Volume I: A New World
Chapter X: The Skyway to Goldenia
Location: Rishki Port, Northern Helhein
"Hey. Monika?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Remind us again. How the hell are we in this situation?"
"Remember those three guys Feena picked a fight with?"
"Sorry bout that..."
"Yeah... Looks like they had friends."
*With Ragna, Monika, and Feena. As the three of them had caught up with Monika, they were all attempting to board the airship and get ready to head out to Goldenia. However, on their way to the airship that's in front of them the three large, hairy individuals had managed to run back into the trio once again, this time coming in a group of ten, and were looking for payback over what happened to them at the bar. Cutting off their way towards the airship's entrance, Ragna and the two girls were all currently surrounded by the ruffians. The three were forced to stay and fight them for a long while, thirteen minutes to be exact. Which leaves them with about two minutes to escape to the selected airship before it takes off without them.*
"I really thought those arrows would've stunned them longer." Feena said to herself.
"And now they're highly pissed at us from earlier, and want revenge." Monika continued. "So now, we've got approximately one hundred eighteen seconds left to deal with these guys and get aboard that airship to Goldenia before we're left."
"Of course we do..." Ragna sighed. "Any clue on how we do that in less than two minutes?'
". . . I'll let you know if I come up with one. Just... try to stay alive until then."
"The same goes for you too then."
*As their conversation finished, the trio turned to see the ten large warriors were rushing at them from all angles. The first four dove straight into the middle of the group, slamming their bone clubs into the ground. Ragna and the others jumped into the air to avoid, with Feena landing on the head of one of them. On instinct, another one of the warriors attempted to swing at Feena, only for her to jump and for them to miss, and accidentally clobber their own ally on the top of the head. Feena touched ground directly behind them, and quickly rolled out the way again as the other two crashed their bones into the ground, attempting to crush the girl. After dodging out of their attack, Feena quickly rebounded and ran up to one of them, spin kicking the ruffian in the face before jumping out of the way again. She fired three arrows at the other three large warriors, striking them all in different spots. While not paying attention however, the fourth one jabbed at her from behind, knocking her in between the four of them. Just as she regained herself, she saw the four of them rushing in at her. Feena ducked, which caused the warriors to all run head first into each other. Immediately after they finished rubbing their heads they started arguing and yelling between the four of them. Using this as an opening, Feena quickly rolled away from them. By the time any of them realized she escaped and turned around, Feena had fired an explosive arrow towards them, knocking them all backwards a good four feet away from her.*
*With Monika, the blonde haired woman hadn't even drawn her sword as she defended herself against the ruffians with merely her scabbard housing her sheathed blade. Swinging left and right, Monika moved her scabbard to block their attacks one by one, eventually giving them the slip as she dashed out of their range, but was quickly caught by another warrior, and knocked into the ground. Picking herself up the large warrior was charging straight towards her, preparing to tackle and flatten her. Monika gasped and quickly rolls out of the way, causing the warrior to miss, and accidentally collide into the other two. The other two ruffians kicked the third one off and quickly went back on the offensive against Monika, who moves her scabbard in a circular motion around her to block each of their attacks in all directions. She jumped out the way as all three slashed vertically downward at her, and proceeds to pull out her peacemaker, ready to fire. However, one of the warriors swatted their hands at her, knocking the peacemaker away, followed by another slugging her across the face with a left hook, knocking her back in the ground. Monika pulled her hat back tightly over her head and growled before standing back up, preparing herself to reengage the brutes once more.*
*With Ragna, the man had currently converted his weapon into a scythe, using its length to block the other three that were currently after him. The man swung his scythe back and forth, parrying each one of their strikes with ease. Taking the first opening he could get, he rushed at one of them with his fist covered in darkness, punching the ruffian dead in the face, as well as sending that warrior flying into one of the others. However, while his guard was down, the third one slammed its bone into Ragna's chest, nearly knocking him off balance as it responded by throwing a punch straight into his face. Ragna however, did not go down after this, surprising the brute. Suddenly, said brute was currently being lifted in the air as Ragna took hold of its fist, and spun it around in a circle before flinging the warrior into its other two allies. As Ragna readied himself to rush at them once again, he was suddenly knocked down as Feena was sent flying and crashed into him from the side. The four warriors that were after her were also chasing her down as well, which gave time for the three Ragna knocked down to get back up and do the same. Ragna turned over as Feena awkwardly rubbed the back of her head after what happened.*
"Get off!"
*Ragna quickly threw Feena off of him as to get back to his feet and ready himself for the incoming assault from the seven warriors. Feena did the same as well, grabbing her crossbow and arming it. The first two attacked the duo, swinging their bones left and right. Ragna proceeded to block on of them with his weapon, now in its sword form, and avoid the other, causing the warrior to miss and strike its ally in the abdomen. Feena went low, and sweep kicked the second one, knocking it down as she turned around and fired several arrows at the first one. She quickly jumped out of the way as the next three rushed at her. Ragna used this as an opportunity to attack, and horizontally slashed at them, one by one. One of the warriors attempted to counter one of Ragna's attacks with a circular swing, only for Ragna to duck under it, and for the attack to collide with the head of one of its allies. Just as Ragna and Feena prepared to attack the next two, Monika suddenly flew past their faces, landing on the ground a good two feet away from them. The woman struggled to get back up as she leaned on her sheathed sword for support. Suddenly from above, another one of the ruffians leaped into the air, attempting to strike her from above. Ragna quickly ran over to Monika and grabbed her as he jumped out of the way, just in time as the large warrior crashed into the ground. As the warrior attempted to run after them, Feena rolled under it and followed with two punches to the gut, causing the brute to stagger. As it recovered, she fired an explosive arrow at the ruffian, sending it back into the other nine that were gathered, knocking the all over as if they were wine bottles laid out in rows of four, three, and two. The impact managed to incapacitate the ten warriors, as none of them got back up. Ragna, Monika, and Feena all breathed in relief upon seeing this. However, they quickly snapped out of it as they turned around to the airship getting ready to pull off.*
"Shit! We're late! Ragna said.
"Stop talking and run!" Monika responded.
*The three took off running, with Monika still holding onto Ragna for support. The three moved as fast as they could to try and catch the airship in time, with Ragna and Monika in front. However by the time they arrived it was too far away for them to jump.*
"Dammit!" Ragna exclaimed. "We missed it!"
"Now we're stuck here with those brutes..." Monika sighed.
"Not if I have anything to say and do about it!" Feena exclaimed. "Hang on!"
*Ragna and Monika looked behind them to see Feena running straight towards them. Before they could say anything else, Feena tackled the two of them off of the port and into the open sky, leaving them in free fall. Throughout all of this, Feena continued to hold onto the two of them tightly.*
"We're not missing that airship!"
*Feena kicked sharply into the air with both feet at the same time, causing a large gust of wind to appear from under her, sending her, alongside Ragna and Monika upward. Seeing this, the latter two held onto her tightly. Feena continued to throw kick after kick into the air, sending several gusts of wind from under her, propelling the group upwards. As Monika looked down, they saw that Feena had positioned them directly above the airship in an open space.*
"Hang on you two!" Feena said to them. "We're going in hot!"
"Feena wait-!"
*Monika's screaming was ignored as Feena kicked diagonally upward into the air, launching herself, Ragna, and Monika downward onto the airship. The three of them quickly crashed onto the airship as well. As Ragna was the first to stand back up, he looked and saw that the three had safely made it to the airship, and were only their way to Goldenia.*
"Holy... Hey! Get up!" He said to the two girls.
*Monika and Feena picked themselves off the ground to see that they were alright and on the airship.*
"We... made it?" Monika questioned.
"Hell yeah!" Feena exclaimed. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"I can't believe it... we actually got through that."
"I can't believe we made that jump." Ragna said. "Hey Feena, how the hell did you do that?"
"Ah, it's quite simple, really." Feena smirked. "The air's my element! Thanks to that, I can fly! well, sort of. I call it 'Wind-Riding'... or 'Wind-Walking' sometimes. But mostly 'Wind-Riding'! It's fun, and it's useful!"
"It was also very dangerous if you ask me." Monika butted in. "You could've easily missed that landing you know."
"Give her a break Monika." Ragna commented. "We made it here didn't we? And we're alright. That's all you should be concerned with for right now, don't you think?"
*Monika sighed.*
"I guess..."
"Well, we've got a little while to rest up before we get to Goldenia." Feena said to the two. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm gonna take a stroll around this airship for a while. Guess we can meet back here sometime before we arrive."
"Don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself." Monika told Feena. "And make sure to stay out of place you know you shouldn't be going into."
"I know. I know."
*Monika and Ragna watched as Feena walked off to explore the public airship.*
"In the meantime..." Ragna began to ask. "What are you gonna do?"
*Ragna looked back to see Monika laying up against a pile of crates that was behind the two of them. She sighed deeply as she looked up into the air above.*
"I'm gonna rest here for a little while." She replied to Ragna, turning herself to face him. "Those guys back there that attacked us hit a lot harder than I thought they did. My stomach's in a shit ton of pain right now from being punched around."
"You're telling me. My face stings from being punched."
"Yet Feena seems to be able to walk around like everything's alright."
"I don't know why, though. But I have the feeling that she's been through worse than that. It's no wonder she used to bar fights and crap like that happening."
"That does remind me..."
"Hm? What is it?"
"There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Can it wait a bit?" Monika sighed. "I'd really like a moment to myself right about now. A moment to rest up. And a moment to think about some things."
"Why? What's bugging you?"
"I. . . I don't want to talk about it right now. Look, we'll talk in about an hour or two so wake me up around that time. Then you can ask your questions. And depending on how I feel, I might decide to answer your questions. Okay?'
". . . Alright. Enjoy your nap I guess."
*Ragna sat right beside the crates as Monika climbed on top of them and proceed to doze off to sleep. The girl yawned softly and rubbed her eyes, her hat being blown off her head and falling to the ground beside the crate as she fell asleep. Ragna looked at the hat on the ground beside him and the crate, then back up into the sky above.*
-x-
About 2 Hours Later. . .
*As time flew by, Ragna had been standing up and leaning on the rails at the edge of the airship, staring out into the sky as he, Monika and Feena, who was still elsewhere exploring the airship, awaited for the impending arrival to Goldenia. The man merely sighed out of boredom as he turned around to see Monika still asleep on the crates behind them. Ragna then walked over towards the sleeping girl, and lightly rocked her to wake her up.*
"Alright Monika," He started to say as he shook the girl. "It's been about two hours. Get up, will you?"
*Monika started to stir in her sleep as Ragna stopped messing with her. Soon, her eyes slowly began to open as she started to sit up on the crates. The girl rubbed her head slightly as she woke up, but soon snapped to as she felt her hat missing.*
"What the...?" She started questioning. "Where's-Where's my hat? Ragna have you seen my-"
*Monika stopped talking as Ragna placed her hat back on top of her head.*
"Here." He answered. "It fell off when you dozed off."
"Oh thank goodness..." She sighed. "I thought I lost my hat there for a moment."
"What's so special about your hat?"
"It's none of your business. What a girl considers to be special should be of for only her alone to know."
"Fine. Whatever."
"Speaking of knowing things, didn't you say you had something you wanted to talk to me about?" Ragna nodded in response to Monika. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm up now, so I'm all ears."
"I was going to wait until Feena showed back up-"
"No need to worry about her, she'll be fine."
"What makes you say that?"
"Public airships no longer have bars of serve intoxicated drinks. That's why I'm not too worried about her. That and I know she has enough common sense to stay out of areas where she doesn't belong."
"I guess so."
*Monika sat up with her legs crossed on one of the crates.*
"Well? I'm waiting. Ask away."
"Right. . . Well. . . What exactly do you think about Feena?"
". . . What?" Monika looked at Ragna with a confused face. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. What do you think about Feena? The way you've been acting recently is giving me the impression that you think Feena is just a nuisance that you have no choice but to put up with. Is that it? Or is there something else about her that you're not gonna talk about?"
*Monika closed her eyes for a moment and lightly taps her hand on the crate to her left. She then sighed as she took off her hat and brushed it off.*
"No, she's not a nuisance. . . Well. . . Most of the time, Feena's not a nuisance. Though she can be one at times. I know, I know, she's not doing it on purpose is probably what you'll tell me next. Listen, I know that Feena's not doing any of this because she enjoys vexing me, I'm completely aware of that."
"Then you could at least act like that you know."
*Monika looked back at Ragna as she placed her hat back on her head.*
"Explain."
"You've just been in a real bad mood ever since the bar fight we had to deal with back there. And ever since then I've been talking with Feena, and I'm pretty sure you not telling her these things may have hurt her feelings a little. If you're not mad or upset with her over what happened several hours ago, you should at least tell your subordinate that, don't you think?"
"Ragna, you don't seem to get it. I am actually upset with her. Is it for the bar fight? Maybe. Maybe not. I mean they do vex me now and then, but honestly, those are just something that I'm used to. If anything, the real reasons I'm upset are the same as my hat. They're things that I don't want to talk about. Things that neither you, or Feena would be able to understand. Hell, if anything, I'm more worried that upset."
"About her safety?"
"That's a start yes."
*Ragna sighs*
"This conversation isn't really going where I was expecting it to go..." He stated.
"How were you expecting it to go?"
"A lot better than this..."
"Look, Ragna, I'm sorry. I just have a lot of things about me that I prefer that I never talk about with anyone else. It's just very personal, and I've only just met you a few days ago. Of course I'm not gonna start telling you all this shit. You understand, don't you?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I get it. Sorry for bringing this up."
"No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. And it's not Feena's fault."
"Honestly, you don't sound too confident when you say that."
"I'm serious Ragna. . . " Monika looked down and sighed. "If anything, this is most likely MY fault."
"That's believable."
*Monika punched the man in the shoulder.*
"What? I'm not wrong am I?" He asked.
"Yes!" Monika answered in an offended tone. "You are!"
"Monika, you're the one that said it." Ragna responded. "Think for a minute. Feena's been trying her absolute best to be as helpful as she can to you, and yet you respond by recognize all of the bullshit and wrongs that she's been doing. It technically is your fault that we're having this conversation in the first place."
Monika sighs.". . .I'm aware of that unfortunately. And I hate that fact. I want to deny it. I want to deny that I'm in the wrong this time around. But I can't. I know that I'm harsh towards Feena. But. . . But I have my reasons."
"You don't need to keep those reasons to yourself you know. Feena's not only your subordinate, but she's also your friend isn't she? If there's something that's bothering you, don't you think you should go to her and talk about it?"
"Ragna. . . It's not as simple for me as you're making it sound. It's complicated. I have my reasons why I keep quiet. I have my reasons why I behave so harsh and strictly. All that you need to know is that I care about Feena. And I do worry about her safety, as my subordinate, obviously. And as a commanding officer, it should be my job to point out what she does right, yes, but also what she does wrong as well."
". . . You know something. . . I don't think I'll be able to understand you fully, no matter how long I have to stay here in Riverbrandt. And that's not a good thing. Are you sure there isn't anything else that you can open up to either of us about?
"I know. You're just trying to help me. But please." Monika sighed as she got off of the crate and stood up. "Just leave me be, will you? let a girl talk when she gets ready."
"Dammit, there's no point in arguing anymore, is there?" Ragna sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Fine. You can keep your secrets. I won't ask you to go start spewing out your life's story. Just that you look at Feena more positively. "
*Monika smiled and tipped her hat.*
"That. I can do." She said.
*Ragna smiled.*
"Think we should go find her?"
"No, it'd be better if we were to stay here. As long as she's been gone, Feena could be back any minute. And I don't her to come back and find the two of us not in our meeting spot."
"Ragna! Monika!"
*At that moment, the two turned to see Feena running back up to them.*
"Oh, well speaking of the devil." Monika said.
"Where have you been?" Ragna asked.
"Oh, you know me." Feena said while smiling. "I'm always just wandering around. Scouting out the boat, and making sure that there wasn't anyone watching us when we got up here."
"Didn't anyone notice you. . . What did you call it?" Monika asked, scratching her head. "You know, that thing you did."
"You mean 'Wind-Riding', right?"
"Yeah, that."
"I figured they would if we landed close by everyone. That's why I aimed for this back portion here. There was barely anyone around, if not anyone at all. Therefore we could drop off easily without the worries of being seen."
"Shit, you had this whole thing planned out, huh?" Ragna asked.
"No no no, don't get me wrong!" Feena waved her arms around frantically. "I didn't plan for that whole fight at all!"
"Don't worry. We understand." Monika said. "Right now, I'm just glad things are calm again. We've finally had ourselves a moment to rest before we reach Goldenia."
"From there, that's when the real fight begins, isn't it?" Ragna stated.
"Unfortunately."
"It shouldn't be that much of a hassle." Feena responded. "The only real problem has to be Katalina. But then again, what's the worse that she's gonna do considering that she'll most likely be with Lancelot still. Even if we had our three day schedule still in tact, I don't think we'll have to worry about it."
"Either way, I have the feeling that this isn't gonna be any easier, regardless of who's there or who's not there." Ragna commented and sighs. "But then again, I'm not gonna be able to get home by just sitting here and complaining, am I?
"If it were that easy then we would need to do all of this, now would we?" Monika laughed.
"She's not wrong." Feena chuckled as well.
*Ragna smiles and slightly laughs alongside the two girls.*
"On another note." Ragna started to say. "How much longer is this gonna take anyway? It's been a while now. Shouldn't we at least be almost there?"
"Oh! Right!" Feena exclaimed. "That's exactly why I came back here looking for you two in the first place!"
"Huh?" Monika asked.
"Why's that?" Ragna asked as well.
"Come on."
*Feena started walking back to the front of the airship. Monika and Ragna merely shrugged, and followed after the girl. Upon catching up to her, the three found themselves among the crowd of individuals close to the front of the airship. Passing through them, the three looked out into the open sky to see a enormous, mountain-like, beautiful city hovering in the clouds in the distance, with a large castle sitting atop the clouds as well, seeming to be larger than the entire city beneath it.*
"Holy shit..." Ragna said in amazement. "Is. . . Is that-"
"Yeah. It is." Monika answered. "Consider this a welcome to Goldenia, Ragna."
"I had a feeling it would surprise me but... But not like this!"
"It's always impressive when you first see the place." Feena smiled. "Considering how long that we've been in Goldenia, it's kind of an old sight for us. "
"Well then," Monika spoke up again. "Guess we'd better prepare to get off then."
"Actually... I've got a better idea."
". . .That smile on your face worries me Feena."
"What the hell are you planning?" Ragna asked.
"Simple." Feena answered. "We're gonna get off the same way we got on!"
"You're kidding, right?!" Monika panicked.
"You wanna just jump off this airship and try to make your way there yourself?!" Ragna asked as well, with concern in his voice. "What the hell's wrong with waiting for this thing to land?!"
"Any chance that there might be any trouble on that landing platform is a chance I'd rather not take that chance." Feena stated. "Would either of you like to tangle with those odds?"
*Ragna and Monika sighed.*
"Fine." Ragna said.
"Just.." Monika started to say. "Just don't go too overboard, will you?"
"Leave it to me!"
*Feena started running back to the back of the airship, with Ragna and Monika following after her. Feena kept calling to the two of them to hurry up after her, in which they proceed to do so, and run up to her as well. The three steeled their nerves as they were prepared to jump straight into the colossal kingdom known as Goldenia.*