Author's note: I have to thank Rap's for helping me unlock a new way to write. She helped with my writer's block. She's a lifesaver! I can finally write again! (Some of you are probably groaning at that, but then why are you reading this?)
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon
AGLIS
Even inside Aglis it is the same shade of violet, and thrumming with power. I feel like spreading my wings and soaring through the sky, uncaring of what humans will say and do.
But I cannot. We have more important things to do. Like stopping Zieg before he can destroy the Signet Sphere. And yet I pause at the grand doors leading to the inner chambers. My gloved fingers touch the handles of the door and yet do not pull.
"No reason to say no." Dart reminds me. "Let's go."
I shake my head. "Zieg will come here." I tell him. "You will have to finally settle things. So I want you to go first." Zieg was my fiancé but is he is your father.
Obediently, Dart moves forward and pulls open the heavy doors.
Meru breathes out in wonder as we step inside. The room inside is immense, with a high domed ceiling, and several walkways inlaid with shining teleporters. She stretches out her moonlight wings and hovers a few feet off the ground. "Wow!"
"It didn't used to be in such a suffocating place. All the Wingly cities used to be in the sky so that it was easier to control the creatures below." I pause. "But then we shot them down."
"With my father."
"Yes, Zieg and I, along with five other Dragoons."
It would take us forever to figure out which teleporters lead where, so instead we just leap from walkway to walkway. When the distance is too far, we call on the magic in the air to grow the Dragoon wings and fly to the exit, on the far side of the vast room.
The next room is a hallway. To the left is a sealed door with lots of magic hiding behind it. Even my sword cannot cut through it. There is a mild magical presence approaching and then I am looking at a…creature I have never seen before. A cross between a dog and a machine. I frown at it.
"I am Ruff. Welcome to seven heroes fated to be here." The creature speaks. "And Rose, these past thousand of years have been long."
"Who are you?" Miranda demands.
"How do you know my name?" I ask in an equally icy tone. I had never seen this creature before. Is this the one that was watching us?
"Tell me or I'll rough you up!" Miranda threatens it.
The creature, Ruff, only tilts its head to one side, confused. "Rough up? Ruff is not familiar with this term. Will you show it to me?"
The Sacred Sister is not used to such disobedience. She steps forward menacingly.
"Miranda, this baby didn't do anything!" Meru protests, kneeling in front of Ruff. "Sorry we scared you. Oh! This baby's made by magic!"
"By magic?" I echo. That's impossible! "There wasn't even such technology during the Dragon Campaign!"
Meru giggles. "But this baby is totally cute!"
Ruff tilts his head again. "Ruff is cute? Then you are all not cute, ruff. But Rose is exception, ruff."
What is that supposed to mean? "If you are gonna treat me as an exception why don't you take me to the Signet Sphere?"
Ruff shakes his head. "It's your own challenge to go by yourself, ruff. All is for the sake of the Psychedelic Bomb and Moot. Ruff is going, ruff. It's rough, ruff."
"It's been a while since I last came here. Don't you think you should be nice to me and tell me more?" I coax it in a voice dripping with mock-sweetness.
"Ruff has nothing to tell you, ruff. Ruff has something else to do, ruff." He turns and walks away.
I stand up, irritated. "Let's go. They can't tell us anything."
A few minutes later a ghost hovers in front of us.
"A monster?" Dart asks, slashing it away with his sword. "Are there supposed to be monsters down here?"
"No." I reply. "But Aglis shouldn't still exist either."
It is not long before we come upon another creature, this one a bit larger than the others are. It is waiting in a room to point out the way for us. "I am Buckle." He announces himself.
"Which way do we go?" Miranda demands.
Buckle looks at her. "You are annoying, uck."
Miranda blinks at his rudeness and makes a face as if to say something nasty back to him before Buckle replies, "Miranda and others go this way, uck."
We pass through several more rooms and corridors before another magic baby appears.
"It's another magical creature." Dart announces, staring down at the ankle-high creature.
"Don't be mean, pino." It reproaches. "It's just a message, pino. I am Spino."
"Give me a break." I say scornfully. "Is everything like this in here?"
It looks up at me. "It's Rose, pino. You are in the mirror, Rose. It's Rose who gets friends and is in the mirror, pino."
How does everyone here know my name? Who are these little things? "Stop speaking in riddles. If you have a message, just say it."
"Don't be mean, pino." Spino scolds me. "Savan said, "Zenebatos, which governs the rightful law has lost its reason and Mayfil, which governs over noble death has been toyed by devils from the infernal world. This city is no exception. My magic power is deteriorating and cannot prevent the invasion by monsters anymore. The only saving grace is my… this city's objective is about to be completed. You are the key. I have been waiting for you for thousands of years. Come, before he comes."
"Savan." Dart repeats the name. "As if he knows everything."
"We will find out." I tell him, following the path from which Spino had appeared.
The next room has a pillar of moon-colored light, coming from a pedestal in the center of the room. Another creature is rolling around it, like a planet following a circular orbit. Dart steps into its path and the creature bumps into him, sprawling onto the floor and getting up.
"You stopped me, cal. I am Decal. Welcome to the city of Savan, cal."
"Who is Savan?" Dart asks.
"Is Savan the same as me?" Meru asks.
"The same as Wingly, cal. And Savan is a Wingly who has been observing through a mirror for thousands of years, cal. So, go, cal. Time is rolling on to the conclusion, cal."
Dart looks at the pillar of moonlight. "What is this?"
As he speaks, Decal moves to a machine and taps a few buttons. Dart's figure appears in the pillar, reflecting his every move. Dart moves his right arm, the apparition also moves its right arm. I frown. Is this some sort of scrying machine?
Spino reappears from where he had been waiting in the opposite doorway. "The mirror that reflects the present has been watching you forever, pino. For thousands of year, watching you, Rose, pino."
Me? Why? "What for?"
"Don't be mean, pino. Savan is the same as you, Rose. The same as all of you now, pino. Savan is over there."
We follow him through more magical corridors until the magic grows stronger. With the blade scraping sound of teleportation, Savan is now standing before us.
He is a tall Wingly, dressed in spring green robes that trail down to his feet. His head is shaved bald and he has a long white beard. He looks like a mortal old man, but the shaft of moonlight wings proves otherwise.
"The time has come." He intones. "The foreseen evil is coming. I am Savan. I am a Wingly fated to wait. The Signet Sphere you are looking for is safe. It is protected by Last Kraken."
"You know everything?" Dart asks him.
"I know that there is no time left."
Losing my last bit of patience, I step forward. "Who are you?" Why do you know so much about me? Have you been watching me for all these years? All the times I thought I was alone…were you watching me? Who exactly are you and why do you do this? "What are you going to do…no, what are you going to make us do?"
Savan turns dark eyes to me, and I am surprised at the suffering. "I survived the Dragon Campaign and continued studying magic to reconstruct a Wingly world. Yes, even making myself ageless and immortal. However the world outside the mirror hasn't required me. The world of Winglies is no longer desired. I, an immortal body with no purpose. Four thousand years of solitude deprived me of everything. Even the significance of life and the meaning of death. But seven thousand years ago, I was saved by Rose."
What? I don't remember meeting you before.
"I found the meaning of life in the Black Monster in the mirror. Rose, who now is confronting our fate. I restarted my studies for Rose. And its crystallization is this Psychedelic Bomb and Moot. We will stop the murderous deeds of Zieg, who continues the plan of the creator, by using the attacking spell of the Psychedelic Bomb. And with Moot, we will completely seal the Moon That Never Sets."
I shake my head. "If that is the answer to the riddle, no wonder it takes several thousand years."
"Moot will be completed soon. But in order to activate the Psychedelic Bomb, I need the courage of all of you."
"Our courage?" Dart echoes.
"It seems that my courage alone is not enough. The Psychedelic Bomb didn't work. I guess I don't have any courage."
"That's not true!" Meru protests, flying forward. "You have courage, Savan!"
"Yes, you have been fighting alone for thousands of years." Haschel murmurs quietly in assent.
Savan smiles for half a second before resuming his words. "You have to endure your own challenge and we will pour the courage that is born from them into the Psychedelic Bomb and activate it. When you are ready, come to me. But the newborn magic is a mere hunk of materials. Without heart, the real power cannot be employed. But we have here brave people who can remain just and have the heart to bring completion to the ultimate magic. Please ignite the Psychedelic Bomb with your courage. Now proceed to the chamber of challenges."
The old Wingly leads us to a room where another creature is waiting. "I am Lulu." She chirps. "Are you ready for your challenge?"
"Wait." Dart says, and turns to Savan. "What exactly are Moot and the Psychedelic Bomb?"
"The Psychedelic Bomb is a weapon that you will use against Zieg." Savan answers and I flinch before I can control myself. "It is a powerful weapon, if your courage can ignite it. Moot is another signet sphere, one that cannot be broken. It will be added to the other Signet Spheres to create a stronger guard against reaching the Moon That Never Sets."
Another signet sphere, a new one that cannot be broken by the Divine Moon Objects. By the gods, why didn't I think of that? That way, perhaps I could have avoided eleven thousand years of killing.
"Will you take the challenge now?" The creature asks.
"Yes."
Across a small bridge is a platform with seven pods, each colored in different shades. Automatically I am drawn to the one in deep violet.
I end up in a room of nothingness. I am standing on a platform made of golden wires, on the edge. No one else is here with me. No, of course not. We must each endure our own challenges. I wait in the darkness, listening to the background hum of the machines. Something about the magic in this place is strange. Mystical, old, foreign, different. I take a deep breath and continue to wait for my challenge. If I am going to help, don't make me wait so long.
As if sensing my thoughts, Savan appears. I can tell even with my back to him. "I would often think about it." He says quietly, as if confiding some great secret to me. "The thing we are doing, namely Charle Frahma creating the Signet Sphere to seal the Moon That Never Sets, and Rose continuously killing the Moon Child. I prepared for the coming evil day with a new Signet, Moot, and the Psychedelic Bomb. And waited until the moment. The road to destruction laid by the Creator Soa was supposed to be absolute. But evolution was stopped by us Winglies.
"I would often think about it. Whether our deeds were the right thing, and will continue forever. I am afraid. Whether I will be myself until the day my body perishes and becomes dust. Will our intention be engulfed by the intention of the Creator Soa eventually? Is everything meaningless?"
I finally turn around to face him with fierce gray eyes. "You go too far. We are neither immortal nor gods. We are mere people. People should just live in the present. Because it means living for the 'next' present. I have been that way and I won't change. When is my challenge?"
Savan smiles. "You don't need one. You have been through enough already."
I shake my head. "I need a challenge. I do not trust myself on this journey. I…" I am afraid that if I do, I shall end up hurting myself or the others.
Savan considers this for a moment. "Very well. If it is what you want."
I wait for another long while before Savan's friendly pet appears, the one with the insanely cute name, Lulu or something like that. "Are you ready?" She asks me.
Who can ever be truly ready for the future? I think, but instead I nod. The creature fades away and the darkness starts to take form. I narrow my eyes. When the magic stops writhing, I am in a small cottage in a snow-covered village. Neet. I never forget a town I destroy.
The room is lit up only by the soft rosy glow of the fireplace, where a warm fire is crackling, echoed by soft laughter. I turn and start walking to the two people. One of them I recognize without seeing his face. Zieg's golden hair reflects the firelight as he laughs with the person sitting in the high-backed armchair. He is wearing a heavy red jacket with a white fur trim, as if he has been here a long time.
Almost dreading it, I walk around the armchair.
The woman sitting there is very pretty, with soft raven-dark hair that falls on either side of her face like silk curtains. Her eyes are deep violet and snap with life. Lean muscles tighten her pale skin and her hands are callused. She is a fighter. She wears a velvet jacket identical to Zieg's except that it is pale violet. Her hands, along with his, are resting on her swollen belly. They are laughing at the baby. Dart. She is carrying Dart.
"Hello, Claire." I whisper, my voice pained.
They are laughing, showing no indication that they have heard me.
It's your challenge, stupid. They can't see or hear you.
Zieg is smiling, content. It has been a long time since I saw him so happy. The only scenes I can clearly remember of him are when he is being petrified, and I am unable to save him. Faces of torture and pain. I shut my eyes. He looks so happy here, like a true father. He looks as if he belongs here. The Dragoon Spirit hangs around his neck, unused, but ready.
If Zieg had been in Neet, then what happened the night that the Black Monster appeared?
Invisible to them, I stare at Claire's swollen belly and Zieg's hands stroking her hair, comforting her. For a moment I remember a time when it would have been me in the dark-haired woman's place. My hair he would be smoothing, my forehead he would be kissing. An insane jealousy fills me.
It was not meant to be you. Zieg was my fiancé. If he revived how come he went to you and not me? Why? Why are you here instead of me?
Kill her. A little voice in my head says, husky with bloodlust. No one here can see you. They can't see you or hear you. You could kill her and no one would know.
Why would I? I debate with it like a madwoman.
Because you should be sitting there. You should be carrying Zieg's child. Why should she be living so happily with him when it is you who have mourned his death so terribly, you who had been alive with him? Why should she be with him, instead of you, his fiancée and love? Kill her.
I put my hand on the hilt, tilting my head confusedly.
No one will know. Kill her and be done with it. It would not be the first time you killed.
Absently, I draw my sword, the heavy blade in my hand before I know it.
I actually manage to lift the sword halfway before I realize.
"No!" I yell. "Why should I? Why should I kill her? Just because she is married to my former fiancé? No. It was his choice. Who am I to stop this? They are happy. She is innocent of everything and so is he."
If I kill Claire now, I would not only be killing a woman. I would be killing Haschel's daughter, Dart's mother, Zieg's wife, and a friend to the people in Neet. If I killed her now, Dart would never be born. Zieg would be hurt. And most importantly, I would be killing.
Why should I kill? After all the killing I have seen why should I murder someone in a fit of jealousy? At least when I was the Black Monster there was some justification in it. But this! This would just be murdering in cold blood!
I toss my sword aside, screaming. My screams are that of a wild tortured animal, filling the entire room, filling the entire universe with my grief and still the couple does not notice me. I put my hands over my head and drop to my knees, yelling out all the frustration and guilt and pain that I harbor within myself. The burst of air from my lungs sounds terrifying, like a dead spirit trying to resurrect itself.
When my voice gives out, I let out a shaky breath and swipe a gloved hand across my eyes. The glove comes away stained. Frowning and trembling, I pull off my gloves and touch my cheek.
Wetness.
Are these…tears?
Am I…crying?
Ridiculous. But yet as I walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall, the world is underwater and my mouth tastes of liquid salt.
Gods above, I look a sight. My dark hair, usually like black silk falling around my shoulders, looks like a bird tried to make a nest in it. My headpieces, the ones that someone once called devil horns, where are they? I must have knocked them out of my hair when I clutched at the pain in my head. My scabbard is empty and light; my sword is across the room.
I dare not look at the eyes of the girl reflected in the mirror. But I steel myself and lift my head and look.
Her eyes are leaking water. It sparkles on her cheeks and slides down her chin to drip to the carpeted floor. She drags a hand across her eyes and her skin is wet. For that one moment, she doesn't look like a mysterious dark woman anymore. Instead she looks like a lost little girl. Just a girl with tears on her cheeks.
Tears. I am crying.
I had once seen Miranda cry that time when she found that her Queen Theresa was safe after Shana rescued the palace. I had been shocked. But what were tears? Just water. And yet these harmless water droplets evaded all my defenses and left me raw and alone, vulnerable.
I am crying. The revelation of that is so shocking that I laugh.
Another stunning change. Is it possible to laugh and cry at the same time? Tears represent sadness and laughter represents joy. Are joy and sadness the same thing? How can I cry and laugh at the same time? How can I cry and laugh at all?
The last time I had laughed was…when was the last time I had laughed? At Fletz, in the guestroom. But that had been the first time in eleven thousand years. Now I am laughing again? What is wrong with me? What is this insane feeling in me?
Every time I had thought of Zieg and sadness filled me, I started to train with my sword, as if physical labor could take my mind off of emotional grief. But these tears had somehow escaped that, breaking down my mental barriers.
I neither laughed nor cried. And now I am doing both.
Unsure of anything in the universe, I sit down on the carpet and tuck my knees up to my chest, making myself as small as possible. Leave me alone, everything, just leave me be. Maybe if I am so small that they cannot see me, they cannot put responsibility on my shoulders. They cannot throw grief and sadness and anger at me. I put my hands over my face, hiding myself from the world, crying through my bare fingers.
When the shuddering of my body stops, I stay very still for several seconds, then stand up. Calmly, pushing everything aside until I am numb, I pick up a comb on the dresser and drag it through my hair so that it is in softly falling waves again. Idly, not allowing myself to think, I pick up my headpieces and refasten them to my hair. Numbing myself, I pull on my dark gloves, pick up my sword and sheathe it in the scabbard.
I walk over to Claire and put my hands over hers. She cannot feel it, nor can she hear me, but I speak anyway. "I'm sorry, Claire. I'm sorry for what I almost did. Forgive me." I bow my head and stand up, facing Zieg.
"My love, I miss you. I wish that it were I that sat in this chair. But it isn't. And I shall do nothing to change it. Be happy, my darling, even if I cannot." I lean forward and kiss his cheek, receiving no response. I am not surprised but for some reason it hurts me.
"And Dart." I speak to the swollen belly. "I'll be seeing you."
For a moment the laughter stops, and I almost imagine that they can see me, but then Claire resumes talking and Zieg resumes listening to her with a smile on his face.
"Savan." I call out to the only person who can hear me. "Take me back. I want to leave. I have faced my challenge."
The firelight fades and Zieg and Claire disappear. I am back in the darkness, on the platform of golden wires. Savan stands in front of me with a sad wistful look in his old eyes. "It was for that strength and courage that I admired you, Rose."
"I was not strong. I almost made the wrong choice."
"Yes, but you stopped yourself in time. That in itself was a challenge. Jealousy can blind a person's soul." Savan smiles. "You still have tears on your face."
I wipe my gloved hands furiously across my eyes, drying everything. "Thanks." I mutter.
"You are not ready for you friends to see the true Rose yet?"
"No. They see me as a cold woman who leads them down the path. Perhaps it is better this way."
Savan shakes his head. "You understand even more than I gave you credit for."
"I am not ignorant." I correct him. "Did I pass your little courage test?"
"Rose, you passed before you even took it. You have enough courage and strength. That is why Charle Frahma chose you to be the Black Monster, the one who saved the world every 108 years."
I cut him off with a sharp motion of my hand. "That is enough. I don't want to be reminded of the Black Monster." I pause. "Please bring me back to the others." They are my will to survive.
The darkness changes and lengthens and I am back in Aglis, on the dark violet pod. I step off quickly, rejoining the others across the bridge. Judging by the looks on their faces they had gone through similar challenges.
"Rose." Dart calls. "Are you all right? You look different."
"I'm fine." I say briskly.
Meru shifts from one foot to the other. "I hope our courage will be able to make the Psychedelic Bomb."
"It is the creation from thousands of years of effort by Savan. We have a huge responsibility."
As Dragoons we have responsibility.
"We obtained an unexpected city. Now we can wait for Zieg at the Signet Sphere." Albert says quietly. "We all know what this means, don't we?"
"If we can stop my dad in this city, the world will be saved. That's it." Dart states flatly. "Let's go. Savan is waiting."
There are no more winding mazes or masses of teleporters. Just another long corridor and then we are at where we need to be.
Savan turns when he sees us. "Your courage was more than enough, brave Dragoons. The Psychedelic Bomb is more powerful than I had originally expected it to be." He holds out one frail hand and on it rests a large glittering crystal. Irregularly shaped and tinted with a strange molten-lava color, it does not look like it could be too powerful, and yet I can sense the energy in it straining to get out.
"Is this the Psychedelic Bomb?" Haschel asks, picking it up and reeling with the energy flow. Though none of these new Dragoons is accustomed to magic as I am, their minds are still sensitive enough to sense magic power. Also, Meru is a Wingly, so perhaps she too, can sense more magic than the rest of them.
"The Psychedelic Bomb X." Savan corrects. "It is more powerful than I anticipated."
"How do we use it?" Miranda asks brusquely.
"As a weapon. As you can all sense, I'm sure, the energy inside is fighting to get out. All it needs is a target." Savan smiles and turns around to show us the rest of the room. "Let me show it. This is the Signet Sphere that has continued to seal the Moon That Never Sets, the flesh of the God of Destruction, and evil fruit that is settled in the sky." He gestures to a large machine glowing with light to a mortal's eye, but to a Dragoon's eye, there is magic surrounding it. Bountiful unlimited magic, powerful magic. This is what I had sensed on the cliff.
"And this…" Savan says, as a large creature enters. It is very large, perhaps four times my height. I am reminded of some sort of hermit crab as I look at the white creature with two tentacles in front of it, acting as arms. "Is Last Kraken. A magic creature that was born to guard the Signet Sphere. But we have you. It may not be needed."
Lulu giggles, sort of. "And Moot will start working!"
Dart peers over the edge of the walkway at a glowing red light in the center of three thick rods. "That red light is Moot, the new Signet?"
It does not look like much, but like I had told Miranda in the Forbidden Land, you mustn't judge the power of a magical object by its size.
Savan nods. "When Moot is activated and the new Signet covers the Moon That Never Sets, the ambitions of that man will be terminated. The—"
A scream interrupts him, a muffled animal scream. Last Kraken starts to writhe, the two tentacles flailing violently, striking out at empty air as if struggling. What is it struggling against? I don't see anything. I can't feel anything either.
"Last Kraken!" Savan cries. "What is it doing?" The old Wingly grows transparent wings and hovers near the high ceiling. "What is going on?!"
An amused voice answers him. "That was a poor introduction of me."
I drag my sword out of its sheath. "That voice. It's you, Zieg!"
It is impossible to believe that I am speaking to the same man that I had just seen in my challenge, the same man that had looked so happy and content. What had driven him to this insanity? What had happened after Melbu Frahma cast the spell on him, turning him to stone? What had happened on the night the Black Monster attacked? So many questions, and no answers.
"Dad! Where are you?" Dart yells.
"In front of you."
"Don't tell me it's been manipulated." Savan murmurs, looking at the writhing guardian of the Signet Sphere. "It cannot be."
"Yes it is." I growl. But how can Zieg manipulate a living creature? Never before had he shown this power. Not even the Dragoons have this power! "It is controlling the heart of Last Kraken!" I lower my sword and look around. "Zieg! Are you saying the 11,000 years of rest brought you magic powers?!"
"Yes, isn't it an astonishing evolution? Eventually I will go beyond everything."
"Father, tell me! Why do you need to annihilate the world?"
"Because it is in the intention of the Creator Soa. And now, it is my intention as well." Zieg replies, still unseen.
Last Kraken stops struggling and raises its head, emitting a low growl that reverberates around the room. Dart draws his sword and the others raise their weapons.
"Dart," Zieg calls. "Are you now only pointing a sword against your own father, but also pointing a sword again Soa, who created you? And Savan, don't you think it is a waste to stop the birth of a god by disobeying the intention of Soa? You are all silly. It seems the Moon Mirror that Lloyd struggled to get was not necessary. Go, Last Kraken! Destroy the Signet Sphere and Moot along with this city!!"
"Everybody, we gotta stop him!" Dart yells over the rumbling. "I won't let you have your way, Father!"
I leap off the walkway and land in front of Last Kraken. I am sorry to do this, guardian, but it must be done.
Raising my sword, I narrow my eyes as the rest of them take up battle positions nearby me. It seems like a flash of motion and the battle begins. Dart is already standing next to me. He is always next to me; the two of us always seem to stand in the beginning of the strange cluster of seven Dragoons during battles.
I dance forward, striking and slicing with my sword. I can feel the magic thrumming in the air; I call on it to make my attacks stronger, adding an extra fire in my swift movements. My mouth twists into a grimace, knowing that no one will notice.
Up until now, I had tried to convince myself that perhaps Zieg was evil. He wasn't really trying to create the destruction of the world. Maybe…maybe it was some twisted joke or a test or something, anything from what I now see as the truth. From some tiny part of my mind, his actions up until now didn't necessarily have to be considered evil.
But as I stare into the bloodshot eyes of the Last Kraken, I frown in anguish. His magical powers had grown past the capabilities of a Dragoon and manipulating the guardian was unforgivable. I didn't understand it. He had always been so honorable, so noble…
"Demon's Dance!" I hiss, trying to take away my despair by anger. That was what I had done for eleven thousand years. I used my cold exterior to cover up the torn feelings that frayed my being inside. But like I told Savan, it was necessary.
Kongol and Meru attack simultaneously, the large Giganto lumbering forward and bringing the giant axe down on the guardian's slippery hide, while the petite Wingly twirls and smashes with her intricate hammer. Once the Winglies had ruled over the Gigantos, and now times have changed.
Yeah, and it only took eleven thousand years. I think sarcastically.
Last Kraken decides to counterattack just as I run forward. Its left tentacle raises up, and I brace my feet, skidding to a stop. I lift my sword arm in a futile gesture to defend myself. I can feel resistance on the sword and something whips across my left cheek. I cry out in anger rather than pain, jerking my sword forward.
The monster screams, and I leap back, feeling blood on my face. Something is writhing on the ground, and now I see that I had cut off the tip of its tentacle. I make a face, and my cheek hurts again. I step back from the front of the ranks, letting Haschel take my place, and reach into a pouch on my hip to find a healing item. My fingers close around a vial and I pull it out, only to realize that it is empty. I curse, tossing the glass bottle against the ground in anger.
"Be calm." Miranda says, her eyes never leaving her opponent. "Here."
I stare at her outstretched hand for a moment, and the healing item in it. After hesitating for half a second, I take the item and unscrew the cap, downing the bluish liquid in one gulp. Almost immediately I can feel the results, with the wound on my cheek healing and becoming pale unmarred skin again. The fatigue in my body subsides some, and I rush back to the front of the group, sword raised. Haschel gladly steps aside, in need of a healing item himself.
Instead of using my sword, I call on the power inside the Dragoon Spirit and transform. The deep violet armor seems to weigh nothing at all, and I feel as if the delicate-looking wings can maneuver me to the Moon That Never Sets if I want them to.
"Astral Drain!" I yell, tossing my sword like a spear to penetrate Last Kraken's hide. It shrieks, feeling its energy being drained out. I can hear Albert giving a short sigh of relief as the energy conveys to him, restoring some of his strength.
Usually it is I that is the fiercest fighter in the group, but as I watch amusedly, Dart lunges forward, striking in just the right places, never seeming to tire. His face is drawn tight and his eyes are narrowed. What drives him to this anger? Is it the fact that Shana is still missing? The fact that his father is now his enemy? The fact that he can do nothing to solve either of those problems?
With the magic that flows in the city of Aglis, the Dragoons are more powerful than they would have been outside the borders and in the human cities. Last Kraken falls easily, and I release the power, willing the armor and the wings to disappear until I am human again.
"We did it." Meru breathes, staring at the white mass sprawled out in front of her. "Now what can we do about the Signet?"
"DANGER. DANGER."
I look around for the origins of the voice, realizing it is the more mechanical sound of a machine.
Savan calls out, landing on the floor. "The Signet Sphere is resonating with the runaway reaction of Moot!"
"Why?!" Dart yells back, stumbling back a step as the room begins to shake. "We prevented the attack of Last Kraken!"
Savan frowns. "The field of power generated by the Dragoons triggered the runaway reaction."
The power of the Dragoons was too much for the Signet Sphere to handle. Both the old and the new signets were affected by the magic. But with so much power…Aglis is going to be destroyed.
"Sorry, I'll teleport you!" Savan holds up his hands. I open my mouth to stop him—
The lightheaded feeling of teleportation washes over me and suddenly I am outside of the room, back in the corridor. I hear the others landing beside me, and then the sound of the door slamming shut.
Dart sheathes his sword, running up to the sealed door and pounding on it with his fists. "Savan! You have to come too!"
The old Wingly's voice floats through the door, and I feel it more than hear it. "I will see this until the end. You should hurry to the next city. The Signet Sphere of Aglis is now being destroyed."
I offer Meru a hand up and walk over to the door, where Dart is still trying to break through. "Are you starting it alone? And ending it alone too!" The red-clad warrior yells, drawing his sword and slashing at the doors. "Savan!"
"Even if my body vanishes, my heart will remain. It will give you wings to fly the sky, to the Moon That Never Sets, where Zieg is heading."
Furious, I kick the door. "I still have something to ask you!" I scream. You were the one watching me all these years. You must know the answer to my questions! Savan! You cannot die now, not yet!
"Rose, I am grateful." Savan's voice is gentle. "Rose, you…were…my…"
The explosion cuts him off before he can finish. The magical energy that fills the air is immense, so that I drop down my hands and knees, and the Dragoon Spirit cries out in psychic pain. When the magic stops, I climb shakily to my feet.
Savan, what were you going to say? I cannot help but wonder, but his mind signature is gone. I cannot feel his presence anymore, and that can only mean one thing.
I hold out a hand and help Dart to his feet. I can see the obvious suffering in his eyes. He believes that he could have done more, perhaps saved the old Wingly.
"We have no time for being sad." I tell him coldly.
Wordlessly, the entire group travels through the corridors, until we come across one of the magical creatures. Miranda's eyes widen and she kneels down beside it, gathering it into her lap. "Buckle." She says. "You are?!"
Buckle opens its eyes lazily. "Miranda, you are still annoying, uck." It declares almost crossly, but then, "Are the other people safe, uck?"
"Don't say anything." Miranda orders through her teeth.
The creature shakes its head. "Savan died. Buckle and other creatures cannot live without Savan, uck."
"Can't we do something for you?" Miranda, as a Sacred Sister, apparently feels an obligation to help those in pain. "Can't you be saved with a Dragoon's power? Answer me!"
Buckle frowns. "Be quiet, uck. Good night, uck." Its head lolls to its side.
The blonde woman shakes it, annoyed. "Are you playing dead again?" She demands. "Give me a break!"
Buckle speaks without moving. "We can meet again soon, uck. Closing my eyes…and soon, uck…"
Miranda lays down its body on the cold floor, and stands up, glaring. "Damn." She swears.
The next room, the mirror room, is the same. Decal and Spino are there, and their lives are fading too. The group moves to help them, to comfort them in their last time, but I am drawn to the mirror in the center of the room.
"You must…see, pino."
An image of Zieg appears, flickering a few times and becoming sharply clear. He is clad entirely in red battle armor, and he holds the Moon Mirror in his hands. He smirks at the Mille Seseau national treasure and then tosses it deliberately to the ground. The Divine Moon Object shatters, and the image flickers once.
Miranda gasps, and I draw in my breath sharply. "The Moon Mirror is broken?"
"Because the Signet Sphere of Aglis was destroyed he doesn't need it anymore, pino. Zieg is in the Law City Zenebatos. Go hurry, pino."
"But how can we go?" Dart asks calmly.
"We connected the teleport device, cal. Please keep rolling for Decal, cal."
I wait for a few seconds. "They're dead." I announce, as if anyone does not know. "They opened our road with their last power."
"We won't waste your death." Dart promises.
Ruff is in the next room, and I walk over to him. Almost tenderly, I cradle its head in my lap. Ruff opens its eyes and looks up at me. "Rose. Ruff has been here forever, ruff. Ruff only knows view…and sounds in here, ruff. It's rough, ruff. Ruff wanted to go outside at least once."
"Don't worry." My voice is with unaccustomed gentleness, soothing the magical creatures in his last moments. "Now, you can go out."
Ruff gives his version of a smile. "Okay, ruff. It's rough, ruff." He sighs.
I hold it for a moment longer and then lay it down on the ground, gently, as if he is still there, and can feel it.
"These babies are dead too." Meru's voice cracks and I can see tears in her eyes.
Dart rests his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "So that their death won't be in vain, we have to move on."
Strange. Since when was it Dart that herded the party along?
We return to the sealed room that had been to the left of the corridor we had first arrived in. The door is now open, and the entire group files inside silently.
They had only been magical creatures. Little beings with one purpose. We didn't even know them that well, and yet we all mourn their deaths…even I.
The dancer is gazing at the teleporter in the center of the room, large enough for the entire group to stand on. "This looks like the one in my forest." She comments.
I nudge it with my foot, as if expecting it to come to life. "This can take us to Zenebatos instantly." I shake my head. "It's completely different. Winglies had such astonishing magic power moving between cities instantly like this."
Haschel shrugs, his hands clenched. "It's astonishing all right, but I cannot accept life being generated by magic. It's kinda depressing, being born to do just one thing."
"The Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction was born only to do one thing." Dart reminds him thoughtfully. "I wonder if its existence holds the same sorrow?"
I toss my hair over my shoulder contemptuously. "Well then, let's make it feel better. By making sure it will never be born. Come on. We have to protect the next Signet Sphere."