and Ding Dong Dell," Vincent told her. "What about you?"
"Hamelin. ...Marcassin, here, helped me find you guys,"
"It was a pleasure. You must be the wizard Liz told me about," Marcassin said to Vincent. "I must ask, have you've been to this world before?"
"Zippy said it's their first time here, but they've heard about it," Esther said.
"I see. How did you learn about it?"
"I heard a story about this world before, and learned the spell to bring my friends and I here." Vincent answered, then looked at Oliver. "Truth be told, I saw you cast the spell, and thought I'd try it myself."
"You saw me?" Oliver asked, surprised.
"Yes... You see, my friends and I were passing through town, looking for a passage to this world, hearing that a Great Sage had travelled to Motorville and wondered if she could help. I saw you running by, and could sense you were another wizard, and saw you cast the spell... though my magic is different than yours. When I tried to use the spell you used... well... something went wrong, and we separated. I don't think my wand is used to it,"
"Why didn't you tell us all this before?" Swaine demanded.
"Because my mother taught me to never talk to strangers... though, now that we've all been introduced, and since you've helped me find two of my missing friends, I no longer see you as strangers." he turned to Oliver. "I also didn't want to say anything to scare you out of helping me, either. You'd probably think I was crazy!"
"It's alright. ...But, you said you heard about a Great Sage who travelled to Motorville. Was her name... Alicia?" Oliver guessed.
"Yes, do you know her?"
"She... She was my mom." Oliver bowed his head. "She passed away a long time ago."
Vincent bowed his head. "I'm sorry... I can relate, though." he cleared his throat. "But, it's best we move on, isn't it?"
Oliver nodded. "Right. How long have you've known about this world?"
"Yes, and why exactly did you want to come?" Swaine asked, suspiciously.
"We've known about it for a few months now... and figured it would be a nice place for a vacation," Zippy answered.
"I must warn you, it's not exactly a luxurious getaway," Marcassin told her. "You all don't have much experience here, which could make you easy targets for some of the creatures."
"I guess we've got a lot of practice to do," Vincent said. "Especially if we're going to find Zeke,"
"Maybe we could help," Oliver suggested.
"Please don't be serious..." Swaine moaned. It was easy to see he really wanted to take a break and relax.
"Well, why not?" Esther scoffed. "They don't have much experience, and Vincent said his wand isn't used to the magic we use here... They could use a few lessons!"
"Yeah, but we all had to learn things on our own without much training. The most we had was Drippy, and he didn't do a whole lot of good- what?"
The thief noticed Vincent was giving him a glare. Zippy knew why- he was a fan of Mr. Drippy, and didn't appreciate it when someone bad-mouthed him.
"Drippy was a bigger help than you were," Esther sneered, before Vincent could probably deck Swaine. "And he had taught Oliver all about this world- if it weren't for him, he wouldn't be here!"
"Alright, alright! So he helped out a bit... though I still did more than him in battle," Swaine muttered.
"I believe we should help our new visitors," Marcassin spoke up. "After all, I doubt it would be just a coincidence that they heard about this world."
"Who told you about it, anyway?" Esther asked.
"A man named, um, Miyazagi told a story about it." Zippy said (giving reference to the creator of the game's animation). "We don't know how he learned about it, but he claimed it was true, told us about Alicia, Motorville... and here we are now."
"We can also look out for ourselves, too." Liz added, giving Swaine a look. "If some of you aren't interested in offering a little guidance..."
"Yeah. I guess Swaine isn't much of a teacher. Shame." Zippy sighed.
"Hey! I didn't say that! We just made plans for the week is all, and I didn't expect to spend it being a tutor for a bunch of tourists," Swaine argued. "And you lot may not know how to take care of yourselves around here... From the mix-up you just had, you might need all the help you can get!"
"Oh, but we wouldn't want to spoil your plans..."
"You could join us," Marcassin suggested. "We're just camping on this island near the Fairy Grounds, and we could tell you everything about our world... things you haven't heard already, I'm sure."
"Yes, we wouldn't mind the extra company!" Esther added.
"Alright. We'll just stick around until we've learned all the ropes, but then we'll go on our way." Liz insisted.
"Nonsense, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like- especially since we still need to find your other friend," Marcassin replied.
"Yeah... Speaking of which, where did that lame-brain brother of mine run off to?" Zippy questioned.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Zeke looked around the Fairy Grounds, marveling at the sight. The scenery was beautiful on a TV screen... but in real life, it was breathtaking! Mr. Drippy was showing him the various shops and introducing him to a few other fairies...
And that's when a vision kicked in...
He was standing on a mountain, seeing two figures facing each other. One of them was shrouded in black, and the other was a young woman, wearing a white robe with a golden trim, holding a staff, and looking familiar. 'No... is that... Alicia?' he wondered, bewildered. 'But... she died! How...'
"Don't think you can defeat me so easily... you shall fall, along with the Pure-Hearted One... and the Black Alchemist!" the shrouded figure spoke to the woman, a staff he held glowing bright red...
The vision ended, and Zeke gasped, blinking. "Oi, Zeke! Are ya alright?" Mr. Drippy asked. "I know bein' 'round fairies is new, but I didn't think it would be that much o' a shock for ya!"
"N-No... it's not that, it's just... I-I really need to find my friends," he replied.
"I told ya, once Ollie-Boy gets here, youer friends are as good as found, en't it? 'Fact, lets into th' jungle, see if they're here yet. 'Said they'd be here sometime in th' morning, they did."
"Alright... yeah..."
Zeke walked with Mr. Drippy through the jungle, though felt uneasy. That vision he had was a sure sign that their trip was about to take a dangerous turn...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A/N: And there's a glimpse of things to come. (Ah, Zeke, you truly are the Master of Spoilers, aren't you?)
Next chapter: Camp-Out! :D