CHAPTER TWO: PART TWO
When I awaken, all the others are doing the same. I could not have been out for more than a few minutes. Looking around, I see everyone in the crew and team are all right, climbing to their feet, with gashes and bruises, but otherwise unharmed.
Brushing chunks of wood out of my armor, I walk over to everyone, and what they are gaping at, and nearly gasp.
Th…that s-ship is…
Haschel runs up to us, breathless. "Dart, I can't find Shana anywhere."
As if to answer, her scream, short but loud, pierces the air.
"Shana!" Dart leaps off the ship and uses a plank of wood as a bridge.
The scream came from the ghost ship. One of the Queen Fury's planks had come off the deck so that it formed a sort of bridge to the other ship, which is ghostly and dark even with the lit candles and silvery moonlight.
As we run toward the screams, I can see ghosts moving. Three of them, shaped like normal skeletons, probably monsters of some sort, floating toward the cowering Shana, who is cornered against a locked cabin.
And out of nowhere, three knights appear. Dressed in full armor of bronze and boarhide, with crested helmets and swords in their hands. But they have no legs or feet, only a trail of vapor as they hover several inches off the deck. Silently, they slash the swords at the monsters, who disappear. There is no blood. The knights bow to Shana and do the same, fading away like spilled water being wiped.
"Shana, what happened?" Dart practically yells, kneeling by her.
"I...I don't know. The monsters...they were coming after me, and then they showed up and chased them away. I don't know why." The girl answers, getting to her feet.
"Why did you come here?"
"I didn't. I must have flown off the ship. I was standing by the railing, and when the ships crashed, I lost conciousness. When I woke up, I was here." Shana answers. "Oh...I feel like I know this place."
I do too. This is the Phantom Ship, where the entire crew was killed by the Black Monster. It used to be called the Saint Louvia eighteen years back. …Princess Louvia...a princess of some ancient family in Mille Seseau, but also one of the Moon Children killed by the Black Monster eighteen years ago. It will be another ninety years until the Black Monster comes again.
A ghost, dressed in black and white and red, appears like a teardrop falling and taking shape. "Help me… The bastard…the bastard is… I don't want to…die. H-help…" And he disappears the way he came, only falling upward.
"What?!" Dart yells.
Another appears. "We…cannot make it. We'll be killed by him. I don't want to die. H-help."
"What are they talking about?" Dart frowns, sheathing his sword against the nothingness.
"Let's look around." Meru suggests.
"Please, can we, Dart? Please! I need to see!" Shana practically falls to her knees and begs.
Dart could never resist her. "All right. But just for a little while. And everyone stay together!"
"Yes!" Shana runs off toward the cabin in the back.
Dart sighs. "What did I just say?"
The cabin is the captain's, with a chandelier and a carpet and a well-done portrait a man, woman, and baby girl. I have seen it before. I am not impressed.
But Shana is. She gazes around, and her eyes stay on the picture. "I feel like I've seen them before."
"Maybe you have a secret connection to them." Haschel jokes.
Him and his secret connections. I'm going to hurt him if he says that one more time.
The ghost of the captain appears in the chair, looking at us. He is transparent, only splashes of color, so that I can see the chair behind him.
"Please, help me! He…killed…the crew… Nanny…knights…me…and the newborn princess… Him… the Black Monster…"
"Wh-what? This was done by the Black Monster too?"
"We couldn't protect…the princess, so we couldn't finish dying. Pleaes destroy the fear…please send the souls of the knights to rest. AAARRGGHH!!"
"It's impossible to fully die." Dart says passionately, his hands in his hair as if he wants to pull the dark blonde strands out. As if physical pain could cancel out the pain inside. His voice is laced with emotion, furious and anguished. "He kills people for no reason!"
…
As we exit the cabin, the three knights reappear.
"We won't give you Princess Louvia! We'll protect her even if it costs our lives!"
He slashes a sword downward.
Toward me.
"Rose!" Dart yells, moving forward as if to do something.
I stand still, waiting.
He cannot harm me. He is only a ghost. The blade passes harmlessly through me. The knights disappear.
"What happened?" Dart asks.
I shrug, keeping my face blank. "I don't know. But I am unharmed."
Albert speaks in a quiet voice. "'After counting 108 years, when the Moon That Never Sets glows red, a Moon Child descends upon the earth to fill the world with holy bliss.' However, what was actually brought was the child of destruction, the Black Monster. We are witnessing a tragedy from the past."
Shut up.
"It's awful! Why did it have to do this?" Shana wails.
Stop it!
"The Black Monster, again!" Dart snarls. "How many lives must he take before he is satisfied?"
"Stop it!" I scream, thrusting my hands over my ears, knocking my headpieces askew.
Dart turns to look quizzically at me, shocked. There is also concern in his eyes, because I have never had an outburst in front of him before.
I take my hands away from my ears, refastening the headpieces. "Sorry." I speak clearly, trying to sound casual. "What was I thinking?"
They shouldn't say that about the Black Monster. They can't say that!
Ignoring everyone's confused looks, I shift my feet, taking a step out of the way. "… Let's move on. You want to know, don't you?"
We start to head back to the Queen Fury, where Commander Puler and Kayla are waiting. But Shana feels drawn toward room, and we all headed in except for Kongol, who was too big and had to wait outside and guard.
Inside is a room with bare furniture covered in dust. It seems almost like a living room of some sort, and to the left is another locked door.
When Shana tries to open the door, one of the ghost knights appear. The girl screams and ducks behind Dart, who draws his sword.
"You, Black Monster. How dare you return here?" he demands.
Another appears. "How dare you come here, pursuing Princess Louvia?"
"Wait!" Dart calls. "We're not the Black Monster!"
Two other knights appear, with drawn swords. "How dare you, Black Monster, use human words to trick us!"
The Black Monster isn't human, remember?
"We'll never let you near our Princess Louvia!" This one lunges forward, slashing with his sword.
The blade passes harmlessly through me, and the knight loses his balance, falling to the carpet. Soundlessly, he climbs back to his feet and moves to stand by his fellow knights.
Another knight appears, this one with a larger sword, and a silver helmet. The knight commander for the ship.
"If we have to die to protect Princess Louvia, then so be it. You will never get near her, Black Monster, you demon!" The ghost knight commander accuses, lifting his sword.
"Wait, what's going on?" It is Shana that screams it, stepping out from behind Dart. "Please... It's over. There is no more Black Monster. Please suffer no more."
The ghost commander lowers the sword, a shadow of a smile lighting his transparent face. "Princess Louvia...you are safe. Oh thank God. We thought the Black Monster killed you. Now we can finally go to the place where we should be."
The five knights disappear.
"Wait! What's going on? Who's Princess Louvia?" Shana wonders.
"She was a princess of an ancient royal family of Mille Seseau. Eighteen years ago, she was killed on this ship by the Black Monster. This ship used to be named the Saint Louvia." I inform them, nonchalantly tossing my hair over my shoulder. "Someone told me."
"You have interesting information sources. You seem to know an awful lot of things." Albert comments.
I glare at him. Perhaps he already knows. Kings are supposed to be smarter, aren't they?
"The door's open. Let's go." Shana is already moving into the next room.
It looks much like the one we just left, but with an elaborate cradle for a baby. Nothing is in there, but Shana runs her hands along the crib anyway.
A plump old woman who looks like a nurse walks in, a ghost, of course. Her face is worn and sad, as if she has been mourning all her life.
"Princess Louvia..." she moans quietly, crying.
"Who are you?" Shana asks her.
The nurse looks up at her, her features growing wider into a smile. "Princess? Is that you? Oh, it was not in vain. Oh thank God. I thought you died. I was crying for you all these years. Now I can finally leave here, knowing you are safe."
She does the same disappearing trick as the knights.
"Wait!" Shana calls. "What's going on? What connection do I have to this person?"
The ship begins to shake.
"It's sinking!" Dart realizes. "Everyone get off NOW!"
We all bolt out of the room. The ship is sinking fast, rumbling, making it hard to keep balance.
Puler looks up as we leap over the plank onto his ship. Kongol first, then Haschel, then Meru. Shana pauses, and does the same.
"Dart!" I yell, pausing on the phantom ship's railing as Albert jumps to the Queen Fury. Dart had stayed in the back to make sure that everyone left before he did, and now he is the last one. "Hurry up!"
Because there is no time, we leap together. I land safely on the plank, but Dart slips.
Like before, I dive down after him, grabbing his hand. My legs wrap around the plank to try and support us. Splinters tear through my pale skin. I can hear our friends screaming, but my mind is focused on one thing.
Dart's eyes are wide. "Rose! You're going to fall! Let go!"
"No!" I scream back.
This is the same as back then!
"No, I won't let you go! I won't let it happen again!"
"Rose?" Shana yells.
It happened just like this! I lost him this way, I'm not going to lose Dart too!
Another rumbling as the phantom ship finally sinks throws me off balance, and the plank cracks in half. Both Dart and I tumbled down into the churning ocean.
"Rose! Dart!"
The water was cold.
It didn't matter. I had grown too accustomed to cold, both physical and emotional, to be bothered. The splashes had entirely swallowed us, and I cannot see above the surface.
Frowning even underwater, I tug on my left leg. It is trapped under one of the rocks, which must have fallen as we landed. Grimacing, I give a vicious pull, and my leg comes free, albeit a long gash that will leave a faint scar.
Dart! Where is he?
I had never been very good at swimming. I much rather preferred the sky. And although I do know how to swim if the occasion calls for it, the Suncrest Ocean is not familiar to me.
Dart! Oh gods, I can't lose him. Where IS he? Gods, it's so dark down here. I can't find him.
Resorting to an idea I should have thought of before, I grab at my choker. The darkness Dragoon pendant begins to glow with a violet light, illuminating the water just barely.
Red-eyed Dragoon, where are you? Light my way to find you!
A faint red star-like light glows far off to my right, sinking fast.
NO!
My lungs are burning for air, but I do not care. The important thing is to save Dart. Kicking my legs, I swim toward him.
The warrior is unconscious, eyes closed.
Oh gods no...
Ignoring the pounding of my heart, and the pulsing in my head, I grab him, one arm around his waist to support him, and kick upward as hard as I can.
It is heavy with two people, and by the time I finally break the surface, my lungs are about to explode. I gasp in the precious air, and turn to face Dart.
Is he okay?
He is still unconscious, and my hands are too shaky to tell if he is alive or dead.
Floating on my back, I kick toward a large flat shadow in the distance, hopefully an island.
I do not know how long it takes. It seemed like all of eternity and more. Thoughts ran in my head faster than humanly possible.
Oh gods, oh gods... this is just like last time. I grabbed at his hand, and he was pulled out of my grip. I lost him then. I never saw him again. He vanished, died. Oh gods, please let Dart be okay.
Something grazes my back, and I realize that I have reached the shore. Struggling to my hands and knees, I breathe hard, and stand up, dragging Dart out of the water.
Sand stretches as far as I can see, unbroken except for occasional trees. But there is a cave in front of me, and that is where I head, half-dragging, half-carrying the weight of the body.
It is a short cave, no more than twenty meters or so, but I prop Dart against the stone wall of the cave and order my hands to stop shaking. When they obey, I check for a pulse.
Under the wetness of the saltwater, I feel a steady beating pulse.
"Oh gods..." I sigh my relief. "Thank you."
Leaving him there, I go search for firewood, not wanting either of us to get hypothermia. I take the two swords with me and simply hack down the nearest tree, cutting them into logs that are suitable. I call on the darkness Dragoon Spirit and the fire Dragoon Spirit, for a spark of flame, and then lean against the wall for rest.
I look at the warrior lying unconscious beside me. With his hair plastered to his forehead, he looks so much like my old love.
Gently, unsure why, I cradle his head in my lap.
"Dart and Zieg, they are so much alike. Not only are they Dragoons recognized by the Red-Eyed Dragon, but there is something else, something that attracts me... After 11,000 years of time, I now feel the strength of tenderness of Dart... and even... his frailty." I pause, not sure who I am speaking to. "These tame the insanity of the Dragoon for me." I feel infinite sadness rise in my throat. "Zieg... if my hands could grab him, I wouldn't have had this bitterness."
My mind takes me back to that time and place, the Dragon Campaign 11,000 years ago, the last battle, fought in the floating Wingly Palace in the Capital Kadessa of the sky.
Oh gods, the Dragon Campaign. A hell-war of Winglies and manipulated Virages against Dragons and their human knights, Dragoons. A series of bloody battles that killed all the Dragoons except for one.
The Dragoon of the Black Burst Vassal Dragon of Darkness.
Me.
I had been alive back then.
The fire crackles as I lean my head back and reenact that fateful day where I lost everything I had ever loved.
Wings beating against the air, sword drawn.
The Virage was enormous, a Super Virage. A real ugly monster, firing blast after blast of powerful green laser. Too powerful. I needed to retreat.
"Rose, let's go!" Zieg yelled, flying ahead, red wings thrashing.
I hurried to catch up with him, and realized we were missing the third member. I stopped, hovering in midair.
"Kanzas!" I screamed.
The Thunder Dragoon was hanging onto the snout of the Virage, hanging on with his life. An evil smirk was on his face.
"Not bad." He hissed. "But I'm taking you with me!"
"Kanzas, no!" I knew the utter determination on his face. He was the one who had always loved battle; seeing blood only made his bloodlust grow. And now he was going to take down one of the most powerful Virage by himself, for the thrill or for the honor I don't know.
The source of power within him contracted on command, squeezing the Spirit until the only way it could go was out. And still Kanzas held on, his hands bleeding on the Virage's skin. His face was still grinning almost demonically as the Spirit exploded, along with the Virage, and the Thunder Dragoon's body.
I never admired him more.
I was too dazed to move anywhere. The rising blast of electrified fire hypnotized me with its power. I had no idea that Kanzas was that strong. I had no idea he would do that.
"Rose! Move!" Zieg grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way of the explosion.
"Zieg!" I was at a loss for words. "Kanzas...he just..."
"I know. I saw." He said grimly, considerate enough to give me a quick hug even in the heat of battle. "This has gone on for far too long. I'm going right to the top! I'm going to kill Melbu Frahma for this!"
"Zieg, wait! Don't go alone!" I fluttered my wings trying to keep up with his quick pace. I knew I couldn't help him; I was the youngest most inexperienced Dragoon out of all seven. I couldn't help him beat Melbu Frahma; I would just get in the way. But I couldn't let him risk his life fighting the most important, most powerful Wingly without knowing what was going on.
Zieg paused for just a second to allow me to grab his hand, and we flew together toward the Palace of Winglies.
"Michael!" I yelled, calling on my Dragon.
The Darkness Dragon turned away from watching the Humans battle the Winglies below to come obey me. What is it you called on me for?
"The Virage!" I pointed, never ceasing to fly, at the Virage pursuing us.
The most powerful Dragon turned to face the incoming Virage. The skin and bones surrounding its heart opened, and a black power poured forth. Strong as a tumbling waterfall, black as darkness itself, the power collided with the Virage, which struggled for a few seconds but then was obliterated with no trace that it had ever existed at all.
Those few seconds were enough for Zieg and I to duck into the entrance of the Wingly Palace.
Melbu Frahma was in the circular auditorium, watching the battle with hungry eyes.
"Go hide somewhere. You can't help me now." my love whispered gently.
I wanted to help, to fight alongside him at the cost of my life, but I knew I would only get in the way. So I released his hand and flew above to perch next to a gargoyle in the shadows of a platform.
"Melbu Frahma!" Zieg yelled, the fire-sword drawn.
The Wingly Emperor turned from the window to face the Fire Dragoon. He was a tall man with sharp features. Sharp face, sharp ears, sharp nose. Long arms and legs. Long face. Looked like a cross between an alien and a Dark Elf. His skin was an aqua color, symbolizing his Wingly Emperor status, and his eyes glinted with an evil green light. Decked in armor even though he was only watching the battle, the Dragon Buster unsheated by his side.
He drew the sword as Zieg approached him, and then they began to combat, Melbu Frahma on his floating mobile platform and Zieg manuevering with his flaming wings.
I remember watching him, admiring him even before I joined the Dragoons and got my Dragon. I was the newest Dragoon, the youngest, most inexperienced. It took me time to learn how to attack properly and cast the magic spells. But Zieg was patient. He taught me carefully, never losing his temper, always smiling, quick to reassure me. He was the strongest, and our leader. I remember watching him battle Melbu Frahma just then, watching his fluidness, his grace. How he took every advantage there was, and ducking in the narrow spaces between the two swords. He was the best, the strongest.
Melbu Frahma was no idiot either. His movements were sharp and quick, and it was hard for Zieg, with all his experience, to keep up.
I was awed as I perched by the gargoyle, watching the fight. Battle cries echoed throughout the empty auditorium, bouncing off the ceiling and floor and walls. Other than that, everything was silent except for the beating of wings and the sound of swords clashing.
Through the sliver of a crack beside me, I could see outside, to the war.
Syuveil, the scholarly Wind Dragoon, had died early in the war, in one of the earlier battles. I was battling a Virage with Astral Drain, too busy and stupid to see the other one coming up silently behind me.
Feyrbrand's master had leapt in front of me, using Gaspless to eliminate the Virage. But the damage was done, the laser beam fired. The Wind Dragoon was no more.
That was when the actual deal of the war struck me. I had looked around and saw people dying, Winglies and Humans alike. And I knew that I would have to play my part, no matter what.
Damia was the youngest, actually, but she taught me a great many things. She was too young to be part of the war, but she fought with a fire within her Water Dragoon Spirit. She was a pretty thing, and would have had a nice life if she hadn't been a Dragoon with so much responsibility.
And right now, outside, I could see Shirley fleeing from a Super Virage, her silvery light making her a clear target. She ducked under one of the pillars in the circular floating city of Kadessa, the Wingly Capital.
But the Super Virage pursued, cornering her against the walls. It fired one shot, knocking the ceiling down.
Shirley screamed, her arms above her head.
A golden light flared, and her own love was next to her.
"Belzac!" She screamed, seeing that the Dragoon of the Golden Dragon was supporting the ceiling with a cost. The skin on his arms were being torn, and he was bleeding in several places.
Not to mention the Super Virage charging up for another shot.
And Shirley noticed this, and she knew what would happen.
"Belzac!" She said again, more forcefully. "Your death won't be in vain!"
She held up her silver bow, and fitted an arrow of shimmering white light. Amber-sap eyes narrowed, mouth drawn in a tight line, she released the arrow.
A shout brought my attention back to the Zieg / Melbu Frahma battle.
This fight would end the war, determine the fate of the entire Human and Wingly race. The entire war and future of the world depended on this one battle. Zieg was not the ruler of the human forces, he was not Emperor Diaz of Gloriano, but he was well-respected and the most powerful of all.
My love noticed the opening at the same time I did, and thrust his arm forward. The flame-sword broke through the elegant armor of the Wingly Emperor, until the blade came through his back.
Zieg did not look regretful. He knew it had to be done.
"How dare you?" Melbu Frahma hissed in a voice I trembled at, cowering behind the gargoyle.
The city began to crumble, the ceiling cracking.
The floating platform crumbled, and the two tumbled down several hundred feet.
"Zieg!" I gasped, and pushed myself off the ledge. I didn't care what danger I might face. I needed to know what happened!
Several meteor-like rocks were floating upward, disturbed by the magic Melbu Frahma released as he died. I couldn't see him anywhere, but I didn't care. Where was Zieg?
I could hear the Wingly Emperor's voice.
"Wrapped to your very core in my eternal curse!"
I ducked past one of the floating rocks. There! There he was! Lying facedown on one of the rocks that was drifting quickly away from me, unmoving. His wings sprawled, useless, on top of him. His armor was scratched and bloodied.
And his legs were stone.
His red armor, turning grayish, as the spell traveled upward.
Oh gods no...
The curse of Melbu Frahma, eternal petrification.
NO!!!
"Zieg!" I screamed.
One of the rocks struck my leg, but it only drove my adrenaline and determination. I lunged forward, grabbing his outstretched hand, trying to pull him off the rock, as if that would save him.
"Let go." he groaned. "Save yourself."
The spell transformed his hand into a statue, and he was completely stone. The silky dark blonde hair, the forever-changing eyes, his wonderful disposition, all gone because of one curse.
A meteor struck my arm, the rock my only love was on drifted away, and I lost him forever.
"Zieg!" My scream trailed off into a choked sob, and tears blurred my vision.
My common sense took over, and I knew it was time to get out of the Palace before the entire place collapsed on me. I had memorized the way when I flew in, and I ducked out just in time.
I had never been the same since then. Zieg's death had hurt me like no blade or axe or arrow ever could. I drifted down from the sky as the city fell as well. I had knelt there in the rubble, my hands covering my face, sobbing.
The Humans, those silly Humans, they had no idea what I had lost! They threw a huge celebration, fireworks in the sky, a marvelous feast. They screamed and shouted and hugged each other because they had won the war.
Was it really so much of an accomplishment if so many had died? All my friends? The only love I would ever have?
They had invited me, the last surviving Dragoon, to the celebration, but I had declined.
I found Shirley still alive in the destruction, but just barely. She was beyond hope. Even her Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Healing Dragon couldn't help her. It was all I could do to sit there, holding my friend's hand.
Even as she died, Shirley spent her last few moments alive comforting me. I would never forget that.
The once-magnificent floating Wingly capital of Kadessa was in ruins. For an entire fortnight I searched through the devastating ruins, driven by some insane thought called "hope" that Zieg might possibly still be alive.
But I couldn't even find his body.
I couldn't even find the body of Melbu Frahma. It was as if the battle had never even happened.
I stayed away from everyone. All the Humans that tried to come near me, to congratulate me.
What did I deserve the praise for? I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't save Zieg.
I bade the Dragons goodbye. The three that were still remaining anyway. Regole, Feyrbrand, Michael. Their Dragoon Spirits would find new masters, but the Dragons wanted to leave. I did not stop them. I wanted to leave too. I wanted to leave forever, to just curl up into a little ball and die.
But my Dragon, Michael, stayed with me, a faithful friend that traveled with me no matter what happened.
I spent an entire year in hiding, crying at night, sleeping at day. Michael guarded me. He could not speak verbally, but I knew that he mourned the loss of everyone as well.
The grief of seeing Zieg being torn from me and my doing nothing about it would always stay with me. But then I learned of the prophecy, and I knew that it was Zieg's work. But he wasn't here, so I had to do it, no matter what the consequences. And for the 11,000 years, I have done so, without regret, because it was what I had to do.
With a jolt, I awaken myself from the dream of reenactment.
For a moment I am disconcerted, seeing the small cave and the fire, and Dart. But then I remember, and I sigh once.
"I saw Zieg in Dart." I remember the hope I had felt in the forest, after I had saved him from Feyrbrand. "But...Dart is Dart. He is not Zieg." He will never be Zieg. "No, he is not Zieg."
He will never be able to end this sadness.
When I wake up the next day, I am staring at a little boy.
Dark-skinned, wearing simple clothes, fair golden hair. Around ten years of age. A villager?
"Hey, there's someone here!" he calls.
I leap up, drawing my sword.
"Ouch!" Dart's head had slid off my lap and hit the stone floor. "Ow..." he sits up, rubbing his forehead. "What...happened...? Rose! Are you okay? What happened? The last thing I remember is the phantom ship."
I sheathe my sword again, giving him a hand up. "You fell. I tried to catch you. I failed. We both fell in the water. You were unconscious, so I dragged you out of the ocean and put you here. A night has passed. This boy," I gesture sharply. "Found us."
"My name is Pete. I live in the nearby village, Lidiera. You can come with me." He says excitedly, putting a hand on his shepherd dog. "This is Pooch. He's friendly. Come on!"
I wait until Dart leaves before I do.
As we walk Dart asks about Shana. I tell him what I can, but I do not know much. "She was worried about you. She screamed when you fell. I think she nearly jumped before Albert and Meru stopped her."
Lidiera is a small place, a fishing town, with only seven or so roughly made huts. An ocean terrace sits in the water. Pete's house is near it, also in the water, so that we have to wade over to get in.
Pete lives with his mother, a woman with a sickness that I can sense as soon as I walk in. The little boy explains everything to his mother, and then turns to us.
"Are you two in love? Because you were traveling alone, and then in the cave..." Pete looks around. "Don't you think so, Ma?"
"Yes." the woman answers, coughing. "You two make a cute couple."
Dart smiles.
"Don't be silly." I tell the mother, politely though, because I am a guest with no direction. I have never heard of Lidiera.
"We're looking for our friends. There's actually seven of us." Dart supplies.
Pete's mother's body wracks with choking coughs.
"Are you all right?" Dart asks.
"It's nothing. Cough." Pete's ma waves it off.
"Actually we were supposed to be at the clinic today." Pete chirps. "It's in the neighboring town."
"Neighboring town?" I echo.
"Yeah, it's Feuno. They got a boat to Donau!"
I lock gazes with Dart. That was our destination. The others should be there. He nods once.
"Pete, I know we rarely have guests." The mother says. "But we have to let them go."
The little boy smiles up at Dart. "I hope you find your friends soon! Tell them hi for me!"
"All right."
"Dart. We should hurry."
I jump off the house and into the water, swimming over to the pier. Dart follows, the dark blonde hair plastering to his forehead with water. Oh gods above, with his hair flat and framing his face like that in such an original style, he looks more and more like Zieg.
The town is small, and it takes us five minutes to get to the entrance.
"Dart!"
Pete runs up to us, his dog beside him. "Can you take us to Feuno?"
"This is about your mother, isn't it." Dart states it.
"Yeah."
"It's all right. You can come with us."
"I'll annihilate that monster for you." I tell him.
My voice was probably a bit more menacing than I intended, because both Pete and Dart backed up, and the dog Pooch ran off.
"Did I say something wrong?" I ask.
"N-No. I'll go get my Ma." Pete runs off down the beach that is the town and jumps into the water.
I shrug. I was trying to help. What's with them? I turn to see Dart staring at me. "What are you looking at?" I say.
He shrugs, looking away quickly. "No-nothing. Come on."
The undersea cavern is shorter than Pete described, and the enemies hardly put up a fight. It is easy to get to Feuno. But the path is long; the underwater current must have taken Dart and I farther than I thought. The journey takes us two days.
But something about the water in the cave is strange. It flows to a different place, a place where I can sense anger and blood.
Feuno is much larger than Lidiera, with more people. The roads are paved with cobblestone, and the houses are made of smooth brick, rounded.
"Thanks, Dart and Rose!" Pete exclaims. "My ma can get to the clinic now."
Pete's mother bows to thank us, smiling, a flash of white against dark skin. Pete hesitates for a moment.
"But...are you actually in love with each other? Because in the cave..."
I leap forward, my hands around his throat. I do not respond well to this topic. "You are a good boy and didn't see anything, okay?" I snarl.
Pete swallows. "O-okay. I didn't see it...maybe!" he runs off before I can stop him.
But just as I think he is gone, he reappears at the top of the steps leading downward. "Hey, Rose! You gotta confess to him!"
"Grr..." I run toward the boy, but he yells and runs off, this time for real. "Kids…"
"What are you looking at?" I ask Dart again, harshly.
"Nothing!" he says quickly, waving his hands in front of him. "Come on. Let's check if the others are here."
"Feuno is a place between two continents, Tiberoa and Mille Seseau. We have goods here from both continents, and hot springs. The treatments are long, but they are worth it." One of the townspeople tell us. "I don't know who your friends are, but the Queen Fury just came in a couple of days ago."
We follow her directions down to the port. She is right. This place is the intersection between the two continents. There is everything here, from the mysterious silks and tapestries of Mille Seseau to the jewels and silver from Tiberoa.
I can see the blonde head of young Kayla in the port, speaking with one of the crew members.
"Yeah…" She is saying when we reach her, her back facing us. "But in so dangerous a storm…even for the powerful Dart and Rose."
The crew member notices us, and his eyes widen. "You-you are…"
Kayla turns around and sees us, jumping back two meters. "Mister Dart! Miss Rose! You're alive!"
"We worried you." Dart comments.
"Have you seen Miss Shana yet?"
Dart shakes his head.
"Please hurry and see her! She hasn't said a single word since you disappeared!"
"Is she on the ship?" Dart starts to run for the entrance to the Queen Fury.
"No, everyone's in the city now!" Kayla yells after him
Waiting for Dart to run back, the two of us go back up the stairs and through the stores and streets.
As we walk through the marketplace, someone collides with Dart.
"Hey, ouch! Don't you have eyes?!" A familiar voice demands crossly.
"Meru!"
The dancer gets to her feet, and looks at us. "Oh...? Dart!! Rose!! I knew it! You two are alive!" She starts jumping and flinging her arms, as she does when she is excited. "Oh good grief, we've been waiting forever! Did you see Shana yet?"
Dart shakes his head.
"Bad boy!" Meru scolds him as if he is a dog. "Follow me!" She runs off and pauses at the top of the steps. "Come on! Hurry up!"
The hotel is the largest building in Feuno, and not hard to find. Along the way, I keep my senses open, but I do not feel Lenus's magical powers anywhere in Feuno.
At the hotel, Haschel, Albert, and Kongol are waiting at one of the tables in the bar on the first floor. They jump up when they see us.
"We were getting tired of waiting!" Haschel says, hugging Dart.
"Welcome back!" Instead of hugging, Albert just holds out his hand.
Kongol crosses his arms over his massive chest. "You, die, impossible." He declares.
I interrupt the greetings. "Hurry. You should go see Shana." I urge to Dart.
"She's upstairs." Meru informs him. "She's in the last room in the hallway. She praying for you."
Dart runs up the stairs.
Silently, I walk over to the bar, and instead of ordering an alcoholic beverage, I just take some mild wine.
I can hear Albert and Haschel whispering behind me.
"Rose. She has changed somehow." Haschel says.
"I agree. It seems as though she has calmed down. Anyway, it is a good thing." Albert answers.
I have changed... Why? Perhaps being with all of you, so good and virtuous and weak, has made me change.
Meru jumps up from her seat on the table. "I'm going to go see! I need to learn about love and romance!" She runs soundlessly up the stairs. Albert and Haschel follow.
Kongol turns toward me. "Swimming, hard?"
I shake my head.
"Kongol cannot swim. Giganto not good swimmers." He says.
"Maybe you'll learn someday." I answer, and then pause. "Do you still dream of a perfect world where everyone is equal?"
The Giganto nods.
I turn back to my drink. After that dream-reenactment, the killing in the world stands out even more to me.
Several minutes later, Albert and Haschel run down, Meru behind them, and finally Dart and Shana. Shana has been crying, but now she is happy. Was she crying because she was worried for Dart, or because she was so happy to see him?
Would I cry if I saw Zieg right now? Do I even remember how to cry?
Dart explains what happened when we fell off the ship, and I listen, correcting him where he is wrong or exaggerating.
"Um..." Meru shifts mildly. "May I ask you a question?"
Six heads turn toward her. "Why are you being so formal?"
Meru grins, looking from me to Dart. "You guys were alone in the cave weren't you?"
"Yeah." Dart answers carefully, warily.
"Did you put yourselves in a romantic situation?"
I squeeze my wineglass until the glass shatters. The maid hurries over to clean it up. How dare you say that?! I will only love one person in my life! I will wait no matter how many thousands of years it will take.
But before I can snap at her, Haschel jumps in, probably anticipating. "Meru! Don't be silly. Even if you did want to learn about love and romance, that's rude!"
"Okay." Meru says, hopping onto a table and swinging her legs back and forth.
Haschel pauses and turns to Dart. "...So, Dart, did you cuddle with Rose?"
"Haschel!" Five voices yell, mine the loudest.
I pick the salt shaker off the table and hurl it across the room. Haschel ducks before the object hits his head.
The bartender hurries over to pick it up and then looks at me. "Hey!"
I glare at him, smoke colored eyes flashing with fury.
He shuts up.
"I'm just kidding." Haschel is apologizing. "I'm sorry. It slipped out."
"What do you mean, 'slipped'?" Dart says dryly.
"Don't worry, Shana." I say to the girl sitting next to Dart. "Dart was worried about you the entire time." Well, the entire time he was conscious, anyhow.
She smiles at me. I know that she trusts me.
"Anyway..." I flick a piece of glass of my arm. "About Lenus..."
"Oh! That's right! That's why I went into the marketplace!" Meru jumps up again. "I went to go see Commander Puler and Kayla. They said that they have some information on where Lenus is."
"All right. Let's gather the healing items we need, and then go talk to them." Dart says, playing the leader again. No one here would challenge him. One reason because he would win, and the other reason because they are content with him as leader.
Puler says that people have seen a flying woman on Prison Island, which is the other water-flowing path I had seen while traveling in the underwater cavern.
Dart knows where it is as well, and he leads the way.
Along the journey, Shana falls into step with me. "Was Dart really worried about me, or were you just saying that to cover up?"
I throw her a nasty look. "Dart is a nice young man, but I am not attracted to him in any romantic way. He's yours, Shana. Trust me on that. He was concerned about you. He was unconscious half the time anyway, so don't think about what Haschel and Meru said. They're just being silly. Dart's heart belongs only to you."
Shana smiles. "Thank you."
The water flows through another cave, and we pause on the path, deciding what to do.
An animal roar rips through the air.
Meru drops down, her arms around her knees, and her head resting on her elbows.
"What is that?" Haschel demands.
I walk to the edge of the platform, looking down at the swirling water. "It seems that rumors that the people have been saying are true. They said that the Sea Dragon is here...otherwise known as the Dragon of Water. Lenus must be his master."
"That's the cry of the Sea Dragon." Meru says in a quiet quivering voice.
"It's a powerful Dragon. I don't blame you for being scared." I tell Meru.
"I'm not scared!" She insists, jumping up. "A Dragon or two is nothing!"
"But either way, we have to fight it." Dart says pointedly. "And to fight it, we have to go through there to get to the Prison Island Cave." He gestures to the flowing water. "Can you all swim? Rose, I know you can. What about the rest of you?"
"I only know the basics." Shana answers, shrugging.
"I guess I can." Albert says, eyeing the water with distaste.
"A Rouge master must know how to swim as well." Haschel says, grinning.
"I'll be okay!" Meru chirps, and is the first one to dive in.
Kongol shakes his head furiously. "Kongol cannot swim."
Meru surfaces, spitting out water. "Don't worry, Kongol. It's not that deep!"
That is a fact. When Meru's feet touch the ground, the water is four feet or so above her head, and the dancer is petite. Kongol is nearly twice her height.
"She's right, Kongol. You can just walk." Albert says. "But the rest of us aren't that tall. We'll have to swim. Come on." Taking the green cape off and tying it around his waist, the king jumps in.
Taking a deep breath, Haschel does the same, and Shana awkwardly drops in.
"Dart, go on ahead." I say.
The warrior takes in a lungful of air and dives in.
"Kongol?"
The Giganto shakes his head. "Rose go first."
I stare at him with smoke-colored eyes. "You go in first. I want to make sure you come along. You will never overcome your fears if you do not face them."
Kongol stays silent.
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Now get in."
When the giant still does not move, I sigh impatiently, and move behind him. Straining, I push all six hundred pounds of him into the water.
He gives a short yell, a deep fearful protest, but realizes that the water only reaches his shoulders and laughs.
"See?" I brace myself on the ledge and drop in. "It's not bad. Now let's catch up with the others." Awkwardly, I float on my stomach and kick with my legs.
"Rose changed." Kongol says, stomping behind me.
I turn over to float on my back so I can see him. "Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Rose harsh before. Nicer now."
I shrug, treading water. "Perhaps. Do you think it is better or worse?"
"Better."
"Then I'll try to keep this way." I turn to float on my stomach again, and kick out, propelling myself forward.
"Guys, over here!" Meru shouts, jumping up and down on solid land. "I found the path! Hurry up! You're so slow!"
I use my arms to push myself out of the water, and Dart and I help Kongol up, dripping wet. We all look so silly that they laugh.
I do not. I forgot how to.
Haschel turns to look at me, questioning in his eyes, but I shake my head. I still cannot remember.
After we dry off partially, we start down the path Meru found. It leads us right to Lenus, dressed in her Amazon armor, with the scarlet cap over her hair.
Lloyd is with her.
From where we are, I cannot hear them, but Lenus hands Lloyd the glittering Moon Dagger, and puts her arms around him, but he doesn't respond.
You love a man who does not love you back. That is harsh.
Lenus is annoyed when we show up. "Hey, you're disturbing my moment here!! You're gonna pay for this!!"
Dart draws his sword. "Wh-Why is Lloyd here?! Is this all part of your plot?!"
Lloyd speaks in his calm smooth voice. "My will is with Emperor Diaz. Namely everything was plannd by the god."
Emperor Diaz is DEAD! I glare at the Winglies, snarling scornfully, "You are still talking about that crap!"
Albert speaks harshly for the first time I have met him, his words clipped and angry. "You killed Lavitz! Let us settle this score now!!"
"I have the calling to reform the world. I have not time to pay attention to little things, like Lavitz." Lloyd replies smoothly.
Oh that's low.
"Lloyd!" Dart yells.
"I cannot stand it anymore!" Albert points his elegant lance at the Lloyd's neck.
Lloyd merely smiles a cat smile at Dart. "I am the one who torched your home to the ground. I am the one who deprived your friend of his life. And I hold the Moon Gem and the Moon Dagger in my hands! You abhor me, don't you?" he leaps to the edge of the platform. "I am heading to Mille Seseau. Pursue me if you can survive!" And then he is gone.
Dart moves forward, enraged to find out that Lloyd is the Black Monster, as he confessed that he was the 'one who torched your home to the ground'. But the platinum-haired swordsman is already gone, as if he had never been there. Dart growls, moving forward and aiming his blade at Lenus.
"Easy, easy!" She says, smiling coyly. "Wait a minute. Don't be so hasty! It was nice of him giving you an invitation, but you gotta decline it. Because, you will die now. Regole!"
Dragons are not quite as beautiful as the ones described in human storybooks. They do not always look like enlarged lizards with wings and claws and teeth.
Such as Regole. He looks more of a blue-black sea snake, with gleaming reddish-blue eyes and feeling-whiskers like a lobster's. Not a beautiful Dragon.
Lenus is the Dragoon of Water, clothed is beautiful silvery armor and white wings. A tight-fitting helmet fits over her platinum hair. All Winglies have platinum hair, but that does not mean that all platinum haired people are Winglies. Although I do suspect...
"Regole, attack!"
Tidal Wave
Regole leaps three times around the platform we stand on, and it takes quite a while to get his long body back in the water. A cylinder of water rises around us, and closes down in giant waves.
I gag on the water, clawing my way up to the surface before the water subsides into little ripples and the platform is stone again.
"Die!" I run forward, slashing. "Hard Blade!"
In the Dragon Campaign, Regole could not fly, for he has no wings. It is hard enough for him to go on land, so he took care of the water battles, ambushing the passing Winglies and their supplies, maybe shooting up lasers and sprays of water to the Virages that were close enough. He stayed in the water, and the humans who needed temporary shelter to heal themselves would head to the water with Regole, for no Wingly would be stupid enough to attack a Sea Dragon in the element of it. Regole was more of a backup and a healer than anything else, but I couldn't help loving him as a friend.
No matter how many masters it had, the Dragoon Spirit's armor is always the same. Lenus is clothed in the same armor as Damia. But no longer do the Dragoon armor hold the same magic and power. Back in the Dragon Campaign, I only had to shift my wings, and excess shimmering power would filter around me like glittering stars.
As I step back from my attack, I feel a strange feeling wash over me, as if Regole is doing his Tidal Wave attack again. But instead of damaging my reserved energy, something snaps in my mind, and I unlock a piece of knowledge that has been buried.
I run forward again, slashing. From left to right, up to down, twirling leap and slice down, spinning leap again but slicing up, thrust, slice, thrust. "Demon's Dance!" I land with my right leg drawn back in a straight line, my left knee bent, my right arm back.
A power fills me that I never knew before. My ultimate attack, the Demon's Dance.
Why after 11,000 years did it surface? Why not during the Dragon Campaign? All the others got theirs, I though I was a failure. But why did I learn it now, fighting Regole? Traveling with these new Dragoons, protecting them? Perhaps it is an omen.
It takes 100 turns before Regole drops, lifeless, his head against the stone platform.
I'm sorry, Regole.
"Regole!? How dare you!!" Lenus descends from her spot up on the rock monument and fights us.
Although she was difficult in Fletz, and even though she wears the armor of the Water Dragoon, it takes only one strong slash from Dart's sword to fall her.
Lenus is bleeding, but two circular throwing knives are in her hands.
"Lloyd..." She says quietly, and then looks up, and her face is tight with fury and determination. "My life...is for you!"
She hurls the circular knives at Dart. Doing so takes her last energy, and she falls to the ground, groaning.
"Dart, look out!" Shana runs forward and knocks the warrior out of the way, flinging her arms around his neck. The first knife circles harmlessly in front of him and back to where Lenus should be. But she is lying on the ground, defeated, so the knife buries itself in the tree behind her.
The second knife is traveling toward the two of them.
Dart catches Shana, shifting her to his left arm. His right arm slashes with his sword, deflecting the knife so that it clatters harmlessly to the ground.
I stare down at Lenus. She is twitching, murmuring something about Lloyd. A girl in love would do something like this, die for her love. I remember that I would have done the same thing. I feel a strange pity toward this Water Dragoon.
I turn to look at the others, and see that they have all gone over to see if Dart and Shana are okay. Except for Meru. She is standing there, with her hands clasped in front of her, pity and sadness in her eyes. There is something she is not telling us. Perhaps she has some connection with Lenus.
"Lloyd…" Lenus moans, her eyes closing. Her body fades away in a bluish aura, but her Dragoon Spirit leaves her, and travels toward Meru, attaching itself around her throat.
"This is..."
"Is that the Water Dragoon Spirit?" Dart asks.
"Does that mean I'm a Dragoon now too?" For once, Meru's voice is quiet.
"Oh, I am surprised Meru was recognized." I say.
"Does that mean the Dragoon Spirit chose me? Does that mean…am I one of the Dragoons?"
I nod.
"I'm a Dragoon now! All right! This is so cool!" Meru starts to jump up and down and dance again, as she always does.
Being a Dragoon is not 'cool'. It comes with a deadly responsibility.
"It seems strange that so many of us are Dragoons." Haschel comments.
"'Dragoon Spirits attract each other, and Dragoons gather as the Dragon Spirits desire, as Soa's fate leads...'" I quote.
"Are we drawn to each other like that? Really?" Dart sounds almost amused.
"It's just folklore." I answer, turning away.
Albert sighs. "Come on, we have to go back and tell King Zior and Princess Emille that we could not get the Moon Dagger back." he starts off.
"He has a crush on Emille." Shana comments, giggling.
"Aren't we going to pursue Lloyd?" I call, keeping their minds on the mission, and walk off after Albert. One by one, they trail behind. Meru finally stops her dance and runs after us, still grinning.
We're only missing one now. Kongol's Spirit. He was drawn to us as well. Perhaps he will know where the Spirit is. But I will not ask him. He will find it in his own time.
King Zior did not mind that we could not get the Moon Dagger back.
He, along with all of Fletz, still hailed us as heroes. He said he was going to throw a feast for us tonight.
"Wait until then. I will send the maid for you." Zior says, and the team disbands.
I wait in the guest room where we had slept before, where Dart and Haschel asked me why I did not laugh.
I sit on one of the cabinets, thinking.
King Zior had called us heroes.
I had never been a 'hero' before, or at least, not that I had believed I deserved. But the Sea Dragon had been defeated fairly by us, and that was...a heroic thing to do, I suppose. Though I would not have done it if Dart had not led us.
I still hold a deep sadness and regret in my heart because I have killed the two Dragons Regole and Ferybrand. I had killed them and I knew that they had fought alongside me in the Dragon Campaign, as allies and friends. Been there when the Humans had not understood me.
They had been heroes.
Heroes.
As King Zior had said to us, including me.
"I am...a hero..." I murmur quietly to myself, and then pause. "He would laugh at me..."
I laugh softly, the sound echoing through the empty room.
"!?"
I surprised even myself. "I...I laughed now... I did laugh..." I pause, taking the deep-violet choker off my neck, holding it in my hand and watching as the Spirit reflected the light from the automatic lamp that had switched on as evening drew close. A close friend of mine had given the choker to me, to hold my Spirit and something else.
"Ever since I have started to wear this choker, I have not laughed for years..." I laugh again, louder, bolder. "It was worth the wait."
Dart walks in. "Here you are."
I jump off the cabinet, wondering if he had heard me laugh. "What is it?"
"The party is starting. Libria is calling us. Are you coming?"
I brush past him, still having my regular attitude, although I know that because I laughed, it will never be the same. I pause at the doorway. "It will be a fun party."
I can feel Dart's puzzled surprise even though I do not look at him.
We find Shana on the balcony. She is blushing as we draw near. I know that she and Dart had been speaking up here, and that something would have happened if Libria had not interrupted. I know he does not look at her as a baby sister anymore, but as a true love. I envy Shana her luck, but I am glad for her.
Albert is with Emille in her room, telling her about the legend of a mermaid, an ancient story passed down only by his family line. Shana is right. Albert is enamored with the blonde princess.
Kongol is in the empty training room, swinging his axe. With every swing, he says a word.
"Kongol...has...friends..." he pauses for a moment, then resumes. "Friends...good."
"Hey, Kongol!" Dart comes up quickly behind the giant.
The Giganto swings the axe blindly at Dart's head. Luckily enough, the warrior ducks before he is decapitated.
"Don't do that." Kongol warns.
"That's what I should be saying!" Dart exclaims, breathless as he picks himself up. "Are you coming to the party? Let's get going."
Meru and Haschel were in the kitchen, bothering the cooks about the food. Dart grabs them, and we head for the room where Libria is waiting, just past the training center.
The room is full of beautiful dresses and accessories from all over Endiness.
"Wow...Seles never had such beautiful dresses." Shana says wistfully.
Libria looks up. "Oh good. You are all here. You need to dress up for the party."
"Dress up?!" Meru backs up. "Uh-uh."
"No way!" Haschel disappears, running off.
"Not me. I hate dressing up." Dart steps back.
"I am comfortable in my fighting clothes." I say flatly.
Kongol just frowns.
"It seems none of us are interested in 'dressing up', Libria. Sorry. I am afraid I...um...am needed elsewhere." Albert dashes off quicker than Haschel.
The maid frowns. "But..."
I walk off quickly. My armor never stains, never wrinkles, never tears, never smells, never dirties. It does not need cleaning, so it is the only outfit I ever wear. If for nothing, I go down to a hidden cove by the Midlake near Bale and wash it. But I never wear anything other than it. It reminds me of the events 11,000 years ago.
It is nighttime, and I am on the wide space of the balcony in the Twin Castle in Fletz.
Meru has done what I asked her to, bringing Dart.
"Dart, are you going to stand her up all night?" I demand, pointing. "She has been waiting for you ever since the party started. She's going to freeze. Go talk to her." I shove him in the right direction, watching him stumble.
Shana is on the balcony. She is only one of us that allowed Libria to dress her up. She is wearing one of the dresses that were hanging in the room, a pale lavender that makes her eyes and piled-up hair seem even softer.
I leave the two of them on the balcony to talk, and wander around the castle, talking to the others, sometimes, but mainly just thinking.
Albert is talking with Emille. He has not left her ever since the party started. Zior is watching them with amusement, laughing every once in a while. Princess Lisa is talking to Nello the gardener, and Haschel and Meru are bothering about the food. Kongol looks slightly out of place, so I go over and talk to him.
"You're not having a good time?" I ask him.
"Are you?" he replies. He seems to be getting better at proper grammar now.
I shrug. "I hardly ever do."
"Kongol feel out of place."
"Why is that?"
"Kongol is last Giganto. Last one before extinct. Kongol is alone."
I shrug again. "You told Dart that you had friends. Don't they count?"
"Yes. But Kongol still worried. Kongol out of place."
Maybe now is the time to ask him about the Dragoon. "Then where do you want to be?"
Kongol frowns. "Kongol want to go to Lohan."
"Why?"
He shrugs.
"I will tell Dart in the morning. Perhaps we can take the Queen Fury and make the journey shorter. We are supposed to go to Mille Seseau anyway."
"Thank Rose." Kongol says.
I guess he means thank you. "You're welcome." I turn to the rest of the party, observing for anything out of the ordinary. With nothing else to do, being alert is something to occupy time.
Dart had been slightly surprised when I told him I wanted to go to Lohan, but he had learned to trust me over time, as his life had depended on it, and he obeyed without question, instructing Puler and Kayla to steer across the seas toward the commercial town.
"Rose?" Dart asks, once we have docked in a cove near a shore by Lohan.
I shake my head. "I need only you and Kongol to come with me. It will not take long." I tell the others. "We will be back before nightfall."
When the Queen Fury is out of sight, Dart looks at me questioningly. "Aren't we supposed to be going to to Mille Seseau?"
"Yes."
"Then why are we going to Lohan, of all places? I thought you hated it, with all the people."
"I do."
"Then why are we going there?"
I shrug. "Ask Kongol."
Even more confused, Dart turns to Kongol.
The Giganto shrugs. "Ask Rose."
"Rose?" Dart sounds stressed.
I shrug again. "Ask Kongol." I repeat, and quicken my pace, setting it faster so that Dart and Kongol must run to catch up.
The green-cloaked merchant on the streets had the Golden Dragon Dragoon Spirit of Earth.
When Kongol stepped near it, the stone began to glow star-like.
The merchant snatched it away. "Here, here! Observe the Shining Miracle Stone! Any sadness or illness will immediately go away by touch!"
What an asinine. Making up lines on the spot. I hate merchants.
"Only 1000 Gold! Will you buy it?" The merchant asks Dart.
1000 Gold!? I step up to the merchant, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword, ready to draw it out.
Dart stops me with a hand on my arm. "Don't. It's business. That's life." Ruffling in the money pouch he carries, he pulls out a thousand Gold and pays the merchant.
Kongol takes the Golden Dragoon Spirit, tying it around his neck, confused.
I almost feel bad for him. All of the others had gotten their Spirits with a mighty battle or at least with some show. But Kongol just bought his as if it is insignificant. But I know it is not. The Golden Dragon has great physical strength, just like Kongol. As well as honor.
And the Giganto does not seem worried. He is smiling, confused, at the Dragoon Spirit. He does not speak until we get back to the Queen Fury.
"So now...all of us are Dragoons?" Albert asks.
"Dragoon Spirits attract each other." I repeat.
"That's right. When I first met you guys, I just felt like I had to go along. And that same feeling has been keeping me with you guys." Meru announces, swinging her right leg back and forth.
"That's right. I felt the same way." Haschel says.
This is getting monotonous. "Come on. We should be getting to Mille Seseau now."