Breath of Fire 3: R Edition
by Roll-chan
Chapter 14: Of Lighthouses, Fairies... and Man-Eating Monsters!
The next morning, Ryu and his friends went to check on Beyd and Shadis. They found them at the usual place in the docks, Shadis putting Beyd's arm in a sling. Beyd seemed to be enjoying himself, nevertheless, despite his broken arm and glasses.
"Hey, it's you!" Beyd said waving at Ryu and the others with his other arm.
"Hey, Beyd, how's it going?" Ryu said.
"That fight with Zig left me more injured than I thought, so I'm in no condition to go to the lighthouse." Shadis then approached them.
"Thank you..." she said. "I have a feeling that Beyd and I will get along great together. Is there anyway we can repay you?"
"Well," said Momo, "seeing that the ship can't get here if the lighthouse is broken, we were wondering if you'd let us go instead."
"I wish I could, but because of the danger of the monster there, only Guild members are allowed to go near the lighthouse now..."
"I can help with that!" Beyd said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "With this card, you'll all be official members of the Guild!" He handed it to Ryu.
"Are you sure that's okay, Beyd?"
"You said you wanted to repay them, so I say that giving them what they want is suffice."
"Thank you so much, Beyd!" Nina said.
"It's nothing. If you're planning on going to the lighthouse, then just be careful. I'm not sure if the ship will come back once the lighthouse is fixed, but it can't hurt to try, right? The lighthouse is across a plank bridge on the other side of the docks, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Beyd!" Ryu said. "And good luck with Shadis!" They waved goodbye to him and headed off to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse was completely abandoned. There were knocked over crates everywhere, showing that someone had been here recently.
"Keep your eyes open, everyone," said Garr. "The monster could attack at any time." They opened the door to the lighthouse and headed in. It looked much larger on the inside. There were machines everywhere, from ones that powered the lighthouse, to monitoring incoming ships.
"Wow," Momo said. "I didn't think they used so many machines for such a simple-looking task. Look at this stuff!" She ran over and began observing the machines. "Hmm... It looks like all the equipment is still intact." Just then, they heard Nina shriek. They turned around, and saw her pointing at a large lizard-like creature.
"Is that the monster?" Ryu asked. They looked at it, and saw that it wasn't moving an inch. Peco walked up to it, and cocked his head.
"Pukyu?" Peco kicked it, and then ran behind Momo. The creature still didn't move.
"I guess it's not a monster after all," Garr said. "Come on, the stairs to the roof are just behind it." Before they could take one step, they heard a loud clang come from upstairs. They looked up, and saw a giant ball with eyes all over its body bouncing down the stairs. It bounced high into the air and came down on top of the smaller creature. It suddenly sprang to life and grabbed the giant globe, holding it over its head. "Did I just say... that it didn't look like a monster?" Garr said.
"You did," Ryu said. Just then, the smaller creature threw the giant eyeball at them. They all jumped out of the way as it bounced around the room like a pinball, and landed back in the lizard's arms. Ryu and the others readied their weapons. Garr ran up to the giant ball and thrust his spear into it, but it just bounced off the surface of its flesh, like it was made of metal. The lizard lashed its tail out and knocked the spear out of his hand, and swept him off his feet. Momo began to fire shots at the creature, but her attacks were deflected as well. Nina used an ice spell on the monster, trapping it in a case of ice.
"Looks like that did it!" Nina said. Suddenly, a red light began come from the monster's eye, and a red beam shot out, breaking the ice. The beam shot out past Momo and Nina, knocking them to the ground from its intensity. Ryu put up his sword, and began to concentrate. He became enveloped in light, and turned into his dragon form. He shot out a jet of flame at the creature, who countered with another eye beam, which neutralized eachother. Dragon Ryu charged at the monster, and suddenly, its large eye opened up into a mouth as the lizard tossed the ball at Ryu. The mouth slammed shut, and turned back into an eye.
"Ryu!!" everyone shouted as the ball bounced back to the lizard's hands. Another red light formed at its eye, and everyone braced for another eye beam attack. Suddenly, a large blast of flames came shooting out from the inside of the eyeball. The others looked on as the eyeball wriggled around in pain. Another fire blast came out of the creature, and Dragon Ryu came soaring out of its body, except now he looked like a more mature version of itself.
"Is that Ryu?" Nina asked, looking at the adult dragon.
'Hmm,' Garr thought to himself. 'So he's learned how to change into an adult dragon... we must get to Angel Tower soon, then...' The lizard holding up the eyeball was stumbling around, trying to keep up with the eyeball's writhing. Dragon Ryu then fired one more blast, right at the lizard. It was completely devoured by the flames as it dropped the eyeball, and was crushed by it. The eyeball then slowly dissipated into a cloud of black smoke. Ryu then returned to his original form.
"You did it, Ryu!" Nina jumped up and down. "I didn't know you could turn into an adult dragon!"
"Neither did I," said Ryu. "I guess that more of the power inside of me is starting to awaken..."
"As much as we'd like to stand here talking about Ryu's power," said Momo, "we should get to the roof and turn the lighthouse back on." They nodded, and headed up the flight of stairs to the roof. Once on the roof, there was a large lightbulb encased in chrysm, hooked up to a simple switch. Ryu approached the switch and pulled it. The lightbulb flared on, as it lit up the entire area, generating a constant hum. Suddenly, a small voice cried out.
"Nooooo!!!" Suddenly, a fairy came flying past them. "Turn the lighthouse off!" it shouted. It came flying back and knocked Ryu away from the switch. "I said, turn it off!" The fairy pulled out a club and struck the switch with it. The switch got jammed into the machine, and sparks started to fly off. The lightbulb stayed on, and now it was going to stay on forever. "Oh, nooooo!" it cried. "Now what are we supposed to do!?" It looked at Ryu and the others angrily. "This is all your fault!"
"Our fault? What are you talking about!?" Ryu asked.
"After we went through all the trouble of making Gazer turn off the lighthouse and guarding it, you all come along and kill him and turn it back on! Now, it'll never turn off! Dummies! It's all your fault! You'd better make up for it!"
"What?" Nina asked. "Make up for what? And how?" The fairy tossed her a small tiara.
"Use that tiara on a ring of flowers outside the town," the fairy said. "It will take you to our world. There, you can make it up to us!" It then fluttered off just as fast as it had came.
"Okay, that was weird," Ryu said. "Come on, let's go back to town and forget we saw that."
"But Ryu," said Nina, "we've obviously done something bad to make that fairy mad at us. I say we should do what she said and go visit their world." After debating amongst themselves, they finally agreed and headed back down the lighthouse.
Back in Rhapala, Beyd and Shadis were waiting for them to return.
"I don't believe it!" Beyd said. "You got the lighthouse fixed! Thank you so much!"
"But..." said Shadis, "the boat still hasn't come back... Something must have happened to it at the other port. We apologize for this misfortune."
"Wait, Shadis. Maybe there's still a way for our friends here to get to the east, but we need to talk to your father about it."
"You mean...? Okay, then. We'll talk to my father about getting you a way to the east. Why don't you all find something to do in the meantime?"
"Don't worry," Nina said. "I think we've found something that will keep us occupied for a while." She looked at the fairy's tiara and headed out of town with everyone following behind.
Once they got out of town, they saw a ring of flowers, just as the fairy said. The tiara began to vibrate, and the area inside the ring of flowers turned a bright white. They approached it cautiously, and then in a bright flash, they all vanished.
When they reappeared, they found themselves on a hill. They looked around, and saw a beach below them, and a small shack beside them.
"Where are we?" Momo asked.
"I think we're in the fairies' home," said Ryu. "Maybe they're waiting for us in that hut." They opened the door, and inside were three fairies. One of them was the one from the lighthouse.
"It's about time you showed up, dummies!" she said. "Now it's time for you to help us since you turned the lighthouse back on!"
"Okay, first things first," said Ryu. "Why do you want the lighthouse off in the first place?"
"Well, it's like this. We're on the other side of the lighthouse right now. That's why we told you not to turn the lighthouse on!"
"What will we do now, sister?" the second fairy asked the third.
"'What will we do now?'" the third fairy repeated. "You know what's going to happen now! That monster's going to come and eat us all!"
"Monster?"
"Yes! It told us that if we didn't turn the lighthouse off and keep it off, it would come and eat us! Please do something about it!"
"I feel so bad for you," Nina said. "You want us to go defeat it?"
"Yes! That's why we brought you here! You really are dummies!"
"That's so rude! Calling us names when we're here to help you!"
"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't call you dummies anymore. The monster comes out of the sea at night, so you all go to the beach and wait there until it comes, okay?" They nodded, and headed out the door. Just before Garr and Peco got out the door, the fairies stopped him. "Not you! You stay!"
"What?" Garr said. "Why me?"
"We need someone to stay up here and protect us if they don't kill the monster!"
"But... ugh..." Garr leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Peco looked at them strangely and decided to stay behind, too, just to keep Garr company.
That night, Ryu, Nina, and Momo were still waiting down at the beach, with no sign of any monster. Honey was running along the beach, chasing a hermit crab.
"This is stupid," Ryu said. "We've got more important things to be doing. I bet there isn't even any monster. They're probably just pulling a prank on us..."
"Don't be so negative, Ryu," Nina said. "It's the least we can do for them."
"I think I see something!" Momo cried out. The all looked out at the sea, and saw a red fin popping out of the water, slowly making its way to the beach. "Here it comes... Let's all attack when it sticks its head out of the water, okay?" Ryu and Nina nodded as they had their hands on their weapons. The red fin slowly glided across the water, closer and closer to the land. Then, in one brutal attack, Ryu, Momo, and Nina struck it with everything they had. Then, there came the sound a sharp cry. They looked down, and saw their monster. It was a dolphin.
"This..." Nina said, "...is the monster?"
"It's a dolphin..." said Momo. Ryu got close to it to see if it was dead, but it opened its eyes and looked at them.
"Ouch..." the dolphin spoke. "What was that for?"
"Sorry... We were told that a monster was coming, and, well..."
"Everyone makes a mistake, now and then... no worries... Why don't you tell me about this 'monster'?"
"He's a nice dolphin, isn't he?" Nina said.
"Yeah, I guess," Ryu said.
"I wonder if he's what the fairies are so afraid of?"
"Let's go ask them, Nina," said Momo. "Ryu, you stay here and keep our guest company." Momo and Nina then climbed back up the hill towards the hut. When they were out of sight, the dolphin then shot a squirt of water into Ryu's face.
"Oi!" it shouted at him. "What's got your goat, laying into me like that?"
"What?" Ryu said trying to shake off the water. The dolphin kept squirting water at him.
"No worries, mate, but it's your lookout... I was just minding the sheilas, but if you want to take it outside... What's with the lighthouse, anyway? Bloody nuisance, can't get a wink with it shining away all night like that. Get rid of it, apples it ain't, or we might be having ourselves a bit of a barney happening!"
Note: For those readers who don't understand Australian, we have provided a translation into English.
::Translation::
"Let's go ask them, Nina," said Momo. "Ryu, you stay here and keep our guest company." Momo and Nina then climbed back up the hill towards the hut. When they were out of sight, the dolphin then shot a squirt of water into Ryu's face.
"Hey!" it shouted at him "What do you think you're doing, hitting me like that?"
"What?" Ryu said trying to shake off the water. The dolphin kept squirting water at him.
"All right... I was just being nice because the chicks were here. If it's just you, I won't hold back, see? What's up with the lighthouse, anyway? When it's on, the light gets in my eyes and I can't sleep. Turn it off already, will you? If you don't, I just might have to get rough with you, see?"
::End translation::
The dolphin stopped shooting Ryu when he saw Nina and Momo coming back down to the beach, the fairies behind them.
"That's him!" one of the fairies pointed at him.
"That's... the monster?" Momo asked.
"He told us that if we didn't turn off the lighthouse, he would eat us! Can you believe it!?"
"Hey," the dolphin spoke up, "the light's too bright, you know? I can't sleep, yeah? So, do you think you could go turn it back off?" One of the fairies approached him.
"If you want the light turned off," she said, "do it yourself, you dummy!" The dolphin got a little upset. Another fairy came up to him.
"That's right, you dummy!" she said. "Why do you have to bully us about it, anyway!" The dolphin became angry. The third fairy then floated up to him.
"Leave us alone," she said, "you big dumb dolphin!" That was the final straw. The dolphin jumped straight out of the water, and spikes began to grow all over its body, and its fins turned into claws.
"SHUT UP!" it boomed. The fairies shrieked and ran back into the hut. "I should just fry you in oil and serve you up as a midnight snack! That's it! You're dead! You're all dead!!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ryu shouted, drawing his sword. "It's payback time!" He lunged at the dolphin.
"Those little trickles were nothing! Here comes the real thing!" The dolphin bent over, and a stream of water shot out of its blowhole. The stream slammed Ryu back into the ground. The dolphin continued to pummel him with water. "Now you really are washed up!" he gloated.
"Take this you deceiving little porpoise!" Momo yelled as she fired a cannonball out of her bazooka. It flew straight into its blowhole and jammed itself in. Water then began to pour out of its mouth instead.
"Now it's my turn!" Nina cried. Sparks began to fly off of her wand as she fired a bolt of lightning right into the dolphin's mouth. The water in his mouth boosted the effect of the lightning, electrocuting his insides.
"GYAAAAHHHH!" the dolphin wailed, his body shaking from the electricity. Its smoldering body fell to the ground, and it was swept away by the ocean's current. When Ryu got back up, he saw that the battle was over.
"What? It's over already?" he asked. "I thought I was supposed to be the hero..." Nina and Momo went over to help him up.
"You're soaking wet, Ryu," said Momo.
"Tell me something I don't know. I really wanted to pay that dolphin back in spades!"
"I think we've taken care of that for you," said Nina. "Come on, let's go tell the fairies!" They all headed back to the hut. Inside, the fairies were all shaking behind Garr.
"Did you kill it?" one of the fairies asked them.
"Please tell me you did..." Garr said. "They've been driving me crazy the whole time with their whining."
"That dolphin isn't going to bothering anyone anymore," Nina said.
"Hooray!" The fairies began to cheer and dance around the room. "Thank you soooooo much! I guess you really aren't dummies, after all! You can all go home now! Just go outside and step through the flower ring. Promise you'll come back and see us!"
"Come on, Garr," Ryu said, "time for both of us to get some well-deserved rest... Man, I am so wet."
"And my head hurts," said Garr. "The sooner we leave, the better." They all said goodbye to the fairies, and stepped through the ring of flowers. In a flash, they were back at the outskirts of Rhapala.
"What a day," Nina said. "I think it was fun, didn't you, Momo?"
"It was pretty fun," she said. "What do you say, Ryu? Garr?"
"Please, I don't want to think about dolphins..." said Ryu.
"...Or fairies..." said Garr.
"...ever again," they said in unison.