AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here's the tenth chapter!
*bangs head on desk* Ugh.. I finally finished it. And it's (checks clock) quarter to three. Holy crap _
Things have been kind of busy since I started my summer classes. But the upside to them is I don't have to get up early like I did last year. And the teacher's really nice. I like him.
Anyway, this chapter's kinda filler-ish, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!
Yoline Nimai: I'm so glad you like my story. I'm aiming to be a mystery writer like Nora Roberts, so any criticism or suggestions will be welcomed.
The Lone Canine: I'm happy you like my story, little brother. Please tell me what you think of this latest chapter.
AquaticWings: I'd thought it be more interesting if I mixed game, manga, and anime together. To make it stand out. Bev did not go with the group because she had no reason to. She's just trying to get home before things get complicated, which probably won't happen (smiles mysteriously)
DG a.k.a Demon Gurl: I agree with the anime being too fast. But it has some interesting scenes to mix in, and it's not the only source I'm basing the story off of, so don't worry. Please enjoy this next chapter!
Moon Seraph 12: typos? I'll give typos (grumble, grumble)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the character's of Symphonia, just my OCS.
Chapter Ten– Reunion and Mystery
" Ugh.."
I sub-consciously heard my own groan as it rang out, magnified much louder from it's usual tone due to bouncing off the enclosed walls of the mine walls so many times; I felt the pain from the previous attack slam into my body again double-fold when I tried to drag in much needed air and let out a low whimper of distress. Man– that hurt!
' What the..?' I questioned bitterly as I fought to tamp down the pain. ' What the hell happened to me?.' Bits and pieces of memories of the earlier battle briefly flashed through my mind, but they were so tiny and messed up, I had a hard time putting them together. The only thing I gained was a headache that made me cringe outright before I forced myself to roll onto my back.
All was exceptionally quiet right now, save for the occasional howl of a monster further down in the mines and the drip of an unknown water source. It made me want to fall asleep right there, being lulled by all the soft rhythmical sounds around me.
But the sudden outburst of light shone forth, as if objecting my body's actions. With a tilt of my head, I found the light source was coming from the huge ancient sword sticking out of the earth next to my left arm, and for awhile I just continued to stare at the weapon, slightly memorized by the rainbow aura it give off as it shined on and off like a gentle heartbeat.
' Pretty...' I couldn't help but think childishly while slowly reaching for it with a weak hand. But the moment my fingers were within inches of touching the strangely-designed blade, the sword itself gave off a huge pulse of light which in turn blinded my already-tired eyes.
"..Look out!"
"-thos, must you always disagree?"
" Thank for saving my brother and I."
" I will always protect you. It's a promise!"
" Such a goody-goody, Clark..."
" M–i–os! Ma–r-el! Look out!"
' *&^%^..!' My mind formed an instant strand of curses as I rolled away from the painful rays, hands covering my eyes to soothe them with comforting darkness. 'That is so going to blind me into next week..!'
But I had to get up, I had to move. Who knows how much time has passed while I was unconscious? For all I knew it was morning already, and the others would be arriving any moment.
When I made to push myself up into a sitting position, I had also braced myself for any oncoming pain I was sure was coming, and felt my eyes widen when I felt nothing. 'Eh..?' Confused, I gave my upper body parts some experimental twists and turns. What was going on?
" Master!"
A small 'oomph' left my mouth as an expectant bundle all but plowed into me in a tight glomp. " Careful Azra, humans are fragile." I cautioned, yet said this with a teasing lit. " Are you alright? Any injuries? You took a direct hit into that wall–"
"–Dragons bodies are built to withstand most frontal and physical for our chosen companions." The fledgling answered, tilting it's head to meet my eyes with it's own crimson orbs. " Something like that won't slow me down for long."
" It's the so..." I demurred with a small sigh. " Anyway, thank you for your help earlier. That distraction really helped." The small reptile let out a happy ' kuu' and burrowed it's snout into my clothed stomach, earning a small laugh from me.
Roooaaarr..!
The hideous growl, although coming from so far off in distance, sounded too close for comfort due to it bouncing off the cavern walls; I flinched from the noise and scrambled to my feet while using the ancient sword as support.
" I think we should get moving." I said as I took a few steps back and glanced nervously at the dark tunnel behind us. " I don't know if we killed the skeleton thing or not, but I'm not to eager to stick around and find out."
Azra nodded in response and gave a couple mighty flaps of her over-sized wings, having no trouble in keeping up as I took off like my life depended on it along the route in front of me. It wasn't until we were a good lengthy distance away that I noticed that I had taken the relic weapon with me.
" Oh yeah! Azra, do you know anything about this sword?" I questioned, holding it up for the dragon to see. The fledgling edged closer, turning it's back so it faced me and the sword while it continued to fly backwards. Quite an amazing feat if you ask me...
" No, I'm afraid not." Azra responded sadly. " This sword is fairly old, dating back for hundreds of years. I've only been born recently, so I have no knowledge on such a weapon."
" It's alright, don't look so down." I attempted to cheer up the young dragon. " But this sword is really odd.. I think it casted some kind of magic on me. I don't feel exhausted at all."
" Could it of healed you? Now that you mention it, I don't see many wounds that demon inflicted on you in our previous battle..."
" I know. I noticed that it was shining , and when I reached out to touch it it gave off a bright flash. The next thing I knew, I didn't feel anymore pain. At least not a great deal."
" A sword with magical properties... That's quite rare to see." Azra said as we came to a stop for a quick
breather. " There aren't many weapons– practically none at all, that are able to use magic to aid it's wielder."
" Oh really..?" I panted, leaning a hand against a dirt wall.
" Yes. As far as I know, this blade resembles weapons similar to the ones that were wielded back 4000 years ago, by the Heros of The Kharlan Wars themselves."
' Hmm, now that is interesting.' I held the sword aloft for observation. ' Now who could you have belong too? Yuan wields this doubled-ended sword weapon... Martel used a staff-based weapon... And I don't know what Mithos used back then. Could it be Kratos?'
" Master!"
" What?" I finally noticed that Azra had stopped when I was a good several feet away from where she was, hovering in front of what looked like a rough patch job of a wooden wall. I quickly backtracked and joined the baby dragon.
" It's looks like we might be get out through here," The fledgling nodded toward a couple loosened wooden boards that was letting in a great deal of sunlight. " Why don't you use the new item we acquired?"
" U-Use the sword? Azra are you serious?" I yelped in surprise. " There's no way I know how to use a sword properly, much less a magically one! I might end up killing us both!"
" Calm down, Master." Was it just me, or did Azra sound amused? " Simply using it to cut through a weak wooden wall isn't going to make it self-destruct on us. Just take deeps breaths and focus."
I expelled a long sigh I had been holding and did just that, but I couldn't help but still feel anxious. Swords were powerful and dangerous things for humans to wield. And this sword in particular made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Was I just paranoid? I hoped so...
' Alright, here we go..!' I pinched my eyes shut and stabbed towards my desired target, certain that the moment that the blade made contact it would go off.
CRRAACK!
" See? There you go!" Azra praised me like a mother would to her child. I threw a look in her direction before turning back to yanked the sword from the wood. " But we'd better hurry, the sun is beginning to make it's ascent to higher sky."
" Are you sure..? Shit!" I cursed, tossing the ancient sword through the narrow opening before Akiva followed
it. " Let's move Azra!" I stood back and waited for the reptile to flew through first, then made to follow my dragon companion.
" KYAAAA!"
" What was that Master?" Azra questioned curiously, catching the high-pitched human scream that was followed by a gigantic crash that carried through the cavern walls with her sensitive hearing.
" Something I didn't want to hear." I replied grimly, slinging my damaged bow and quiver over my shoulder, but stopped in the process of reaching for the old sword as well. " Now just am I going to hide this? I can't exactly go walking into town without attracting attention with this thing!"
As if to answer, the weapon that laid discarded at my feet gave off another bright flash, similar to the one minutes before, and began to eerily float in the air in front of me by some unknown force. Inch by inch the blade was devoured by a blinding light.
' What the.. hell?' I took a uncertain and nervous step back as the sword rearranged it's position in mid-air, a position that made me swallowing a sudden urge to bolt. My breath hitched when even stranger red markings began to write themselves over the battle object. Beside me Azra flew closer, her little body hunched up in a protective stance as she scrunched her face in a dangerous snarl. Honestly? It sounded very close to a cat's warning growl.
' Okay..' I continued to take several small steps back even as the sword followed to keep the distance short. ' Now would be a good time to ru–'
That's when it came. It was quick, and not as painful as I had originally thought. Nonetheless, my body sank to the ground as if all the energy holding it up had just vanished, the ancient weapon which had impaled itself in my navel continued to sink further in. If anyone had been around at that time, they would've noticed how oddly that the tip of the sword did not exit from my back like it should have, and that the lines that rode the blade spread all over my entire body like a virus.
" M-Master!" Light shone for a brief moment in Azra's direction, before the human verison of the young fledgling threw herself down to the ground floor next to me, her small face conveying her worry and concern she must of been feeling. " Master! Can you hear me?"
"...!" I gasped weakly in reply, hands gripping my forearms tightly as if attempting to keep something in. My whole body was beginning to beat like a heart beat, convulsing wildly in it's battle to keep out the intruder. But it was no use as the weapon finished fusing with my being with a great push of force, one that had me reeling back a foot or so from my original spot; Azra let out a hoarse cry of distress upon seeing the action.
A grunt exited my mouth automatically when my back smashed into the trunk of a nearby tree. But as moments passed, my body began to rapidly recover control over itself and the feeling of dread evaporated; curiously I brought a shaky hand up in front of my face and flexed it experimentally. This is.. odd.
" Master..?" Dead leafs crunched under Azra's small feet as she made her way over.
" I don't know what that was..." I began in answer, using the tree to support myself as I got to my feet. " And I don't want to know. We should get moving."
The young draco nodded slowly to show her reluctance on letting the subject go so easily, but hurried to catch up with me as I broke into a jog towards the mountain path exit.
A breeze of fresh, yet salty hinted air greeted me as I stepped out into the open fields just outside of Izoold. I stopped and took a minute to inhale a deep breath to relax my tired body. " The sea, huh? It's been a few years since I've been to the sea." But unfortuntely I wasn't attached to it like other people might've been when they were younger, and for a good reason too. I was afraid of the water.
" Izoold is just up ahead, Master." Another brief burst of light happened behind me before Azra draped herself on my shoulders, using her tail to keep a steady grip on my neck so she wouldn't fall as I walked. " Shall we go ahead and enter? Or should we wait here for the others?"
" Let's wait for them at the Inn." I answered as I picked up my feet and headed towards the settlement. " I'm dead tired, and I'm pretty sure Lloyd and the others won't reach us right away anyway."
" Why?"
" Oh, just a feeling."
The moment I entered the territory of the small fishing settlement a particular powerful gust of wind carrying the scent smacked me in the face, enticing a loud and head-rattling sneeze out of me. Never liked sea-food.
" Let's check into the Inn first before wondering off." I muttered more to myself then to Azra, shifting through a small crowd of people in front of the designated building.
" Anything in mind?"
" Well, I have to restock on my arrows and food before anything else. After that we should focus on finding someone who can take us over to Palmacosta." I shifted my weight to my other foot as I opened the door the the building. A woman close in age to my mother greeted me almost the moment I stepped in.
" Welcome!" A warm smile stretched her face, but it faded slightly upon taking in my slightly battered and dirty appearance. " My goodness! What on earth happened to you, dearie?"
" Just some a run-in with a nasty monster." I answered with a polite smile. Her motherly concern reminded me of my own mother, and I found myself forcing back a pang of homesickness.
" Goodness." The woman tsked, circling me while batting away dirt that still clung to my clothes. " And you look so young, too! Traveling about in this day and age is dangerous..."
Her last sentence died off abruptly and her hand stilled; I made to look over my shoulder when the kind woman found her voice again, this time her tone an octave sharper.
" Just what on earth did you get into? Your hurt!"
Huh? But didn't that sword heal me not to long ago? Unless I was wrong and it did something completely
opposite...
" Ah, this?" I found myself twisting around to see the supposed injury the inn-keeper was staring at. " Huh, I didn't see that..."
" Come here."
A small gasp exited my throat as the woman gripped my arm and pulled me over to what looked like a sink and counter, surprised when she gently but firmly pushed me down into a spare chair and turned the water on, soaking a small handkerchief.
" Goodness, kids these days..." The inn-keeper muttered under her breath as she knelt down next to my injured arm, pressing the damp cloth to the bloodied area of skin, ignoring my gasp of shock and pain from the treatment. I bit my lip to hold back a whimper of pain and looked down at my bandaged hand; If I took it off now, I'm pretty sure the gash I obtained from my fight with the group of monsters from the other day would split open again. Since I couldn't heal with myself with healing arts (anything mana-based made me sick), I had to patch myself up the normal way and for it to heal naturally on it's own.
" I see you hurt yourself previously on the same arm," The older woman had followed my line of gaze and tsked upon seeing the state of the limb. Finished with cleaning the dirt and old blood from my most current injury, she bent down and retrieved a roll of bandages from a small box filled with medical supplies next to her. " If your not careful missy, you'll end up unable to use this arm entirely."
I made a sheepish noise of agreement, knowing very well that the journey I had before me was most likely going to be a long one, and I had already injured myself twice within a week.
" There we go!" I jerked myself back to attention when I heard the woman speak again, satisfaction coating her tone completely as she rose to her feet again with the medical box in hand. Feeling slightly surprised, I glanced down at my arm and touched the bandaged area with hesitant fingers. That was fast.
" Ah, thank ma'am-"
" There's no need to be polite, missy. Just call me Flora. Everyone around here does."
" Alright then..." I pushed to my feet as well and held a hand out to the older woman. " My name is Beverly. But my friends call me Bev."
" It's nice to me you, Beverly." Flora gripped my hand with her own and used the other to pat my limb gently. The gesture felt motherly, and with a slight pang I released she looked similar to my own parent. " Your such a sweet child.. Where are you from?"
" Iselia."
" Iselia? What are you doing all the way out here, if you don't mind me asking?"
" I'm traveling with a group of friends, but we seperated for certain reasons so I came here to wait for them. We need to get to Palamacosta and thought that coming to Izoold would and taking a boat would be easier."
" Well, usually in normal circumstances I would tell you coming here was the right idea, but.." Flora paused by a window that had a view of the ocean. " Nowadays it's simply too dangerous to travel through those waters."
" Why? Is it because of the recent increase in monsters?"
" No, if it's a monster problem we can just hire a group of adventures to protect the boats when they go out." She gestured for me to join her at the window. " Come and take a look."
Azra perched herself on my shoulder again as I crossed the room and stopped next to Flora, doing as she requested and bent down to get a better peek out the window. But what I saw was not what was expected: further out to see the clouds above the water were unusually dark and grouped together. But what unnerved me the worst was how low the clouds were, stirring up the waters that were surely to rough for any boat to handle.
" Because of that storm, we can't even go out to catch our daily fish, let alone go to Palamacosta to sell them." I looked back, startled by the sudden appearance of a young man at the front door of the inn. He looked around my age, probably a couple years older. He stood at a height of 5'9" with brown-black hair, part of it hanging partially in his face to conceal one of his emerald eyes.
" Oh, welcome back Leo!" I heard Flora greet from beside me cheerfully. " You worried me there for a minute, coming back home a day late."
Leo, who's face had been a similar expression of Kratos's, smiled slightly at the older woman's ethusistic welcome and revealed his handsome features. " I'm back.. Mother."
" Actually, you have good timing, my boy." I made a face of surprise when Flora grabbed my uninjured arm and pulled me with her (again) towards the older boy. " This missy here needs to get to Palmacosta, but with that calamity going on about out in the middle of the ocean, it's too dangerous go that way. Could you do this old woman a favor and take her through the mountain path?"
I glanced towards Flora in surprise as did Leo, though his was a little more concealed.
" I don't suppose I would mind. But are you sure of this Mother? The mountain path has gotten a lot more dangerous because of the monsters. An little girl like this would get eaten in no time."
Upon hearing the last part of his sentence, I couldn't help but raise imaginary hackles and glare darkly in the
older guy's direction. It's true I was an amateur when it came to battle, but he didn't have to put that way! Jerk.
" Now Leo, don't be that way!" The older woman scolded the young man in my defense. " She's come all this way on her own from Iselia with only a few scratches. And look at her eyes! There's all the proof you'd ever need right there."
Brief silence fell over the room for the first minute or so before Leo broke it with the sound of his boots against the wooden floor as he crossed over to where I stood, startling the hell out of me when he down to look right into my eyes, just as his mother suggested. But feeling I was being tested, I firmed myself and looked straight back at the older boy with what I hoped was a glare.
Several moments seemed to pass by as we both stood there in with what seemed like a death-lock. Finally, Leo straightened himself and let out what seemed like a deep-sigh with a hint of exasperation laced in.
" Fine. Just don't expect me to play babysitter while we're together."
I kept my glare as the dark-haired young man walked away and out the open front door of the inn, waiting for the sound of chinking from his sword to fade before turning back to Flora.
" I'm sorry about that, Leo's not usually this rude. It's just with this storm–"
" It's okay, Flora. Really." I smiled in reassurance at the woman when she continued to look worried. " So, how long has this 'storm' been going?"
" For almost a full week. At first it didn't seem too bad, but ever since the day of the oracle passed, it looks like it's spreading towards the main land, but we can't be too sure. We have a watchman keeping a eye on it all the same."
A full week. If I'm right, then this 'storm' started the same day I appeared in this world. This couldn't just be a bad concidence.. Could it?
" Thanks for all your help, Flora." I reached out and shook the older woman's hand, making her smile and pat my hand again.
" Not a problem, missy. Now you hustle on now, Leo doesn't have the greatest of patience. Inherited that from his daddy, I'm afraid."
" So, what do think Azra?"
" Of that storm? Or that arrogant twit of a human?"
That last bit of the fledgling's sentence made my lips twitch into a ghost of a smile as I browsed through the small selection of items at the one of few vendors that was located on the other side of the small fishing town, on the docks. " The storm."
" The inn-keeper was right about the storm being unnatural." Azra perched herself on a nearby fence. " I don't feel the slightest presence of mana in those clouds. Not even a monster."
I paused, glancing back at my companion in a brief moment of surprise before turning back to accept the bag from the seller. I waited until Azra hopped back on my shoulder and we were a few feet away from ears until I spoke again.
" A monster? Why would you be looking for a monster?"
" Sometimes monsters, preferably huge, strong ones, clash with each other over territory. If one of the monster's holds an insane amount of mana in it's body, the use of that mana during battle can cause unnatural occurrences in nature, like the one this town's experiencing."
" Hmm..." I stopped on one of the unoccupied docks and narrowed my eyes for a better look at the storm. " And you say you feel any mana in the air, right? I guess that rules out the possibility of this being a caused by a monster."
" Right."
" Are you certain of that?" Leo's voice, sharp with suspicion and surprise, came from behind me and had me whirling around to face the older boy. His unhindered emerald eye narrowed on Azra as she hunched herself in warning. " Isn't that.. A dragon?"
After that last bit of sentence I felt my shoulder tingle. Looking up, I felt my heart pound up in my throat when I saw Azra hunched with her wings spread and fangs bared threateningly. What on earth..?
But before I had a chance to ponder or calm down the fledgling, Leo enclosed a hand over my arm (which unfortunately was my injured one) and pulled me with him as he made his way to another dock, this one seeming further out then the others with a small, two person sail boat (think of the boat Link uses in Windwaker, except more normal looking) docked there.
At the end of the pier, the older boy released my arm in favor of bringing a hand up to his mouth and letting out a piercing whistle. We waited for a moment or two in silence before anything happened.
' Hm? What's that?' A moving form caught my eye as I had been favoring my aching arm, moving at an incredible speed that sent the waters flying up in a wave as the being passed over ocean. Finally, it came to a stop in front of Leo, letting out a happy sounding chirp before landing on his outstretched arm.
After a few quiet words with the creature, Leo turned around to face me again. " Take a good look here. This is Kaze, a winged-dragon."
At the word 'winged-dragon' Azra seemed to calm down considerably, folding her wings and crawling down my arm (so I was forced to hold it out like Leo) as to get a better look at the creature who looked a lot similar to Azra.
" I've been waiting for this." I looked up when the dark-haired young man began to speak again, his single eye focused on my partner as she leaned forward to touch snouts with the other dragon.
" Waiting?"
" Yes. Ever since I..." But Leo seemed to catch himself from saying important and straightened, returning his gaze to me as Kaze settled onto his shoulder as Azra usually did. " Look, why don't we go back to the inn for now? There's some things we should discuss before we go any further." And with that, Leo brushed past me with a swish of his traveling cape and disappeared into a crowd of people, leaving me to blink in confusion.
" Okay... so now what?" I asked Azra as she mimicked Kaze's earlier action. But the young dragon was strangely silent, as if still contemplating over something. Feeling even more lost, I decided to heed the older boy's advice and turned around, intent on heading straight back for the inn for what sounded like important conversation.
" Oiiiii! Bev!"
Recognizing the voice immediately, I couldn't help be grin as I spun around and wave at the owner. But that smile faded slightly when I notice that everyone looked a little bit roughened up. Even the mighty mercenary.
" Good to see you in one piece." Raine commented with a small smile as everyone gathered around me.
" E-Eh? What to you mean by that?" I grunted slightly as Colette practically tackled me with a hug. " And what happened to you guys?"
" Ah, you remember the Ryu guy, right?" Genis replied, exchanging glances with Lloyd. " Well, he decided he wasn't done with us and ambushed us at Ossa Trail."
" And he wasn't alone." His sister continued. " He and another assassin jumped us as we were descending the trail."
" Really? I'm glad you all are alright."
" Yes. But we should be careful to avoid from now on." Kratos finally spoke. " The less encounters, the more safe the Chosen is."
The others nodded in agreement before turning their heads towards me. " So, did you find someone who could take us to Palmacosta?" Lloyd asked curiously.
" Ah, about that..." I spent the next several minutes explaining on what had happened with me so far (excluding my little fall into the mine and the sword), wrapping up the conversation by requesting to head to the inn.
" Someone's waiting for me there." I answered when Raine raised an eyebrow. " He can tell us more about the situation with the storm. I was about to go meet him before you guys showed up."
" Very well then. Let's go meet this Leo." The mercenary agreed for everyone before taking the lead, the others following after while I stood behind for a few moments longer.
Sigh... why did I have a feeling this was going to get a lot more complicated then it needed to be?
" I see.." Raine stood in her 'professor' pose as she examined the storm from the window with thoughtful
eyes. Leo stood beside her. " So you say this storm started almost a week ago? Interesting..."
" Is there a way to get through it?" Lloyd pipped up from the back.
Genis stared at his best friend like he had grown a second head. " Are you stupid, Lloyd? To try to go through a storm like that is suicide! We'd be lucky to even to reach the eye of the storm in one piece!"
" Then is there another way?" Colette asked, looking up from where she was playing with a stray kitten.
" Well, yes there is, but..." Flora, who seemed to cheerful to answer earlier, looked a bit pale. " Normally when a seasonal storm occurs, we usually take a mountain path that takes us to a forest area near _, but a little after the little missy left we received word that dragon riders have been spotted near there, so it's a little to dangerous..."
I winced. At this point, fighting dragon riders (armored warriors riding a armored two-legged reptile) would be risky, seeing as even if you manage to knock the rider off of the dragon monster, it still made itself a formiable opponet. The warrior was annoying too. Try to focus on the beast, and the tamer gets you in the back.
Leo's eyes seemed to widen for the merest of seconds before he closed them and folded his arms in thought. " Then there really is no choice..."
This seemed to catch everyone's attention. " No choice?" Genis echoed. Even Raine turned away from her observation of the storm to listen.
But Leo said nothing. Instead, he turned...
...and locked eyes with me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here's that tenth's chapter!
*gasp* I actually got to the DOUBLE digits! That's pretty amazing me for. Usually I keep revising it or get tired and just give up. I might actually complete this!
Anyway, what think's going happen with Bev? And how much more trouble do you think this Ryu's gonna cause?
Please review and let me know!
Bre17