Chapter Seven

Ritardando

Just like almost every day in Ritardando, it was sunny. The breeze from the ocean was cool and the sun shone high, puffy white clouds lazily trailing in the sky. In the small hole on the side of the town, two boys were ready to start their journey.

"Wow, Retto, this is the first time I"m going outside Ritardando!" Beat exclaimed as a large grin on his face appeared. The older boy looked at him, a smirk appearing on his face. He took a few steps towards the ladder.

"It's not like we're going on a picnic, Beat. Don't get so excited." His smirk faded and Retto looked annoyed. He waved off Beat as his comment was almost foolish.

"Yeah, I know that Retto," Beat defended himself, "We're going to help Ritardando's poor by getting the leaders to lower taxes on stuff besides the mineral powder, right?" Retto's smile returned as he listened to the young boy talk. "That way everyone can afford blankets and cheese and all the honey-covered bread they could ever possibly want! Then everyone can finally be happy! Right, Retto?"

"That's exactly right. Hey, I'm proud of you, Beat. We can't solve things by just stealing bread. We have to uncover the real root of the problem."

"Yeah, you said it! So, where are we going, anyways?" Beat asked. Retto sighed and his smile faded as quickly as it came.

"You mean you don't know? Geez, I take back what I just said." He began climbing up the ladder. Beat followed quickly behind him. "We're heading to Forte Castle to talk to the guys in charge! Come on, let's go."

"Hey, Retto, wait up!"

Before we leave, Retto thought, we should probably see how the kids in the sewers are doing. He took a right after he climbed out of The Hideout. Beat followed quickly as they walked down the stairs that led to the sewers. Going to the back, Retto quickly checked on the kids and left. They stopped in the shop to sell the photos Beat took during battle, just so they had a little money on them. After they exited the shop, the entered Agogo Forest.

"Okay, you gotta watch yourself, Beat. It's not gonna be the same as fighting the rats in Ritardando." Retto clenched his fists as if he was going to make an attack.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll take some good pictures!" Beat exclaimed as he pulled out a large, bulky brown camera.

"Pictures?! Come on, don't waste time on that stuff. You need to help me fight." Retto angrily gestured his hands toward the open path in front of them.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Beat pointed at him. "Don't say things like that! Taking pictures isn't a waste of time," he shouted at Retto. Retto turned around, facing the path again.

"Fine, fine. You can tell me all about it later. Come on, let's get moving." They walked forward, officially beginning their journey.

Almost every inch of Agogo Forest was green. They stumbled upon random chests, rewarding themselves with small trinkets. They fought off a few enemies; they were only a bit harder to fight than the rats in the sewers and the boys found themselves to slowly become stronger and stronger after each fight. Retto and Beat walked up bridges, down staircases, and walked through every possible path. Agogo Forest was bigger than any place they have ever been.

Something was blocking their path. A small dragon-like creature with wings that resembled a moth's was flying before them. The two boys ran up to it, ready to fight. The dragon began to spit fire towards them. Retto ran up to the dragon and began slashing his sword. Beat hit it with his hammer gun (and occasionally stopped to take a photo, much to Retto's distaste). After minutes of relentless beating, the dragon began to weaken, keeling over but still managing to fight. Retto swung his sword for the final time, sending the dragon flying and dissolving into white light. They sheathed their weapons and walked away from the battlefield.

"If we don't hurry, we're gonna get caught in the rain," Retto said as Beat trailed behind him.

"So, what? We can handle a little rain. I mean, the Hideout's roof leaks like crazy!" Beat swung his arms as he walked. He turned around, facing the path he already walked. "And that's just when it drizzles!" He sprinted to catch up to Retto.

"Yeah, you got a point there."

I've decided I'm going to skip the history lessons about Chopin's life. If you want to learn about him, go read Wikipedia or something, haha. He's actually a very interesting man with an interesting life (I've done tons of research projects on him for school) but typing the story out is already a lot for me.

As always, thanks for reading!