Cuore couldn't decide if being awoken by nightmares was worse then by the loud, unexpected clatter of an airship flying close to her window.
Both were jolting and she peeked past her curtains to watch the craft fly off, although she wondered why it had to come that close to the building in the first place. Cuore sighed and leaned against the wall, rubbing her eyes tiredly, before she realized that if the noise had woken her up, then surely her little brother was up too.
His room was right next to hers and it took her less then a minute to walk there and enter carefully, just in case he had slept through it. But he was wide-eyed and staring out the window.
"Sissy!" he exclaimed, scrambling out of bed to meet her at the door, "Did you see it!?"
She nodded and turned him around, towards the window, "I did, and I heard it too."
"It's so loud here," he complained in agreement.
Cuore sighed, "Well, we're only here for what, three days?"
"Four," he moaned, looking up at her with misery in his eyes.
She couldn't help it; she laughed, "Oh Leo, come now, it's hardly that bad."
"Easy for you to say," he mumbled, walking over and crawling back into bed, "you probably like it here."
She frowned and tipped her head to one side, slowly making her way towards the window in Leo's room so she could close his blinds.
"Why would I like it here?" she asked, tugging at the drapes.
He sniffed and snuggled back under the covers, "'Cause, I saw how excited everyone was to see you. Even Cecil and Rosa."
"Ah, the fussing?"
Leo nodded and Cuore sighed, shaking her head, "Little brother, I hate that sort of thing. But it's to be expected. I was gone a long time, and everyone is bound to be surprised now that I'm back."
He didn't seem entirely convinced, and she smiled at him before hopping onto his bed so it jostled him, making him giggle.
"Leo, trust me, I hate fussing. Baron's…okay, but I'll be glad to go home too. As for everyone being excited I'm back, I can tell you with certainty that there will be one person who will not be glad to see me."
It took Cuore nearly an hour to coax her little brother out of bed and into the castle, where he proceeded to cling to her, using her body as a shield, whenever someone stopped to talk to them. Cuore swore he was more anti-social then she was, and wondered if it was something he would outgrow or if he would be shy his whole life.
Cuore also ignored the whispers from a few she passed of 'witch-girl'.
"At least it's clever, and slightly less cruel then some I've heard." she thought, shaking her head as she passed another grouping of people her age, probably trainees, giving her strange looks.
"Yes, I have blue hair, and yes, I'm not like you." she thought, lowering her eyes to the ground. She would never say that out loud to them, she'd be too afraid of getting into a much larger confrontation. Leo, as sensitive as he was to her, picked up on her distress and gave her hand a squeeze, looking up to smile at her. She returned it and led him away from prying eyes, into another section of the castle in search of their parents or Izayoi.
They finally found them deep in a conversation, looking annoyed with each other. Leo and Cuore exchanged a glance and walked over carefully, catching their mother's eyes first. She offered a smile but was distracted by the other two adults.
"It's a trade off," Edge explained carefully, "you watch my kids, and I watch yours."
Izayoi appeared confused, "…But I don't have any children,"
"That's your problem, not mine." he said, shrugging.
She narrowed her eyes at him and Rydia, after shooting him an annoyed look, pleaded, "Please Izayoi? Just for a little while…we'll be back before you know it!"
"No,"
"Just for an hour?" the summoner said, putting on her sweetest expression.
Izayoi sighed, but remained strong, "No, I refuse to be your babysitter today."
They both glanced at each other and she continued sternly, "I'm supposed to be here as a bodyguard, not a babysitter."
"You can guard the kids!" Edge said happily, "What's more important then that?"
Izayoi was not amused, "Where are you two even going?"
There was another look between the parents and Izayoi's eyes narrowed, obviously thinking the same thing Cuore was; they were up to no good.
However, their father was not ready to give up.
"Fine, if you won't watch our kids, then your free and I can send you on assignment to Troia." he said.
Her eyes widened, "You wouldn't,"
"I would."
With a loud sigh, she crossed her arms as she considered this ultimatum.
"Fine, you win, I'll watch them."
They both seemed pleased, and she hastily added, "For an hour, one hour."
"Thanks cousin," Edge said happily, patting her shoulder.
She brushed his hand off, still frowning, "Go, before I change my mind."
They didn't need to be told twice and scurried off, leaving the dark haired woman to shake her head.
"I don't need a babysitter, you know," Cuore commented, a little upset with her parents, "I'm old enough to watch myself."
Izayoi gave a short laugh, "You need to be watched more then your brother!"
Cuore frowned, but Leo ran over and looked up at Izayoi, "Can we go to the market?"
She sighed heavily, and he made a cute expression, looking up at her to ask, "Please?"
Izayoi wrinkled her nose in distaste but relented and threw her hands up, "Oh, fine. Yes, we can go to the market. With all those people. And noise."
Leo grinned, "Thanks!"
He ran back to Cuore and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the nearest exit, "Come on!"
The teal haired teen cast an apologetic look over her shoulder Izayoi, who trailed after them looking aggravated.
As Izayoi had already decreed, the market place was full of people and terribly noisy, making Cuore uncomfortable. Leo didn't like the people, but he did dart around crowded areas and groups of talking people to look everything over, eyes wide with a silly smile on his face.
Every country celebrated 'save the world day' differently, but close enough that it was much the same to Cuore. It wasn't just a day, for one thing, and everyone called it something else, but they all knew what the celebration truly meant. Cuore just found it impossibly humorous that the world was saved twice, years apart, in the same week's time.
"Sorry you got stuck with us," Cuore mentioned to Izayoi as they stood off to one side of the main pathway, avoiding as many people as they could.
"It's alright." the other woman assured her, "but I am concerned what exactly your parents are doing."
Cuore smirked, "Nothing good, but I'm sure nothing dangerous."
"Mm." Izayoi replied, glaring at someone that walked by and gave them a second look.
The loud, trembling sound of an airship made Cuore look up just as a shadow passed over them, blanketing the whole market in darkness for a spilt second and kicking up some loose papers off the ground.
Leo had returned to them and was asking Izayoi something in hushed tones when a loud voice called Cuore's name.
She looked around and finally saw a familiar blonde squeeze through a gap in the crowd to run over and give her a hug.
"Ah, Cuore!" she said, giggling close to her ear, "Ceodore wasn't kidding; you did get tall!"
The initial surprise faded and Cuore smiled, "Hi Ursula."
Ursula released her, still smiling, and gave her a once over, "Wow Cuore, your so grown up!"
She ducked her head, embarrassed, "Yes, well, the Feymarch dilates time to a rate of three times per every rotation of the planet…" she trailed off, realizing she was speaking in terms no one would understand.
Ursula looked amused and punched her playfully in the shoulder, "Well, dilated time or not, you haven't changed at all. I remember last time I saw you when you attempted to explain solar flares and time travel to us all."
Cuore winced and rubbed her arm, "You haven't changed either, you hit hard."
"Oh," the blonde woman said, expression turning sheepish, "sorry, Ceodore is always telling me to lighten up on that."
Cuore snorted, "That's because Ceodore's made out of straw."
"Blow on him too hard and he'll fly away," Ursula finished, giggling again. Cuore joined in, realizing how much she had missed the older princess. She had always admired Ursula and wished to be more like her. Strong, confident, likeable. And of course, drop dead gorgeous.
"Oh Cuore," Ursula said after her laughing fit was done, "I've missed you, you know. How old are you now anyway?"
"Sixteen." she replied.
Her friend smirked, "Oh yes, sixteen. That was a fun year."
Cuore was about to ask her what she meant, but she was distracted by Leo calling her name and waving and Izayoi giving her a look from across the street.
"Babysitters." Ursula commented, hands on her hips.
Cuore nodded and forced a smile, waving back, "Yes, mom and dad mysteriously ran off this morning leaving Leo and I with Izayoi."
"Parent's are always running off," her friend said, sighing, "Not sure where mine went and Ceodore isn't sure about his, either."
"Suspicious." the teal haired girl remarked.
"Very." her blonde friend agreed.
Ursula perked up, "Say, you should hurry up and ditch your keeper. I already did mine and Ceodore his. Mister straw is taking me to see the new airship. You should come."
Cuore grinned, "Are you sure I won't intrude on your date."
"As if," Ursula said, rolling her eyes, "You know we aren't dating, Cuore."
"Sure you aren't." she agreed, not believing a word of it.
Her name was called again and she sighed, making Ursula touched her shoulder as she went to leave, "Seriously, ditch them and meet me by the waterfalls, okay?"
Cuore felt slightly guilty, but on the other hand, wasn't she supposed to make friends? Usually such a thing was difficult for her to do that she should jump at this chance.
"Well, I guess…if you-"
"Great!" Ursula interrupted, smiling, "I'll wait for you there."
Cuore watched her slip through the milling people again and then hurried over to meet her brother, who was practically bouncing up and down, grinning.
"My, what's gotten into you?" Cuore asked, rising an eyebrow at him.
Leo held something out in his hands, "Happy birthday sissy."
She blinked and took the offered gift, a pendant, holding it in her hand to examine it. It was a simple round gold casting with a red jewel in the center. There was no chain, but what intrigued her the most was the fact that the gemstone didn't resemble any she'd seen before.
"Leo, thank you." Cuore said, surprised by the gift. Her brother beamed up at her, hands clasp behind his back, "Your welcome."
She paused and then pulled one of the black ribbons out of her hair, unraveling the braided bun in the process, and slipped the pendant on the cord so she could tie it around her neck.
"What do you think?" she asked. Leo nodded, "Looks perfect!" he declared before running off once more, zigzagging through the crowd.
"He insisted we get it for you. He said he felt like it belonged to you." Izayoi explained, watching after him as he went.
Cuore touched the jewel, "Red's not really my color but I-" she stopped talking and blinked, confused when she felt a ripple of what might have been magic brush her fingertips. There was the light chime of magic in the air, too, but it was so faint and faded so quickly that she shook her head to clear it.
"Cuore?" Izayoi asked, giving her a funny look.
She smiled, "Sorry, I was just…thinking. Anyway, thank you."
"For?"
"I'm assuming you helped him get this. Unless Leo is rich and I don't know about it." she replied, grinning.
Izayoi smirked ever so slightly, "You are welcome."
There was an awkward pause as Cuore tried to find an adequate excuse for running off, but Izayoi beat her too it.
"You wish to go with Fabul's princess,"
Not a question, a statement.
Cuore gave her a funny look, "How did you-"
"Please," she said, waving a hand to dismiss the comment, "That look on your face? I've seen it before. Go, just don't get into trouble. I have a feeling your parents won't keep their hour deadline anyway."
She was taken back and bit her lip, "Are you sure? I mean, Leo-"
"Is going to tire himself out," Izayoi said, smirking at her, "Go Cuore."
She smiled and backed up, waving as she went, "Thanks!"
"Are you sure it's okay?" Cuore asked as the three of them wandered down a hallway.
Ceodore shrugged, "Sure, why not?"
She frowned, and Ursula laughed, "I heard Cid won't be there today."
"Which is why we're going today," Ceodore replied.
Cuore just shook her head and hung back from the two as they continued to chat and laugh about things she didn't really understand.
But it was alright, she was used to being an outsider looking in, and that vantage point providing her time to think and observe. They reached the door to the hanger and Ceodore was undoubtedly excited, "Trust me, this is so worth coming down here to see."
"It better not be like the Excelsior," Ursula said, hands on her hips.
"Hey, hey," Ceodore said, holding up his hands, "We don't talk about that ship."
As he turned to open the door, Ursula leaned over to whisper to Cuore, "I'm sure they don't,"
She chuckled, finding the whole situation amusing.
The door to the hanger bay creaked open and Ceodore stepped back, sweeping his arm, "After you,"
Ursula entered first, asking as she went, "Will I even know which one is the new one? All these ships look the same to me, you know."
The prince chuckled, "Oh, you'll know."
Cuore followed Ursula in, but had to sidestep to the right as the young woman halted abruptly, eyes widening.
Cuore leaned around her and saw what she was looking at; an airship, undoubtedly they're newest design.
"Wow!" Ursula exclaimed, stepping up to grip the metallic railing a few feet in front of her, "It's…amazing! So different from the others, too."
Ceodore nodded, obviously proud, and began to speak as Cuore joined her blonde friend on the balcony.
"It's the first airship we've built using designs from the Lunar Whale that has actually…worked. Dual engines, partial electronic circuitry. It has a smoother ride and isn't as noisy, plus the design just plain looks cooler." he explained.
Ursula glanced over her shoulder at him, "Electronic?"
"Electronic, using controlled electrons in designs, such as transistors and valves." Cuore said automatically, wincing afterwards, although Ceodore just nodded, "Exactly! Or, at least, I think Cid and Luca were talking about something like that…"
Ursula was still looking over the ship and then asked, "Wait, where are the controls?"
"Inside," Ceodore said, looking smug, "want to see?"
The blonde girl grinned, "Inside? Of course I want to see inside!"
He laughed and led them down a set of small, metal steps and then across the hanger bay towards the ship.
"What's it called?" Ursula asked, pattering after him as he had set a brisk pace.
"Well, Cid wanted to name it something or other, Luca refused and said since she had done most of the work, she should get to name it. This…disagreement went on for about a week but Luca won. She named it the Voyager."
Cuore was only half listening as he led them around the exterior of the ship, and she ran her hand along the haul, taking in the design of the ship.
"This design is reminiscent of the Lunar Whale, yes, but it is also…" she trailed off, searching for the right word.
Ceodore turned around and starting walking backwards so he could talk to her, "Yes, Cid and Luca couldn't figure out how the Lunar Whale actually, well, flew, so they modified the design somewhat."
Cuore nodded, thinking it made more sense. These engines appeared to run of off binary systems; half part electronics and half part something else. Cuore assumed this was because of their limit understanding of electronics.
She realized she was lagging behind and ran to catch up just as Ursula stepped inside the ship, leaving her to clank up the ramp and enter behind them.
"Wow! The inside is just as cool as the outside." her blonde friend said, walking around the main room which resembled the Lunar Whale almost exactly, although the area was in disarray with wires and tubes exposed and panels open everywhere. Obviously they were still working on the airship.
"Those," Ceodore said, pointing towards the front of the ship, "are the controls."
Ursula whistled and Cuore hurried over to take a look, quickly accessing the workings.
"Does this ship really fly?" she heard Ursula asked, sounding amused.
Ceodore replied, his tone suggesting he was insulted, "Of course it flies!"
They all turned as another voice added, "Well, kinda."
Luca stood in another doorway to the left, wrench in hand, and smirked at them, "Well, well, what are you doing here."
Ceodore winced, "Sorry, I…didn't think anyone was going to be here…"
Luca chuckled and pulled her goggles off her eyes, "Someone has to wrinkle out all the problems in this baby if she's ever going to fly!"
"You have issues with vertical hovering capability." Cuore announced, realizing for the not the first time today that she had to learn to be more careful when she blurted out information.
Luca glanced at her, "Yeah, we do! How'd you know?"
She hesitated and then pointed at one of the exposed panels on the wall, "Your stabilizing matrix is out of alignment. You can compensate by bypassing the third and fifth fluid junctions."
There was an awkward moment of staring and then Luca called behind her, "Calca, Brina! Check the stabilizing matrix. Bypass the junctions if you have too!"
There was no reply, but she turned back and grinned, "Thanks!"
Cuore nodded, although she kept her gaze off to the side, uncomfortable. Situations like this proved she wasn't from here, that she was different. She had no trouble living in this world with its limited resources from her point of view, but when faced with concepts and items from a time in the future, she couldn't help herself but understand.
Their recent advances into electronics were impressive, although Cuore was used to such things and found them unsurprising.
She sighed and listened to the others talk while making her way around the rest of the main area of the ship.
Its design was simplistic, which was a good thing in this case, and its atheistic was pleasing.
Cuore knelt and examined the inner workings of the exposed panels by what Ceodore had identified as the controls. Her eyes tracked one of the conduits until it disappeared from her sight.
"You're using copper conductors?" she asked.
Luca stopped mid sentence and looked over at her, "Of course. What else would we use?"
"Palladium." Cuore readily answered, prying off another panel to peek inside. "Palladium is the chosen metal that the Lunarians used in construction of the Lunar Whale."
She brushed aside some loose wires as Luca replied, "Palladium? I've never even heard of that…"
Cuore paused before frowning, "It is possible your planet does not have sufficient deposits of the metal ore. It's a platinum based metal."
"Platinum?" Ceodore said, sounding surprised, "That we have, but certainly not enough to outfit every part of this ship with!"
Ursula chuckled, "That would be one expensive airship,"
Cuore didn't bother replying. Using copper would greatly hinder the ideal performance of this vessel, but she didn't want to discourage their progress by telling them that. Besides, there were other flaws to be fixed.
Luca had walked over to stand beside her as she tested some of the bolts connecting varies parts of the ship.
"So, besides our lack of proper materials, what do you think?" the dwarf woman asked her.
Cuore hesitated and Luca laughed, "I want your honest opinion! We've been working on this project so long we're bound to miss stuff. I need another set of eyes."
The teal haired teen sat back on her heels, "Your design is…ambitious. However, you are relying too heavily on the Lunar Whale model. You lack the necessary tools and materials to duplicate their ship. You should combine the best qualities of that ship with your own inventions."
She looked up and offered half a smile, "The Lunarians made more ships then you, but that doesn't mean you have to copy them."
Luca gave her a look, grinning, "Don't flatter us, Cuore."
"I'm serious," she argued, turning back to the cavity and pointing inside, "Take this section here, for example. This is completely copied from the Lunar Whale's secondary navigation drive."
"Yes."
She sighed, "Well, they had an illogical plan to begin with. Why place the hydro-silicon bypass next to the main conductor circuits?"
Luca leaned down to see inside better but before she could reply, a voice asked snidely from behind them; "Where else would you place them?"
Cuore frowned, "Anywhere else. If, for some reason, the hydro-silicon bypass relays burst, the resulting fluid leaking out would overload the conductors. It would stall half the ship's systems."
She blinked, realizing that voice sounded unfortunately familiar, and glanced over her shoulder.
"Kieran." she said flatly.
"Cuore." he replied just as monotone.
There was an uncomfortable pause before Luca laughed nervously and stated the obvious; "Well, this is awkward."
Cuore agreed whole heartedly, but it was to be expected. Kieran was her least favorite person in the world, and they both shared the same distain for each other.
The first time they had met there had been tension, and he had said some harsh words to her, in the end making her cry. Their meetings since then hadn't been much better, always ending with hurtful words and awkward glares.
Cuore was unsure what she had done to warrant such cold dislike from the young man, but she also didn't dwell on it since she saw him maybe twice a year.
But she couldn't deny that his looks and comments did sting.
She was glad that this time he wasn't wearing his armor, because he was far less intimidating without it. Not that he was terribly friendly looking now, though; Kieran always seemed unapproachable. She remembered him being taller, but his dark hair and eyes were the same.
Last time she had seen him she was a little girl. Now she was a young woman, she wouldn't let him affect her the same way.
"I'd like to see you try and place the bypass anywhere else," Kieran muttered under his breath.
"Like he even knows what a hydro-silicon bypass is," she fumed, standing to glare at him. The young man was insufferable, and was one of the reasons she never liked visiting Baron.
After giving her a appraising once over she found agitating, he turned his attention to Ceodore.
"Kain was looking for you." he said, voice even as always.
The prince winced, "Is he coming here?"
"He sent me here to get you."
Ceodore sighed, "You're his apprentice, that doesn't mean you have to do everything for him."
"You should be glad I came," Kieran retorted, rising an eyebrow, "Did you really think you could get rid of Kain? He knows you too well for that."
Ceodore sighed once more, and Ursula just smiled, "It's alright, I've got to find my parents, anyway. We should all head back."
They all agreed and Luca waved to them all, heading back through the door she appeared from originally, probably to get back to work.
Cuore trailed after them, staying as far away from Kieran as she could.
Ursula batted the young man's shoulder as she moved past him, down the ramp, "You didn't even say hi to me."
Kieran sighed, but offered her what might be considered a quarter of a smile, "Hello Ursula."
She grinned, though it faded when he asked lowly, "I thought she was in the land of the monsters…"
Cuore glared at his back and slowed her pace even more, watching with delight when Ursula punched him in the arm, "Quiet! Don't be rude." she hissed.
Kieran scowled but said nothing more, leaving Ursula to hang back and wait for Cuore, who felt annoyed by her presence. She didn't need the young woman's pity.
Thankfully Ursula said nothing of Kieran and instead got her chatting about things completely unrelated to anything important.
Cuore was surprisingly tired when she returned to her room as the sun was setting, and she opened her door after glancing in the direction of her brother's room. She suspected he would be just as sleepy as she was, although he was probably trying to hide it. Cuore let the door slide from her fingers and click shut on its own, yawning as she debated taking a nap for a little bit or trying to find her family first.
A package left on her bed caught her attention and she walked over, picking up the object and then noticing the accompanying note.
It was from Izayoi, who wrote a short message about how now that she had this, she could stop borrowing all of her clothes.
Cuore smirked and sat down as she unraveled the paper, intrigued by what the contents could be. Izayoi didn't give out gifts typically, so she was surprised by the sudden present.
The final layer of paper was removed to reveal clothing inside made of a beautiful fabric that seemed vibrantly colored and strangely soft yet taunt.
Puzzled, Cuore lifted the garment out and a smile spread over her face as she examined it, impressed by the design.
The main garment was a light purple tunic with an asymmetrical hem line and long sleeves that flared at the bottom, providing a more flowing appearance. There were cut-outs on the shoulders that she suspected would show very little once one, and the whole thing was trimmed in gold and black, including a patterned stripe down the front of the outfit. The next piece she pulled out was sash with long tails in a color of blue reminiscent of her hair, and a gold bird pattern on the front of it. She smiled as she traced the familiar pattern before glancing at the other objects, black tights and, unfortunately, matching boots.
Though they did look far more practical and pretty then most footwear, she still ignored them and instead marveled at the perfect gift.
She owed Izayoi for sure.
"So how did this happen again?" Cuore asked, nibbling on a handful of nuts.
Her mother sighed next her, "Izayoi was telling me about how you have no clothes. Well, chiding me was more like it, but she made the mistake of saying this in front of Rosa."
Cuore made a face, "Thus the shopping trip."
"Exactly." Rydia said, shrugging, "But don't worry, we are not the only ones roped into coming."
Cuore raised an eyebrow and finished off her snack, "Izayoi?"
"No, but you should have seen the look on her face when she was invited!" her mother said, laughing, "I got her out of it. She owes me one."
The teenager snickered as Rydia explained, "There was talk of the 'others' coming too."
"Who else is here?" Cuore asked, tipping her head to one side as they rounded a corner.
The summoner hummed for a moment, "Well, Harley for sure. I'm not sure who came on that airship an hour ago, though…"
Cuore sighed, "Well, this isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted to spend time with you,"
"I know," her mother replied, sparing her a sweet smile, "but I think it should be…interesting. I remember this one time we all went shopping, back the first time we had to save the world, and Rosa and I couldn't find anything. No weapons, no armor, the item shop was even out of ethers. I swear, everyone was freaking out about the end of the world and buying out all the stores…"
Cuore listened happily to this story, finding tales from that long ago amusing, especially with the way her parents told the stories.
"Rosa was so mad!" Rydia continued, laughing, "Genuinely mad that we had found nothing. So, I pointed out to her what a funny picture the five of us made. We, the lovely ladies with nothing and the three guys have armfuls of things."
She shook her head, "Rosa laughed, at least, but it was exasperating…"
Cuore chuckled, "Sounds terrible,"
"Trust me, Cuore, when you're headed to save the world and your armor consists of an enchanted circlet, you know you're in trouble." Rydia said, waving her hands in front of herself.
Her daughter laughed, wondering if half of these stories she heard were even accurate.
"Cuore!"
They both stopped walking and turned to look the other way down the long corridor, seeing Ursula wave before running down to meet them.
"Hello Ursula," Rydia greeted, smiling, "It's good to see you."
"You too!" she replied before turning to Cuore, "I was looking for you!"
Cuore wrinkled her nose, "Shopping?"
Ursula smiled, "Actually, I'm headed to the airship hanger. Luca is taking the Voyager out for her first flight in the Underworld. Hopefully it won't burn up."
"You're going?" Cuore asked, surprised she'd been granted access.
The blonde shrugged, "Ceodore invited me."
"On a date?" she teased, smirking.
Ursula made a face, "If it is, then I don't know why Kieran's coming too."
Cuore snickered but then her friend continued, "You should come! It's going to be fun, and who knows, maybe Luca needs your help like earlier."
The teen was partly flattered by her friend's comments, but she also felt uncomfortable with the high praise.
"Oh, well, that's nice of you to invite me, but…" she trailed off.
It was hard to explain her reasons for not wanting to go, because she did, but she was still insecure about how she fit into this world since her return.
Four years was a very, very long time.
Ursula tipped her head to one side, "You don't have to come, Cuore, but I wanted you to know that you were welcome."
Her voice was so sincere and supportive that she smiled at her and nodded, "Thank you,"
"Sure! If you change your mind, we'll be in the hanger for a few more minutes." she said, turning as she spoke to trot down the hallway, giving them a wave as she went.
Cuore watched her leave, wondering about all the mixed feelings she was having since her return.
"You should have gone," her mother said quietly.
She blinked and turned to look at her, "Really? But…well, I promised to spend time with you."
Her mother laughed a little, "Yes, but not specifically today, and there'll be plenty of time for that when we go home."
Cuore bit her lip and Rydia rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "You should go and have fun with your friends. It's not every day you get the chance too."
She smiled slowly, "Is it okay?"
"Yes, I think you should. Go and have fun, Cuore."
Hearing someone else, someone she adored and trusted, encourage the action made all her doubts seem small and unimportant. She spun around and took a few steps forward when her mother called back to her, "Take your weapons with you."
Cuore skidded to a halt and ran back the other way, commenting as she moved passed her mother, "I didn't think you'd be the one to remind me about those."
Rydia grinned and crossed her arms, "You don't live in Eblan for seven years and not pick up some habits,"
Cuore laughed as she ran down the hallway, thinking that not only would her katanas be a good idea, but perhaps her new outfit as well.
There was an especially loud bang from the room over and Ceodore winced, using one hand to rub his ear afterwards.
Kieran sighed, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
"Oh, come now," Ceodore said, smiling, "it's an important flight! If all goes well, then this airship will be ready to be added into our normal fleet within a few weeks!"
"That doesn't explain why I had to come," Kieran grumbled, turning his head to look at the exit, wishing he could successfully sneak out.
If there was one thing Ceodore was, it was persuasive, although Kieran was usually better at escaping his attempts to rope him into these sorts of excursions.
"I thought you'd want to come," the prince explained, spinning the chair back and forth as he sat in it.
Kieran turned back to face him, stunned, "Want to come on this floating death trap? Why would I want to come?!" he demanded, wondering what he had said or done to make his friend think something so ridiculous.
"Because, if you come with us, you can get out setting up for the party and greeting nobles, two things I think you despise." Ceodore explained, shrugging.
Kieran made an unhappy face, "I do hate those things, but I hate airships too."
"This one is so smooth, I promise you'll enjoy it."
He was unconvinced and averted his gaze, muttering, "Doubtful."
Ceodore rolled his eyes, "Come on, it will be fun. Ursula's excited."
The dark haired young man snorted, "Is she now? I'm surprised you're having me come considering you could have gotten to be mostly alone with her."
His friend shot him a look, "We're not dating,"
"Sure you aren't," Kieran replied, rolling his own eyes. He didn't believe it for a second, and had been watching their painful relationship for years now.
There were a few clanks and then Ursula poked her head into the room, blonde pigtails bouncing as she did so.
"Speaking of…" Kieran muttered, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms, still upset at his so called friend.
"Permission to come aboard?" Ursula asked, smirking.
Ceodore gave his chair another spin and waved his arm, "Granted."
Kieran rolled his eyes at the little smile they shared and choked down a groan. He was already feeling queasy and they hadn't even taken off yet.
"I'm not sure this is better then having to talk with annoying people…at least there Kain and I can complain afterwards…" he grumbled inwardly.
Kieran had noticed how many people tried to avoid Kain, or found his personality jarring, but he found that they got along just fine. This was possibly due to the fact that they found many of the same things annoying.
There was another bang from below and Ursula glanced over, "Are we ready to go or what?"
Ceodore shrugged, "Luca's doing some last minute checks, I think."
The princess nodded and then hesitated, adding a little quieter, "I…um…invited Cuore to come with us."
Kieran glared at them both but said nothing, too upset to voice his annoyance. They knew how he felt about her, and he felt a little betrayed by their disregard for his feelings where the Maenad teen was concerned.
"I know, I know," Ursula was whispering, "But, we're friends with her, and I feel sorry for her! Everyone avoids her and…well, I just don't see why. She's nice."
Ceodore glanced at Kieran, who narrowed his eyes, letting him know just how angry he was, before the prince swallowed and whispered something to Ursula he couldn't hear.
Kieran dearly hoped they would be ready to take off before Cuore decided to show up.
His hopes were dashed when she rapped on the outside of the ship and waved up at them through the wide window in the front.
Ursula waved back, "There she is!"
She disappeared from view only to materialize moments later as she came through the small hallway and into the main ship.
"I'm glad I caught you," she said, sounding slightly breathless, "Thanks for the invite."
Ceodore nodded, "I'm glad you made it!"
Ursula ran over and gave her a once over, "Wow, nice outfit!"
Cuore beamed at her and twirled once, "Isn't it?"
Kieran rolled his eyes, letting the girls discuss clothes and other things he could care less about.
Luca entered before the conversation could continue and smiled at them all, "Alright, I'd say were as ready as we'll ever be!"
Kieran let out a sigh and pushed away from the wall, taking one of the seats and realizing with dismay that there were no sorts of restraints.
"You realize if we suddenly plummet or slam to a halt that we're all going to fly through that window and die, right? You should have put in restraints." he complained.
Ursula turned in her seat, which was in front of him, and wrinkled her nose, "What a lovely thought, Kieran. Anything else you'd like to share with us?"
"These things are deathtraps." he muttered, shifting uncomfortably.
Ceodore shook his head, "Ignore him."
Luca began pressing a sequence of buttons on the panel in front of her, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. Everyone ready?"
They all chorused a 'yes' and Kieran shut his eyes, hoping this would be over quickly.
He really hated airships.
The hanger doors were opened and Luca cracked her knuckles before pushing the ignition into the start position.
Kieran did have to admit that the Voyager was much quieter and smoother then other ships, though he still gripped his seat for support as they lurched upwards, an annoying rattling taking place over his head the whole time.
"I'm so going to kill Ceodore for this," he thought, taking a deep, calming breath. They rose evenly and Luca laughed, "Ah, much better with the vertical take off! Thanks for the help, Cuore!"
Kieran glanced to the side and saw the Maenad teen smile shyly, "Oh, your welcome…" she mumbled.
He scowled at her, and she shrunk back, giving him an unappreciative look in return.
The ship pitched again and he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut.
When he opened his eyes next, after the ride had evened out, he saw that they were already well on their way flying.
Ursula and Ceodore were talking about the ship and the flight and being generally friendly with each other. He rolled his eyes and relaxed his grip on his chair, feeling the familiar nausea come on, though it was much more manageable then the last time he had flown.
There was movement beside him and he glanced over to see Cuore fiddling with controls next to her seat, pushing buttons and inspecting wires as if she knew what she was doing.
He glared at her, though she was too preoccupied to notice.
"How are you doing Kieran?" Ceodore asked, twisting around to look at him.
He glared in response, "How do you think I'm doing?"
"Airsick?" his friend asked sympathetically.
Ursula shot him a concerned look as well, but he found their pity annoying and just mumbled, "I'm fine, it's not like I haven't felt this way before."
"You get airsick?" Cuore asked, looking at him with wide eyes and head tipped to one side.
Kieran frowned, "So what if I do?"
"…There are remedies for that. You should try-"
He interrupted her to snap, "You think I don't know that?"
She blinked at him and averted her gaze, muttering, "You don't seem to know much, it wouldn't surprise me…"
He decided to ignore her comment as though he hadn't heard it and instead focused on not looking out any of the windows. Of course, the whole bridge was covered in them.
"Alright, we're getting ready to descend into the Underworld. Everyone ready?" Luca asked, still working the controls with ease.
"As ready as we'll ever be!" Ceodore announced, leaving Ursula to ask; "What happens if something goes wrong? This is the first flight down here, after all…"
Before anyone could answer Kieran spoke up, feeling a wave of nausea wash over him as he complained.
"What happens? The heat from the magma fries the circuits which in turn cause the valves to burst open, causing all the fluid to leak out of every part of this ship, causing a rapid cascade failure of all systems, including the engines, which then leaves us, the unlucky passengers, to plunge to our fiery deaths."
There was an awkward silence that took over the airship until Luca chuckled, "Whoa, someone didn't take their happy pill this morning!"
Kieran groaned and leaned back in his chair, not bothering to tell them that he answered their question with exact facts.
He was doubly annoyed when Ursula and Ceodore exchanged an amused glance at his expense.
He made the mistake of glancing out the window and saw the oceans of lava beneath them, making him squint at their brightness.
"Looks like the mythril plates on the outer haul are holding…" Luca said, reading one of the displays at her fingertips, "No signs of any heat damaging our systems…"
Cuore spoke up, "Um, I see a slight variance in our engine output…"
Kieran looked up, hoping she was reading the data wrong. He did not want to die on one of these infernal flying machines.
"I see it, but it doesn't seem-" Luca was cut off as the ship rocked violently, throwing all of them to the side and knocking Ursula out of her seat. Ceodore caught her before she hit the floor and asked, "What the hell was that?!"
Luca winced, "Uh oh, looks like something hit us!"
"Whatever it was breached our haul, part of the mythril coating is gone and the heat from the magma is seeping into our systems." Cuore reported, her voice surprisingly calm.
Kieran sighed, knowing what was coming next.
An alarm went off and Luca yelled over it, "We have a problem!"
"Hydro-silicon relay burst." Kieran and Cuore both said at the same time, though she shot him a funny look afterwards.
"Yes, and we're loosing power rapidly. The fluid is…well, like Cuore said yesterday, it's overloading the electric circuits." Luca explained, already steering the ship sharply to the right, "I'm going to try and land this thing while Calca and Brina are down in the engine room keeping us running. Everyone hang on!"
They did as she asked, though the alarms decided to triple in volume, probably trying to tell them other things were failing.
"Cascade failure," Kieran grumbled, angrier about being here at all then scared. Besides, Luca was an excellent pilot, he had every hope that she would land the ship safely.
It would be a bumpy, violent and hasty landing, but it would be safe.
Author's Note: There you have it, the fourth chapter! I promised the drama would start, and so it has! But there is much more to come!
As for the techno-babble...well, sadly, being the nerd/geek that I am, I would say that my techno-babble is 90% correct. Though, my biggest problem writing for the IV universe at the moment is their level of tech...what is it, exactly? The Lunarians gave them some stuff, but not others, so it leaves me...puzzled. I have an idea in my head, but I'm still trying to find a balance for this fic. Luckly that is a minor plot point in the over-all story, so it shouldn't matter too much!
Also, in my head, the cities are much larger then they are in-game. Because if they were like they are in-game, only one hundred people would be alive in the world. So, for those of you who have played Final Fantasy XII and remember how big those cities were, that's how I picture them in my fic!
Anywany. I think that's all for now. Stay tuned for more!