Two Destinies Chapter 24: Union of the Three Swords
Author's Preface: Well, whaddya know? It hasn't been 3 months yet (it hasn't even been 3 days yet... XD) and I'm already back to work on another chapter! Hooray for April Vacation! :D So, with this chapter, I hereby am making some pretty big changes with the story line. You'll see for yourself~~~ (hint: the story changes involve a blonde who ISN'T Kyle. (The title is a somewhat of a hint, too) :P) Hopefully I'll be able to expand the character and make him seem a bit more likeable... Or not... Enjoy regardlessly!
"Okay, everything's good to go!" Keele said, looking smug.
"I'm impressed..." Chat said, staring at her ship. "The cannon goes surprisingly well with the décor of my ship~~~"
"YEAH!" Max laughed heartily. "Now we can go and invade Balir's Castle! I can't wait to beat up Balir!" He drove a punch into the palm of his other hand as he said this. Farah chuckled.
"Well then..." She said. "Let's get going. We have a king to dethrone!" And with that, everybody climbed aboard the Van Eltia and the ship departed not long afterwards.
"So, where exactly can we FIND Balir's Castle?" Reid inquired. He wasn't the kind of person to usually be pestering Chat while she was sailing, but he really had a desire to know which way the Van Eltia was going.
"Supposedly, Balir's Castle is to the north of here." Chat responded. "I bet we're bound to figure out where it is soon..." Right after she had said that, there was the sound of something hitting the ship, and in response, the Van Eltia started wildly shaking, knocking both Reid and Chat off their feet. Chat recovered first.
"W-what the hell was that?!?" She cried as she hung on tightly to the ship's steering wheel. Looking outside, she saw that there were unidentified vessels in front of her. When she saw that they were shooting at the Van Eltia, Chat's face twisted in rage. "So, you wanna mess with me? I'm gonna make you pay for attacking the Van Eltia! Take this!" There was a new button that Reid had never seen before resting near the wheel, and, after Chat had spewed her threat, she grabbed the button and pressed it. There was the sound of something charging above a second afterward.
"Is that the button for the Craymel Cannon?" Reid inquired. As he asked the question, a bright beam of light shot through the air and collided with one of the antagonizing ships. It exploded on impact.
"Take that!" Chat yelled as she watched the enemy ship's remains burn and start to sink. "There's more where that came from!" Once again, she pressed the button and the Craymel Cannon began to charge once more.
"What's going on?" Reid spun around upon hearing Farah's voice. Not only had she come to see what was going on, but the rest of the team had joined her.
"We're breaking through the blockade!" Chat cried out as another blast from the Craymel Cannon destroyed yet another enemy ship. However, within the next couple seconds, the ship was rocked by another blast to its side. Everybody was knocked off their feet. Once again, Chat was the first to clamor back up.
"Dammit!" She cursed. "Hull integrity is only at about half! We can't take many more of those blasts!"
"Aren't you a little young to be saying things like 'dammit', Chat?" Kyle mused. A Pow Hammer flew through the air and whacked Meredy on the head.
"Not in the mood, Kyle!" She raged. "I'm a little preoccupied!"
"But why did Meredy get hit, Chat?" The purple haired girl asked as she rubbed her head.
"Because she's focusing on the sea battle and not on where she's throwing her Pow Hammers..." Farah said. "That hammer wasn't meant for you, Meredy." The green haired martial artist glared at Kyle, who shrugged in return.
"Hey, I was just saying!" He said. "What did I do wrong?" At that moment, Kyle's neck started aching again. He shrunk back and held his sore neck. "Oww... Not AGAIN..." He muttered in a near illegible manner. "Damned Darkness..." A second later, he yelled. "CHAT! Look to the port side!"
"Huh?" She looked to her left and saw an enemy ship charging its laser in the direction of the Van Eltia. "No you don't!" Chat fired another cannon blast at the ship, which sunk on impact once again. She then smiled at Kyle. "Thanks, Kyle!" She said. "That shot would have probably sunk us if it had hit. You saved us."
"Huh?" Kyle was looking a bit dazed. "How did I save the ship?"
"You pointed out an enemy that was about to fire at us." Farah said. "...The thing is, how the heck did you know it was there when we didn't see it?"
"...I honestly don't remember even saying anything..." Kyle shrugged. Everybody (except Chat, who was still trying to get through the blockade) looked at Kyle like he had five heads.
"How could you forget about something like that?" Reid asked.
"Another layer to the mysteries surrounding you..." Keele said, his hand rubbing his chin. "You really are a strange kid..."
"Guys, could somebody explain what the hell is going on?!?" Kyle was getting mad. "Everybody's calling me weird and I dunno why!"
"All right! Here goes nothing!" Chat yelled, changing the subject. "Everybody, hold onto something!" Just then, the ship started shaking again.
"Did the Van Eltia get hit again?!?" Meredy wondered worriedly.
"Hardly!" Chat said. "Time to put this ship into hyperdrive!" The ship began rocketing forward past the blockading ships. Nobody else besides Chat was expecting the speed of the ship and they all fell onto their backs. The captain looked back to her downed comrades after the hyperdrive had stopped and chuckled. "Hey, I warned you to hang on~~~" She said.
"So, did we lose those ships?" Farah asked as she looked out the window and saw nothing but ocean.
"Sure did." Chat said. "The ride to Balir's Castle should be a lot less bumpy now."
"Is that Balir's Castle over there?" Reid said. The team looked ahead and saw the form of a dark castle in front of them.
"If that's not Balir's Castle, I dunno what it would look like..." Keele said. Chat nodded.
"Very well, full speed ahead to that castle!"
"N-not FULL speed, Chat..." Kyle said. "Let's not go into hyperdrive again..." A Pow Hammer whacked Kyle in the head. He rubbed his head after the impact. "Hey, what was that for?!?"
"That was for earlier~~~" Chat mused. "You made me hurt Meredy, so now we're even~~~"
"...Sorry..." Kyle said. "Geez, you could've just asked me to apologize... Besides, didn't I save the ship?"
"But you don't remember doing it, so that can't count." Chat laughed.
"...Your logic confuses me..."
The castle that Reid had pointed out was indeed Balir's Castle. Before anybody could stop him, Max leaped off the boat with the other members of Shileska. Before leaving to enter the castle, Max left one parting message.
"Sorry, you guys!" He yelled. "Gotta lead my men against Balir's forces! I'll meet you guys right outside the throne room!" And, after that, Max disappeared into the castle. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Keele's head.
"Might as well go after him..." He said. "Dunno what kind of trouble he could get into..." Agreeing, the rest of the team stepped off the Van Eltia to go after Max. They stared up at the giant castle looming over them.
"Wow..." Reid said as he was gawking at the castle. "Sure is a lot different than Inferia Castle, isn't it?"
"Indeed..." Farah said. "Unlike Inferia Castle, which gave off a sense of nobility, the only feeling this castle gives off is fear..."
"All right... We should get going if we ever want to catch up with Max..." Kyle said, one hand on his neck. He took a few paces forward, before he was grabbed by Meredy. Kyle looked back at the girl who was holding his hand.
"Is Kyle's neck hurting again?" She asked. Meredy and Kyle locked eyes for a couple seconds before the latter responded.
"It's not exactly hurting..." He said. "Just a little tingly and itchy, that's all..." Could this feeling be from that mark, though? He thought to himself. Meredy smiled.
"All right. Meredy is happy that Kyle is okay." She let go of Kyle's hand. "We should all go in and find Max!" And with that, the team started to make their way to the entrance of the castle.
---
Right before they could enter the building, a voice cried out from behind. "Stop right there!" It said. Everybody turned around. There was an Inferian man with a blue hat and clothes and long yellow hair standing a few meters behind them.
"Ras!" Farah was surprised to see this person again.
"What are you doing here, Ras?" Reid said, a little bit of bitterness in his voice. Ras took a few steps toward the party.
"I came here to fight Balir." He stopped right in front of Reid. "I'm just as surprised as you guys are in finding you here. Let me guess, you're going after Balir as well, correct?"
"Yeah, we're gonna find our friend Max and fight Balir." Kyle said. Ras turned to face Kyle and a look of surprise crossed his face.
"You..." He said. "I don't remember you crossing the Bridge of Light, but you certainly look Inferian..." Kyle averted his gaze and chuckled.
"Eh heh heh..." Kyle rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you see..." Before he knew it, Ras had stepped up right in front of him and was staring at Kyle with his blue eyes.
"...What's your name, young one?" Ras inquired. Kyle was too transfixed to look away from Ras.
"Umm..." Kyle stuttered a little. "M-my name's Kyle Dunamis..."
"So YOU'RE Kyle..." Ras closed his eyes and turned away. "My name is Rassius Luine. You may call me Ras, though." Kyle grabbed Ras' arm.
"Wait, what did you mean by 'you're Kyle'?" He asked. "Do you know me?" Ras turned to face Kyle again.
"Never mind. It's nothing." He stared at Kyle for a few more seconds before muttering "...Something seems off about you... I can't put my finger on it, but something's wrong..." Reid walked up behind Kyle and put his arms on Kyle's shoulders.
"I dunno what your deal is with Kyle..." Reid said. "But we're gonna be heading inside now. See you later."
"Hold on a minute, Reid." Ras said. "Let me go with you. Our goal is the same. Will you allow me to travel with your group one more time?" Reid gave Ras a harsh glare.
"I still don't trust you completely after what you did back at the Bridge of Light..." He said, his gaze transfixed. "However, as you said, our goals are the same, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to have you back on our side again..."
"Just promise that you aren't going to try to stop us this time like you did with us crossing over to Celestia..." Keele said. Ras brushed a lock of hair off of his shoulder.
"I said that our goal is the same." He repeated. "Why would I stop you if I want to defeat Balir as much as you do? Shall we get going, then?"
"I think we can trust him." Farah said. "The more the merrier..."
"Very well." Reid said. "Now, let's get going. Max is waiting for us."
---
The team had walked into the castle gingerly. The castle was in a state of disarray, with rubble and debris scattered everywhere. The team had to step gingerly or they risked getting impaled by a sharp piece of rubble in the foot. To the left and right of the main entrance area, almost identical looking long hallways stretched out of sight. The team debated which way to go.
"If I was Max, which way would I go first?" Keele rubbed his chin.
"Might as well just randomly pick one way to go in that case..." Farah said. "I say we should take the left path."
"Does it really matter either way?" Kyle inquired. At that moment, he noticed Ras giving him a weird look. Their eyes met for a second before Kyle forced his gaze away. What's Ras' deal with me? He thought. What did he mean by "you're Kyle"? Does he know me? Hopefully, I'll get a chance to ask somewhere along the way... Following Farah's suggestion, the group started down the left path.
The hallway was far too quiet. Everybody anticipated something jumping out at them every other second. For a while, nothing did. However, at the end of the hallway, Kyle's neck began to bother him again. "Uh oh..." He said. "Something's wrong..."
"What do you mean?" Farah asked, looking back at Kyle.
"Well, thanks to something the Darkness did to me, my neck starts hurting on occassion." Kyle took his hand off of his neck. "Usually it's been hurting whenever trouble's about to occur..."
"That's strange..." Keele said, his hand back on his chin again. "Tell me, was your neck hurting before anytime during the ship ride here?"
"Yeah, it was..." Kyle said. "Why do you ask?"
"So it must be..." Keele's voice dropped to an unintelligible whisper. Kyle was getting irritated.
"It must be what?!?" He asked. "Why won't you tell me?!?" At that moment, something fell down from the ceiling behind Kyle. He turned around quickly to see a Clay Golem standing over him. The Golem reached down and wrapped its hands around Kyle, trapping him in its grasp. "Help!" He yelled. "Get it off of me!" Just then, before Reid could react, Ras had dashed over behind where the enemy was holding Kyle hostage and whipped out his sword.
"Super Lightning Blade!" He stabbed the Golem in the back with the force of a wind sheer and quickly afterwards, a bolt of lightning came down and struck the Clay Golem. In response, the enemy let go of Kyle, who scrambled back over to the relative safety of his friends, and it crumbled a couple seconds later. Walking over to the rest of the party, Ras locked eyes with Kyle. "You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah..." Kyle smiled. "Thanks, Ras." Reid's face was filled with jealousy. He stepped between Ras and Kyle.
"All right, so you saved the day..." Reid said. "Can we get a move on again?" He turned around, wrapped an arm around Kyle's shoulders and started walking with him.
"Reid, what's wrong?" Farah asked as he walked by her. The ginger said nothing as he passed by. Farah was able to sense his irritated aura as he walked by, though, and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Reid, you can't stay bitter forever... Ras isn't trying to create a rift between you and Kyle, if that's what you're concerned about..."
"I'm not concerned about a rift in our friendship..." He said sourly. "I just don't trust Ras... Not after our last encounter..."
"Mind telling me about what happened?" Kyle asked. "I'd like to know what's up between you and Ras..."
"He tried to stop us from coming to Celestia..." Reid said. "He even fought us because we were going to Celestia with the Inferian Summon Spirits..." Ras cleared his throat behind Reid.
"I hate to interfere here..." He said. "But wasn't there a friend of yours that you needed to reunite with? This idle chatter isn't getting us any closer to Balir..."
"Ras is right." Keele said. "We're not catching up to Max by talking here. Let's keep moving forward." And with that, the party continued on down the corridor.
---
While the team was walking, Kyle struck up a conversation with Ras. "So... Ras... You said something about 'you're Kyle'... I wanna know what that was all about... Do you know me?" Ras nodded.
"Indeed." He said. "When I first saw you, I thought that you were me for a while... You've grown so much since then..." Kyle stopped walking.
"...What is that supposed to mean?" He said. "That makes no sense whatsoever! And how do you know me, but I don't know you?!? From the sounds of it, you're sounding like you've known me for years!"
"No, it hasn't even been a month since I met you..." Ras said. "And yet, I didn't expect to see you that old so soon..." Kyle was terribly confused. Nothing Ras was saying was even remotely making sense. Kyle was sure that he didn't look much older than he did a month ago, so why was Ras saying things like he didn't expect to see Kyle that old so soon? At that moment, the pain in Kyle's neck was getting stronger. Is Ras really to be trusted? He wondered. Or is the pain in my neck trying to tell me something about Ras? Could he be... a minion of the Darkness?
Author's Final Note: So... How DOES Ras know Kyle? Well, I'm not about to reveal it right now, but if you look out for my next ToE chapter (since I'm thinking about writing a ToD2 chapter next), more will be revealed. Yeah... So instead of Ras making a last minute "lol, I'm gonna just run in and save you by killing myself", I decided to make him join the party for the entire dungeon... Yeah, his reason is a bit cheesy, but there's actually a deeper motive than "lol, I wanna kill Balir, too" behind it. You shall all see for yourselves~~~ *shot for being cryptic* Anyways, thanks for reading! Now leave me a review! :D *shot again*
