A/N: Hmm, this chapter will a bit more emotional than the others. No real action, but a lot of pairing material and loose ends. Oh and, VESPERIA FOR PS3! I knew it was going to happen, and I'm excited about it. Sit back and enjoy the read.
Moments: Calm
The cold cooled my burning blood. The winds swept away the anger buried so deep inside of me. I have lived like this for quite a time, and I have made a discovery. You could say I had an epiphany. Humans are just as much monsters as the Entelexia. Inside each of us is a... beast of sorts.
It is a terrible beast. It thirsts for nothing but blood and death, terror and destruction. I have seen this beast many times, many times from my own heart. A darkness would overcome me, leaving only blood lust and the coppery tang of blood. I became a demon of pure rage, determination, a soldier of chaos.
"Kharon Capel!" An accusing voice cut through the blowing winds of the north. It was a noble knight of Zaphias, his armor covered in a thin sheet of frost. At his sides, other knights stood at the ready. Their numbers far dwarfed the single man standing atop the frozen hill. "In the name of the king, lay down your weapon this instant!"
My amber eyes dropped to meet the noble gaze of the knight. Defiantly, I tightened my grip on my sword and rolled my shoulder. The large weapon was rested on my shoulders, its white color mixing with the blowing snow of Zopheir. "You," I pointed to the leader of this noble bunch, "what is your name?"
"I see no need to give my name to a criminal, to a traitor to the crown!" He drew his own sword, though it was far smaller than mine. He signaled for his men to prepare the charge. If they rushed me at once, then they will win with numbers. He was wrong, very wrong.
Like many battles passed, the monster inside of me emerged. With amber eyes darkened by rage, he moved through the Imperial Knights as if he was a spirit of pure speed and power. Every swing of his sword seemed to change the winds themselves, blowing back multiple knights.
"Joseph," I thought to myself as he continued to fend off enemies, "I am sorry." He didn't react when a sword was driven through his torso. Instead, he swung again, slaying another group of knights.
"His flank, attack his flank!"
"I-I can't. He's too fast AGH!"
"We're being thrashed by one man, he's just one man!"
The battle continued, speeding up instead of slowing down. Where most would grow tired, this warrior of rage grew more fierce. His muscles only grew more solid, eyes more attentive, almost growing a sixth sense bred only for fighting.
In the waning light of the day, the final blow was struck. He stood amongst the slain, silhouetted by the angle of the light. With a deep, calming breath, all his rage left him. My blood was cooled once more, my thoughts becoming my own again. Finally realizing the cold, I tightened my bright red scarf around my neck. I coughed painfully, blood dripping from my lips like fire. My legs soon gave out, dropping me to my knees. I finally noticed the sword that were still driven into my body.
As a monster, one does not feel pain. There is no fear, no exhaustion, no doubt, no sadness, no love. There is only blinding, unnatural rage. This beast has a name, and it is Berserker.
"Mira," I took deep breaths as my lungs cried for more air, "my wife. I left him alone, I left our son alone." A weak chuckled left me, "I broke my promise to you. Please, forgive me."
Summoning all my remaining strength, I hoisted up my sword. It was his truest companion, and my most hated foe. It spilled oceans of blood, yet saved entire nations of people. It was a paradox I had yet to decipher. A roar of strain left me as I tossed the mighty sword, the ever faithful Bravior, into the distance. It slammed to the ground as I also fell into the white below. "Bravior, if fate brings that boy to this cursed place, go to him. Through you, I will be with him."
The snow' cold pricked my hot skin. My breathing became more shallow, lungs burning as death crept ever closer. "My son," I could taste the ice on my tongue, "Karol, grow strong. Become... an even better man... than I ever was." My mouth continued to move, but I could no longer hear anything over the cold winds.
Then, as my time began to come to a close...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
... it was calm.
Chapter 21: Hearts Like Glass
"Holy aer." Tison watched, utterly shocked as he watched Clint and Karol exchange blows. He had expected Karol to put up a solid fight, but Clint obviously had the advantage of experience. All of his expectations flew out the window when he saw Karol charge Clint. The young teenage boy was wearing a black tank-top, so Tison could clearly see his muscles tense. There was no possible way Karol could develop himself in such a short amount of time. Only a spartan training plan could do that, but then he'd have no time for a guild.
Basically, something was fishy. He continued to watch as Karol swung Bravior once more, meeting Clint's strike with equal force. The clash forced both to take a step back, only to use the momentum for another swing. Tison's long, white hair occasionally shifted in the wind created by such forceful attacks. He could only imagine what would happen if artes got involved.
His eyes shifted to his side when he heard light footsteps approach. It didn't take him long to identify the new presence, "Nan,"
"Master," The young Hunting Blade stepped up to his side, eyes glued on Clint and Karol, "boss and Karol?" Her eyes reflected concern, knowing all too well of Clint's strength. She looked over to Tison, asking him why they chose Clint.
Tison snorted, "Trust me, I wanted to be the one to test the kid." He smirked weakly, "But Clint insisted. He said he saw something in Karol." In a rare act of compassion, he placed his hand on Nan's shoulder. "Don't worry Nan, Karol will be fine. We're not aiming to kill him."
"He'll do it." Nan ignored Tison's shocked grunt, "Karol..." She watched the young boss of Brave Vesperia move, "Karol has grown strong. I know he'll pass." Nan's face was set in a confident expression, earning a chuckle from Tison. Neither of them knew of the true intensity of the fight going on in front of them.
Inside the resort, however, things more light-hearted. "... so I want to examine you to make sure there aren't any unwanted side effects." Rita calmly explained her visit to a still drowsy Fen. She stared at him as he stood there, seemingly oblivious. He blinked twice, still not responding to her. "Are you even awake?" She folded her arms, taking a firmer approach.
"You want to find out how I can turn into a wolf." He clarified. Rita nodded. "Huh," Fen scratched his head and yawned before disappearing back into his room. He left Rita standing there in confusion before he came back out with a towel draped over his shoulder. "Fine, but you're doing it while I'm in the hot spring."
Rita's eyes shot wide open and her face began heating up. "W-What!? No way!" She watched him walk down the hallway, reeling at his suggestion. "Why didn't you go earlier with the others?" Her shocked expression became more questioning when she saw him stop suddenly.
With a loose swagger, he turned to her with a tired smirk. "Well, seeing how people would panic if they saw a huge wolf in a resort, I thought it wasn't such a good idea."
"Oh yeah," Rita suddenly felt a bit bad, "I didn't think of that."
Fen shrugged passively, "It's no big deal." He turned and continued to walk, "Now come along Mordio, before I change my mind."
Hesitant, and a bit disgruntled at being ordered around, Rita followed him towards the men's hot-spring. She made sure to keep on the look out for anyone she knew. For no particular reason, Rita turned and looked to the opposite end of the hallway. Her pace slowed slightly when she spotted Estelle and Yuri together. "Huh," She smiled, "it's about time those two got together." She turned and continued following Fen. "It's not like it wasn't obvious or anything."
When they reached the men's changing room, Rita quickly went to the spring, leaving Fen alone to change out of his clothes. She fought the blush on her face, thinking it was just because of the heat of the water. "Geez, how long does it take to," Rita stopped, realizing how wrong those words would've sounded.
"Alright Rita, try not to get too curious though." Fen stepped out of the changing room and into the warm water. He ignored Rita's surprised gasp, knowing full well why she did. He got in the shallow part of the spring and sat down, eyes closed and waiting for her to start examining.
Rita stood, frozen to the spot at what she saw. She could clearly see his refined muscles of his torso. It wasn't surprising, considering how he fought with his bare hands. Scars occasionally interrupted his skin, and, many of them looked like claw scars. They all were a testament to the many fights he must have had against Cain and those who chased him. However, Rita's seen scars before, so it didn't take her by surprise. What made her gasp was the lower part of his left side, just under his ribcage.
Among the muscle and scars... was an apatheia. It ran right along with the contour of his torso, as if the skin itself had become a solid crystal of aer. It was no surprise his shirt hid such a thing so well. Before she realized it, she was running her fingers along the apatheia, her other hand placed on Fen's shoulder for balance. "How much of your body is like this?"
Her breathy words made it sound like she was more concerned than curious about it. It sounded strange coming from Rita, at least that's what Fen thought. "It stops at my kidney, goes up into my heart and left lung. It's partially infused with two ribs and three vertebra of my spine." He chuckled darkly and looked up, "In other words, Durandel is a permanent part of me."
"So is it how you're able to change?" Rita had stopped running her fingers along the apatheia, but her hand was still on his bare shoulder. With the long sigh he let out, she could feel his muscles shift slightly.
"Since it's you, I don't have to simplify the process." He shot her a light smile, showing he was fine with explaining. "The mages used a specific formula that used my life energy as a sort of magnet for aer. The act of changing the polarity of my life energy is what actually uses a bit of my life energy. My wolf form, as much as it looks and feels real, is actually solidified aer that gathers around me. Durandel's consciousness just gives it shape, that's why it's a wolf."
Rita pieced the rest together, "So that's why Cain looks like a black wolf. He has the other half of Durandel?" Fen nodded. "And he seemed a bit crazier than you, so does that mean his half is more beast like?"
"Not necessarily." Fen's expression suddenly became saddened. "That half of Durandel is indeed a beast, but it's deeper than that. I took control of the natural beast inside of me, while Cain allowed the beast within himself to take over. Durnadel had nothing to do with that really."
A silence came over them both as Rita processed the information. The only part she had a slight problem understanding was the beast part. After some recalling of a few books, she figured it out. Humans have basic tendencies, like lust and hate for example. Many cultures encouraged controlling such tendencies. If Cain allowed himself to be controlled by such emotions and instincts, then he became more like a "beast". So where did Durandel fit in with all of this. From past experience, apatheia still hold some consciousness of the Entelexia. "So, with Durandel-"
As if reading her thoughts, Fen answered. "I can hear him from time to time. Mostly, he talks to me when I'm confused about something. He's also the one who taught me to control my transformation." Fen smiled at the memory. Contrary to what most might think, Durandel was a good roommate. "That answer all your questions?"
Rita thought it over. "So, the reason you're so tired is because you had to fight Cain?"
"Partially." Again, Fen's expression grew grim. Rita didn't like his scowl, or his frown. "You could say I'm just tired of all the running, fighting, and conflict." He saw Rita give a confused look. "I've been running all over the place since I first escaped from the Empire. Heck, I couldn't stay in one place for anymore than a few days."
A wave of sympathy hit Rita. She knew all too well what it was like to be the odd one in the crowd. She was never in life-threatening situations like Fen was, but it still hurt all the same. "Must've been hard." She flinched at how cold it came out of her mouth. Rita was ready to shoot an apology when she saw Fen look at her... but he simply laughed.
Chuckling, Fen shook his head slowly. "Dag, it's really awkward to hear sympathy, especially from you."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!? Geez, the moment I feel like being nice, you go and insult me." Rita glared down at him until he looked back at her with a wide grin.
"There's the Rita I like so much." He seemed amused by her blush before he suddenly changed into his wolf form. His large, canine legs easily sifted through the water as he approached the rock at the center of the hot-spring. He hopped on top of it and laid down, "If you're done, you can leave."
Rita watched him lounge on the rock before turning to leave. She had all the information she needed, but something felt off. She stopped in mid-stride and looked back at Fen once more. In the darkness of the night, with the steam hanging just over the water, his form looked sad somehow. She leaned against the doorframe and continued to watch him, trying to decide what she should do. They did just have a sort of conversation about being alone after all.
Fen's ear perked when he heard Rita sigh in resignation. Opening an eye, he saw her slip off her sandals and start towards him. The water rose up to her knees, coming nowhere near her shorts as she came closer. He tilted his head slightly when she sat down on the rock beside him, eyes set on the sky. His ice-blue eyes looked up as well, noticing the stars. Both sat silently, one refusing the other of being alone.
BOOM
Of course things were never that simple. Everyone in the resort let out cries of shock when the ground shook, and an powerful boom echoed through the night. Even the few monsters around seemed frightened by the sudden sound.
Yuri and Estelle, still a bit flustered by their rudely interrupted moment, rushed to the source of the sound. Along the way, they met up with Joseph and Repede. The hound barked, displeased with his interrupted sleep. Joseph, however, looked a bit pale. His stride was quicker than Estelle and Yuri's, so he reached the entrance of Yumanju just behind Repede.
When Yuri and Estelle stepped out of the resort, the first people they saw were Tison, Nan, and Raven. All three looked they had seen a Cheagle take on the Adephagos, and win. Finally, they noticed the dense, very dense, vertex of aer swirling around someone facing off against Clint. The sheer force of the swirling aer nearly made them step back. "Who's that!?" Yuri stepped in front of Estelle, just in case he had to step in.
"Take a wild guess Yuri." Raven, mouth returning to its hanging state, continued to watch as the swirl of aer dimmed. At its center, much to everyone's shock, was none other than Karol Capel.
Yuri blinked, shocked. "No way, that's Karol?" He smirked, "I'm impressed, he's really gotten tougher. Kid's growin' up." His grin instantly dropped when he got a good look at Karol's eyes. His entire body language was vastly different from before.
The boss of Brave Vesperia stood, Bravior held on his shoulder with one hand, his other hand was opening and closing into a fist. His muscles were visibly shifting, looking much more defined than before. His overall bulk didn't change much, but he looked like he' been hitting the weights pretty hard. The amount of aer that his body was focusing was staggering. If he still had a working blastia, Yuri felt his gut twist at the possibilities.
"That sword," Joseph broke the heavy silence. His dark eyes zeroed in on the large white sword, "I know that sword." His eyes looked to Karol, examining his now red eyes. "Could it be possible? The chances are so low, but could this be fate?"
"What are you going on about old man?" Yuri looked to his father, curious of the way he looked at Karol.
Joseph looked at him with a frantic expression. "No time to explain, we have to stop this!"
"No way," Tison tore his eyes away from the extremely interesting battle, "this is a test of that kid's manliness. It's between him and the boss."
"You idiot," Joseph spat, "if we don't stop him, your boss will be killed!"
Nan glanced back, now more concerned than surprised. She too couldn't keep her eyes off of Karol. The aura around him seemed to change so much, it shook her to the bone. She would never imagine the silly boy she loved to change into something like this.
"Huh," Tison snorted, "I doubt Karol could kill Cl-" He was sharply interrupted by the resuming of this struggle between Karol and Clint.
Karol threw Bravior with one hand, spinning to give him more force. Before the skilled Hunting Blade could dodge the attack, however, Karol was already approaching fast. Pulling an arte out of seemingly nowhere, he drove his open palm into Clint's side, "Demon Fist!" He immediately took hold of the grounded Bravior, "Dragon Upper!"
Clint took the Demon Fist and got the air knocked out of him. He recovered just in time to block the Dragon Upper, but found himself on the defensive. Karol was swiping Bravior with such force, he could barely block. The sheer increase of speed knocked him off balance, let alone the fact that Karol was only using one hand. With every strike, Clint saw his chance of victory grow smaller and smaller.
Finally, Karol placed both hands on the hilt of Bravior, and made one wide, horizontal swing. Clint blocked the slower attack, but was thrown back by the force. Those on the sideline were taken back by the sight. Even though Karol was indeed taller (about up to Yuri's shoulder), Clint still dwarfed him.
"Gah," Clint flinched at the vibrations that shook his arm. When he looked up to glare at Karol, he got a face-full of Demon Fist. Again, he was thrown back, but this time, he was bleeding from his nose. Clint swung his sword, forcing Karol to back off a few paces. He placed his large hand over his nose to slow the bleeding, and watched Karol carefully. The boy's breathing was uneven, showing that he was tiring from the strain. "Alright kid," Clint's shoulders dropped, "you've proven yourself to me."
"See," Tison looked down at Nan, "told you the kid was tough."
Nan allowed a wide smile, glad Karol passed the test. "Karol," She took a step towards him, but Joseph grabbed her before she could get any closer. "Hey," She glared to Joseph, but saw how he was looking at Karol. Curious, she looked to the boy as well... and her heart dropped. His eyes were even redder, going on blood-red. His body focused even more aer, and his grip on Bravior tightened. "Karol?" Her voice sounded scared, deeply mixed with worry.
"What's going on with him?" Yuri watched in horror when Karol charged Clint once more, even more vicious then before. If this kept up, either Clint would die, or Karol would kill himself. "Stay here Estelle." He started forward, but Joseph ordered him to stop.
"It's pointless. All you'll do is draw his focus on the both of you."
"What's wrong with him!?" Nan was frustrated with this.
Joseph watched Karol continued to pursue Clint. "I didn't think it was possible. They succeeded in making it hereditary."
Karol was forced back by a tiring Clint. More aer swirled around him, eyes growing nearly black with pure rage. He readied Bravior for another charge, his other hand preparing another Demon Fist. He dashed forward, moving even faster then before, but a sudden blur of red met him ride between the eyes. Karol naturally staggered backwards, only to have the same red object strike him in the back of the head.
While he was still staggering, Caleb and Judy stepped out of the nearby brush. Acting fast, Caleb dropped his red lance and wrapped both arms around Karol's head, cutting off his breathing. He carefully counted before Karol's body went limp, then he quickly let go. "Don't worry," He took a calming breath as Nan rushed to Karol, "he's just unconscious."
"That does it." Yuri walked up to Joseph and grabbed him by the collar. "You're going to tell me what the hell that was!"
Joseph, never one to be manhandled, forcefully removed Yuri's hand from his collar. "Not now." He looked over to the unconscious teen. "I want that boy awake before I say anything." He focused his gaze back on his son, "You and I, however, have a whole other set of things to discuss." He pointedly looked at Estelle, "Alone."
"It's alright," Yuri looked back at Estelle, "I'll be back."
Estelle quickly hugged him, "Try to listen to him Yuri." She whispered, "He is a good man."
"That's yet to be decided." Yuri scowled after his father before he followed him.
The pink-haired princess looked at Yuri's retreating back and shook her head. "Those two are surprisingly alike." She turned to look at Karol, considering if he needed healing or not. She already planned on helping Clint, but first, she'd need to explain a few things to the pair that just came through the door.
"Did we miss something awesome?" Fen looked down at Karol lying face down in the dirt and then to Clint's bleeding nose. "Yeah, I so missed something cool."
Rita elbowed him and rolled her eyes.
"So old man," Yuri scowled, "start talking whenever you want." They had stopped at the side of the inn part of Yumanju, a more private path that led to the hot-springs. Nobody was around, so it was a perfect place to talk.
Joseph sighed, "Are you willing to listen, or are you still venting your frustrations?"
Surprisingly, when Yuri thought about it, he felt a lot less hostile towards his dad. His scowl slowly faded, settling for a neutral expression. "Fine, I'm all ears."
Joseph blinked a few times, "Uh, where exactly do you want me to start?" He was obviously uncomfortable. Even if he was the one to set up this talk, it didn't mean he was completely prepared for it.
"Hm, I don't know." Yuri didn't hold back his biting tone, "how about how you left me alone when I was kid?" His sarcastic way of speaking only added venom to his words.
Needless to say, the older Lowell expected nothing less. He lowered his gaze, feeling shame at such true words. "I have no excuses."
"Damn right you don't have excuses!" Yuri felt another wave of anger course through him. "If this is how this little talk is going to go, then we're done here."
"Yuri,"
"You know, I thought I'd find you just walking along the roads somewhere." The ex-knight waved his hand and paced, "I used to imagine our little reunion happening during some celebration. Not on the bridge of some flippin' airship!"
"Yuri,"
Yuri ran his hand down his face, a thin layer sweat covering his forehead. "Every so often, I used ask why you didn't want me anymore." He saw that this hit Joseph deeply, "Then when I see how flippant you are about all of this, it only makes me want to strangle the heck out of you!"
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Joseph's voice boomed, silencing the background noises in the forest. Yuri would've bet the people in the resort had stopped whatever they were doing as well. The older man's eyes showed an unheard of amount of emotion. In his dark eyes, you could see the amount of anguish he'd gone through. "Yuri, I swear to you, I had no idea you were even alive until a year ago."
Yuri, thrown off by his father's emotional state, wouldn't simply sit there. "That's still a year."
"I know," Joseph nodded, "and I am ashamed of myself because of it." He broke his ridged stance and ran a hand through his hair, "Yuri, you have to understand. When I led the Black Brigade, it wasn't for glory, entitlement, or anything like that." He met Yuri's eyes, "I did it to protect you and your mother. When I thought I lost you both, I didn't have the courage to even set foot in Zaphias."
"What do you mean?" Yuri asked in a bit of confusion.
Joseph shrugged, "Originally, the Black Brigade was formed to act as the direct hand of the emperor, as well as a separate force to keep the peace. We were to be outside the reach of other nobles. We were paid well, kept our private lives, it was perfect to provide you with a good life." His gaze dropped, "Then the nobles decided that we were getting in their way a bit too much. So they got a hold of our charter, and went after our families."
"So that's why they burned down our house." Yuri, anger forgotten, reeled at the revelation. The acts of the shadier nobles in Zaphias never ceased to amaze him.
"Yeah. Many of us lost everything we held dear that day, and I thought I was one of them. So on Mt. Temza, we decided to turn on the Empire, leaving it in the dust. Of course, after the events on that battlefield, only a hundred and fifty of us survived. Our brigade was pushing a solid five-thousand when we got there." Joseph allowed a moment of silence, again attacked by the grief of losing so many men and women under his command. No true leader can't feel pain at losing his subordinates.
Settling in for a story, Yuri sat down against the wall of resort. "So then what?"
"Well," Joseph sat down beside him, "we managed to save Caleb. That's how I know that sword of Karol's, Bravior. It used to belong to a man named Kharon. He was the one who took care of Caleb while I... while I figured out what to do." Memories of the past flooded into his mind. "Demigog appeared to me in my moment of weakness. Shamefully, it took a memory of your mother to get me out of it."
"So is that why you decided to destroy Demigog?"
Joseph nodded, "Yes, from that point onward, we focused all of our resources on destroying that Adephagos. Sebastian had the idea of forming a guild to help finance our plans, and I used my earnings from this place. It was a tough road, but we managed to come this far." He looked up into the sky before looking towards Yuri's general direction. "The day I found out you were alive was when you saved your knight friend, Flynn in what was to be Aurnion."
"Really?" Yuri made a face, it took him that long? "Here I was thinking that I was pretty famous by then."
The small joke lightened the conversation. "Oh I heard of Yuri Lowell long before that, but I thought it as nothing but coincidence." He chuckled, now excited about talking like this. "I remember when I saw that wanted poster of you."
"Picture was terrible." Both of them said this at the same time. Unlike before, this got a laugh out of both of them.
After a time of simply absorbing the moment, Joseph spoke again. "It took me one full year to think of what I wanted to say to you." He looked at Yuri, seeing he was looking back expectantly. Joseph placed his hand on Yuri's shoulder and gripped it firmly. "Yuri," He paused... before he punched him straight in the jaw, "your left hook needs work."
"Gah, go to Hell old man!" Yuri stood up and glared down at his father. In moments, they were fighting again. After exchanging a few punches, kicks, bites, and submission holds the two Lowells found themselves on the ground. Between breathes, Yuri continued ti insult his dad, a huge grin on his face.
Joseph laughed at the words before getting Yuri into a headlock. He roughly rubbed his knuckles into his scalp and continued to laugh as he struggled to get out. Finally, Yuri wrestled his way out and sat beside his dad once more. "Yuri," He noticed him scoot away a bit, "I really am proud of you son." He looked at him, "I'm sure your mother would be proud as well."
Yuri sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'd hope so."
More silence followed the moment, allowing father and son to enjoy the moment. However, we all know how Lowells are. "So how was it?"
"How was what?"
"Your make-out session with princess Estellise?"
"W-What!?"
"Did you hit it home yet?"
"The hell old man!?"
"Is that a yes?"
"Like I'd tell you!"
"Did you use protection?"
"What are you talking about!?"
"I'm asking if you did the tango, the wild monkey dance, plowed the field, hit a home run, visit the house of pleasure, or however you young people say it these days."
"All that stuff sounded weird."
"That's a no."
"I'm done talking to you."
"Seems little Yui still has some growing to do."
"Don't talk like I'm not here!"
A/N: Heh, couldn't help myself with the last part. In case you missed it (I can't see how), Joseph was asking if Yuri and Estelle had sex yet. Anyway, one more chapter of non-adventure stuff before we go for the home stretch. Expect lots of fun next chapter, perhaps some singing too. Thank you for reading, please review!