Hello, everybody; ModernDayBard here! Side quest over, it's high time our heroes embarked on their search for the Water Crystal—and it's no big surprise who's about to have their breakthrough moment.
Anyway: As always, I don't own any content that actually occurred in the game itself.
"We what the land folks like to cook—under the sea we off the hook! We got no troubles; life is the bubbles under the sea!" ("Under the Sea", Little Mermaid)
After the ceremony, the four questors were allowed to spend the night in Cyril's cave one last time. They were surprised to find that their blue-scaled host had some changes of armor for them that would reflect their new status: Josh had silver armor, a cape, and an odd-looking helmet now, Zach was given an enchanted silver breastplate to go with his cap-and-cape ensemble, Leslie's hooded robe was replaced with a white dress with red trimming, but no hood, leaving her dark hair exposed for the first time in that new world, and, while Matt still had his void-inducing pointed straw hat, his loose blue robe was replaced with a tunic-and-outer-cloak ensemble edged in yellow and gold.
"These are the traditional marks of your new offices, and we trust that you will bear them well. Mine uncle, the King of Dragons, wanted me to tell you what we dragons know of the fiend you will be facing next."
At that, all four questors instantly became attentive as the dragon continued.
"As well you know, our brethren suffered mightily the effects of Tiamat's rise, and when it became clear to our allies, the merfolk, that Kraken intended to seize the Water Crystal, which was located on the first floor of their palace, the Floating Shrine, they took great pains to ensure that the dragons who dwelt with them at that time would be spared a similar fate." Cyril sighed wearily. "Those alive at the time tried to assure the merfolk that our peoples battling together could defeat the Fiend of Water, but the guardians of the sea remembered Kraken's rage all too well, and chose to sink their palace beneath the waves and force their allies to take up a new home rather than to have both tribes utterly destroyed. Since the day the Floating Shrine became the Sunken Shrine, only a handful of Merfolk have been seen—for all we know, they are the sole survivors of the Fiend of Water's rage."
All four felt a rush of sympathy for and indignation on behalf of the dragons and their allies, but it was Zach who noticed one crucial detail.
"Wait—if the merfolk sunk the shrine, it's now underwater—yes? And the reason you dragons couldn't stay is that you can't breathe underwater?" At Cyril's nod, the red wizard turned to his friends. "Guys, I hope one of you knows a spell for breathing underwater—'cause I sure don't!"
Cyril titled his head, seeming to consider the problem. "One of the few Mermaids to escape has made a new home in the coastal town of Onrac. She'd been one of their foremost scholars, and may have an answer to the problem. I'd speak with her first, if I were you."
Leslie frowned. "If she's a Mermaid, how can she survive on land?"
"Mermaids may assume a human form at will—though not many know this fact among your peoples."
That was pretty much the end of that conversation, all though Zach was heard to mutter: "Well, that would have made Ariel's movie a good deal shorter."
Despite not having a name to ask for, the mermaid Cyril spoke of (one Aeliana) was surprisingly easy for the young heroes to find. And she was working on a way to transport heroes from the surface to what remained of the shrine. The submarine was definitely rudimentary and reminiscent of designs from the American Revolution, but it was watertight and simple to control. There was just one problem...
"...you run out of oxygen after going a few yards below the surface."
Zach blinked at the pink-haired girl's blunt words. "Th-that would be a major problem. Do you happen to have a working theory to get around it, maybe?"
"Well, I did," Aeliana huffed in exasperation, "but I haven't been able to test it because I can't get anyone to take me to the North Eastern continent—the town of Gaia, specifically."
"What's in Gaia?" Leslie asked.
"The one spring in the world that produces Oxyale—a type of water that generates air continuously—and the one fairy who can actually fetch it! I even have an idea of how to make it possible for a land dweller to traverse the Shrine without drowning, but it all relies on Oxyale, and I can't get my hands on any!"
The last few words were all but shouted in a (very) dramatic wail, and it took all of Josh's effort not to grit his teeth in pain at the assault on his ears. "Tell you what—let me and my friends see what we can do about getting you some of that Oxyale, and then we can talk about borrowing your submarine for a bit. Sound good?"
Apparently it did, and they found themselves making the two-day trip to a very remote mountain village—only to find that the fairy had disappeared mysteriously a week before. There were, at least, gear and magic upgrades available, but Leslie pointed out it would still be a wasted trip if they couldn't get the Oxyale.
Hoping for inspiration, they began to walk towards the fairy's spring, only to encounter an extremely drunk sailor along the way. Josh and Matt both instinctively stepped between the newcomer and Leslie, leaving the two of them standing as close to shoulder-to-shoulder as their different heights would allow. It ended up not being necessary, as the fellow seemed to be concerned only with defending himself and choices—though whether to them or figments visible only through a drunken haze was a matter for some debate.
"I caught the fairy so *hic* I figger, she's mine to do with as I *hic* please. So what if I *hic* sold her to the desert caravan? *hic!* Mebbe she'll like the *hic* North Western continent *hic* better!"
All four deflated: all elation at the mention of the fairy evaporated in light of a necessary back-track.
"Just great," Zach muttered that night at the inn, "another fetch quest."
If the trip into the desert wasn't bad enough—because, of course the airship couldn't land in the desert—the price tag for one bottled fairy was on the exorbitant side.
"Why on earth would anyone pay that much for a single pixie?" asked Zach, the team's designated negotiator.
The merchant merely shrugged, apparently unfazed. "If you haven't noticed—the monsters here are worthless. If I'm going to get enough gil to retire permanently, I need an alternative to monster hunting. You obviously need this fairy, so it's a seller's market."
Zach winced, muttering to the others, "He's got a point. I don't know if I've got any kind of angle on him to talk the price down..."
"Let me try something..." Josh muttered, striding back to the other man—who he conveniently towered over, imposing in his new armor and cape, dusty though they were. "I could threaten you," the knight pointed out in a low, matter-of-fact tone. "I could—and I could carry it out too, without a twinge from my conscience. But I'm going to choose not to—do you want to know why?"
There is power in the meeting of a quiet voice and a strong presence, and the unfortunate merchant nodded mutely.
"Because the Fiends are real—and they're the real threat. You've been a monster hunter: you've seen how monsters are getting stronger. That's not going to stop; in fact, it's just going to get worse. At least you won't have to worry about living in a desert after Kraken floods the whole continent. And all because you held out on a price for one little fairy..."
The merchant shifted uncomfortably. "Fine: half-price. But no refunds if Kraken kills you!"
Backtracking once more, the four ended up back in Gaia. Zach was grumbling under his breath, half-expecting to be sent halfway around the globe for a 'surprise' ingredient for the Oxyale. So it was with some surprise that the red wizard watched the fairy give them a bottle of the magical water out of gratitude for her rescue—no strings or fetch-quests attached.
"It can't be that simple—there's got to be a catch," he pointed out darkly.
"Of course there is," Matt chimed in nonchalantly. "Now, we have to fight Kraken."
It two days to make it back to Onrac—and another three days for Aeliana to troubleshoot her breathing solution with the help of Zach and Matt. But finally—finally they were ready to invade the Sunken Shrine and fight Kraken in his home turf...
...Somehow, that didn't feel like a bright side.
The submarine silently sank beneath the depths, carrying the four ever closer to the next part of their quest. When the shrine at last appeared through the gloom, they leaned forward, taking in the once-grand, four-story temple. The fourth floor had large windows and an open ceiling, probably for when the dragons could freely come and go, but a dark barrier flickered around every opening—clearly some kind of magical force field. The third floor, however, had an unblocked opening that looked suspiciously like something had exploded in that area, and they had their way in.
It took fighting all instincts to trust Aeliana's spell and try to breathe underwater, but the mermaid's design (along with Matt and Zach's adjustment) worked indeed, and speech was even possible, though their voices were blurred and distorted, strange even to their own ears. Thus, none of them spoke much as they traversed the now-ruined and deserted halls, silent even as they fought the sea monsters that dared to attack the Warriors of Light.
That left Leslie time to think...too much time. She knew it was her crystal—her new affinity for water and her shard's blue tint both stood as testament to that fact—but she was terrified to even try to picture what she'd have to do to prove herself and light the Water Crystal, or what it would take to defeat Kraken.
Don't worry about that...Bahamut's training has made us stronger than we ever were.
The thought of the Dragon King made her look around at the halls in a different light: this was where Merfolk and Dragons once lived together, but their home had been torn from them—from both tribes. The quiet girl found it hard to hate, but she came close to it in that moment, when she saw what once was, which had been taken from those she considered friends. She just hoped her anger would be enough when the time came to fight Kraken.
Out of sheer curiosity, they went up to the fourth floor before trying to go down, and Josh blinked in surprise when they found out what had been locked behind the dark barrier—the surviving Merfolk!
They fish-tailed humanoids seemed terrified of the four teens at first, but Leslie stepped forward and began to speak in a calming tone, explaining that they had come from Bahamut to fight Kraken and free the Merfolk.
She was incredible, the knight thought. He'd been surprised, after her change of clothing, at how insecure she seemed about her figure and hair, now that they were visible again. He'd wanted to tell her she was fine—beautiful, even—but was afraid of how shallow it would make him sound, or how her brother would take it. Still, the way she calmed down the Merfolk, who then showed them to several treasures that would aid in the battle against Kraken, or the way her dark hair floated behind her in the water, caught by the little amount of light that filtered down from the surface...
...If only he had the guts to tell her.
After promising the Merfolk that they would return once the Fiend of Water was defeated, the four teens backtracked and headed down to the second level. They were getting closer to the 'moment of truth' and Leslie thought about what Lukahn had told them—that the trip through each Fiend's lair, or the battle with the Fiend themselves would challenge the special trait in the crystal bearer—and about the final two lines on her poem, the Water Prophecy.
"Courage will shine its light,
And open homeward gates."
Courage—me? I'm so scared and shy that I'd rather be lonely and unknown for all of high school rather than approach anybody!
On the first floor, Leslie was startled from her private thoughts as Zach suddenly turned to her. "Hey Leslie—what's your word, anyway?"
"My what?"
The red wizard just shrugged. "You know—your word. In the poem, prophecy, or whatever. Josh's was leadership, mine was fortitude. What's yours?"
Without really being able to enunciate why, Leslie felt trapped, but could find no reason to give anything other than an honest answer.
"Courage." She winced internally as the others exchanged glances. Of course Matt knew already, but she hadn't told the two football players. Now they knew—and they'd know that she'd doom their whole quest.
To her shock, they beamed at her. "That should be no problem, then!" Zach said with a grin.
"Yeah!" Josh agreed. "For once, one of us actually fits their word!"
She wished she could share their optimism.
All too soon, they reached Kraken's crystal chamber—complete with crude altar and darkened, once-blue crystal. But between the Warriors of Light and said crystal was a hulking, vaguely squid-like creature covered in blue scales, wearing a purple, fin-shaped cape, and baring shark fangs. Kraken was a combination of the all the most vicious denizens of the deep, and he was not happy to see the intruders.
"Land dwellers taking on the lord of the deep? You're nothing but fish food waiting to happen!"
"We'll see about that, squid lips—Bahamut sends his regards!" Zach shouted as he charged forward, blade of ice swinging over his head. Josh was at his side in a moment, ready to mirror his opening strike.
As the Meyers twins cast their customary boosting spells, Kraken moved to intercept the fighters, using his many tentacles to separate and force the two boys away from each other. Now they were unable to watch each other's back or defend each other, and Kraken seemed more than capable of attacking both at the same time. Leslie felt panic set in when she saw the heavy hits both were taking.
"Matt!" she called desperately to her brother, feeling a pang of relief as the younger twin took in the situation, the yellow light of his eyes hardening.
He seized his own darkened crystal shard in one hand and threw the other towards Kraken as he shouted out the words of his newest spell—the strongest lightning spell there was. Fortunately, the blast did a relatively significant amount of damage and served to divert their foe's attention away from the badly injured boys. Unfortunately, it focused Kraken's attention on the two younger wizards.
Before Leslie could heal their stronger companions or Matt could dodge, Kraken lashed out with one of his tentacles. Because the attack was mainly directed at her brother, Leslie received only a glancing blow, but even then, she was doubled over in pain for a second. Matt wasn't so lucky—he received a direct tentacle-punch to the gut that slammed him into one of the remaining support pillars with a sickening crack!
When the white wizard lifted her head, she saw all three boys floating limply about the room, and for one terrified moment, she thought they were dead—but no, she could sense their pain and injuries still. As terrible it was, at least it meant they were still alive, if only for the moment.
As for their foe, his quick and brutal attack slowed when he noticed the lone hero left facing him, an expression of amusement flitting across his twisted face. "The Bearer of the Water Crystal—a white wizard? I'm almost insulted! You're no fighter, so how can you hope to defeat me on your own?"
She couldn't—Leslie knew that much. She had to revive the others as soon as possible, and not just to fight Kraken, but to save their life: each was dangerously close to dying. Her normal cure spells wouldn't cut it—but her newest spell was supposed to revive the near-dead to a half-healed condition. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would work. There was just one problem—the wizard who taught her the spell was adamant that one could only cast the spell once before passing out. Now she needed to cast it three times over.
It was like Kraken could read her mind. "Want to revive one of your little friends for their help? By all means—but who do you chose? Which two will die because you weren't strong enough to save them—and you didn't protect them well enough in the first place? Who will you kill?" Leslie shook her head mutely, horror-stricken at the thought, and the fiend pressed on, enjoying the mind game.
"Oh, ho! I wish I could've seen Bahamut's face as he tried to train you, a weak little girl trying to throw spells around to make everyone better—how disappointed he must've been; how much he must have despaired for the Water Crystal and his beloved merfolk!"
That wasn't right—Bahamut had always treated her kindly; he'd been downright warm and seemed to believe more in her than she did herself!
"You rely on your friends for strength, so what are you without them? Nothing but a weak coward!"
All at once, as if the thought of the Oldest of Dragons had hammered his lesson into her mind one last time, Leslie understood what he'd been trying to tell her.
"You're wrong," she said simply, voice level though it was changed by the water—sounding older, stronger. "You're wrong," she repeated, louder this time. "My friends aren't my strength—they're my reason to be strong. The strength of a white mage—or wizard—is their heart, and their desire to protect others. These three are all I have in this world, so when they need me to come through, I can do anything—even the impossible."
With that, she rattled off the same spell three times in rapid-succession: the revive spell. The weariness didn't hit her until after the final casting, but when it did, it almost made her pass out.
No! Not yet—I'm not done!
She followed those up with a healing spell to restore the other three to full health, but even as they charged forward again, trying to keep Kraken off of her, she knew they'd only fall again if something wasn't different this time. Mustering up what little strength was left in her body, she faced Kraken squarely, floating in front of his face. "We are done here."
With determination but no hatred, Leslie slammed her hammer into his face, stunning him just as Matt struck again with his lightning and Josh and Zach landed coordinated blows on the bulbous body. The last thing the girl saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the lifeless carcass of the Fiend of Water slowly sinking, disappearing through a dark crevice in the floor.
"Leslie!"
"She's definitely still breathing—and breathing evenly too."
"Leslie!"
"I think she's stirring—maybe whatever the Merfolk did actually worked!"
"Come on Leslie, wake up!"
Slowly, Leslie opened hazel eyes to see her brother kneeling over her, a concerned light in his yellow eyes. He'd been the one calling her name—and the last to speak. When he saw her trying to sit up, he grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug, which startled her for a moment. Matt was never one to initiate physical contact, and any display of affection, however sincere, was normally stilted and a little awkward.
As she returned his embrace, she saw Josh and Zach hovering worriedly only a few feet away. Well—Josh looked worried. Zach seemed to be in shock.
"How—" he managed at last. "How did you do that? All four of those spells? That should've been impossible—trying to cast the second one alone should've killed you!"
Josh winced at his friend's observation. "She's the strongest of us all," he offered by way of explanation. "The Merfolk wanted to pass along their thanks, but after they did—whatever that was—to help you recover, they said they had to see about repairs. They may not be able to bring it to the surface, but they want this place to look more like it used to." His tone and words were matter of fact, but there was genuine fear for her safety in his eyes, and Leslie wanted to reassure them all that she truly was fine.
"I didn't mean to scare you guys," she managed at last.
Matt finally broke away, pulling away to examine her face, as though searching for an injury. Leslie received her explanation when Zach spoke up again.
"You—" he faltered to a halt, then tried again. "You just managed to cast the mother-load of magic spells—saving our lives in the process—and kill the Fiend of Water with a wicked hammer-blow, and you're apologizing? Geez, girl—think of yourself for once!"
"But I'm alright now," Leslie replied, vaguely confused and ignoring her raging migraine—the one lingering symptom of her burnout, besides a desire for a ten-year nap.
The three boys realized no reply could explain their reaction to the white wizard, but they couldn't help regarding her with a new and profound respect. Then Leslie carefully moved her brother's hands from her shoulders and tried to stand, causing all three boys to step forward, but she held up a hand, halting them mid-protest.
"The crystal," she whispered by way of explanation. "I have to do this alone, I think."
Josh and Zach reluctantly nodded, remembering their own experiences, and Matt glowered, but remained silent, gaze fixed intently on his sister. If she so much as wavered he was going to insist they high-tail back to the submarine and take care of the crystal the next day—or week.
For her part, and though she'd never say it aloud, Leslie was grateful for being underwater. She let the water bear her weight, and practically swam over to the altar, slipping her own shard from around her neck as she advanced, putting it beneath its larger cousin, right on type of the Water Prophecy:
Darkness threatens all;
Your destiny awaits.
Courage will shine its light,
And open homeward gates.
"What's happened to me?" Leslie whispered. "I never could do anything like that at home—and I don't mean the magic. I mean that moment where I wasn't afraid of what happened to me so long as I got the job done. At school I'm too scared to make friends, let alone defend them."
"I think you have it wrong, my dear. You've misunderstood what courage was all along."
The voice that gave her the reply she hadn't been expecting was undeniably ancient and gentle, but lively—a small stream burbling over rocks—and Leslie felt instantly she could trust it. "What do you mean?"
"Courage isn't—never was—about a lack of fear, but about continuing on in spite of it. Anyone can, but not many do. Like the way you used to be, they let their fear rule them, root them to the spot. Others are able to push though and conquer fear. But a precious few of those—often those who feared the most—find that they are not only able to go on in spite of fear, but find a deep well of strength previously hidden behind it. These are the gentle-strong—those who protect the weak because they once were weak themseles."
It seemed preposterous, but the events of the last battle alone stood as testament the voice's truth, along with the advice Lukahn and Undar had given her. Then she thought of all the times she'd pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion healing and protecting the others, only to find strength and determination left within her. Like a movie playing in her head, the scenes flashed, culmination in her explanation to Josh all those weeks before: "I'm a healer—that's my job... If I'm going to pull my weight on this team, tiredness is the price I've got to pay..."
"And you think I'm one of those 'gentle-strong?'"
"Let us say that I know you are—and you are just beginning to know it yourself. Just know that if—when—you return home, you can bring a little of the white wizard back with you."
"The caring—you mean?"
"The caring that is your courage—and strength. If you embrace that, you will unlock more potential than you can even begin to imagine—and relight the Water Crystal."
Leslie closed her eyes for a second, but she knew the answer she was already coming to.
"I will."
After a heartbeat, the Water Crystal and Leslie's shard flickered to life with an aquamarine light. The glyphs behind the altar lit up as well, and the four heroes carefully made their way over to them, vanishing to the surface in a brilliant flash of the same aquamarine light. None were there to hear the same voice's parting words:
"Good luck, Bearer of the Water Crystal. May your journey take you to a better destination than mine.
So, yeah. Leslie is the water girl...no real shock there, given all the hints I've dropped. (Actually, I think I might have said which twin was which last time in the Bahamut section.) Hopefully, you all loved the chapter anyway! Next up, I'm taking this story to new heights. (That was a bad pun—I'm going to stand in the Corner of Shame now.)
Anyway, if you saw something you liked, or something you think I can fix/improve on for next time, feel free to leave a review and let me know!