Eh, was this chapter a bit later than I promised? Or more like two weeks later than I promised?I'm really sorry :Bows repeatedly: I hoped that updating once every two weeks would be doable, but I'm afraid I'll be late once in a while. I've been having exams in college lately so sadly I have less time than I hope to use the computer to type my chapters. You won't have to worry about writer's block from me, at least for a while seeing as I'm up to chapter seven on paper. Just hope that next time I won't be too bogged down with work to get the chance to type the next chapter and post it. Oh well it is the school year. Just about everyone can't update as often as they'd like.
You know I've looked around and I still can't find anything that says we can't respond to reviews. Also, several authors still do it. I'll start from this chapter on. If it turns out there is a ban on review responses I'm afraid I'll have stop, though.
Ark Navy: Hm, I never knew that Stony Brook University was another name for Hogwarts XD. Guess I should've mentioned I was a college student earlier. Heh, the idea of Colette tripping over those little orange pack Rico has around Ragol seemed natural to me, like how she tripped onto the lever when Sheena first attacked the group.
Melody of Shadow: Yay, a new reader who also plays PSO! Thanks so much for reviewing! Heh, I remember when my sister use to complain about having to use a FOmarl character in the beginning of the game. Now with a Grants Technique that does a HUGE amount of damage, she certainly doesn't anymore.
Kuramagirl44: Thanks so much for reviewing, Rose, and for reviewing my Mithos songfic! . I read a few of your fics by now, (four I believe). I must say you're quite the writer. It's interesting how I read your story "Farewell My Shadow" before even knowing that was you. Well here's hoping you like this chapter as much as the first few.
Eliannora: Wow, you're reading this fic of mine too! Thank you! Yep, who can't think those chubby little Rag Rappies are cute? They're even cute when there's a large flock of them trying to peck you to death. XD I'm glad your liking it so far and I can't wait for the next chapters of "Become One of Them" and "Sheena's Scheme".
Chapter 3: Growl, From the Depths of the Earth
"A disaster occurred. Things were shaking, and then something broke the surface. And then it exploded in the Central Dome! I don't know what to say… For three-and-a-half years, we've tried to adjust and improve the environment. What was it? Was it related to the accidents we've had earlier?"
"She sounds like she describing the explosion!" Lloyd said, " So she was away when it happened!"
"So it seems," Raine added, "However, this still does not tell us how the explosion occurred…we may need to find more of these message packs before we reach the Central Dome."
Colette looked off to the distance, seeing a large building up on a plateau.
"That's Central Dome…" she stated, "If there was an explosion, why is it still there?"
The rest of them went silent for a while. Obviously the thought hadn't crossed their minds.
"That explosion we saw did originate from the Dome," Raine began, "As large as it was, it should've caused some visible damage."
"Great, as if there weren't enough mysterious things happening on this planet," Genis sighed.
"GROAH!" a huge beast cried before collapsing. Perhaps between 15 and 17 feet in height, the giant looked very much like an ape with pointed bat-like ears. Its fur was mostly black with patches of red and blue bare skin on its face, legs and hands. This Hildebear, as the people of Pioneer 1 had named it, was a surprisingly fast and very strong animal, requiring the whole group to work together to defeat it.
Much like the last forest area, they had to face one animal bent on their destruction after another all while searching for anyone from Pioneer 1, or something that could tell them what happened. The only new animal, aside from the Hildebear was another sub-species of Booma called the Gigobooma, which was larger than Goboomas with tan and fuchsia fur and a much longer horn. They had found an operational computer, but there seemed to have been nothing unusual entered into its log before the explosion occurred. There weren't even any concerns about such an explosion happening. The Central Dome was looking more and more like the only place to get some answers.
After some time the hunters reached the foot of the plateau Central Dome was located, where as per usual they were ambushed by more of Ragol's animals, including the giant Hildebear.
"Was that Hilde-thing the last of them?" Lloyd panted. He acted as a diversion while the other three attacked the Hildebear from a distance. He quickly rectified his fatigue with a Resta though.
A silver-haired flash in a long robe suddenly zipped passed the younger hunters. Looking over to where it was heading, they could see the top of a large pillar of stone, mostly hidden by a hill.
"Didn't notice that before," Lloyd said.
"We were distracted by all those animals," Genis pointed out. The young Force then sighed, "I have a feeling…"
"Genis? What do you mean by feeling?" Colette asked.
"…You'll see."
The three ran over to the monolith where they were greeted by a loud "MARVELOUS!" from the FOmarl.
The Force in question was gazing upon the large stone pillar covered in strange engravings that ran down it. One could've sworn there were stars in her eyes.
"Uh…" Lloyd said dumbfounded.
"Just as I thought," the FOnewm sighed, "I was hoping this would stay a secret, too."
"Remarkable craftsmanship! It was just a silly fantasy of mine but…" Raine said excitedly.
"Every time she sees some new artifact or ruin she gets like this," Genis sighed again.
"Ruin…but I thought this planet is uninhabited?" Lloyd asked.
"'Is' being the key word. Maybe this was built by a civilization that died out," Genis explained
"Oh."
"Looks, it's another one of Rico's messages," Colette said, turning it on.
"I heard that this tall column was built to commemorate the immigration of Pioneer 1. But…it may just be me, it doesn't look very new. And those patterns…aren't they characters?" the now familiar voice said.
"Preposterous! How could anyone be led to believe something like this is new?" Raine exclaimed.
"She obviously doesn't know much about ancient history either," She continued, adopting a more serious tone, "This monolith…it had to have been built by Palmans!"
"Palmans? As in the planet Palma? How could that be?" Genis asked, surprised.
"If you look close enough-" Raine began to say, placing her hand on the Monolith. As soon as she did, the column began to make a humming noise and the strange symbols lit up and flashed red.
Everyone gasped with Raine adding an "astounding!"
"It's easier to see the characters now," the FOmarl continued, "Take a look, this symbol should be familiar."
She pointed to the top center of the column. It was an engraved ring with three circles arranged in a triangle. Three engraved long points extended "under" these circles, originating form a point in the center.
"That's…is that the Crest of Algo?" Colette exclaimed in disbelief.
"It looks an awful lot like it," Genis said, "But could it really be Palmans?"
"What about all that weird writing?" Lloyd asked, "It doesn't look like our language."
Running her hand over it the professor answered, "I believe its Esper Script. I can't be certain since we only have a few examples of it."
"Esper…Script?" Lloyd repeated slowly.
"Great Light, you should at least know who the Espers are," Genis said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, oh! I remember now! They're the ones back in Algo who can use real magic!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Well it seems not all my lessons were in vain," Raine commented.
"But I thought they all stayed in Algo," Colette said.
"They did. Since the mid AW 1200's the Espers began to go into hiding after the Mother Brain computer system was entirely integrated into Algo. By the time Palma was destroyed, all of them had gone to the third planet Dezoris. None of them escaped in the World Ships. The Espers have their own system of writing, but all we have are a few examples of it written in texts. I recognized a few characters on this monolith, but very few."
Lloyd didn't exactly grasp everything the FOmarl said but he asked, "So, why did they come here and where are they now?"
"If I knew that then I would tell you," Raine replied, "However I might be able to decipher these character…To finally decode their language…that was be quite a feat!"
The Silver-haired Force commenced using her radar device to scan the Monolith. Once she finished that, she typed away on a holographic keyboard.
"This could take a while," Genis sighed, "At least we weren't planning on going to Central Dome until tomorrow."
"Wow, this tastes great, Genis!" Lloyd exclaimed, having sampled the ramen he made.
As evening was already falling when they reached the monolith, the hunters set up camp all while Raine worked with the Esper Script. After concluding that there simply weren't enough characters to decipher it, she stopped shortly before Genis finished making dinner, which Lloyd was thoroughly enjoying.
"Yes," Colette agreed, "you're a really good cook."
"Heh, it's out of necessity," the Newman replied, "I had to learn to cook since Raine here can't cook toast."
That remark earned him a smart rap on the head.
"I only need more practice," she said.
"There's a difference between 'practicing' and 'experimenting'."
The boy received another hit from his sister.
"Heh, I guess your parents work a lot if you have to cook, Genis," Lloyd said.
Both Forces became very quite, making the HUmar wonder if he said something wrong.
"Our father died many years ago and our mother…" Raine paused for a while, her features changing to a more sad appearance," Our mother was a biologist sent onboard the Pioneer 1 to study Ragol's wildlife."
"I'm…really sorry…"Lloyd said, lowering his head.
"There's no need to be sorry, Lloyd. You couldn't possibly have known about it," the older Force said.
"So then this mission is personal to both of you," the brown-haired Hunter said.
"That's right. That's the real reason I wanted to come with Raine," Genis said, "To help look for our mother. Or at least find out what happened to her."
"I know exactly what you're going through!" Lloyd stated, "My father was also on Pioneer 1. I agreed immediately to joining a hunter team so I could find out what happened to him."
"So that's why you were so eager to start," Genis said.
"It's should come as no surprise that several hunters the government hired have family that were on Pioneer 1," Raine stated.
After dinner was over, the younger hunters played a few multiplayer games using their radar devices as Raine, feeling she was not finished yet, continued to look over the Esper characters. A few hours later, Genis, Colette and Raine prepared to turn in for the night with Lloyd keeping the first watch. Before Colette headed for the tent she shared with Raine she saw her friend the HUmar staring into the fire.
"Are you okay, Lloyd?" She asked, walking over to him.
"Hm? Oh, no I'm fine. I was just thinking," he replied, snapping out of it.
"About your father?"
The young Hunter only nodded sadly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Lloyd. That just came out."
"No, no it's okay. You don't have to apologize."
"Okay…sorry." The boy let out a sigh.
"You know, we've been through the first forest and didn't see anyone. Central Dome is somehow in one piece even though we all saw that explosion. Rico left these messages but we haven't seen here, either. Then there are all these animals attacking us…I still hope he's alive, but I'm stating to have doubts…"
The blond HUmarl sat down next to him. With a bit of a sad look she said, "I wish I could tell you that he's alright. For now though, all we can do is search for him and everyone else that was on Pioneer 1. If he's out there, we'll find him."
"You're right, Colette," Lloyd said after a brief moment of silence, a small smile crossing his features, "I knew that. I guess it's because I haven't seen him in seven years and I never thought anything like this would happen to him."
I can only imagine what your going through, Lloyd. But I'll try to help in any way I can."
The male Hunter's smile became bigger, "Thanks, Colette.
"I have a feeling he's out there…somewhere…" She continued, laying her head on Lloyd's shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Sleepy?" her friend asked.
"A little…"
"Then maybe you should get to bed. It'll be your turn to keep watch in a few hours."
"Alright…" The girl reluctantly got up.
"Good night, Colette."
"Good night, Lloyd."
"Man, monster after monster after monster. This is starting to get really boring."
"Boring? Did you see how many of those animals we fought back there?"
"Yeah but they were still easy to beat and it's the same kinds." The young Force sighed.
The following day the Hunter party took a small warp transporter to the top of the plateau where Central Dome was. On the way to the Dome's entrance they encountered wave after wave of Boomas, Wolves, Rappies, Monests and Mothmants, and even two Hildebears. Despite the large amount of enemies (or perhaps because of it) Lloyd was already complaining about how boring it was.
"Okay so how are we getting into the Dome anyway?" Lloyd asked, "The door's busted."
"There may be another way…ah, there," Raine replied, seeing a nearby transporter, "Perhaps it leads to the inside."
They gathered inside the transporter, which indeed did take them within the Dome.
A collection of shouts and gasps came from their mouths as soon as they were inside.
High up near the roof of the Dome and lowering to the ground was a gigantic winged reptile.
"There are dragons on Ragol?" Lloyd exclaimed the obvious.
The monster appeared to be thirty feet in length from the tip of its snout to the tips of its spilt tail. It was mainly orange in color with areas of rougher-looking green scales. From its forehead grew a long curved horn. Unlike the dragons on Symphonia, its extra-long forelimbs doubled as its wings, more like the Symphonian drakes and wyverns.
"It's the Ragolian dragon to be exact," Raine said, looking at her radar, "Again, convergent evolution."
The dragon landed on the ground, causing it to shake and unleashed a powerful roar.
"This could be tough," Lloyd said with Colette and Genis agreeing.
The giant reptile began by lowering it head, releasing a powerful stream of flames. All four hunters managed to avoid the bulk of the damage.
They ran closer to the dragon. Colette and the Forces stopped at the same distance; Colette sending Sawcer slashes at the monster's head and the Forces trying Gizonde bolts, the mid-level lightening Technique. Though risky, Lloyd ran over to the dragon's feet, tearing into its talons with his Musashi. While the Photons had little trouble piercing its scales, Lloyd spent more time avoiding being crushed by its feet than actual hurting it.
The dragon attempted to torch the hunters further away from it. Colette avoided the monster's attack in a rather unconventional way; having fallen down while trying to avoid it, the flame stream missed her completely. The Forces had to use a quick Resta on themselves after being burned by the dragon's fire.
"I don't think Gizonde really cutting it," Genis said. "Maybe we should try Gibarta."
"Perhaps, but that would involve getting closer to it," Raine said.
"Lloyd's still keeping it busy," Genis pointed out, "I think we'll be fine."
Getting closer to the winged reptile first, Genis released a slow but concentrated freezing mist that hit its side. The dragon roared in obvious discomfort. It suddenly flew up, the wind from its wings knocking Lloyd down.
"It did not like that ice," Genis commented.
The dragon continued to climb higher, so much so that the only thing that could hit it were normal Zonde bolts, which everyone used on it. Once its head was nearly scrapping against the ceiling, it suddenly dived toward the ground at an amazing velocity, burrowing into it. The violent shockwave that followed its plunge underground knocked more than just Colette off their feet.
"Okay, I don't think the dragons back on Symphonia could go underground!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"Everyone, keep an eye on your radar," Raine instructed, "It can still keep track of its movements.
The reptile appeared as a large yellow circle onscreen, though they could see the dragon burrowing toward them by the track of earth it created. It was quick though, occasionally striking and injuring the hunters which had to be healed with a Resta after each one.
From the center of the Dome, the giant reptile flew out from underground, landing on the floor.
"That burrowing trick of its could make things more difficult than they need to be," Lloyd said, "But I think I have an idea to stop it!"
He looked directly at Genis and Raine, "Can you two freeze its legs and tail with Gibarta. Once its stuck, I'll finish it off."
"It might work if I use Rabarta with Genis' Gibarta," Raine replied.
"Great. Colette, we'll distract the dragon while they get close enough," the HUmar continued.
"Okay, Lloyd."
The male Hunter went back to slashing at the monster's talons and avoiding getting crushed by them while the female Hunter pestered it further with her Sawcer. Meanwhile the Forces moved closer to the monstrous creature.
"Now!" Lloyd shouted, jumping out of the way.
Genis released the Gibarta while his sister unleashed a faster and higher concentrated mister that came out all around her. The dragon roared out again as both its legs and part of its tail were encased in ice. The dragon turned its head, preparing to melt the ice off but was stopped by a second Gibarta from Genis aimed at its head. Raine froze its wings when it tried to claw the ice off.
That was Lloyd's cue. He climbed up the monster's tail then ran up its back until he reached the base of its long neck. Before the dragon could turn to face him, he plunged both Musashi into its neck, severing its spinal cord and major artery. Its body went limp, crashing to the ground.
The HUmar breathed a sigh of relief. He jumped off the dead reptile, joining the others for a group Resta from Raine. The two Forces took an Orange Gel apiece, which relived them of their mental fatigue from using so many Techniques.
"That was amazing, Lloyd!" Colette cheered.
"Heh, but I didn't do it alone," he responded, "You all helped."
"Yes, but you were the one who thought of the idea to freeze it," she pointed out.
"She's right," Genis added, "Apparently you can think."
"Hey!"
"I believe my brother meant that you could use that reasoning you have in battle for other areas, such as achemdemics," Raine explained after smacking the Newman kid on the head.
"Heh-heh, how do you think I graduated form the academy?" Lloyd replied. Raine let out a sigh.
For the first time the hunters could really look around the Dome. The entire building was empty. The dragon or other animals may have already destroyed everything within it. Or perhaps the explosion had done it.
"Nothing! There isn't anything in here either!" Lloyd shouted angrily.
"I understand how you feel, Lloyd but there's no need to be rash," Raine siad, "It's possible that they managed to escape. After all, since there's no sign of anyone, they may have left here quite some time ago."
"You could be right," the HUmar replied with a nod.
"In any case, we have to report our findings to the Principal. Then we can be told when and where to continue the investigation."
Five days had passed since the hunter team retuned to Pioneer 2. They (mainly Raine) submitted a report of their investigation, including the sudden change in the animals' behaivor and Rico's messages.
The four of them once again stood before Prinmcipal Dorr,
"While it is unfortunate that your first investigation yielded little, we have found an area where thoes from Pioneer 1 may have or had been.
"Where?" Lloyd practically shouted.
Not minding the interuption, Dorr continued, "There are a vast system of caves underneath the surface of the planet, not far from Central Dome.We have detected transporters and some possible machine activity. It's more than likely that Pioneer 1 had been to the caves already, and could perhaps be hinding out in them. It's worth investigating."
"Understood, Sir," they all said.
The principal nodded, "Before you begin though, I must request that you four accept some new hunters to your team. Since these caverns are complex, we feel it's necessary to increase the size of the hunter teams, especially after hearing about the native wildlife."
"I wouldn't mind," Lloyd said.
"We worked well together, so they'll quite likely match us with hunters we know," Raine said.
"Or at least can cooperate with," Genis added.
"They say the more, the merrier," Colette said cheerfully.
"I'm glad you all agreed to this. We've already chosen two hunters to join you. As a matter of fact we called both of them here, but only one has arrived so far."
"Sir, the other hunter has just arrived by the transporter," the Sectretary Aisha said.
"Good timing. Send them both in," he told her.
As a figure appeared in the transporter, the door to one of the other rooms opened. A young woman with black hair (or dark violet depending on the light) and a young man with red hair took one step forward before they caught sight of each other.
"It's you!"
Hm…so who could these two be, huh? XD
My, that was a long chapter. Hope none of you mind too much.
I also have a few explaintory notes in case something was a bit confusing. First thing is the naming of Techniques. As you've seen there are three main types of elemental attack Techniques: Foie, Barta and Zonde which are Fire, Ice and Lightening respectively (distrub not the harmony of-- :Barely avoids fruit being thrown at her: Okay, okay I won't say it oO). These are the first level or Simple attacks. The next levels of Techs are referred to as Normal Attacks and have the "Gi" prefix in front of the name (Gifoie, Gibarta, Gizonde). They typically are stronger and hit multiple monsters. The last levels are the called Hard Attacks and have the "Ra" prefix (Rafoie, Rabarta, Razonde). They are very powerful and hit many enemies withing a certain area.
You may have noticed that Genis said "Great Light" instead of "Martel". I've changed a future part of this story a bit and now Martel is no longer a goddess (I've also replaced "Martel's sake" with "Great Light's sake" in chapter 2). The Great Light is a sort of deity from the Phantasy Star universe. I can't explain any more about the Great Light or why I changed it. That'll come later (much later).
I should've said this earlier, but any mentions I make of Algo and/or the planet Palma are actually in reference to the original Phantasy Star RPGs. As you may or may not know, Phantasy Star is actually a series of games with one game on the Sega Master System and three for the Sega Genesis (there were also two on the Game Gear but they never left Japan). I believe it is never openly stated that the event in PSO are linked to thoes in the past games, but there's enough evidence to suggest that the events of PSO occur after the original series.
There's one last thing I'd like to say to readers who did play PSO. I'd appreciate it if you didn't include anything in your reviews that could contain spoilers, especially later on. If you have any questions or comments that could contain spoiler, feel free to email me.
Well that's all I have to say, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to get the next one up by the time I promised…maybe even earlier. Guess I'll have to see…in the mean time though, please read and review!