Ah, December. Projects have ended, classes are over, vacation has begun, and another chapter has been written. And what a chapter this is. I had so much fun writing this that...well...you'll find out soon enough.

Before I let you get started, though, there is something important that I want to mention. As some of you may have noticed, Michael's Story has new cover art featuring Michael and Stella. If you haven't noticed, I insist that you go and take a look at it before going any farther. The new art was done by a really good friend of mine at college who goes by the name Rikirinka online, although I did the coloring myself. She's a really good artist, and I'd recommend checking her out if you want to get some art commissioned.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer

Dragon Quest IX is the property of Square Enix and Nintendo and not me and probably not you.

What I do own are the characters that I make up, including, but not limited to, Michael, Jessica, and Allison, as well as some of the crazy things that happen to them.

Reviews:

Typhlosion-777: A Metal Slime Stack is nice and all, but it ain't no Cruelcumber.

theoneandonlylordmonkeyknight: I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed this story so much. And worry not, the wait is over. And I somewhat agree. Dourbridge is a really interesting town. I don't know if it's my favorite, but it's definitely up there.

Xdaath: I'm full of all kinds of surprises. It keeps things interesting, doesn't it? And yeah, it took a while, but I think Allison is finally starting to become the character I wanted her to be.

Guest: I'm glad this is still continuing, too. And, trust me, you won't be disappointed with where it goes. At least, I hope not...

Bropower125: It wasn't that long since the last chapter... For future reference, I try to maintain a minimum upload schedule of at least April/September/December. And, yes, the Zachary plot line is certainly going to be...something.

The Teletrap: Nostalgia is an incredible feeling and I'm honored that I was able to give you some of that.

Wraichu: I wouldn't exactly call having a quarter of a chapter being the word "cough" a genius writing style, but who am I to judge? Also, I'm glad you like (or hate, I guess) Zachary and crew.


Act 2 – Part 8: Fygguring Things Out

(Michael's POV)

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Jessica answered, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Allison is taking a bit longer, though."

"I feel kind of bad for making her leave so soon after finding her family," I lamented. "But we still have five more Fyggs to find around the world. Maybe we should ask her if she wants to stay here instead…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Allison's mother exclaimed, coming to join us. "We know she has more important things to be doing than hanging around Dourbridge. Besides, we'll always be here if any of you want to come visit. Any friend of Allison's is a welcome part of our family."

"We really appreciate that," Jessica responded, genuinely touched by the sentiment.

"Of course, sweeties," Allison's mom replied with a motherly smile. "Now where is that husband of mine?" she asked, looking back towards where she came. "He said he wanted to talk to Allison about something."


(Allison's POV)

"Are you sure you want me to have this?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course I am," my dad answered, holding out an old spear towards me. "This is the weapon that I used when I was younger, and now I want ya to have it."

"But I've never even used a spear. I don't know how to even use one. I've only ever used staves."

My dad chuckled. "Even if you don't end up usin' it, I still want you to have it. Consider it like a family heirloom, yeah?"

"I mean, I guess when you put it that way…"

"Besides, you never know when it'll end up bein' useful for ya. This is a special spear made from magically-reinforced steel. It's near indestructible and plenty strong, to boot. Certainly helpful to have in a pinch."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," I noted, gratefully taking the spear out of his hands and sliding it into my bag. "Thanks, Dad," I said, hugging him. "I really do appreciate it."

"Of course, Sweetheart. Now, we better go. I think everyone is waiting for us outside."


(Michael's POV)

"Ah, there you two are," Allison's mom exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry," Allison's dad apologized. "Our conversation lasted a bit longer than I was expecting."

"It's fine, Dad," Allison remarked. "Anyway, are you guys ready to go?" she asked to Jessica and myself.

"Yeah," I answered. "I figured we should just continue south towards Bloomingdale."

"Michael, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but hear you mention something called a Fygg earlier, right?" Allison's mom interjected.

"Yeah?" I answered, unsure of where this was going.

"Would that happen to be some kind of shining golden fruit?" she asked.

"It would, actually," I replied, surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, there was this strange shining fruit near the bridge the other day," she explained. "It must have fallen into the river somewhere in the mountains upstream and floated down into the city. It got stuck by one of the stone paths that cross it."

"Really!?" I asked, excited. This may be the easiest Fygg to collect yet. "Do you know what happened to it?

"Yeah," she answered. "One of our lot picked it up, but…hmm…nope. Can't remember who it was now. Sorry."

"That's alright, Mom," Allison reassured. "At least now we know that there was one around here, right?"

"I'd maybe try askin' around the bar in the southwest corner of town," her dad suggested. "That's near where the Fygg was found. Maybe someone near there knows what happened to it."

"Southwest corner of town?" I confirmed. "Alright, we'll head there next, instead. Thank you again for all your help."

"Oh, it was no issue," Allison's mom remarked. "Good luck to all of you on your travels."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!" a small voice suddenly called out as Alexander ran outside to meet us. "I didn't get to hug Allison goodbye yet!"

We all chuckled as he ran over to Allison, who had leaned over and opened her arms to pick him up. "Be a good boy, okay?" she said while hugging him.

Alexander wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly, squishing his cheek against hers. "Come visit again soon, okay?" he asked. "And good luck on saving the world!"

Allison laughed. "I will. I promise."


After a short walk across Dourbridge, we entered a small bar nestled under one of the main bridges. A single patron sat at the bar with the bartender: A male Warrior who seemed to be fairly proud of something. For lack of a better option, we decided to ask the Warrior if he knew anything about the Fygg.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked to get his attention.

"Ha ha!" he cried out, spinning around to see us. "Look at these leather shoes I got," he exclaimed, lifting up his legs to show off his footwear. "Swapped a shinin' fruit for 'em, I did."

"A shining fruit, you say?" I asked, concerned about where this was going.

"Pretty good deal, eh?" the Warrior continued. "I know you're jealous."

"Leather shoes?" the bartender sighed. "I would have thought that golden fruit was worth more than that."

"We're inclined to agree with you," Allison responded. "Do you know who he traded the fruit to?"

"Alas, I do not," the bartender admitted. "Although, I know there was another man in the bar at the time. He usually hangs out in the east side of town, near Cap'n Max Meddlin's place. If it's so important to you, you could try to ask if he knows anything."

"We will, thank you," we responded before leaving, the bartender rolling his eyes and shaking his head behind us. We quickly crossed the river to the east side of town and headed north towards a large staircase that lead up a hill. Sitting nearby was a sailor, who was fishing in the river.

"Excuse me, sir, but have you seen a gold fruit?" I asked, startling the man, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Dang it!" he yelled. "You've gone and scared all the fishes away." He sighed. "You're lookin' for a golden fruit, you say?" He rubbed his chin, thinking. "That bloke who lives in the little hut right in the middle o' town had some kind o' shinin' fruit. Until the other day, that is."

That can't be good, I thought. "Could you point us towards this man's house?" I asked.

"Just head straight north," he explained, pointing up the river. "His hut is the very last one."

"Thank you for your help," I said, starting to head in that direction.

"And sorry about your fish," Jessica called back, causing the man to sigh once again.

We reached the far north of Dourbridge after a few minutes, where a small hut sat by itself, with a sizeable chunk of wall missing from the back. We entered to see a large man practically dancing from joy.

"Oo'd've thought I'd sell that shinin' fruit for such big money, eh?" he bragged to himself. "An' it only cost me a pair of leather shoes! He he he!"

"Sir, did you say that you sold a shining fruit?" Allison asked, getting the man's attention.

"Eh? You're after one an' all, are ya?" he asked. "'Fraid I sold it to that weird bloke 'oo lives at the bottom o' that mountain, Zere Rocks."

"Zere Rocks?" I repeated, finding that it sounded familiar to me for some reason.

"Yeah. If you wanna go after it, just cross the bridge an' follow the road east. 'Ave a gander at the signs an' you should be fine. I wonder what made the old feller pay so much for it, though, eh?"

We left the man to his celebrations and went outside. There, we found the sailor from earlier, waiting nearby. "Sorry, but I couldn't help but overhearin' you," he explained. "Old Man Mason lives all on his lonesome at the foot o' Zere Rocks. He comes along from time to time to swap these amazin' statues for food so he can carry on livin' like a hermit. With talent like that, you'd think he'd go an' make his livin' in a big city somewhere. He could live like a king!"

We thanked the man for his last bit of advice and sat somewhere to collect our thoughts. "So," Allison began, "the Fygg isn't in Dourbridge anymore."

"We seem to have just missed it," Jessica lamented. "But at least it doesn't sound like anyone has eaten it yet."

I sighed and looked behind me to the east where a large mountain stood against the sky. I hadn't noticed it before, but a slight ominous aura seemed to be radiating from it. "So, this Old Man Mason guy, who lives at the foot of that mountain, Zere Rocks, purchased the Fygg, and that's where it was last known to be."

"What about it, Michael?" Jessica asked.

"The Fygg went through all that trouble to get to him," I explained. "Whichever Fygg it is, it seems like it knew who it wanted to target and did everything in its power to get to him."

"So what you're saying is…" Allison began.

"Assuming that Old Man Mason is who the Fygg wanted to target, now that he has it, I have a feeling that getting this Fygg is going to be a lot more dramatic that I had originally hoped."

"Oh, good," Jessica commented sarcastically. "I love dealing with other people's problems."

"Yeah," I sarcastically agreed back. "It's not like it's the point of some people's entire existence."

"Oh. Right. Fair enough," Jessica conceded. "Still, doesn't it get tiring sometimes?"

"I find it best if I don't think about it, sometimes," I answered. "That being said, it's not like I find doing good things unenjoyable. It always seems worth it in the end, although I have found that I've been risking my life a bit too much recently."

"I think we can all agree on that," Jessica remarked.

"Anyway, I guess we should head towards the base of Zere Rocks and see what we can find."

"Actually, Michael," Allison asked, "I know right now probably isn't the best time, but I'm really interested in meeting Cap'n Max Meddlin', since everyone has been talking about him. Would you mind if we do that first?"

"I suppose we can go meet him," I allowed, partially interested myself. "He's just straight up that staircase, right?"

"Yeah," Allison answered.

We walked up the hill and found a large tent set up. We stepped inside and found it full of all kinds of strange treasures. Most abundantly, though, where small, golden medals strewn around the place in large piles.

A friendly Man o' War floated over to greet us. "This is Cap'n Meddlin's castle (slurp)! The Cap'n collects the Mini Medals which are scattered all over the world."

Having given his introduction, the Man o' War motioned for us to continue further into the 'castle,' towards a large central platform where a bishop-like figure stood. "If you want your share of Cap'n Meddlin's booty," he explained, "bring him all the Mini Medals you uncover on your travels." He stepped to the side and gestured up a short staircase onto the platform. "The Cap'n is right up this way. He might not seem it, but he's from an ancient family of Mini-Medal-collecting kings, so mind your p's and q's, alright?"

I nodded and headed up the stairs. On the platform, a large man dressed in a long red cloak and a large red pirate hat stood facing away from us, looking at the immense pile of Mini Medals before him. He heard us approach and dramatically spun around to greet us, revealing he had a white mustache and beard and an eyepatch over his right eye.

"Ahoy there!" he greeted. "I be Cap'n Max Meddlin', swashbucklin', seafarin' collector of only the miniest o' medals! I sailed the seven seas all me years, plund'rin' the most maximal amount o' treasures me hold could carry. Until one day, the patch fell from me eye, an' I saw that the maximum joy I ever had meself was from these miniature medals!" He pointed at the three of us. "What say ye, traveller? If ye happen across any Mini Medals on yer travels, will ye sail my way with 'em?"

"Uh…" I responded, a bit taken aback by his sudden request.

"I'll make it more than worth yer while," he continued. "I've a boatload o' booty to give ye in return."

"Yeah, sure, I guess," I reluctantly agreed. "Actually, I think I already have some with me."

"Arr," the Cap'n exclaimed, "ye're a steadfast swab, an' no mistake, bringin' me medals right away like this. Maximal respect! Hand 'em over, now."

His sudden shift into a demanding tone caught all of us so off guard that we immediately began digging through our bags and pulled out all of the Mini Medals that we had collected during our travels, handing them over to him.

"Arrr, just look at that gleam!" he commented excitedly. "Like miniature suns, they are!" He paused a moment to count how many we've given him. "That's 8 Mini Medals ye've given me. Thank 'ee kindly!" He turned around and started rummaging through his pile of treasure. "I'm a man of me word, so here's some o' the booty I promised ye. For 4 medals, ye get the Thief's Key! Aharrr!" he laughed, handing me a key that looked like it could open a lot of different locks. "And for 8 medals, ye get a Mercury's Bandana! Aharrr!" he laughed again, shoving a piece of cloth into my hands. That's 8 Mini Medals I've had off ye! That's no minimal amount! An' when it reaches 13, ye'll have me maximal respect, an' a Bunny Suit to boot! Good luck, me hearties!" Signifying that our business was over, he dramatically turned back away from us.

We headed back down the stairs and headed towards the exit of the tent while looking at what we were given. The Thief's Key I slid into my pocket, sure it would be useful at some point. Then I decided to inspect the Mercury's Bandana, which was an odd shade of yellow.

"Hm…" I observed. "It looks like this bandana increases both Agility and Magical Mending."

"Really? That nasty thing?" Jessica asked, sounding ominously curious. "Hey, Allison, you specialize in Magical Mending, right?"

"Oh, no!" Allison immediately discouraged, already seeing where this was going. "Don't you dare."

"Allison, stop!" Jessica called out. "Why are you running away!?"


"You know, I don't actually think it's that bad, all things considered. It contrasts nicely with my hair."

"Allison," Stella began, "I'm saying this as a friend. That bandana is flapping atrocious. You look like a Zumeanie."

"Really?" Allison asked, pouting slightly.

"Just trust me on this one, okay."

Allison shrugged. "Well, I figured it was worth a shot. At least it boosts my Magical Mending."

"For what it's worth, Allison," I tried to comfort, "I also know what it's like to get hit by the force of fashion that is Jessica." Jessica, in response, simply turned around and stuck out her tongue with a cheeky look on her face. Rolling my eyes, I continued. "Anyway, that sign we passed earlier said that Zere Rocks should be farther south along this path on the way to Bloomingdale."

"I'd move a bit faster if I was you three," Stella chimed in, flying overhead nonchalantly. "The Heights of Loneliness are probably the last place I'd want to be looking for someone cursed by a Fygg. Especially at night."

"The Heights of Loneliness?" Allison repeated.

"Don't tell me that this is that mountain," I whined.

"What do you mean, Michael?" Jessica asked, concerned.

"The Heights of Loneliness," I explained, "or Zere Rocks, as it appears to be called now, is a mountain that is infamous for being uniquely and inexplicably isolated."

"Oh, I think I remember reading something about that, once," Allison exclaimed. "There have been several expeditions in the past to study the region, with varying levels of success. As a result, the mountain itself is very well documented. However, any attempt to stay on the mountain for an extended period of time has mysteriously resulted in madness at best."

"At best?" Jessica asked.

"Well, that's based only on those who have actually managed to come back."

"Almighty," Jessica breathed. "And that's without a Fygg cursing the place?"

"Don't worry about it, guys," Stella reassured. "With our luck, Old Man Mason will be sitting in his house at the bottom of the mountain with the Fygg sitting on the table ripe for the taking."

"Stella," I asked, dumbfounded, "who's luck do you have, and where can I get some of it?"

"Oh, come on, guys," Stella continued. "You guys need to flapping relax. What's the worst that could happen?" Right as she said that, we crossed over a bridge that went over a small offshoot of the main river and entered a region that the map referred to as the Lonely Plains. Immediately, the temperature dropped 20 degrees and the sky seemed to darken.

"I don't know, Stella," Jessica answered, "but whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to happen now."

Traveling through the plains for a while, we eventually reached a fork in the path with another sign nearby. It pointed down the north-east path for Zere Rocks and down the south-west path for "the town of flowers, Bloomingdale."

"Dourbridge isn't even mentioned on this sign," Allison noticed.

"I bet the Bloomingdingers built this sign," Jessica remarked. "Based on how your parents talked about them, I doubt they have ever even considered the thought that anyone would ever want to head towards Dourbridge."

"Well, regardless, our current destination seems to be in this direction," I directed, pointing down the north-east path, which lead to the foot of the foreboding mountain where we'd hopefully find our third Fygg.

Following the path eventually led us to a small pass in the mountains where a house sat. A statue of a beautiful bird with its wings spread wide sat on a pedestal in front of the house, and several large stone slabs sat next to the house. Other unfinished pieces were scattered around, waiting to be completed. It felt oddly relaxing here, considering where it was located.

An old merchant was wandering around, looking at the various creations. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. Maybe Stella was right, and this would be easy.

"Excuse me," I called out to him, getting his attention. "Are you Mason?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid," he answered. "I came here to meet Old Man Mason. He's supposed to be a dab hand at making statues. He's not around, though. What a waste of time! If only there was something here that would give me some kind of clue about where he's gone."

"Really?" I asked, disappointed. "Well, would you mind if we looked around a little bit ourselves to see if we can find any clues?"

The merchant shrugged, signifying that he didn't care, and we began looking around the area. I decided to check inside his house first. Maybe he left some kind of note or something about where he was going. His house was a single room, similar in size to Jona's cabin. Off to the side of the room sat a small desk with a diary sitting open on it. I picked it up, hoping to learn something useful from reading it.

"It was an eternity ago. I told my poor sweetheart I'd be back in five years, and then set off on my travels. All I cared about was learning to work stone. Five years passed in the blink of an eye, but I barely noticed. When I finally made it back home, it was only to find out that she'd gone and married another man. Och, that was an eternity ago, though. I'm an old man now. That was back in my younger days. I'm heading north to Zere Rocks. It won't be long now till it's all over. I doubt I'll be back at this hut again."

I gently placed the diary back on the desk as I felt a pit starting to grow in the bottom of my stomach. Only the Fygg of Despair would have this kind of effect on a person, and now it, and Old Man Mason, were located somewhere on the cursed mountain that towered above us all. Accepting our fate, I headed back outside, where Jessica and Allison returned from their own searches.

"Did you find anything Michael?" Jessica asked.

"I found his diary," I explained. "He said that he was heading north, up to Zere Rocks."

"And the Fygg?" Allison asked, although she seemed to already know the answer.

"It appears to have already affected him," I answered. "And I'm confident that this is the Fygg of Despair. It all seems to have stemmed from a broken heart that he suffered decades ago."

"What was that?" the merchant suddenly interrupted. "Mason's headed up to Zere Rocks? Dear me! Maybe I should just give up on this statue lark and go somewhere else."

"Well, we're still going to go up and look for him," I responded.

"You'd brave the Heights of Loneliness for a statue?" he scoffed. "I hadn't taken you three to be such fools earlier. Sure showed me."

I sighed at the man's remarks. He wasn't entirely wrong, though. "Okay, guys," I began. "Here's the plan. We travel through the Heights of Loneliness as fast as possible until we get to Zere Rocks. Once there, we do whatever we have to do to get the Fygg, and then we leave as fast as mortally possible."

"I don't like this," Jessica remarked. "Not after the conversation we had earlier."

"I don't like it, either," I responded. "But we have to do this, so let's just get it over with."

"Yeah, you guys enjoy that," Stella said, slowly fluttering away. "I agree with the old man on this one, so you fools can go enjoy climbing that mountain, and I'll wait for you down here to get back safe and sound."

"That's funny, Stella," I replied, "because you are coming with us."

"The flap I am," she countered. "What makes you think I will?"

"What if something were to happen to us while we're up there?" I argued. "You might be able to help us get out of there. At the very least, you could make sure that two more Fyggs aren't lost in the Heights of Loneliness."

"N-nothing is going to happen to you while you're up there," Stella stammered, her face noticeably paling at the thought. "But, just to make sure, I'll go with you anyway."

"Well, thanks, Stella," I remarked. "I'm glad you're willing to do that for us."

"It's nothing, really," she insisted. "I was gonna go, anyway. I was just teasing ya."

"Of course, Stella," I acknowledged. "Now, let's hurry up and get this over with."

The path continued north up to the base of the mountain, where it entered into a small cave. Right inside stood a stone tablet, with a small pond behind it. The tablet read "You see before you the work of an old fool called Mason. May it stand forever as a testament to all that I knew and loved."

"Whoever this Mason guy was," Jessica observed, "he seemed to really think poorly about himself."

"It makes sense that the Fygg of Despair tried so hard to get to him," Allison added. "I just hope we're not too late."

We walked around the pond via a ramp that led to an exit above the pond. Stepping outside, we found ourselves at the bottom of the Heights of Loneliness. There were several stone outcroppings sticking out at random locations, with a network of vines sprawled out across them. Random stone statues, clearly made my Mason, stood here and there.

Taking a quick look around our surroundings, I saw something of interest in the far-right corner of the opening area: a large stone staircase that seemed to lead straight to the top of the mountain.

"That staircase over there may be our best bet to getting to Zere Rocks as fast as possible," I pointed out.

"I think you may be right, Michael," Allison agreed. "It's not everyday that a place like this gives us a shortcut right to the very end."

"Perhaps Stella was right," Jessica remarked. "Maybe we are starting to get lucky."

"I don't care about luck right now," I responded. "I just want to get to Zere Rocks. Let's just take the stairs and see where they lead us."

Not wasting anytime, we began climbing the stairs at a brisk pace. Allison, being the tallest out of the three of us, ended up in the lead with her longer stride. I chose to stay in the back to make sure no monsters were following us.

"See, Michael?" Stella cheered. "I told you nothing was going to happen to- What's that down there?"

I paused and looked down at where she was pointing and saw a boulder rolling up a hill towards one of the supports of the staircase. It stopped when it reached the support, then rolled over to reveal a face with a large, menacing grin. Its smile widened as it looked me dead in the eyes.

"Is that a…Grinade!?" I asked, panic setting in once I realized what it was trying to do. I looked along the rest of the staircase and saw more Grinades rolling up to other supports. I looked back at the Grinade beneath me and noticed that it had started glowing with energy. I jumped back, realized what was about to happen.

"RUN!" I yelled, as I started leaping up the stairs as fast as I could. My warning got the girls' attention, but it was too late. With barely any time to react, the Grinades exploded, destroying all of the supports for the stairs. Within seconds, the stairs started collapsing, and we all fell, separately, into the depths of the Heights of Loneliness.


Oh, dear. It seems that our heroes have been lost to the Heights of Loneliness. What fate will befall each of them? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Speaking of which, the next chapter, if I had to guess, should be released...(checks watch)...right now. Yes, you read that correctly. I was so motivated to write this chapter, I ended up writing two chapters. Sometimes, I think I spoil you too much.

Anyway, I guess I'll see you again in a couple of minutes so, until then, this is D~F.